Evening star., 1946-02-05
Still the Best Plan

The evident desire of the Senate
Judiciary Committee to bring to the
hoor of the Senate some proposal
for amendment of the Constitution
to give the voteless residents of the
District voice in their Government
should meet with general approba-
ton.
1t is disappointing that the COM
mittee members apparently are, not
willing to report favorably the yer-
sion OF the Sumners-Capper resolu-
ton approved by the Hatch subcom-
mittee. But this disappointment
should not be permitted to obscure
the fact that the Judiciary Commit
tee, by reporting favorably next
week any of the proposals under
consideration, would be recognizing
IN principle, at least, the business
OF the Districts claim to national
representation, and would be taking
an important step toward bringing
the matter before the Senate, where
the merits Of all the plans could be
subjected to the test of open debate.
When the committee meeting end
ed yesterday, most Of the members
seemed to favor the amendment pro-
posed by Senator OMahoney of
Wyoming. This amendment is de-
signed to meet the claim that rep
resentation in the Senate would
give the District status comparable
to that of a State. Under the
O'Mahoney plan the amendment to
be submitted to the States for rati-
f1cation would be worded to give the
District representation only in the
House and the electoral college,
thereby indirectly excluding the Ma
tional Capital from any place in the
Senate. The -Capper reso-
luton, on the other hand, is de-
signed to give Congress the power
which it does not now have-to make
its own decision on this point at the
proper time. Stated another way.
the Sumners-Ca -Capper plan, while
leaving Congress in exclusive .ntrol
OF the District, would empower Con-
gress to determine what representa-
tion, If any, the District should have
In the Senate, the House and the
electoral college. 1t is enabling
legislation, giving Congress full
power OF decision and full power to
revoke or modify its decision. In
contrast, the OMahoney proposal
would confer upon Congress a lesser
grant OF power-namely, the power
to provide for representation only
In the House and the electoral
college.
1t should be noted, parenthetically,
that one effect of this would be to
reduce the Districts number of
presidential and vice presidential
electors, since the Constitution pre-
scribes that the number of such
electors shall be equal to the aggre-
gate Of representation In House and
Senate. But the fundamental OBJ
lection has to do with the dubious
wisdom of attempting to write into
the Constitution, in a matter of this
kind, a needless restraint on a power
to be conferred on future Congresses.
The first step, obviously, is to get
the matter before the Senate. When
that has been done, however, no
effort should be spared to persuade
the members that representation In
the Senate would not give the Dis
trict the status of a State, and that
the wise thing to do is to approve
the enabling act contained in the
Sumners-Capper resolution, thereby
leaving to the Congress which will
deal with the question full power
of decision as to what representa-
ton, If any, should be given to the
approximately 100000 good Amer
leans who are voteless and politi-
cally voiceless merely because they
happen to live In the National
Capital.