New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-03-20
NETWORK DAILY TRIBUNE TUESDAY, MARCH ~ 1883

trict, though it gave Garfield majority OF o'ooi'
Under the bill that has passed the ASST 'ioiy
the Democratic party will be fairly certain OIL
CARVING fifteen districts outside of Erie County
Another district the XVIIth, will be doubt
full. with the chances in favor Oh INC parry
which can capture the votes that nave heio'o
fore gone to the Greenback candldates' 40
tbe C,reenbackers are natural Democrats, tlaV
district can probably be counted against the
Ronuhlcans. The Democrats will also nave
what are called fighting chances IN the
XXVIIIth and XXXIIId districts Ii they
can persuade the Administration kepuolcan9
in Buffalo TO follow the same course Wnlon
thew have followed in the past they VIII oo
likely TO prevail in that district Also In thaC
event they would have seventeen out OIL
the tbirty-four Congressman from this STATE
and the number might be increased to nineteen
As comnorod with the ten districts carried by
them in ordinary years heretofore, thaC po''.-
bic total of nineteen speaks well lor 'he'i
gerrymandering capabilities. VI course we iiaho
no calculation on the basis of last years electon
for congressman, when the Democrats carrleu
twenty out of the thirty -three districts' IL
thew are figuring on any such basis they must
expect TO reduce the Republican representation
almost to n cipher, which would be very
foolish estimate in view OF the record thelr
Senators and Assemblymen are making Tor
themselves at Albany.
The manner in which the Democrats go to
work to bring about this changed condition OF
affairs is plain enough. There was one extra
district to be created. In providing for 1t they
have added TWO districts to that part OF the
State below the Harlem River in which lies the
heavy Democratic vote, and they have decreased
the number of districts in that part of the State
where the Republicans are in majority. III 30
doing they have not regarded the constitutional
requirement in respect to population. Ihere
should be 149. 800 persons In each Congress
sonal district, to mako an equitable apportion-
ment of the State into thiIty-fOur districts. Inc
proposed With District, which according to the
last census is decreasing i'll population,
will be- %, 900 short of the number OF per-
sons necessary to cntitle 1t to repre-
sentative In Congress. The XVIII district,
however, will exceed its quota of population
by $4,000. In other words, district with
large Democratic majority will have $1,000
less inhabitants than one giving large Re-
publican majority. The XIXth District will
have $4,000 more than its proportion OF pop
ulation; the XXVIth will have an excess OF
10000; the XXVIIIth 10000; the
XXXIId $4,000. All of these are
Republican districts; and there are still
others similarly constituted. The XXlVth,
which will form ne W Democratic district
will have 10000 less than the requisite NUM-
Der of inhabitants. In fact not one OF the
distinctively Democratic districts has any ex-
cess of population to speak Of, except the WITH,
which has about -, 900 more than the required
number. Almost all the others are below the
constitutional requirement. Under these cir
cumstances we object to tho Democrats calling
their apportionment anything else than what
it really is-a gerrymander of a particularly
Objectionable kind.