Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-01-08

The average increase in this House
has been 20 per cent. 1t has been in
creased at every apportionment except
il 1913. when it was decreased by l.
members on the initiative of the SEN
ate. Ii may be well for US to bear in
mind that the Senate, that great CO.
ordinate body. has the same interest III
the size of this House. in many re-
Spects. as has the House itself: and the
Senate on three occasions mas controll-
ed the size of this House. In 1911. with
ISL representatives. the apportionment
bill was amended by striking out a
ratio Of 81 and inserting in lieu thereof
%. The House disagreed to it. The
Senate insisted and finally the House
rcceded from its amendment and the
bill was passed and the Senate broad
ened the representation of the House
bringing the representatives nearer to
their constituents.
In 1912 they Initiated the proposition
shat resulted IN decrease of the size
Of this House by Il. In 1862 the House
passed n bill for reapportionment.
making the House the size of 10 years
before without making any increase,
ana in the Senate they made the num-
Der 241. giving 10 Pennsylvania. Ohio.
Vermont. Rhode Island. Kentucky, IL
linois. Iowa ana Minnesota one more
representative each. because of the ma
jority fraction and the House con-
CURED IN the an andment. The House
started out by depriving these states
of representation on the ground of
ma jority fractions. but by amendment
on the part of the Senate they We're
given representation for such majority
fraction.
1t will be seen that the increase in
ratio of representa- ton or the basis of
representation has increased gradually,
very nearly equal to that OF the per-
centasc of the increase in the repre-
Sentation itself. The average increase
in representation is 20 per cent. The
average increase in the size of the ra-
ito is 10 per cent: but the increase i'll
size of ratio on the basis of the minor
ity bill would be only Il per cent. The
increase on the basis Of the majority
bill would be 20 per cent: and the in
Cre9 Sc OF popula Ion during the whole
period has been, on the average. 81 per
cent. and during the last decade is 33
per cent. SO that this minority bill, Mr..
Speaker. is in line not only with the
constitutional intendment and the the
DRY of the fathers, but. with one eXcep-
ton. with the universal practice of this
House in conjunction with the Senate
in determining the basis OF representa-
ton.
Now 1 desire to call attention for a
few moments to the objections raised
by the majority of the committee to
increasing the size of this House. AS |
remember the statement of the gentle
man from Illinois. it was based large
~ on inconvenience. The report OF
the committee says It is kept at it's
pfcSent size by reason of economy and
dispatch in business. The suggestion is
made that the House has grown I'M
wieIdy: that it is incapable of prop
erly performing its functions. The dis
tinguiShed chairman Of the committee
does not make the statement in that
broad language. but he substantially
states that it is inconvenicnt that we
are adding trouble. as q reason why
the basis of representation should not
be increased, but should be continued
at its present size as reason why