The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1949-07-15

All a GdAbot Aoi uob " L1 ~ / icBiNoo PHpSNo
The action of the Mississippi Press Association taken at the
annual press convention some weeks ago at Biloxi. A reso-
luton adopted by the association at that time recommended
that a constitutional amendment for reapportionment of
legislative representation based on present populations be
Submitted to the people.
The editorial refers to South Mississippi and Delta
zealots, and charges that smart Delta politicians, leagued
with Hugh White, Editor Sullens and a few South Missis-
slppi industrial barons, are already the political bosses of
Mississippi"
The editorial, however, seems to sum up the opposition
10 any change in representation in one paragraph, which we
quote:
THE inequalities, boiled down to a fine point, seem
involved with Mississippis large Negro population, and
since the colored man is not allowed to vote except in rare
and inconsequential circumstances, it might be best for all
concerned to retain our legislative apportionment along
white folk percentages.
Now we don't exactly understand the full meaning or
implication of this paragraph, but looking at it from any
angle it seems basically wrong when compared to figures
and facts.
In a recent editorial we pointed out that the Constitu-
Ton of 1890 gerrymandered the state into three sections and
iioze legislative representation in those sections. An ex-
ample of what this has resulted in is the fact that a group
of II Northeast Mississippi counties with a total white popu-
lation of 232, 638 elects 81 representatives to the state legis-
lature. The 9Th Congressional District, in Southeast Mis-
s.ssippi composed of l6 counties has virtually the same
population, 23l,2 46 to be exact, and elects only 10 represent
tatives. The population figures are taken from the 1910
federal census.
Now these same census figures, from which the above
was compiled, also show the folliwing.
The II Northeast counties referred to have a total
i,egro population of 49,, 037 The 16 Southeast counties in
the 9th Congressional District have a Negro population of
only 89,041.
The Progress is published at Eupora in Webster county.
Webster, with Its sister county Clay, is presently allotted
one state senator, while Clay elects two direct representa-
lives and Webster one, or a total of three from the two
counties.
Compare this with Jackson and Harrison counties who
letween them also elect three representatives, one directly
rom each county and a floater representative for the two
counties. lncidently, Jackson shares its state senator with
TWO other counties, George and Greene.
According to 1910 census figures Webster and CLAW
counties have a white population of 8lO8 and a Negro
population of Is 082.
Harrison and Jackson counties, according to the same
figures, have a white population of 56,956 and a Negro popu-
lation OF l42O6 IGNORE than three times the white popu-
iStion of Webster and Clay counties, a smaller Negro popu-
Luton but the same legislative representation.
The Progress also makes the following point in iusti-
t-eation OF its opposition to reapportionment:
The same population argument could well be used bv
ew Yorw civil rights Trumanite radicals. New York.
win l5,41s,l42 population has only two United States Sena-
tors while Mississippi with only 2,l88, 700 population. has
n equal number"
What the Progress fails to point out in the paraerapb
that all the states elect two Senators, but New York elects
national representatives and Mississippi only seven.