Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-18

When the original Constitutional Con-
verltion adopted the provision In Ar
ticle I, Section 2. 1t stipulated IN the
same article and section that the num-
Der of Representatives in Congress must
be based upon the census and the
number of Representatives shall not
exceed one for every 10000"
When that provision was amended
by Article XIV Section 2, it still pro-
vided: Representatives shall be APP
portioned among the several States &C
cording to their respective numbers,
counting the whole number Of persons
in each State" In view of the an
tagonism in the former Confederate
States against the Negro vote, provision
was made reducing the enumeration to
be the basis of representation by de-
Quoting the number Of inhabitants who
were denied the State right to vote, but
still the basis of representation re-
manned resting on the census. The
census of 1920 has never been used as
a basis Of representation, although the
population had grown Is per cent
greater than in 1910. and the increases
have been very much greater in some
States than in others.
It might be fantastic bubble to set
I'D a claim that no Congress OF the
present decade has been constitutionally
made up and that, therefore, their
powers were void and all their acts IL
legal What's a Constitution between
friends-or even between parties, when
both parties are involved In its scof1aw?
X X X
It is possible that a close presidential
election might result in raising the Ques-
ton of the legality of the delegates
| to the Electoral College to elect Presi-
| dent and Vice President since the men,
bers of the Electoral College are to be
| equal to the numbers of Representatives
and Senators of the respective States
| in Congress, and II that number be
proved not legally according to the Con-
stitution, then the Electoral College
would be illegally made up and be in
competent to elect President or Vice
President. In such case, the election
would go to the House of Representa-
tives, but that, too, would be illegal and
unrepresentative, according to the Con-
| stitution, hence it could not function
in electing a President. No constitu-
tional authority would then remain for
the legal choosing Of any President
Anarchy or dictatorship must then
ensue, according to such authorities as
| are termed "legalistic."
There are other authorities who con-
tend that reapportionment is not
mandatory but that 1t is "only a con-
stitutional duty"-an expression which
may yet require serious defining. What
Is constitutional duty which is not
mandatory upon members of Congress
sworn to maintain and defend the Con-
stitution? What provision of the Con-
stitution is it that gives Congress dis
cretionary latitude in providing what
| the Constitution directs in articles and
XIV? What is the difference between
a constitutional duty" and ScofflaW
policy of partisanism?
X X X
President Hoover appears to have
the old-faShioned idea that the Con-
stitution is bigger than Congress and
should be respected accordingly; hence
he stipulated that action should be
taken in compliance with the constitu-
tional reapportionment, to be based or
ing now in Congress, known as the
the taking of the fifteenth census, and
conformity with that provision. also
making immediate use of the results
of that census, in reapportioning repre-
sentation on Congress. So important is
this considered that President Hoover
in his message calling the extra session
spoke of them as matters of emer-
gency legislation" and he urged their
contamination as being in the public
interest"
In previous decades, the laws reg
iulating the census were separate from
those providing for congressional re-