Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1891-05-22
the TERRITORY GROrEsQuELY
CARVED.


rifr law Of Congress passed March
Bird, 1891, making appropriations Tor
the different departments Of the gov
eminent, contained also clause i'm
posing upon the Utah Commission tho
duty Of rc.dls,rieling this Territory
and apportioning the representative
and council districts upon the basis OF
population NJ shown by the late census.
OF that duty the Utah Commission has
now acquitted Itself, the result being
found In another column Of this paper.
Tho methods and motives Of this
highly picturesque body have been %
frequently expolnied that II Il nov
needless to do more than point to any
work II has performed for an instance
Of the injustice that IA none the les
rcprchenslble because II Is accom-
plished under the powers aud
authority that are possible with n
strained construction Of the law.
Hence when we say the Utah Com
mission has re-di-irlcted the Territory,
II Ia unnecessary TO say any thing
about tho fairness or tho Difference to
tho peoples rights with which II has
been done.
Nevertheless. n glance ut some Of tho
iucongruitlcs OF the present arrange
mont will not be without Interest.
Take tho seventh representative
district, for Instance. IL con.
si.ts OF the southwestern pre-
clncts Of Salt Lake county, and
the northern precincts Of Utah county;
but though II includes Herman, II
dies away from Bingham, only n few
miles distant, as though the place was
plaguc.utrlcken. Only when we come
TO the ninth district do we again get
sight Of the missing Bingham, aud
then II IL associated with Tooelo aud
Juab counties, though Mona precinct
has TO be omitted from tho latter b let
the Salt Lake county stranger In.
Poor Mona finally pulls up In
tho twelfth district. finding Il
self In such good company NJ the
south end OF Utah and tho north end
Of Sanpete counties. Then look at the
jugglery with the council districts.
The honorable gentleman who repre-
sents the fifth district In the upper
house Of the Legislature will bc voted
for by the residents OF Davis and Nor.
gan counties, three trans Jordan
precincts Of Salt Lake county
with the meteorlc Bingham added,
besides Tooelo and Juab coun.
ties, with unfortunate Mona
again left out. n there Isn't some.
Thing Of tho ''shoe-string" arrangement
about this, whore will you 20 10
find II?
But perhaps the principal inconslst-
ency In the arrangement appears In the
case Of Salt Lake City, Ogden and
Cache and Rich counties In tho matter
pf representatives, and In Salt Lake
City In tho matter Of councillors. Cache
and Rich counties elect one councillor,
which Ia all right, but combined thoy
elect two representatives, which Ia not
advisable In any ease where tho one
district could 10 no easily divided Into
two. Ogden City elects one councillor,
but two representatives. Would II not
have been preferable 10 the voters aud
more In accord with American meth.
DDS " that city had been made into
two representative districts, M II could
readily have been, II blsectcd
either from north 10 south or
from east 10 west2 In the case
Of Salt Lake City the same objec.
lion exists and IL still more glaring.
Instead OF giving one.slxth Of Salt
Lake CITY the privilege Of electlng IT,
local representative, and two-slxlhs the
opportunity TO elect their councillor,
the honorable Commission requires
that the citizens shall elect at large six
representatives and three councillors.
What has become Of all the patriotic
Ideas OF local selt.gOvernmont dropped
by President Harrison before aud ap.
plauded by the Utah Commission a
fortnight agol
As to the political significance OF the
new order recent changes In this and
other counties Of the Territory make II
impossible to speak with any accuracy.
This much Is apparent, however, to the
most casual observer. II the Commits.
sion believe the old political lines be.
tween the Peoples aud the Liberal,
parties are still to be- drawn as In the
past, 'no rcapportionment could have
been better calculated to add onor.
mously to tho" Liberal" representation.
by the new plan the minority would
10 favored beyond all deserts or lust
proportion.