think we should in any matter of this kind, and certainly in this, ask for the thing we want. I think that the people of the country have been interested in this matter through various national organizations, and that there will be a different attitude on the part of the Senators and Congressmen toward consideration of these questions at the present time, as compared with their attitude in past years. I hope so anyway.

Senator CASE. I want to go back to one point in your paper where you discussed legislative proposals.

Mr. COLLADAY. What is the page, Senator?

Senator CASE. On page 15.

Mr. COLLADAY. Yes, sir.

Senator CASE. You discussed section 325, but it was my impression that related to that is a proposal that in case the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House certified that there is an emergency, the proposal may take effect immediately.

Mr. COLLADAY. There is such provision.

Senator CASE. Do you think that would stand up constitutionally? Mr. COLLADAY. Do I think what?

Senator CASE. That would stand up constitutionally.

Mr. COLLADAY. No; I do not. It is much weaker in relation to the Constitution than the main question.

Senator CASE. Whatever may be the attitude of the Supreme Court at general provision for legislative proposals, it seems to me the Court would hardly say that certification by the presiding officers of the two bodies of Congress could delegate the legislative power of the two bodies of Congress.

Mr. COLLADAY. Certainly not.

Senator CASE. Thank you.

Mr. COLLADAY. Thank you very much.

STATEMENT OF JOHN A. REMON, REPRESENTING THE CATHEDRAL HEIGHTS CITIZENS ASSOCIATION

Mr. REMON. Mr. Chairman, my name is John A. Remon and I am a property owner of Washington. I am a member of the Cathedral Heights Citizens Association, and I am a delegate to Federation of Citizens Associations.

I won't take very much of your time, because I am in thorough accord with the proposal of the board of trade from start to finish. My particular citizens' association has voted twice in opposition to this sort of legislation, and I think Mr. Colladay quoted the figures, that there were only 13 of the somewhat more than 68 citizens' associations that voted in favor of this legislation.

There are one or two things that I do want to speak about in connection with the board of trade proposal, and that is this: I am thoroughly in accord with the commission form of government here, and I am also opposed to the matter of an elective Board of Education. I think you will find that our system here of appointment by the courts of the members of the Board of Education is far better than where we have the legislative system.

I was born and grew up in the city of Salem, Mass., and we had a board of education there which was pretty bad. In fact, I think one member of the board of education in Salem, Mass., never reached the ninth grade in school, and in addition to that, in many of the States where we have the elective board of education corruption is rampant in a good many cases, and it is very difficult to clear up a situation of that kind. So I have greater faith in our courts for a matter of this kind than I have in the legislative form which has been proposed.

I think that is about all I have to say.

The CHAIRMAN. Is it your opinion that the people are not competent to select as good a board as the courts can select?

Mr. REMON. I know it is a fact, Mr. Chairman, that the people in a good many cases haven't selected as good a board as the courts in the District of Columbia have.

Senator CASE. In this case that you mentioned, the man who had not reached the ninth grade-was he disinterested in education?

Mr. REMON. No; I think he was interested from a political angle, pure and simple, and certain emoluments which accrue to a member of the board of education in that particular case.

Senator CASE. The reason I asked that question was because it was my privilege at one time to serve on the State board of regents in my State, which had to do with the various colleges, school of mines, normal school, et cetera. At that time we had a member of the board of regents who himself had not attended college, but there was no member of the board who was as zealous as he was in trying to improve the schools and in trying to provide others with an opportunity which he felt he himself had not had.

Mr. REMON. I can readily understand that. I don't think it is necessary that a person be highly educated, but a man who has only gone through the ninth grade or hadn't gone through the ninth grade, for him to determine policies and understand the problems of education. I think, is quite something different.

Senator CASE. Well, that may be, but just to make the point clear, I recall in running over some notes on the life of Lincoln just recently in connection with some Lincoln Day talks I was to give, I recall learning again, because I had forgotten it, that Mr. Lincoln had only year of formal education and that was distributed over about 3 years. that it all goes to the individual case.

So

You might find a man, as with Lincoln, who had very little formal education, but who was an educated man.

Mr. REMON. I agree thoroughly, and one of the greatest engineers in this country, John J. Carty of the Bell System, as far as I know, had no formal education at all. He was a great scientist and a great engineer.

It is possible, because I think that a man's life, that all an education does, a qualified education, is guided activity of your time, which get over X period of time in life through reading and through contact with people.

Senator CASE. That is all.

STATEMENT OF CLIFFORD H. NEWELL, REPRESENTING THE ARKANSAS AVENUE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

Mr. NEWELL. I am a resident in the District of Columbia and have been for the past thirty-odd years, and I would like to ask the committee if I may make a little statement in regard to observations that I have made as an interested civic worker here in the city, and I feel I am more or less competent to give some expressions in regard to what I have found regarding this particular question that is now before you for consideration.

I am a former president of the Federation of Citizens' Associations, and during all the time that I have resided here I have been quite active in civic matters along different lines.

The CHAIRMAN. What was the membership of that organization when you were last president?

Mr. NEWELL. Of the Federation of Citizens Associations?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes.

Mr. NEWELL. I am coming to that, Mr. Senator, if I may just proceed.

The CHAIRMAN. Proceed.

Mr. NEWELL. My work in the federation, and in many other organizations engaged in civic activities, has naturally brought me in contact with many thousands of people living in the District of Columbia. The question of enfranchisement and the right to vote, both nationally and locally, has often come up in our discussions. I have found that nearly everyone has felt that residents here should have the right to vote for President and Members of Congress, and at least should have representation of some kind on Capitol Hill, inasmuch as Congress has direct authority over the affairs of the District. But I have also found that the large majority of our citizens, especially property owners, are very well satisfied with our present form of local government. The real residents of Washington are generally much pleased with the manner our Commissioners handle our affairs, and constantly point out with pride that ever since we have had our present form of government, not once has there ever been any scandal in the management of our city. Very few other large cities, if anywhere, can boast of such a record.

From those who are well informed comes the criticism that Congress frequently constitutes independent and autonomous boards and commissions to handle some particular phase of our local government, over whom our Board of Commissioners have little, if any, jurisdiction. The vast majority of our citizens feel that Congress should vest in our Commissioners complete control over all of our administrative work and then should hold our Commissioners strictly responsible and accountable to Congress for its acts. Another thing that pleases the majority of our citizens is the manner in which our Commissioners exercise economy in our annual budget. It is notable that what seems to the citizens as unnecessary and extravagant items comes principally from those boards and commissions set up by Congress, and, in consequence, the Commissioners find it difficult to deny or reduce. their requests when the budget is being reviewed.

Washington is definitely made up of two classes of citizens: Those employed in the Government, or were formerly and are now retired; and those who are not employed by the Government.

Senator CASE. May I ask at that point: Were you formerly employed by the Government?

Mr. NEWELL. No, sir; I have never been employed by the Government.

Senator CASE. You are not in either of these two classes?

Mr. NEWELL. No, sir. I am also retired and can speak freely. Those who have been employed by the Government usually retain their voting residence in the State from where they were appointed. The residents who came here for other reasons understood when they came that they were moving into the District, where they would lose their right to vote, but came just the same.

Senator CASE. It has been my growing impression there are increasingly a number of people in this District not in either class, and apparently you are not, that there are a great many people here now who were born in the District, are employed in industries or businesses in the District, and they are not the people who have lost their right to vote through a voluntary choice.

Mr. NEWELL. If I understand you correctly, Senator, I come out of that class that came here of my own volition, not in connection with employment with the Government.

Senator CASE. Have you had any children born in the District?

Mr. NEWELL. They were born before we moved here, and were small children. One of them happens to be now a captain in the United States Navy over in Korea, and my two daughters, one lives in Maryland and the other resides here in the District of Columbia.

Senator CASE. Go ahead.

Mr. NEWELL. The Federation of Citizens Associations is comprised of 2 delegates elected or appointed by each of some 61 citizens associations throughout the city; and by 2 delegates from each of 9 city-wide organizations, such as the Federation of Women's Clubs, Congress of Parent-Teachers Associations, Medical Society, et cetera. Member bodies of the federation are not bound by any action of the federation, and frequently differ with the federation's action, and accordingly present their decisions to the proper officials. Under the constitution of the federation, all member bodies must be entirely made up of white people.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you consider that in keeping and in harmony with the spirit of the Constitution and its amendments?

Mr. NEWELL. Senator, I can say "Yes" and "No." I have discussed the matter frequently with leaders and I have worked with them, in fact, representing the colored race, and we have found that we can make more advancement by our working in conjunction but under separate management because of this fact: The colored people have made tremendous advances in the past here in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, and we are all proud of the advancement that they have made, but if they were to be thrown intimately into our organizations, they would in a measure lose their opportunity for leadership, at least at this time, in my judgment, where they can retain

that leadership by being in their own organizations and uplifting the balance of their people.

That is my personal judgment, of course.

The CHAIRMAN. You think then they ought to have no right to help lead white people, they should lead only colored people?

Mr. NEWELL. I think at the present time, Senator, that they are accomplishing more by uplifting their own people than by attempting to uplift the white people. I think the white people, likewise, they are doing more in their own organizations by tending to their part of the work and expecting the colored people through their leadership to uplift that segment of the colored race that has not yet attained that eminence that we expect at least of white people, although I agree with you immediately that many of our white people haven't reached much of an eminence either.

The Federation of Civil Associations is a similar organization made up of 26 associations solely composed of Negro members.

Senator CASE. I have a question.

Mr. NEWELL. Yes.

Senator CASE. Could a white person join any of these civic associations?

Mr. NEWELL. No, sir. That is confined to colored people and just the same as the white is confined to white people.

But I have tried to emphasize, Senator-and I think this is very important—that on all questions pertaining to the welfare and best interests of the people in the District of Columbia always the leaders of these two associations work in harmony. They work together constructively to accomplish an end.

Senator CASE. Do you have any formal arrangement for the coordination of the work of the respective citizens' associations and civic associations?

Mr. NEWELL. We have no organized efforts. It is always done purely-well, just like these hearings are held. It is done just voluntarily on the part of the people from the organizations. Although we have on all such matters-and with your indulgence, I am coming to that shortly-when we held our last plebiscite, we were working together constantly in the organization of our precincts for the election, and on everything of that sort we work together-the Red Cross, the civic leaders, they work together. In the Community Chest we do the same thing.

We have found that there has never been any lack of interest on the part of the members of either federation by doing what we are doing.

Senator CASE. Who takes the initiative or who has the responsibility for bringing you together?

Mr. NEWELL. I have been at times asked by leaders of the colored federation, of the Civic Federation, to assist in regard to some particular matter, and I know that others in the Federation of Citizens Associations have experienced the same, and I also might add this: that we have made an effort in the past to invite what we considered representative leadership of the two races to have an organization for the purpose of advancing the best interests of both races here in the District of Columbia.