The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-01-20
TEp App0RTIoNMENT

TEE APP0RTl0AMENT'
Itisa mooiea question whether the present
c,naress will or not make ths congressional
aeportonman; under the census OF last yssr'
II seoms 1t this writing that the official can
sus report Is not set ready, or ut lsast hSs
not been presented. Some psraons augS""'
that tbs official report ia withheld GA puF>
psse as the csnaus bureau is in the iAnNS OF
the republican party, and tho preion' CON
gress being democratic, tho basis 81 Spp'''
tongaspt might DO msde al lever
figures than the republicans m'sA'
desire. that the southern states would thdfesy
get larger pafcent@Ro Of congressman
While IL ia true thst ssno Of tho southern
states have SO rapidly iAcrOosed in pop9I%-
ton ~ 10 gain largely in Congressional r'pr'-
sentation, yet! we incline TO tf" oPlHioD'
from the little wo hays been able TO gls'n
from tho conAua rspurN made public, that
thu south, "a a ahelS, has not mstsrlAIiY
gained in this respect. EaLaupposiag 'api 'Io
south had doubled in population and would
th arefors gain inits cSugrassionRl iepr'ash-
tation very largely,is that any reason whJ'Ahy
good, valid reason wherein tho prosperity
of the country is concerned, tho republican
party or my other party should nAke tho
apportoument political issue Rsd sup-
press official reports Of the census until
republican cougreaG cams into power to act
thereon We don't Gtsert that tho coraus
returns arc being kept back, booGrSo We
don't know that this ia q fact, bat II seems
reasonable, AS aucA eItrAordiaary stlsrts
were made 10 haze. ibe sr!iro
census OF the country compiled by
the Vnd of June, 1880, that the
bureau ought to""be able 10 lay all ito facts
and llgsros before this congress, thai ii might
al once take official seton so aS 10 enable
state legislatures now in session to 70 sppGr-
ton thsir states. -. There are ut this tinie
twenty lSgiSlatures,in sesFcp aome Of which
will not meet agsin after they adjourn for
two years. The noxt congross dooi not meet
cga'n until December Of thia year, and il
census matters arc postponed until then, why
those states entitled to an increased roprssss-
tation in congress. win not DO enabled to or
JOY their privilege without called session Of
tho legislature, if their ue,liosa are biennial,
until 1884. Let us tsko Texas for example
Our Legislature is now in session mad at tho
end Of ninety or hundred days wo rsey
reasonably infer that it will adioura Except
in callsd session, IL cannot meet again, SO
we will have no Legislative session agnin until
in January 1888, and ifno appropriation mont
is made until that session, To1ns will have
10 do without her iHcrsssad representation
until the. election in 1884, losing ono tcrN Of
congress. We ask if there ia any good rsA-
son for this Can tho state legislature acI
IN apporLioning, or rather in rodianot-
ing tho stats, until congress acts
in axiag tho bRaia of representation These
ara questions fer consideration, and on which
we weuld.liko to baye Onligbtenmept. We
have fro II lime TO limo received documents
from the census bureau giving us tue statistics
Of this ana that state, but never anything
concerning Texas We do not know that
the press Of thu other states are given tho re-
turns Of every other state than their own,
but certainly that 10 ouc experience. We
have every reason to believe, howeTor, that
the population OF Texas is in the neigbbor-
hood Of 100000, nearly double what Il was
ten years ago. We CLEAN
thsse asurss from sources we deem
reliable, and we ara certain that tho,e ilgures
arc very nearly correct. 1t is generally un-
derStood and agreed that the basis Of ropro
sontatiaa will be iaercassa from ihs present
figures to say, 10000 ofpopulatioa ;sr oAcL
representative in congress. This basis, civ.
ing Texas ia round figures, 100000 popu,
latlon, will entito US to nine representatives
in congress, an increase of three. Now, the
quoat'oa ia, while we know in all reason that
VIC are entitled 10 MAE representatives in coz
greHs, can the legislature go to work aaa lay
oil nine congressional districts in tho state
II the legislature should do this work before
congress passes upoa tho official census 10.
turns, and ikea tho bAsis of representation,
will II hold good2 WIN tbs ni9s ropro,spts.
tlves be allowed 10 take thar seats. or oAly
six, or any al all Congressman have wars
peculiar to themselves OF constituting owes,
tons of this nature, and as each house of
congress under Tho constitution is tao JUDGE
OF the eligibility of It's own monbera, aud a,
party generally rules in issues Of this kind.
we do not know how to express ourselves on
this point. We do not van! to sea our state
suffer in any particular, especially in tbi,
matter, for It is one Of vital Importance.
We presume that our Legislators aro ooual 10
this emergency, but it il not amiss to sub.
init few remarks upon it, if .it is osly to
call their attention to ii.
Ma. @. X. LORD, general passenger spsp,
Of tho Baltimore @ Ohio railroad, has do.a
usthe kindness 10 send Us copy Of tho B.