Amarillo daily news. [volume] (Amarillo, Tex.) 19??-current, 1921-02-06
WHY NOT INCREASE
MEMBERS SENATE?
At PRESENT SMALLER STATES
HAVE SAME NUMBER VOTES
AZ LARGER ONES.
Special Corresponding.

a 81 A. l.af -
w" h"u'e Nus "e'iu'' 10 retain us
present membership ~ i37 why not IN.
cr.nse IN. membership of the gennie7
,r,.. ..,,, A.. -. -. "a, -. -,
~ '''
ho''' p"p"hu"h' nut were |" hl"r'
merit In the suggestion than appears 10
the mere abatement.
~ on, ,.,,u A.. ,,., A.. ,,.....,,,
Wv
houSe ihe'hoersh'p " H'rse enough d"
fact. many believe that II h tlo large
an now constituted. dcspl,e the fact that
o,A.., ,,,,, ,l..., ,.,..,,.... 49,. ,,,.,a.
"''h"crshlps h 'h"h i""er h""Vh"
legislative Houses. The English Par
llnmr,it numbers more thnn 500. and
othc. nations have a larger member
shin In their national assemblies than
the American House. Rut a In general
IN felt that the prcsent House az Rep
reaentntivcs. with 4a6 members. which
includes the delegates and commits
sloners from the foreign posaesslons q
the United States, In now Ms large as 4,
should be. That this opinion N genoEil
was shown by the fact that the slcgdl
hill Increasing the House membership
from as 10 ass members was beaten
by a viva vocc vote. not even roll call
being necessary Ia defeat the PROPOSE,
% Increase the House membership. II
was shown by ndoptian of the barbour
amendment, which left the Ilons az IT,
present membership uf AS, with vote
Of 2G7 to 20. This vote undoubtedly r.
ilected the opinion AZ the constituents
of the members who voted for IL. and
showed that the country u large he
llcves IN. present Ho.ise memberships
In blk enough During debate on IN.
Slegei bill efforts were even made by
an amendment Ia reduce the size u the
House To 80. members. This was Il
fcn,rd as was an amendment 10 IN
crease the size ~ the House tu sCt
members.
The fac, IN the House has M larg,
n membership that any one member
Ina BECOME a mere cog In a vast legls
latiye machine, which takes littl'
count II the individual House mem
Ter unless the member De chairman d
n committee. or In q member II the r.
Lublican steering committee that run
the business Of the House. The Hous'
membership. IN the opinion Of many
could he safely reduced 20 about 90
members. without the interests 81 ia
n.ople of the country suffering In III,
silvh,est Sam. cunyr.snnen who vot
al Ia retain the present membership
ere even now Of that opinion, and sor
~ that the House membership wa
no, rcduccd--if they could have stage,
in Congress under sucn "A reduction.
ON the other hand many believe tina
the Senat, could Il. lucrcascd In siz
with srent advantage 10 the countr,
Two senator's. r,present one sovcrclg
state. are believed by many 10 he to
small number to really look out for nj
The interests Of q state In the Nationi
Legislature. Then, too. u often hal
mems that one senator is absent or sicl
and when this occurs the other SEM
tor has thrust ON him the whole lcgi,
latiye burden which was shared by thi
colleague
Another argument foT an Increase
found In the fact that states. irrespecI
i've OF size or importance. are equal
renresen,cd IN the senate Little state
lIk, Idaho. New Mexico, Dclawar,
wyoming. Nevada, New IInmpshlr,
Utah and Vermont. all with less tina
n half million inhabitants. are allow
cd two senators, and so nrc states liz
New York and PENNSYLVANIA. with In
mcnse ponulations and which states M
IN fact real empires IN wealth and pol
ulntion. This. tn many. does not seer
Nke m equitable distribution Of IN
legislative mower IN the 4. $. Senate
Some. therefore. believe that the Sci
M. representation should be arrange
on the same basis ms the House men
L,,..bip-- unpulntion alone.
An arrangement of this kind woul
t-iyc great and populuus states Hike II
,llnnn md Ohio a number of senator,
and u,tlc states like Rhode Island on
senator Tn, little states would Gel
,,,nly figh, such an arrangement too,