Evening star., 1940-08-09
D. {. Representation
In Both Houses Urqed
Before Junior Board
Citizens Have as Much
Stoke in One Body as
Another, Lesh Says

The importance Of granting Dis
trict residents representation in both
houses Of Congress, as provided in
the Summers resolution as originally
drawn, was stressed yesterday by
Paul Lesh, vice chairman of the
Citizens Joint Committee on Ma
tional Representation, in an address
to the Washington Junior Board of
Commerce which is taking it's part in
the campaign for national repre-
sentation by sending 1000 letters to
affiliated organizations.
The Summers resolution for ma
tional representation, as reported
out by the House Judiciary Com
mittee, carries an amendment limit
ing representation for the District in
Congress to the House of Represent
ativeS.
The Senate gives as much con-
sideration to legislation affecting
Washington as does the House, Mr..
Lesh pointed out, and District citi-
zens have as much stake" on one
body as in the other.
No intention to contravene that
provision of the Constitution grant,
ing Congress exclusive authority to
legislate for the seat of national
government is harbored by civic
leaders heading the representation
drive, he emphasized.
Part of the Nation.
eve do not propose to take Wash
ington from the Nation, we propose
only to make Washington a part of
the Nation" Mr.. Lesh declared.
The fact Washington may be we'll
governed does not operate in refuta-
tion of arguments for national rep
resentation, he said.
rs that said to any other city
You are well-governed, and, be-
cause you are well-governed, you
should be disfranchised nation
ally?'"
No need for dispute over the pre-
else extent of representation to be
extended exists at this stage of the
fight, Mr.. Lesh said, explaining
Amendments to the Constitution
should be in broad language-lan-
guage as broad as is the vision of
their trainers"
Regarding representation in the
Senate from another point of view,
Mr.. Lesh pointed out that the Sem
ate draws upon the entire country
for its patriotism and for its ability,
being representative of all the peo-
pie and not only the large jurisdic-
tionS.
Can the Senate" he asked,
afford to cut off this District any
more than the House can afford to
cut it off as a source to supply
ability to go up on Capitol Hill to
legislate for the Nation and its
Capital?"
Growth of District Cited.
Until the District had as many
people here as normally inhabit a
congressional district, a unit of ap-
portionment, it could not justly
make a plea for representation, Mr..
Lesh said.
Quoting the new census figures
which show a population of 5000
District residents, he went on:
To-day we have substantial seq
ment of the American people de-
MED participation in the National
Government, contrary to the custom
of the United States, contrary to our
own principles"
The 486,000 population of Wash
ington in 1880, he went on, exceeded
those in eight States. The compare
tive population figures with States
are not yet available for 1910.
ID. c. a Heavy Taxpayer.
The District, he added, paid ST.
100000 in Federal taxation in 1898,
exceeding "a States in the amount
paid in Federal revenue.
Answering the argument that
Washington is not given a vote be-
cause it is the Nations Capital, Mr..
Lesh pointed out that sister repub-
lies of South America with govern
ments modelled after the United
States followed our example, but
stopped short of disabling residents
of the capital cities in national 'af-
fairs"
There are some people in the Dis
trict who do not desire to vote at
all, he said, but that condition is
not peculiar to this city.
IF it is in any degree more pc