Evening star., 1938-04-28
DISTRICT PETITION
F0RR|GHT T0VOTE
GIVEN CONGRESS
Plea of Disenfranchised
Capital Is rendered
Senate by Capper.
ITS PRINTING GRANTED
IN RECORD APPENDIX
Meanwhile Other Developments
Point Toward Referendum
to Be Held Saturday.

The plea Of organized Washington
for suffrage was presented to Con-
gress today, through a petition signed
by officials of the Citizens Joint Com
mittee on District of Columbia Repre-
sentation and of nearly two score con-
stituent and cooperating groups repre-
senting every walk of life.
Pledging his "whole-hearted sur
port" to the movement, Senator Cap
per, Republican, of Kansas offered
the petition in the Senate and OBJ
tained unanimous consent to have
1t printed in the appendix of the
congressional record. Taking the
floor shortly after the Senate met,
the Kansan. co-author of one of the
two proposal. now pending in Con-
gress on the subject, described the
unofficial referendum set for Satur-
day as an evidence of growing in
terest in the movement. Senator
Capper said:
The residents of the District of
Columbia are about to take part in
occurrence
in the lives of all other Americans,
but denied to the 100000 inhabitants
OF the Nations Capital On Satur-
day, April 30, they are going to vote.
Growing Interest Is Seen.
They are going to conduct an un-
official referendum on the question Of
extending suffrage to the only part of
the continental United States where
this fundamental right of citizenship
is not in force. While this vote will
not be official or binding. the holding
OF such referendum is indicative of a
growing interest in the subject and in
the demand for the rights of citizen
ship for residents of the District OF
Columbia.
I'm this connection I wish to say
that this effort upon the part Of the
citizens of the District Of Columbia
to obtain the right of suffrage has my
whole hearted support.
arrangements also have been
made for hearings on May 4 and 5
before the House Judiciary Committee
on the two Joint resolutions now
pending in Congress dealing with
the question.
In this connection, I ask unan-
imous consent to have printed in the
appendix of the record a petition
signed by officers of twoscore of local
organizations. presenting arguments
in support of granting the franchise
to the District. I hope my colleagues
will recall from reading of this
petition the reasons presented by the
Senate District Committee in 1922
in support of giving the residents OF
this city a voice in their govern.
ment."
Representative Norton, Democrat,
OF New Jersey planned to present the
same petition in the House today.
1922 Report Cited.
The petitioners record their indorse-
ment of both the Capper- Norton and
LeWls-Randolph joint resolutions for
proposed Constitutional amendments,
between which there is no hostility.
Both resolutions seek to give the Dis
trlct representation in the House and
Senate, together with the right to
vote for presidential electors, but they
differ in certain other respects
The strong case made out by the
Senate District Committee in 1922,
when it reported favorably on an
earlier version of the Capper-Norton
resolution is cited in today's petition
as applying as forcefully to the pro-
posals now pending in Congress. Sum-
marizing the scope of each resolu-
ton. the petition states:
The reasoning of the Senate Com
mittee on the District of Columbia in
its favorable report in 1922 on an
earlier form of the Capper-Norton
Joint resolution applies with equal
force to the Lewis-RandoIph joint res
olution. The latter resolution, how
ever. omits the provision giving resi-
dents Of the District access to the
courts of the United States, but in
cludes new proposal enlarging the
power of Congress to delegate its
power of exclusive legislation in
respect to the District This pow-
er, except in respect to municipal
ordinances, has been denied by the