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

tnat is 10 De presented 10 THIS COLI
vention. Is that fair? At the basis
of that, sir, lies the question which
must be determined upon before we
can agree upon any apportionment.
The question has been raised some
what in the attacks upon this bill, but
not debated fully or broadly, whether
in dividing the state into Senate and
Assembly districts, we are to have
/ regard to county lines.
The County the Logical Unit for Leg
islative Apportionment.
Having determined that we are to
have an apportionment, you must
next determine the question whether
you will regard county lines or will
throw them aside. 1t does not seem
to me that it is necessary or profit
able to debate that very long. | do
not consider that the gentlemen who
have attacked this bill seriously pro-
pose that county lines should be
lHTOWn away II CCl fanny "ouiu iC-
quire long and serious consideration
before any convention would under
take to abolish so time-honored an
institution, and one with which all
the habits, associations, and tradions
of the people are so closely associat-
ed. l should hesitate very long, sir,
Ill IL 70 4i,a
boundaries or existence of my old
county of Oneida. | believe that
every gentleman upon the floor Of
this convention, whether he lives in
the great cities or still remains under
the rooftree of his fathers in the rural
counties, that any gentleman who has
ever passed his childhood in one OF
the rural counties of the state would
be exceedingly unwilling to destroy
its existence and blot it out The
habits of our people, their traditions
their best and noblest sentiments, arc
embodied in the pride which they
feel in the counties of their birth and
L
ly meant something. They still mean
something. Destroy them, and, in
order that there shall be political
divisions at all, in order that the
state may be districted for senators
and assemblymen, you create new
lines, new divisions, in. which people
- a. c-oa+a ,,ou, fr;a,de b;De ,,,l,;ct
any future convention may destroy
You destroy an institution of inn
mense and unreasonable value and
create another which, i'll the future
>can be destroyed by some future con-
vention. No, sir, am satisfied, and
I believe all the people on this side
of the convention are satisfied that
the people of the state do not wish
to destroy their county lines in the
distribution of senator's and assembly
men.
well, sir, IL YOU wish to preserve
county lines, how are you to distribute
senator's and assemblymen among
lHtSC COullIlCSI
How Many Legislators?
"And the next question you meet
is, What shall be the number of Sen
ators and Assemblymen? Shall we
keep the thirty-two and one hundred
and twenty-eight that we now have
or shall we go to another number
Now, as l understand the proportion
which underlies the establishment oil
the numbers OF fifty and one hundred
and fifty in place OF the thirty-two and
one hundred and twenty-eight, it is
in its main feature this: the conven-
ton of 1916 divided the state into
senate districts with express and
special reference 10 the convenience
of the people, the relation of the
counties in the district, the ability oil
the representative in the senate &c
become familiar and remain familiar
with the varied interests and wants
of the people and with the people
themselves. If district is too large
Iif it be of shoe-string character
Astretching over long, extensive ter
tory, if it be divided by natural OBJ
stacles, if it be like the present appor-
tionment where one district comes
down into the middle of another, 50
that you have to go around Robin
Hoods barn to get into it, the repre-
sentative that comes from the divided
district will be familiar with the wants
and needs of the people in only his
part of the district. The constitution
of 1916 divided the state into senate
districts and fixed the number of the
senate at thirty-two, SO that each
senator could readily represent his
district Since that time increase in
population has occurred in the great
cities, land the effect OF re-app0rtion-
ment, with the number remaining at
thirty-two and giving new senators
70 the great cities is TO take awav