Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1921-01-07
VIRGINIA WILL GAIN
ONE CONGRESSMAN
UNDER S|EGEL BILL
No State Will Lose Repre-
sentation in Proposed
ReappOrtionment.
CALIFORNIA WOULD BE
GIVEN 5 NEW MEMBERS
To Ask Amendment Limiting
Composition of House to
Five Hundred.
Lev Associated rrcssl

WASHINGTON. Jan. 6-Thc mem
bership OF the House OF Representa-
tivcs would be increased TO iS3 un-
der a bill which Will be reported to-
morrow ny Chairman S!cgel. Of the
Census Committee, TO fix the reap
portionmcnt for the next ten years
under tho 1920 census. The bill would
mean an increase OF forty-cight over
the present membership Of i35. No
state would lose any, representation.
Al the same time Representative
SicEel viii Introduce :. constitutional
amendment To limit the size OF flu
turc Houses TO 500 members.
Adoption OF the reapportionmeat
measure would result in an increase .
in the total vot" OF the electoral COL
lege to 5I9. making 290 necessary.
for the election Of Il President ami
Nicc-Prcsidcnt OF the United States
California would make the largest
gain of new m"mbers--fivc--und er
the bill, bringing her total TO sixteen.
Michigan. New York, Ohio and Penn
sylvania would gain four each: I'LL
nois and Texas three; Massachusetts.
New Jersey and North Carolina. two
each. while Alabama. Arkansas. Con
nccticut, Georgia. Maryland. Mime
sofa, New Mexico. Oklahoma. Oregon.
South Carolina. Tennessee. Virginia.
Washington, Wes; Virginia and WIS
conSin would gain one each.
Tinkham's Request Ignored.
No action was taken by the COM
mittee on the demand OF Reprcscn-
;ative Tinkham. Republican. Massa-
chusetts, for the application of the
fourteenth amendment and reduc-
zion OF representation to those States
in which occur alleged disfranchise-
-merts- on acconnt OF suffrage quail
ications. principally literacy tests and
poll tax requirements.
The basis OF representation is fixed
in the committees bill at one member
for each 2lS,?19 inhabitants as COM
pared TO 21l.S71 as at present
Members of the committee were said
10 have been practically unanim Gus
in support OF the bill after an EFFORT
TO fix the membership at 400 had
failed
Representative T!nkham was be-
fore the committee again today urg-
ing application Of the fourteenth
amendment to those States in which
alleged disfranchiscmcn has taken
place. He read what he said was IA
published report OF speech OF Gov
crnor- Elect Hardwick, Of Georgia. in
which Mr.. Iiardwick was quoted as
saying that he would recommend to
the Legislature laws governing the
enfranchiscm.nt OF women similar to
those as 10 the Acknowledgement of
men. Representative Larsen. Demo-
crat. Georgia. said his State would
give justice to the negro as she had
always done.
Binnton Would HcIucr.
Representative E!anton, Democrat.
Texas. appeared In support o. his
bill which would reduce the member
ship of the House 10 3oi.
Answering questions from Repre-
sentative Aswcll. Democrat. Louisi-
ana, MIR. Tinkham said there were be-
tween 5000 and i.00o negroes in his
district. lie estimated the number
Of voters "disfra ranchised" in Massa-
chusctts under tn. literacy test as
between 4 and per cent.
Representative Brinson. Democrat,
North Carolina, reading from Il copy
of the brief OF J. !. Campbell. Re-
publican. who is contcsting the cleo