The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-12-01
RESULTS OF THE eERRYMANDER.


The outrageous injustice of the gerry
mander in this State is shown by the
composition of the Legislature recently
elected. Complete returns show that
the Democrats will have thirty-fve
Senators and slxty-three members of
the House, against fifteen Senators and
~thirty-seven members on the Repub-
lican side. This gives the Democrats q
majority of forty-six on joint ballot. A
little examination of the figures will
that this is out of all proportion to
the Democratic vote in the State.
The total vote for Governor in the re-
cent election was $40. 203. of which the
Democrats cast 26O, 601, the Republicans
253. 1926. the Populists 22,O17 and the Pro-
hibitionists IL. $50. 1t will be seen that
the Democratic party lisa minority party
in the State. lacking 1900 of half the
votes. Strictly speaking, therefore, it
ought not to have a majority in either
branch of the Legislature. Waving
that point, however. and admitting the
impracticaoility of giving the Populists
and Prohibitionists any representation.
on account of the scattered character of
their vote, let US compare the Demo-
cratic and Republican votes. As the
Democrats cast 7,076 more votes than the
Republicans, this represents the excess OF
representation which they are justly
entitled to. Practically it amounts to
nothing. Under the enumeration of
1889 it became the duty of the Legisla-
ture to apportion the number of Sena-
tors and Representatives 80 that each
senatorial district should contain, as
nearly as possible, 1000 male inhab-
itants of voting age, and each repre-
sentative district, as nearly as possible.
$50. In other words, the senatorial
unit is II, 020 voters and the representa-
tive unit is $3.50. The excess of the
total Democratic vote over the total Re-
publican vote, 7,076, is 1860 more than
the representative unit and 1914 less
than the senatorial unit. 1t would be
stretching q point in favor of the DEM
ocrats to say that their small plurality
over the Republicans in the recent cleo
tion entitled them to a majority of 2
in the House and 1 in the Senate,
whereas they have a majority of 90 in
the House and 90 in the Senate. Under
the gerrymander 253,625 Republicans
elect fifteen Senators and thirty-seven
Representatives, while $685. Col Demo-
Gratis elect thirty five Senators and six
ty-three Representatives. 1t tak es 49,
908 Republicans to elect aSenator, while
1t takes only 7.445 Democrats. 1t takes
1854 Republicans to elect one memberof
the House, while it takes only 4, 1856 DEM
ocrats. Every Republican Senator rep
resents 1858 more voters than the
legal senatorial unit, while every Demo-
cratic Senator represents 1876 less than
the legal senatorial unit. Every Repub-
lican member of the House represents
1874 more voters than the legal repre-
sentative unit, while every Democratic
member represents 1874 less than the
legal representative unit. In short, the
infamous gerrymander never appeared
more Infamous than it does in the light
of the large Democratic majority in both
branches of the new Legislature. 1t
shows that the Democratic party, con-
stituting a minority of the voters of the
State, has its feet on the necks of the
majority. and is able, by a species of po-
litical burglary, to rob a large portion
of the people of their rights as effectu-
ally as if they were absolutely excluded
from the polls. Men have gone to war
to right wrongs less outrageous than
this.