Evening star., 1961-03-30
The Past is ProIouue

Well, the Twenty-third Amendment
is home at last. The perilS of Pauline
were as nothing compared with the
hazards 1t overcame along the way. That
it was able to avoid them is extraor-
dinary. That it completed its journey
through the halls Of Congress and the
State Legislatures so quickly is amazing.
Thousands of good people helped it
along the way. But 1t is historical fact
rather than vain boasting that enables
us to say with some assurance that no
amendment ever received the tender,
watchful care of a newspaper, from the
time of its birth and pains of growth
to its final admission to the ConStitu-
zion, that this one received from The
Star.
The curious Acknowledgement Of
citizens who live in the Capital of the
United States became vocal grievance
as early as 1900, when Congress first
moved to Washington. The same idea
had been discussed by others. But it
was the late Theodore w. NoyeS, editor
of The Star from 1908 until his death
in 1916, who in 1888 began to advocate
means of winning real voting rights.
Until 1880 that approach was only
academic. The census of 1880 was the
first to show a population here large
enough to qualify for voting representa-
ton in the National Government under
rules applying to territories seeking
Statehood.
Mr.. Noyes proposed the amendment,
not as a move to Statehood, but as a
compromise between strictly limited
local suffrage, whose Illustrations and
utilities The Star had observed for %
years, and actual self government,
which would involve surrender of the
Nations control of its Capital 1t was
New Hampshire which broke the log jam
on ratification yesterday. And it was
a son of New Hampshire, the late SEN
ator Henry w. Blair, who first espoused
by Senate resolution Mr.. Noyes' proposal.
In moving speech to the Senate in
September of 1890 Senator Blair said
about everything that could be said
about the "stupendous and dangerous
inconsistency" of political vassalage"
in Washington, and the importance of
its removal. Had his amendment sue
ceeded, it would have been the Six
teenth, in the '9Os, rather than the
Twenty third, in 1861.
But it got nowhere. More than IS
comparable amendments were proposed
subsequently in House and Senate. Only
10 of them, until 1860, reached the hear
ing stage and of these only 5 produced
committee reports-3 favorable and
q unfavorable. AS futile as they were
id tangible results, these efforts were
reflections of the continuing campaign
by The Star, which sometimes seemed
to stand alone, for an objective which
slowly gained increasing recognition as
desirable.
1t became attaihable almost over
night as the direct result Of Star
editorial in August of 1859, suggesting
that a pending resolution by Senator
Holland of Florida to eliminate the poll
tax by constitutional amendment, be
amended to remove the bar on voting
imposed by residence in the District
The substance of the idea was taken up
by Senators Randolph Of West Virginia
Heating of New York, Case of South
Dakota, Kefauver of Tennessee and
others and by an unusual parliamentary
maneuver presented to the Senate In
another form as separate amendment
It was approved by the required two
thirds vote. as part Of package" which
included the poll tax amendment and
another one by Senator Kefauver.
Chairman Celler of the House Judi
ciary Committee was quickly responsive
and held hearings on the District voting
amendment alone, abandoning the two
others. The concessions he was forced
to make to assure House approval were
costly, for they eliminated an important
part of the traditional form of the
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS in Congress
for the District. But 1t was either thi
or nothing and something is better thar
nothing With the help Of the HOUSE
leadership, and the notable help of tina
"obStructionist" Representative HowarC
Smith Of Virginia, chairman of tn,
Rules Committee, the amendment saileC
through the House. There were Sena
tors, Senator Heating in particular, wht
were ready to bury it because of tht
House deletionS. But they agreed no
to oppose 1t and the majority and
minority leaders, Senators Johnson anC
Dirksen, put the Celler resolution
through the Senate in short order anC
1t was on its way.
In the meantime the Citizens Join