The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-22
MINORITY GOVERNMENT.
Have We an Example Of it in the
State Of Georgia?

The Smaller Counties Send More
Delegates to the Legislature for
Total of Population, Than the
Larger ones-How Elections of
| Judges and Senators Ara Affected.
The State Senate a Unique Body.
The Next Senate May Not Be Demo-
cratic.
To the Democrats in the Cen
eral Assembly of Georgia. An OK
| animation of the eleventh census win
snow that Georgia contains 1,S37 1913 peo-
| pie. 1t is my purpose to show by an anal
| ysis of this census that the constitution
of Georgia in fixing the representation in
the general assembly is unwise unjust
and undemocratic; gives the minority
crushing mastery over the majority, and
in this regard is so unrepublican as to be
really contrary to the spirit of the CON
stitution of the United States. These
are grave charges, but they are supported
by facts which are now indisputable;
they are supported by facts which no
truthful man can deny; which no demo-
crat can justify, and TO which no patriot
should silently submit.
| Il is elementary that a republican gov
eminent is one in which the people rule,
| and in which they rule by maJOritieS. The
| constitution of the state of Georgia de-
| clarcs in its preamble that it is formed by
| the people of Georgia. The first para
| graph of the constitution of the state of
| Georgia declares that all government of
right originates with the people, is
| founded upon their will only, and is inSti
. l,sl..
Yet, in spite of these declarations in
| our organic law the fact is that the con-
stitution of the state of Georgia, while
| declaring that the government of this
state is founded upon the will of the pcO
pie, makes provision for legislation
| directly in the teeth of this unambiguous
statement. l assert, first, that
A MINORITY OF THE PEOPLE CAN CONTROL
the lower branch of the general assem-
bly,. The general assembly is composed of
! l15 members-three each from the coun-
ties of Chatham, Richmond, Burke Floyd,
| Bibb and Fulton; two each from the cOun-
ties of Barlow. Pulaski Harris, OCle-
thorpe, Greene, Hancock, DeKalb, Jener-
son, Walton, Hall, Wilkes, Dolly, Monroe,
jackson, Gwinnett, Decatur, Merri-
wether, Troup, Houston, Sumter, Cobb,
Carroll COweta, Washington. Thomas
and Muscogee, and the remaining lUj
| NOulllltS are represented ny one CdCH. ~
majority of the House of Representa-
tives is 49, There are So coun-
ties in the State of Georgia, be-
ginning with Echols, with a population of
3,019, and ending with Brooks, with a
population OF 1890, the entire population
of which is 772 2l0. The other 40
counties furnish 81 members of the House
of Representatives, who are selected
from counties whose population aggre-
| gates l,065, l43 This statement shows
that the minority of 7i2,2l0 can com
pletely control every action of the House
of Representatives and the general as
sembly of Georgia against uan Overwhelm
! ing majority of 1865, l43 people Not
| only can the smallest SO counties in the
state, with one representative each, con-
troll this branch of the general assembly
in positive legislation, but this same
number can also defeat any legislation
sought by majority of the people of
Georgia.
Second, further analysis of the census
shows that the smallest seventeen coun-
ties in the state, beginning with EcholS
and ending with Dade, have an aggregate
population of 81, 100 and control in the
Houseof Representatives II votes. The
| county of Fulton, with population of
| 81, 655 people, can only control three votes.
The county of EchOls, with 3,079 people,
has one vote in the House of Representa-
| tives, and Fulton county with 81 go poo
| pie has only three votes. The ratio of
representation to population in EchOls is
l to 5000 in round figures, in Fulton it is
! l to $4,000 in round figures.
il is true that these are the extremes of
| the figures according to the census but
they are figures which are truthful and
correct and as the facts, as suggested by
these figures, exist, they are terrible
| IMPUTATION UPON THE FAIRNESS
| and republicanism Of legislative represcn-
! JatiOn in Georgia.
Third, a further examination of the
| census will show that the population of
the largest counties in the state is more
than equal to the population of the small
est 43 counties in the state, and while
those counties, with a population of
286, S51, have only Is votes in the House of
Representatives, 43 counties with a
smaller population have 43 votes in the
House of Representatives. The rule, as
developed by these figures, in this state.
under the constitution is not that ma
| jOrity of the people shall control, but that
a majority of the counties shall control.
| What is the character of a county from
a civil and political standpoint
A county in Georgia is a
body corporate, with such powers and
limitations as may be prescribed by law
1t does not possess any inherent attribute
of sovereignty in the remotest degree
It's powers of taxation are not given to it
except by delegation through the general
assembly. 1t is but a corporation; and
the will of the sovereign people of the
state of Georgia is absolutely controlled
by eighty-eight corporate bodies, repre-
senting decidedly small minority Of the
| people that created them. There is not
in the whole range of farce or fiction
more ludicrous or more lamentable
TRAvEsTY UPON COMMON RIGHT
and good government than the DONNA
ton of the counties Of the state of Geor-
| gia, the mere geographical subdivisions
| of "a vast and sovereign state, over d free
and brave people. Not only in legisla-
ton. but in the election of our judges of
the superior and supreme courts, our
solicitors general. and our United States
! senators. does this same minority possess
the power to control this same majority of
the people of Georgia. With every law en-
acted, with every judge, with every solic-
| itOr general, with every United States
! senator chosen and elected by minority
| against the majority, who is there that
| can have the temerity 10 say that the peo-
! pie. as at present represented in the
! House Of Representatives of the general
! assembly, are enjoying that republican
| form of government which is specially
| guaranteed by the United States to every
/ state in the uniOn2