The Savannah morning news., 1900-08-26
CONGRESS AND THE CENSUS.
HOW THE RETURNS WILL AFFECT
REAPPORTIONMEN


Bearing of This Result Upon the
Strength of Political Par ties-PBob-
able Basis of RepresentatiOn-ReI-
ative Growth of States.
From the New York Evening Post
Washington, Aug. 21.-One result of the
forthcoming reapportionment Of congress
ional districts which has been revealed
by the announcement of the population
of Greater New York is that the citiss
are going to gain CRAFTY at the expense
Of The rural stfic,s The population of
New York city is slightly above 100000.
| This would give it, upon a basis of 2O).-
/ 0c persons to a congressional district,
seventeen reorestn a,ives in the national
House of Representatives. 1t now has,
WIKI all Of Long Island included, fifteen
| ciztltcts, and a part cf he sixteenth. or
! a out fifteen districts net" were the
municipal lines made to conform with the
| congressional This is On the basis of 49,
SOL persons to a district If New York on
the pres mt ratio of representation has
| fifteen districts, and by a greatly in
creased ratio would have seventeen, it is
evident that the rural regions will have
relatively smaller representation.
Chicasos returns tell the same story. 1t
now has from four ana a half to ave dis
tricts net or seven district with out
lying towns included. According to the
present census, unofficial returns, the city
has about 100000 pc pie, which would en-
| tue it on the new ratio proposed to eight
and a half districts instead. The result
! relatively speaking would be the same
whateVer the ratio taken 100000 is here
used for its convenience in reckoning ard
because it doubtless approximates the fig
ur that viii actually e chosen.
Nor IS it probable that this showing of
New York and Chicago is unlike that CT
the other great cities of the country.
They are all growing so much faster than
he rural regions that in the cutting up
Of the state into congressional districts
they are sure to get a grea ly increased
proportion of the result. Tn s will have
decided bearing upon the strength of
political parties. The great cities, more
than The country, tend II be Democratic,
although Philadelphia and Cleveland are
| notable exceptions in the North and st.
Louis in the South. The larger foreign
v%te in the cities, and the further fact
that Republican state legislatures so Of
! ten exercise a distasteful control over
| lily NOiflt-OutG 10 tiltS l6-
suit. Since the Republicans find it now
very hard to carry the House of Repre-
| sentatives with the solid South and the
| large cities Of the North aga INST them.
! il is obvious that their task will be con-
! sderably increased when the representa-
| lion of the cities is made still greater.
| Hence this feature Of the census returns
is regarded in political circles here with
the greatest interest.
| ANU o4 !,
of the several states and its effect upon
representation Is now proftless, with the
actual returns so near at hand 1t is gem
| orally assumed, however. that the West
| has continued to grow faster than the
| East, and the North slightly faster than
/ the South, although the influx Of cotton
manufacturing into the South may pre-
vent a rope itlon of past experiences Be
| tween 1850 and 1880 the increase in popu-
lation throughout the country was about
! "a per cent; the rate in the North Allan
| tic sec ion was 20 per cent; in the South
| Atlantic Qrom Delaware to Florida), Is
| per cent; in the North central (Ohio to
Kansas, 20 per cent; in the South CEN
trail (Kentucky to Texas, % per cent. ;
while the far West increased II per cent.
| Where pocula ion to follow these general
| lines again, the new apportionment would
be more favorable to the Republicans
than before, except in so far as the trans
| fer of strength from the rural regions to
| the gr5 at Cilfes opera ed against them.
But il is a narrow view of these great
| tendencies of American growth to consider
! them in the light of party advantage.
| There are, to be sure, certain social and
economic revelations, of which perhaps
| party divisions furnish some sign, that
are worthy of study. The cities. for ex-
ample, regardless of their party prefer
ences, are much more mercurial in their
| opinions than the country districts. In
any great tidal wave they move further
one way or the other; this is probably
due to their quicker social life anc the
| greater influence of the independent press.
! In contrasting election returns in 1892 with
! those of 1896, it seems as if many of the
! rural regions were unaware of the trans
! formation that had come over the Demo-
| cratic party, while in the cities the over
| turn was tremendous. Indiana is a state
! without any city of the first rank, and
! the two parties pull there very evenly
! without much regard 10 the issues for
| which they stand In New York city,
| Chicago, and Boston, on the other hand,
/ the revulsions of party feeling are very
! great as was shown in 1896 The in
| creasing strength of the city representa-
| ton in the House of Representatives is
| thus likely to infuse an element of great
| uncertainty into the congressional cam
! paigns of the future. 1t was Congressman
| Cannon's reply the other day, when asked
| concerning the political prospects OF Hi
nois Tell me what Cook county is going
to do!'
Little thought has yet been given to the
! new apportionment. ID is generally taken
! for granted that the ratio will be fixed
at about 100000, which is in round num-
| bers six times the ratio adopted after
our first census. With total popula-
ton of rs, 10000 exclusive of territories)
| that ratio would fill 375 congressional
seats, to say nothing of the increase by
| the admission of new states. There are
| now 357 seats in the House, the appor-
tionment of 1880 providing for 1856, and
Utah supplying the remaining one. While
| theoretically almost every one would
agree that the House is plenty large
enough now, and that its membership
should not be increased even from 357 to
375, the chances of Congress doing less
for itself than that are very small. Ten
years ago such a ratio was selected as
would leave Vermont which had increas-
ed in population but four one-hundredths
Of 1 per cent, in possession of what
would entitle IL to two districts. Nevada
had declined in population, but as it had
but one district before no loss was pos
sible In this way all the changes in the
quotas of states were in the direction of
increases. This is much less embarrass-
ing to members of the House than when
tho elou-pOfppr states are cut down in rem