Black Sheep Books
Five and Ten Press
3814 Livingston Street N.W.
Washington, D.C.
20015-2803
(202) 244-9163
This pamphlet is dedicated to
James Hugh Keeley, Sr.
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1. "D.C. Governance: It's Always Been a Matter of Race and Money." 29 pages. Published in December 1995, second printing in February 1996. Out of print. Available in photocopy for $5.)
A brief history of home rule in the District of Columbia from its founding in 1800 through the end of self-governance in the 1870's, based on my grandfather's book written in 1916 entitled "Democracy or Despotism in the American Capital." Part II examines the situation of the nation's capital today, arguing that it is ungovernable for basic structural reasons embedded in the Constitution and in the acts of Congress controlling its governance, and because of its unique characteristics which most critics ignore. Eight possible solutions are then briefly analyzed, with a conclusion that territorial status is the only viable solution.
Table of Contents
PART I
History
PART II
The Problem
Solutions
1.Statehood
2.Remake the District of 1800
3.Give the District back to Maryland
4.Detach Ward 3 and give it to Maryland
5.Create a Viable Metropolis
6.A Commuter Tax
7.Strip D.C. of State and County Responsibilities
8.Territorial Status
PART I
HISTORY
"The more things change, the more they stay the
same." That has certainly been true throughout the history of
how the District of Columbia has been governed.
My grandfather, James Hugh Keeley, Sr. (1857-1932),
wrote a book in 1916 entitled "Democracy or Despotism in
the American Capital." The theme of this historical study is
implicit in the title. It was published posthumously by his
widow, Jessie Lane Keeley, in 1939. From the evidence in
several copies I have borrowed from area university libraries,
this obscure work continues to be consulted occasionally by
students of the issue.
According to oral family tradition which I cannot
confirm otherwise, my grandfather, of Irish descent (though
always Protestant), grew up in the coal-mining counties of
Pennsylvania. He escaped a life in the mines by getting a
good education and learning the trade of journalist. He later
became an editor of small-town newspapers. Seeking elective
political office, he ran unsuccessfully as a
candidate of the Prohibition Party. He went West to Wyoming as
a preacher/missionary promoting Methodism. He was one of
the principal inheritors of Henry George's reformist Single
Tax movement, which he stuck with long after it had faded
into obscurity. Promoting lost causes was one of his favorite
activities.
{ INTRODUCTION }
{ PUBLICATIONS OF THE FIVE AND TEN PRESS 1995-2005 }
{ ORDER FORM }
{ROBERT KEELEY'S BIOGRAPHICAL DATA}
{D.C. GOVERNANCE: IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A MATTER OF RACE AND MONEY}
{ANNALS OF INVESTING
STEVE FORBES VS. WARREN BUFFETT }
{ THE FILE: A PRINCETON MEMOIR }
{ESSAYS FAST AND LOOSE: A CHRISTMAS MISCELLANY }
{LETTERS MOSTLY UNPUBLISHED}
{ INNOCENTS OF THE LATTER DAY: MODERN AMERICANS ABROAD }
{ ESSAYS COLD AND HOT: A NEW YEAR"S POTPOURRI}
{ MSS REVISTED }
{ THREE SEA STORIES }
{CREATURES OF THE EARTH AND THE MIND}
{MY COMMUTE}
{SIC TRANSIT}
{THE GREAT PHELSUMA CAPER - A DIPLOMATIC MEMOIR}
{THE PORT OF MISSING MEN - A NOVEL}
{ POETRY MOSTLY OFF THE BEATEN TRACK }
{ PARTING THE CURTAIN }
{ ESSAYS NEAR AND FAR: AS A NEW CENTURY DAWNS }
{ RANDOM THOUGHTS, ANECDOTES, AND MEMORIES OF A BOYS' LATIN SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE THAT IS NO MORE }
{ FROM THE HEARTLAND }
{ ONE OF THE VERY BEST MEN }
{ A STORY GOES WITH IT }
{ LOW CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS IN HIGH PLACES: John Mitchell and Watergate. }
{ THE WORLD ACCORDING TO WHITBECK. }
{ AN AMERICAN SOLDIER IN WORLD WAR I. }
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