Evening star., 1952-01-13
Home Rule and the Senate

The version of "home rule" for the District
OF Columbia that comes before the Senate
tomorrow is correctly described as compromise
evolved from number of previous proposals.
1t has at least four distinguishing charac-
teristics:
l. 1t provides for an elected city council
OF Is members, 3 from each of wards To
this council Congress delegates its powers of
legislation affecting the District of Columbia
alone The council will levy collect and spend
taxes, including an authorized Federal sum of
upward or SIS million year. It will make all
necessary laws and regulations for the govern
ment OF the city, without reference to Congress.
congress reserves its powers to enact local
legislation of its oWn including the repeal or
amendment of any legislation passed by the
council.
z The head man in local government will
be Mayor appointed by the President by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate He
may veto legislation approved by the council
Inc council may override his veto by vote of
tWo-thirds-ten-of its members
8. The reorganization of the District gov
ernment itself, hitherto part of the home-rule
bills is omitted from this BILL Reorganization
Will be left to the city council.
4. For the second time within the history
OF the District, people of Washington will elect
The bill contains numerous other provisions
found in other home-rule versions. The Board
OF Education would be elected. Money can be
borrowed through bond issues, when approved
by referendum vote Dual voting is permitted
with the novel qualification that District resi-
dents VINO retain their voting rights in the States
can vote here unless they have voted in mu-
nlcipal election back home within the past two
years. The bill includes the fiscal relations
formula OF some other bills providing a fixed
ratio between the Federal appropriation and local
revenue-a sound provision, if Congress could
be expected to stick to it,
The term "home rule" has a fetching ring
to it. AS far as the principle is concerned about
the same number of people are for it as are
publicly against sin. The Star hopes that the
Senator's in debating the bill will take it for
granted that Washingtonians, like any other
group Of self-respecting Americans, want to VOTE
favor representative government and genuinely
believe in the rights of citizens as set forth in the
Declaration of independence and the Constitu-
ton. Taking these things for granted, the Sem
ators will avoid confusing such sentiments with
the terms of the bill under consideration and
they may understand why there are many people
In Washington who are opposed to it. They will
be more constructive in their consideration of
the measure if they study carefully the full
implications of the delegation of legislative
authority which Congress is to make. This is
probably the most noteworthy provision of the
pending bill, and it goes far beyond what has
up to this time been proposed
The Star does not believe the bill will work
to the best interests of the people who live here
or the concept of Washington as the Federal
City The intent of the bill is not to confer
worthwhile voting rights or voting citizenship
on the people of the District of Columbia. They
will still have no voice and no representation
In their real government The No. objective
Of this bill, as plainly stated is "to relieve the
Congress of the detail of District affairs, while
still retaining the control in Congress required
by the Constitution"
Such relief of Congress can be secured by
other methods without resort to this mockery
of self-government. In The Stars opinion, the
plan outlined in this bill will not work in the
Capital of the United States. 1t threatens its
residents with financial responsibility they
will not be able to meet without neglect of
continuing development of Washington as the
Federal City. 1t will magnify in harmful degree
the conflicting interests between the United
States and the local community at the seat of
Government, and it will destroy the partnership
between the local community and the exclusively
controlling United States under which this
Capital has been built.
The bill stirs up more snakes than it kills.
It raises more questions than it answers. It is
not the sort of home rule that is needed here
and 1t turns back the clock some 80 years in
trying, again. what failed before
IT, Var. N.~kae&~~