Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1911-01-13
WOULD REDUCE
WHITNIAN'S REPRESENTATION
Proposed ReapportiOnment of State
Would Give Whitman County
Only Three Representatives
and One Senator.

One of the big problems of the
present session of the state legisla-
ture will be the reapportionment of
the state to give Washington five
congressional districts. The Pierce
county delegation has prepared a
table which seems to be favored by
many west side legislators, which
would reduce Whitman county's rep
| resentation to three representatives
and one senator, the present plan
giving this county four of the former
and one of the latter The proposed
apportionment places Whitman coun-
| ty in a congressional district with
Grant, Garfield, Asotin, Walla Walla,
| Franklin, Yakima, Benton, Klickitat,
Skamania, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum and
Clarke counties, giving population
of 23O,2S9 for the district and in
Guiding nearly as many counties as
the other four districts combined.
"The mem bers of both the house
and senate have agreed upon a plan
of apportionment to conform to the
1910 census. There are many rea-
sons to believe that this division will
be made substantially as drawn In
addition to being the arrangement
with probably the strongest support,
it is the first complete settlement Of
fered from any authoritative source
since the announcement of the 1910l
enumeration, says the Tacoma
News.
The table offers many significant
features. In the first place, the
state is divided into the five con-
gressional districts to which Wash
ington is now entitled, instead of the
present three. The counties COM
prising each congressional district
are grouped. This arrangement
gives each of the three largest cities |
Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane
congressman. North Yakima, Walla |
Walla and Vancouver, the home of
eX-Representative McCredie, are
placed in another district In still
another district of the five are the
cities of Everett and Bellingham.
Where Protest Comes.
Reference to the table will show
the many Inconsistencies that exist in
the present apportionment for state
Legislative purposes. Without re-
gard to population every county has
been allowed at least one represen- |
tative. The proposed apportionmentl
takes from several of the smallest
and so-called Cow" counties their
representative. Here is where a pro-
test probably will arise. The repre-
sentatiOn will affect taxation legis-
lation. Two years ago a bill passed
the senate to give counties contain
ing railroad terminals the benefit of
the assessments on terminal railroad
property. The bill was killed in the
house, principally by the Cow"
counties" which wanted the money
'smeared' according to mileage in
each county. The old arrangement
gives counties with very small popu-I
lation a full share of the money col
lected from holdings in such cities as
Tacoma and Seattle.
"On joint ballot in the present
legislature, with 41,7O9 population,
Yakima county has two and a half
votes against six votes for Whitman
county, which has 33,280 popula-
ton.
Whitman county now has one
vote for 5547 people, while other
counties have one vote for II, 900.
The Pierce county plan increases
the house by three mem bers and
the senate by seven"