The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1889-03-14
THE TWENTY-FIVE DISTRICTS
An Approximate Outline Of The Coming
EppOPtlOnmsnt.
A Calculation Of the TeFTItOrY's Pep
ulatiOn ON the Basis Of the Veto
Cast Last November; Allow
ance for New Population.

There will be seventy-fve delegates in
the constitutional convention. The terri
tory must be divided into twenty-five dis
tricts, in each Of which three delegates
will be elected. The work Of districting
the territory will be performed by the
governor, chief justice Of the supreme
court and secretary Of the territory, or u
majority Of them. The appoltionment will
be according to population, as near as may
be, to be ascedained for the best informa-
tion obtainable.
Probably The best information at hand
was the election returns Of November last.
The total vote was 46,3ls. 1t is probably
fair estimate to say that 10 per cent. Of
the voters did not vote, or 1886. Then
there have come into the territory since
Novembe-, or in four months, not less
than 10000 men entitled to vote. These
swell the total voting population TO co. ,9SS.
On the basis upon which population is
usually calculated, four and one-half per-
sons to each vote, the total population at
this time cannot be iar from ga, ,424.
OF course 1t is impossible, within the
time allowed for the wo.k, to determine
how the increase Of population Is dist-ib-
uted The only way is to distribute the
estimated increase pro rata among the
counties. Assuming the population last
November 10 have been, on the basis Of
the vote cast plus the percentage who did
not vo.e, 229, ,424, there will be q surplus
of 1000 to distribute pro rata among the
counties; according 10 the vote cast in
them respectively last November. 1t
wodld require u more elaborate calcula-
tion than is necessary at this time to give
a detailed statement Of the result, but suf-
ficieltiy accurate results can be arrived at
by multiplying the total vo.e in November
by ~ and then adding the sum Of the
total vote cast. For example, King
county cast a total Of 6lSO votes. This
sum plus 10 PEI cent. not voting and then
multiplied by AZ, the ratio Of the popu-
lation 10 the voter, gives 81, O,59l, and adj
ding 6lsO, the county's pro rata Of the
increase Of population, Total population
Of S6,77I Is indicated.
Assuming the population Of the terri
tory to be ga, ,424, each Of the twenty-five
districts, as nearly as may be, must have
a population Of 1897. This would give
King:countv Total Of nine delegates with
SslO population to spare, or the equiva-
lent of one-third Of an additional dele
gate. Ii appears there capnot be a joint
delegate elecied in order to adjust such
inequalities, as the ndm5er OF districts
are fixed and also the number OF delegates
to be elected in each one. To be sure,
county lines might be disregarded, but
then the diiiculiy Of asceriaining the
population Of the particular section Of
county thrown into another district will
possibly prevent this plan being adopted.
According 10 the same basis Of calcula-
tion the districts. with the res r,ective pop
ulation, will be defined as follows:
First district-Walla Walla, 1861 sec
ond-C Columbia, 1907, and Garfield, 5sl4; ;
third and fourth-Asoiin, 1903, and Whit
man, 22,526; fifth and s;xth-Spokane,
26,423; seventh-Lincoln, 1908; eighth
Stevens, $40, OkanOgan, 3343, and
Douglas, 2749; ninth-Adams, 2l96,
Franklin, $50, and Yakima, 54l4; tenth
-Kittitas, s632; eleventh, Klickitat, 6593,
and skamania, SO; twelfSh-Clarke, lO,-
1893; thirteenth-C -Cowlitz, $3.50, and Lewis,
9Sl6; Observation-Disclosures, 1886, Pa
cific, 1874, and Chehalis, $3.50; fifteenth
-Thurston, S4SS; sixSeenth-MasOn,
1898, and Kitsap, 4446: seventeenth
jefferson, 64S2, and Clallam, 2O90; eight
eenth-IsIand, 1924, San Juan, 22S5, and
Whatcom, 74OS; Observation-Disclosures
1875; twentieth-SkSgit, 1926; twenty
first, twenty-second and twenty-third-
King, S6,77l; tweniy-fourth and twenty
fifty-Pierce, 24,c4O.
This gives a total OF twenty-five dis
tricts. There are ten east Of the noun
tains and fifteen west.-Sedtile Budget.
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