River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-04-21
APPoRTIoNMElJT.


The failure of the e-apportionment
bill that was passed by the legislature
at its recent session to become law,
because OF its veto by the Governor,
has been the subject OF extended
press comment, and has also received
considerable attention at the hands of
interested politicians. The Constitu-
ton provides that the legislature
shall, at its first session after a State
or United States enumeration of lnhab-
itants shall have been made, apportion
| and district anew the members of the
Senate and Assembly, and, opinions
as to whether the Constitution is
mandatory, or merely directory, are
conflicting. The Governor shrinks
from responsibility of re-convening
the legislature in extra session for the
enactment of re-apportionment bill
that shall be entitled to receive
executive approval, and even if he
did call an extra session such called
session would not be the session at
which the Constitution says the APP
portionment shall be made. Again,
the power to make an apportionment
has not been delegated by the Consti-
tuition to the legislature of 1882, 1883,
1884 nor 1885. and should it be held
that the appOrtionment under which
the legislature of 1881 was elected
ceased to he i'll force when the time
arrived at which a new apportionment
was required to be made, the people
will find the shameful, not to say
criminal neglect Of a majority of the
Honorable ~ gentlemen chosen to
represent them i'll the Legislature of
1881, quite serious matter. While
we have no fears that the State
government will be dissolved because
Of the failure of the re-apportlon
ment scheme, the questions and pos
sibilitieS that we have suggested have
been raised by others and we repeat
them simply as an illustration of the
fact that the neglect of the legislature
is neither being overlooked or ign0r-
ed, and if this neglect of important
legislation shall be the means of
arousing members of the legislature
hereafter to more vigorous sense of
their responsibilities to the people it
will not have been wholly evil, what
ever its consequences may prove to
be.
AS specimen of the gerrymander-
ing which characterized the re-
pportionment bill as it passed the |
legislature, framed with a view of |
legislating tins politician or that out
Of or into certain district, and to |
show the gross injustice of the bill as
affecting representation in State con-
ventions as well as in the Legislature,
we will give few facts and figures:
The population of the State is
1885, 80. which would give one |
Senator to every 39,863 inhabitants
and one Assemblyman to every Is. 154. |
The Odd Senate district contains q |
population of 1.1l2, over q 900 more |
than the requisite number, while the |
10th district has population of but
l8. 507, or less than half the required |
number; the lst district contains
So, 500, the 31st district but 27,072. In
Milwaukee, two-wards with an aggre- |
gate population of 1908 were given
two Assemblymen, while two other
wards with a population of 18,901
were given but one Assemblyman.
The Goth Senate district pierce and
st. Croix) with a population of SO, 700,
has one Senator ana two Assembly
men, while the 10th district with its
18,507 populationv-less than half
has the same, giving it an equal voice
with this district in State conventions
and the legislature, though containing
less than half the population. In
short, the scheme abounds in Unequal
tiles which should be properly
adjusted when the legislature again
takes it up. The wire-working poll
ticians should not be permitted to
''fx things" in this important matter
of legislation as they would at ward
caucus. With popular plurality of
nearly thirty thousand votes, and a
majority of seventy-thre( legisla-
tive joint ballot, the R ,olicans can
afford to be true to ople, and
Just, if not inclined I generous,
toward their politica versaries in
Wisconsin.
So far as the scheme affected the
counties of Pierce and st. Croix alone,
we had no objections to it, but we
hold it Objectionable as whole. The
population of st. Croix county is
Is, Q56-of Pierce, MA, making a
total of 36,700. Though lacking 3.163
of having population sufficient to
entitle them TO a Senator, this de-
ficiency is overbalanced by an excess
VI lilC ICHuIACO w NIOiCAO Wv
two counties to the number of Assem-
blymen assigned them. st. Croix was
given an Assemblyman and contains
1902 inhabitants in excess of the re-
quired number, while Pierce was given
an Assemblyman with 1880 to spare,
making an excess in the two counties
of 1882, which will trife more
than even up on the Senatorial ratio.
For the purpose of ready reference to
some of the inequalities suggested in
this article, we advise ''the gentleman
from Pierce" to paste it in his hat
and then oppose the passage of a
scheme so corrupt in its nature as
was the one passed at the recent
session.
A NEW steamboat line has been or