Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-10-08
CENSUS CALLSFOR
FIFTY NEW SEATS
|NL0WER HOUSE
Big Increase Unless Appor-
tionment Is Changed-West
and South Gain Most.
BY the Associated Press.

and South Gain Most.
BY the Associated Press.
Examination of the final census
figures of the country, which place the
total population of the continental
United States at 105.6S3,1Os, indicates
that the west and the south propor-
tionately will gain more in a political
way than the east or middle west
through increased membership in the
House of Representatives. more votes
in the electoral college and in larger
delegations to the national political
conventions.
This result will determine what
ever basis of apportionment is adopt
ed by Congress next winter fixing the
size of the next House, which in turn
is reflected in the electoral college
ical parties.
Fifty New Seats Involved.
AS a result of the increase Of 49,
71o,S42 in population during the past
ten years fifty new seats must be
added to the House to prevent any
state from losing part of its present
representation. Should the present
membership Of 435 be left unchanged
by increasing the basis of apportion-
ment there will have to be, a trans
fer of thirteen seats now held by
twelve states to nine other states.
For the past half a century the
precedent had been to increase the
size of the House so as to prevent
loss of existing representation by any
state. AS a result the House has
grown from 243 to 435 members. with
a n
shire and Vermont-losing one MEM
Der each in fifty years.
If this precedent is followed this
year five additional representatives
seats must be given to California,
four each for New York. Ohio, Penn
nois and Texas, two to Massachusetts.
New Jersey and North Carolina, and
one each to Alabama. Arizona, Con-
necticut, Georgia, Maryland. Montana,
New Mexico. Oklahoma, oregon, South
Carolina, Tennessee. Washington.
Arkansas and Minnesota.
Maine May Lose Seat.
While the present basis of appor-
major fraction to the congressional
district, Congress can increase the ba-
sis to 219,427 without causing any
loss. To advance beyond the latter
figure will mean that Maine would
lose one seat, with the net result Of
forty-eight new seats in Congress.
Congressional leaders are strongly
opposed to any large Increase in the
House, as they regard the present
membership OF 4S5 as too unwieldy.
When the House census committee,
headed by =RepresentatiSe-6te
New York, begins consideration of the
problem effort will be made. toshold
down the increase, but pressure for
the increase is expected to come from
the states which would benefit from
a larger House.
Only once-in 1s4o-has the size of
the House been reduced. At one other
time. just before the civil war, the
apportionment was held down, with
the resulting loss Of seats falling most
heavily on the southern states.
Distribution Of Gains.
BY holding the House membership
to 435 gains would be distributed
with three to California, two to Mich
igan and Ohio and one each to Con-
necticut, New Jersey, North Carolina,
To offset these gains Missouri would
be forced to lose two representatives,
while Indiana, Iowa, Kansas. Ken
lucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi,
Nebraska, Rhode Island. Vermont and
Virginia would lose one each. All
ent numerical delegations in Con-
greSa
some republican leaders expressed op-
position to any change in the House
that would be of profit to the south.
dicate that the south can be affected
without a corresponding effect on
states where the republicans might
not be inclined to reduce the delega-
tiona
By fixing the apportionment basis
SO that Maine and Missouri would
each lose one seat, the increased
population of the country as repre-
sented in Congress can be absorbed
by a net increase of twenty-seven
seats. The apportionment basis then
would be 219,583, or major fraction,
and seventeen states would absorb
the net increase as also the two seats
lost by Maine and Missouri. These
gains would be distributed with Cali
fornia getting four: Michigan. Ohio
and New York, three; Pennsylvania,
New Jersey and Texas, two, and Ar
kansas. Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois,
Massachusetts,. New Mexico, North
Carolina. Oklahoma, Washington and
Wisconsin, one each.
Another Way to Cut Number.
BY eliminating Wisconsin from the
states gaining one seat. and by add
ing Iowa to those losing one, the ap-
portionment basis might be placed at
0.0ee. or major fraction. and this
would give a net increase of twenty
three in the House membership.
It may be decided to hold the net in
crease to less than a score, which
might be accomplished by causing
Missouri to lose two seats and Iowa,
Kentucky, Maine and Indiana one
each. The apportionment basis would
be 234,94 Inhabitants to the congress
sional district. with net increase of
fourteen in the size of the House,
These seats and those lost by Mis-
souri,, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine and In
diana would be distributed as follows:
California, four; Michigan and Ohio,
three; Texas, two, and Connecticut,
Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New
York, Oklahoma. Pennsylvania and
Washington one each.
Regardless of the apportionmeht
basis the swing in political power
will be first toward the Pacific coast
and the Rocky Mountain states, fol-
lowed by the south, the east and the
middle west. California's big gain in
Inhabitants in the last ten years ac-
counts for most of the swing toward
the coast.
Few City Member Changes,
While the census showed for the
first time in the history Of the country
that the farm-to-city movement Of
population has resulted in the last
tan wars in the cities uainin1 an