The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-08-30
Congressional Districts Are Grossly Unequal as to Population and Should Be Reapportioned. Five Counties Have More Than Share of Senatorial Representation, ,and Three Counties Less.
Committee Has Had Seven Months for Action, and Has Not Considered Sen atorial Redistricting = Governor Himself Sub mitted a Plan.
Especial from United Press )

Special from United Press.)
 Hartford, Aug. 3O-Calling attention to the urgent need of action on the question of redistricting the State, Gov Baldwin today sent the following communication to the General Assem- bly: -@
 August 30. 1911. To the Hon. General Assembly:
 Two of the most important subjects of consideration at the present session districting the State for the election of members of the House of Represen- tatives of the United States, and for the election of State Senators.
 Under the laws of the United States it is our duty to constitute our Con- gressional districts. whether we make them five or leave them four in num- Der, so as to make them as nearly as possible equal in population. The four districts now existing are grossly un- equal in popula ton. Two reports are before you, one of which secures sub stantially absolute equality and the other nearly secures it. It seems to me that one or the other of these re- ports should be adopted.
 They are the fruits of seven months work in committee. Having been thus
  should you enact one of the bills re- ported, that your action would be nasty. No Legislature hereafter, it is probable, will ever be able to give as much as seven months to the study of any measure.
 In the matter of Senatorial districts which was referred to the same com mittee, no reports have been made. This is not because the committee has not considered the question so referred to them. I understand that they have made careful maps and have consid- cred several schemes I myself last March submitted to them scheme for redistricting under the census of 1910 on the bases of giving each county the same number of Senators as now, and another for redistricting the State by taking one Senator from each of Mid dlesex, Windham and Litchfield coun ties and adding one to each of New Haven, Hartford and Fairfield coun- ties. At present Hartford, New Ha ven and Fairfield counties have less than their proportionate representa- tion in the Senate, while New London, Windham, Litchfield, Middlesex and Holland counties have more than their proportionate representation
 The constitution of Connecticut pro- vides that our Senatorial districts shall be as nearly equal in population as possible, subject to State limitations. Those limitations do not prevent their being. much less unequal in population than they now are.
 Our oath of office was solemn act In the presence of God and asking His help to enable us to perform our pledge, we swore that we would be faithful in support of the constitu- tion of the State of Connecticut. I feel that I should not be faithful to you if I did not here and now call your attention to this obligation.
 It is all important to the integrity of our system of government to make the Senate as far as may be fairly of the people of Con- necticut. It is not now so represen- tative You have rejected at the pres ent session @ proposition to amend the constitution so as to secure full and perfect representation of the people by substituting for the district system that of electing Senators at large.
 It Is now eight years since the boun- diaries of the Senatorial districts were fixed as at present During all this time their inequalities have been in- creaSing.
 In my inaugural message I called your attention to the fact that while the average population of Senatorial district should be 31, ,650 the sixth con- tains nearly 44,OOO: the fifteenth over A, 900, and the 27th over 4, ,000, while in the 33d it is but 20,362, and in three others is less than 21 800.
 Some of these inequalities can be remedied under the constitution as it is; others cannot be. Ought not the on Congressional and Sena- torial districts be directed to report on the latter subject?
 I ask you seriously to consider, not as members of this or that political party, but as men and citizens, what is your constitutional duty on these matters and then to do it, cut where it will
 CSigneO SIMEON B. BALDWIN,
 Governor