The Newport plain talk. (Newport, Tenn.) 1909-1939, 1913-02-20
The Redistrictirg Bill

lHC hCuiSliNtlEy Dill
The lacts and figures given by Coy.
Hooper in his special message to the
Legislature respecting The redistricting
OF the state should be carefully and
spassionalely considered by The leg
islature, and should induce such action
| by that BODY as The eNigencies of The
suuation--a iair distribution of Sena.
tors and Representatives amrng the
people-and the requirements of the
| law demand.
| There has been some prejudiced, ex.
, cited aud altogether unwarran,ed crit
| icism OF the proposed rediStricting bill
that should affect no fair-minded man
who has a capacity Tor right thinking.
The manner of opportionMent OF the
Senators and Representatives among
the people Is clearly defined bv the
Constitution, and should be a matter
of plain mathematics rather than one
of clrcumrentiye politics.
! The Constitution that was made in
1870 by convention composed In large
part of democrats fixed the basis of ap-
porlionment and also provided for de-
cennial realistricting of the state in Or
der that no inequality should come OF
shifting population or The unequal
growth of'difierent localities. 1t is an
imperative duty devolved upon the
lion can make it imperilive, that the
state be redistricled. Thisduty should
have been performed by the Leaisla-
ture OF two years ago, but having been
neglected by that body, it is all the
more essential that the present legisla-
ture give it attention.
The necessity for redstricting can not
be denied when the figures areexamin-
ed and the rank inequality of the dis
! trets as now arranged is made appar-
! ent.
! The narrow partisan spirit that
/ would cheat number of the people
and large sections of the slate out of
the representation that under the Con-
stituiion and ali sense OF fairness, they
are due, is t'o little, too mean, too UNI
patriot for any highminded Tennes-
sean of any party or faction to indulge.
The practice that in the early history
of the country came TO be known as
gerrymandering has been one Of the
most nefarious and despicable phases
of partisan politics; ii is destructive Of
representative government in the
proper sense and subversive of popular
rights.
! The manner in which Tennessee Is
now districled in respect to Legislative
representation is travesty on Justice
! and ii is not in the power of any man
! to defend it on the ground of law, fair
lness or common decency, We make
this statement OH tho basis of the lig-
ures of the census of 1910 and challenge
successful contradiction. Of course
there may be, as there has been, "a lot Of
meaningless and vapid rant about
schemes to turn the state over to tie
Republicans, hut we are not proposing
anything here. We only criticise the
existing arrangement and the criticism
is based ON plain fact. II is Il PLAIN
matlerof addition and division with
respect to the number of people living
within certain limitations and the
gross inequalities that exist are sus-
septible Of mathematical demonstra-
ton. The people of the state, without
respect to party, should be ashamed of
ii, and all seif-respeciing citizens, who
honor the states good name, will be,
if they take the painsto look into what
really exists,
| The very poor excuse for gerryman-
dering the state so as to diminish Re-
| publican representation IN the Legisla
Sure, is shown by the fact that no pos
sible arrangement could give this Re-
puniieans majority in either House of
the Legislature. AT psesent there are
twepty-seyen Democrats and six Re-
publicuns in the Senate and. sevenLy-
three Democrats. and twenty-slx Re-
lpublicaus 10 the House. The pending
redistricting bill might possibly in
GREASE The combined number Of Kepub-