Evening star., 1940-08-02
House Approval
|0fSuffrageP| Plan
In 10 0DaysSeen
Ashurst Appoints
Senate Group to
Hold Hearings

the amended Summers resolution
providing for constitutional
amendment empowering Congress
to grant national representation to
the voteless residents of the Dis
trict was predicted today by Ma
jority Leader Rayburn.
At the same time, Chairman
Ashurst of the Senate Judiciary
Committee appointed a special sub
committee to consider the proposal
to give the District representation
in both House and Senate, as con-
tanned in the original Summers reso-
luton.
This resolution was introduced
in the Senate by Chairman King
of the Senate District Commit
tee, who is ranking Democrat on
the Judiciary Committee and who
asked Senator Ashurst to expedite
Senate action on the proposed con-
stltutional amendment He empha-
sized that number of persons had
come to him who were dissatisfied
because the House Judiciary Com
mittee's action in amending the
Summers resolution had eliminated
for all time any possibility of the
District ever having representation
in the Senate.
King Heads Subcommittee.
A strong advocate of national
representation for the District.
Senator Ashurst, Democrat, of
Arizona selected Senator King as
chairman of the subcommittee. The
other members are Senators McCar-
ran of Nevada. who was member
of the Democratic Platform Com
mittee in Chicago which approved
the D. c. suffrage plank; Hughes of
Delaware, Austin of Vermont and
Taft of Ohio Senators McCarran
and Hughes are Democrats, Austin
and Taft Republicans. Except for
Senator Taft, the entire subcommit-
tee is composed of Senators who also
serve on the District Committee
The subcommittee is not expected
to swing into action until the House
acts on the revised Summers reso-
luton. However, Senator King
paved the way for speedy considera-
ton by his introduction in the
Senate of the duplicate of the
original national representation
resolution sponsored in the House
by Representative Summers. chair
man of the House Judiciary Com
mittee. This resolution. as we'll as
several others providing for ma
tional representation for the Dis
trict, is now before the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
Measure Approved, IA to 8.
Mr. Rayburn made his prediction
of House action on the modified
Summers resolution within 10 days
after the House Judiciary Commit
tee approved it yesterday by 14-to-
vote.
The three who voted against the
amended resolution we're Repre-
sentatives Hobbs, Democrat, of Ala
bama; Gwynne, Republican, of
Iowa and Monkiewicz, Republican,
of Connecticut.
In order to expedite House con-
sideration of the resolution as it
came out of the Judiciary Commit
tee, Chairman Summers said he
would ask the House Rules Com
mittee to meet Tuesday to grant
special rule to give it a preferred
status. Otherwise the resolution
would nave to await it's regular
turn on the House calendar, and
there are "a other resolutions ahead
of it.
Two Changes Made.
Two changes were made by the
House Judiciary Committee in the
original Summers resolution. One
change substituted House of Rep
resentatives" for Congress" as the
body in which Congress might give
the District representation, thus
preventing the District from hav-
ing representation in the Sen
ate. The other would limit to seven
years the period allowed the States
to ratify the proposed constitutional
amendment. This latter provision
is the same as was included in the
constitutional amendment repeating
prohibition
In its present form the resolution
would authorize Congress to give to
the people of the District, follow
ing ratification of the proposed
constitutional amendment by 36 of
the 48 States, the privilege of vot-
ing for President and Vice Presi-
dent and electing their own Rep
resentatives in the House
The amendment to the original
Summers resolution which would
preclude the District from having
representation in the Senate, it Is