The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-04-04
Politics in Idaho.

Inc OeQlOCraIIC SUaL6 C6nUral COmmlbb6e
of Idaho, in executive session a few days
ago, passed resolutions calling for a con-
vention OF delegates in Canyon, Bannock,
Fremont and Bingham counties, on the
10th of June next to elect county central
committees, and members of the state
central committee for those counties. and
perfect the Democratic organization
therein. Primaries are to be held on
June 3rd.
The resolutions request the voters of the
state to petition the governor to call an
extra session of the legislature for the
purpose of providing proper apportion-
ment, SO that "the five thousand Mormon
voters recently enfranchised' may be
duly represented. They also pronounced
in favor of the admission the territories
OF Utah, Arizona and New Mexico as
states in the Union.
This question of apportionment is likely
to be agitated in Idaho until something
like justice is done to the people who will
be in one sense practically unrepresented,
although they are counted as voting citi-
zens and have the right to the ballot.
There are two sides to this matter, of
course, or there would be no controversy
over it.
The Republicans claim credit for the
passage of the measure which restored the
franchise to the Mormon citizens of the
state. They also charge the Democratic
senate with defeating the apportionment
bill passed by the House, and thus leav-
ing the people enfranchised without rep
resentation.
The Democrats make very straight de-
NAL of these assertions, and clear ex-
PLANTATION of both transactions, which
does not reflect much honor on the Re-
publicans of the Idaho legislature. The
people ought to understand this thor
oughly and then act accordingly. Some
features OF these affairs appeared in THE
HERALD just after the adjournment of the
| legislature, but others are now added to
make the whole matter Ineligible.
When the House election bill, includ-
ing provisions for acknowledgements, was
sent to the Sen ate, it was amended so as
to add provisions for the election, by the
people, OF county officers in the counties
newly organized instead of leaving them
to be appointed by the governor. The
House refused to concur, and the bill
was killed. But new bill, simply re-
peallng the DISTINGUISHING clauses of the
old law, was passed in the House with
the expectation that the Senate would add
those provisions again, the House would
reject them and the Democrats in the
Senate would be charged with opposing
Mormon Acknowledgement.
But perceiving the trap, they passed the
bill as it came from the House, and the
Republicans dared not go back on their
own measure, SO they fell into their own
hole. There was feeling OF chagrin
visibly manifested and rushing to and
fro from the executive office, but the bill
had to be signed or the Republican cause
would be ruined. Then followed an appor-
tionment bill, which was gerrymander
so arranged that tie Republicans would
gain in other counties what they feared
they might lose by the addition OF "Dfor-
mon" votes, and those of nom Mormons
in the new counties who would not favor
a movement to put the governor into the
United States Senate.
But this is not the whole of the story.
An apportionment bill intending to be
fair to all citizens and all parties had
passed the senate, but when it reached
the house substitute was prepared which
was unfair and partisan, and it was this
that was defeated in the senate. So the
Republican cry that the Democrats killed
the apportionment bill is simply s'cry''