The Carlisle independent., 1920-12-30
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL
lBy J. B. Jonesl
How Many Congsesslnen Do We Need

eeed one for every thirty thousand of the population. The fourteenth amendment says. Representatives shall be apportioned among the sev- eral states according to their respect live numbers"
 Ten years ago there were 35 repre- senUatives. The census having been taken a reapportionment will be pro vided by Cosgress, next spring. With respect to this forthcoming reappor- tionment the following facts will be admitted by any honest congressman: First, that the House of Representa- tives is lamentably inefficient organi- zation. Second, that this condition is al most solely due to the size of the mem bership. Third, that the public business would be best served by decrease of at least one-half of the members of the | House.
 The writer witnessed the wire pull | ing when the last reapportionment was made, following the 1910 census. Member after member in the House got up and protested against increas ! ing the number of representatives above 356. While they were making their patriotic appeals, the wire-pull- CTS figured out, state by state, basis which would give the republicans, then in power new members. Some states got one new representative others more. Then the voters in the next election returned a democratic House. To provide for more room for these all the desks were removed from the chamber, and these were replaced with benches, Ia English-to make room for 435 members.
 Representative Hull advocates sub hitting to the states constitutional amendment to limit the size Of the House to A50 members. Hull's pro- posal is ridiculous on it's face, as an honest congress that would put the in- terest of the country above political expendiency would not need to be hog tied by constitutional amendment. 1 Nevertheless there is merit in Hull's suggestion since it's application would prevent Congress from piling up the deadwood in congressional member ship above a certain limit
 The Senate works efficiently be- cause of it's limited membership The House gets worse and worse, and it's members increase in numbers, and then each Congressman goes back to the people to tell them of the great anxiety about 'the public interests" Most of the members right now are more interested in fixing up the lines of their own districts in order to get | rid of counties that went against them in the last election and replacing them with counties that vote their way, than they are in making better and more efficient House of. Representa- tives, which every mothers son of them knows can be brought about by providing a reapportionment with greatly lessened number of Congress- men, instead of more of them.
 Service and Prices In the readjustmentperiod the pub lie seems to be showing akeen liter est in securing the proper service from the railroads and the public util- ities, while the price that they are pay l ing for it is apparently secondary consideration. It would be mistake to interpret the above paragraph to imply that the public does not care what the necessities and conveniences cost them-whether the selling party be public utility or merchant-but it is visible fact that the nation has taken on more independent attitude as result of the war, and railroad company or public utility that at tempts to furnish an inferior service finds that it cannot get away with it. This new attitude of the public is re- fected in just the same way in the small matters, and the merchant who sells second grade eggs does not need to wait very long before he finds that his store has only second grade custo- mers left.
 | There has been no end of debate as to whether the manufacturers, the wholesalers, jobbers or retailers have been the greatest profiteers. The fact is that there have been too many over- ly avaricious concerns and people in all these classes. The public has had to stand for high price, and just now while these prices are being hammer ed down that same public is insisting on quality in the rendering of service, as we'll as in quality in the merchan- disc and food products which it buys. In the readjustment period it must