The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1920-11-05

senators to the cities, will be removed
by the increase OF number.
"There are two questions which
should, by fair and honest consider
alton. be determined, and one is that
to which I have just referred, the
question as to what extent of district
can properly be represented by a
single representative, and the other
is, What is an effective working size
for the body which is to be con-
stitutcd?
Now am free to say, for the
reason that | have just mentioned as
to the representation of individual
districts, and upon the teaching OF
common experience, the number OF
fifty which is fixed in this bill as the
number of the senate, meets both OF
these requirements. 1t puts the SEN
atorial districts each in such a posi-
ton that they can be we'll represented
each one by a senator. and it puts
the senate at such point that it can
properly perform the peculiar func-
tons imposed upon it by our system
of government, functions calling for
great consideration and requiring i'll
their deliberation small body Of
men.
Compromise Between County and
City
''In the assembly the question rises
to some extent; if you regard counties
and are not to destroy them, each
county must have its representative,
and with one hundred and twenty
eight as the number OF the assembly,
the giving of representative to each
of the small counties produced very
great advantage on the part of those
counties and a comparative disad
vantage on the Part of the large
counties and OF the great cities. The
increase of number from one hundred
and twenty-eight to one hundred and
fifty is a concession. Now Mr.
Chairman, | don't want any misun-
Outstanding about this, and | put it
to the gentlemen who have attacked
this bill whether it is not true that
an increase Of the number of the as
sembly from one hundred and twent-
eight to one hundred and fifty is a
concession by the small counties to
the large counties in the city; whether
Putnam county, with its. thirteen
thousand population, is not getting
| less advantage over the rest OF the
state with one out of one hundred
and fifty, than size now has with one
out of one hundred and twenty-eight;
whether every one Of the small coun-
ties that has single member is not
surrenderng an advantage which
each now has with one hundred and
twenty-eight? That surrender on the
part of the small counties, which are
perhaps, securing advantage by the
re-districting Of the state for senate
districts, securing closer contact with
their member of the senate, that sur
render is pushed just so far in order
to maintain a representative body
which is small enough to do effective
work in the legislature of the state
The True Basis for the Legislative
Ratio
"Mr. Chairman, | have something
to say also about some of the rules
that are laid down in this amendment
The objections which are made seem
to be chiefly to the rule relating to
ratio That is the rule which I'M
poses upon the large cities a some
what larger ratio That is the
rule which imposes upon the large
cities a somewhat larger ratio than
that which applied to the large Con
gress, and the rule that provides that
no large city, no county having a
! SpeClHcQ NUMBER OF senators, snail
have an additional senator, except up
ON a full ratio | am trying to state
fairly the two things which | find the
gentlemen have attacked in that re-
spect Now these two provisions
are attacked upon the theory that
population, and population only, is
the basis upon which an apportion-
,nent shall be made, and that any
provision which departs to any extent
from the rule of population is wrong
in principle and some sinister motive
could be found for it. | take issue
with that sir. I assert that popula-
ton is not the only rule; that the OBJ
jcct to be attained is true representa-
ton. There is to be combined with
population as the basis of representa-
ton also the question of territory and
the question of separate and individ-
ual interest ! say, in the second
place, that the comparison is not be-
tween single ratio of population in
small county and single ratio of
non,11ation in large civ. the oues-