The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-12-06


! ranging the county districtsTHTHTAR
ranging the council districts Nos. l. g.
and 4, and only twice in making repre-
sentative districts Nos. 8. 8. and s. Gar
ED, Grant and Kay counties are given a
''foateI''. which seems the only way out
Of the difficulty without cutting those
three counties all TO pieces, since each
county has more population than Is suffi-
cieEt for one representative and The
three together having almost the exact
number for four representatives. Where
counties are cut, moreover. 1t viii Be
noticed that the slices are wide and
deep. so that they viii always have a
large voice and vote in the nominating
conventions. thus securing fair treatment
for their interests.
The Twelfth and Thirteenth council
districts and the representative districts
/ contained within them are at present
/ soewhat deficient in population; but the
/ Wichita county is added to the former
/ in the bin, and the Kiowa and Comanche
( country 10 the latter. These reservations
viii doubtless open to settlement before
another election, and thus the deficiency
i viii be transformed into a nexcess.
Prom a political point of view, this
} superintendent seems to me TO be pre-
/ eminently fai rand just all around. Based
( upon the majorities give nfor candidates
/ for the council at the recent election.
/ the new council districts would nave the
/ following party pIuralities:
! First district, So. fusion; Second dis
/ trict, 199. fusion; Third district, 40, fu-
/ sion; Fourth district, 34S, fusion; Fifth
/ district, rs, Republican; Sixth district,
/ 239 fusion; Seventh district go, Repubii-
/ can: Eighth district, Is Republican; Ninth
/ district, 81 Republican,; Tenth district,
! 165 Republican; Eleventh district go Re
/ publican; Twelfth district, 1913, Democrat;
Thirteenth district 1896 Democratic
In the rst district, the Socialists cast
45 votes; in the Sixth, 2lS Socialists and
/ Independent Democratic votes were east.
/ These districts are both doubtful and
both are cIassed above as fusion"
The figures given are the official re-
turns in every case. On the vote for this
year. the council elected under this bill
would stand Republicans, 5; Populist-
Republican, j; Democrats, .; and Fusion
lists, 5, OF exactly the present party
strength in that body.
1.-THE political standing of the represen-
tative districts based on the vote for
representatives this year would be as
follows:
First district, 315, fusion; Second dis
trict 867, Republican,; Third district, 19S
Republican; Fourth district, 260 fusion
Fifth and Sixth districts. 396 fusion:
Seventh and Eighth districts, 357 fusion;
Ninth district 524 Democratic; Tenth dis
trict, 126 Democratic; Eleventh and
Twelfth districts 16S Republican; Thir-
teenth and Fourteenth districts, 242 Re
publican; Fifteenth district, 81 Fusion:
Sixteenth district, 807 Republican. Seven
teeuth district, G57 Republican; Eigh-
teenth district 700 Republican; Nine
tenth and Twentieth districts. 1913 Re
publican; Twenty-First district, 81 RepI5-
Hcan; Twenty Second district, 1S9 Repub-
lican: Twenty-third district, Go Demo
cratic; Twenty-Fourth district, 1G5 Demo-
cratic; Twenty-Fifth and Twenty Sixth,
districts, 1,513.
''This would make the membership Of
the house elected under the new appor-
tionment if the vote were the same as
this year. stand as follows: Republicans.
49, fusionists, z; Democrats, 6. In the
Tenth district however, there were 5S7
anti-fusion populists and independent
Democratic votes cast this year which
far exceeded the Democratic majority
there; and in number of the districts
the scattering vote is sufficient to con-
stitute the balance of power or nearly
so In the most of the districts the
majorities are small and the party which
makes the gains generally win thus Sc
cure control Of the legislature which
should always be the case Small ma
iorities usually lead also to the nomina-
ton and election of the very best men
to these important positions.
touncil districts Nos. and 10 each have
an excess Of about 400 population. If
this is satisfactory to their people, the
defect can Zoe remedied by taking a strip
off the west side of Woods county and
adding it to the Eleventh council and
Twenty-Ffrst representative districts; and
off the east side Of Kingfsher county and
adding it to the Seventh council and the
representative districts embracing the
same territory.
ct will be observed that the bill re-
trains from using the large Democratic
maiorities in the southwestern counties,
for the purpose Of controlling RepublI-
can maiOrities i mother counties. In the
face of the fact AT the last election the
Democrats and Populists affiliated had a
plurality of 2747 votes for councilmen
in the territory and Of 2.l19 Of the votes
for Representatives. this bill would give
to them but bare majority Of the
council and leave the house a. tie. It is
certainly fair from a political point Of
view toward the Republicans inasmuch