In regard to the extension of the power of the Commissioners, I feel that the matter is not only a matter of justice to the people of the District, to give them control of their own affairs, but also a matter of relief to Congress. I am rather amazed sometimes at the amount of interest and effort which the Members of the two Houses of Congress, some few of them, at least, have put on District affairs, when they have so many Federal matters to be concerned with; and I should think that they would be more than glad to transfer some of those powers to a local government. The people of the District have, many of them, at least, including myself, been disinclined heretofore to have those powers greatly increased, so long as we have no control over the people who exercise them; but it seems to me that with an elective government you ought to have full local municipal powers, such as conferred by State legislatures upon the municipalities within their borders. The only question that remains on that in my mind is as to whether any appreciable amount of that increase of power should be attempted in this bill or whether we had better go easy at first and count on adding to it later.

I merely feel that in that matter, and also in a number of the details of the set-up of the council and its membership, and various. other matters, which come up in the bill, that we should have a workable bill, a fairly workable bill, or we might run into the same difficulty that they had in the early 1870's, that there is a government which really can't work, either because it does not have the powers to do what people expect it to do or for any other reason, and there will be dissatisfaction because of the suppression of that form of government with the resulting impression that it was a failure of suffrage instead of being, as it would truly be, the failure of the particular provisions which hampered the operation of suffrage.

I believe that is all I have to say.

Senator BURTON. I appreciate the attention you have given to it, Mr. Hodgkins, and your study of it from the point of view of your school work. Your preparation of a book on it has made you familiar with the whole background of it.

Thank you.

I have two more names on the list. It is the chairman's request that if possible we conclude the matter so that the committee can proceed to the question of the merits of the bill.

The other names I have here are David Whatley and Mrs. Wilkinson. Does that cover the entire group? Then we can get through. Mr. BROWN. I merely want to give an opinion.

Senator BURTON. Then there are just three. We can plan on getting through certainly by 5:30, for all three.

Mr. WHATLEY. I would prefer to be last.

STATEMENT OF EDGAR G. BROWN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AND DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL NEGRO COUNCIL, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Mr. BROWN. Senator Burton, I have not had a chance to give this bill the study, of course, that such a momentous, unprecedented change in the form of government here in the Nation's Capital would warrant. Senator BURTON. It is not a new measure, Mr. Brown.

Mr. BROWN. NO; but it is new in this particular form as presented by the chairman of this committee. I would like to make a request to prepare a statement and submit it with some of my observations in the matter.

Senator BURTON. I am sure the chairman would be happy to have you do that.

Mr. BROWN. I wish to thank you, Senator, and Senator McCarran, for actually presenting something fundamental on this whole issue at this time.

Of course, your long experience out in Cleveland as probably its most successful mayor, Senator Burton, and the only mayor I have heard of elected to the United States Senate in recent yearsSenator BURTON. There have been others.

Mr. BROWN. I have not known them personally.

Senator BURTON. I might refer to Senator Couzens, of Detroit. Mr. BROWN. Yes; I do recall, now that you mention the late Senator Couzens. He was another very great statesman, too, as well as a mayor and Senator. It seems to me, just listening to some of these witnesses, Senator Burton, as to this legislation-and I have heard some complaint among the colored people just in passing, about this ward situation.

Of course, the District has been denied an opportunity to vote for many years, but out in Chicago and Cleveland where they have ward government, I think you have as able representatives, as members of the board of aldermen and city council, as the President would select or has selected as Commissioners for the most part.

Personally, without having had a chance, as I say, to study this proposal or take it up with our organization, I feel that since ward lines are proposed here that that probably would work out satisfactorily with some clarifications. This so-called proportional representation has had some severe critics in New York recently. The ward plan has been tried and worked for years rather successfully.

The colored people, and I for one in our organization, have no apologies to make; because we are colored or that one-fourth of the population of Washington is composed of colored people. There appears to be some apprehension of what colored people are going to do with their votes. They are going to use them like anybody else would to improve the lives of the people here, to elect the best officials to public office, just like any other good citizen. You can probably attest to that better than any person in Congress; with three wards that have a preponderant colored population and elect three colored councilmen in Cleveland. We feel that it would be a good thing to have one or two colored Commissioners, if there are to be seven, as proposed in this bill. Let me emphasize that we have no apologies for the fullest participation. A million colored soldiers and sailors are fighting and dying in World War II, thousands of them from the District of Columbia and many other States where they ought to be entitled to vote but are disfranchised.

Senator BURTON. Do you have an opinion on this literacy qualification?

Mr. BROWN. A very strong conviction against it, sir. I am opposed to any American citizens who fight and die for their country and pay taxes being limited by someone else passing on their literacy and qualifications to vote anywhere in the United States.

I have in mind a case in Atlanta, where a university professor, like the gentleman who just left here, went to register and some registrar questioned him as to his knowledge of the Constitution. This person, who has a master's degree, was not able to satisfy this prejudiced registrar; I certainly do not want anything put in here in the Nation's Capital which would indicate that we are going back to the grandfather clause or something more antiquated. Better not to have suffrage, in my judgment, with any such limitations.

Senator BURTON. This literacy test is what they have in New York. Mr. BROWN. I registered once in New York. They submitted no such test to me as I recall. I have registered in Chicago a good many times. Illinois has never had a literacy test. We have a colored Congressman in Congress; we have had three. All of them as Congressmen go, I think measured up to the usual run of politicians in Congress. They have not stayed here quite as long as some others. We have not had any of them as chairman of a committee yet, but I hope we will. These colored Congressmen were selected by voters of both races without a literacy test. I know many persons who cannot read or write, but vote intelligently. A literacy test was not in the original bill by Senator McCarran as I read it.

Senator BURTON. No; it was just one recommendation of the citizens' association.

Mr. BROWN. They have a limited membership that includes colored people. I heard them talking about that, and their spokesman, who talked about Harlem, he did not know very much either about that subject. I heard that observation this morning about the fact there was no colored Congressman from Harlem. Harlem is not a congressional district.

The colored people do not want anybody to represent them, particularly, who is not qualified, but at the same time they are not unmindful of the fact that they can best represent their interests just like any other person who suffers from discrimination knows a great deal more about it than those who talk about it academically.

Senator BURTON. Thank you, Mr. Brown.

Will you file that statement in the next day or two?

Mr. BROWN. Yes; if it is possible. There are so many other matters, too, of this kind my statement may have to stand for the present. I thank you and the committee, sir.

STATEMENT OF MRS. CORA W. WILKINSON, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Senator BURTON. Mrs. Wilkinson, do you want to say something? Mrs. WILKINSON. Senator, the time is so taken, I came more to show that I am really here to carry out my promises to the Government. I have since the year 1928

Senator BURTON. Your name is Mrs. Cora W. Wilkinson?
Mrs. WILKINSON. Yes; 2563 Nichols Avenue SE.

Senator BURTON. You are just speaking for yourself, are you? Mrs. WILKINSON. Well, I am speaking for-I have no business to try to make an attempt to speak and I have not had any breakfast. I have not been well. I have been overworked for some months and I have asked permission from our Government to have a leave of absence with pay for a year with the permission to come in any time

I saw fit to speak of anything I thought was necessary pertaining to our District government.

I worked in the First World War as assistant director of recreation and war-camp activities. I am still on the job and working in the Second World War.

I have a capacity in the departments that I have been allowed to make for our public-school systems and which is greatly needed and being carried out very nicely in the schools of the District of Columbia, Department of Recreation, Social Service and Public Welfare. The recreation part of it has captured every individual of the District of Columbia and we are all working together and fully in accord, I believe, with the Constitution of the United States. It is something that everybody is interested in.

With the social service, I am entrusted through our mental hospital, St. Elizabeths Hospital, with the patients there. I was first called in on a case of one of the First World War men who had been there in St. Elizabeths for 8 years before the call came for me. Had I been called 7 years sooner or maybe almost 8 years sooner he would not have had to stay there quite so long as he did but after I had his case for 19 months and after having been told by the late Superintendent, Dr. William A. White, that the man would never leave St. Elizabeths Hospital and after 19 months as a social-service worker on his case, I say that he was sent from St. Elizabeths Hospital to an institution for further treatment, and I saw that I could not give up the case. It was a case that was worth while and he had made such a fight for his own life and for betterment of his own spirit, his own soul-each one of us must answer for our own soul. No man can speak for another man's soul. You can say whatever you wish when he dies over his dead body but you can't send it into heaven. It is only God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who can do that because it is perfectly natural for a man to speak of those whom he loves.

Senator BURTON. Did you want to comment on the bill?

Mrs. WILKINSON. Now I may express my ignorance about the bill; I know nothing about the bill. I don't believe any one can act intelligently when he does not know. I know very little about politics and from what I have heard of politics, I don't like politics. I like people who will be truthful and try to live according to the teaching of the Bible. As I went to one of the Holy Roller meetings, I guess that is what you call it, a few months ago, I heard the people saying, they go through all kind of fantastic things, so I said, I believe I will drop in on that meeting. What I have been impressed with in that meeting and been taught, can't a kindergartener see the best in everything, not find fault but to see something beautiful? I brought away something beautiful from the meeting where the people made a lot of noise. It was mostly noise, but the particular man who was speaking, he said he had somebody read the Scriptures for him and he would repeat them.

Then when he ended up, he said, You understand that book; you understand what you read in that book, or what has been read to you.

Now you go away and practice what has been read. Don't do as I do but do according to the Scriptures.

I thought that was very good, so I merely came to let you know I am still on the job and the department that I have mapped out for the schools of the District of Columbia, the recreation and social service in the Public Welfare was talking about the money for the District of Columbia.

Senator BURTON. Mr. Whatley wants to talk about the bill and I am going to close him off at 5:30.

Mrs. WILKINSON. If you will give me a chance when Mr. Whatley gets through

Senator BURTON. This does not relate to the bill does it?

Mrs. WILKINSON. I am on the job and I am for every one of us and I have made a department where all the people can fit in and live up to our Constitution very nicely. We are all living together in peace and working together. I thank you for your support.

Senator BURTON. Thank you.

Mr. David Whatley.

STATEMENT OF DAVID WHATLEY, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Senator BURTON. Will you give your name and address?

Mr. WHATLEY. David Whatley, member of the D. C. bar, doing primarily legislative consulting work.

Senator BURTON. Are you representing an organization?

Mr. WHATLEY. No. May I first commend the distinguished chairman for his diligence and patience in hearing every point of view on this bill.

Senator BURTON. That is what makes it interesting. If they all thought alike it would be no fun.

Mr. WHATLEY. May I say that I think we will never in the history of the District of Columbia come to a more fortuitous time for consideration of any measure of suffrage, whether local or national representation, primarily because of the extreme interest of yourself and the distinguished chairman of the District committee who have worked so unselfishly and wholeheartedly in these questions and because of the interest engendered by the so-called vote of the soldiers which throws the spotlight of public opinion upon the subject of disfranchisement.

Senator BURTON. Are you suggesting that the action taken by the Senate in referring this back to the States and the States referring it back to the Senate?

Mr. WHATLEY. I was referring primarily to the reaction following that action.

I would like to, in endorsing this bill, seek to refute first the point of view of the representative of the Board of Trade who stated that the wishes of the people of the United States generally should be elicited as well as those people of the District, before the Congress passed upon this legislation.

He implied that this could be done only by constitutional amendment but, of course, this is a question abstruse and complex to people outside the District.

In a republican form of government I think it is unwise to present to the people so complex an issue as this bill to be decided by referendum.