The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-09-16

4 EuA1y uuI2i1nfuI 60 y civil truss before the
/ war, and rebel during the war, but who from
a safe haven in Canada, sought by his hired
emissarles 10 give our peaceful cities to the
1 flames An unrestored rebel was named to rep
| resent this country at the court of St. Peters
| burg, unmindful of the fact that the Gar was
on our side during the Rebellion The courts of
| Europe were canvassed to find place for a man
who had declared the government he was TO rep
resent "a bloody usurpation." Our fishermen
are badgered in Canadian waters, while the
| peaceful retaliatory powers confded by law to
| the President are unused. So general has been
| the condemnation of our diplomatic dealings
| with Mexico that our distinguished Secretary of
State is said to believe that the whole country
has entered into conspiracy against him, while
the Jockey Club in Mexico has debauched his
special envoy The dying appeal of Mr. Tilden
was not enough to arouse the patriotism OF
Democratic majority in the House to
G1aKe an appropriation for our coast defenses.
| The modest bill for new war ships-carrving &c.,
| 5OO,OOO-was, by decree of the Democratic steer&
ing committee, reduced TO So 500. 900. under q
threat that 1t should not otherwise have consid-
| Grafton. Wounded and deserving soldiers have
/ been expelled from public Office upon secret
| charges and their appeals to know the character
| or the charges have been treated by an arrogant
| head OF department with contemptuCus silence.
Civil service, reform inaugurated under
| Republican administration, was con6ded by the
| votes of its special champions TO Democratic
| care. It has not thrived. The law has in many
| of the public offices been shRmefully evaded and
| set at naught The reform is in the rapids. It's
| great danger is that those who claim to have its
| destiny In charge will stamp as genuine the ar
ticle which this administration has put before
the country. If the system of removal upon
| cret charges is civil-service reform, then the
| country will have none of it. Governor Gray
speaks or this policy as a mistake-it was
crime. 1t is hopeful sign that in own
State civilservice friends still know the gen.
uine article and have the courage to expose this
| base imitation. The reform can be saved if its
atohn
fy their choice In 1884 than they are to save It.
| Il THE INDIANA GERRYMANDER.
y It is fortunate, think that we have in this
campaign some matters of absorbing State in
| tarest to be considered And first among these.
| in Importance and urgency, is the question OF
| recovering to the majority of our people their
| equal political influence.
| The duty of dividing the State into suitable
| districts for the election of members OF the
| State Legislature, and Of the lower house of
Congress- devolved upon the last Legislature,
| which was Democratic in both branches by large
majorities. In the pretended discharge of this
| duty, laws were passed re-districting the State
for legislative and congressional purposes These
were not the result of an honest effort to deal
| justly by the people, and to preserve as far as
might be, the equal influence of every voter
but are the progeny and fruit of conspiracy
which involved not only the majority in the
Legislature, but many leading and am
bilious Democrats outside of it, who
| ambitions to any fair test before the people
The requirements of the Constitution, which the
members had sworn to support, were absolutely
disregarded, and the necessities of the Demo
cratic party and of certain of its statesmen
alone considered. The title of the legislative
apportonment BILL il it had been given an hon
est name, would have read 'An act to enable
a Democratic minority of the voters of Indiana
to make its laws and to choose United States
Senator" It was intended to take such odds
that the party might hold it's power against a
revolt in its ranks as well as against it's ad-
versaries. 1t was intended TO make the bosses
| and party manipulators independent of the peo
ple-to destroy the value of the National and
Prohibition vote IN localities where they might
hold balance of power. In word, to make
our State government government by minor
ity and not by majority.
The Constitution provides that every sixth
year there shall be an enumeration of the voters
of the State. Section 5, Article 4 declares the
basis of the apportionment, and is as follows:
The number of Senators and Representatives shall
at the session next following each period of making
such enumeration be fixed by law, and apportioned
among the several counties according to the number
of male inhabitants above twentyone years of age in
each.
The next section provides that the districts
shall be composed of contiguous counties if of
more than enc, and that county, shall be
divided for senatorial purposes
1t must not be forgotten that the law in force
when the present one was enacted, the law of
1879, was of Democratic origin, and that under
it the Republicans had carried the State in 1880
by plurality CT $500, but failed to secure
majority in the Senate while in 1884 the Demo
Gratis carried the State by q plurality of 6, 500.
| and had majority of sixteen in the Senate
and thirty in the House. The odds
of that law were against US; 1T was unfair 1t
was "gerrymander." It's unfairness was ex.
posed by Hon. j. w. Gordon, in the campaign
of 1880, with force of figures and logic that
could not be answered. But the odds were not
| enough to secure Democratic majority on joint
ballot in 1880. The report of Mr. Rice Auditor
of State, of the enumeration taken as the basis of
the present apportionment shows that each 4, GAG
voters we're entitled to choose Representative,
and each 1893 voters to choose Senator. Aud
Rep, 1883, p. 1919 The vote of Indiana in 1884
was:
Cleveland. 244 992
Blaine 238, 48O
ST. john. Observation-Disclosures. 3.O28
Total. 494, 1893
| The Democratic party lacked 1900 votes of
| having majority of all the votes cast It had
only 6,512 votes more than the Republican party.
| This plurality was only 1000 more than the
number required for Representative as
| shown above, and was over 5000 less than the
| number required for one State Senator 1t is
| apparent then. that fair apportonment for
| legislative purposes-one which preserved as far
as possible the equal influence of each voter
would, upon the vote OF that year, give the Dem
| oarats very small advantage But, upon the
! basis of the vote Of that year by counties for
President, they would have, under this appor-
| tionment. thirty-three Senators, leaving only
| seventeen to the Republicans, Nationals and
Prohibitionists, though the aggregate votes of
those parties constituted majority of the voting
| population of the State. In the House, upon
| the basis of the same VOTE the Democratic
minority would take sixty two members leaving
only thirty eight to the parties having major
| ity of nearly 5000 Of the legal voters of the
! State Or, to state the result in another form,
| the districts SO manipulated that every 7,424
! Democratic votes select State Senator while
| IA 694 votes used or suppressed for each op-
| position Senator elected That is, every Demo
| cratic vote Is given very nearly twice the power
| in the election Of Senator that is given to
Republican, National or Prohibition vote.
In the House, every 1881 Democratic votes is
|