Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1892-09-24

need therefore only apply web setIlal
principles 10 establish facts The con-
stiUtion declares the app1E7iauiug AMI
redis1rieting shall be according To the
number 0f inhabitants" The act itself.
iH connection with the census. 81 which
the court takes judicial notice shows
the number u inhabitants In each dix
trict The court also takes judicial NJ
tice Of the relative position Of the dir
fsreur political subdivisions of the state
81 that all we need do Is 10 compare
the districts with each other TO deter
mime whether this constitutional re-
qlirement has been complied with
Continuing he said: The unit of
representation Tor a senate district
is 51,117. The senate districts as
creatfG by this net vary in population
all tha way from 3D,732 in She smallest
% C-J.912 in the largest The variations
are occasioued. not because Of any diff
hculty Ia creating substantially equal
districts. but because Of something else
as slight examination discloses.
He showed that the seventeenth
disrr.c- exceeds the fourth by $500,
and this excess alone exceeds the pop
uIaciou cf the fourth by AIS Or, as
stated i1 tie complaint, the seventeenth
district contains double ne population
Of rlie fourth and 4,34S in addition.
That IS, one person In the latter has
more political and representative power
thIn two in the former
Comparison of the seventeenth with
lie thirteenth shows difference Of
- SD. with the fourteenth difference
Of 2S,625; with the twelfth Of 23.575;
with the twentieth Of y, 463; with the
twenty seventh OF 22,G49; with the
eighteenth Of u .s64 and SO on.
Comparing the thirty-drst with the
fourth we find the difference 70 be
33,3ST, the former Ike the seventeenth
containing double the number Of the
latter and 2Gj5 in addition; every man
in the thirty-iirst thus counting for less
than half a man in the fourth
Comparing with the other districts in
the first table, the thirty-first contains
2G,9S7 more than the thirtieth. 20 1872
more than the fourteenth, 21.T42 more
than The twelfth. q, $50 more than the
twentieth, 20,s16 more than the twenty
seventh and 50 on.
The ninth exceeds the fourth by 81
ga tile thirtierh by 2O.224 the four
tecnth by 25.O2J the twelfth by 1879
and the twentieth by 19.4S9
The twenty ninth exceeds the fourth
by 30,277, the thirtieth by 23,S77, the
fourteenth by 23,GS2 the twelfth 10y
1S.632, and the twentieth by 1920
The thirteenth exceeds the fourth by
29,ST4, the thirtieth by 23474, The four
tcenth by 23,279, the twelfth by 1920
and the twentieth by 1S.1ET
The tenth exceeds the fourth by ~
III. the thir'ieth by 23,O11 and the
fourteenth by 22,S16.
Many other similar examples Were
cited Col Bird insisted that in the
creation Of assembly districts the act is
still more obnoxious to the c0nstim-
ton Tho unit OF representation for am
assembly district is 1G.S5S The dis
uicts ais created by the act vary in pop
Warion all the way form S626 To-
2j11l
The largest district is the eighth. Yer
non county, with "a population ut 35111
above the uuit s243, the excess itself
being bUf 3Sl less than the entire pop
uIation Of The smallest district This
large district is attempted 10 De iusti-
fled on rhc plea chat Vernon county
has MOI sufficient population for two
districts, and therefore of necessity had
TO bc created single district 10y itself
But such plea is wholly untonlblc.
There was and Is no necessity for the
formation of such district
I'm counties having more than one
district. the constitutional mandate of
equality of representation has been
still more aauautly and Uuwarrautably
violated and that, too an the expense
of compacness of territory. Ezamina
ton shows this to be true as to nearly
every one of such counties
The case Of Columbia county was
cited.
If these districts Were neld to be
yalidly formed then no effect what
ever is to be given to the provision
that assembly districts must be- 'in as
compact form as practicable" II
need not urge to this court the very
familiar and important rule" said
Col Bird "that every word and clause
of a statute, especially OF q constitu-
ton, must oe given it's appropriate and
due Effect. 1t cannot be set ut naught
any more by legislators than by courts
or people 1t must be obeyed by ali,
and if it has not a clear meaning mt
first glance. al must industriously seek
to spell ont its due and appropriate sig
iiicanee, and then give it proper effect
Its very words Of course forbid an in
depreciation that would require abs0,
lutte compactneSS. It'll only as compact
form as practicable that is required
But when it is apparent that no heed
at M has been given to the provision
and that the districts are clearly not
in rs compact form as practicable, hut
exactly the reverse, and that a studied
effort has been required 10 make them
So then the court, we submit must
adiudle the statute invalid. and thus
enforce the will of the npople rs de-