Evening star., 1949-07-28
Closed Session
On Home Rule
Due Next Week
House Unit Holds
Records Open for
lute Statements
By Don 5. Worren

Members of a House District
Judiciary subcommittee are to
meet in closed session next week
to begin deliberations on the Dis
trict home rule issue.
Representative Harris, Demo-
crat, of Arkansas, subcommittee
chairman, declined to make any
statement as to his views.
The first closed-door session is
not expected to be held until after
Tuesday, since the record of tho
hearings will be held open until
then for statements any one might
want to file.
While majority of the men,
bers of the subcommittee are said
to be opposed to the Kefauver bill
for an elected and reorganized city
government, already passed by the
Senate, sponsors clung to a hope
that the issue would be passed to
the full District Committee for de-
cision Even the vote there is ex-
pected to be close.
IL. -. acduS CTltICdI.
Members of the Judiciary SUBJ
committee, in addition to Chair
man Harris. are Representatives
Abernethy of Mississippi. Jones Of
Alabama and league OF Texas.
Democrats, and O'Hara of Mime
sofa, Auchincloss OF New Jersey
and Allen of California, Repub-
licanS
Study of the report by the
District Commissioners on the
Klein bill. an exact copy Of the bill
passed by the Senate, led ono
member OF the District COMMITTEES
to say he believes tfe city heads
are trying to carry water on both
shoulders
This member noted that, while
the Commissioners approved SELF
government and home rule" in
principle, they have added a num-
ber of conditions and have taken
exception to many features of the
pending legislation.
The report of the city heads. in
corporated in the record of the
House hearings. crlticizes runner
Gus provisions of the Senate bill
and the Klein measure.
Dual Voting" Opposed.
Outstanding among these are
criticisms of the dual Voting"
plans that would allow a resident
of the District to vote in city e'ec-
tions here. even though he main
tanned voting rights in his home
State: the proposed legislative
process, and provisions concerning
borrowing by the city government.
3 The report of the city heads.
submitted by Commissioner John
Russell Young. made clear that
they oppose the extension of suff-
rage rights to anyone not domi-
ciled in the District and voting
elsewhere.
Temporary residents of the
District will have a tendency to
vote for the members of the
District council who promise
most in the way of immediate
public improvements to be
/ financed by bond issues" the
Commissioners report said.
Debt Plan Attacked.
Such temporary residents will
not be concerned with the tax
burden imposed upon the perma-
nent residents and on those who
come into the District later, but
who will be primarily concerned
with securing public improvements
which they may enjoy at the
present time"
On the bonded debt plan in
the suffrange bills, the city heads
noted, it would be possible for
the District to go into debt to
the extent of about s80,000,0 900.
The owners of real estate and
tangible personal property in the
District, the city heads said,
would be charged with the pri-
mary responsibility of paying of
such Indebtedness.
Thus there would be hanging
over every real estate owner Of
the District the threat of a SUBJ
stantial increase in his property
taxes. which might substanti-
ally affect property values" they
asserted.