Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-01-15
REINFORCEMENT


session of the legislature. One of |
these is the threadbare primary cleo
ton law of which much has been
said, and the other is the reappor-
tionment Of the representation in the
legislature. The latter is important
because of the fact that the eastern
portion Of the state will be COM
PEELED in an equitable distribution of
representation, to yield some of the
advantages it now has to the west
ern part.
During the past few years the in
crease in population has been in the
western counties. The eastern ones
have maintained their own but they
have not received the large number
of new settlers which has been so dis
tinctive of the counties in the north
west especially. A reapportionment5
must, as matter of right, give these
new corners a representative consid-
Grafton. .ass s&y
1 In the recent election, Grand Forks
county cast 4,109 votes. The TWEEN
ninth legislative district, which com
| prises Ward and Williams counties,
cast 5,297 votes. Grand Forks coun
| ty has eight members in the house of
representatives and the Twenty ninth
L = ;1fr tot l.
one member for each 512 voters, and
the Twenty-third district has one for
every 1,766. Cass county has yot-
] ing population of 3,SSS. The Thirty
fifth legislative district composed of
| Mclean and Mercer counties, has a
population of 2,4S1. Cass county has
| nine members in the house of repre-
sentatives, and the Thirty-fifth dis
/ trich has two Cass county has one
representative for every 432 voters,
and the thirty-fifth district has one
for every 1,240. Cass county has
nine members in this body, repre-
senting constituency of 1883 yot-
edrs, and Grand Forks has eight
members representing a constituency
of 4,109. Grand Forks has repre-
sentative for every 512 voters; Cass
county, one for every 1872.
! These inequalities are merely illus
/ trative and are not the only ones
which exist. No one is to blame par
1 ticularly for the injustice except those
who have been advertising the state
and inducing new settlers to come
into the western counties where they
have established homes. But it is a
condition which in justice to the citi-
zens of all parts of the state needs to
be rectifed. Whether the re-appor-
tionment will be made by. increasing
| the number of representatives to
something nearer the maximum con-
stitutional limit of one hundred and
| forty-a number none too large to
] make the representation equitable
/ and leave the large counties with
their present representation or by
reducing the number Of representa-
tives in the counties which have large
i representation and adding this num-
/ Der to the counties which have not d
sufficiently large number for the pop
Iulation, has not been determined. I,
/ A large Legislative body becomes
| unwieldly and correspondingly less
i valuable. The larger diversity of
opinions which are found in these
1 greater bodies are advantageous in
1 the way of information, but when
l they become SO large, the work of
1 constructing legislation must be
/ largely done in committee. and the
individual power and influence of the
member is correspondingly reduced.
1t is not therefore improbable that
the membership will be kept some
thing near what it now is. and the
representation apportioned among
the several counties and Legislative
districts accordingly.
i In doing this the influence and vot-
ing power of the western part of the
state will be largely increased, and
its ability to influence legislation cor
respondingly enhanced. No danger to
the state as a whole will result from
this change unless it be in the matter
of resubmission. The western por,
ton of the state is more largely OPP
/ posed to the continuation of the pres
| ent prohibition law than is the older
portion, but whether the sentiment is
sufficiently strong to have any in
/ fuence on the shaping Of legislation
on that subject could not be deter
mined except in contest wherein
that question were the issue.
First Church Belle.
III IT. 4ofla ut