Evening star., 1945-04-08
Amt No Such Animal

Senator Tydings is on solid ground
when he advocates representation in
Congress for Washingtonians. as he
did on Friday before the Joint Com
mittee on Reorganization of Con-
greSs. ut would take some of the
load off other members" he said
That is right. 1t would. In addition
it would remove a diSgraceful con-
dition under which some 100000
Americans living in the Capital of
the United States are denied partici-
patton in their Government.
But when the Senator talks about
assigning purely local legislation
to some agency other than Congress,
unavoidable complications begin to
pile up. In the first place, what is
purely local legislation" in this
Federal City? Is the purchase of a
school site purely local? 1t involves
an appropriation. Is the appropria-
ton of local taxes purely local? If
it is. the levying of local taxes is
purely local. Will Congress assign
to some agency other than Congress
the levying of local taxes and their
expenditure? Nobody is seriously
proposing it.
If the Metropolitan Police Depart
ment is to be increased by a dozen
privateS, is that purely local legisla-
ton? If so, what about increasing
the size of the United States Park
Police? That could not be local for
the park police force is a Federal
agency. Yet the source of the police
mems salaries in both cases is the
same-it comes from the local tax
payer. Is the purchase of a new
giraffe for the National Geological
Park a matter of local legislation?
One light so conclude, for the pur-
chase lrice of the giraffe, along with
peanuts for the monkeys, comes out
of local revenues. Yet the Zoo is
branch of the Smithsonian Institu-
ton with which the municipal gov
ernment has no connection.
Would Senator McCarran's So
called home-rule bill relieve Con-
gress of local legislation? Let us see
what it says. The elected council
and its city manager could pass,
approve, issue or promulgate ordi-
nanceS. rules and regulations con-
corning any matter affecting the
District of Columbia" ercept that
the council shall have no power to
alter, amend, or repeal any provision
of this act or of any other act of the
Congress nor to pass, approve,
issue or promulgate any legislation,
ordinances, rules or regulations con-
trary to the provisions of any Act of
Congress then in force. or concern
ing any matters not affecting exclu-
sively the District of Columbia"
AS this is the Federal City, under
exclusive legislative control of Con-
gress. could anything be done by
this council that would affect the
District of Columbia exclusively,
without affecting the interests of the
United States? Suppose the council,
for instance. wanted to charge tut
ton in the local public schools for
Maryland and Virginia children from
nearby counties Would that be
affecting exclusively the District of
Columbia?
Congress could, and should, dele
gate broader powers of regulation
to the municipal government, But
the real local government of the
District is and always will be the
Congress of the United States. The
people of Washington should be rep
resented in that local government.
The benefits would be mutual. And,
as Senator Tydings puts it so we'll,
that would not upset the Nation" :"