The Arizona champion., 1891-03-21
AN INFAMOUS MEASURE.

teepth." Should the apportionment
 bill passed by both Houses last Friday
 become law, the Sixteenth will pass
 into history as the 'Disfranchising
 Sixteenth" As the Republican has
 before expressed it, if Mr. Baldwin
 had laid awake nights for a year study
 ing up some unjust scheme of appor-
 tionment he could not have presented
 one more unfair than the bill passed.
 As to the Council, it places the con
 trol of that body absolutely at the die
 tation of four counties. 'But each
 county in the district is to have
 Councilman" will say the supporters
 of the measure. Granted that they
 will. let us see how utterly at the
 mercy of the large counties the smaller
 ones are. Take the first district, com
 posed of the counties of Mohave,
 Yuma and Maricopa. The two first
 named have combined population of
 4ll5, while Maricopa has 1O,98G. Is.
 any one so foolish as to pretend that
 Maricopa will not absolutely control
 the nominations of all parties in their respective conventions Even if this
 were not so, by her superior vote she can dlctate with ease who shall be elected from the smaller counties in addition to her own Councilman. In the second district, composed of Yava- pal, Coconino and Apache, it would be the same, Yavapai county holding ab- solute sway. Apache county has 42Sl inhabitants, Coconino, reckoning on the basis of the vote cast, has 2342, | and the present Yavapai 6343, so that Yavapai could dictate the nominations and elections. So it would be again in the third district, composed of Pinal, Gila and Graham, the latter holding sway.
 Then in the fourth district Coch1se county would be practically without in the council. Pima county, with her l2.673 inhabitants, would so overtop Cochise, with her 693S, in voting power that the latter would be practically without a voice. Even should Pima be liberal and allow Cochise one Councilman, Pima would by her greater strength still control the other two. But she would not stop there. Maricopa, Yavapai ana Graham, as the populous and powerful counties in the other districts, each the three Councilmen from their respective districts, Pima, as che powerful county in her district, would want to do the same thing-and she would, too-and these four counties would say who should constitute the Council.
 The House apEGrtionment is equally unjust under this bill. Apache county with 428I inhabitants is given two and Gila with only 202l inhabitants is likewise given two, while Pinal county with 426l inhabi- ants. only 30 less than Apache, and more than twice as many as Gila, Is given bat one representative. Could anything more unjust be devised? Co., ,onino has over 300 more inhabitants 'han Gila and Yuma $50 more, yet Joconino and Yuma get but one rep 'esentative each and Gila two. Again Yavapai with 6343 inhabitants is given fopr representatives and Pima vith l2,673 more than twice as many s also given but four, In other words, t takes two of Pima county's citiz ms o equal one of Yavapai's, and 1t takes f our of Pinal county's citizens and two ( f Apache's, Yuma's and Coconino's o equal one of Gila's. One may well "Wh&t doth this, our GiIa nd Yavapai counties, feed upon that makes them so superior" |,
 Again, Cochise county, with 6938 I inhabitants is allotted but three repre- ! entatiyes, while Yavapai with 6j0 i ess population, gets four. Maricopa, , with 10, 986 inhabitants, nearly twice : $ many as Yavapai, also gets but four { representatives, yet as many as Pima | | cts with her 12673 inhabitants.
 No one questions the injustice of the q resent apportionment of the House, y which Cochise and Yavapai coun ies have five representatives each and u laricopa, with a greater population h lan either, has but two, and Graham u ~th only l25o less population than n n ochise, has but one. All admit this n fnir,n.c n1,triIn of nnu rn.l;l;..i