Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-04-18
; Different
Plans Backed
On Home Rule
Lines to Be Drawn
More Clearly at
Hearing Monday
BY GRACE BASSETT
star star Writer

Monday. has revealed three
distinct blocks Of opinion.
Favoring a territorial form of
government are District Com
missioners, liberal House mem
bers of both parties and q
majority Of local witnesses who
testified through the first three
days of hearings.
Three Democratic Senators
Bartlett Of Alaska, Kennedy of
Massachusetts and Morse of
Oregon-have urged municipal
government with more local
and less presidential control.
Opposed to home rule on
grounds that Washington is
primarily a Federal city are a
sprinkling Of spokesman for
citizens associations and clubs.
Lines are expected to be
drawn more clearly when hear
ings resume at 10 am. Mon
day before the Senate District
Judiciary Subcommittee, head
ed by Senator Hartke. Demo-
crat of Indiana.
Representation Favored
The first expressed OPPOSE
ton to home rule came yester-
day from Mrs. Harvey Wiley,
representing $50 members of
the Won1en's City Club Of
Washington, and Mrs. Hildur
Frazier, speaking for $50 men,
bers of the Crestwood Citizens
Association.
Mrs. Wiley said that "the
main thing is we are opposed
to home rule" But she said
her members favored national
representation. an issue before
the Senate Judiciary rather
than the District Committee.
A territorial government, or
any other home rule. simply
will not work unless the Dis
trict is represented in Con-
gress, Mrs. Frazier said.
She reported she had sur
veyed independently as citizens
associations on the question of
home rule and found 26 OPP
posed, is taking no stand and
four in favor Of home rule.
No Specific Bill
From the outset, Senator
Hartke has left no doubt about
his own sympathy for some
kind of local government.
IT am not welded to any
particular BILL" he said yeSter-
day. But I am hopeful that
we can have Senate considera-
ton of some bill reported by
the Senate District Committee
within 80 days"
He was sensitive to repeated
warnings of witnesses that they
needed quick Senate action to
rally supporters in an expected
fight in the House. There, the
District Committee has failed
to act on any of four separate
home rule measures passed by
the Senate in the past decade.
Both Carl Shipley and A. L.
Wheeler, chairman of the
local Republican State Com
mittee and Democratic Central
Committee respectively, united
behind the bill for presidential
appointment of a governor and
secretary. and popular election
of a l5-member legislative
assembly.
Other Territorial Backers
Also for converting the
District to a territory were Ted
Prahinski, Young Democratic
Club; B. Francis Saul II,
Young Republican Club; Her.
bert Leeman, Central Suffrage
Conference: Mrs. John Latimer
and Mrs. Milton Dunn of the
national and local League of
Women Voters respectively;
Chester Shore, American Vet
Grams Committee; Bernard
Brown, Americans for Demo-
cratic Action: ]. C. Turner,
Central Labor Council; Woolsey
w. Hall. Federation of Civic
Associations, and Mrs. William
G. Eliot. Women's Alliance of
the All-Soul'S Unitarian Church.
Also pending before the
subcommittee is a Morse bill
for an elected mayor, city
council and school board and
an alternate Morse proposal
setting up a congressional COM
mission to run an election in
which local citizens would
choose the kind Of government
they prefer.