"These Americans of the District of Columbia constitute the only community in all the expanse of the continental and contiguous United States-populous, intelligent, public spirited, of adequate resources-which is denied representation in the National Government.

"In relation to the national laws, the sole function of the District residents is to obey. They take no part in making the laws which they must obey.

"In a resolution adopted May 13, 1954, at a meeting of the Citizens' Joint Committee, it was voted unanimously to support a proposed amendment to the Constitution which would empower Congress to grant voting representation both in the House of Representatives and the Senate and among the electors of President and Vice President to the citizens of the District of Columbia. This is definitely the original proposal for which this committee was organized and which it has consistently followed throughout the years. It is the desire of the Citizens' Joint Committee that the pending S.J. Res. 136, introduced by Senator Case, be amended so that the proposed amendment to the Constitution read as follows:

""The Congress shall have power to provide that there shall be in the Congress and among the electors of President and Vice President members elected by the people of the District constituting the seat of the Government of the United States, in such numbers and with such powers as the Congress shall determine. All legislation hereunder shall be subject to amendment and repeal.'"

It is unfortunate due to the large size of the committee, the shortness of the notice of this hearing, compounded by a holiday Labor Day weekend, that the committee has not been able to meet for the purposes of reviewing the specific bill under consideration but I consider that the foregoing quote from the committee report is pertinent.

For this distinguished committee's information, I advise that the following are members of the said joint committee:

Organizations Supporting or Endorsing National Representation
for the District of Columbia

Washington Board of Trade.

Federation of Citizens' Associations.

LOCAL

Voteless District of Columbia League of Women Voters.

Central Labor Union (American Federation of Labor).
Merchants and Manufacturers' Association.

Monday Evening Club.

Bar Association.

Association of Oldest Inhabitants.

Washington Real Estate Board.

Advertising Club of Washington.

Women's Bar Association.

Federation of Business Men's Association.

Twentieth Century Club.

Women's City Club.

District of Columbia Federation of Women's Clubs.

Northeast Citizens' Association.

Society of Natives of the District of Columbia.

The Washingtonians.

Motion Picture Theater Owners' and Operators' Association.

Associated Retail Credit Men of Washington.

Washington Florists' Club.

District of Columbia Division, Young Democrats.

Hotel Greeters of America, chapter 31.

Newcomers Club.

Soroptomist Club.

Department of the District of Columbia, Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Department of the District of Columbia, American Legion.

Local Union of Federal Employees.

District of Columbia Bankers' Association.

District of Columbia Building and Loan League.

Washington Section, National Council of Jewish Women.

District of Columbia Chapter, Rainbow Division, Veterans.

Washington Junior Chamber of Commerce (formerly Junior Board of Commerce).

Organizations Supporting or Endorsing National Representation for the District of Columbia-Continued

LOCAL Continued

Political Study Club of Washington.

District of Columbia Suffrage Association.

Washington Branch American Association of University Women.
District of Columbia Congress of Parent-Teacher Associations.
National Democratic League of Washington.

NATIONAL

Chamber of Commerce of the United States.

American Federation of Labor.

National League of Women Voters.
American Federation of Teachers.

National Federation of Federal Employees.

Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.
National Camp, Patriotic Order of Americans.
National Retail Coal Merchants' Association.
National Council of Jewish Women.
American Medical Women's Association.

American Federation of Soroptomist Clubs.
International Typographical Union.

United Typothetae of America.

National Women's Trade Union League.

Women's National Homeopathic Medical Society.
National Service Star Legion.

Fleet Reserve Association.

National Association of Victory Jobbers.

National Straw Hat Manufacturers' Association.

Knights and Ladies of the Maccabees.

National League of Young Democrats of America.
Congress of Industrial Organizations.

STATE AND REGIONAL

California State Federation of Butchers.

Connecticut State Federation of Labor.

Scandinavian Grand Lodge of Connecticut, International Order of Good Templars.

Georgia Real Estate Association.

Junior Order United American Mechanics, Massachusetts State Council.

Fall River (Massachusetts) Doffers and Spinners' Credit Union.

Minnesota State Florists' Association.

Patriotic Order Sons to America, New Jersey State Camp.

Lily Dale Assembly, Lily Dale, N.Y.

Independent Order of Americans, State Council of Pennsylvania.

Wyoming State Teachers' Association.

Wyoming Women's Christian Temperance Union.

Michigan Department, Sons of Union Veterans.

New York State Council, International Society of Master Painters and Decorators.

Illinois State Council, International Society of Master Painters and Decorators. Kentucky Society of Florists.

Maryland State and District of Columbia Federation of Labor.

Colorado Association of Commercial Organizations.

New York State Retail Coal Merchants' Association.

Montgomery County Civic Federation of Maryland.
Arlington County Civic Federation of Virginia.

Inter-Federation Council of District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.
Montana Library Association.

Maryland and District of Columbia Industrial Union Council (Congress of Industrial Organizations).

The aforesaid organizations and those of us who appear here today are uncontroversial evidence of the overwhelming desire of the citizens of the District of Columbia to have the right to vote for President, Vice President, and representation in the Congress.

The board of trade has vigorously supported, and will continue to support, an amendment to the Constitution to provide that District residents will have a vote for President, Vice President, and representation in the Congress that legislates for it and does go on record in favor of Senate Joint Resolution 138. It does, however, firmly believe that a more equitable constitutional amendment would be one substituting, in lieu of three delegates to the House of Representatives, a clause providing for representation in the Congress in such numbers and with such powers as the Congress shall determine, but such representation and powers shall be no greater than those of a State.

The board of trade sincerely thanks this committee for calling this hearing and for considering the proposed constitutional amendment. We urge that your committee adopt a favorable report and spearhead the enactment by both Houses of Congress of an amendment to the Constitution which will give to the citizens of the District the right to vote for President, Vice President, and representation in the Congress which has exclusive legislative authority over the Federal City. Senator KEFAUVER. I have a list of witnesses here, but if any witness is in a special hurry or has an engagement, we will try to accommodate them.

All right, we next have Mr. John M. Dalton, president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Washington, D.C. We are glad to see you, Mr. Dalton.

STATEMENT OF JOHN M. DALTON, PRESIDENT, JUNIOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

Mr. DALTON. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, it is sincerely a privilege and pleasure to be here, and it is always a pleasure to appear before an old friend of the junior chamber of commerce -Senator Kefauver. We are very appreciative of your help and assistance in our many programs throughout the country, and particularly here in the District of Columbia.

Senator KEFAUVER. Thank you very much, Mr. Dalton.

Mr. DALTON. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I am John M. Dalton, president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Washington, D.C. Members of the subcommittee, I am sure, are very much aware of the junior chamber of commerce from activities conducted by local chapters in your communities.

I am appearing today in support of Senate Joint Resolution 138, which would give residents of the District of Columbia the right to vote for the President and Vice President of the United States. Further, the joint resolution would provide national representation for the District of Columbia through three elected delegates to the U.S. House of Representatives with such powers as the Congress, by law, shall determine. The Junior Chamber of Commerce of Washington, D.C., is in accord.

The people of the District of Columbia want to share with other American citizens the basic right of all Americans to have a voice in the elections of the President and Vice President of the United States. Likewise, we believe it only just that the residents of the District of Columbia have their views represented in Congress.

It is unthinkable that 425,000 American citizens should be disfranchised. It is equally unimaginable that 425,000 American citizens should not have their views directly represented in the Congress of the United States. The Junior Chamber of Commerce of Washington, D.C., since 1951, has steadfastly maintained this premise.

There can be no question of the justness of fairness of our request. Thinking and fairminded people throughout the Nation support us completely in our insistence that residents of the District of Columbia be permitted to participate in the government of our country.

We are also supported in this position by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce, who by resolution have affirmed, and I quote:

Whereas the Junior Chamber of Commerce of the United States believes firmly that no American citizen should be denied the opportunity to share with fellow American citizens in the great national privilege of voting for President and Vice President of these United States; and

Whereas several hundreds of thousands of American citizens resident in Washington, D.C., the Nation's Capital, are now denied this national privilege through no fault of their own for purpose of the Founding Fathers; be it

Resolved, That the Junior Chamber of Commerce of the United States urge American citizens everywhere to join with it in a vigorous campaign to bring this grave injustice in the democratic decisionmaking process to the attention of the people of the Nation and through them to their elected representatives in the Congress of the United States and the legislatures of the several States, to the end that the Constitution of the United States be amended to grant to American citizens resident in Washington, D.C., the opportunity to participate with their fellow American citizens in the national election of President and Vice President of these United States.

The responsibility for meeting this issue equitably rests with this subcommittee and the Congress. We cannot believe that our democratic society condones disfranchisement of a substantial group of its citizens. We respectfully submit that a responsible Congress cannot fail to grant residents of the District of Columbia the right to share in our national affairs. We urge your early approval and the Congress' prompt enactment of Senate Joint Resolution 138.

I thank you for this opportunity to reflect the position of the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Washington, D.C.

Senator KEFAUVER. Thank you, Mr. Dalton. You have a fine junior chamber of commerce here in Washington. As you say, I have been privileged to be at some of your meetings and participate in some of your affairs, and I am glad to see that the National Junior Chamber of Commerce takes an interest in such matters as representation by the people of the District of Columbia.

Thank you, Mr. Dalton.

Mr. DALTON. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Senator KEFAUVER. The next witness is Mr. Benjamin M. McKelway.

STATEMENT OF BENJAMIN M. McKELWAY, EDITOR, THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Mr. McKELWAY. Thank you, sir.

Senator KEFAUVER. We are glad, indeed, to have you with us, Mr. McKelway.

Mr. McKELWAY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the courtesy of your invitation to be here today to testify on this BeallCase-Keating resolution.

Senator KEFAUVER. Thank you, sir.

Mr. McKELWAY. Mr. Chairman, I do not appear here today as the representative or the spokesman of any group. I am the editor of the Evening Star, a newspaper which for more than 70 years has been

advocating the general proposition embraced in the resolution before you. The fact that this advocacy is still short of its objective, after all these years, Mr. Chairman, may not be a striking example of the power of the press. But no one can say that we have not set for ourselves a worthy objective and some day it will be reached.

I wish to be brief. I know your time is limited. And it seems to me there is something approaching insult to the intelligence of Senators, not to mention their patriotism, to present in any great detail the reasons supporting a contention that some 800,000 American citizens, resident at the seat of Government of the United States, should be entitled to voting representation in their Government. The reasons speak for themselves. The condition this resolution seeks to remedy is utterly foreign to everything we preach.

The mere circumstance of our presence here today, in this year of 1959, the 183d year of our independence as a nation, meeting with Senators of the United States to discuss the question whether an intelligent community of American citizens should be represented by those of their own choosing in the American Government, is perhaps the most cynical political anomaly of our times.

I wish to address myself to just a few points.

The purpose of this resolution is to remedy an omission in the Constitution, the failure of the founders to have provided a method by which the people who might some day live at the seat of government could vote in that Government without being residents of a sovereign State.

There are understandable reasons for the omission, and I will not go into them beyond mentioning the fact, sometimes overlooked, that when the Constitution was written and a future seat of government under exclusive control of Congress provided for, nobody knew where that seat of government would be, who might live there, or how much smaller than the maximum of 10 miles square the area might be, whether it would be set down within some city or in some undeveloped area. George Washington's idea of a great Capital City on the banks of the Potomac was, of course, a much later development.

I mention this only because it is sometimes suggested that the founders preoccupied with launching a feeble national government, without an Army, without a Navy, without a home, without any assurance that the novel idea of a Federal Government and the union of 13 States would survive-decided over 180 years ago that it would be unwise for the people of Washington, D.C., to vote and so that settles it for all time. Of course, that is fantastic.

The late and respected Hatton Sumners, chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, disposed of that argument in these few words:

Regardless of what was in the minds of the founders, all they could do was to meet the problems of their time upon the responsibilities of their judgment. And that is the responsibility which confronts us now.

I believe, Mr. Chairman, that there is a responsibility for favorable action on this resolution, and that the responsibility is imposed on the Members of Congress by the nature of things in the world we live in now, the principles that as a nation we cherish, and as a matter of justice to Americans who live in Washington.