A Loss of Population

Like its sister states in the Deep South, Alabama sends only Democrats to the U.S. Congress--and keeps them there for a long while. The state's nine Representatives average 15 years on Capitol Hill, and their seniority gives them considerable power and influence. But as of last week that seniority seemed threatened by the Alabama state legislature, after a session wild enough to be worthy of a Congolese nominating convention.

Alabama's population is decreasing, and it was the legislature's painful duty to reapportion the state into eight congressional districts instead of nine. Legislators from the industrial areas of north Alabama argued that the cut should come from the rural south. But southern politicians, who dominate the legislature, insisted that the House seat should be taken from the north. They even moved to eliminate the Ninth Congressional District, which serves Birmingham (pop. 340,000), the state's largest city. That suggestion touched off a filibuster.

The longer the filibuster lasted, the shorter tempers grew in the white-marble capitol at Montgomery. In the senate, a member leaped to his feet to accuse the presiding officer, Lieut. Governor Albert Boutwell, of prejudiced parliamentary rulings. To everyone's surprise Boutwell burst into tears, prayed between sobs that "My heart may never become so hard that I cannot shed a tear." Joe Robertson, Governor John Patterson's executive secretary, got into an argument with a house member, angrily called him an s.o.b. The ensuing fistfight was broken up by Public Safety Director Floyd Mann. While state troopers moved into the chambers to prevent other fights, the filibuster droned on. Filibusterers even refused to sit down long enough for the legislature to pass necessary last minute appropriations bills. When the marathon ended after a record 96 hours, the session was over--and no money had been appropriated for the operation of state agencies after Sept. 30.

The appropriations failure could be remedied. Hardly had the session ended before Governor John Patterson called for a five-day special session. To keep passions from boiling again, Patterson suggested that the agenda be limited to appropriations. In that event, redistricting was a dead issue and Alabama's Congressmen would have to run at large in the 1962 election. Despite their years of service, none of the nine has a statewide reputation; all, as a result, would stand in danger of losing. The nine men themselves were acutely aware of the peril. Warned Albert Rains, a nervous veteran of 17 years on Capitol Hill and a specialist on public housing: "We've got almost 200 years of seniority wrapped up among us. That's a big investment for the people of Alabama to throw away."

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