The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1883-07-07
proz0u Faota About Apportionments

~. IL
Frozen Facts About Appointments
PHiLApEIPHn TINES The present
Legislature sat five months the fnli
period it could draw pay--in reRul
session, and failed to perform one OF the
important public duties that is made
mandatory by the Constitution every
legislator is sworn to OBEY. That i'm
portant public duty is the apportionment
of the State in Congressional. Legislative
and Judicial districts.
Having failed to perform that impor-
tant duty, Governor Pttison has con
Scned the Legislature in extraordinary
session for the special purpose OF passing
the apportionmeut bills, and it is freely
piyen out that while the JuliciHl bill Is
likely TO pass, the Congressi' nal bill Is
in great peril and the Legislative bill is
foredooned to defeat. Upon what
grounds are these possible or probable
failures basedp
II the Democrats had partisan control
of the Senate, as they have of the House
and the Governor, they would pats rrgu-
lar Democratic gerrymandering appcr
tiopments, of course. They all do ii
and when either criticize the other by
anfairneys, it is simply pot calling kettle
black. But the Democrats have the
House and Governor and the Republl'
cana have the Senate, and there can be
no partisan gerrymander for either side
In other words, both parties are com
peeled by necessity and not by choice t'
m Ike reasonably fair apportionments, i
they-are TO be made. The one vantage
or ,und held by the Republicans is ii
their old Republican gerrymandered ap
bortionments, which continue in case o.
f,ilure to pass new bills.
The Republicans publicly profess t.
favor fair apportionments. Do they real
ly mean it7 II they do, they will taxi
the Presidential vote of 1880, the fulles
a,i fairest test Of relative party strength
divide the quota of voters by the numb
or of Congressional districts and thu
.so-rtain by mathematical certaint'
what would be fair division Of G, n
gressmen. Tested by that intalllole rule
the Republicans would be entitled to
fraction less than Is congressman nn'
tbe Democrats would be fully entitled tt
IL, But there are insuperaGle geographi
cal obstacles to an absolute fair appor
Ito lment, as the Democrats have "a, OU
voters in Philadelphia, and no sort o
eerrymanderipg could give them tw'
Congressmen, while perfectly na'ura
districts could be made which would Civ
them none at all, Indeed, the Demo
2 cratic wards must be punched to Civ
them one certain district, In like man
per. Allegheny has 22,0O0 Democrat
voters, and any apportionment mus
make them voiceless.
The Democrats must in any fair ar
portienment, lcss one Congressman
which their vote fairly entities them, bu
there common fairness would call hal
In reducing their Congressman belo'
their just ratio on population and Vo'e'
A fair apportionment with natural gee
graphical lines. could be made giVin
the Democrats ~ aud the RepuLlicHl
~. or what would be better, IL Demt
cratic, 10 Republican and 3 deb"taol
districts; but the fact that R-preseht'
tive Lowrey, of Indiana, was jeered an
hissed by bis Republican colleagues III IL
House, when he proposed to concede IL
Democrats eleven Congressman, or tw
less than their vote fairly entities thel
10. is anything but an indication OF Il
publican sincerity.
The same uuerring rule applied
s material districts, would give IL
Democrats % of the so Senators, ate
p allowing the Republicans even mol
than the benefit of fractions. The san
insupernble obstacles apply in that Fl
portionment, however, because of K
overwhelmed Democratic vote in Phil
delphia and Allegheny; but there shoul
be no hesitation in conceding the DEM
..,scrats % districts with reasonable DEM
cratic majorlties, Anything less tia
We have herein indicated, would falsl
every Republican profession of fAirne
10 the Democrats in the Congression
AA Legislative apportionments, and II
refusal to eoncede SO much TO the Dem
Gratis must mean determined purpo
either to refuse fair division of dis s.rict
or tn d,f at all apportioumeut bills b
cause of the Republican partisan gerr
mander which would then remain
force. Such are the hozen facts abol
Sol a?portionrents. ns Ggurcs don't Ii
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