The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-05
THE NEW CONSTITUTION.
Former Lieutenant. Governor Sheehan
on the Apportlonment Articles.

Wickersham will not gain votes FOR the
new Constitution by attempting to jus
tify the outrageous apportionment ar
ticle adopted by the recent Constitu-
tionai Convention. nor will Intelligent
men be impressed with his statement
that the article as presented is "a con-
sentative mean bet the extremes
Of p~artisanship.
Again, Mr.. Wickersham is not fortu-
vention of 1894 felt compelled TO divide
the State into Senate and Assembly dis
tricts and apportion the inhabitants
thereof to and among such districts be-
cause of the fact that only two years
before that convention an a~pportionment
was made by the Democratic Legislature
which 10 now admitted, even by repre-
sentatives of the Democratic party, to
have been grossly unfair" It is sum.
Client to say Of the Democratic legisla-
tive apportionment Of 1892 that it was
upheld by the Court OF Appeals OF this
state. Under that apportionment thu
Democratic party had a majority of %
on joint ballot. the state having voted
for Mr.. Cleveland by $4,000 majority.
The next yea the apportionment Of
1892 was quick to respond to the popu-
lar vote. for the Republican party had
a majority of 10 on joint ballot. al
though hat party's candidates for state
offices received but $4,000 majority.
When this article was under discus
sion | reminded the convention that In
the thirty years Of my political activi-
ties. from 1885 to 1916. Democratic
Governors had served the state for four
teen years and Republican Governors
for sixteen years. whereas during that
same period the Democratic party was
in joint control OF the Senate and As
sembly for only o u years.
What a commentary upon the fair
ness OF Republican apportionment IL
here presented. and how attractive this
thought must be to the Democratic vot-
ers of the state! Until Mr.. wickersham
can point to an apportionmcnt made by
a Republican Legislature or by a Repub-
lican Constitutional Convention that re-
sponded fairly TO expressed public opin-
ion. the less he says about the only appor-
tionment that did so respond the better.
The new apportionment article Is more
i~ndefensible than the one OF 1894. At
that time the Republican delegates
openly admitted that their purpose in
framing the present article was polit-
ical Tho arhana uas hatrbaJ in n
caucus OF Republican delegates. The
convention simply registered il decided
nothing. All was determined In secret
behind closed doors. and the purpose and
effect of their work was to prevent leg
~islativs control passing from Republican
to Democratic hands. II was well said
In the address to the people by the fifty.
eight Democratic delegates TO the con.
vention of 1894 THE main aim Of the
Republican delegates was a partisan APP
p~ortionment." The convention OF 1894
declared that the territory now en-
braced within the counties of New York
Kings and Bronx should not have NOR.
than nifty per cent. OF the Senators. al
though that territory might have sixt,
or even seventy per cent. of the popu
lation OF the State. Some Of the Re
publican delegates in the convention o.
1894 attempted to justify their act b,
declaring that injury 10 this locality wa
far distant and hat another convention
would I've held before that territor,
would have a population sufficient!
large to become entitled to more thai
nifty per cent. OF the Senate.
As a matter of fact the territory nov
known AS Greater New FOR had
population in 1910 of 4,76i,ss3, equa
to - per cent OF the total populatiol
l OF the State, ON his basis the cit
: to twenty-six Senators instead of il
4 presen; representation Of ~twcnty-on'
y That the population will continue to in
: crease during the neNt twenty years 1
I certain. and equally certain is 1t tina
+ the city will become entitled to In
creased legislative representation befor
r nothe convention is held.
Mr.. Wickersham meets tins situauo
e as It was met twenty years ago, h
. saying the effect of this prohibitio
Y is still entirely academic Il may ha>
r been somewhat academic twenty yea,
ago. but the taxpayers OF the city {
: New York have been made To realiz
that IT Is an actual living reality nov
u /, is small comfort to the man who,
home is being sold under foreclosure
t assure him that the situation c%onfron
d ing him lis entirely academic
MIR. Wickersham says that the Apo
l. tionment OF 1894 was ratified by a m
jorty of the voters In the State and cit
This is true but. as ! pointed out to I,
d convention, Democracy in 1894 was NJ
n a name to c~onjure with. The passas
Of the Wilson tariff law in 1898 W;
# followed by a long period of CONNIE
Il cial and industrial depression Il
u streets were filled with idle men Il
public was being daily fed on the a
y legged NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. of the city
New York under Democratic rule II
scandals OF the Police Dcpartmel
aroused the city and the state to
!, high pitch Of Indignation, The cte
y torate was prepared in the fall of 49,
a TO approve anything and everything tn
spelled opposition to Democracy, TT
Republican party triumphed not on