Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-26

republican national committee deals with
this subject. 1t Las been circulated in large
Plumbers and is designed to arouse interest
among the rank and file in a proposition
that will some time have to be met This
pamphlet says, in part
Equality Of Representation.
ut has been asserted that the republican
platform in demanding that representation
in Congress and in the electoral colleges be
reduced in states where the elective fran
chise has been limited by special discrimi-
nation is raising the race question. This is
not true The platform does not touch the
race question. The clause in question has
to do with a more vital and important mat
ter, the equality of voters.
There aIe states represented on a basis
o. population in which less than two per
cent of the population votes, while the aver
age vote ir Others is anywhere from fifteen
10 twenty-five rer cent. Before the war
these states were allowed to count three
fiths OF their nrn-voting slave popula ton; :;
now they count the whole of their non-vot-
ing free popula adon. Is this equality?
There is district in Mississippi in which
oDe-half of one Fer cent of the population
votes; in another only one person in 1873
votes, and votes for John Sharp Williams,
who is protesting against government with
out representation in the Philippines One
vote in Mississippi equals from seven to
Government by an Oligarchy.
Judge Parker says he objects to govern
ment by an oligarchy. Where do you
think the oligarchy is in this country, and
what do you want to do about it?
The accompanying tables show the num-
Der OF votes received by the winning candi-
date In each district, the whole number of
votes cast in the district. its population and
hn ffor, oF -
lation. 1t will be observed that in many
OF the southern states the successful candi-
date ran without opposition, polling the en-
tire vote cast in his district; while in
northern states the opposition divided
among several parties, frequently cast
more votes than Were cast for the winner
or the election. If healthy opposition is
sign of wholesome political life this fact
is certainly significant
compare the first South Carolina dis
trict, which takes in the city of Charleston
and has population of 196.39O with the
NTH pennsylvania, which includes part of
Phiadeiphla, population 196315 Mr. I.e-
gare of South Carolina received 374g votes
out of a total of 1924; Mr. MorrelI of Penn
sylvania, % 1853 out of 25,640 both candi-
oates having practically no opposition. Mr..
Legare received the votes of one-fiftieth of
the population of his district Mr. Morrel
the votes of one-seventh the population OF
his. One voter in South Carolina equals
seven III pennsylvania.
Comparison of Districts.
Compare the sixth South Carolina dis
trict population 2Q1 ,577, with the first Mas
sachusetts, population 2o1 37S In the one
Mr.. Scarborough gets 1881 votes, with no
opposition; in the other Mr.. Lawrence gets
1903 votes against an opposition of II, ,OO9.
In Mr.. Scarborough's district only one per-
son in fifty voted; in Mr. Lawrence's the
me mt n
Carolina voter equals seven in Massachu-
setts.
Compare the seventh South Carolina
district, population 1873, 163, with the nine
teenth New York, population 1S3,375 In
one the successful democratic candidate
was elected by vote of 1920 against an
opposition of 161 republican; in the other
the republican candidate got 17,S7S votes
against 1888 democratic and 500 divided
among three other factions, the total vote
polled being one-fifth of the population, as
against one-forty- of the population
of the seventh South Carolina. One voter
in South Carolina equals eight in New
York and doesn't have to work so hard to
elect his man.
Alabama and Minnesota.
Alabama sends nine congressman to the
House; so does Minnesota. There is not a
very wide difference in the population of
the two states. Let us see how many
voters it takes to elect congressman in
each
Representative Tawney, republican, of
the first Minnesota district, received 10, SCI
votes out of a total of 81, LOG, the population
being 210, 164. About one i'll six of the popu-
lation voted.
Representative Underwood, democrat, of
the ninth Alabama, received 6.Ts2 votes out
of a total of S,770, from a population of
213, $40, one in twenty-four OF the popuia-
ton voting. His republican opponent re-
ceived 1,793 votes-less than one-third of
the democratic vote. Alabama is in the
..black belt One white man in Alabama
| is worth four in Minnesota.
'In the first Alabama district Mr.. Taylor.
I democrat, was elected by 1894 votes out of
| 6074-hardly worth while to vote against
him, you see-and the population of the dis
| trict was 1s1, ,7S1, one In thirty voting.
"In J. Adam Bedes district, the eighth
| Minnesota, the population is 156,943-con-
| sderably smaller than the first Alabama.
Mr.. Bede received 1858 votes, and his
democratic opponent sSs2 1t took less
| votes for a democrat to win in Mobile
| than for one to be badly licked in Mime
| sofa One-seventh of the population of Mr..
Bede's district voted for somebody. Twen-
ty-nine- thirtieths of Mr.. Taylor's district
democrats.
Mississippi and New Jersey.
John Sharp Williams, the democratic
| leader OF the House. is much troubled in
mind about the rights of the Filipinos. who
are deprived Of proper representation. So
long as here are 1872 people in his own dis
trict who are not voting to one who is it
seems as If the Mississippian might look
nearer home He was elected to the pres
ent Congress by the total vote in his dis
| trict. ,433, and there are 190SS5 people in
that district. One in 133 of them voted.
There Is another district in Mississippi,
represented by Mr. Humphreys, who was
also elected without opposition. receiving
LAG votes out Of population Of 2s2,174.