Stoux City Academy of Science and Letters. 129 
These states have a total population according to the 
above figures, which are those of the census of 1890, of 
but 2,890,932, and comprise but one-thirtieth part of the 
people of the nation. A bare majority in each of them 
might be made up of less than one-fiftieth of our people. 
But the persons who have the decision in their 
hands are the voters; and a consideration of these in the 
twelve smallest states may be worth while. In the New 
York Tribune almanac for 1903 is given as the total 
vote of these states in 1902, the following: 
SCENE ICG ERD ir SON a uA a NC AST GIL SURO, aN gS Ne 11,358 
NAV CUO OO OAS ya aC IR GANT a SS I IN a oe RO 25,052 
DEGLI CR Nc i ONS SS A Sa A I Na 61,544 
Hy eeasyypedirs ee ele SEN NE Ra fe SUR EE I UR eee 38,161 
AN Tecoma tyeinar en res Oe IRN 55,360 
GP EH TY se BUN apd SO BUSS 2 acm mI A LOAM A 2 84,716 
BINGO In EY ealOnteeds Oe aL ila 50,396 
NYA SER T EOIN Gif MAS TOE ILS gt cy Na ahs ANON A AIRS 69,927 
PSOE LG) UT £0 ote WIRES aN MRA lS ei RLY 68,559 
ING Wwe Elena snare) ee 0 i ee ee 79,173 
Orit S10 0g SU a UG See es SA a a a OY ST ve 87,719 
Fulto de tsar Gets 2seetea  w A  d 57,548 
Thus all the votes ordinarily cast in these states at 
a general election number but 709,513, and a majority in 
all of them might easily be made up of less than 400,000 
votes, requiring the action of less than one two-hun- 
dredth of the people. 
But it is the legislature, in each state, after all, and 
not the voters, which must take final action, and which 
is subjected to the pressure which the opposition may 
bring to bear. One of the most important of present day 
political phenomena is the manner in which state legis- 
latures are handled by large financial interests. It is a 
rather ominous fact that the fight which any class inter- 
ested in opposing constitutional reform would regard as 
its last-ditch struggle, would take place in a field now 
thoroughly understood by the great corporations, and 
where they are supposed to be possessed of the strongest 
and most sinister influence. The control of almost any 
state legislature is regarded in many well-informed quar- 
ters as merely a matter of money. It is to be hoped that 
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