Evening star., 1940-08-10
|Lesh Cites Case
|0fU.S. Workers
lin Vote Plea
Have No Ballot
Elsewhere, He Says
In Radio Speech


ment employees who work here are
longtime residents of Washington
who have no vote elsewhere, Paul
Lesh, attorney and vice chairman
Of the Citizens Joint Committee on
National Representation, last night
outlined in radio speech the need
for support of the pending Summers
resolution providing constitutional
amendment to empower Congress to
grant District residents national
representation.
Mr.. Lesh termed as false" the
"oft-repeated statement that most
of our people who wish to vote
could vote elsewhere if they wanted
to-"
He broadcast as guest speaker on
the Washington Junior Board of
Commerce over Station VOL to in
form the radio audience that that
group has indorsed national repre-
sentation for the District and is sup
porting the Summers resolution
pending in the House and corre-
spending resolution introduced by
Senator King in the Senate. Mr..
Lesh was introduced by Charles E.
Smoot, vice president of the Junior
Board.
Long Residents of d. c.
1--WE have it said to us that there
are now 1870 900 employees in the civil
service who live here" Mr.. Lesh
said. THE ones who say this imply
that these are all newcomers or
transients. They forget that the
great bulk of these people. numerous
as they are, are longtime residents
of Washington.
Many of them in the old estab-
Used branches of the Government
know no other home. The number
includes the Patent Office with its
trained and permanent personnel,
the Agriculture Department, the
Bureau of Standards with employees
of scientific training and attainment
and all the minor personnel of the
departments, experienced and per-
manent'
An additional fact which is often
| overlooked, Mr.. Lesh continued, is
that many Government employees
live outside the District in surround
ing counties where they can vote.
MY point" he explained, sis that
| the Federal employees who work here
are not all among the people of the
District, who, according to the 1910
census figure number 663,000"
Why Should Youth Move?
Speaking of the young men who
have no opportunity to participate
in affairs of the Nation because they
live in Washington, Mr.. Lesh said:
why should they be told to move
out OF town if they want a vote for
President or representation in Con-
gress which governs all of the Ma
tion and their community in par
ticular?"
Consider our sister republics in
South America whose governments
were modelled after ours" he con-
tlnued. They have set up federal
districts for the seat of the govern
ment just as did we. But the young
men of Rio and Buenos Aires and
| Mexico City are not told to move
out of town if they want to have
anything to do with the govern
ment of their nation. Argentina,
Brazil and Mexico, in following our
example, stopped short of disabling
the residents of their capital cities
in national affairs"
Referring to members of the
Washington Junior Board of Com
merce as typical young Americans,
intelligent, able and ambitious" he
asserted that their only disability
as young Americans fit to partici-
pate in the government of the Ma
ton through the ballot box is the
TACT that they are residents of the
District.
Population Exceeds 8 States.
He also pointed out in his address
that the population of the District.
as of 1880, exceeded that of eight
States and the population of the
District has increased by almost
10000 persons in the last decade.
In addition, he said, the District
paid a larger amount in Federal
revenue in 1888 than was paid by
any one of "a States.
Meanwhile, Chairman Summers of
the House Judiciary Committee, au-
thor OF the proposed constitutional
amendment, plans to go before the
House Rules Committee on Tuesday
to ask that special rule be granted
to speed consideration of his reso-
luton by the House. Mr.. Summers
Will be accompanied by Representa-
tive Guyer of Kansas, ranking Re-
publican member of the Judiciary
Committee, and Chairman Randolph
| Of the House District Committee,
who will support him in his request.
The resolution pending in the House
was amended by the Judiciary Com
mittee to limit the body In which
Congress might give District resi-
dents national representation to the
House instead of to both houses of
Congress.
The corresponding resolution in
troduced in the Senate is in the
form OF the original Summers reso-
luton, making it permissive for
Congress to grant representation in
both houses. Action will not be
taken In the Senate, however, until
after the House Rules Committee
has acted and Representative Sum-
ners has appeared before the sub
committee of the Senate Judiciary
Committee to explain his resolution.
Hull Delays Measure
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