Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-02-18


rltory. and be in as compact form as pos.
sible"
The careful attention of toe court was
asked to this proposition, for Col Spooner
| said it was deemed conclusive against the
canstitutionality of this chapter.
The court will observe, it was urged
that if it had been simply the intention
of the constitution to preserve in the for
nation of assembly districts the integrity
of towns, wards and precincts. but to
leave the Legislature at liberty to disre-
gard the county lines at will, their pur-
pose would have been accurately and en-
tirely accomplished by the requirement
by the prase ''such districts to be bound
ed BY precinct. town or ward lines" and
If the word county had been omitted,
chapter 4S2 would have complied entirely
with the constitutional provisions so far
as boundaries are concerned, because
while it has in twenty-five instances
broken in the formation of assembly dis
trlcts, county lines, it has in the forma-
ton Of no assembly district disregarded
town, precinct or ward lines. But neither
the legislature nor the court is at liberty
to disregard the word county" any more
than they are at liberty to disregard the
other three words, or either of them.
Col. Spooner also maintained that the
act is unconstitutional because it violates
that portion of section 4, article ", which
requires districts to be ''in as compact
form as practicable
This language itself, said Col. Spooner,
probably involves the exercise of discre-
ton. The fact that nowhere else in the
provisions of the constitution relating to
apportioning and districting the state is
language which carries in itself discretion
airy power implied, is, according to
all settled rules of statutory and constitu-
tional construction abundant support of
the proposition that the trainers intended
to invest no discretion in the Legislature
SASOPO oO 1u1 do IL gnu S1OW OuU VI luc
moral necessity of the case.
It was further maintained that the
statue is unconstitutional In that its re-
arrangement Of senate districts Operates
to disfranchise, as to the election of sem
ators, large number of the electors of the
state and to leave a great number of the
Inhabitants of the state represented by
men in whose selection they had no voice.
1t certainly cannot be held to have been
within the contemplation of the constitu-
ton that the Legislature, in performing
the duty OF districting every five yeas,
| ancording to the number of inhabitants,
should be at liberty, in order to accom-
plish a political purpose, to take five or
six counties from an odd numbered dis
trict and by attaching hem to one county
in an even numbered district, whose people
had just elected a senator who resided
therein, in that way preclude The people
Of the five or six counties from voting
again for a senator for some years.
1t appears from the C omElaint or rela
ton that the counties of Calumet, Keno
sha, Juneau, Winnebago (part), Jackson
Wood, Milwaukee part) Walworth
Sank, Sawyer, Monroe and part of
Dane, whose electors in 1883 voted for a
senator, have been so changed around
that their electors cannot again vote for a
senator until 1894 What would the dis,
tinguished trainers of the constitution,
who were fearful least one-half of the peo-
pie be deprived of the right to vote for a
senator each year, think Of this act under
which counties containing 1921 people
are not permitted to vote for senator but
once in six years? 1t appears that Ke-
waunee, Eau Claire, Lincoln, Forest, part
Of Rock, Shawano, Marathon, Oconto,
Langlade, Florence and part Of Milwau-
kee, containing 1853, 300 inhabitants, whose
electors voted in 1890 FOR a senator, may
vote again for senator in 1892, and it
appears that by this juggling with the
rights of the people in the reformation of
the senatorial districts, that of seventeen
odd numbered districts from to SO, con-
tanning 530,288 people, 387, 122 had no
voice whatever in the choice of senators
who will represent those districts in the
sena se.
Gen, Bragg's Closing.
At the conclusion OF Senator Spooner' 9