Evening star., 1941-04-17

Of legislation which will place con-
troll of local affairs in the hands Of
District citizens to the full extent
permissible under the present pro-
visions of the Constitution, and
compatible with the interests of the
Federal Government"
Sees Form Out-dated.
Stressing the local self-goverr.
ment phrase of the suffrage ques-
ton, Mr.. Finch contended he could
demonstrate Washington is being
governed today by a form of mu-
nicipal government geared to meet
the conditions of 1873, when it was
established.
Continuing, he declared:
II am willing to concede that the
Congress of the United States for
the first three-quarters of century
after the establishment of the seat
of government tried hard to comply
with this principle of local self
government in the various munich
palities into which the city was
divided up to 1871 and during the
three years of the existence of the
territorial form of government from
1871 to 1874. by giving the people
of the District varying degrees OF
local self-government, as previously
pointed out in these hearings by DR..
l.. F. Schmeckebier of the Brookings
Institute who testified Yesterday.
But I wish to emphasize in this
connection that the joint Select
Committee of Congress composed Of
three Senators and five Representa-.
tives, which after months of work
investigating the activities Of this
territorial government, particularly
those of its Board of Public Works
in recommending the abolition OF
that government, was very careful
to point out that they did not mean
to preclude the idea that there
should not be some representative
body in the District of Columbia
I wish further to point out that
the organic act of 1878, under which
the government of the District OF
Columbia now operates, as originally
passed by the House Of Representa-
tives, contained a provision for the
election of a Council of Is members
by the people of the District, and
that as passed by the Senate this
provision for an elected Council was
eliminated and in its place was sub
stituted a provision for the election
of a voteless delegate in Congress
from the District. But neither pro-
vision was in the act after confer
ence between representatives OF the
two Houses of Congress.
Predicts Increase In Problems
It cite these latter facts merely
to show that. even during the time
when the form of our present local
government was being considered by
Congress, members of Congress
could not help but inject into the
discussions the desirability of adj
herring to the principle of local self
government at q time when this city
and all other cities in the United
States were in state OF discord
growing out of post-Civil War con.
ditions."
Mr. Finch predicted that at some
date in the not distant future -ths
problems incident to the manage
ment of the affairs of this city may
become so great that it will be prac-
tically impossible for our friends In
Congress to devote their time and
their energies to them"
IF and when such q time arrives.
as believe it will sooner or later"
he said, "it will be of considerable
advantage to our friends in Congress
to feel that they will not be con-
fronted in granting powers, as we
hope it will, to locally elected gov
ernment, with the necessity Of de-
termining the dividing line between
powers which are purely municipal
and those which it must now con-
stitutionally exercise as our State
Legislature"
Senator Kilgore, Democrat, Of
West Virginia was made a member
of the subcommittee this afternoon
in place of Senator Hatch. Demo-
crat, of New Mexico. who found
pressure of other committee work
would prevent him from attending
the suffrage hearings.