Evening star., 1941-10-19
Progressive Unit Surrenders
Leadership at Last to Men
Bramhall Wins
Victory for Male
Minority
BY LOUIS H. BROWN.

Who said the men are relinquish-
ing their civic prominence to the
women?
Just the reverse has come about
in Georgetown. The Protective Citi-
zens' Association of Georgetown has
elected man for the first time in
its history. He is Walter F. Bram-
hall, who received a unanimous bal
lot from the combined men and
women electorate of his association
The Georgetown Progressives was
organized in 1925 by a group of
ladies who felt they ought to have
something to say about locating
Fairgrounds, improving schools. ini-
tiating traffic reforms. public utilities
rates and all the other problems
of the community. After the en-
tirely male Georgetown Citizens
Association refused to revise its
charter to admit them. they organ
lied their own association under the
leadership of Miss Eta Taggart,
now president Of the Washing
tonianS.
Equality Standard Now.
Men were not ruled out of the
new association, but they were quite
definitely a minority. Today, how
ever, equality of the sexes is form
ally recognized standard. This is not
true in the Georgetown association,
though, and, incidentally, Mr. Branl-
hall is also a member there.
Mr.. Bramhall breaks few other
precedents in taking over his new
duties. He is comparatively new to
Washington's civic circles-with
only two years experience, as a
matter of fact. But perhaps that is
because he is only 36 years old. For
that matter, he is Young to his job
clerk of the Police Court, to which
he was sworn in March, 1887. But
they are both suited to him-his
work and his extra -curricular ac-
tivity.
Before the passage of the second
Hatch Act, prohibiting District and
State employees to be active in ma
tional politics, he was secretary Of
the District of Columbia Democratic
Committee. In this capacity he
worked successfully toward having
a plank inserted in the Democratic
platforms of 1886 and 1910 providing
national representation for Wash
ington residents.
When, with the enactment of the
Hatch provisions, he found himself
at loose ends for something to satisfy
his active spirit, he happened to
have moved over in Georgetown,
where he bought home. He saw
that the street in front Of his new
home needed repaving, and he found
that he could make his wants heard
by working in the citizen associa-
tions. The natural result was Mr.
Bramhall found what he needed
and the organized citizens found for
themselves new worker.
Traffic His Hobby.
Work on traffic problems became
Mr.. Bramhall's chief outlet of en-
ergy. AS clerk of the Police Court
he interested himself particularly
in the traffic branch and extended
that interest with activity on the
traffic committees of both associa-
tions of which he became a men,
ber. He has visited several other
cities throughout the country study
ing the set-ups of regulations, en-
forcement and punishment in con-
trolling traffic. On one of these
trips, to Detroit, which he con-
siders one of the more advanced
cities in traffic solutions, he made a
detailed study and published a sur
vey of his findings. Municipal Of
ficials have come to place great
weight on his views on this subject
The ladies don't seem to mind at
all turning their leadership over tc