Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1915-10-21
The Districting
Referendum
Why Voters Should Sus-
tain the Sprague Bill
at the Coming
Election.

When the Democratic members of
congress from Ohio determined to in
woke the referendum on the Sprague
redistricting bill they unconsciously
provided a touch of national politics
for the current campaign for the mu.
nicipal elections. When it was de-
cided to attempt to defeat the Sprague
law, a thing which leading members
Of the Ohio Democratic delegation
advised against, it was thought il
would succeed through the default of
Republicans, but the Republican state
organization and the several district
and county organizations have accept
ed the challenge and will make the
fight on partisan lines. They will
make campaign for the Sprague
bills endorsement, and for a chance
for the Republicans of Ohio to send
delegation to congress which shall
be Republican accordingly as the
More than twenty years ago, follow
ing federal census, the Republicans
rearranged the congressional district
| line Of Ohio, says the Marion STAR
| The arrangement was such that in
normal elections the Republicans
| could exrect to elect fourteen or fif-
| teen of the twenty-one members Of
| congress from Ohio. Some years they
elected as high as seventeen, some
times only twelve or thirteen, though
the party carried the state, and in
| 1912 the Republicans elected but
three out of twenty-five, one Democrat
having been elected at-large. One
must believe that district lines which
| permitted such varied results were
reasonably fair. But the last Cox
| general assembly, having excuse to
| provide for a twenty-second district,
gerrymandered the state, and so ar
ranged the district lines that there
were six Republican districts, under a
normal vote, with enormous Republi-
can pluralities in the district, while
the same election would normally give
the Democratic party sixteen or sew
enteen members of the Ohio delega-
tion. Last year the Democrats elect
ed only nine, because the rural Dem
ocratic counties upset all the political
dope, but had the country voted with
the cities the Republicans would have
elected only six.
Recognizing this arrangement as
unfair, believing that normally Re-
publican Ohio should be able normally
tc elect a majority of the Ohio dele
cation to congress, the general assem-
bly, last spring, passed the Sprague
bill-very largely restoring the old
district lines. There were some
changes, of course. because we had
become entitled to twenty-five in
stead of twenty-one members os the
house The arrangement is fair, the
general public never would have offer.
ed an objection, but the plan crossed
the ambitions of some Democratic
members of congress, so the measure
is to be voted upon at the polls.
We hope and believe Republicans
will rally to the support of the
Sprague bill. Ohio is the fourth state
Of the union and normally Republican
1t ought to have a Republican delega
tion in congress, that is to say, del
egation the majority of whose mem
hers are Republicans, when the state
votes Republican. If it votes Demo
cratic the Democratic party will con
troll the delegation, But next year
Ohio is going Republican. We want
to send not five, nor thirteen, but
nearly score of Republicans, to joir
III changing the destructive economic
policy from which the country is suf
fering. To do this we must say by
our votes that Republican Ohio sus
tains the Republican plan Of congress
sional districts, as passed by Repub
. llcan legislature. We must make 6
partp rally this year to make the
greater victory next year. 1t is Who'll
ly partisan matter. The Democrats
who invoked the referendum did sc
in hope of party gain, and the Repub
licans of Ohio will meet them In party
: alignment Republican votes will sus
tain the Sprague act, and they will
have the assistance Of every Democra
and every independent voter wht
looks forward to the change of th'
party control Of congress-.