Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-03-08
SAYS ENGLISH
SENATOR FROM
MARION COUNTY
Attorney General Gives Opin.
ion on Representation of
New District.

Senator William E English represents
Marion County alone in the State Senate
Of the General Assembly and not John
son County and Marion County, accord
ing to an opinion handed down today
by Attorney General u. s. Lesh. The
new Senator to be elected next fall, ae
cOrding to the appOrtiOnment act passed
by the last session OF the Legislature.
viii represent johnson County and Ma
rion County. Senator English was elect
ed as a joint Senator originally, but
his status was changed by the 1921 ap-
pOrtionment act
JOHNSON COUNTY To
HAVE PART IN CHOOSING.
Attorney General Eesh's opinion states
that the people of johnson County would
be represented in the Legislature by a
Senator whom they had no part in choos-
ing if senator English was to repre-
sent them and Z joint Senator not elected
this fail.
Elections to the State Senate, It was
pointed out, are biennial, but for a
Period of four years. and according to
Lesh's construction Of the constitution,
no county is TO be divided in Legislative
reapportionment.
The opinion in the case, which was
asked for in February, affects a similar
situation il Allen, Noble and De Kalb
Counties
In case recently tried at Franklin to
test the cOnstitutionality of the reappOr-
tionment it was decided that johnson
County could not be coupled with Mar
ion County. The case, however, will
have TO be decided by the Supreme Court
and the Lesh opinion viii hold until the
decision Of the higher court is reached.
lessons CHANGE OF
NAMING DEMOCRAT.
Johnson County is making q fight
against being coupled with Marion COun-
ty because Of the fact that Johnson COun-
IL is considered a reliably Democrats
County while the change, It IS believed,
was contemplated with q view OF lessen
ing the chance Of a Democratic Senator
being named.
The attorney generals opinion in part,
follows:
"The courts have held that the in
tegrity of the county, as q governmental
subdivision Of the State, is made an
essential feature in every valid plan Of
0pp1rrionment- In one case the court
said. The people Of a county have COM
mon interests and objects peculiar to
themselves and intimate public relations
with each other. Hence. when the Con
stituuon was formed. it was deemed Of
vital Importance that the integrity Of
counties in The formation OF legislative
districts should be thus carefully guard
ed 10 the end that each county having
sufficient population should have its own
representatives in the Legislature,
chosen by its own electors and them
only and owing no divided, perhaps con-
ficting. allegiance to any other con-
stituency.'
..As to Marion County, IN my opinion
Senator English now rep tsents Marion
County alone and the new Senator TO be
elected next fall will represent Marion
and Johnson Counties.
81 an informed by the state Historical
Bureau that a similar situation was SO
handled in the year 1897 under the 1885
appOrJionment law where the next ap
pOrtlOument law in 1891 made changes
similar 10 those in 1921. IN that in
stance il affected a hOldOver Senator
from the district OF Marion, Hancock and
Shelby as created in 1885. while the 1887
act cut OF Hancock and Shelby and sub
srituted Morgan. Ii was there held that
the old joint Senator from the three
counties only represented Marion county
and q new Senator was elected from the
new district Of Marion and Morgan"