Evening star., 1952-03-01
Committees Kill
Hope Of Virginia
Two Assembly Groups
Act to Reject Bid for
Reopportionment
Nv Aiax 4 pvasean
BY Alex r. Preston
6,Ap Staff eatSss ss,.anAant


and Senate committees today
KILLED northern VirginiaB chances
lot obtaining more representation
In the General Assembly.
The Privileges and Elections
COMMITTEE Of the State Senate to.
day reported two bills which make
virtually no changes In the ab.
|peftienfneht Of State legislative
districts.
eheftly thereafter the eeffe.
spending committee Of the House
voted, DO, to kill tive bills eaFFys
Ing cut 0 study eemmissieR's req
concentrations,
Only TIVE State Senator's,
AT present, Arlington has one
state Senator and Alexandria,
Fairfax, Falls Church and Primes
William have one, The commits
sion plan called for Arlington to
have one Senator, Alexandria to
have one and Fairfax and Falls
Church, one,
Arlington now has two delegates,
Alexandria has one, and there Is
one for Fairfax and Falls Church,
The study commission plan
would have given three delegates
Ito Arlington and Falls Church, two
to Alexandria and two to Fairfax,
Davis Plea Fruitless.
Before the House committee
acted, Delegate Delamater Davis,
|of Norfolk, delivered a strong plea
for the commission plan.
"Since we had our last reap
|portionment in 1942," he said,
there has been tremendous shift
in population. It has been clearly
shown to this committee that some
delegates represent $4,000 people
while others represent more than
100000.
IF that is representative gov
|ernment, then we might as well
give up and admit we don't live
in a democracy"
Except for two or three minor
changes in the present legislative
|apportionment, the bills approved
by the Senate Committee would
leave existing House and Senate
districts untouched.
Strong Appeals Heard.
Delegates Armistead Boothe OF
Alexandria and j. Maynard Ma
|gruder Of Arlington appeared be-
fore the House committee yes
terday and made strong appeals
for action. Mr.. Boothe warned
that the outcome of this years
senatorial campaign and next
years race for Governor might
be affected by what action is
taken to give the more populous
areas added representation in the
Assembly.
II say very bluntly and frankly,
as an organization man who comes
from an area where it Is not
always easy to carry the organiza-
ton torch, it will help us in my
area to report the commissions
BILL" the Alexandria delegate de-
|clared.
ut is conceivable that our fail
|ure to act may make the differ
ence in winning or losing the
senatorial and gubernatorial con-
tests in 1862 and 1883"
Bills Quickly Killed.
IN an effort to clear It's docket
the committee killed about d dozen
bills lii little more than FIVE f11it1-
Iutes. Two Of these were sp6fi-
sored by Delegate Edwin Lynch Of
Fairfax
One Lynch bill would have per-
fhitted the holding Of presidential
preferential primaries, which
W6uid not have been binding, but
W6uid have determined sentiment
The ether Weuid have pfen
hibited any naaelsteFlai district In
o county fF6Eil being mere than
twice as large as The smallest
district, A eeHFtsappeiRted eem.
nlissl8h new IA studying reds.
tFletlRg OF Fairfax e6Hnty Eaag-
lsteFlai districts, and Mr., Lynch
aegght TO llmIt the pepaistieH
disparity between them, Fhe
committee killed the bill because
enc member said, 1t might affect
pending litiGatien In the Fairfax
County Circuit eeuFt,
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