Show Gerrymandering It is claimed that the Democrats gerrymandered gerry-mandered the stats of Indiana Possibly they did so On the other hand it is clear that when the Republicans had the chance they did the same thing in the same state That is each party so districted dis-tricted the state that one would gain advantages ad-vantages in election affairs That is all wrong no matter which party is to blame Vhat the Republicans did was no justification for what the Democrats may have attempted by way of retaliation But there is onesatisfac tion in relation to the affair On appeal to the Supreme court of the state a case to test the constitutionality of the Democratic Demo-cratic apportionment was decided against 1 I it and the court was composed of Democrats Demo-crats with but ono exception That shows that Democratic justices will do stice even against their own party The gerrymander is a vicious method to obtain party advantage Public opinion opin-ion ought to be so pronounced in its condemnation con-demnation that legislatures everywhere will be afraid to adopt it When the courts can be appealed to as in the Indiana I Indi-ana case with an assurance of the right 1 being vindicated the evil receives an efficient S ef-ficient check But prevention is better than 11 cure even in political disorders and Yyl f I > > < 1 c r 1 I it ought to be understood by violant i partisans par-tisans that the wrong must bo stoppad Utah has had occasion to understand the evils of the practice Not however by any act of the legislature but by the partisan conduct of the Utah commission which ought to be abolished without further delay The shoestring districting which that body accomplished in the interest in-terest of a lolcal faction is as flagrant apiece a-piece of gerrymandering as ever was perpetrated by any party in any place The spirit and purpose of the lawwhich provides that election districts shall be apportioned according to the population and as compact as possible under geographical geo-graphical conditions ought to govern strictly in such affairs And any attempt to place the interests of a party before the public welfare and the intent law and of the constitution or organic act ought to be everlastingly condemned by the people peo-ple if not punished by criminal laws |