Evening star., 1940-08-03
King Summons
Conference on
Representation
Senute Unit to Decide
Monday on When to
Conduct Hearings
BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND
Plank adopted In Democratic
platform tuUoring District sut.
trage t0as folloUed by House Ju-
dietary Committee approval OF
Summers resolution for a consti-
tutionGl amendment empowering
Congress to grant District ma
ttondl representation ard to
delegate legislative pouer to q
local government. Committee
limited proposed congressional
po,Der by amending resolution to
make permissiue representation
In House, instead OF Congress,
thus preventing representation In
Senate. Original Summers reso-
luton introduced in Senate by
Chairman King OF Senate Dis
trtct Committee.
Chairman King of a special SUBJ
committee of the Senate Judiciary
Committee appointed to consider
resolutions calling for a constitu.
tional amendment empowering Con.
gress to grant national representa-.
ton to the voteless residents of the
District said today his group would
decide definitely Monday whether
to proceed Immediately with public
hearings or await the outcome of
House action on the amended Sum-
ners resolution.
Meantime thora ,.-or.
cations the House Rules Committee
would grant special rule giving the
Summers resolution as amended by
the House Judiciary Committee a
privileged status on the House CAL
endar so it can be called UP within
10 days. The House leadership does
not anticipate any difficulty about
granting of the rule. Moreover. q
poll of the Rules Committee indi-
Gates the vote will be practically
unanimous.
Senator King. Democrat. of Utah,
who also is chairman of the Senate
District Committee, has not yet
fixed definite time for the meeting
OF his special subcommittee Mon-
Gay, but expressed the opinion it
would be held in the afternoon.
The delay in fixing a time for the
meeting, he explained, has been due
to his inability to talk with several
members who are not in WASH
ington.
Meeting to Be Brief.
The meeting will be brief" he
declared. "All I intend to do is to
find out from the members whether
ahey want to go right ahead with
hearings or wait until the Houss
acts on the Summers resolution"
Senator King is sponsor of the
original Summers resolution in the
Senate-a resolution which would
authorize the District to have rep
resentation in the Senate as well as
in the House. The House Judiciary
Committee altered the original
Summers resolution to substitute
representation in the House for rep
resen.at;on in Congress.
Chairman SABBATH Of the rules
group said today that Chairman
Summers of the Judiciary Com
mittee. which favorably reported
the resolution by a IA to vote
Thursday, has not yet asked for a
hearing. but said that ''of course"
it would not be refused him. Mr..
Summers had previously stated that
he would ask for hearing on Tues
day.
Representative SABBATH and other
veteran members of the committee
said that doubtless the Rules Com
mittee will go along with Mr..
Summers" Mr.. SABBATH said the
hearing will be sympathetic and
that personally he is mot opposed
to passage of the resolution" and
that he thinks the people here in
the District should not be denied
the right to vote as citizens"
Colmer Has Voiced Opposition.
There are 10 Democratic members
on the Rules Committee and four
Republicans. Thus far only one
member has expressed himself as
opposed to the national representa-.
ton resolution-Representative COL
mer, Democrat. of Mississippi, and
he says he will listen to reason"
All of the four Republicans are
expected to support the stand taken
by Minority Leader Martin, who
said that the entire Republican
membership of the House will aid In
passing the resolution. Representa-
tive Michener of Michigan, who Is
a member of both the Rules and
Judiciary Committee, has been at
tentive for the past 20 years at
hearings on the question of District
suffrage and supported several reso.
lutions under Republican admins
trations. He voted to report the
Summers resolution from the Judi
ciary Committee on Thursday. Their
colleagues on the Rules Com.
mittee say that Representatives
Fish, Halleck and Allen have in
dicated that they will not oppose the
rule and are expected to vote for
the resolution.
Representative Dempsey. Demo-
crat, of New Mexico is one of the
most ardent members of the Rules
Committee in favor Of representation
for the District and said it should
nave been granted years ago. He
was one of the first to applaud at
the national convention the action
(Se. . pTppECENI-r rO1I 1--