Arizona republican., 1900-12-25
The reapportionment question in

The reapportionment question in congress appears to be chiefly ques-
 ton of the size of the
 THE SIZE house of representa-
 OF THE Rives. Shall that size
 HOUSE. be fixed and the ra-
 tio of representation be changed, or shall the ratio be fixed and the house be enlarged proportion ately with the growth of the nation? All the various plans of apportionment which have been proposed take one or the other side of this question or strive to effect a compromise between ahem. One proposes to keep the house at it's present number That would require the reduction of representation of some states in order that that of oth- CTS might be increased, and it would considerably increase the size of con- gress districts. Others propose to keep the districts at about their present size and to increase the membership of the house sufficiently to provide represen- tation, at about the present ratio, of the Increased population of the coun- try. There is doubtless much to be said decision will be on grounds of expedi- ency rather than those of precedent or abstract right.
 The general tendency has hitherto hecn fo increasa hoth inc ratio of ran resentation and the size of the house. In 17s9 the ratio was 3O.OOO and the number of representatives 65. On reapportionment in 1793, under the first census, the same ratio was adopted and the number of repre- sentatives was in- creased to 105. Ten years later the ra- tio rose to S3.0OO and the number of representatives to Al. That was on the basis of the census of a century ago. Thereafter the ratio rose con stantly though not uniformly to its present figure of 173,9O1. The number of representatives also increased. until 1t was 240 in 1883; ten years later it was reduced ito 233. simultaneously with
 
 rose again pretty uniformly to 356 in | 1893. which has since been increased by | the admission of Utah to 357 If the | present ratio be retained the number | of representatives under the new ap- portionment will be about 400. If the | house be kept at its present size the ra | tio will be increased to 214,0O0. The example of other nations having | legislatures is on the | whole in favor of small ratios and | large houses. In Great Britain and l Ireland there are 670 members and the | ratio is only some 61.OO0. That is to say. the United Kingdom. with little more than half our population. has nearly twice as numerous house. and | each of its members represents few more than a third as many as each of. ours. France has 5S4 deputies, each a population of about 66. 900. Germany comes much the near est to our standard. with 397 deputies, each representing about 131 600 per sons; but even Germany has a larger house and a smaller ratio than we. If from foreign. countries We turn to our own states and their legislatures for the same rule holds good. though its application greatly varies. New York has a ratio of AS, ,O00 Con- necticut has a representative for each S,600 persons. Pennsylvania and New Jersey. one for each 31,OO0, and SO on It is to be observed, however, that in these states the numbers of legislative representa- tives are fixed by constitutional enact ment, and are not varied with each re-