New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-07-11
THE CENSUS FRAUDS.
STATE PRISON LOOMING UP IN THE DfAGt
NATION OF THE PERPETRATORS,
TO TEST THE REAPPoIuoNMENT-A VIOLATION
OF THE STATE CoNsTIrUTIoN-INTENTIo :
CHANGES BY WHICH HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS OF NAMES WERE
ADDED TO THE LIST
CITIZENS
rrRoM STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRBusEl
OF CITIZENS

OF CITIZENS.
rFRoa A STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRBUNE1
Albany, July 1O-Democratic officials at the
Capitol and especially Secretary Rice and his suave
and subtle deputy, Mr.. Benedict, are painfully ex-
ercised to know precisely what proceedings will be
undertaken to test the validity Of the legislative
Reapportionment act They have a well-dehned
suspicion that something is going TO drop, bue
when or where or with what dynamic effect are
questions that give them no little concern. Their
very affectaton is a sign of distress They profess
to care nothing at all about the matter, but they
know that the frauds committed in the taking ana
tho counting Of the census are more than enougns
in well-ordered court of justice, to send certain
folks to State prison, and they hear OF the con-
templated legal proceedings with ill-conceaed dis
quiet.
It will not relieve them to know that every'
thing will he done to overthrow the gerrymander.
and to bring those persons TO justice who are
legally responsible for the census frauds There
are issues Of law and issues of fact bearing on
the validity of the reapportionment. 1t Will oe
claimed that the entire census and reapportioh"
ment business, from first to last, was unconstitu-
tional The sections Of the Constitution govern
ing the taking of a census and the consequent re-
distribution of seats in the Legislature are sections
and of Article 3, and the important parts
OF them are as follows:
An enumeration of the inhabitants OF the state
sht be taken the direction of the LEGISLATURE,
In the year 1852 and az the end Of every ten years
thereafter: and the said districts (refernng 10 tne
then existing Senate dfstrcts shall be altered by
the Legislature, at the frs, session after the return
OF every enumeration, that each senate district shaii
contain rs nearly may be an equal numDer oI
inhabitants, excluding aliens, and shall remain un'
The members Of the Assembly shall be apportionsd
the several counties Of the STATE, by tn the
number OF their respective Inhabitants. excluding
present organized, until after the enumeration OF the
inhabitants Of the state in the year ls's: ,ur, me
every enumeration shall apporton the members of
the Assembly among the several counties OF the
State In manner aforesaid.
The enumeration upon which the apportion-
ment act of the last Legislature was based was
taken in the year 1892, and not at the end OF
ten years after the enumeration Of 1875. The
Dbject of the constitutional provision re-
quiring decennial enumerations and ap-
portionmentS was, OF course 10 preveno
ynrtisan legislatures from constantly FUSS
ing with the legislative districts. The Demo-
cratic argument in defence of their action is that
the Government Of 1885 failed to perform its con-
stitutional duty, and that the Government Of each
successive year has similarly failed. But If, for
this reason the constitutional provision may he
violated, why not for any other that to the
legislative mind may seem good? AS matter
ceeding ones did enact bills directing the taking Of
a census but all these measures vetoed by
David B. Hill The Constitution says that tho
census shall be taken under the direction OF the
Legislature and accordingly the Legislature
directed, but Hill said that unless it could be
taken under his direction, and his exclusively.
it should not he taken at ALL His vetOes were
conclusive. The question now is whether cen-
sus and a reapportionment can be lawfully had
at any other than the decennial period. II they
can be so had OH the ground that the Legislature
failed 10 do its duty at all in 1885, why not on
the ground that it failed to 40 ii properly Written
constitutions are generally regarded by the courts
things to be held TO rigdy.
1t will also be claimed that even if the emu
meration was lawfully TAKEN the reapportionmcnb
was not lawfully made, and for each Of three
reasons. First, because the session Of the Legis-
lature at which the apportionment act was passed
not a lawful session, and was incompetent to
perform any business OF any sort whatever second.
if il was n lawful session and competent to do
such business the Governor might properly
commit 1t, il not competent to pass
apportonment act, for the Constitution says that
that act shall be passed at the first session after
the return of every enumeration meaning, OBJ
viously, the session which regularly succeeded
the session at which the census was ordered and
third. because the act as passed flagrontly disre-
garded that provision of the Constitution which re-
auired that each of the districts should contain
as nearly as may be an equal number of inhab-
itants"
Among the powers of the Governor is that Of
converting the Legislature on extraordinary occl-
sions' 1t is argued that no occasion can be
extraordinary within the meaning of the COnsti-
tuition, of which the Governor had knowledge
while the Legislature Yet in regular session.
The Legislature of 1892 held its last regular ses-
sion on April 81. A few moments before adj
joumment the Governors secretary appeared
with a call for an extraordinary session on the
succeeding Monday, and the call was read in
both houses. How could the occasion be eXtraor-
dinary," In the constitutional sense, when the
Governor knew of it while the Legislature was
still sitting and still ready and capable to attend to
business? The call was made, of course be-
cause it was clearly impossible to pass appOr.
tionment bill at the time that which
had ordered the census. 1t must be passed at
the first session thereafter, and the Governor was
bringing about first session which
should be composed Of the members and
dominated by the same political party those
that had composed and dominated the regular
session. In other words, he was plainly violating
the whole spirit of the constitutional arrange
ment. II the Constitution had intended that
the same body OF men who had taken the enum-
Grafton should go right ahead and redistrict tho
State there could have been no earthly reason
for providing that the apportionment should bo
made at the first session thereafter. The plain
purpose OF that provision was to allow an in-
terval of time between the taking of the census
and the subsequent redistribution Of legislative
seats, and 10 secure the services for the latter
work of a new and different body of mep from
that which had performed the earlier work The
very frauds and wrongs Of which Flower.
Rice and the Democratic bosses, who controlled