Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-03-05
BULLDOZING.
THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARIES OF
SATURDAY.
How the Bosses of the Downtown
Wards Secure Delegations
from Up Town.

| Second Wards the machine manipulation:
had it all their own way, as no effort in op
| position was made. The Anti-Boss tickle
in the Third Ward carried by large ma
jority. The real battle-ground was in the
| Fourth Ward, where the scenes enacted
were the NEST disgraceful. The Republic
can party of this city can no longer lay
| claim, as such, to being one of purity anG
reform. 1t can no longer boast of being The
champion of free ballot and a fair count
The manipulations of the bosses on Satur
day were go openly unfair, unjust and I'm.
blushing, that every self-respecting Repub
lican had to bow his head in shame and
| acknowledge the leadership of those who
when driven to their hole, dare not square.
| ly contest for supremacy, but resort to bal
| lot-box stuffing, fraudulent voting and
every mean, low and despicable method
known TO the lowest and most unscrupul-
Gus ward thug.
HOW IT WAS DONE.
"If we lose in the Fourth Ward TODAY.
| we are gone, said one of the down town
satellites on Saturday morning. 'eThey
think they have got us but we will run in 800
votes on them that will knock them silly.
Let the old Puritanical psalm singers 90 TO
e" A man that don't drink, get drunk
and fight, don't know enough about poll
tics to vote anyhow. We have run the
| politics OF this town for many a wear. and
| we will continue through the year of our
Lord, 1883; you can just bet your sweet
| life Let's go around to Charles and take
a drink" This is but one of the numerous
expressions of swagging strikers that was
to be heard upon the street in the vicinity
| OF the Fourth Ward polls during Saturday
The polls were opened at pm. For
more than an hour prior to that time a
hundred or more citizens stood in front of
| the door, waiting for the officers of the
election to put in an appearance. When
the door was finally opened it disclosed a
full board, selected for the occasion. and in
| whom the First Ward strikers entertained
the utmost confidence. and as the result
| showed the confidence was not BETRAYED
1t consisted of r. w. Stafford, who acted
IN the roll of Inspector, while w. Fuller and
| w. Z. Graf posed in the capacity of Judges,
| with couple OF dapper-looking clerks who
had special instructions from the First
| Ward. When the window was opened
| Mr.. Stafford leaned his elbow on the sill and
| slgnlfled his readiness to take in the ballots.
| Ia
| White addressed the Inspector and Judges,
saying: You are presumed to be GOOD
| Republicans and honest men. We demand
as our right that we have man on your
| Board, not to act, but to see that everything
is done squarely."
The Inspector told Mr.. White. in Ian.
guage most foul and indecent, to Go to =
| and - -
Mr.. White then demanded that the bal.
lot-box be opened before voting COM
menced to show whether or not it was en-
tlrely empty, request which in all honest
elections is promptly complied with. He
also demanded that the Great Register be
used and that no one but registered electors
of the Fourth Ward be permitted to vote
The Inspector again replied most insult.
| ingly, and refused, with an oath, to pay any
attention to Mr.. Whites remarks. Come
on and vote" he cried, and those who had
the temerity to further demand their rights
| as American citizens were rudely and con-
temptuously brushed to one side.
Before the voting had proceeded to anv
extent First Warder presented his ballot.
His vote was promptly challenged by a
| dozen or more anti-ring men, and demand
was made that he be sworn, but the In
| spector refused to administer the oath.
| asked the man if he was resident of the
| Fourth Ward, and deposited the ballot.
! This course he followed throughout the
day, receiving the ballots without swearing
the voters, except in few instances, when
challenge was interposed by the ringsters
| A STUFFED BALLoT-Box.
| Just how many ballots were in the box
before voting commenced is notknown. hui
| from the best calculations there were 300
| Lincoln White, thoroughly reputable cit
1 ft1l lxrt 10
at the window and counted and tailed the
number who voted and made it 62S. which
he says is, without the least chance for
doubt, the number voting. The clerks
however, tally out 931. Now deduct the
number actually voting (62S), and you
have BOB for the number stuffed in the box
before the polls were opened. The bosses
with that number thus manipulated
claim to lead by eighty-four votes. Accord
ing to that estimate the anti ring
ticket had rightful majority of 2l9, the
difference between 303 and 81, or, in other
words, the anti-riDg ticket was carried bv
two to one. And If the election had been
restricted to residents of the Fourth Ward
and Republicans only had voted, they
| would have had a majority of four to one
Everybody in town knows the hackman,
Frank Thompson, of the First Ward. He
is a dyed-in-tbe-wool Democrat, a membe,
of the Democratic Central Committee
never fails to be a member of every Demo.
cratic Convention, and was candidate for
Office at the last election on the Demo.
cratic ticket. Well, Frank voted in the
Fourth Ward Saturday to help out the
game 10 capture the delegation. No test
was applied in his case. He walked up
passed in his vote, it was received amidst a
dozen cries of " challenge that vote He's
q Democrat and lives in the First Ward"
The Inspector understood his business
and tie purpose for which he presided over
that particular ballot box He needed nc
challenges, dropped the Thompson ticket
| into the box, cried votedr' and the down.
town hackman. with smile and a chuckle
| went away about his business.
This is but single instance of scores OF
such that might be given. Besides, all the
| opium fiends, tramps and ex convicts, with
| which the First and Second Wards are pop.
ulated, got in their votes at a ST. so per
head. That seemed to be the ruling price
and was regarded by the bosses as CHEAP,
when the question of losing supremacy
| was in the foreground. There were how
ever, some votes that were taken in at 81
| each, and the usual raft of DRINKS were
| marched up and exercised their boosted
privilege of American citizenship-that of
voting-and received their pay therefor in
| the shape of a drink of rot-gut WHISKY
Good Republicans, respectable citizens,
thus stood and saw the elective franchise
| trodden under foot They saw the tramp
and the nonresident, the pauper, the drunk,
| the vicious, the depraved, the criminal
who had no right to vote, marched I'D to
the ballot-box, like so many cattle-and a
scrub breed at that-and voted, and no eff
| fort at challenging would be for moment
needed by those who, it was proper to sup
pose, were appointed to see that the law was
regarded and enforced.
why should men who pretend to be
/ freemen tolerate such fraud 2'' was asked
| on every side. Some of the further ex-
pressions heard were these: "Who are the
| men who resort to these unlawful and de-
basing methods, and who virtually thwart
the will of the people and in reality work
Acknowledgement of majority of the
best citizens of the community ?" How
long is this thing to be permitted p" This
| is government of the people, for the PEG.
pie, and by the people, and let US have il
So" Sacramento politics has been in the
| hands of bosses long enough, and the peo-
pie should no longer submit Let us
| organize party for our own protection, q
peoples party" 'Let US throw out this
corruption in politics." LET us kill of
| the BOSSES" Let US have an honest adj
ministration of our municipal affairs
EXPERT CLERKS.
1t has been definitely ascertained that