The morning call., 1892-08-08
ILLEGAL APPoRTIoNMENT.

& has perhaps never occurred to the
small politicians when studying cut plan
Of portonment shat would give their OF
ponent the smallest possible number of
representatives, that an illegal apportion-
ment was possible But there seems to be
d limit tc this kind Of sharp practices. The
Other day the Supreme Court OF Michigan
declared the appcrtlonment Of that State
made by the last Democratic Legislature
Illegal, and now tie Supreme Court Of New
\ OTk has under consideration the consti-
tutionaity OF the work of the Democratic
Legislature Of that State. THE CALL read
eTs will remember that the Democrats,
under the management Of Hill, got control
Of the Senate by unseating three members
no were elected by the face of the returns.
One object was TO make an apportionment
Of the State which would make the election
Of Republican Legislature hereafter i'm
possible The Democrats wanted other
things. but this most of all. The Tribune
tells how the thing was done:
The houses were scarcely open for business
before BIN empowering the Secretary OF State
60 lake an enumeration was introduced. All
discretion was plsc ID unressryedly in the hands
OF this officer. He empowered in his own
way 10 appoint The enumeTators, and according
10 his own view TO compensate them. An army
OF QUIZ DtuiocTdtic political WORKERS was called
Instantly into aciioD, aud while the SHOWS were
still covering half The State, the enumeration
was taken. 1t was everywhere a fraud, and In
this part OF the State the frauds were simply
gigantic. BY evidence that has not been dis
puted, the effect OF which can not be questioned
the Tribune has proved that at least $50 900
names were falsely counted in the TWO counties
Of New York and Kings. In an equally dishon-
est manner the enume ration was computed. Ac-
colding to the constitution, representation was
20 be based upon the citizen population, but, by
physical alterations of the enumerators' rolls
committed I'm the Office OF Secretary of State
Rice aud under the direction of his bureau Of
1cials, at least 2bo.Oo aliens were fraudulentIy
counted "a citizens. 1t was on a report Of an
enumeration thus wrongfully taken and wrong.
fully counted that the Legislature proceeded to
redistfict the State.
The points upon which the act is taken
into the Supreme Court are questions Of
law. The constitution requires the enum-
Grafton TO be made in the year 1855 and at
the end of every 10 years thereafter 1t is
assumed that in requiring the enumeration
20 be made in the middle of a decade and
halfway between the Federal Gems uses,
the constitution prohibited the making of
the enumeration at any other time. Another
point is that the reapDortionment act was
passed at special session of the same Leg
islature which took the enumeration.
whereas the constitution requires that the
reappertionnent shall be made by the next
succeeding Legislature. There is the usual
provision that the Senate districts should
contain as nearly as may be an equal num-
Der OF inhabitants and that members of the
Assembly be apportiOned to the counties as
nearly as may be according to the number
Of their respective inhabitants. 1t is
assumed that whatever the decision of the
Supreme Court may be the case will be
taken to the Court of Appeals