Bisbee daily review., 1910-09-21

i. prOacnlns seSslOus OL couSfcSs VIII be called upon to grapple will be to determine when the next apportion- ment of members of the house of representatives under the recent cen sus will be made.
 The constitution requires that an apportionment shall follow each de- cennial enumeration of the people and accordingly a redistribution of seats in the house membership has taken place hitherto soon after the conclusion of each census.
 Up to 1892 the reapportionment was uniformly postponed until the first session of the congress succeed ing the enumeration, but after the Eleventh census a change was made and the apportionment bills for the Eleventh and Twelfth census were brought in and passed in each case during the short session of the cur rent congress immediately following the census. It will rest with the ap- preaching session to determine whether it shall follow the old or the new precedent.
 Before the time for the meeting of congress the result of the November elections will have become known. If the Democrats should come into control of the house for the Sixty third congress they would naturally resist any effort to have the change made by the present republican con gress, while the republicans would be as anxious to have the service per formed while they were in control of legislation in both houses.
 Manipulation is Possible.
 Apportionment n itself can be used for party advantage only through manipulation Of population fractions in the various states. If the present-day plan of fixing upon a definite number of members as the first step in the distribution is fol- lowed many states will be found to have a considerable number of citi zens over the number necessary to give them the number of memberS assigned them. The size of the house once determined, the representation of each state is arrived at by divid- ing the aggregate population of the country by the total membership of the house and then dividing the pop ulation of any given state by the quotient thus obtained Almost iney- itably there ensues upon each of such divisions remainder, large or small. Aside from arbitrarily fixing the representation on the voting rather than the actual population. this remainder, or fraction, affords 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 accordance with the law which pro- yides that, any deficiency occurring on an even division shall be sup piled from tthe states having the largest remainders on the division. This rule was strictly followed in the last apportionment ii all allot- ments except those made to Maine and Nebraska In both these stetes congress exercised somewhat arbitra- " power. by giving each a repre- sentative on fraction less than the fractions of other states which re- ceived nothing because of their own fragments. This action was taken to prevent the loss of representation by any state.
 East Will Be Loser.
 If that policy should be accepted in the approaching apportionment it world upset the plans of some of the house leaders who are most anxious to avoid any appreciable increase in the size of the house. The census experts already understand that when the figures are made public some of the smaller eastern states will be found to have failed to keep pace in growth with some of their larger neighbors and with many of the western states. If, therefore they are to be protected against loss of representation in the house fl will probably be necessary to hold the ratio down to something like the present basis, or to discriminate in favor of the smaller states.
 A loss of mem bership would be by no means a new experience to many of the states. In the first apportion ment, made after the census of 1790 when the house numbered. all told only 105 members, Virginia was giv en Ie, or almost one-fifth of the en tire membership, and in 1900 thal number was increased to twenty three Then there was a gradua falling away until 1870. when thers were only nine members from tha state. Since then there has been { gain of one.
 Barring the first apportionment Connecticut began with ' memberi and now has 5. Maryland has beer reduced from 8 to 6, and New Hamp