The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-11-01
Senator Bourne
 Shows Inequality
 Of Representation

WdSuluStOu, w OCC. Sl.-Ino present plan Of appOrtlOnmento of delegates to the Republican National Convention | Is misrepreSentative. unjust and un- American, said Senator Jonathan Bourne, Jr, President of the Nation | al Progressive Republican League, in a statement issued today. "No fair minded man will defend it; no self respecting voter will silently submit to it. Equally is the first principle of citizenship in America. One mans vote should count for just as much as any other mans vote: The right of selection is of infinitely greater i'm portance than the right of election. If the political boss or machine selects the candidate, then the right of the people to elect is practically nullified. Five states, Oregon, North Dakota. have, since the 8th of last November, enacted in substance my presidential preference law which provides for party primary election and instruction of National Delegates. Yet those states with presidential primaries are only allotted one delegate to every six to nine thousand votes cast for Taft and Sherman in the last Presi- dential election, while South Carolina will have one delegate for every 220 votes cast for Taft and Sherman. In order to have absolute equality among
 
 National Convention, the delegates should be apportioned among the states on the basis of the last Re- publican vote for President. Instead of that, the appOrtionment is now on the basis of total population, so that Democrats in some states help to swell the representation in the Republican convention. What makes the matter more unjust and more vicious, is the fact that in states having the largest excess of such misrepresentation the delegations are under the control Of a federal machine. It is not only un- equal representation but tyranny.
 "As will be seen by the following table, 88S Republicans in Florida have as much voice in the selection of Ma cans in Colorado. It takes 11,000 Indiana Republicans to balance 44S Louisiana Republicans. Mississippi Republicans to the nuriber of 218 have as much representation In the National Convention as 11,000 RepuD- 12,0O0 Republicans in Ohio to equal in nominating power 220 Republicans in South Carolina. What do Repub- licans in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Colorado think of that? Yet the sys- tenn was perpetuated in the last Re- publican National Convention by the Federal steam-roller over the pro- tests of delegations from many States.
 While absolute equality would re- quire an apportionment based strictly upon the last Republican vote, think no one contends for that. The. plan proposed in the last Republican Ma tionaI Convention favored the states in which the Republican vote was the smallest, by first apportioning four. delegateS to each state and then ap- portioning the remaining delegates on a pro-rata basis. For the informa- ton of Republicans throughout the United States I have worked out the apportionment on this plan. The number of delegates from states in the next National Convention, not counting Arizona and New Mexico, will be 1,O50. If each of the 46 states be allowed four delegates at large, this will take out 184, leaving S66 to be apportioned and the basis would be one delegate for each 8,865 votes or major fraction. To be more than fair, have assigned an additional delegate to Mississippi although it has not a major fraction. l submit to all fair-minded men that this plan should be adopted.
 "The following table shows the number of delegates each state will have in the next convention, the num- Der of delegates each state would have under the plan I have outlined and the number of Republican votes each delegate represents under the present plan: