The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1921-10-07
why COUNTY REPRESENTATION
Editorial from the Moline Dispatch)

| Moline
Joseph
questions not the important before the constitutional
yenton is that OF legislative apporionment"
All demanding apportonment
be limitation the Chicago and The basis
Of must no longer DC population onder nat rue es
and Cook county already to dominance state legislation
This tolerated Bie-ciy other and
ii must be made the rule in Illinois.
county OF the Legla-
otherwise would handicap the remainder OF the Members OF
t % The two la , h in had dnh.tu1 biis "Tysd
ing bad enough the Legislature but does represent sectional
district
County Representations instead OF the present district plan is the one
system among
advantage which especially Under there
could be germnderng the Counties could not strung to-
mao OF political order reduce the
number OF districts that that would be able Gmanderng
evil long practced and make impossible in
Illinois would be worth while
objection urged
ion is that unfair because OF inequality of size and population OF the
counties Such objection would stand against plan that possibly
be might be laid with equal population but would
county be of
the senatorial district The disadvantages
OF such plan obvious
unfair than
county sighted policy strength
possible from Chicago that be according
| population alone instead OF weakening il.
population smallest 1t has
about onnnh OF the population OF Rock Island and
cong published by Legislative Voters League sends
OF the best legislators in the the General Assembly
The has something the relationship to the state that the state
has township There is exactly
the relationship it but practical the similarity
The the unit and the social unit we'll The
Representation League which doing work toward bringing
as against the district in this most Illuminating way
county usually a political $
OF the local 1t is the of the political
and activities with which the residents of the familiar
people very fewp people
the nghborng practically far the
ncghboring very
The fairs farmers institutes teachers Institutes county
all tend develop countrywide acquaintance and
community the Legislature
would than likely have personality known
nearly everybody in county
WEIR, dew the Nn1M t M~o '' % district community
in the in is
intelligent public sentiment the OF good representative
the elimination OF bad representative in the country than in the
all of constitutions
to would be harmful break down
county lines in forming Legislative districts as proposed by the
The debates of the Pennsylvania constitutional convention
in which constitution OF Pennsylvania formed
ton One arguments
adopt the unit that would
prevent gerrymanderng which the
suffering little reflection will show that would be mpo
blc gerrymauder districts under the unit plan
II Illinois less thousand
population such counties in Pennsylvania There
small other having
Jackson Iowa with less than thousand popua
the representation in the Legislature as Polk County
nearly population Morgan Ohio
Pennsylvania each with few thousand popu
just the representation the larger counties Rep
entaon in all these rue to historic principles is based upon the
community and population alone
This question has agiaed other constitutional oonven
exceptions adopted the
unit County Representation League further
will be parallel in both the
New York and Pennsylvania conventions with own Illinois
this question Some Of the New York delegates like
OF Illinois, made the naammatory declarations
bolt the threatened to fight
| and discrim
because New York
City sohdy against it." 1t pointed out that
OF NcwN than
of o the prediction
York would stand such
! a would be
OF calamity failed
New YorkCi submitted separately from the
the York ITSELF by majority
of in Legislature
We belicvcth the
10 basis population alone
what supposed be
Neihc other
o There
| socialist
Under similar James Madison
of April 81 also
I opinion that framing system present federal Consttution)