Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1911-02-23
SOUTHWEST MUST
STAND FOR RIGHTS
Session of Virginia Legislature Next Winter
will be Important 0ne---GIaring Unequal
tiles in Population Of Districts.


The session of the Virginia. Legislature
to convene next winter will be the most
important to be held in the State:of Vir-
GINA for many years, as this legislature
will reapportion the State into the con.
gressional, senatorial and legislative
districts.
The census just completed shows
some very glaring inequalities in the
population of the districts according to
the present division of the State Vir-
ginia at present is not fairly divided
the State has been gerrymandered until
some of these districts are twice, three
times and even four times as large as
others. Gerrymandering is an efficient
means of disfranchising voters without
the voter in many instances suspecting
that he has been denied the full right
and power of his vote. Southwest Vir-
ginia has been very much Disseminated
against and this is a vital question to
the people living in this great mountain
part of Virginia, and it is important
that every good citizen of Southwest
Virginia should feel a deep interest In
this matter, let him be Democrat or a
Republican. We are entitled to our full
and equal rights with the other parts of
the State and we should not hesitate to
stand up and demand and fight for our
rights.
The Ninth congressional district,
which is the largest congressional dis
trict in Virginia, has 266, SGT population,
and if Virginia still retains her ten con-
gressmen under the apportionment now
being considered by congress, we would
have 60, 406 more population than we
should have-this Of course means that
other congressional districts in the State
hnx 1.rr. -
they should have. The State has 2, 2,061,-
612 population according to the last cen
sus, therefore each congressional dis
trict should have as near as possible,
206, 161 population if we are given our
ten congressman, which it now looks
like we are going to get. To take Bland,
Giles, Pulaski and Wythe counties off of
the Ninth congressional district would
still leave the district with 2l1, 172 pop
ulation, or SOIL population more than
it should have. This would be as near
as it is possible to get the district to the
proper population. So the Ninth dis
trict when the State is reapportioned
next winter should be composed of the
city Of Bristol and the counties of Lee,
Scott, Wise, Washington, Smyth, Taze-
well, Russell, Dickenson and Buchanan,
with population of 211, ,172, and this
would make the district as compact as
it is possible to get it.
There are forty senators in Virginia,
and the present senatorial districts in
Southwest Virginia are as follows:
First district, in hich A. T. Lincoln
is senator, is composed of the counties
of Smyth and Washington, and the city
of Bristol, with a population Of SO. .403.
End. The district in which John C.
Noel is senator, is composed of the
<xE
population of 81, TIC. This is the largest
senatorial district in Virginia.
3rd. The district in which have hon.
or to be senator is composed of the
counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, Rus
sell and Tazeweli, with population of
69, 953. This is the second largest sena-
torial district in Virginia
9th. The district in which A. P.
Strother is senator is composed of the
counties of Bland, Giles, Pulaski and
Wythe, with population of SO, 1896.
9th. The district in which John M
Parsons is senator is composed of the
counties of Carroll, GraysOn and Pat
rick, with population of 5S, l67.
To divide the StateI of Virginia prop
erly into forty senatorial districts each
district should have as near as possible
81, $40 population. The sixteen counties
above mentioned constituting the frat,
second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth
senatorial districts with a combined pop
ulation Of 324. 734, should have six sena-
tors instead OF five and would still have
10, 494 population more than required.
Take Patrick county out of this list,
leaving fifteen counties. we would have
fifteen counties entitled to six senators
and these districts should be divided as
follows:
First Observation-Disclosures Dickenson
and Wise, population 55, 695, which
would be A, 155 over.
2nd district-Lee and Scott, popula-
tion, 1884, which would be 1856 un-
der.
3rd district-Russell and Tazewell.
population AZ, APO, which would be 8, l20
under.
4th district-City of Bristol, Wash
ington and Smyth, population So, ,403,
which would be 6, 853 over.
9th district-Grayson, Wythe and
Bland, population 45, 1872, which would
he 6, 1853 under.
9th district Giles, Pulaski and Car
roll, population as, ,983, which would be
1,557 under.
: This would leave Patrick county to go
into some other senatorial district.
These same sixteen counties at the
present time have the following men,
Ders of the house of delegates:
Lee-Population %, $40; one member.
Scott-Population 2S,814; one MEM
ber.
Russell-Population %, 474; one MEM
ber.
Smyth-Population 20,396; one men,
ber.
Wythe-Population 20,372; one mem
ber.
Pulaski-Population 17,246; one mem
ber.
Patrick-Population II, 7,195; one mem
ber.
Carroll-Population 81, 116; one men,
Der.
Grayson-Population 19, ,S56; one mem
Der.
Bland and Giles-Population 16,777;
one member.
Dickenson and Wise-Population 49,
36l; one member.