Omaha daily bee., 1890-03-10

| buuTIlN D6 bhthOllSUeu one OF NutCn Will w
ON or near our northern border. Mr. Blaine,
who Is a brother TO Secretary Blaine, will
make his first tour of inspection in about a
| fortnight
| PRIVATE LEGISLATION.
"rhere will be no Wholesale private legis-
latlon In this congress-" said Representative
| Rowell of Illinois, one OF the the brightest
| and oldest republican members and char
man of the committee on elections, discus
sing today the work which is to be done
within the next four or FIVE months. "Private
legislation has become more burdensome, and
| l might add vicious, than all things else in
| congress. Private bills overshadow all
other measures, because they can summon
| greater energy and more support than
| measures of n general character.
Il am in favor of the creation of a large
| private bill committee which shall have alb
| solute elementary control of all measures
| which name the beneficlaries of the act. Pri-
| vate pension cases, war claims, private land
propositions, Indian depreciation claims, and
every other kind of proposition to legislate
| in favor of individuals named may be under
| the control of this committee. The commit
| tee should be composed OF as many AS hfty
members. IL should have a large committee
room, sufficient to enable the committee to
have full meetings, with clerks and stem
| ographers, and give accommodations to at
torneys aud claimants who wish to be heard
| for or against measures under consideration.
| This committee should conduct all debates
upon private bills, and its report to the house
| should be final and conclusive. There should
| be none of these debates in the house. They
| ought TO be conducted in this committee BY
making the committee large, composed
| of the strongest men in the house, and
governed by the best man obtainaole for
chairman, better justice would be done tho ose
who have claims before congress thon could
possibly be received under the present sys-
tenn, where measures are given such cur
sorry consideration, and where just PROPOSE
tlons are quite as likely to receive adverse as
favorable consideration. Measures reported
from this big committee should simply go TO
the house to receive formal action and be-
come matter of record. | think this would
be far better than the proposition to send all
private measures to court OF claims,
because the same process would be had with
propositions coming from the claims as Is
had at present, and the same abuses would
arisen
THE COMING CENSUS
Great interest ls taken here in the eleventh
census. 1t is probable that the country as a
whole does not appreciate the Importance of
this work. During the past decade the
greatest advances have been made toward
progress in the history of this country. The
population and wealth have never increased
SO rapidly. There have been many new in
dustries started, much foreign capital III
vested. and our interests have begun to
assume worldwide proportions.
Something Of true comprehension of the
general conditions of the country may be ex-
peCJeQ WDen Jne returns are all III anu lne
superintendent makes his computations and
prepares his syllabus. We will not only
know how many people we have, what they
o yn, and have good idea of what the future
promises, by comparison, but we will know
what we owe what we produce, and what
progress we are making, compared with what
we have done.
An important disclosure as to the political
and educational conditions of the country
may be expected when the census has been
talr Wa than bauin m fipnra ~ G n
suits at the presidential election in 1892 as
we are to have'a reapportionment of the con-
gressional districts at the hands OF this con-
gress, and consequently reapportionment
of the electoral votes, which will make the
most important influences possible in de-
terminiug the tide of political success ma
tionally.
Talk of the result nationally ls quite
speculative till the reapportionment Is made
The question is, what sections of country
will sboTthe greatest gains in population!
Southern men here are confident that they
will gain most, while the men from
the west and northwest believe they
will continue to show the greatest gains in
the way of population. or course, the
section showing the greatest gains in popu-
lation will get the largest increase in con-
gressmen and consequently the largest gains
in the electoral college, as the first forms the
basis for the latter.
Superintendent Porter, who has made
study of this problem, says the west and
northwest Will receive bne largest aCCeSSlOuS
IN the way OF congressman and electoral
votes. as they have had the greatest portion
OF the immigration since the taxing OF the
tenth census. In any event the south IS
much smaller in scope of territory than the
west and northwest, and it is reasonable TO
expect that the republicans will be most
benefited as party There IL no doubt
about the determination of the majority of
this congress to the final action on the re-
apportionmeut before the 4th of March, 1891.
II 10 pplitlpa "a wal iiIstica tn do
if the republicans fail or neglect to do so it
may be the political as we'll as the business
regret OF their lives.
THE ANTI-GERRYMANDER BILL.
1t is amusing to hear the democrats in both
houses OF congress howl about the PROPOSE
tion to pass bill prouiding that the mem
bers of the Flftysecond congress shall be
elected from the districts as they are now
arranged-a measure intended to anticipate
the work of the Eleventh census and prevent
the Vicious gerrymanderlng of democratic
legislatures.
Democrats here contend that it would be
unjust to the legislatures TO lnterpose any
interference with states rights. They say
il would be rank partisanship. The sece5-
sionists fought out the states rights section
of this proposition over quarter of
century ago ana the country sat down upon
it. So far as the partisan politics Is con-
cerned can 1t be SAID that the aim OF the leg
slatures throughout the country in gerry
Wandering IS anything else than
pohtlcsl What are states gerrymandered
fora And is ii any more fair for
u state to gerrymander congressional dis
tricIs than it is for congress TO prevent it!
Both legislative bodies are moved from the
same motive Is il possible for legislature
TO have higher or purer political motives
than congress! or to go about politics from
higher rightsl or to secure better results,
looked at in any lghti If it is fair, for
political reasons, for legislature TO begin a
gerrymander, what objections can there be
to congress proceeding upan the same plat
forml Clearly the constitution of the
United States gives congress absolute con-
troll of the election of congressman and also
the determination of the boundaries of con
gressonal districts. Otherwise how could
1t oe possible for congress- to determine the
question of it's own membership Other
Wlse state courts or county or district re-
turning boards, county or district canvas
sers, would say who was and who was not
elected to congress.
Ihe antLgerrymander bill should pass. II
will affect the elections this fall and will
leave the determination of boundaries of
congressional districts to the result of the
census which must bring about reappor-
tionment The congressman elected this
fall will sit IN the first congress under tn
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