Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-09-20
Dy Associated Press.

Washington, Sept. 19.-One of the
first questions with which the ap
preaching session of congress will be
called upon to grapple will be to de
| termine when the next apportionmen1
of members of the house of represen
| tatives under the recent issue shall
be made.
While it is not actually required by
the constitution that instrument i'm
plies that a reapportionment shall fol-
low each decenlial enumeration OF
the people. and accordingly reds
tribution of seats in the house mem
bership has taken place hitherto soon
after the conclusion of each census.
Up to 1890 the reapportionment was
unifGmly postponed until the first
session of the congress succeeding
the enumeration but after the eleventh
census change was made and the
apportionment bills Of the eleventh
and twelfth census were brought in
and passed in each case during the
short session of the current congress
Immediately following the census. 1t
will rest with the approaching session
to determine whether it shall follow
the old or the new precedent. Poll
tics may determine the choice.
Before the time for the meeting Of
congress the result of the November
elections will have become known. If
the democrats should come into con.
troll of the house for 63rd congress
they would naturally resist any effort
to have the change made by the pres
ent republican congress, while the
republicans would be as anxious to
have the change made while they
are in control of legislation in both
houses.
Apportionment in itself can be used
for party advantage only through the
manipulation of population fractions
in the various states. If the present
day plan of fixing upon a definite num-
Der of members as the first step in
the distribution is followed, many of
the states will be found to have con-
siderable number Of citizens over the
number necessary to give them the
number of members assigned them.
The size of the house once determin-
ed, the representation of each state is
arrived at by dividing the aggregate
population of the country by the total
of the house and then di.
viding thu population of any given
state by the quotient thus obtained.
Almost inevitably there ensues upon
each of such divisions a remainder,
large or small. Aside from arbitrarily
fixing the representation On the vot.
ing, rather than the actual popula
ton, this remainder, or fraction, at.
fords the only base of manipulation
of the apportionment of members.
If used to the extreme it might be
an important factor as no fewer than
twenty-three representatives now
hold their seats on fractions. That
they should do so is strictly in ac-
cordance with the law which provides
that, any deficiency occurring on an
even division shall be supplied from
the states having the largest remain.
ders on the division. This rule was
strictly followed in he last apportio1. !
ment in all allotnents except those
made to Maine and Nebraska. In
both these states congress exercised
somewhat arbitrary power by giving
each a representative on a fraction
less than the fractions of other states ,
which received nothing because of
their own fragments. This action was
taken to prevent the loss of represen.
tation by any state.
If that policy should be accepted, in
the approaching apportionment it
could upset the plans of some of the
house leaders who are most anxious |
10 avoid any appreciable increase in
he size of the house. The census ,
experts already understand that when
he figures are made public some of |
he smaller eastern states will be
found to have failed to keep pace
n growth with some of theis larger
leighbors and with many of the west
ern states. If therefore, they are to
oe protected against loss of represen-
alton in the house it will probably be
necessary to hold the ratio down to
like the present basis or
o discriminate in favor of the small
n states.
A loss of membership would be by
10 means a new experience to many
If the states. In the first apportion-
nent, made after the census of 1890,
when the house numbered, all told,