Ex-congressman Allen's Opinion Of The Late Legislature

Ex-Congressinan Alien, oí Ypallantl, stopped in this city Firiday nlght on route to Sehoolcraft where he deliverthe Independence Day ádrese. Froni this potnt the talk drifted to the defunet squawbuck lesislature. Mr. Alien denounced it in stroag terms. ■■'nu' recent legislatura is one of the otmt ;uni most di8graeetul in history," salid he. "Thls i to a great rxtent due to a comíbtoatlon of clrcumstances. The idiemocrats (lid mot expect to earry the laet state election and weare consequently eairelesa in t.lic cholee of candiii.it es. They put up mem -who they would never be uomlnated, liad they expected them to win, many of them, niiii wttáh no experlenee and linie reputation. Theee men asBemWed at 1 „ui -ing and they Uid not know how to eomluot tliemsi'lvcs. lía iiarlimentary Uuw Btoo'd In the way they swept it aaide, letttng nothing keep them Irora attiüniiiii the desired end. In this state o' afíaii's I blame the democratie state central committee lor the lniquitous legislation of these men more than I do themselves. They were mere men of straw In the hands of the central commdttee, who decided upan and shaped the measures whtoh liavc been paseed. The central eommïttee should be heM responslble, for whlle many oi iiic tegislatora knew no better, the eammlttee dld. "The senatorial apportionment blD was 011e of tlic most outraiicous measopea iViT passed," continui'd Mr. Allen. "Even MteeiBBtppi cmmot show a record Av'aieh -will eqoal it. democrats have tri 'il ihe Indiana plan, but tliey will iind thfit there are more school liouses in Michigan than In Indiana. I look for the people to vise and rebufce it. Many democrats themKclves sec aml acknowledsie the tieo oí it. By tliis meastlre the three clties, Detroit, Grand Bapida and Kaiítoaw, wlll come into control of the legfeftatnre. The principal democratie ebrength U in ihe eltles, and ÜistrlctB were arranged in view oí this lact, Huis ignoring the rural distrlcts and farmer. Could anythinsí be more anjust than tliat one district of Debroit should eontniu only one-half the population oí the repúblicas district conetetlng of Brancb, Bt. Joseph and Kalaina.oo. and that vhe vote of the ii.in Citizen shnuld be ivorth two of the rural voter? Then another ampie is the 27th district, republican, wlik-h has contiguous to it the 28th and 29th dist.ricts, both democratie and havtag acomblned p-opulation of the 27th. That 5s, the vote a eitizen in the 27th district is worth less t h.m half as m uch as the vote of a citizen in either the '.Sth or 20th district. Any pooplc -vhieh %voull stand tliis state of affairs would stand a despot, ii nd I look for the demócratas lo receive arebuke. "What do I think of the new electoral law? IbeUeve it ia a plan to neutralize the vote of the state. The plea made in behalf of -ihis meaaure is 1 1 1 ; 1 1 it Is democratie doctrine1. But if it is domocratic doctrine, ■vhy has it not 1een put into force in democratie states? The plan of dividlng the into iwo electoral diatricta 5s for the purpose of giving the domoerats onp of the two general electora. I do urn ibeli -ve that Mr. Miner would have Introduced eaeh aUU tot the l latuxe of a democratie state "But iliis is not tlie ïii-st time individuáis have aplt toir othersinto ■whieh they have -hemselvcs fallen, añil I look for BUCB au occurrence in tiiLs caso. Many reputadle demócrata are tiu'inscivcs dlagusted nmi-wiii unlte wWh the republicana in ui etfort to vcmovr the t arnish irom tho . fairiiiiino jí the Btate."-