The Washington times., 1915-01-31
TO DIVIDE CALIFORNIA

TO DIVIDE CALIFORNIA
Right on the heels of the an
nouncement that Idaho and WASH
ington States are giving friendly
consideration to proposal Of cre-
ating new State out of parts OF
their territories, comes a revival OF
the suggestion to divide California.
That State is the second in area in
the Union, and it is by nature divided
ipto northern and southern halves,
between which there is little basic
community of interest. In recent
years there has developed a sharp
political division between the Sec
tions.
Now a general committee has been
placed in charge Of effort to organ
ize sentiment in favor of the States
division, and petitions to the legis-
lature are in circulation, asking it
to take the first steps, Congress, of
course, would have to give approval
to any such plan, and the people Of
California would say the last word
on it.
It is stated that the organization
now at work is placing its appeal
chiefly on political grounds: the wish
to secure larger representation for
the West in the Federal Senate. An
additional State means two more
Senator's.
Il may be doubted whether the
frank avowal Of such a purpose will
help the effort when it reaches Con-
gress. The sectional effort to Sc
cure larger representation in Con-
gress has, in one era Of the country's
history, been a preliminary to a Sec
tional contest. The States were wont
to enter the Union in pairs, one
Northern, one Southern, because
neither section would consent to CIV
ing the other a marked lead in rep
resentation in the upper chamber.
When at length there was no more
territory to be carved into Southern
States, a war with Mexico provided
some further room for expansion;
and Texas, coming into the Union
with an imperial domain, was grant
ed the privilege of dividing itself
into five States. Texas has never
availed itself of that authority,
probably never will, for Texas likes
the notion of being the Empire State
of the South, the biggest thing out
of doors.
In more recent time discussion
about admission Of new States has
raised rather an East-and- West Sec
tional question, rather than one of
North-and- South. The great States
Of the East have not fancied seeing
the sparsely populated West attain
ing greater and greater representa-
ton in the Senate; and the West has
retorted by pointing to the small
States Of New England, and to Della
ware, with the observation that the
"rotten borough" argument is not
fairly to be used against the West
That particular argument, indeed,
served rather a limping purpose
when it was brought forward in op-
position to the admission of New
Mexico and Arizona.
Against the creation of new States
of California and in the far North
west there would undoubtedly be a
revival Of this kind of protest, and
it is not at all sure that the propo-
sition would, in the present state of
political sentiment, carry. But its
discussion surely will bring some
benefits, for it will force attention
to the broad question of what the
States are for, what are their proper
functions in the national scheme, and
to what extent they are forever to
go on exercising powers that con-
stantly conflict with those Of the
nation. A growing proportion of
people have come to believe that
New York would be better governed,
better fitted into the national system,
if it were divided into a great met
ropolitan State embracing the city,
and upstate Commonwealth. In H.
linois there is a capitalization of
some of the same opinion about Chi
cago and down-State. The whole
subject deserves more general dis
cussion than it gets, and suggested
divisions Of States will bring that.
WEIGHT OF THE LOAF