The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-05
THE LEGISLATIVE .GEKRyaANDER.

| The speech of Senator Huston on the lagsla-
| tive gerrymander, which was finally enacted
| yesterday, presents comprehensive compare
tive statement of the unconstitutional and in
famous irregularities of the discriminative rep
resentation given the two parties.
The question under consideration Senator
| Huston said, lis one of great Importance, and
| upon which every member of the minority upon
the floor of the Senate should be heard. Though
! the matter of reapportoning the State is in the
hands absolutely of the majority in this General
Assembly, still we of the minority can exercise
our right and prerogative of pointing out its
Irregularities and protesting against its unjust
Determinations. We do not fatter ourselves
with the hope that anything we may say, any
argument we may make, or any unfairness we
may point OUT will in any sense change the re-
suit This matter has been agreed upon in the
Democratic caucus, and the edict has
gone out that it must be done. ana conse
quently it will be. The majority has the
power and use it, despite the minority.
l object to this bill because think it unconsti-
tutional and because it discriminates in favor of
the Democratic countless depriying the Repub-
lican counties of the representation to which
they are justysentited, and becauseit practically
DISTINGUISHES hundreGs-yes thousandS-of Re-
| publicans throughout the State. L would call
the attention of the Senate to section of article
of our Constitution which reads as follows:
I" The number of. senator's and representatives
SHALL at the session next following each period of
| making enumeration, be fixed by law, and
portoned among the several counties according to
| the,nunber of male inhabitants above twenty-one
| years of age in each.
| "tIhe Constitution explicitly defines how this
| apportionment shall be made, namely according
to the male inhabitants over twenty-one years
| of age. This provision is mandatory, and it
| can be done in no other way and be in accord
! with the spirit Of this section referred to.
| This bill has been drawn in utter disregard of
this constitutional provision. There is no appar
emit concern as to numbers entitled to .reprerent
alton, but the sole object is to SO apporton the
State to give the largest possible majority in
! the General Assembly to the Democratic party.
| This apportonment of the State, tits claimed
| by the majority, is, equitable and just. and in
/! harmony with the snirit of the Constitution l
do not think it just or right. but, ON the other
i hand. deem it iniquitous and infamous in the
| extreme. Let us make some comparisons as to
| the representation allowed in Republican and
| Democratic districts:
/ THE IRREGULARITIES OF REPRESENTATION.
! Under tho recent enumeration, and upon
| which should be based this apportionment, it
would entite 4, 936 male inhabitants over the age
Of twenty years to, a. representative in the
House, and for every senatorial representative
it would require 9, 872 male inhabitants the
age of twentyone years claim that this APP
portionment is not in accordance with this re-
qui4Ament, but on the contrary, in Democratic
districts the reprcsention is much larger than in
Republican districts, Republican counties being
neutralized and practically disfranchised by being
added to counties with overwhelming Democrat
ic maiorites. In the district composed of Han
cock and Rush, which is certainly Democratic
| on account of the, large Democratic majority Of
Hancock county, this Democratic district,
with but 9. 328 voters has representation equal
to five representatives, or one representative to
each 1,S65 voters. In the district COM
posed Of franklin. Union and Ripley,
which is reliably Democratic. with Ii. 375
| voters, they have a representation equal
to five repres entatives, or one to each 1926
voters. In the district composed of Gibson,
Perry and Vanderberg, which is reliably Dem
oeratic, with 81, 473 voters, it has representa-
ton equal to eight and two thirds representative
votes one to each 2,477 voters. In the district
composed Of Monroe. Morgan, Johnson Bar
| tholomew and Brown the district in which the
Democrats of Brown county vote for the repre-
sentatives for the five counties of the district,
having 10. 900 voters, has representation equal
to eight representatives. or one to each 2,2G0
voters. In the reliable Republican district com
posed of Delaware and Randolph counties, with
II, 257 voters, they are allowed representation
equal to four representatives, or one to each 81
0Gf voters
ut will be seen that while in Democratic dis
tricts representative is accorded for any num-
her Of voters varying from lss5 to 247a, that in
dolph it requires 1904. In the
district of Huntington and Wells
reliably Democratic, with C,890 voters
being 1867 less than Delaware and Randolph,
| elect jointly one representative more LaPorte
| county, with S524 votes, being 1873 less than
Randolph and Delaware, elects within half of one
representative as much as Delaware and Ran
dolph, is allowed We see the number required
in Delaware and Randolph is 1904 while in
Democratic LaPorte it is 9, Sol. In the Repub
| lcan district of Kosciusko and Wabash, with
49, 0l6 voters, they have equal to
{ four representatives, being one representative
to each 3. 2j4 voters, while the Democratic dis
trict of Sullivan and Greene with 960l voters, is
| given representative equal to four and one
| third representatives. or one to each 2,2l5
voters. In other words Greene and Sullivan
Democratic district With 9,60l voters, being
3,415 less than Kosciusko and Wabash,
arc given one-third of a representative
more. Again, the Democratic district of
Daviess, Martin and Dubois. with II, 339 voters,
has representation equal to FIVE and one-fourth
representatives, or one to each 2 159 voters. In
short, these three counties with voting popu
lation of l, 677 less than Kosciusko and Wabash,
have one and one-fourth representatives more.
In the district consisting of Allen county, with
1870 voters, has equal to FIVE and one half rep
resentatives, being one to each 2,529 voters.
| This county, having but S4 more votes than
| kosciusko and Wabash, is given one and one
half more representatives; or, in other words, in
| the Democratic county of Allen 800 voters are
accorded representative. while in the Repub-
lcan district of Kosciusko and Wabash itreqrires
| 1854. The Democratic district of Cass and Mi
! ami, with 1876 voters, is accorded equal
| to six representatives, or one to each
| 2274 voters. In other words. this
| Democratic district, with $50 votes more
than its neghborng Republican district
oftKosciusko and Wabash, is allowed for this
630 votes two representatives,, or the basis of
| one representative to each 80 voters In short
| 3l5 Democrats of Cass and Miami exercise the
! same power that is accorded 1924 votes in the
| Republican counties of Kosciusko and Wabash
! The Republican county of Lawrence, with
| 3.929 voters is denied a representative while
the Democratic county of Upton, with 229 less
voters, is given representative. Also the
same may be said of Jennings county with 81