The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-02-16
The Ph,IadeIphia Elecsron.

AS showing the,importance ofthe Dem.
ocratic victory In Phialdelpsia. the COR
respondent of tthelChicago Times wrote
as follows to his paper the day before the
elsction. How faithfully he portrayed
the facts il bourne out by the result. 1t
was a life.and death struggle with the
ring. Following is the correspondence of
Times
Words cannot express the intense
feeling. to night, over the municipal cleo
tions 10 morrow. Ali through the state
the electoral question is cast aside for the
moment, and all attention is directed to
Philadelphia, for the result will have a
m arked effect. upon tho contest at Harris
burg. The fight. to morrow, will be a
direct one between the bosses and the
people. The great fight is to wrest the
tax Office from the ring. The spoils have
amounted to $3.50, 900 year. and have
gone into the pockets of the halt dozen
bosseE who rule the city. The citizens
have in nomination John Hunter, a re-
form leader in the common council. and
the bosses George g. Pierre, secretary of
the commercial exchange. The fight has
been very intense until, to night. it 10
prettv universally conceded that Hunter
will be elected 10 spite of the tremendous
frauds that are contemplated. The bosses
are Stacking UP on the tax receiver, and
are bending ell their energies, to night, to
tho reelection of William S. Stokely fer
Mayor. Opposed 10 him is the citizens
candidate, Samuel q. King, democratic
mamber of the common council, who has
worked indefatigably with Hunter for re
form, The fight will be the severest 10
tho history Of the city. 1t is life and
death tor the bosses. With King elected
mayor. Hunter tax receiver. and honest
couDciitncn, several Of the bosses stand
fine show OF getting into the penitentiary,
There will be Investigations that mean
business The gas trust, where it is open,
ly charged that 100000 has been wasted
and presumably stolen every week for
wears, v ill be overhauied and
THE WHOLE CORRUPT GANG
who have plundsred the city and run uD
debt of about $50 900 ,O01 will be swent
out OF power. Hence it is lite and death
struggle. The city is as corrupt as New
York was under Tweed, and the elections
10 norruw decide whether this corruption
will be continued or whether the thieves
will go to prison. The bosses have all the
election machinery. In half the wards it
is known that they have bought up the
election officers TO make false returns.
Although at the headquarters of the
reformers communications have been
received from majority of the legal voters
promising to vote for Hunter and King,
the bosses have made preparations to
count Stokley in by ten thousand MAORI.
ty, The majority for Hunter will be so
large that they will hardly dare make the
attempt to count him out To meet the
bosses tho reformers have engaged one
thousand detectives. They have bseu at
work for several days and ell the polling
places where fraud is contemplated are
known: Many business houses will cl csc
tomorrow and the proprieters spend The
day at the polls Wherever fraud is
detected arrests will be made, and if
Stokiey is counted in contest will follow.
the citizens are thoroughly excited. They
mean 10 have fair election. The rews-
papers are loaded Down With notices call
ing upon all roughs and political strikers
to beware, for
JUSTICE WILL CERTAINLY ovERTAKE
THEM
Three car loads of Stokley ropsaters, com
posed Of negroes and hard characters,
arrived hsre TO night from Washington
d
have brought in word to night that the
bosses ara preparing bogus ballet boxes to
be used on an extensive scale. For
instance if precinct casts 1876 votes for
King and IS Stoklsy. second box con-
taining l25 for Stokley and IS for King
will be returned Such frauds az are
being perfected tonight were meyer knswn
in the history of the city. The excitement
at the headquarters Of both parties ia IT,
tense. Spies frem the Bosses headquar
ters circulated among the Citizens com
mittee rooms all days To add to the
excitement two Of the judges refused this
afternoon to appoint election overseers,
exeepsin one or two instances.
The above was written the night before
the election and shows how desperate were
the Republican bosses. Cameron has
4 i L i 1 !.