Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-02-06
Efforts Appreciated.

Efforts Appreciated.
Directors of the trade body, Mr..
Reilly said, had noted with warm
approval and deep appreciation" the
efforts of the House Home Rule
Subcommittee and its "resourceful
and efficient" staff to arrive at an
acceptable home rule system.
Their work, the trade body said,
represents the conscientious at
tempt of men sincerely notivated
by desire to relieve Congress OF
the burden of trivia involved in its
control of the seat of government;
to give the, people of the District
some constructive means of assum-
ing local direction of their affairs,
and to improve the efficiency Of
local government administration.
But, he added, the directors OF
the trade body itself "beset by
many doubts as to the valuesof re-
suits" which might be achieved by
the recommended procedures. They
were agreed, however, he added, on
these general principles:
mo matter what perfection may
be obtained in the draft of the leg
islation, it Is impossible to antici-
pate its final form pending enact
ment.
Peoples Approval Asked.
Therefore, the enacting clause of
the legislation finally to be agreed
upon should contain the provision
that the full terms of home rule
acceptable to Congress should be
contingent, for their effectiveness,
upon approval by the people of the
District whose expression will be
obtained by an officially conducted
plebiscite, under regulations for
voting laid down by Congress.
The desirability and fairness of
such a plebiscite, he continued,
ARE abundantly clear. BY amend
ment, it would be possible to change
the provisions of bills now intro
duced from legislation comforting
benefits to legislation imposing on
the people of this city obligations
which they can never hope to meet
THE people of Washington should
have the opportunity fully to reflect
upon the nature of changes which
Congress is willing to adopt and to
decide whether they will be of bene-
AT or injury to this community"
Three members of the joint COM
rnittee closely questioned Mr.. Reilly
when he had finished his prepared
statement, seeking a direct answer
as to whether the Board of Trade
was opposed to the pending bill.
Chairman Auchincloss said, Il
take it you are against the bill.
Stresses Representation.
81 didn't intend to leave that i'm
preston" the witness replied. He
then went on to say that proposals
for representation in Congress and
District home rule should be con-
sidered simultaneously, that the
trade body was not opposed to home
rule "as SUCH"
But the trade body traditionally
has taken the position, he went on
that anything short OF nationa
representation for the District wa
unsatisfactory"
Later, under continued question
ing from Mr. Auchincloss and Rep
resentatives Deane, Democrat. O.
North Carolina, and Allen, Repub'
lican, of California. Mr.. Reilly sale
he personally would be opposed tt
local home rule without representa-
ton in Congress.
Mr.. Deane said he thought people
should learn to walk politically be-
fore they were given everything, bu
Mr.. Reilly responded, that's why WI
think we should get representation
in Congress first, to get the feel o
the franchise" He added that /
home rule came first, he fearet
congressional representation woult
be delayed indefinitely.
Reasons for Ignoring Bid.
Mr.. Auchincloss wanted to kno,
why the trade body had not &C
cepted the invitation to testify a
the preliminary hearings last sum
mer. Mr., Reilly said spokesman 70
his group had not appeared becaus
anything short of national repre-
sentation was unacceptable to tn
Board of Trade. He added that tn
directors had no way of KNOWN
the views of the 5000 or more mem
bers and that until bill had bee
drafted, it did not wish to circular
ize its membership.
Mr.. Auchincloss said the HON
Rule Subcommittee was seekin
help last July. Some 30 wttnesse
did appear, and were extremel