New-York tribune., 1917-07-14
7 ak Of
City Hall

This is the story of the Twin Brotner
rs,ords North and South, and three
little voters. The combination threat
ems to upset the entire election ma
cbinery for the coming municipal eiec-
ton. The boundary lines OF Seha-
torial. Assembly and aldermanic as
tric.s determine the number and loca-
tions Of candidates for the onices
which the district name implies "e
party district leaders and the other
pilots of the organization, like a mari
ner sailing uncharted seas, are at
loss to properly place any Candidates
or plan campaigns unless these boun-
dary lines are accurately fixed. 1t is
a: this point that North and South
Brother islands, particularly South
Brother, with its three little voters,
begin to disarrange the political maps
South Brother Island, with only
three resident voters on it, has always
been a source Of annoyance and ex-
pense 70 the Board Of Elections. 1t
! has required the usual quota Of poll
Ing place clerks to record those three
votes at election time, at an estimated
cost of S100 a vote. Now it appears
that the island and its three citizens,
J through no fault of their own, were
classed by the wise legislators who re-
+ apportioned the Senatorial districts
| l. halnpoipr 20 Tho RrOnY.
when in reality they are part OF
Queens.
There is a provision in the state
constitution that county lines cannot
be crossed in making up the Sena-
torial districts, therefore the reap
portionment is unconstitutional and
the whole thing has to be done over
again. As the Assembly and alder
manic district lines depend upon the
Senate district apportionment, 1t
means that all these districts will have
to be reapportioned. The petitions Of
candidates for the primaries have to
be filed by August %, and unless the
political leaders have their new charts
by that time 1t will complicate the
proper entry Of some Of the candidates
for the fall election.
The new Senate district reapportion-
ment bill was passed by the Legislature
in May and signed by Governor Whit
man last month. The Governor and
certain legislators, it was said, deter
mined upon calling special session OF
the Legislature for the ostensible pur-
pose of dealing with food legislation,
while, it was said, their real purpose
was to provide for quick action on an
other reapportionment. The Legislature
cannot take up the food legislation
until the Federal government acts in
the matter, it is said, and no one knows
just when the government will act. II
may be after July 81. 1t is the Legis-
lature's function TO apportion the Sem
ate and aldermanic districts, while the
Board Of Aldermen apportion the As;
sembly districts. All Of this work had
just recently been completed. Then
some one discovered the joker in South
Brother Island.
When Queens Borough was organized
ii included both islands. Some years
later North Brother Island was tackled
on to The Bronx. None of the state
or city departments appears to have Of
fcially recorded the separation Of the
islands, except the Tax Department,
and the politicians assumed that they
migrated to The Bronx together. A re
cent taxpayers suit, involving one OF
the three little voters, revealed the
truth. One of the Republican county
leaders happened to hear Of the litiga-
tion.
Incidentally the reapportionment will
give the Republican legislators an op-
portunity to get back at the Tammany
Board of Aldermen, which laid out the
Assembly district lines in a manner
unsatisfactory to the Republicans. They
are planning an entirely new Senatorial
map for Manhattan. For instance, it is
asserted, they intend to place the six
downtown Tammany leaders, P. ].
scully, John F. Ahsarn, Thomas F.
Foley, Daniel Z Finn, Charles w. Gull
kin and Harry Perry, in one Senatorial
district, which will include only two
Assembly districts. This will put at
least three Of the Tammany leaders out
of business unless they move to other
districts.