The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-09-20
WILL BE DISTURBING FACTOR AT
COMING SESSION OF
U. s. CONGRESS.
WILL CONTROL
Result of November Elections Viii
Determine Action Of Present Con-
gress---Negro Disfranchise-
ment an Issue.


first questions with which the ap-
approaching session or congress will
he called upon to grapple with will be-
to determine when the next appol.
tlonnnnt cf H., Tuleis of the house OF
representatives under the recent cen
lsus shall be Jnaup.
While it is not actually required By
tnc Constit,l, on tEat instrument TN
plies tnat reappcFiionment shall fct.
| low a redistribution of seats in the
house. meniershi has taken place
hitherto soen after the conclusion of
each census
Up to 1891 the reapnortonmenl was
uniformly postponed until the first
session of the congress succeeding the
enumeration, but after the eleventh
census change was made and the ap-
portionment bills for the eleventh and
twelfth censuses were brought in and
passed in each case during the short
session of the current congress imme
diatey following the census. 1t will
lrest with the approaching session to
determine whether 1t shall follow the
| old or the new precedent Politics
may determine the choice.
| Before the time for the meeting of
congress the result yof the November
lelections viii have become known. If
the Democrats should come into con
ltrol OF the house for the Sixtysthird
lcongress they would naturally resist
lany effort to have the. change mads
by the present Republican congress.
while the Republicans would be us
IanXious " have the service performed
while they were in control OF legisla.
tioa IN both houses.
Manipulation Of Fractions.
Apportionment in itself can be used
for party advantage only through the
manipulation of fractions in the va
rious states. If the present day plan
of fixing upon a definite number Of
members as the first step in the dis.
irritation Is followed many states will
he found to have considerable mum,
ber Of cilizebs over the number nee
asaory to give them Tne number af
mcntcrs assigned them. The size ol
Tie htNse once determined the repre-
sentation OF each state is arrived at By
dividing the aggregate population oil
the country by the total membership
of the house, and then dividing tn.
population Of any given state by the
lduotient thus obtained. Almost inev
Hably there ensnes upon each Of suef
divisions remainder, large, OF small
aside from arbitrarily fixing the rep
Presentation on the voting rather thar
tine actual population, this remainder
]. or fraction, affords the only base 0
Q manipulation Of the apportonment D
e members.
If used to the extreme 1t might b.
e an important factor, as no fewer thai
el23 representatives now hold thei
o seats on fractions. That they shout,
S do so Is strictly in accordance with tn,
y law, which provides that any deficien
eIcy occurring on an even devsion shal
be supplied from the states having th,
Y largest remalnders on the division
a" This rule was strictly followed In thu
last apportionment In all allotment!
Y except those made 10 Maine and Ne
: braska. In both those states congres,
exercised somewhat arbitrary powe
s by giving each representative on {
fraction less than the fractions D
other states which received nothins
because of their own fragments. Thil
action was taken to prevent the loss
of repres entation by any state.
5 If the policy should be accepted il
r the approaching apportionment i
could upset the plans OF some of th,
nose leaders who are most anxious Il
( avoid any appreciavle increase In thu
!, size Of the house. The census experts
already understand that when tht
I figures are made public some of the
smaller eastern states will be foun.
TO have failed to keep pace In growth
with some of their larger neighbors
and with many Of the western states
#. therefore, they are to be protected
: against loss of representation in the
house 1t will probably be necessary to
held the ratio down to something like
the present basis or to discriminate in
favor of the smaller states.
| A loss OF membership would be by
no means a new experience to many
lof the states. In the first apportion-
Iment, made after the census OF 1890,
when the house numbered all told
lcnly los members. Virginia was given
10. or almost ons-ffth OF the entire
membership. and In 1900 that number
was increased to 20. Then there was
La gradual falling away until 1870,
when there were only nine members
IConllQued on Third Pags.l