Page:The Scientific Monthly vol. 3.djvu/585

 A WORLD PARLIAMENT 579

��BATING THE SEVERAL SOVEBEIGN NATIONS ON A BASIS

EQUITABLE FOB THE ALLOTMENT OP BEPBE-

SENTATIVES TO A WOBLD PABLIAMENT

Bt harby h. lauqhlin

COU> 8PBINO HABBOB, LONO ISLAKD, N. T.

THE ultimate evolution of a World Pederation to preserve the inter- national peace and to coordinate certain human activities involv- ing international intercourse is — ^howsoever long its coming may be delayed — ^highly probable. But before the several nations of the world actually succeed in organizing such a government they must agree upon an equitable formula as a basis of representation to the legislative body. In ihe House of Bepresentatives of the United States Texas has 16 representatives, Pennsylvania 32, and Arizona 1. This is based upon population — ^the formula agreed upon by the makers of the Constitu- tion. The people of the whole United States accept this apportionment as a matter of course; but, if an equitable formula had not been agreed upon, it is quite certain that quarreling over the one problem of ap- portionment would be a cause of discord sujfficient to vitiate the purpose of the whole Union. All wiU agree that the general judgment of any possible body of alloters, howsoever honest and well informed they might be, could not satisfy the constituent members of a federation with their allotments nearly so well as such members could be satisfied with their respective allotments resulting from a mathematical formula worked out in accordance with collected data.

In the United States the population formula works well^ because in any given state the average American is about as intelligent, as pros- perous and as patriotic as in any other state. But among the nations of the world there exists, as well as a great range in their participa- tion in the world^s work, a wide variability in the proportion-mixture of their elements of national greatness. In a constituent convention each nation would, therefore, strive to make its greatest quantitative asset a most important factor in apportioning representatives to the Parliament of Man. Most certainly this difference of opinion con- cerning the proper formula of representation will prove to be the first great stumbling block to progress in any constituent assembly actually intent upon working out a plan for the political organization of the world. Small nations will argue that all sovereign nations should be equally represented; yet equitability, not necessarily equality, is the only just basis of representation in governing bodies generally. When

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