The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-08-26
each individual viii

which each individual will be
equally represented with every
other. whether he belongs TO
the minority or the majority
] One way of approximating this result
would be by a provision like the fol-
lowing, which 1 quote from the consti-
tuition of Illinois:
1.-THE House of Representatives shall
consist of three times the number of
4 the members Of the Senate, and the
term of office shall be two years. Three
representatives shall be elected in each
1 senatorial district at the general cleo
| ton in the year A. D. 1872, and every
1.-TWO years thereafter In ali elections of
Representatives aforesaid each qualified
voter may cast as many votes for one
candidate as there are representatives
! to be elected, or may distribute the
same, or equal parts thereof, among
the candidates, as he shall see fit; and
the candidate highest in votes shall be
declared elected
| This is a recognition of the principle
and does enable a minority equal to
one-third the entire vote of the district
to select one of the three representa-
tives. It is defective in this, however,
that it still leaves local minorities of
less than one-third unrepreSented and
might also leave very large minorities
made up from different districts unre-
presented if they did not constitute one
third of some particular district. By
the only true Democratic government
every number of voters equal to the
average number entitled to a repre-
sentative, no matter from how many
different districts, might combine and
be represented.
Every voter, If he did not like the
local candidate, could by his vote aid
in the election of any other.
/ will endeavor at an early date to
get the details of q. BIZ. introduced in
the English parliament by Thomas
Hare, providing for just such election
and then hope to write another letter
upon this subject.
HONEST DISTRICTING.
Should the constitutional convention
decide to make the legislature. elective
from districts, then a provision to guar
antee honest districting should be in
|corporated IN the constitution. It
should never be possible to accomplish
what was accomplished in Utah at the
last election. that the minority of the
voters can by an infamous gerryman-
der elect a majority of the legislature
In that we may prevent the destruc-
ton of equal rights the constitution
should contain the following anti-ger-
rymander clause:
w men a Senatorial COllSTeSSlOIldl adS-
sembly district shall be composed of
two or more counties it shall not be
separated by any county belonging TO
another district. No county shall be di-
vided in forming a. congressional, Sena-
torial or assembly district so as to at
tach one portion of a county to anoth-
er county. But the legislature may di-
vide each county into as many congress
sional, senatorial or assembly districts
as such county may by apportionment
be entitled to. To which might we'll be
added the following restriction, which
has done effective work in preventing
injustice in Wisconsin,:
Each district must be bounded by
county, precinct, town or ward lines, to
consist of5icontiguous territory, and be
in as compact form as possible
This last clause enabled the supreme
court of Wisconsin to declare unconsti-
Itutional several recent Democratic at
tempts at unjust redistricting.
No people are capable of maintaining
freedom through representative gov
eminent who are not willing that JUS
tice shall be done to ALL
See to it then that a government is
established in which all the people
equally represented shall make laws
for all. Yours,
A T. HEST.
Accurate ehstracts furnished az