Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-04-06
The Summers Amendment


the House judiciary Committee,
enabling Congress to confer national
representation and other privileges
now denied to them upon the peo-
pie of the District of Columbia, gains
added Importance because Of the
circumstances preceding its intro
duction.
Chairman Summers, one Of the real
leaders of the House, presided at the
hearings before his committee last
year on the two somewhat similar
resolutions-the Capper-Norton and
the Lewis Randolph proposing Con-
stitutional amendments. The reso-
luton he now sponsors is reasonably
to be interpreted, therefore, as meet
ing his own views and, it is hoped and
believed, the views Of his committee
colleagues as to the language and
scope best designed to assure success
of an amendment IN meeting the test
of Congressional and State ratifica-
ton.
Still more important 10 the people
of the District is the fact that Chair
man Summers, il proposing the
amendment-Which he discusses
briefly in a special article elsewhere
in today's Star-champioas the prin-
ciple of national representation for
the District of Columbia; equal status
for District citizens with the people
of the States and aliens before the
Federal courts: and their right to q
voice in the government which taxes
them and sends them to war. Quot
ing from his article, There is some
thing fundamentally inconsistent in
government such as we have, a
government by the people, which
would deny to nearly a half million
persons al voice even in their Fed
eral Government, although in the
judgment Of Congress they could
have such voice with no hurt to the
Federal rulers. This amendment
would remove that inconsistency.
That inconsistency is what the
people of the District want removed
and they will eagerly indorse Mr..
Summers plan of procedure in re-
moving it. This. Endorsement be-
comes the more enthusiastic because
the Summers amendment contains
nothing that is hostile to the basic
spirit of previous proposals or those
now pending. 1t is naturally disturb
ing to Washingtonians to find in the
proposed amendment that the grant
to them of the right to participate in
their government which taxes them
and may send them to war should be
subject to a possible withdrawal of.
that right by majority vote Of Con-
gress. If, however, the grant could
not be obtained at all without reser-
walton of the power OF withdrawal,
the Washingtonian might re-assurc
himself by the thought, as suggested
indirectly by Representative Sum-
ners, that the power Of withdrawal
would never be exercised, that if the
Americans represented by two-thirds
of Congress and three-fourths Of the
States had, i'm effect, approved the
Americanization of the Washing
tonian. he would never by these
Americans be de-Americanized
The Summers amendment does not
60 as far as the LewiS-Randolph
amendment, in that the latter, in
effect, proposes amendment Of the
exclusive legislation clause of the
Constitutional least it raises the
question of continued retention of
such powers as the courts have con-
strued them. The Summers amend
ment, on the other hand, retains
and in its phraseology can be seen
to emphasize the principle Of the
paramount control over the District
of Columbia which the Constitution
vests in the National Government. In
this respect it follows the theory
of the Capper-Norton amendment,
whose advocates have always argued
that the grant of National repre-
sentation to the people of the Dis
trict does not need to mean and does
not mean the surrender by Congress
OF its supreme power of control
AS Mr.. Summers points out in his
article for The Star, the grant of
representation in Congress and the
electoral college to the people of the
District involves no loss of power
to Congress, no loss of power to
the people of the States and leaves
to Congress the unquestioned right
to delegate those of its powers in
local government which it chooses.
There is no conflict here with the
principle of the Capper- Norton
amendment, but additional support
from a powerful quarter-such sup
port being expressed in language