The Nation - News from July 12, 1987

Washington Mayor Marion Barry, members of his City Council and 900 residents, paying $44 each, traveled by chartered train to Philadelphia to advocate statehood for the District of Columbia. Philadelphia Mayor W. Wilson Goode and Rep. William H. Gray III (D-Pa.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, joined Barry at a rally supporting statehood for Washington, but Maryland Gov. William Donald Schaefer abruptly withdrew his support. A House committee last month approved a bill that would transform the District of Columbia into the state of New Columbia. The bill faces a major challenge when it comes up for vote in the full House this fall.