The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-10-30
APPORT|ONMENT OF
DELEGATES UNFAIR
Declares Senator Bourne in a
Statement which He
Issued Today.

WASHINGTON. Oct 30 The
present plan of aLportionment of del- F.,
egates to the Republican National
Convention is misrepresentation, un- -;
just and un-American," said Senator
Jonathan Bourne, Jr., president of the
National Progressive Republican Lea
que. in a statement issued today NO
fair-minded man will defend it; no
self-respecting voter will silently sub
nit to it.
Equality is the first principle of
citizenship in America. One mans
vote should count for just as much as
any other mans vote. The right of Sc
lection is of infinitely greater import
ance than the right of election. II the
political boss or machine selects the
candidate, then the right of the people
to elect is practically nullifed. Five
states, Oregon, North Dakota. Nebras-
ka, New Jersey and Wisconsin have
since the Sth of last November, enact
ed in substance my presidential pref
erence law which provides for party
national relegates. Yet those states
with presidential primaries are only
allotted one delegate to every six to
nine thousand votes cast for Taft and
Sherman in the last Presidential cleo
ton, while South Carolina will have
one delegate for every 22O votes cast
for Taft and Sherman. In order to
have absolute equality among Repub-
| licans in representation in the Ma
| tional Convention, the. delegates
should be apportioned among the
states on the basis of the last Repub-
lican vote for President. Instead of
that, the apportionment is now on the
basis of total population. so that Dem
ocrats in some states help to swell
! the representation in the Republican
convention. What makes the matter
more unjust and more vicious is the
fact that in states having the largest
excess of such misrepresentation the
delegations are under the control of a
federal machine. 1t is not only une-
quail representation but tyranny.
Arrangement Unfair.
"In Florida SSS Republicans have as
much voice in the selection of Nation
al candidates as 10000 Republicans in
Colorado. 1t takes 1000 Indiana Re-
publcans to balance 448 Louisiana Re-
publicans. Mississippi Republicans to
the number of 21S have as much rep
resentation in the National convention
as 1000 Republicans in Michigan. 1t
takes nearly $4,000 Republicans in
Ohio to equal in nominating power
22O Republicans in South Carolina.
What do Republicans in Ohio, Michi-
gan, Indiana, and Colorado think of
that? Yet the system was perpetual
ed in the last Republican National
Convention by the Federal steam-rol-
Ter over the protests of delegations
from states.
while absolute equality would re-
quire an apportionment based strictly
upon the last Republican vote. think
no one contends for that. The plan
proposed in the last Republican Ma.
tional Convention favored the states
in which the Republican vote was the
smallest, by first apportioning four
delegates to each state and then ap.
portioning the remaining delegates on
a pro-rata basis. For the information
of Republicans throughout the United
States l have worked out the appor
tionment on this plan. The number OF
delegates from states in the next Ma
tional Convention, not counting Ari
IONA and New Mexico, will be 1850 II