Similarly, we are particularly pleased that President Johnson appointed Mrs. Margaret Haywood to the council. She is an outstanding lady lawyer, a great civic worker and leader, especially among the Negro group, and she served for many years as a member of the D. C. Republican Committee in active support of the two-party system. Justice Thurgood Marshall told me in a conversation at the White House on the day the President announced these names that he had known Mrs. Haywood for 37 years, and he spoke very highly of her personal and professional qualifications. We are particularly pleased that President Johnson appointed William S. Thompson, an outstanding lawyer and Negro leader, President of the D.C. Urban League and a member of the D.C. Republican Committee, to the new City Council. I have known Mr. Thompson personally for many years, and his reputation and ability as a lawyer are not only outstanding, but his record as a community leader would qualify him for any responsibility requiring the qualities of leadership. He has played an important role in the American Bar Association, particularly in the area of developing world law, and he has a grasp of international relations which is unusual. John A. Nevius, another Republican named by President Johnson, is widely known as a lawyer and community leader. He is a member of the D.C. Republican Committee, and a man of most extraordinary gifts and talents, deeply dedicated to the public interest and personally committed to equality for all of our citizens. His reputation, ability and experience will be invaluable to the new D.C. City Council. He is an outstanding citizen. I have mentioned the above persons specially, with the thought that you would be particularly interested in our views on those members of the council required to be not of the majority political party. The Republican Party will strongly support and follow the leadership of Mr. Hechinger, reposing in him the fullest confidence that he will do all that is right and proper to make the Nation's Capital the kind of a city it should be. The other persons named by President Johnson to the council are equally able, experienced, and enjoy similar reputations for excellence and community leadership. We have worked with the Reverend Walter E. Fauntroy, with the Democratic National Committeewoman, Polly Shackleton, and labor leader, J. C. Turner. These persons will have the confidence and support of the Republican Party. Most of our people have not had the same opportunity to know Stanley J. Anderson of the D. C. Recreation Department or Joseph E. Yeldell, but we have heard nothing except the most excellent reports of their activities and abilities. Therefore, I believe it is the consensus of our group and those who have communicated with us that all of these persons on the basis of reputation, experience and ability, are deserving of confirmation by your committee as members of the new D.C. Council. However, I think there are serious policy problems to be considered by your committee in connection with these appointments. Action taken by the Senate District Committee on these initial appointments will set the guide lines and establish the precedence by other Presidents in other years so long as members of the D.C. City Council are selected on the basis of Presidential appointment. First, there is the question of the Hatch Act and whether or not persons holding elective office in the two great political parties pursuant to the procedures of the D.C. Election Law are barred from holding those political party offices. This question involves several important members of the proposed D.C. City Council, and your committee should certainly resolve the matter in such a way that there is no uncertainty as to the legalities or public policy aspects of the activities of the persons affected. Second, there is a serious legal and policy question respecting the dual service of any city employee in the additional capacity as a member of the D.C. City Council. 5 USC 133z-3 in one portion specifically prohibits any reorganization of the Government of the District of Columbia which would authorize the exercise of functions not expressly provided by law. This raises the question of whether the D.C. City Council, if it includes one or more members who are also city employees, is not an agency exercising functions in violation of the Dual Compensation Act, 5 USC 5533. Since 5 USC 133z-5 defines the District of Columbia Government as an executive agency, presumably both Federal and City employees in active service are prohibited by law from dual service on the D.C. City Council. In addition, there is the public policy question of whether it is right or proper to impose on any Federal or City employee the burden of being the judge and jury in a cause in which he may have a high degree of self-interest. The D.C. City Council will certainly deal with the D.C. Budget, taxation, levels of pay in various other areas of the D.C. Government, Civil Service regulations for city employees, and other matters which will effect every department of the D.C. Government, including the Recreation Department. The local taxpayers should really be entitled to a nine-member City Council made up of persons as free as possible from the burden of such conflicts of conscience and self-interest in passing upon public matters. This would apply also the Federal employees. Third, there is a serious question of public policy involved in establishing the precedent of the Presidential appointment and confirmation by the Senate of active and practicing preachers or ministers of any religious order. The Federal Constitution requires a separation of church and state, and this has led to prolonged litigation and various decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States trying to give effect and meaning to the purposes of the Founding Fathers in including this wise provision in the Federal Constitution. If the President had appointed a Jewish Rabbi or a Catholic Priest to the D.C. City Council, there would no doubt have been a wide spread public outery. I have had this matter pressed upon my attention by members of our own committee as well as members of the public at large. An ordained minister engaged in the day to day operation of a large church and ministering to the requirements of a large congregation is employed so much of the time, day and night, there is a serious question as to whether he will have available the time necessary to give proper consideration of public business commensurate with the salary the taxpayers, local and national, are required to provide City Council members. Since all religious organizations are tax exempt, there is a policy problem involved in whether there will be proper public confidence in the activities of a member of the D.C. City Council in levying taxes on the property of businesses and persons who are not exempt. There is another question of whether other competing religious groups, Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish, and their supplementary parochial school systems, should be subjected to decision making by an ordained minister of any other religious group. If one religious order has a minister on the D.C. City Council, will other groups not have a legitimate interest in aspiring to equal representation? These are public policy matters of considerable importance and should be the subject of thorough study by your committee before it establishes the precedent of permitting membership on the D.C. Council by active, ordained ministers of any religious faith. I am aware that there have been members of Congress elected who were at the same time ordained and practicing ministers, Adam Clayton Powell having been one of the more recent. However, the D.C. City Council involves the appointment by the President of members of an executive agency of the Federal Government, not subject to the checks and balances of popular election. I am not suggesting how these matters should be resolved, but simply pointing out that they are matters of legitimate and serious concern to many of our citizens, one way or the other. In view of the sad experience of the District of Columbia with appointed and elected mayors and city councils for over 70 years, from 1802 until 1871, the Senate District Committee should take every appropriate action to avoid the pitfalls which resulted in the disaster which led to the abolition of the mayor-city council form of government for the District of Columbia by Congress in the 1870's. A short period of sad experience with two appointed governors and a legislative assembly partially appointed and partially elected, and led to the ultimate replacement of that structure in 1878 with the D.C. Board of Commissioners, which operated reasonably well for so many years. At a time when the mayor-city council form of government has so failed to meet the problems of modern urban life that Federal programs have been designed to bypass local structures and deal with the problems directly at the community level, there is an extra burden on the D.C. City Council, and it is to be hoped that all of the underlying policy problems can be resolved by the Senate District Committee so that the new government gets off to as good a start as possible. In closing, please be assured that the policy problems in no way relate to the individual and personal qualifications of all of the persons named by the President. A great deal of community unrest has been generated because of the frsstrated hopes that the City Council would have a greater representation from various social, economic, geographic, and other groups. The guide lines established by the Senate District Committee can go a long way toward resolving future conflicts of the same sort. Respectfully yours, CARL L. SHIPLEY, Chairman. Hon. ALAN BIBLE, WASHINGTON, D.C., October 20, 1967. U.S. Senate, Old Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR BIBLE: This letter is to express my support for the nominations which the President has made to the new District of Columbia Council. I have known several of these persons for many years, working on a wide variety of community matters. As Chairman of the Board of the Housing Development Corporation—and, before that, as President of the Washington Planning and Housing Association— I have been concerned with efforts in this community to do something about the critical problem of low-income housing. In this work, I have had the pleasure of being associated with, and coming to know, a number of the persons whom the President has nominated to the Council. These people are hard-working, dedicated individuals who know this community and its problems through the years of work and personal involvement. For example, Mrs. Polly Shackleton, notwithstanding the many other demands on her time, has for many years been an expert and valued member of the Housing Committee of the Washington Planning and Housing Association. With her participation, this committee has, among other things, conceived and developed a neighborhood housing services program that was funded by UPO and made an intensive study of landlord-tenant relationships and problems. Mr. Turner has been a long-time supporter of private efforts to construct and rehabilitate low income housing in the District, first as a member of the Board of Directors of Citizens for Better Housing, Inc., and more lately as a member of the Board and Executive Committee of the Housing Development Corporation. He is also serving as Chairman of the UPO Housing Committee. Mr. Nevius has been active in the organization and development of Community Organizations for the Improvement of Neighborhoods, Inc. (COIN) and is currently actively involved in private efforts to organize a private housing revolving fund for this community. Mr. Fauntroy's efforts on behalf of low-income housing rehabilitation in the Shaw School area are, of course, well-known. I think that Mr. Hechinger will bring outstanding personal qualities to the Chairmanship of the Council and that the community is fortunate that he is prepared to assume these responsibilties. I hope very much that your Committee will confirm these nominations at an early date. Respectfully, REUBEN CLARK. Hon. ALAN BIBLE, COUNCIL OF CHURCHES OF GREATER WASHINGTON, Chairman, District of Columbia Committee, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: We have responded with gratitude to the President and the Congress' actions in recent weeks with regard to the establishment of the new-style government for the District of Columbia. As you are perfectly aware, the reorganized government for the District of Columbia is not self-government for its citizens, but we feel that the new government is both a step toward selfgovernment and a great improvement over the structure of government in this city since 1873. We have hailed the President's choices of Walter E. Washington and Thomas Fletcher to be Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner respectively for the new city government, and we are delighted with the confirmation given these choices by the United States Senate. We are now writing to you to indicate to you that it is our hope the Senate will confirm the President's appointees to the new city council of the District of Columbia. It is not within the scope of our responsibility in this community to comment on the individual names submitted to the Senate by the President. We are most pleased, however, to suggest that speedy approval of the President's nominees will provide the new government an early opportunity to begin the tasks of learning how to bring more effective government to this city. We feel that the new city council as a whole merits the consent of the Senate. Let us take this opportunity again to record our appreciation to you personally as Chairman of the Senate District of Columbia Committee for your understanding and insightful leadership in our affairs. Very truly yours, Senator ALAN BIBLE, WASHINGTON, D.C., October 20, 1967. Chairman, Committee on the District of Columbia, DEAR SENATOR BIBLE: The DCEA Patriots, an organization of teachers and school officers, who are interested in D.C. home rule and the politics of education, wish to endorse the candidacy of Mrs. Polly Shackleton and Mr. Joseph Yeldell for positions on the D.C. Council. Mrs. Shackleton's contributions to the Washington community is well-known. Mr. Yeldell has overcome the difficulties of poor economic background and other urban problems to become a responsible citizen and educator. We realize the importance for various levels in our society and for each area of our city to be represented on the D.C. Council. It is hoped that the new Council appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson will assist Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Washington to reorganize the D.C. Government to more effectively serve the citizens of our city. We wish this telegram to be made part of the record for hearings concerning the D.C. Council. We appreciate the work you and your colleagues are doing to make Washington, D.C., a better place to live and a model city for our Nation. Respectfully yours, LELIA M. LANE, President, DCEA Patriots and Chairman, Citizenship Committee, District of Columbia Education Association. THE JUVENILE COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Hon. ALAN BIBLE, October 6, 1967. DEAR SENATOR BIBLE: I read with keen interest the President's nominations of District residents to serve on the newly created City Council. I should like particularly to commend the President's choices of Mrs. Margaret Haywood and Mr. William S. Thompson, since these two attorneys have served the Juvenile Court faithfully for many years, and in so doing have learned much about the problems of the District of Columbia. Both of them are outstanding attorneys. Their legal skills are well balanced by their integrity and their concern for the clients whom they represent, whether they are retained or appointed. I should also like to commend the appointment of Mr. Stanley J. Anderson, whom I have known for several years in connection with his work as the organizer and director of the Roving Leaders. This group of men have done much to prevent delinquency in many areas of the city. Finally, I should like to commend the President's choice of my good personal friend, John A. Nevius. Mr. Nevius and I attended college together and have had close associations in law and civic matters for the past 20 years. I sincerely hope that the Senate District Committee will promptly confirm the nominations of these persons, as well as the others nominated by the President to create the City Council. Sincerely, ORMAN W. KETCHAM. Senator ALAN BIBLE, OLDEST INHABITANTS, INC., Washington, D.C., September 29, 1967. Chairman, D.C. Committee, Old Senate Office Building, DEAR SENATOR BIBLE: I take this opportunity to voice my full support for all of President Johnson's nominees for the District of Columbia's first council. They all seem to be very capable citizens and worthy of this assignment. Yours sincerely, PAUL V. BROWN, President. THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, INC., Hon. ALAN BIBLE, Chairman, Committee of the District of Columbia, MY DEAR SENATOR BIBLE: The D.C. Chamber of Commerce unanimously endorses the President's selection of councilmen to serve this city in its new reorganized structure. We feel that outstanding among the President's nominations are: William S. Thompson, J. C. Turner, and Polly Shackleton. They represent an accumulation of complete civic devotion, knowledge of the needs of our citizens and imaginativeness to devise a comprehensive and working program to meet these needs. The members of our Council will present to the country and the world an effective demonstration of the true spirit of democracy. The Chamber feels that from their records we can depend upon Mr. Thompson, Mr. Turner and Mrs. Shackleton to effectively reflect the aspirations of the people of this city to move forward in harmony and justice to the fulfillment of the American ideal. Very respectfully yours, JOSEPH S. GRECO, Chairman, Executive Committee. THE DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE, Hon. ALAN BIBLE, Chairman, Senate District Committee, DEAR SENATOR BIBLE: The Democratic Central Committee wishes to indicate promptly its support for the appointees made by President Johnson to the City Council for the District of Columbia. We are particularly pleased that our National Committeewoman, Mrs. Polly Shackleton and our Vice Chairman, Mr. J. C. Turner, were appointed from our own Committee membership. Mrs. Shackleton has been quite active in the District for the last 10 years and has given a great deal of time to different programs, including projects on beautification, summer recreation and summer employment. Mr. Turner has been active for over 20 years in District affairs and is the President of the AFL-CIO Council for the District and thus represents the labor movement as well as the Democrats. His judgment and integrity are beyond question. We are also favorably familiar with the work of the Reverend Walter Fauntroy and with his concern and devotion to the welfare of the District and its citizens. He is certainly an asset to the council membership. I have personally know Max Kampelman for about 20 years, both as a fellow worker in the Democratic Party and also as a neighbor. He has outstanding ability. His knowledge and experience in politics and governmental affairs are outstanding. He is able, conscientious and devoted to the public welfare and I have complete confidence in his integrity. Sincerely yours, TILFORD E. DUDLEY, (Chairman as of January 5, 1967). |