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On the last bicameral Legislature was imposed the duty of redistricting the State and deciding exactly how many members the new chamber should have. The 100 members of the old House wanted the maximum of 50 members so that as few of themselves as possible would be left in the cold. The 33 members of the old Senate decided on 48 members. In one of the iniquitous conference committees to which Senator Norris so much objects the matter was thrashed out for days. Finally, with the aid of John P. Senning, professor of political science at the University of Nebraska, one of the advisers on the Unicameral Amendment,* the conferees were persuaded to compromise on a number which made for the most equitable redistricting: 43.
When Nebraska adopted Mr. Norris' amendment it revived the whole unicam- eral movement. Writhin three months bills for one-house Legislatures were pending in 18 States. More than half the States have now had such measures introduced and New York and New Jersey have special commissions studying the subject. The political science department of the University of Nebraska has had over 4,000 letters of inquiry on it. But the other 47 States are more than likely to wait until they see whether Nebraska's experiment justifies the unicameralists. Bicameralists claim that one house acts as a check to prevent the other from hasty action. Unicameralists insist that an extra house is no check whatever on anything except efficient legislation. They claim further that one house will reduce legislative buck-passing: what the legislators vote for becomes law, barring veto by the Governor. Although bicameralists argue that one chamber will be easier to corrupt than two, unicameralists expect exactly the opposite because the legislators cannot dodge responsibility, because being relatively few in number their individual acts will be in the limelight.
Finally they expect Nebraska's new Legislature to show a financial saving. For although with 43 members dividing the annual salary appropriation in shares of $872.09 (roughly twice as much as before), the total salary bill will be reduced about 30%, not counting the savings in salaries for clerks, pages, doorkeepers, etc., etc. of a discontinued chamber. The savings in postage, printing and mileage should be even greater. As an offset to these savings, the Senate chamber with its $4,500 bronze doors in the $10,000,000 State Capitol, which the late Bertram Goodhue designed, will have no real use, and to reduce the 100 desks in the House to 43 would require tearing up the floor (to change the wiring for the electric voting machine) and discarding the heavy carpet which is cut around each desk.