The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-28
REPORT ON THE CRIME OF1891
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LAWS TO
PREVENT SUCH ACTS.
Mexican Veterans Received with
Honor I'm Both HOuses-A Demo-
crat Acts as Speaker.

that the Governor will veto the bill, and
that 1t will be passed over his veto. The
Democrats have already declared their pur-
pose to take the matter to the courts and,
relying upon the fact that the Supreme
Court is Democratic, there is some basis
for their boast that the election for men,
bers OF the Legislature two years hence
will be held under the law that is still in
existence.
The Senate passed the Observation-Disclosures
legislative apportionment bill yesterday aft
ernoon after nearly four hours of ha-
ranguing. The bill repeating the present
apportionment act was passed at the morn
Ing session without debate. 1t had been
previously agreed that each side should have
a half hour on the repeal bill, but the mi
nority declared their willingness to bunch
their oratory ON both bills in the afternoon,
and the repeal bill passed by a vote of 80
ayes to 20 nays, it being the first time dur
ing the session that the roll call has showed
every member voting. In the afternoon
few minor matters were disposed of, and
then the apportionment bill to take the
place of the repealed act was taken up.
The point was raised that the bill was
unconstitutional, and therefore out of or
der, and the point was sustained. Senator
Wishard appealed from the decision Of the
party vote.
The attack on the bill was led by Colonel
Mclean, who occupied an hour in pointing
out its alleged unconstitutional phases. The
Legislature, he declared had no warrant
under the Constitution to pass any leglsla-
tive apportionment act. The repeal bill and
that to take it's place he denominated twin
monstrosities, brought forth by the caucus.
He declared that the bills did not have the
unanimous approval of the Republicans of
the State, and called attention to the fact
that when the .apportionment bill was on
it's passage in the House five Republicans
had sgnifed their determination not to
compromise with their consciences and re-
fused to vote for it. He declared that it
was the first time in the history of the
State that special repeating act had been
necessary to enable another bill to stand
alone long enough to be knocked out. He
denounced it as bill in the direction of
Matchmaking the country, bill to create
a vacuum, a bill for hole in which to
stick an apportionment peg. The force back
of it was partisanship run mad, and the con-
tingency was the election of a United States
Senator two years hence. Referring to his
tory, the speaker stated that since 1862
until the present time the six-year rule in
the making of legislative appointments
had held. except In 1875, when the Demo-
Gratis had amended the existing law by
striking out all after the enacting
clause and substituting an entirely new
measure. The Republican press and the
Republican campaign orators, he said, had
then denounced the action of the Democrats.
and if the Republicans were right then they
were wrong now. However, the speaker de-
clared that he had no fault to find with
man who changed his opinions, for the man
who didn't the approval only of the
man who didn't change his shirt. The
xl,Nx, hot
in recent years was the outgrowth of the
villainous Democratic gerrymander that
had ,b the STATE St and quoted literally
Chairman Newhouse, of the House commit
tee on congressional apportionment, and
from the opinions of Judge Elliott. Colonel
McLean's conclusion was a defense of the
gerrymander. All apportionment acts, he
declared were unfair ana a6 were INTENDED ended
of them; both parties had sanctioned them,
both parties would perpetrate them when
ever the opportunity offered.
DEFENDED BY SENATOR WISHARD.
Senator Wishard was the next speaker,
and at the outset declared that nothing
was needed in the way of apology or ex-
PLANTATION. He declared that notice had
been given two years ago by the Repub-
leans that if the Legislature was Repub-
lican this time the act that was passed
two years ago in contempt of the decision
of the Supreme Court would be displaced.
The Supreme Court, he continued, had held
the act of 1891 to be unconstitutional, and
the Democrats had recognized the binding
force of the decision by passing another.
IL the act of 1891 was unconstitutional,
the Democrats, by their course had adj
mtted, then the act of 1893 was also I'M
constitutional, and 1t was the duty of this
te pass an ae, that WAS
the defense of the gerrymandcr by Colonel
Mclean. and declared that the day of the
gerrymander was past. The day vas past
when the Democratic party could line up
1900 or 400 votes against $500 or g. TOO Re-
pub'icans votes and make them an offset,
when one Democratic vote could be made
to count for Republican vote and a half
two votes.
Eve have the votes to pass this BILL,
said the Senator from Marion and Hen
bricks, land we are going to pass it. We
are going to go before the people on the
issue of a fair and just apportionment, and
we defy you to meet us on that ground. BY
the passage of the bill of 1893 you are es-
topped from the cry that have right
to pass this bill, and if you take the
ground that you are going to overthrow this
act in the event that you carry the next
even worse than we did in 1884,.
Senator Wishard then devoted some at
tention to the bill, and showed it's compl-
ance with all the rules of fair apportion-
ment. Many questions were fired at the
speaker about this and that. but the ques-
not disconnected. Senator Seller wanted to
know IL in drawing this eminenSly fair APP
pOrtiOnment the ldea OF a hepuDlfcdn ad-
vantage had ever entered the mind of the
author. The answer was that it undoubted-
ly had
Senator Stuart made an elaborate consti-
tutional argument that buried the Senators
in their newspapers, and was followed by
Senator LaFollette. The latter referred to
the charge that this bill was the creature of
the caucus. and that the bill unconsti-
tutional. He was not perfectly satisfied
as to the law questions involved, but he
did know that the voice of the people had
demanded relief from the chains in which
the Democratic gerrymander had bound
them He was in favor of hearkening to the
voice of the people and giving the State an
superintendent act, the fairness of which
could not be questioned, and he believed
that this bill did that very thing. Referring
to his own county of Jay, the speaker
pointed out that while ii had more than
enough votes to entitle it to a Representa-
tive. yet for the purpose of smothering the
Republican majority. Jay county had been
hitched on to Adams county for q Joint
Representative, and with Adams and Black
ford for another. This discrimination was
one of the points upon which the Supreme
Court overthrow the act of 1884, and yet by
the act of 1898 the Democratic Legislature
had defied the Supreme Court by placing
Adams, Jay and Biackford into one dis
trict and giving it two Representatives.
Senator Seller soiemnly warned the Re-
publicans that they were about TO do the
thing that encomIasSed the downfall of the
Democrats. The one vote of his Legislative
term that he would recall If he could was
that cast for the Legislative apportionment
act of two years ago. That bill. he said,