Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-03-24
THE Al aBAlaA PARADOX.


How States Roprsssntat,o. n Reauced by
an Increase Of Members IN the
House.
Among the tables and statistics submit
ted to Congress by Supt. of Census
Walker, in connection with the census of
1881 and its bearing on the congressional
reapportionment, appeared the curious
fact that on basis of 299 members Ala
bama would be entitled to one more men,
Der than on basis Of three hundred. In
explanation of this paradox the superin-
tendent of census says
In increasing the number of representa-
tives, as shown in the table sent you, the
number of inhabitants required to repre-
sentative is diminished at each such in
crease Of members by between five and
six hundred. Now, in dividing by the
number so reduced, the population of a
state having a comparatively small pOpu-
lation, the influence upon its unrepre-
sented fraction is very much less necessar-
lily, than in the case Of state having
large population. Thus, for example, if
We assumed for convenience that the num-
Der of Inhabitants required for represen-
tative were 100, 900, state having 4,SO1,-
600 inhabitants would receive thirty repre-
sentatives, with an unrepresented fraction
of 1000 while state having pOpula-
ton of 161 900 inhabitants would receive
one representative. with an equal unreprc-
sented fraction.
If, however, the number of inhabitants
to representative were reduced to 159,
600. tho fraction of the first state would
rise to 81, 1000, while that Of the second
state would be only increased to 2, 1000. In
other words, the effect upon the unrepre-
sented fraction would be thirty times as
great in the former as in the latter case.
Now, in the instances especially referred
to, it happens that, with 300 representa-
tives, three states have fractions very
closely approaching each other, namely,
Alabama with LOG, 982, Illinois with 1O6,
681, and Texas with 106, $50. The num-
Der of Inhabitants to 4 representative on
this basis is 165, ,116. When the number
of representatives is increased to 300, the
number of inhabitants required to repre-
sentative sinks to 164, ,565, the net reduc.
tion being 551. This, which l may call
a gain for the present purpose, to the
states CONCERNED, has to be multiplied III
tho case of Alabama only by (the NUN
Dcr OF representatives dSSISHeU IndG SCdIe
on an even divisioD), while in the case OF
Texas it is multiplied by 9, and i'll the case
of Illinois by no less than 18.
The result is that, when We come to
take 800 as the number of representa-
tives, the unreprcsented fractions Of eacll
of these states must of course increase,
but that of Alabama increases least of all.
LOG, ,9S2 plus q x 551)110,S3
LOG. $50 plus C. 55)111, ,489
1861 plus (18x 55I116,599
Alabama's fraction becomes 40, $50.
while that of Illinois becomes 116, 500, and
that Of Texas Ill. .489.
Consequently, in the assignment of ad-
ditiOnal representatives upon fractions,
according to the total number of 800, Hi
nois and Texas receive an additional
representative each, while Alabama loses
that which she gained at 800. At 301,
however, she regains what was thus lost,
her fraction rising to 114,66S, which is
sufficient to entitle her to the representa-.
tive, whose addition to the previous number
makes the House consist of 3O1, instead
OF 800 members.