Evening star., 1946-01-30
Ferguson Will Vote
To Report Suffrage
Measure 10 Senate

Capper resolution to the Senate
floor when the measure comes up
for committee consideration Mon
day.
Mr.. Ferguson said his decision to
vote out the resolution did not
necessarily bind him to vote for
it in the Senate itself, but added
1T Is my conviction that a bill
of this nature should not be held
up in committee. A question so
vital as that of enfranchisement for
the people of Washington should
properly be considered by the whole
Senate. I will vote to send it to the
floor"
The Sumners-Capper resolution
provides an amendment to the Con-
Stitution to empower Congress to
grant the District representation in
Congress and the electoral college.
Lends Support to Drive.
Senator Ferguson's statement
came as delegates from the District
OF Columbia Federation of Women's
Clubs and the Twentieth Century
Club visited members of the Senate
Judiciary Committee at the Capitol
to urge support for the Summers
Capper measure.
1t lent considerable support to the
current campaign for enfranchise-
ment being conducted here by nu-
merous civic, professional and labor
groups under leadership of the Gen.
trail Suffrage Conference.
Mr.. Ferguson told r.. Cary Nichols,
jr., chairman of the conferences
Senate Liaison Subcommittee. he
had been much impressed by the
public show of sentiment in favor
of voice of the District in national
affairs.
Il am against all means OF block
ing the democratic processes of Gov
eminent, including filibusters," Mr..
Ferguson declared ANY important
piece of legislation deserves the
chance to be voted on by all mem
bers OF the Senate, and that goes
for the Summers -Capper resolution. +"
Leading today's delegations to the
Capitol were Miss Cornelia HILL
chairman of the National Repre-
sentation Committee of the District
Federation of Women's Clubs, and
Mrs. Howard G. Nichols, president
OF the Twentieth Century Club.
Others in Delegation.
Other representatives of the Fed
Grafton of Womens Clubs included
Mrs. Gertrude Parks, president.
Mrs. Edgar B. Merritt, Mrs. Harvey
w. Wiley, Mrs Helen Sutton, Mrs.
Luther Lucas Lemon, Mrs. Frederick
Lewton, Mrs. G. B. l.. Armer, Mrs.
E. e. Covert, Mrs. Edward C. Mag
deburger. Mrs. o. G. Hankins, Mrs
E. w. Schwartze, Mrs. o. H. Nelson,
Mrs. Harrison M. Gould and Mrs.
j. B. Wilkinson.
Besides Mrs. Nichols, those repre-
senting the Twentieth Century Club
were Mrs. Wilbur La Roe, Mrs.
Gerforde Stellwagon and Mrs. Ra-
leigh Gilchrist.
Major objections to the Summers
Capper resolution were answered
last night by representative group
of suffrage advocates seeking favor
able action on the measure. .-- /
The answers, given during a
round-table discussion over Radio
Station WTOP, came from Mrs.
Parks, Godfrey Munter, member of
the District Bar Association; Wag-I
ner Lawder, a District veteran, and
Lawrence Gichner, chairman of the
Radio Subcommittee of the Central
Suffrage Conferences National Rep
resentation Committee.
Denial of Vote Called Oversight.
Opening the discussion, Mr.. Gich-
ner asked consideration of the
question of why the District had
been denied the right to vote for
so many years. Mr. hunters an
swer was that it represented merely
an oversight on the part of the
trainers of the Constitution.
Mr. Munter said the trainers |
were concerned at the time mainly |
in preventing any one of the States
from exercising power over the
Federal Government"
Mrs. Parks suggested further ex-
planation in the possibility that lit
just didn't occur" to the trainers |
that citizens in ''the 10-mile square"
would be deprived of basic rights
as citizens"
Mr.. Lawder then advanced as a
frequent" objection to suffrage, as
embodied in the Summers -Capper |
measure, the idea that it would make
the District State, directly con-
trary to the plan under which the
Union of States was organized"
No Cut in Congress Power.
Mr.. Munter replied that while the
proposed amendment would give
District residents as individuals the
right to representation in their Gov
ernment, it doesn't take away sin
gle power from Congress to control
the affairs of the seat of the Federal
Government; it merely adds one
more power"
Answering the objection concern
ing the possibility of minority con-
troll of the city's affairs, Mr.. Munter
declared that under democratic gov
ernment the majority rules, adding
that what is good enough for the
United States is certainly good
enough for its Capital"
The question then came up as
to whecher other cities might de-
mand statehood if Washington we're
granted the vote. Mr. Gichner said
this appeared unlikely because the
cases were not parallel.
"TEn citizens of New York, for
example. are already able to vote
and express their desires in local
and national affairs" he pointed
out. He also said he would like toI
emphasize the fact that the number
of citizens of voting age in the Dis
trict exceeded that of IL of the
States.
representation Problem.
Regardless of the obvious fair
ness of permitting all Americans
the right to the ballot, Mr.. Munter
said he had heard persons ask what
diffe1ence it would make whetherl
the people of Washington had their
own representation in Congress or
went to members of the District
AA