The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1913-03-21
REINFORCEMENT
After About Ten Years Of Hard
Fighting
Bill Passes Both Houses and up to
Governor

After ten years of scrapping and
vain attempts on the part of north
ern Minnesota to get just repre-
sentation in the state legislature,
the reapportionment bill was on
Tuesday again passed by the house
of representatives after the senate
had tackled on a few minor amend
ments.
Naturally, with the temperance
in the house of the bill, Representa-
tive Frankson of Fillmore county
again mounted on his tonnage
tax-anti-north country pedestal
and paved the air with amend
ments tending to kill the bill or at
least cripple it beyond recognition.
To the credit of the majority of his
Colleagues however, it must be said !,
no such hobbling was tolerated and
the bill was passed by a vote of "a
to 10.
The jokeying on the part of
several of the down state legislators
was most effectively offset by the
able work of Representatives Knapp
of Chisholm, Warner of Aitkin and
Orr of Ramsey. Notwithstanding
the able work of the champions Of
reapportionment the southern end
legislators conceded just as little as
was possible.
Under the new arrangement the
southern end will have few less
senators and representatives and
the northern end few more. The
southern end still has more than it
is entitled to under the constitu-
ton and the northern end less.
Under the bill as passed, four are
added in the senate and ten in the
house. At the election in 1914 the
state will elect 81 senators and $50
representatives.
The new bill is as fair as could
possibly be secured at the present
time. St. Louis, Lake and Cook
counties, which have three senators
and six representatives now will
have five senators and ten repre-
sentatives in the next legislature.
The counties west of St. Louis will
have as much representation as
their population calls for. St.
Louis, and the northern counties
have grown in population con-
tinually since the last reapportion-
ment was made while the southern
counties have lost in population
Nevertheless southern Minnesota
has fought reapportionment at
every instance.
The two chairmen of the reap
portionment committee, Senator
Victor L. Johnson of Chicago and
Representative c. H. Warner of
Aitkin deserve great credit for the
valiant battle fought for the north
and justice. In this they were
most ably assisted by the senators
and representatives of the northern
end of the state and several fair
minded senator's and representatives
of the southern end.
Particularly strong support was
recorded the measure by Senator
Julius A. Collier of Shakopee and
Senator A. ]. Rockne of Zumbrota.
Those who participated in the
fight of two years ago should not
be forgotten and especially Repre-
sentative c. A. Congdon of this
district who was chairman of the
house reapportionment committee
in 1911.
In beginning the work of reap
pertinent after sixteen years a vast
amount of figuring had to be done,
and vast array of facts had to be
gathered and marshaled in suitable
array. This work Mr.. Condgon
did most ably, and the first move
in the reapportionment fight at this
session was when he laid before the
legislature, through the chairman
of the reapportionment committee,
the results of his labors in 1911 in
the form of a pamphlet full of
eloquent maps, charts and tables of
figures. This pamphlet has been
the handbook of this years reap
portionment fight, and it has been
referred to constantly by every body
who has been cnnnected with the
battle just ended.
Under the new law, Ely, Tower
and Winton will be in a district
with Virginia and eastern Mesaba
towns. Ely gains in this most
wonderfully and instead of being
hooked up with non-interested
neighbors and being compelled to
stand for representation over which
we had no choice, we will be in a
district whose interests are identical
and district that is capable of
bearing some weight in the affairs
of the state.