The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-05-16
Tho Next Legislature.

The Next Legislature.
Legislature lie to be elected in thisS State
next November. with q Senate composed Of
so members and an Assembly OF 1913. Al
ready Democrats are preparing for tho
conflict. Our Republican friends are max
ing no preparations. but they express more
or less confidence in a victory to be secured
by some automatic or spontaneous process
Of political combustion. "Will the people
resent the Infamous gerrymander Of 1892
and rebuke the Regency ?" asks our es-
teemed neighbor. the Tribune. II they do.
all is we'll for the Republicans. We arc in
clined to think. however. that what the
Tribune describes with vigorous in%accuracy
as 1.-THE infamous gerrymander OF 1892"
will not. to any great extent. be rebuked
by any one. Why?
The apportionment under which this
years election OF State legislators will be
held was adopted in April, 1892. Its consti-
nationality was sustained BY the Court OF
Appeals, tho tribunal OF last resort. several
weeks before last years election. II the
people OF this State desired to do any re-
buking. that was the fitting time for 1t.
They did nothing Of the kind. On the con-
trary. they increased the Democratic ma
jority in tho Assembly from 6 to 20. and
wherever the issue was raised. they re-
turned such members as had given the new
apportionment their support.
The absurdity Of electing in 1891 a Legis-
lature on the basis Of a State census taken
in 1875. was very clear to the voters who
suffered from that unconstitutional act Of
unfair partisanship and gross injustice. SO
far from rebuking the Democracy for abat-
ing this indefensible and DISTINGUISHING
fraud. the peonlc heartily a%pplauded the
act. So far from encouraging the Repub-
Leans who wished to protract the evil, in
dependent voters generally withdrew from
their candidates the support which they
had previously given. Decidedly and de-
servedly. the Republicans lac suffered in
the opinion Of tho voters by their failure
to reapportlon the State.
Apart from the facts that the Court Of
Appeals has sustained the constitutionality
OF the new a~pportionment. that the voters
have approved its adoption. and that it
Is based on a recent md accurate emu
meration Of the inhabitants. taken In
1892. 1t is intrinsically a fair one. and
needs no defence. But this cannot be said
Of tho apportionment which the Repub-
leans persisted in retaining: for although
tho Democrats carried every State election
from 1888 to 1892. they were continuously
in a minority in one or tho other branch
OF the Legislature. and usually in both
branches. Mr.. Flowers majority in the
State two years ago was Al. 1897. Mr.. CLEvE-
Lands majority last year was 45.5ls. only
a little less. With such a preponderance of
Democratic votes in New York. it is not
surprising that IT OF the 80 Senate districts.
and 6s Of the 1913 Assembly districts should
have a Democratic majority.
The Republicans of New York are in a
minority on the popular vote. They have
been in the minority for more than ten
years. For them to expect. under the cir
cumstances. that they can obtain control Of
the Legislature. elected by popular vote. is
unreasonable and absurd. There will be no
"rebuking" by the voters this year. The
Republicans invited defeat and paved the
way for their own overthrow in New York.
by evading the demands and ignoring the
wishes OF the voters. Exclusion from exec
utive and legislative Office is the penalty.
BY accepting the present apportionment In
good faith. and making a vigorous effort to
elect their candidates. they can probably
accomplish more this year than by de-
nonncing the acts Of their more progress
sive Democratic fellow citizens.