The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-25
THE APPORTIONMENT OF 1879.

Ex-senator Mcdonald, In a speech at Lo-
gansport, attempted to defend the addition of
Sullivan county to the Eighth district, on the
ground that that county should be attached
''to its business center" Vigo county. TWAS
for the same reason, we presume that Madi
was attached to the indianapolis district. 1t
won't do. Mr.. Mcdonald said further: ''But
they say we got political advantages out of
that; WELL are we to throw them away, my
friends9 ask any fair-minded Republican if
he expects Democrat to throw away
political advantage that comes fairly to him.
Does he expect him to do that, and to be dis
regardful Of the interests of his party7 I
never have been and never expect to be-"
This is not the language of a sage and con-
sentative political counselor, but that of an
expectant beneficiary of the apportionment of
1885. Whether or not Mr.. Mcdonald will
be the beneficiary time only can determine.
A depressing satirist has said:
''Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never is, but always to be, best"
Is Senator Mcdonald fulfilling prophecy7
Mr.. Mcdonald also criticized the Republican
apportionment of 1872 although he was
chosen United States Senator by Democratic
Legislature elected under that apportionment.
If the Democratic party obtained a just pro-
portion of members of the General Assembly
in the election of 1874, as compared with the
popular vote, the charge of gerrymander will
not. lie.
Let us see. In 1874 the vote fol Secretary
of State was as follows:
J0hn A. H. Mem .-.'----------....-..-. 1S2O53
W. w. Curry ---.----.-----.............. 164. 800
=. D. STOUT. ..-.....-..-.-..-..-..--. 15,755
Iotal. -.........-.....-.-..-- 365,744
There being 100 members of the lower house
and the total vote being 800, 744, every 1861
are entitled to representative In this ratio
the Democrats would be entitled, according to
their vote, to fifty members of the House of
Representatives. AS matter of fact they
had 81 The Republicans were entitled, &C
cording to their vote, to IS Representatives;
they only obtained 80. In the Senate "a Sen
ators held over from the election of 1872,
which gave the Republicans a large plurality
Of the 26 Senators elected in 1874 the Demo
Gratis would have been entitled, under an alb
solutely just apportionment, to Is. They
obtained Is. Thus it will be seen that if
there was disproportion between the Demo
cratic Representatives in the Legislature and
the popular majority Of the Democratic party
in the State election, that disproportion mill
tated against the Republican party. The ell
legged Republican gerrymander of 1872 is q
myth. But whether or not the Republicans
gerrymandered the State, two wrongs cannot
make right, and had it been gerrymandered
hundred times that would be one hundred
reasons why it should never be gerymandered
again.
If the Democratic party succeeds in elect
ing two-thirds majority in the Legislature
this year and ten out of the thirteen Congress
men, under the apportionment of 1885, it will
have committed deliberate and unhallowed
theft of political power. So far as the princi-
pie is concerned it does not make any differ
ence whether this be obtained bv the shot
gun, by tissue ballots, by fraudulent count, or
by an act of the Legislature. One and all, it
is great political crime
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