The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-25
Legislative Reapportionment Bill
to be Favorab1y Reported
Gives the North
Measure of Merit.
Will be Sixty Senators

uS competed, measures Will tie intro
duced in the house and senate looking
to a redistricting of the state on the
basis of sixty senators and I19 repre-
sentatives, being an increase OF six
in the house of lords and of five in the
less aristocratic of the branches of the
state law-making body
The subcommittee, which has been
at work for several weeks on a plan
of reapportionment, yesterday reported
to the full committee of fourteen sem
ators and fifteen representatives a.
plan, which, while 1t extends only in
directly to the representation in the
lower house, is entirely satisfactory as
to the senatorial representation, and
was approved with by the unanimous
vote OF the committee If report last
night was true.
The session of the committee was ex-
ecutive, and exact details in many
cases were difficult to obtain, but some
of the cardinal points Of difference be-
tween the new apportionment and the
old were obtained by the G o b e from
various sources, which have the sup
port of tenable theories as well as Of
reliable infOrmants.
The senatorial basis, large as it is.
and unsatisfactory as it will be to
many, is considered absolute. and il
will undoubtedly pass, as the southern
part of the state seems to have the
whip hand, and if the north does not
like 1t, it can defeat the bill and stay
with what it now has. 1t is needless
to say that the undoubted course of the
north will be to take what it can get
and wait in patience for what it may
think 1t deserves.
The Red river valley, Populistically
inclined as it is, will not be rcappor-
toned TO any great extent, although
some changes have been made in It's
extreme southern portion, where the
tendency to Bryanism is easier TO over
come. In no case, however. hava these
changes been so made as to forasladow
the possible election of an additional
Populist
One other objection which has been
urged against the bill as proposed. by
the country members, is that The cities
get four additional senators ana si,,
representatives. AT least. the Fifth
district, which is practically Mime
apollS, gets one senator and one renre-
sentative more. The Fourth district
gets the same raise although whether
or not st. Paul will be benefited therebv
except most indirectly remains to de-
VeIop from the report Of the commit
tee, the returns last night being quite
vague as to this point. Duluth and the
present Fifty-fourth district, which
now mas one senator and three reDre-
sentauVes, will get three senators and
six representatives, and rhe present
delegation from st. Louis. Lake and
Cook counties will be permitted to look
after the local redistricting OF that at
present unwieldy district.
The chief change in the First CON
gressional district, which is reduced in
lts aggregate representation one mem
per In the senate, and from one to three
IN the house, according to varying re-
ports, is the consolidation of Steele and
Dodge counties in one senatorial dis
| trlct This is not unfair on an ari+b
metlcal basis, as compared with tba
representation in the state ut large al
though there was a great deal of oI1ae-
ton in the committee as to whether
the cut, which was evidently ne.essarv
IN tnls district should be made thora
OF IN houston county. which is nlainI,,
loo small for the present legisla five
representation, but is so isolated geo
sraphlcaIly that it is difficult IN do
anything else with it. It is variouslv
reported that the committee has cut
OH a representative in Winona eoup+,,
which is warranted by population and
IN Fillmore county, which has baep
equally well represented. and in Wab
asha county, where the population is
too large for one, but hardly bie eno,,orh
10 really demand the present re,,re-
Sehlatloh OF TWO, when compared with
the exlgencies of other portions of the
state
The Second congressional district is
creolted by the reports with 4 gain Of
one member in each branch. This is
approximate, however for the repre-
sentation Of this district has been a
changeable quantity, owing 10 the fact
tnat the lines of the senatorial and
congressional districts do not coincide
and sometimes the senator lives on one
side Of the line and sometimes on H.
other. This discrepancy naturally af-
fects the Third and Seventh dfstrict
IN the same measure, but inverselv
just what the changes are in the Sec
ond congressional district the noanbarr
OF the committee declined to reveal 1os+
nlgnt. pleading the pledge of the execs
utlve session, but it is pretty well m
oerstood that the committee acceded r.
the request Of the Republicans in W.
tonWan and Martin counties that tha,
uistrlct De left as it is, in order thar
the Day-Dunn fight may be fought on
next session on unchanged lines. The
present Forty-third district is snIit
swift county, which is over in the pom
uilstlc Seventh, being excluded from
the sel1-satsf1ed galaxy Of counties m
the southwestern corner. The old dis
trlcl nad one senator and three repre
sentauves. The new district. consist
Ing OF tWo-Lac Qui Parle and Chime.
Wa-counues viii have one senator and
only two representatives, which leaves
SWIFT county one representa- tive to
trade to the Seventh district people for
political purposes
The Third congressional district is
to lose one IN each house. practicallv
subject to the modification previo11sIv
mentioned, due to non-coincidence of
existing boundary lines. Stbley and
Nlcollet counties, 1T is authentically re-
ported, will be consolidated to get rid
of the senator, while Rice county and
Goodhue county will be cut one repre-
sentative each. one Of which will be
added to Renville county
What the changes are in the Fourth
district are not expressly revealed, bur
ii Is reported that the magnificent Nc
Kinley majority returned by the Chi