Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1908-12-25
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At the Rate In the Pay re viii
Soon be Over 400 in the
House and More viii be
Added to the
Senate

Washington, Dec. 25.-There are
veteran leaders in Congress who be-
lieve the membership of both the
Senate and House should be cut in
two. The theory is that better results
would be obtained with smaller bod
les. AS the membership of the SEN
ate is fixed by one of the fundamen
tai principles of the constitution, to
reduce the number of senators is out
of the question. 1t could be done
only by reducing the number of
states, and that is as impossible, al
most, as to stop the moon in its
monthly journeys around the earth.
on the contrary, the Senate is bound
to increase its membership. 1t is only
question of time when Arizona and
New Mexico will be states. and there
will be 90 senators. Some day Alaska
may be a state. and the number of
senator's will be increased to SO. 1t
is unlikely, unless Cuba should be
annexed, that any of the insular pos
sessions will attain the dignity of
statehood. so SO senators may be
looked upon as the final number.
A congressional enactment. how
ever. is all that would be necessary
tn reduce the size of the House. The
House now has 391 members, and
each ten years in the past has seen
an increase aside from the increase
resulting from the admission of new
states. If the practice of years is
followed, the house membership is
certain to go over 400 after the CEN
sus of 1910. Under the constitutional
apportlonment of representation, there
were 65 members of the House. The
first census was taken in 1890, and
making it the basis of a new appor-
tionment, the number of representa-
tiHes was increased to lee The CEN
sus OF 1900 increased the number to
142. that of 1910 TO 1856, that of 1920
to 213, that of 1880 to PAP. Members
of Congress decided even then that
the House was too large and that
something must be done to check its
growth. SO, when it came to making
the apportionment under the census
Of 1870. the number of members was
reduced TO 2S2. Since then, however
growth has been unchecked. The
census of 1850 increased the number
to 237 that of 1860 to 243, that of
1870 to 293. that of 1880 to 332, that
of 1890 to 357, and that Of 1900 to
391, a part of the increase in each
decade. of course, being due to the
admission of new states.
There is a well settled opinion that
the membership of the House never
ought to go over 200. The loss of
much of the former prestige and in
nuence of the House is attributed to
its increase in membership. In so
large a body cohesiveness is lost and
there is lacking that respect for its
traditions which has enabled the Sem
ate to enhance so greatly its power.
Not only has the Senate trampled
upon the House but for years it has
been the victim of executive encroach-
ment The individual member of
the house Is of scarcely more cOnse-
] quence at the capital than is the aver
age $1,S00 a year departmental clerk.
( The argument in favor of reducing
the size OF the House is weakened
somewhat by the fact that the Brit
ish House of Commons, while a much
larger body than even the Ameri-
can House of Representatives, has
grown steadily in prestige and power,
having been able to resist all attempts
at encroachment from both the House
of Lords and from the throne. But
conditions in Great Britain are rad
ically different, just as the system of
government in Great Britain is differ
ent from our own. In Great Britain
the House Of Commons is itself the
government; it creates the ministry,
and the ministry is responsible to IL
alone. The king is but a nominal
sovereign. and the House of Lords
hesitates long before II refuses TO ap-
prove the measures of the Commons,
When this government was found
ed it was intended TO differ from the
parliamentary system, but still in the
beginning the people looked TO the
7 House of Representatives as the graf
conserver Of their rights That II is
not so today is due to two principal
reasons. one is that the executive
has been more often in touch with
the popular will and the other is that
the Senate has at all times stood to-
gether and been ready TO fight for its
I prerogatives.
With a House of not more than 200
members there would be more oppor-
tunlties for individual distinction and
there would be more Jealousy Of the
rights Of the House as whole, How
many voters are there living in a
state which has half a dozen or more