Evening star., 1928-05-22
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
ny PAIL Y. COLLINS.

feet OF . reapportionn1ent on the basis
OF the next decennisl census. 70 the
number Of Representatives shown in
the statement"
There are other details. but the
above Is the meat Of the bill: II does
not delegate powers to the Secretary
OF Commerce. except a clerical duty
OF mathematical problem in dividing
the population Of each State By 43s
less 48. TO show the arithmetic Of the
quota Of Representatives apportioned
''in principle" for each equal number
OF people. as nearly as practicable
emitting fractions of population.
1t viii then become Impossible for
any Congress In the future TO gerry
mander the country merely by inaction
as in 1921. OF course. any future Con-
EreSs may replace the proposed Law
by one going back 20 the original plan
flxed by the Constitution Itself. provid-
ing for reapportionment by the House
after each decennial census. but that
can be done only by positive action,
open to the observation of the country.
and subject to cooperation and ap-
proval of the Senate and President
The present bill would kill gerryman-
dering. but the House has referred IL
back TO the committee which means
that it has killed II. at least until De-
cennber. 1929.
Americans have been put to shame at
recent presidential elections. when OBJ
serving that of the total eligible" voters
only - per cent have cast a vote. But
this situation Of IS per cent Of the
voters being gerrymandered out Of their
right to representation is another story
which will astonish many.
=
What appears to the outsider b be
most simple problem of arithmetic has
been made one Of higher mathematics.
too intricate TO explain outside Of q eel
lege. Leading expert mathematicians
have testified at the hearings TO the
difference between . system of "eoual
proportions" which produces . result
In which the necessary deviations from
exactness are as small as possible. when
measured by the relative or percentaEs
difference In either the ratio of populs-
ton to Representatives or the ratio Of
Representatives to population"
II Is the problem OF what to do with
the fraction OF q Representa- tive for, Of
course, the uuotient will not come out
even. In comparison with splitting hairs
the fineneSs Of splitting a Representa-
tive is exquisite. That method Of pro
portions" favors States that are small
The other plan. called the method Of
major fractions" Is equally complicated
arithmetic, too dizzyinS even for the
committee, but perfectly simple Ia the
Harvard expert professor OF mathe-
maticS. II. too. slices up the fraction
az q Representative. so that only the
larger States get advantage In the
major fractions" and so there will be
no embarrassing pieces OF Congressmen
walking the floor. and perhaps gesticu-
lating with fragments OF q whole BODY.
Stated with the simplicity OF an eX-
pert, the following elucidation appears
In the committee hearings:
IT Is evident. then, that the essential
difference in the two methods il In the
mode or method OF measuring deviaticns
or diverReneeS from eXactneSS, the
method OF equal proportions using as
measure the relative or percentage diff
ference I'm either of the ratios while the
method OF major fractions uses the alb
Solute or subtraction difference I'm the
ratio OF Representatives to population"
The meaning of the figures being so
obscure the committee OF the whole
House has referred the problem back 70
the census committee 10 do the sum on
the blackboard and bring in the right
answer
So the House has again killed the
bill providing method of reapportion-
ment regardless OF GerrymSnderinS. and
in 1891 there will have accumulated
SO many precedentS OF evasion and
uSurpation that this Republic will be
headed straight for the bow~wowS s.
O. S. THAT means Send out sue
cor"-~not SuckerSl
(Copyright ia%S, NV Paul V. cell,esA