OCR Text |
Show THE GREAT CIT E3 IN CON-1 CRESS There are nine great cities in the' United States, containing etioh mere than 250,000 inhabitants, with an ag-) greirato repreeontation in the popular branch of congress much below what; their present population entitles thein to. Thig representation is b:aed on the census ot 1870 and the apportionment apportion-ment act of 1S72, which allows one ! representative to every 132,000 inhabitants- Tha nine cities bve now but 27 members of congress, from which their aRgregato population should be no more than 2,244,000. But it in certain that ihese nine cities now contain con-tain more than twice tha pop ilntiou set down for Ihem in 1870, aud they should therefore have a mucli larger representation. By recent si Ate or municipal enumeration found in tbo directories, the population is about a? given below, and the representation to which each is justly entitled u given in the right-hand column ol ngures: Populat'n. Rep New York 1.2U0.OO0 y Philadelphia. t50,UOO (j Brooklyn 700,1X10 5 Cbicano 525 0XJ 4 St, Louie 409 00 3 Baltimore. 35",OOt 3 UiLcinnati 21)0,0; -0 2 Boeton 300,000 a San Franciflco 300,000 2 Totals 5,025,030 30 New York should gain 2, Philadelphia Philadel-phia 1, Brooklyn 2, Chicago 2, St. Louis 1, Baltimore 1 for her large , Iraction ovor the population required for her present 2, Boston 1 and San Francisco 1. The nine great cities, with more than cne-ninth of tho total population of the country, and probably proba-bly not less than one quarter of its total taxable properly and capital, are actually allowed but one-eleventh of its representation iu that branch of congress which originates all tax bills and substantially controls the purge-strings purge-strings of the nation. |