The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-03-16
GOVERNOR BALDWIN
PLEADS FOR SENATE
ELECTED AT LARGE

Norwich. March 15.-Among the
speakers at the dinner of the board of
trade here tonight was Gov. Simeon
e. Baldwin. Gov. Baldwin said:
Governors Address.
Governor Baldwin said: Our
boards Of trade. and businessm ems
merce, are important factors in the
lie OF the state. They bring the
strength of organization to any cause
which they eSpOuse, and they open
an opportunity for it's full discussion
Half of the useful projects that are
put forward for public Improvement
falI because they are not understood.
Our state is practically a business
state. lie means business. It takes
business to keep it prosperous. Our
main business is producing manufact-
ured goods. Everything else rests
on that. The factories support the
farms. The factories support the
stores. The factories are the main
thing, too. that support the rail-
roads. yThey bring travel The
fill freight cars. They are the great
instrum ents of trade.
Business mems associations, then,
are especially in order. in a state like
ours. They are and ought to be
leaders in disposing Of public ques-
lions.
I want to talk to you tonight of the
greatest public questions that are be-
fore the legislature this year. 1 don't
mean those about public utilities
commission, or new rules Of employ
ers' liability. Those are important,
but there are those that go deeper.
No government is on sound
foundation when, any considerable
part of the people are not fairly re-
presented in making laws. 1T is the
glory Of our American government,
that they are governments of laws,
and not of men. But those laws must
be fair and equal in their bearings
on the men who have the power to
elect to office and on the men who are
elected.
A considerable part of our people
are now not fairly represented in the
general assembly, and under our con-
stitution as it stands today they never
can be- What is the theory of our
constitution on the subject of repre-
sentation?
Old System.
1t is that the general assembly is
to be composed of two houses, each
representing a different constituency.
The house of representatives is to
the towns on an equal foot
ing. The senate is to represent all,
the electors of the state on an equal
footing; giving the control to the
party which has the majority in the
state at large. but securing the cleo
ton of a minority of the Senators
from the minority party in the state
at large.
Our old plan until 1928 was to
nominate our senators by a direct
primary six months before election
day. Twenty were nominated,
only II could be elected, and
the nominations and elections were
all by vote of the people at large, all
over the state. SenotorlaI districts
came in first in 1928.
At first it was impossible to divide
up the State into groups of towns in
such way as to make our senator
ial districts about equal in population.
But the constitution, after saying that
they must be thus equal, provides,
first, that no county can be divided
and, second, that no town can be di-
vided, except so as to make several
districts that are all within it; and
third, that the districts must be made
UP Of contiguous territory. Under
these conditions it has now become
simply impossible to equalize the dis
tricts in population.
The proper average for each dis
trict, under the Census of 1910 is 81
$50.
Let us start with the western end
Of the state. The first town is
Greenwich. 1t has a population of
over 10000. The next town and the
only one contiguous to it is Stamford,
with a population Of nearly $4,000.
Neither is large enough to be a dis
trict by itself. Therefore they must
be joined. But when joined the to-
tai population is over $4,000, or over
1900 larger than it can properly be.
The constitutional convention Of
1902 ran against that rock and pro-
posed to get around it by allowing an
exception in the case of Greenwich
and adding to it some towns lying east
Of Stamford. The people did not
fancy that kind OF special legislation
and rejected the constitution that the
proposed.
You have got a similar trouble in
New Britain. 1t has g. population
IF about $4,000, over 10000 larger
han is required by the rule of equal
ty. Yet it cannot be divided into
300 too small; nor can the extra IL.
300 be set off and joined with any
other towns.
In New Haven we have one district
with a population of over $4,000. 1t
under the present rule. be
Drought down, in any way, below 49,
500.
Governors Figuring.
I have done some figuring myself
% see if in any way we could readjust
al the districts in the state to make
hem anything like equal, and it sim
ply cannot be done. There will be
districts in three counties with an
excess of $50 in population, and
districts in the other five counties
with a deficiency of $4,000 in popula-
ion. New London county is the
only one in which the districts, as
hey now can be constituted, will be