Omaha daily bee., 1910-05-21
Things You Want to Know
Possibilities of the
Gerrymander.

I gan that year erected a district which re-
sembled the hub and spokes OF wagon
wheel II was one Of the most curious
! gerrymanders in history. but It resulted In
sending several democrats TO congress from
what had been rock-rlbbed republican
state, and il also gave part Of the cleo
toral vote of Michigan TO Cleveland In lSl2.
New York, Indiana and other whhom
doubtful states were carefully gerrymand-
cred by the democrats with the result that
the Fifty-third congress showed demo-
cratic majority In both houses, for the first,
last and only time since the civil war.
Tho split in the democratic party on the
money question resulted in sweeping re-
publican victories in 1924 and 1895. In 1898
! the democrats made considerable gains, al
though most of the democratic gerrymand-
ers had been abolished and new maps had
been drawn by republican draughtsman.
Then came the last apportionment, the sub
seuuent gerrymanders by republican legis~
! latures and five successful republican con-
! gressional campaigns.
II the democrats should win in the con-
! gressional elections in November the re-
! apportionment will be made by the present
congress, but the gerrymandering Will be
done by legislatures .'et to be elected IL
! the elections this fall should turn such
! states as Indiana, Ohio, Kansas, Nebraska
and West Virginia over to democratic leg
| islatiye control those states might be so
! gerrymandered that tho republicans would
lose, under ordinary conditions, fifteen
members. representing on division re-
duction of thirty in the majority. II there
should be a great democratic landslide and
| the democrats were to gain control of the
| legislatures of such states as New York,
| New Jersey Illinois and Iowa the map
makers could assure Q further republican
] loss of fifteen members.
i In other words, II tho democrats should
| win legislative control Of as many as half
a dozen northern and central states in the
| November election they would be em-
powered on account OF the reapportion-
ment to make 1t almost impossible for the
republicans to regain control OF the house.
| only once since the campaign of 1896 have
the republicans had majority in the house
of representatives, which could not have
been wiped out had the gerrymahdering
been done by democrats instead of repub-
leans. AS It seems probable that the
south will make greater comparative gains
under the new census than any other sec
ton, the possibilities Of democratic ger
rymander are even more important
Paradoxical as 1t may seem, 1t is truth
| that the gerrymander of a state by the
minority party, accidentally in control.
provides the only adequate means of a fair
| division of representation between the ma
jority and minority. For instance, there
are approximately a half million demo-
cratic voters In Pennsylvania who are out
| voted by three quarters of million re-
publicans. Although there Is q republican
majority in the state of quarter of a mil
lion, only 60 per cent of the votes cast are
republicans In the present house Of rep
resentatives Pennsylvania has thirty-two
members, only five Of whom are democrats.
The state is, OF course, gerrymandered by
the republicans, and 1t may be said that
| the Job has been most artisticaly exc
cuted, If the democrats, by some miracle,
were to gain control of the next legisla-
ture in Pennsylvania they would gerry
mander the state so that, assuming a gain
| of six members, the republicans would
have twenty-four and the democrats six
teen representatives. This would give the
voters of both parties representation in
congress in approximately the ratio of the
vote cast in the state. The same thing Is
true in Tennessee, where the republicans
have 46 per cent of the votes and only two
out of ten, or 20 per cent Of the repre-
sentation In congress.
| There have been few times in the his
tory of the nation when the political COM
plexion of the lower house of congress-
could not have been changed by the sim
pie device of the gerrymanders AS 1t is now
the gerrymanders are fearfully and Won
derfully made Arkansas has district
shaped like a pistol; Mr.. Prince Of the Fiji
tenth Illinois district represents a shoe
string; Mr.. Pickett Of the Third Iowa dis
| trict represents a monkey wrench with its
jaws open; Mr.. Hamlin of the Seventh Mis-
| souri, district lives in one end Of a sledge
hammer which rests upon the end OF
another sledge hammer represented by Mr..
Crow of the Fourteenth district. In states
like Tennessee and Kentucky the district
lines on the map do not present such
weird formations, but the republican dis
tricts In the eastern part of those states
have q great many more people In them
Ethan the democratic districts further west
Both parties are perfectly willing to mako
the most OF the possibility OF the gerry
mander, and the legislatures to be elected
this fall probably will have 1t in their
power to say which OF the two parties shall
control the house OF representatives dur
ing the second decade of the twentieth
century.
BY FREDERIC ]. HAsKIN.
TomorrOw-ThO slovak Union