Evening star., 1947-12-09
District Warned
Home-Ru|e Plan
Might Not Pass
Drive Mapped After
Rolly Is Told Selling
Job Must Be Done
By Don s. Warren

by Don 5. Warren
Warned that the Auchinclos,
home-rule plan might fail ir
Congress unless District resi-.
dents demonstrate they really
want it, suffrage leaders TO-DAY
were mapping a campaign fol
its adoption.
Appeals to individual members O
Congress and the holding of som,
kind of a citizens referendum wer,
among suggested moves.
General Endorsement of the pro
posal for an elected city govern.
ment, as outlined by the HON,
Rule Subcommittee of the Hous.
District Committee, was voted at s
rally staged last night by the Cen,
trail Suffrage Conference at the In
terror Department Auditorium.
Stimulated by congressional warn
ings that there is a big selling jot
yet to pe done, the meeting o.
about l25 persons also voted au.
thority for the conference trustee.
to wage an active campaign fol
approval. Details were left to be
worked out.
Bills Not Yet Framed.
Although the House subcommittee
has outlined its plan in a 30,000-woro
report, the plan yet is to be reduced
to legislative bills. Public hearings
are planned by the subcommittee
after bills are introduced in the
regular session of Congress in Janu-
ary.
-Four members of the Auchincloss
subcommittee who are supporting
the self-government proposals and
who attended the meeting were
agreed the District must make a
convincing demonstration if it likes
the charter plan.
Representative Deane. Democrat
of North Carolina bluntly told the
gathering:
Il am not too enthusiastic over the
chances Congress will approve our
plan, even though consider it well
organized and well thought out.
About IS per cent of the people
OF Washington who have come to see
me say they don't want home rule
and are satisfied with what we have
got here"
Action Urged on Supporters.
Seeking to spark a fighting spirit
among suffrage advocates, Mr.. Deane
continued: "If you are interested ir
any type of home rule, you should
become aggressively active in its
cause" He made clear that much
of the selling job must be done by
District residents.
He said that some members Of
the District Committee itself are
opposed to the home rule proposal,
though they haven't attended our
meetings and don't know what they
are talking about"
Representative Allen, Republican,
OF California, said he was mot SO
pessimistic" about the chances of
congressional approval. But he also
counseled that those interested
should be active in crystalizing
sentiment.
Representative McGarvey, Repub-
ncan, of Pennsylvania said he thinks
the people of Washington ought to
DC some hustling" The subcom-
mittee is working hard, he con-
tinued, "but their plan will need
some pushing"
Jones Sees Selling Job.
Representative Jones, Republican,
of Washington said he is inclined
to agree with Mr.. Deane and
stressed the need for selling the
plan" to the people and to Congress.
Mr.. Deane said he had seen no
indications of any organized lobby
ing campaign" directed against the
home rule move. He said there Is
a need for a lot of citizen group
meetings "to generate a fighting
spirit"
Wilbur S. Finch, president of the
conference, declared, What we
need Is a referendum.
The Auchincloss Subcommittee
considered, but has laid, aside, a
proposal to require a formal refer
endum vote by citizens before the
plan became effective. The reason
given was that under the Constitu-
tion it is the exclusive responsibility
of Congress to legislate for the Ma
tional Capital
Plan Outlined.
The rally opened quietly with a
lengthy outline of the home rule
plan, as now revised, by Dr. George
B. Galloway, Library of Congress
legislative expert and staff director
to the subcommittee.
He told of the plans for a council
Of IL, an elected school board and
streamlined and departmentalized
city government, with most execu-
tive functions centered in a city
manager. Government under the
present commission form, he. said,
is incredibly complicated, confused
and cumbersome
Harry S. Wender, Suffrage Con-
ference trustee and chairman of the
District Recreation Board, protested
the proposed $1,000 salary of council
members would be too low. He also
questioned whether one meeting a
week for the council would be suffi-
cinet for the work
Spokesman for the United Public
Workers Of America (CIO) raised
questions of minority representation
and bans on race segregation. On
the latter point DR.. Galloway told
Mary Maring of Local 10, UPWA,
that the Auchincloss plan had gone
to the printer before the release
of the Presidents Committee on
Civil Rights. The subcommittee, he
said, is still open to suggestion.
Proposed Transfer Questioned.
j. c. Turner, conference trustee
and member of the Home Rule
Subcommittee of the Central Labor
Union (AFD, questioned the rea-
sonlng behind proposals to abolish
the Minimum Wage and Unemploy-
ment Compensation Boards and to
transfer their work to the director
OF a labor department.
A spokesman for the Hillcrest
Citizens Association asked whv the
new fiscal formula proposed in the
Auchincloss report called for using
q tax rate of SITS in measuring the
size of the Federal no yy,ov,& ~ a.