The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1911-11-13
a legislative reapportionment by thu
present legislature.

-t7 rs / ) . /, +
not only swore to obey the Constitu-
tion, which commands reapportion-
ment- this legislature, but he also
promised Northern Minnesota that if
the legislature failed to provide re-
apportionment at the regular session
he would call an extra session for
that purpose. Ia ].
"The plain meaning of the Consti-
tuition is that representation in the:
legislature SHALL be apportioned
equally in proportion to population,
and that whenever a census discloses
the fact that it is not so apportioned,
the legislature SHALL reapportion it.
ut is not. a matter that is in the
discretion. Of the governor or the leg
islature, as some seem to suppose. It
is not discretionary, but mandatory
''Section 2of Article " of the state
Constitution says: The representa-
tion in both houses SHALL be appor-
toned equally throughout the differ
ent sections of the state, in proper
tion to the population thereof, ex-
elusive of Indians not taxable under
the provisions of law
! ''The Constitution doesn't say that
representation may be apportioned
equally according to population. 1t
says that it SHALL be.
''Section 23 of the same article
creates the machinery. 1t says that
the legislature shall provide for a
state census every ten years, and that
after every such census, and after
every Federal census, the legislature
shall have the power to prescribe the
bounds of congressional, senatorial
and representative districts, and to
apportion anew the senators and rep
resentatives among the several dis
tricts according to the provisions of
Section 2 of this article
"But, say the enemies of reappor-
tionment and an extra session, this
does not say the legislature Shall re-
apportion, but that it shall have the
power to do So
"True, and it was not necessary or
wise that it should say Shall The
Constitution, in Section 2 of this ar
ticle, already had said SHALL and
had said it in such way that it's
meaning could not be mistaken. The
legislative apportionment must AT
ALL TIMES be equal throughout the
state according to population. If the
word 'shall' appeared in Section 23,
it would mean that the legislature
would have to reapportion whether
it was necessary or not and the
trainers of the Constitution wished
to provide for it only when it was
necessary.
'The plain meeting of these two
sections in this: if a state of Feder-
al census shows the legislative ap-
portionment to be unfair, it is the
duty of the legislature under the
Constitution to reapportion, and the
duty of the governor under his oath
of office to see that it reapportions.
If there has been no growth, or if
growth has been equally distributed,
so that no reapportionment is needed,
then none is required. .
"But the Federal census of 1910
showed glaring discrepancies. It
showed senatorial districts with 49,
900 people possessed of the same leg
islative power as districts with 75,-
600 people.
"Under the Constitution, and the
oaths of office taken to obey and en-
force that Constitution, it is the duty
of the governor and the legislature
to provide reapportionment.
''The governor has promised North
ern, Minnesota that he will do his
duty. If he does it, and calls the
legislature in extraordinary session,
a ~reapportionment bill can and will
be passed. Under his oath of office,
if it has as much meaning to him as
the commands of special interests
which fear the legislation that would
come out of an extra session, it is his
duty to call the legislature together
It would have been his duty if he had
not promised to do it. His promise
and his oath make it doubly his
duty. IT, ..... I'll. -.
Governor Eberhart must call an
extra session or prove recreant to his
public duty and false to his oath and
promise