The Wrangell sentinel., 1941-10-31

pass and the matter is now before the House.
 Two bills were introduced to ] change the legislative set-up to pro- vide for more proportionate repres- l entation. The first was introduced l by Delegate Dimond CHR. 4397l 1 and would provide for House and l Senate of equal membership, IS in each, all to be elected on the pro. portionate representation principle. Main objection to the Dimond bill was that it might not give an even break to the more sparsely populat-. ed Divisions in the Senate Chair man Green of the House Territories Committee then brought in H. R. 545S which has now been acted up-I on favorably by the committee. The Green bill provides for 16 members in the Senate. four from each Judic-I ial Division, q members in thel House. Or present population basis, the First Division would have eight members in the House, the Second Division four, the Third Division, seven, and the Fourth Division fiveI members.
 In passing the Green bill out with a do pass" recommendation, theI House committee made this eom-I ment:
 Justification for the increase inI membership of the Alaska Legis-I lature is to be found in the steady growth of population of the Ter- ritory in recent years and in thel advance of it's economic import ance.
 Between the decennial census of. 1880 and that of 1940 (aetually taken in Alaska in 1939) Alaska gained 22.3 percent in population. Information presented to the com mittee indicated that Alaska has gained several thousands more in population since 1889.
 "The economic consequence of the Territory is indicated by the volume of trade between the Un- tied States and Alaska which. for several years past, has steadily ex- ceeded $100,00O,O00 each i In view of the continuing growth of the Territory and in order toI give all of the people adequate re- presentation in the local legisla- ture, your committee has thought it advisable to provide in that Le- gislature a Senate of 16 members and a House of Representatives of 24 members. The change here pro- posed with respect to the eIectionI of members of the House of Rep-I resentatives so as to base the same upon population, rather than theI election of an equal number from each of the four Judicial Divisions, irrespective of population, scarcely needs any justification. The ordin- anee passed by the Continental Congress on July 13, 1787, com monly known as the Ordinance of | 1797, providing a form of govern ment for the territory of the Un- tied States northwest of the Ohio River, and representing the fruit of three years deliberations in evol- ying a form of territorial govern ment, contained the following pro- visions: Article H. The inhabitants of said Territory shall always be en- titled to the benefits of al proportionate representation of the people in the Legislature' After the adoption of the Consti- tuition, the Ordinance of 1787 was continued in force by an act of Con- gress, approved August ', 1789. The principle of proportionate represen- tation of the people in the legislature was faithfully followed in making provisions for elections of all leg islatures in the territories which la- ter became States.
 Tn fact, of all of the Terri
 tories of the United States, on-
 ly in Alaska, and ill Hawaii.
 which became a part of the
 United States by treaty, was the
 principle of proportionate rep
 resentation in the election of
 legislatures departed from. As
 to all of the other Territories
 membership in the several legis-
 lative assemblies was based up-
 on poulation, and minorities
 were never permitted to control
 legislative authority"
 It is significant that it was this