Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-08
A Hard Task.

Penakinr Of cor gresGioral districts
in many of the Stctes. to meet the re-
quirement5 Of tho rev apportionment
of the House of Representatives. is
causing a lot Of trouble. This is true
particularly in States where there are
Republican Legislatures and Demo-
cratic Governors, as, for example, in
Massachusetts,. Neither political party
wishes to give way, and each desires to
redistrlct so as to gain or keep control
Of as many districts as possible.
In Massachusetts there must be a
House from sixteen to fifteen. At pres
ent the Republicans hold twelve and
the Democrats four of the sixteen
House seas. The Governor is Demo-
cratic, the Legislature Republican. A
Legislative Committee has been strug-
Cling with the problem. The Democrats
insist that because of the fact that the
State went Democratic in Statewide
contests in 1928 and in 1880 they are en-
titled at least to an even break in the
matter of congressional districts. The
Republicans. en- the other hand, do not
wish to re!inquish districts they now
control. 1t may result finally in a
deadlock between the Governor and
the legislature This would mean the
election of all fifteen of the members
of the House in 1892 in a Statewide
election. Such a solution does not
please either the Republican or the
Democratic sitting members of the
House. In the first place, they do not
relish the thought Of going into State
wide primaries for denomination nor do
they like the idea of a Statewide cleo
ton to Office.
In New York the State Legislature is
about to have before it bill giving the
Empire State two new congressional
districts, for New York makes a gain
of two seats in the reapportionment Of
the House. There, too, the Governor
is Democratic and the Legislature is
Republican. According to press re-
ports, however, the New York Legisla-
ture can deal with the matter of
redistricting for the National House of
Representatives through a concurrent
resolution which, it Is said, will not
require approval Of the Governor.
Under these circumstances it is likely
that the Republicans will seek all the
advantage they can. At present there
are twenty Republicans in the House
from New York and twenty-three
Democrats The Republicans hope, at
least, to square things with the Demo-
Gratis.
California gains nine seats in the
House, the biggest gain made in any Of
the States, and Michigan comes second
with four Both are Republican States.
In all thirty-two States must redistrict,
eleven making gains and twenty-one
losing seats Unless the redistricting
is completed before the election in 1882,
States will be compelled TO vote in
Statewide elections.
The change in the House apportion-
ment affects not only the election Of
the next Congress but also the election
of the next President. The electoral
college is based upon the number of
Representatives and Senators each
State has in Congress. California and
Michigan are going TO have more to say
about who the next Chief Executive
shall be than heretofore. A failure of
State to redistrict before the coming
election will have no effect on the make
up OF the electoral college. Each State
will have the number of electoral votes
which the reapportionment has assigned
TO it.