New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-01
THE RIGHT KIND or TALK FROM MICHI-

| When the unanimous decision of the Michigan
| Supreme Court annulling the legislative gerry
| mander in that State, is examined 1t VIII DC
| found that it might well have been written
to cover the case now before our courts. In
another column we have reprinted the salient
nara graphs OF the Michigan decision, and we
call upon the people of NewYork to read them
| carefully. The power of the Michigan Legs
| lature TO reapporton the state is derived, as
is also the power of our Legislature. from the
| State Constitution and the Constitution OF
Michigan is almost a literal transcript of our
own in the provisions that deal with this sub
iect In Michigan two Apportionmcnt acts
were passed. one distributing seats in the state
Senate. and the other in the House OF Repre-
| sentativcs or, as we call IT, the Assembly ana
both acts were annullcd The Michigan Con
stitution provides that the senate shall con
| sist of thirty-twO members that Senators snail
be elected for two years and by single districts
| each district to choose one Senator; that no
county shall be divided in the formation OF
Senate districts unless it shall be eQuitaby en-
| titled 10 two or more Senators. Then, after
providinc fer a periodical enumeration of the
| inhabitants. the Constitution directs that at the
| first session after each enumeration the Legs
lature shall rcarrange the Senate districts accord
| inc to the number of inhabitants.
| This is our Constitution over again, except
| that ours is even more mandatory, ana gives
even less discretion ia regard 10 the equality
of the apportionment. The phraSeolo@N IN our
Constitution is that =" the SAID districts shall! be
so altered as that each district shall contain az
nearly as NAV be, an equal number OF inhab-
tantS, excluding aliens and persons OF color
not taxed" The Michigan Senate Act Is an
nulled on the sole ground OF unequal repre-
scntation. The Court :ecitcS that the ratio for
the division of the districts should be 65,43l.
Rut 70 one district the Legislature has given
81 .420 people; to another S2,697 to another
SS.67S: to another s6129; while to others 1t
has assigned only 41,245, 42.1l0. 39,127 ana
42.546 respectively. Tho Court says distinctly
that this is an outrage, that there le no excuse
for it. and that the rights Of the people by
such partisan manocuvrcS are lntolcrably III
iured 1t declares that its jurisdiction 10 com
pei an equitable apportiOnmcnt Is complete, ior
without such jurisdiction the constitutional
mandate that the districts shall be rcarrnGcd
"according TO the number of inhabitants would
be void of force and meaning. and would be
merely an expression of opinion ne Coul
denies that the Legislatures power Is one of
absolute discretion. and declares that that body
is not entitled without hindrance or appeal to
determine the mathematics OF an apportOh-
ment. 1t declares that it must not be tolerated
that one electOr in given county should possess
two or three times more influence IN the choicc
of a Representative or senator than anothcr
elcctoy in another district. Each clcctor, it
saws "in so far as is practicable is under the
Constitution possessed Of equal power and in
fuence." and that "equalty in such matters
lies at the basis Of our free Government" IL
declares that the Legislature must exercise an
honest and fair discretion so as to preserve
this equality Of representation. The Court ADDS
that nothing is needed to demonstrate that IN
the act under consideration such discretion
has not been exercised but to quote the
figures given above. And on this ground and
| this alone the act is annullcd.
The Chief Justice, in a concurling opinion
rebukes the Legislature sharply. While adj
hitting that the motive Of measure need not
he incurred into TO test its cOnSttuiiCnality, the
Chief Justice says that " the time has arrived
I for plain speaking in relation 10 the outrageous
practice Of gerry Wandering which has become
50 common. and has been so long INDUCED III
without rebukc that il threatens not only the
| peace Of the people, but the permancncy OF
our free institutions" lie says that the courts
alone can save the rights Of the people and
give them the equality in representation which
the Constitution guarantees" lie adds that
there is not an intelligent schoolboy who does
not know what is the motive OF these legs
lative appointments, and il is idle for the
courts to excuse them upon other grounds or
to keep silent as to the real reason. which Is
nothing more nor less than partisan advantage
taken in defiance Of the Constitution and III
utter disregard Of the rights Of the citizens"
This is honest, manly talk The inequalities
that are thus rcbuhcd arc utterly insignificant
when compared with the inequalities created
by the last Legislature in this State In one
Senate district in this State there arc 4S,1lG
people more than the proper ratio; in another
60 239 more: in another 2J,J6i more: III
another 1919 less and in another 2i.151
less. One ecctor in Duchess is by this act
made as powerful in the choice Of an Assembly,
man As three are permitted 10 he in St. Law
renee, and the crownng disgrace was perpc-
trated in giving four ASscmblymen to Albany
County, with population Of l5G,74s, and only
three to Monroe, with a population Of ISL 80.
The people of Ncw-Yori will not believe, until
they are compelled to, that they have courts
less free from partisan bias, less sensitive of
the public honor and less unhinching in their
duty to the people than tho courts OF Michi-
gan and Wisconsin.
|