The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1870-10-11
Mayor o,IIar,s Election Districts.


The remarkable manner in which Mayor
O'HAIL has gerrymandercd this city to serve
the purposes of the TGmmany Ring fur
nshes material for an interesting chapter in
another column. The new Charter makes it
the duty of the Mayor annually, on or be-
fore the 10th Of September, TO revise the
election districts, in case the Common Coun
Gil shall have neglected to do 30 on or be-
fore tho first of that month, and 80 TO modify
and arrange them that each shall contain,
as near as may be, not more than four hun
dred electors, taking the vote Of the proceed
ing election as the basis" Under this au
thority, o'HALL has readjusted the bounda.
ries or the numerical designation of every
election district in the city save four. The
territorial extent of about half the old dis
tricts has been changed while in those left
unchanged for some unexplained reason, the
numbers have been singularly transposed
This is described in the elaborate article
which we print elsewhere.
But the important fact in this gerryman-
dering is the utter disregard Of the law
under which he assumes to act that O'HALL
botrays Thus, no is enjoined TO fix the
districts so that they shall contain. as near
ns may be, not more than four hundred
electors" In executing this law he finds the
average voting populction of the existing
districts to be three hundred and ten, deter
mined by the rule laid down in the law.
With singular arithmetical obtusencss he
L.. Al. -, lao.
average population of four hundred pre-
scribcd by the law by adding fifty to the
number of the subdivisions; and thus
instead of getting nearer to four hun
dred ho gets further away, and leaves the
average voting population but two hundred
and seventy. And even in arriving at this
unanticipated result, he violates every rule
of propriety, and creates districts as dispro.
portionato in size and population as it is
reasonably possible TO make them. Some
districts contain half block while others
include an area half a milo square. Some
districts arc left with a voting popula-
tion Of less than fifty, while others contain
nearly q thousand. Districts casting less
than four hundred votes at the last election
are subdivided, while others that cast con.
siderably more than the number prescribed
| by law are joined to neighboring districts
| equally above the designated limit.
O'lIALL's gerrymandering clearly shows
| that Tammany Hall, whose willing tool he
| IT, means to undertake a general system Of
| fraudulent voting at the approaching cleo
ton. And TO further this purpose, certain
districts where it is not convenient for them
to manipulate armies of reporters are made
unduly large, 70 that the adverse vote may
\ be kept out while others are made ridicu.
! lousy small, 80 that considerable fictitious
or fraudulent vote may not be noticed.
| Tho whole is shrewdly arranged, by
changing the designation Of those districts
whose territory remains as before, and com
| lining or dividing wherever it could be
done, so as to render comparisons with the
census Ms difficult as possible, and thus con
ceal the frauds intended.
| A funny circumstance is developed in tho
investigation Of this job. BY tracing out on
a map the boundaries of the districts as read
iusted by OHALL, il will be observed that
the block bounded by Avenue A, FIRST ave
nue., Second and Third streets is left out Of
MI districts, and that its inhabitants are
practically DISTINGUISHED. Last fall thi'
block was the Twcnty.fourh District of the
Seventeenth Ward, and cast 1S1 votes LAS
spring it was attached to the Twenty
Distr Ct and now it is thrown out. We
presume, however, that Mayor oHALI
will open Ills eyes on learning of this oms
sion when he reads THE Sun this morning
and will forthwith issue a Supplemental
proclamation giving the bcnighted RESIDENT
of that block some political relations will
the rest of the city.