Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1900-11-28
THE OHIO SENATE.
Editor Marietta Leader:

. contains an arGlcl9 COpleu from Un
Columbus Dispatch in relation to ZAP
, postponement for the Ohio General AS
sembly for the next ten years." whicl
I Is interesting and instructive.
> The suggestion that each count!
: should be entitled to q representative
is practical and sensible proposition
/, which will certainly appeal strongly tt
: every voter
The article referred to deals witt
representative districts but passes thai
of the senatorial districts with the re.
mark that There is an opportunity fol
, fine manipulation and party advantage
especially in the anneXins of joint dis
/ tricts. In other words. the constitu-
tion, while quite explicit as to the gen.
eral principles to- be followed, leaves
some option to the Commission, etc.
Referring to Senatorial districts Sec
tion of Article II of the Constitution
of Ohio provides that "If in fixing any
subsequent ratio, a county previously
entitled to a separate representation
shall nave less than the number re-
quired for the new ratio for a Repre-
sentative, such county shall be at
tGched to the county adjoining it hav-
ing the least number of inhabitants
and the representation of the district
so formed shall be determined as here
in provided"
Section s of the same Article re-
auires that "The same rule shall be ap-
piled in apportioning the fractions of
Senatorial Districts, and in annexing
districts which may hereafter have less
than thrcefourths of Senatorial ra-
tlo, as are applied to Representative
districts"
The Commission is therefore limited
in his duties by the plain language of
the Constitution. There can be no
change of districts except that Lucas
county will be separate Senatorial
district as provided in Section 8 6f
said Article; it having acquired a pop
ulation equal to full Senatorial ratio.
The 32d District will have 2 Senators
for first four sessions and applying
these principles, Cuyahoga county will
be entitled to Senators in first Sec
ond and third SESSIONS and in fourth
and flttG, Hamilton county will have
3 In first, second and fifth, and in
third and fourth; the 32nd District will
have Senators in first four sessions
and one in fifth; the 10th District will
and one in fourth and fifth; the 33rd
District will have l Senator in first,
second and fifth sessions and in third
and fourth; the 34th District Nucas
County, will have l Senator in first
four sessions and 2 in fifth; the 3rd
District will have the same as the Lu-
cas- District; the 7th. Sth. 9th, 11th,
18th, 18th, 21st, 22d, 23d, 3Oth and 31st
Districts will each have one member
in each session.
The Second and Fourth and the
Fifth and Sixth Districts will form
double districts without question.
The fact that in the Eastern and
Southeastern sections of Ohio large
number of districts fall below the ratio
would seem to open the door for some
discretion and manipulation as sug-
gested in the article referred to; but
for the fact that the key to the situa-
tion is discovered when it is remem-
bered that the Fourteenth district is
formed of two counties and parts of
two others, resulting in much confu-
sion in Senatorial elections Senators
in two districts not annexed having
been voted for in the past at the same
precinct. This confusion arises from
the fact that Noble county was formed
since the Constitution was adopted,
leaving portion of it in the 18th and
the residue in the 14th, and from
change in the boundary line between
Monroe and Washington. 1t seems
clear to avoid this trouble that the
lfIH dllu ljLu ulSUTlcUS SnOulQ De an
nexed. Then it would follow that the
18th and 10th, the 18th and 29th, the
18th and goth, the oath and 26th. and
the 9th and 2Sth, should be anneyn'
which would give each double district
one Senator in each session. The oath
26th will have one additional Senator
in the third and fourth sessions, and
each of the following double districts
will have an additional Senator in the
fifth session, viz: the 5th-6th; the 14th-
18th; the 15th-16th; and the 1Sth-2Oth.
If this apportionment is correct the
Rext Senate will be composed of but SO
members. And during the next de-
cade the average will not be above the
average of any like period since the
adoption of the Constitution.
The trainers of the Constitution de-
termlned that. no difference what the
increase of the population, the members
OF the General Assembly should re-
main substantially the same until the
people should change the Constitu-