Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-07-07
POCKET B0R0UGHS.
THE INFAMOUS SYSTEM OF STRANGLING THE
PEOPLES WILL
Adopted by the Republican Leadsrs-ldaho and
Wyoming Added TO the List Of Rotten
S!ates-Thirty Thousand Voters
With -Four Senators.

WASmNGToN. July G.-PreSident llar-
rison has signed the bill for the admis-
sion of Idaho as State into the Union.
This completes the Republican conspir
acy against the Senate, The new rot
ten boroughs-Idaho and Wyoming
take their places in the sisterhood of
States.
Their admission into the Union is such
an outrage as has never before been per-
petrated upon the older States. 1t gives
to the Republican party four additional
Senators and two additional RepreSen
tatives. And these six Republican Con-
gressmen represent a population very
much less than is contained In almost
any existing Congressional district.
The Republican party is after Con-
grcssmen. 1t is doing its utmost to hold
the Government by legislation which
will enable Quay TO steal seats under
the protection of statutes, and ii is but
treSSing its power by the admission Of
rotten boroughs. III il loses the House.
as the leaders fear unless Reeds Elec-
tion law works as is intended, il will
still have the Senate by reason of the
admission OF the new States, so that
even If the Democrats win the House.
and the Presidency they will not be
able to repeal Republican partisan leg
| iSation for the next ten years, at least.
Therefore the leaders in Congress and
the President lend themselves to Il
scheme which puts Idaho, with popu-
lation of less than 80, 900. on an equality
with New York. or Pennsylvania, or
Ohio, or Illinois, or any other State.
Wyoming also, with its two Senators,
may have a population of $1,000. These
| two new States can outvote New York
with its millions of people, and the two
together are the equal in the Senate of
any two States in the Union.
The diSprOpOrtionate power given TO
them may be judged from a comparison.
There are at least fifteen wards in the
city of New York each OF which has a
population larger than that of either OF
the new States. There are several
wards with population as large as that
of the two States put together. And
yet these wards are only parts Of Con-
| gresSiona districts and very small
fraction of the State which sends two
Senators to Washington.
In 1883 the First Congressional Dis
trict of New York cast nearly $4,000
more votes than the two new States cast
together. The Second District cast
900 more, the Third l6, 600 more, the
Fourth about 1000 more. And so II
goes. Even in the rural districts of
New York. and even in the Southern
States. the votes in a Congressional dis
trict were about equal to the aggregate
vote of the two new States. And yet
the 200, 600 people represented by Mr..
| Covert, of the First District OF New
York. have one member Of Congress,
while the 10000 people of Wyoming
and Idaho will have four Senators and
two Representatives
I'm this same year. lsSS. the State OF
Ohio cast 775, 72l votes for President.
Wyoming cast 1900 for Delegate in
Congress, and Idaho 1903. Ohio's
| 775.72l voters will have two Senators.
The "a, ,023 voters of the two new States
will have four Senators. The State of
Rhode Island, the smallest in the old
Union, east nearly 10000 more votes
than the two new States put together
and has about twice the population.
If the counties of New York should
be admitted to Statehood on this basis
Of population nineteen OF them would
| be entitled to two Senators each. In
other words. without changing county
lines. New York might be made into
twenty States. And of these twenty
new States four would be larger in pop
ulatiOn than the two new States put to-
gether.
These facts, startling as they are, do
not begin to conclude all that might be
shown of the injustice done by the ad-
mission of these thinly settled commu-
mites in to the Union, but here they
are, by the action of Republican Con-
gress and President. each of them
having a power in the Senate equal to
that OF a State with fifty times the pop
ulation of both and with thirty-four
times the representation of either.