The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1910-09-20
THE DEMOCRATIC:
HOUSE AND NEXT !:
APP0RT|0NMEN7
Election Of Majority in Next
Congress May Affect the
Number Of Congressman
The DEMOCRATS WOULD FAVOR
CUTTING DOWN SMALL STATES
Dlsfranchisement Of Negroes in South
VIII Be Considered II Apportion.
ment Is Made by Republicans-The
Democrats Will Reduce North.

ment Is Made by Republicans-The
Democrats Will Reduce North.
Washington, Sept. 20.-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 apportionment
of members of the house Of repre-
sentatfves under the recent census
shall be made.
While it is not actually required by
the constitution that instrument i'm
plies that a reapportionment shall
follow each decennial enumeration OF
tire people. and accordingly redis-
tribution Of seats in the house mem
bership has taken place hitherto soou
after the conclusion Of each census.
Up to 1880 the reapporttonment va
uniformly postponed until the first
session Of the congress succeeding
the enumeration, but after the eleven
tn census change was made and
the apportionment' bills for the elev-
en- and twelfth census were brought
in and passed in each case during the
short session of the current congress
Immediately following the census. II
will rest with the approaching ses-
sion to determine whether It shall
follow the old or the new precedent.
Politics may determine the choice.
Before the time for the meeting OF
congress the result of the November
elections will have become known. II
the Democrats should come into con-
t:ol of the house for the Afty-tnird
congress they would naturally resist
any effort to have the change made
by the present Republican congress
while the Republicans would be as
anxious to have the service perform
ed while they were in control OF legis.
lation fn both HOUSES.
Partisan Advantage. 7&
Apportionment in itself can be used
for party advantage only through the
manipulation of population fractions
Ia the various states. If the present
day plan of fixing; upon definite
number of members as the first steI
in the distribution is followed many
states will be found. to have q 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 aggre-
gate population Of the country by the
total membership Of the house and
then dividing the population Of any
given state by the quotient thus OBJ
tained. Almost inevitably there en-
sues upon each Of such divisions q
remainder, large or small. Aside from
arbitrarily fixing the representation
on the voting rather than the actual
population, this remainder. OF frac-
tion, affords the only base Of manip-
ulation Of the apportionment of men,
bers.
II 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 &C
cordance with the law which pro-
vides that, any deficiency occurring
on an even division shall be supplied
from the states having the largest
remainders on the division. This
rule was strictly followed in the last
apportionment in all allotments ex-
cept those made to Maine and Nebras-
ka. In both those states congress
exercised somewhat arbitrary power
by giving each 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 representation by any state.
II that policy should be accepted in
the approaching apportionment 1t
could 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 ex-
perts 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 west
ern states. If, therefore. they are to
be projected against loss Of repre-
sentation in the house 1t will prob
ably be necessary to hold the ratio
down to something like the present
basis or to discriminate In favor Of
the smaller states.
MaJ Lose Membership.
A loss of membership would be by
no means q new experience to many
Of the state. In the first apportion-
ment, made after the census of 1890,
when the house numbered, all told,
only los members, Virginia was Civ
en- nineteen, or almost one-fifth Of
the entire membership. and in 1900
that number was increased to %.
Then there was a gradual falling
away until 1870. when there were
only nine members from that state.
Since then there has been a gain Of