Year: 1878




of the national scat of goyernmcnt-which
seat of government was set apart for the Use
ami benefit OF the people of the entire ma
tion-while in the same time the General
Government has expended only about
S0,OO0,OOO for like purposes The laws of
Congress compel our citizens TO pay these
taxcsnnd at the same time they are denied the
sacred right Of having q Delegate chosen by
themselves to represent their interests in the
House of these law-makers Our people are
liable to the same burdens In maintaining
and defending the glorious principle of our
great Republic rs our fellow-citizcns of the
States and Territories, who choose their
Representatives to the Congress of the
United States


During the rebellion tho District of Co
lumba furnished more troops for the sup
port of tho United States Government in
proportion to our population than any State
OF tho Union, with the single exception of
Kansas. While our citizens are compelled to
face the fierce front of battle for the maintain
ance and defense Of the Government of the
United States the same as other citizens of
the Republic, we are denied the privi-
lege of having representative of our own
choice to present our views and interests
in Congress which exercises exclusive lcgis-
lation over the affairs of this District


Docs residing in the District of Columbia
deprive person of his rights as an Ameri-
can citizenH 1t certainly does not relieve
him from paying taxes in support of
or offering his life in defense of the United
States Government. While the burdens
and penalties of citizenship are rigidly en-
forced against him, he is forbidden to par
tclpate in the great American right of hay
ing voice in the selection of Representa-
tive TO the House of his rulers. The people
of the District of Columbia are part and
parcel of the United States the same as the
people of Vermont and Delaware, and are
entitled to the same rights in having Rep
resentative in Congress; in fact, tho COM
parison is in our favor, for the people of
Vermont and Delaware have State and local
governments Of their own, while the District
of Columbia is under the exclusive legisla-
tive control Of Congress and has no local
government.


a Representative in Congress is of the
utmost importance to the people of this Dis
trict; without it our interests are constantly
neglected. With representative in the
House of our Lawmakers our interests
would be properly considered, and our po-
stion intelligently presented. As it is now
our interests are oitentimcs neglected, our
influence dissipatcd from want of conccn-
trated expression, and the rights and
privileges Of this vast community of Amcr-
can taxpayers are tossed about, kicked and
cutisd us the prcjudccs or caprices of the
hour may influence a Congress elected with
out the least knowledge or intelligent COM
prehsnson of the rights Of this DISTINGUISHED
population.


A representative in Congress, chosen by
our people and placed upon the District of
Columbia Committee would insure intelli-
gent legislation with regard to the interests
Of our citizens, which can be accomplished
in 40 othot manner. The members of Con-
gress from the several States come here to
represent general national interests and the
special interests of their immediate constit-
ucnts; they take no special interest in Dis
trict of Columbia matters and generally
get confused as to what our people do wish
through delegations after delegations of our
people awaiting upon them and representing
conflicting views. With the will of our
people concentrated in the election of n
representative, Congress would thus be in
telligently advised of our interests and de-
sres.


In the Forty-second and Forty-third
Congresses this District was represented by
Delegate General CHIPMAN, and the result
OF that experiment was, in the opinion of
our people, that no single element of gov
ernment ever granted us was so useful and
popular as the privilege of hay ing our own
representative in Congress whose time and
interests of our citizens.


We feel confident that if the voice of our
citizens could be expressed upon the subject
of representative in Congress from this
District that such expression would be sub
stantially unanimous.


Entertaining these views we are there
fore humiliated as an American citizen,
and rs a resident of the District of Column
ba disgusted NJ the trivial manner in
which the Senate of the United States
treated this-to the people of this District
very important right.


Senator EDMrNDs, of Vermont, in making
the motion to strike out the section proyid-
ing for the election of Delegate, expressed
himself to the effect that it was unwise TO
subject this community to the expense of
electing Delegate to Congress. He said
the position was more ornamental than USE
iul, and thought the people here could be
better represented through delegations of
citizens waiting upon the committees, Con-
gressmen, &c, and stating their desires.


Senator EDMUNDs thus entirely ignored
the sacred right of every tax-paying COM
munty of American citizens TO be repre-
sented by one Of themselves in the legisla-
tive body which enacts the levying of taxes
and forces the citizen into the ranks of the
army in time Of war. His position seemed
to he that all the Senator's and members
represented this District, and therefore a
special Delegate was useless Ills position