Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1911-04-21
MEMBERSHIP OF LOWER HOUSE
New ReApportionment Bill to Provide for 433 Members.
Republicans Have Delayed Action for Political Reasons and
Gained Some Advantage

persons than under the old apportion-
ment. This ratio is the highest posi-
BILE, and the membership of 1873 is the
lowest possible. that would prevent the
loss OF membership by any state.
AZ NEW MEMBERS.
Under the Houston bill the AZ addi-
tional members are distributed as fol-
lows: Sixteen states, Alabama, Colo
RADIO. Florida, Georgia, Idaho. Louisiana,
Michigan. Minnesota, Montana, North
Dakota. Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island,
South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia
win gain one member each; FIVE states,
Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Tex
as and Washington. will gain two mem
bers each; two states, California and Ok
Iahoma, will gain three members each;
one state, Pennsylvania, will gain four
members, and one state, New York, will
gain six members.
II the house was held 10 it's pres
ent membership. u states would lose a
total OF Is representatives. Missouri
would lose two, and Illinois. Indiana,
Iowa. Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska.
North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia
and Wisconsin. would lose one each.
These 10 losses would have been gains
to New York. Pennsylvania, California
and Washington.
The IS states that would lose under
the old apportionment are powerful
enough, in combination, to cause tile
congress to disregard its best judgment
and to increase the membership OF the
house in spite of the fact that that body
already is too large to permit the or
derby discussion and dispatch of the pub
lie business.
The last house authorized the remodel
ing OF the chamber Of the house so as
to cut down its size by one-third. sub
stituting benches for the chairs and
desks now in use. But the calling of
the extra session made il Impossible to
attempt the reconstruction this year, and
Champ Clark is breaking an average OF
a gavel a day in his attempts to keep
the house in any semblance of order.
THE UNDERLYING REASON.
The Democrats, and some Republicans,
who support the increase point out that
the house with 433 members win be
much smaller than the British house Of
commons, or than many other national
legislative assemblies. But the real rea-
son underlying the increase is politics
the Democrats don't want to lose mem
bership from southern states, and the
Republicans from states that would lose
members are afraid Of the effect on their
individual political fortunes. There
fore Ine mouse VIII De Increased.
Only once in the history OF the coun-
try has the membership of the house
been decreased following the decennial
census. when the re-apportionment must
be made. That was in 1910, when the
house passed a bill increasing the mem
bership from 200 TO SOC. The senate, for
the first and only time, refused to &C
cept the house re-apportionment and
amended the bill to make the member
ship 2z3 a reduction of So below the
number fixed by the house. and CT Il
below the number then in existing con-
gress- The house accepted the senate
amendment and the decrease was made.
But there is no probability that the
senate -yill oppose the VIII of the house
at this time in this matter. The Hous-
ton bin providing for an Increase TO 4SS
win be passed, and the senate will ac-
cept IT, Senator LaFollette and Others
opposed to the increase contenting them
selves with registering their protests and
warnings.