Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1922-05-19
POPULATION BASIS
OF PALMER'S BILL
Dlsregards Rule Since State.
mood Giving Each County at
Least One Representative.

Through the medium of the Palmer
initiative Bill No. As, which seeks TO
reapportion representation in the state
legislature, King county is asking for
one senator and three representatives
Ior her non-yoting, non-taxpaying alien
population.
Palmer and the Seattle organiza-
IONS that are supporting his initiative
Dill claim that it is based solely on
the question of population and disre-
CARDS the rule that has prevailed since
statehood that each county shall have
at least one representative. So well
IS this purpose carried out that thir-
teen counties are deprived of member
snip in the House, while King with
her big Japanese, Chinese and other
alien colonies claims added member.
snip in both branches of the legisla.
ture for this population"
If the Palmer bill should get sigma
lures enough to be placed on the bal
lot and should be adopted in Noyem.
Der, King county's Japanese Chinese
in the legislature by just as strong a
voice as Kittitas, Chelan, Okanogan
and tWo-thirds of Douglas county with
1854 square miles, or Adams, Grant.
Lincoln, Ferry, Stevens and one-third
of Douglas county with an area of
1926 square miles.
Either of these big eastern Washing
ton districts contains more than one
sixth of the land area of this state and
the alien population of both is so small
as to be almost negligible. In fact,
with the exception of Columbia and
Garfield counties the federal census
reports show the percentage of Ameri-
can-born residents in these two dis
tricts is larger than any other part of
the state.
But they would not count in the leg
islature on the Palmer Seattle basis
for any more than the King county
Japanese, Chinese and other non-vot-
ing aliens
In working out his bill Palmer has
given one state senator and three rep
resentatives to districts that average
about $4,000 population. The 1920
federal census on which Palmer bases
his bill shows there were 1884 Jap
anese and 1850 Chinese of all ages in
King county. The rest of the alien
population is grouped under headings
of those who have taken out first pa
pers, those with no papers at all and
the "unknowns." In computing these
latter alien inhabitants, however, only
those OVER q years of age are shown.
King county has 25,S6s male and 49,,
210 female aliens of these three classes
OVER the age of Il.
The total number of Chinese and
Japanese of all ages and of other aliens
OVER 81 years of age in King county
is 1892, Applying any sort of ratio
to the number of aliens OVER Il in
King county to get a line on the num-
Der Of alien minors in Palmer's home
district shows clearly that there must
be far more than $4,000 aliens in King
county.
However the figure of $4,000 is sui
ficient for that is Palmer's average
population for one senator and three
representatives. Without these aliens,
King county's population would be de
creased to point where Palmer could
not claim more than five senators and
fifteen representatives for his home
county.
Inasmuch as the Palmer bill pro
poses to cut down the senate to y
and the House to SO members an extra
senator and three more representatives
claimed by King for her alien popula-
ton becomes extremely important for
II members would be a majority of
the Senate and 80 would control the
House and King by offsetting one-sixth
of the state by her alien population
would move one big step nearer control