Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-12-25
WOMEN DID IT.
BostOn's Mayor Was Put in the Soup By
Feminine Election Workers.
How and When the News Was Told by Papers
in New York and Dallas-Texas
Enterprise.
New York World. December u.

chiefly in consequence of the undoubted
influence of the women voters for the
school committee. Men who never had
enough interest in the matter before were
this year induced to vote, simply by
reason of feminine demands, and it is
safe to say that about all of the 20 ZOO
women entitled to vote for school COM
mittee members did some able election
eering among their husbands, their sons,
their brothers and their cousins, the re-
suit being a Republican vote increased by
20 per cent. over last years, and
Democratic vote increased by only
10 per cent. The parochial-
: school scare, with the women behind it,
operated i'll bringing out an unprecedented
Republican vote, and tonight the an
nouncement is made that Thomas n.
Hart, president Of the Mount Vernon
National Bank, is elected mayor over
O'Brien by 1912 votes. -
The women, especially the Professionals,
were well organized. They began TO
organize months ago, when the present
school committee threw out a textbook
of history, asserted to be historically
incorrect as to the sale of indulgences, -
and unfair to the Catholic religion. The
Protestants construed this as an assault
upon the public schools and as an attempt
TO sectarianiZe them. From that day
the pulpits have teemed with diatribes for
and against the action of the school COM
mittee The press has published long
leaders about it day after day, and the
town has talked of nothing else. That
was the issue of issues to-day, although
neither candidate for mayor was ever
identified personally with the question.
y,n. han,
it come to declaring principles, and each
said that sectarianism in the schools was
wrong.
Most of the women who voted to-day
did so apparently as if it was an old
story. This was because they had been
coached up by men who knew all about
it, classes for instruction in the art and
science of casting vote hay
ing been made up in various
parts of the city. In spite of
the driving rain the women were out III
force and early. While there was much
excitement at the polling places, no case
of insult offered to a fair voter has been
reported. The women went right in
among the "heelers, - ballots in hand,
and their brave looking and, in hundreds
of cases, handsome cOuntenances were
sufficient in themselves to prevent any
insult. Women ''heelers were present
at the polls, all supplied with tickets and
pastors, and it was sight to see them
approach a voter of their own sex and
buttonhOle her, so as to be sure of her
vote. They did not hesitate now and
then to tackle the men TO get votes, not
only for school committee but for the
straight city ticket, and it goes without
saying that more than one masculine vO-
ter fell victim to the charms of the fair
"heelers. -
An instance of the respect shown to
the women was seen at the Salem street
precinct, Familiarity known as the "coal
hole. - There was a Tough-loOking
crowd on the street, but absolute quiet
within. Two ladies stood in silent dig
nifty against the wall holding the COM
mittee of one hundred school committee
tickets. Suddenly rumpus was begun
at the door; couple of heelers got into
dispute and their profanity began to be
heard in the room. a policeman in
stantly stepped to the door-he was an
Irishman and had distinct accent-and
exclaimed: ono more of that soort of
talk now; there s ladies here. - Nomore
profanity was heard.
The women came to the polls in twos
and threes and sometimes with male es-
cOrtS. One matronly looking lady, evil
IDENTIFY a widow, appeared at the North
Bennett street precinct with her Swear
old boy as a protection, but his services
were not needed. In the Back Bay dis
trict, which is almost exclusively Protest
ant, as far as househOlders are concerned,
the spectacle was frequently seen of my
lady in her rich furs and Il handsome
equipage drawing up at the polls followed
by or possibly met there by some of the
servants i'll her employ, my lady voting
one ticket, the servants the other.
At the polling-places the ballot distrib-
uters were many of them very pretty and
no less earnest. In one of the tough
North End precincts the World CORE
spondent asked a young woman if she had
been molested in any way.
''Oh, no, - she said, ''they don 4 mo- |
lest us at all: but the voting is all one
way here, and we shall have to fight hard |
to make it up elsewhere in the city
Some of the women used up time ask |
ing foolish questions. There is Il little |
bell attached to the ballot boxes and one |
woman in the Tenth ward couldn't I'M
derStand its usefulness. Before slipping |
in her ballot she asked: "What was the |
bell rung for?''
The warden told her.
"What do the numbers in front
mean?'
Again he explained.
'Where does my vote 90 when you turn
this crank?''
Ike finally told her, and then she care
fully 'pl&ced,her maiden vote i'll the slip,
watched it disaqpear into the mysterious
box, looked at the figures TO be sure her
vote had been recorded, arid went away
as happy as n school girl with her beau.
O'Brien was slaughtered to small'ex-
tent in few localities, but in general he |,
got the full party vote. Aside from the
school question there was no real issue,
although the Democrats maintained that
O'Brien had reduced taxes and was
friendly to labor, while Hart was not
only inimical TO labor but would also
raise the tax rate. O'Brien s managers
issued circular few days ago, claim
ing that his defeat would damage the
chances for home rule in Ireland.