| Show Senator Urges on Apportionment Senator Wallace F Bennett Utah R-Utah reports he be has joined in sponsoring a Constitutional amendment that would allow the seats in one house of a State Legislature to be apportioned on a basis other than pop pop- population if the system Is approved ed in a statewide referendum THE AMENDMENT in the form of a Senate Joint Resolution tion proposing the Constitutional Amendment would overturn the Supreme Court State Legisla Legisla- Legislature ture Reapportionment decision of last June It Is my hope that for the sake of the survival of our form of government and Out political liberties that two thirds of both the House and Senate member member- membership ship and three fourths of the State Legislatures reject the t h e alarming usurpation of power adoption by the Supreme Court by adoption tion of this amendment Sena- Sena Senator Senator tor Bennett said THE UTAH Republican who joined Republican leader Sena Sena- Sena Senator tor Everett McKinly Dirksen Illinois R-Illinois R Illinois in sponsoring the proposal said the people should be given n the right to de termine whether or not they want one House of the Legisla ture of their State apportioned on the basis of factors other than population The Senator said that if the decision is allowed to stand the government power In the states will be confined to the big cities and the rural areas would face neglect and abuse The utahn who sponsored a similar proposal in the Congress said Why should the political and legislative power of utah for instance be con con- fined to an area within a 25 mile radius of the State Capitol The Senator pointed out that thata a majority of the Court on June 15 ruled that both Houses of State Legislatures mast be ap- ap apportioned apportioned portioned on a population basis and that virtually no factors ot other her than population may be con con- considered considered in determining representation representation in these legislative boo bo- bodies dies IT IS DEEPLY regretted the the Supreme Court majority in its decisions deliberately chose to abandon time honored Constitutional Constitutional doctrine Utah's Senior Senator said By so ruling the Court in ef- ef effect ef feet amended the Constitution of the United States Slates and thereby arrogated to itself the authority to legislate a power hitherto reserved to Congress he said The ruling in effect would sap local initiative both at the State and local level It will en en- en encourage courage party gerrymandering and it would stifle the value of local individuality and initiative by all legislatures to tobe tobe be poured into a common common mold he said IN UTAH for instance most of the States State's growth potential for the future lies In its rich re- re resources resources sources in sparsely populated counties he said If these counties are to be totally domin- domin dominated dominated by the two or three heavily populated areas in Utah which contain a majority of the population population lation the economic growth of the outlying and sometimes iso iso- isolated isolated areas may well be stunt stunt- stunted ed he said |
