Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-11-05
Virginia Facing
Thorny Problem
In Redistrictinq
Congress Districts
Must Be Resulted
To Add New 10th
By the Associated Press

~ FAOu INCW iVlu
BY the Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va, Nov. 4.-Vir-
ginia's special redistricting COM
will have plenty of head
aches in the next two years try
ing to split up the Old Dominion
to take care. of ten representatives.
That was indicated today by the
release of the preliminary census
figures for 1850 for each congress
sional district in the nation.
Virginia already has been told
that its population Jump between
1e40 and 1950-2,677,773 to 81
270, 322-will restore a tenth con-
gressional district lost 20 years
ago.
But how to re-shuffle the state
to take care of the extra represen-
tative is something else again.
The ideal - something which
looks good on paper but won't
come about in practice for one
reason or another-would be ten
districts in Virginia with an aver
age population of between $4,000
and 100000.
Such an alignment might leave
three of Virginia's districts more
or less in their present form.
These would be the First, with a
population of 315,310; and the
Sixth. now with population Of
337 1896.
BY the same token, it would
appear something new should Do
added to two districts-the Fourth.
which has a population Of 259,202.
and the Seventh, which has .
population of 279,618.
These figures indicate the Tenth
district will have to come from
among the Second (477,432); the
Third (3S4,135): the Eighth
t505, 979); and the Ninth $751;
923.
Eighth District Increases Most.
The Eighth and Second districts
have shown the biggest increases
in the past ten years. The popu-
lation Of the Eighth has jumped
$50 per cent; the rise in the sec
ond has been 46.7 per cent.
Now included in the Second
district are the counties Of Nam
semond, Isle of Wight, Norfolk.
Princess Anne and Southampton
and the cities of Norfolk. Suffolk,
Portsmouth and South Norfolk.
Almost 100000 Of the districts
residents live in five political SUBJ
divisions damned right together
in Virginia's lower southeast cor
ner-the cities Of Norfolk, South
Norfolk and Portsmouth and thu
counties of Norfolk and Princes
), Anne.
Whether the redistricters cal
split these five subdivisions apar
remains to be seen. 1t appears GER
tain that the district will contain
no more than the five units when
things are rearranged in 1852.
A similar problem arises in the
portion of the State adjoining
Washington. The combined popu-
lation there of the city of Alexan-
dria and the counties of Airing.
ton and Fairfax is 295,034.
Will the redistricters lop these
three units off the sprawling 18-
unit Eight District which now
stretches all the way to Charlottes-
vile and Albemarle County?
Such a move appears likely
with the possible addition Of either
Loudoun or Prince William County
to boost the population nearer the
ideal level. This would mean, how
ever, the inclusion of an essential
ly rural area with three highly ur.
BANKED settlements.
This solution of the problem
probably would mean a reshuff1ing
of the Seventh and Eighth Dis
tricts, with some minor possible
effect on the adjoining Third and
Sixth Districts.
Politics Play Major Role.
Politics will play the major role
in determining how the State Is
finally split up-but the popula-
ton changes of the past 10 years
already have eliminated certain
amount of the effect Of the po-
litical swapping.
Gov. Battle said today he UNDER
stood the States new representa-
ton couldn't take effect until
after the 1852 elections. Hence
there is no need to have a special
legislative session on redistricting
because the regular session in jan
uary, 1852, can take care of the
Encouragement. he added.
Attorney General j. Lindsay
Almond, jr., the States chief legal
advisor, agreed.
The legislative commission on
redistricting. made up of three
State Senators and six members OF
. the House of Delegates, has been
awaiting the final census count.
Indications were it will probably
meet in the next few weeks, as
soon as the State division of statu-
tory research and drafting can
obtain the official census figures
from Washington.