The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-04-10
. Ion OF GERRYwANDERING.

a JOB OF GERRYMANDERING
As the legislative apportionment made by
the republican general assembly of 1873 will
no doubt be leading feature in the APP
preaching canvass and as there has been
nothing on this subject OF a detailed char
acter since the elaborate speech of Governor
Hendricks, delivered in Indianapolis during
the canvass of 1874, in which that gentleman
took some pains to analyEe the appOrtion-
ment on a basis of the vote as it existed at
the time of the passage of the law, it VIII be
a matter of much information and interest
to show how the act serves the people on the
basis of votes as shown by the last election.
Whine there can be no doubt that the fig
age of the act would more clearly and
fairly show the inequalities of the
law and the unjust Determinations made
against certain sections of the state, yet as
republicans claim that time has in a measure
overcome the extraordinary differences, and
that the inequalities do not now exist, the
following comparisons made from the recent
vote Will show plainly that increase of vote
has In no way overcome the one-sided enact
ment:
The voting population of Indiana, judged
from the last state election is l3i, 900, which
if appOrtioned among one hundred repre-
sentatives and fifty senator would give ore
representative to each 4 $40 and one senator
to each s $50 voters Starting with this basis
we find the following:
Lake county, with vote of 3,1S7, or 1, l53
below the ratio, has one representative.
Porter county, with 3. 729 yoters-611 les
than the raio-has one representative.
Steuben county, with 1916 voters, or 94
less than the ratio, has representative.
Lagrange county, with vote of 1854, or
9S6 less than the ratio, has a representative.
Jennings county, with a vote of 1852, or
5ss less than the ratio, has a representative
Vermillion county, with 2,639 voters, or
1901 less than the ratio, has a representative.
Warren county, with 1928 voters, or 1,7l7
less than the ratio, has a representative.
Lawrence county, with 1922 votes, or 6lS
less than her ratio, has representative.
Monroe county, with 3,241 voters, or 1883
less than her ratio, has representative.
These nine counties poll total vote of
29,593, or {, 467 less than the requisite num-
Der of votes-under the ratiO-and give an
aggregate republican majority OF 5,173; in
other words, they have two and a fraction
representatives more than their vote en-
titles them to.
Now, take Bartholomew, which is demo
cratic county with a voting population OF
5,319, or $40 more than the ratio-and SO
more than the united vote of VermillIon and
Warren, each of which has a representative
vet she is allowed no representative, but
with that extreme magnanlmity and desire
to protect the rights of all which has ever
characterized the republican party, they add
to her vote that of Brown county, which is
2,O16, making an aggregate vote in the two
counties of 1876, or 1895 more than the re-
quisite ratio, and they jointly are given one
representative.
Bartholomew county, with its 1919 voters,
or $40 more than the ratio contemplated in
the act, is denied representative, while
each OF the nine counties with an average
vote of 3, $50 or 2,O39 less than Bartholomew,
and .O69 less than the ratio, are entitled
each to separate representatives. This is
Justice as melted out by the republicans of
Indiana.
Again: Jennings county, which adjoins
Bartholomew, with vote of 1882 or ,567
less than its neighbor, and $50 less than the
requisite number, is gwen one representa-
tive alone and a joint one with Jefferson
and Scott thus giving her one and one-third
representative. a simple glance at the
figures will show that Brown and Bartholo.
new, with their one representative, have
within 30 votes Of having double the num-
Der of Jennings, county that has one and
onethird vote in the house of representa-
tives
Decatur county 432 less, Rush with 62O
less, and Ripley with sO4 less voters than
Bartholomew are each given representative,
and one joint between them. The average
vote Of these three counties, which, under
this law, are each given one and one third
representative, is 400 per county, or $40
less than the vote of Bartholomew, and p
$50 less than the vote of Bartholomew and
Brown.
SO With Grant and Blackiord: The former