The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1878-09-05
gress to bring about the repeal of the
Resumption Act.

gress to bring about the repeal of the
Resumption Act.
RE DIsTRICTING THE STATE.
The Democratic Legislature passed
an act rcapportioning the State into
| Congressional Districts, thus rightiHg
the wrong perpetrated by the gerry
Wandering iniqnity of Republican
Legislature.
The Sixteenth General Assembly
had a Republican majority in both
branches. On the 9th of April, 1872
| it districtcd the State for members of
Congress, making. as it supposed, fif-
teen Republican districts out of the
twenty-giving the Democrats but
five districts. AT the October election
of that year, the Republican majority
in the State, was only fourteen thou
sand, and last fall the Democrats car
ried the State by more than tsrenty
thousand. To right the wrong perpe-
trated by Republican Legislature in
the gerrymandering outrage of 1872,
the Democratic Legislature, near tie
close of the late session, redistricted
proach fairness and decency.
The Western Reserve counties are
the heavy Republican counties, where
the big Republican majorities are CIV
EN-. Amy fair apportlonment of the
State will put those counties together
into districts. Indeed, the act of Con-
gress which governs State Legislatures
in the matter of districting for Rep
resentatives in Congress, requires that
" districts shall be composed of con-
tiguous territory" with the right num-
Der OF inhabitants. With this fact in
view, glance at the map of Ohio
will convince any fair minded man.
that no honest and legitimate appor-
tionment act can be passed in the State
without giving the Democratic party
a majority OF the Congressional Dis
tricts.
REORG AIMING THE PUBLIC INsTITU-
TIoNS.
When the Republican party came
into power in Ohio, in January, 1856
the Legislature went to work to reor-
ganize all the public institutions of the
State and among the earliest enact
ments of that session were some of
the reorganizing acts. This was done
Notwithstanding the fact that prior to
that time politics had been virtually
ignored in the management of the be-
nevoleDt institutions and although
the Democracy had been i'll full power
in the State continuously for some
years, more of the officers and en-
ployes in and about those institutions
were Republicans than Democrats.
Ye. in the face of these facts. in Or
der to get the Democrats out of the
few places they held, the Republican
Legislature inaugurated the system of
reorganization which the Republican
papers and Republican politicians
now ana;hcmaiize the Democratic Leg
islature for recognizing as precedent.
The Democratic Legislature OF 1874
and 1875, during the administration of
: Governor Allen, having considered
the facts and figures evoked by the
debate OF public institutions in the
; late Constitutional Convention of The
State, enacted several reorganization
accountability and it was done for
the same purpose-to put Republicans
into places held By Democrats.
The reorganization acts of the Re-
publican Legislature of 1876 and 1877
arrested the wholesome reforms inau-
gurated by the preceding Democratic
Legislature, and put things back into
the old Republican channel. And
now behold the result While the
inmates i'm the Benevolent Institutions
increased less than 10 per cent, from
, 1873 to 1867, the appropriations from
the Asylum Fund for 1877 foot up to
the extraordinary amount of 50, l65,-
4l9 81, being an increase in the total
expenditures of almost Is per cent. in
the same time.
With such facts and figures as the
: foregoing (Which are all derived from
official sources) placed before the Six
ty-third General Assembly, it would
have been compelled to reorganize the
Public Institutions, even though the
Republican party had not furnished
reorganization precedents. The peo-
that should reduce the extraordinary
and extravagant expenditures in those
institutions, and that should institute
more rigid accountability. 1t is be-
lieved that the assaults of the Repub-
iican press and the Republican politi-
clans upon the Democratic Legislature
will fall entirely harmless at its feet.
when the people of Ohio realize that
the reorganization acts cnabled it to
save the taxpayers in one year, in the
Asylum Fund alone, 1881. .025 80, that
much less haying been appropriated
from that Fund, by the Democratic
Legislature of 1878 than was appro-
priated therefrom by the Republican
Legislature i'll 1877.
L. is not true that "the present Leg.
islature revolutionized every State in.
stitution to make place for Democratic
1artisans." In one of the benevolent
institutions no changes whatever have
been made in officers Or employees by
the new Board. In four OF the benev-
olent institutions the Superintendent
still holds the fort. In some of the
institutions the number of officers and
employees has been reduced, in the in
tercst of econOmy-fOr the Democrat
ic Administration holds that useless