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who selected three candidates whose names were sent promptly to President Johnson's office for consideration.

We feel that the efforts of the Far Northeast Council and the community as a whole were in vain since neither of the three nominees was considered.

We sincerely hope that this committee will question the ability of all Councilmen to effectively speak to, and deal with, the problems confronting the poor as well as all others in this Northeast urban society.

We further strongly ask that the committee determine why an area housing in excess of one-third of the District population does not have two Councilmen to speak to its growing problems.

The Far Northeast Council stands ready to submit to this committee additional names for consideration to effect greater representation on the new District of Columbia Council.

Thank you, gentlemen, for listening and it is our hope that what we have expressed here today shall open a new horizon in your deliberations for the important task of selecting a representative nine-man City Council.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Long. There is much merit in what you say. I know in the home rule bills that we have passed out of the Senate over the years, this thing has been divided into wards, to serve each particular area of the city by election having someone particularly resident of that particular ward, and I believe I am correct that in the elected school bill that is presently before the committee that that is likewise broken into ward representation, and this is something that the committee can and should consider in the future as we move forward here.

We are going to find imperfections in this present plan, that is very, very clear and very apparent, but as we move along we will certainly try to remedy some of the frailties or the shortcomings in the present Reorganization Act. You have made a very, very fine statement, Mr. Long. I have no further questions of you.

Senator Prouty?

Senator PROUTY. Mr. Chairman, I wish to commend Mr. Long for his statement. I think he has raised a very important question. Likewise I hope very much that the members of the Council, whoever they are, will make themselves fully conversant with the problems in the far Northeast. I know there are serious problems there. I appreciate what you and others who are living there are trying to do directly, but I have confidence that those on this committee and those who serve on the Council will do their utmost to face up to the problems. I commend you for your statement.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Dominick?

Senator DOMINICK. Mr. Chairman, I also want to join in expressing my appreciation for Mr. Long's statement. I want to associate myself with Senator Prouty's comments, but I do want to ask Mr. Long whether or not he feels that there is any particular person or persons who has been nominated who is in his opinion not suited to serve on the Council?

Mr. LONG. We of the Council do not oppose any member, of the persons who were nominated for the nine-man City Council.

Senator DOMINICK. You see this is our problem, Mr. Long. We do not have the right to choose any nominee. All we can do is pass on

the qualifications of those names which have been sent to us. Obviously unless some of the names are turned down, there is not going to be an appointment of anyone else.

Mr. LONG. This is the feeling of the Council. That there is a possibility, we know that in the Senate District Committee deliberations that there might be persons who will not be able to serve on this Council, so at this juncture I will say that we can only hope that if a vacancy does occur, that you shall give the far Northeast the representation that we think we deserve.

Senator DOMINICK. I am certain that we will try to do our best to help in solving some of the problems that I know you face and that you have been working on for so long. Thank you, Mr. Long. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Spong?

Senator SPONG. No questions.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Long.

Our next witness is Dr. Leo F. Diegelmann, secretary of the Association of the Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia.

STATEMENT OF LEO F. DIEGELMANN, SECRETARY OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE OLDEST INHABITANTS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Mr. DIEGELMANN. Mr. Chairman, and members of the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia. I am Leo F. Diegelmann, secretary of the association of the Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia, the oldest civic and patriotic organization in the District of Columbia.

We have always tried to keep peace and harmony in our great Nation's Capital and to make it an outstanding capital of the world. This great city belongs to all the people of these United States; this should never be forgotten. Our members lived or worked in the District of Columbia for at least 35 years, we naturally consider ourselves as so-called custodians of this great city.

A new form of government is being tried, against the wishes of many. Gentlemen, we feel that many of these new committee members do not represent the solid citizens of our great city. None represent the different sections, none have been active in our two great citizen federations, none have represented our small business associations, none our board of trade, banks or savings and loan associations, or our two great Associations of Oldest Inhabitants. The change in the chairmanship is very good but he needs the assistance of the rest of the Council.

Gentlemen, we propose you investigate their backgrounds. We do not feel they are knowledgeable in education, crime, police problems and tax problems that face our people. Some have been too active in civil rights. One or two have been active in marches; these things antagonize many citizens both white and Negro. They may be well informed in their particular fields of civil rights, social and religious fields but that has nothing to do with the management of this great city. They may not look at problems in an objective way.

If you wish, we could recommend both white and colored citizens who would consider it an honor to help our Nation's Capital and who would not be biased and are not looking for the remuneration.

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Gentlemen, I appreciate the opportunity you have given me to appear before you on behalf of the Association of the Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia.

Thank you very much, Senator.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Diegelmann. I have no questions of you.

Are there questions?

Thank you, sir.

Mr. DIEGELMANN. Thank you, Senator.

The CHAIRMAN. Our next witness is Mrs. Ruth R. Webster, president of CHANGE, Inc., Washington, D.C.

STATEMENT OF MRS. RUTH R. WEBSTER, PRESIDENT OF CHANGE, INC. (CARDOZO HEIGHTS ASSOCIATION FOR NEIGHBORHOOD GROWTH AND ENRICHMENT), WASHINGTON, D.C.

Mr. WEBSTER. Mr. Chairman, and gentlemen of the committee' I am Ruth R. Webster, president of the Cardozo Heights Association for Neighborhood Growth and Enrichment CHANGE, Inc. I would like to say that we are a new organization. We are a delegate agency of the United Planning Organization developed through an attempt to develop new leadership and responsibility for your neighborhood.

The citizens of the District of Columbia are happy that the President and the Congress has seen fit after some 90 years to revise the governmental structure under which some 800,000 citizens live. All of us are aware that this is not a utopian form of government, but nonetheless is a start in the right direction.

This morning this august committee deliberates on the people who have been selected for councilmatic office. I would like to bring the views of the ordinary citizens of the District before you. While we do not find fault with any of the nominees personally, we must address the overall selection. We find an error in omission rather than in commission.

The President of the United States this past summer sought the names of qualified candidates from various and sundry groups. Two of the most representative groups in the District of Columbia are the United Planning Organization's 10 neighborhood centers and the commissioners' 20 neighborhood areas. These groups failed to place any names on the nine-man council.

The commissioner's 20 areas encompass the entire District of Columbia, and they have planning councils comprised of representatives of each area. The United Planning Organization's 10 centers' areas encompasses the majority of the geographic area of the District of Columbia. Since we know that poverty areas are normally areas of high density we can assume that the majority of the citizens of the District of Columbia are served by these centers. A local poverty center seeks to involve all the people of the area in its programs. These people select by democratic process their leaders.

This morning the most deliberative body in the world begins reviewing the selections proposed to represent the people of the District of Columbia.

The Senate with a long history of arriving at a fair conclusion without worrying about persons or personalities is asked to review the

overall selections and to note the absence of what has become commonly known as grassroot people on this Council.

In ancient Athens the council of the senior citizens the Senatealways headed the will of the ordinary citizens. Our Founding Fathers when establishing our Government built into the Constitution a set of checks and balances to insure against any injustice. We are most fortunate to live in an era of such great social evolution. The theme of the age seems to be the dignity of the individual.

This extends itself to all mankind regardless of race, creed or social status. In the capital of the free world, we would hope that the dignity of all mankind will be upheld. We, therefore, strongly urge that the Senate act not as a rubberstamp for the nominations submitted, but act as the great deliberative body that it is. We ask you to question why the many poor people of the District have no representation on the proposed Council.

History has recorded the names of many great men who sat in the Senate chamber and dedicated their talents to the protection of all mankind. We feel that in 1967, the Senate again has such men whose names will be recorded in the pages of history for future generations. We, therefore, humbly present our case to you this morning. Let the Council represent all the people of the District.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mrs. Webster. That is a very fine statement. I have no questions.

Are there questions?

Senator PROUTY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mrs. Webster, while I am sympathetic to the theme of your statement, I think, as Senator Dominick has pointed out, we have to consider the names submitted to the Senate by the President. We can reject some or all of them for good and sufficient reasons. But certainly your statement does not suggest that any one of the nominees should not be included as members of the Council. If for any reason any are rejected, then the President can submit other names, but we are powerless to do anything in that respect at the present time as I am sure you are aware.

Mrs. WEBSTER. I would agree with the previous speaker who preceded me. I think the greatest reason on earth is that there is not one member on the Council conversant with the problems that exist in what the newspapers fondly call the ghetto. One has to live, one has to work, one has to communicate, one has to understand in order to meet these problems. There have been agencies throughout the history of the District of Columbia who have been organized for this purpose, but yet it was necessary to establish 10 Neighborhood Development Centers to actually work within these communities to develop leadership, to identify, to help create an atmosphere of change. This is happening. I submit it should happen on the first Council, if there were only one representative, to give confidence and recognition to the efforts of these people who have spent, not for pay but in many instances, in most instances through volunteer services to meet this need, because it is only through rehabilitating these areas that we will meet the current problems that have presented themselves through what we must face as a total social revolution.

Senator PROUTY. I think you have presented your views as a very able member.

Mrs. WEBSTER. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. Any further questions?

Thank you very much, Mrs. Webster.

Our next witness is Mr. George Frain, administrative secretary, of the 18th and Columbia Road Business Association. Mr. Frain, I might say I have read your statement. It is extremely long, and I would hope that possibly you could read the first paragraph of it and then we could file the rest of it. You seem to point out a lot of the problems that we have, and there are plenty of them here. I would hope in the interests of time that you would just say what you think about the nominees, which is the reason for us being here today. I am sure they recognize if they are confirmed and assume their duties they are going to have many problems, and the Senators on this legislative committee know you have many problems, but I want to pinpoint the testimony as much as I can today to your viewpoint or your comments as to the nominees.

Do you mind doing that?

Mr. FRAIN. I understand, Mr. Chairman.

STATEMENT OF GEORGE FRAIN, ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARY OF THE EIGHTEENTH AND COLUMBIA ROAD BUSINESS ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Mr. FRAIN. I do not at all mind, Mr. Chairman.

As a matter of fact, I was told by the committee staff that I could file my statement, and I intend to do that, and that I could make a summary statement, and I hope that I can do that, too.

I am George Frain. I am administrative secretary of the 18th and Columbia Road Business Association. I am personally acquainted with the Reverend Walter E. Fauntroy, with J. C. Turner, and Mrs. Robert Shackleton. They are excellent, sound choices, as is John W. Hechinger as Chairman. We urge their prompt confirmation by this committee.

There is an old Irish saying which sums up our view of the nominees. It goes as follows:

May the road rise to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And the rains fall soft upon your fields.

And may the Lord hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Our feeling is, as we watch the legislative process from our vantage point in Northwest Washington, that this Council, like the former Commissioners, are going to need all the good help of the Lord to come to grips not only with the problems that the Congress and the White House sometimes hand it in not giving them the support in the particular problems, and support is essential.

Our Adams-Morgan area is infamous for its problems of poverty, lack of jobs, housing, and transportation, which the present Commissioners have not solved. It is famous for its two topless go-go nudie saloons and the psychedelic dance hall, the Ambassador Theater, which the District government was able to give us even though we did not want them, and told them so in no uncertain terms.

The Adams-Morgan and Cardozo areas are the high crime 10th and 13th police precincts and crime in our area is rising.

We need help now before we have a disaster.

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