[Illustration: UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES] _Manner of Choosing Representatives._--As in fixing the qualifications of the electors of representatives, so in the choosing of them, the states are left a free hand, subject to the provision of the Constitution which gives Congress power to alter the regulations of the states in regard to the manner and time of choosing members. For a long time Congress did not exercise its power in this respect and each state chose its representatives when it wished and in such manner as it pleased. Some states chose their representatives on general ticket from the state at large, while others chose theirs by districts; some chose by secret ballot, while others did not. To secure uniformity in regard to the method of choice, Congress enacted in 1842 that representatives should be chosen by districts of contiguous territory containing populations as nearly equal to the congressional ratio as possible. In 1871 it enacted that they should be chosen by written or printed ballots (later choice by voting machine was also permitted). In 1872 it enacted that representatives should be chosen on the same day throughout the Union, namely, Tuesday after the first Monday in November.[26] [26] By a subsequent act, those states whose constitutions provided a different day for choosing representatives were exempted from the provisions of this law. In pursuance of this act, elections for members of Congress in Maine are held in September. "_Gerrymandering._"--When the number of representatives to which each state shall be entitled has been determined, after the decennial census, it devolves upon the legislature to divide the state into as many districts as it is entitled to representatives.[27] In the exercise of this power the political party in control of the legislature may arrange the districts in an unfair manner so as to make it possible for the party to elect a larger number of representatives than its voting strength entitles it to. This is done by putting counties in which the opposite party is in a large majority in the same districts so that it may choose a few members by large majorities, while the other party carries the remaining districts by small majorities. Thus the voting strength of the party in power is economized while that of the other party is massed in a few districts and made to count as little as possible. This practice is known as "gerrymandering" and has often been resorted to by both the two great political parties, sometimes in such a manner as to result in flagrant injustice to the minority party. [27] In case the legislature neglects to redistrict the state when additional representatives have been assigned to it, the latter are chosen from the state at large. In 1916, for example, Pennsylvania elected four such representatives; Illinois, Texas, Montana, and Idaho, two each; Alabama and West Virginia, one each.