New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-27
Apportionment Determinations

Apportionment Dlscrlminatiohs'
The Tribune has received the following
letter. which il takes pleasure in submit
ting TO its readers with its reasons for
advocating the approval Of the main body
of the proposed amendments TO the con
stitution. regardless Of the fate of the APP
portionment article:
20 the Editor of The Tribune
>r. 90 yesterdays Tribune 100 your
editorial Taxes and the New Constitution
YOU say New York City has not been treated
fai.lv in the rcspqortionment controversy.
ror.rretelv. that article IS 10 be submitted
tor approval separately so New iofAeIS may
mess their resentment az thls instance OF
shabby treatment by voting against 1t with
ont cndancering the main body Of amend
menis 20 The constitution.
roticc similar statements m other papers
which advocate the adoption OF the proposed
constitution l. canno, be that The Tribune
a.d other reputable papers are trying 10 oe-
ceive the people, and yet what other lnieI-
,ace can be drawn from the above quotation
than that by voting against the separately
.uhwittcd reapportonment arucIe we VIII!
cct q decent apportonmente Inc iact IS OF
course. that no matter how We vote we "III
90, exactly the same kind Of reapporuon-
mont.
TIC submission Of the question separately
!, an insult 20 the intelligence OF the people
ard Is a piece Of political tuckery
IKE ONLY way 20 get fair apport onment
j.. g. vote against the proposed constitution.
II the proposed constitution is defeated we
csr have another convention in 1917, but #
tho nroposed constitution Is adopted we VIII
not get fair apportionmen for twenty
years. for you will never get a legislature
elected on a rotten-borough appornonment
20 change that apportionment.
JOHN J. HOPPER.
>cw York, Sept p. 1915.
The course advocated by Register Hop
Der seems equivalent to biting off ones
nose to spite ones face. The proposed
reapportionment differs only slightly from
the one now in effect. If It be approved
the metropolis theoretically will be a bit
worse off in the matter Of legislative rep
resentation than at present; practically 1t
is unlikely that the citys rate Of growth
within the life of the new constitution
will bring its restriction on Senate mem
bership into effect. If it be not approved
the present one will remain. If, to express
resentment at the continuation Of this dis
elimination against the city, the new con-
stitution as a whole be defeated, this city
and the state at large will lose many dis
tinctlv beneficial changes in the funda-
mental law.
If the constitution as a whole be de-
feated. a new constitutional convention will
have to be elected from what Register
Hopper terms "rotten-borough appor-
tionment." just as the present one was,
and with precisely the same likelihood Of
its changing the general scheme of legis-
lative representation as existed with the
convention which recently finished its
work. That is, the state will lose all the
work of the recent convention, with no
reasonable expectation that its successor
would turn out more kind to New York
CITY. since the numerical control of the
convention would still lie in the districts
outside the city. Such a course does not
seem worth while to The Tribune; indeed
il seems distinctly foolish. New York
members Of the convention made their
apportionment fight and lost. II is emf
nently proper that New York members OF
the Legislature. and Of succeeding consti-
tutional conventions, make this fight with
ever-increasing energy until they win, as
assuredly they will win eventually. Mean
time it seems foolish, wasteful, wrong. 70
defeat good constitution for one bad
point IN the work If the convention when
no immediate good can result even in re-
spect Of that one evil.