Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-01-07
important Meeting of the Central
Committee at SPRING
field.
THE ATTENDANCE
Senatorial Apportionment to be Con-
tested Other Proceed
ings.

John u. Hopkins was in the chair
| Neither Bob" Burke nor Fred +.
Eldred was present except by proxy.
James Quinlan. of Chicago, held the
proxy of i. c. Haley, of Joliet, Judge
Nicholas Worthington, of Peoria,
represented Alexander +. Jones, of
Chicago, John f. O'Malley appeared
for Thomas Byrne. John l.. Pickering.
of Springfield, for Frank w. Havill, of
Mount Carmel, Henry w. Clendenin,
and Gen. Alfred OrendorfT for Robert
+. Burke.
Burke's Resignation
The resignation of Robert f. Burke
as member of the finance committee
was accepted without comment and
John r. Hogan, of Taylorville, was
named in his stead. Justice James Il.
Kicks, also of Taylorville, rendered
his resignation as a member of the
state committee from the seventeenth
district on account of his service in
the supreme court. The resignation
was accepted and John f. Hogan was
named TO fill the vacancy.
y large number of democrats not
members of the committee were pres
ent and the best of feeling prevailed.
Disappointment was expressed that
the Cook county row was not brought
up for consideration, but the repre-
sentatives of the Gahan county com
mittee ordered otherwise.
Acting upon an opinion prepared
by eX-Judge Thomas \. Moran, of Chi
cago. in which it is held that the
Il
reefs the democratic state committee
to issue the call for primaries for the
election of delegates to the state con-
vention, the committee instructed
Chairman Hopkins to appoint COM
mittee to inquire further into the law.
The committee is directed to report
within ten days 10 the executive com
mittee, which is given full power to
act.
Should the opinion of eX-Judge
Moran be sustained by the findings
of the subcommittee and executive
committee il is regarded as a certain
ty that Chairman Hopkins will en-
force party loyalty to the state COM
mittee in Cook county by naming n
new county or campaign committee.
Contest Senatorial ApportIonment.
The committee decided by a vote of
90 to to contest the senatorial APP
lportionment of the state made by the
forty-second general assembly. The
procedure for this contest has been
left to the executive committee. The
committee recommended that the
proposed fight on the congressional
superintendent he dropped on the
ground that the only requirements
provided by the federal statutes were
contiguity of territory and equality
of population. "aS near as practical
Bile" The ground for the attack on
the cOnstitutionality of the senator
ial apportionment will be the gerry
mander of the fortieth and forty
ninth, or Cumberland and st. Clair
districts. IT is pointed out that the
population of the fortieth district.
Including Cumberland. Christian, Shell
by and Fayette counties, is $4,000 in
excess of the senatorial ratio. while
the population of the adjacent dis
trict. the thirty-fourth. including
Douglas, Coles and Clark counties,
is II. 900 below the ratio. The former
district has a population of 1O9.s05
and the latter 1926, difference of
1860. st. Clair county, constituting
the forty-ninth district. has poPula-
ton of S6,6S5. while the forty-fourth
district, adjoining it, has a popula-
ton of 1905. 1t is shown that the
St. Clair district is 5000 below the
ratio and the forty-fourth district
% 900 above the ratio. The constitu-
ton prohibits district containing
less than four-fifths the ratio, while
the st. Clair district has siN-ffths the
ratio. II is contended that Cumber-
land county should be taken from the
fortieth district and added to the
thirty-fourth, and that Monroe coun-
ty should be added To the st. Clair
district. The forty-fourth district in
cludes Washington, Perry, Jackson,
Randolph and Monroe counties.
Chairman Given Authority.
Chairman Hopkins was given au-
thority to call the next meeting of
the committee. The chairman and
secretary of the state committee
were directed To arrange for the re-
organization of congressional and
senatorial districts made necessary
by the recent apaportionments. In
several districts vacancies were re-
ported as the result of the republican
gerrymander.