Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1892-02-24
Cog. srooner,s Master1v Argnment.

Probably one of the ablest arguments
ever made before the supreme court of
Wisconsin was that Of ex-senator
Spooner's in the gerrymander case,
which came up for Argument on the 9th
instant. 1T fully" says the State Jour
nal, sustained the high reputation of
that learned advocate, and gave renewed
evidence OF his right to the title of one
OF the ablest constitutional lawyers Wis
ConsIn has produced, as he is recog-
nized among the leading LAWYERS of the
country" On the proportionate
representation clause in the or
dinance of 1877, Col. Spooner's
remarks are we'll worth a careful study:
What utter folly to argue in this day In
the highest court of the state upon
which our constitution confers original
jurisdiction IN matters pubiicj 3lrjs, that
III the passage OF an appOrhOnment bill
or any other bill involving the exercise
of legislative power the limitations of
the constitution are ropes of sand, and
that the legislature is a constitution I'm
to Itself This court took original iuris-
dICtICn Of Injunction in the case of the
AttOrney-General VS.. Eau Claire, to
protect the sovereignty of the state and
the public interest against the invasion
under an unconstitutional enactment
by that city of the navigation of the
Chippewa River at point where it had
never been navigable except for the
floating of logs. and where its waters
had never been vexed by the
keel of any craft larger than
the canoe Of the Indian or the
batteau Of the lumberman, mainly
upon the ground that by the ordinance
Of 1857 engrafted upon the constitution,
the state held that river under a trust to
q
pact, to maintain it forever free. 1t has
seemed to me that IN perception, fore
sight and wisdom the great ordinance
OF 1857 is TO be ranked With the ConSti-
tuition Of the United States. 1t was
drawn and enacted by men imbued with
the spirit of the revolution, who thor
understood and appreciated the value of
personal and religious liberty, the i'm
portance of popular education and the
principle that government should be of
laws, not of men BY article of that
great charter, upon which was based the
government of the territory of the
Northwest. from which has sprung so
many great commonwealth, it is pro-
vided:
1.-The inhabitants of the said territory
shall always be entitled to the benefits
OF the writ of habeas corpus and of the
trial by Jury, Of prOpOrtionate repre-
SSAtdIiOA % C4S pSOplS III Gu6 I0SISld-
true, and of judicial proceedings accord
ing to the course of the common law
These men. fresh from the revolution,
conscious OF the injustice of taxation
without representation, stipulated in
this great charter compact as solemn
as any ever signed by man, that along
side of the writ Of liberty and the right
of trial by ones peers and of iudic-
lal proceedings according to the
course Of the common law, which
they had been taught to believe
was the. perfection, of human wis
dom, there should be forever
maintained for this people, that other
jewel, a proportionate representation
of the people IN the legislature So
that when the architects of our consti-
tuition drafted the provisions relating to
apportiOnmentand representation, they
wrought not simply under the impulse
and duty to preserve and protect and
perpetuate this essential element of
representative and republican govern
ment, but they obeyed the obligation of
solemn compact. This provision of
the ordinance of 1857 stands unrepealed
IN its obligations; the trainers of the
constitution recognized 1t, and did their
best to secure it to the people forever.
The question now is whether the cove
nant can be broken and dishonored
without redress. That the supreme
court of this state in the exer-
else of its original jurisdiction
will use the prerogative writ of
injunction TO protect the sovereignty of
the state, Ia enable it to keep its COM
pact to maintain free the navigation by
logs of q rocky and rushing river, but
has no Jurisdiction to protect the sover-
eighty of the state in the great trust
which is born of the same ordinance,
guarded with industry and intelligent
care IN the same constitution, the right
Of propOruonate representation of the
people III the legislature, is the height
of absurdity. To declare that the court
has no jurisdiction Of the subject matter
of this case Is to thwart the anxious eff
forts and care of the founders of the
constitution TO obliterate the safe
guards which they threw around the
great right of representation and self
government. and to abdicate the Judi
cial power to the legislature, and leave
that body to be forever a court of first
and last resort upon this great Ques
ton"
These are some illustrations of the
reckless violation of the great charter
pointed out by Col. Spooner that de-
mand attention and study: The unit Of
representation Of the Assembly dis
tricts is 6,S6S, and Of the Senate dis
tricts 81 III The Ninth Senatorial Dis
trict was made with ali the crooks and
turns possible 103 miles long, with
population Of 81, 40, while the district
adjoining it has less by 10000. Senate
District No. y has 38,690 inhabitants,
which is $1,000 less than No. 10. The
Ia Crosse district has a population Of
IS. sol, but al adjoining district has S.
322, and still another district contains
IS, SOL. Here in Milwaukee, the differ
eace between the districts is fully as
marked, that between District No. ) and
District No. y being 80, 325, and between
10. y and % being 30,634. In the
Assembly districts, 'the proportionate
representation in the legislature"
clause IN the ordinance of 1857 is
strangled fully as violently as in the
Senate districts, in some Democratic
districts a little over 5000 population
beng sufficient for a Democratic mem
Der, but in the Republican districts
from II 900 10 1000 are required for
member Of the Assembly.
Col SuO0ner called the attention of