Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-02-22
THE BALLOTING.
Incidents Around the Pre-.
cinctS.
"A sQUABBLE AT THE DEPOT
Republican Voters Purchased Like
Cattle In the Vicinity of
the Plaza.

The city was astir early yesterday, and
old Sol had scarcely had time to warm
things up before the election managers
appeared upon the scene and made their
final preparations for the great civic war
which was to be decided during the
day. A few minutes before o'clock
tine officers of the day armed with
the paraphernalia attendant to their
duties were in position, and as the clocks
sounded the hour the polls were declared
opened and everyone settled down to
business. Throughout the morning the
voting was comparatively light, with the
exception Of the central city precincts,
at the Courthouse and City Hall
there being an almost uninterrupted
procession OF voters ali day, as is testi-
fed by the number of ballots cast in
those places. The first incident of the
day occurred at Precinct A of the Eighth
ward, opposite the Southern Pacific de-
pot. A Bryson worker, named Hicks,
was using such arguments as he could
think of to induce a man named Collins
to vote his way, but his persuasive speech
fell not only upon the stony ground, but
also had the effect of making Collins
lose his temper. With the desire of
knocking out Hicks without any parley,
he seized an axe-handle from bundle
in front of store and brought it down
with full force on Mr.. Bryson's repre-
sentative, who saved his head by ward
ing off the blow with his arm. He
was not 30 lucky at Collins second
attempt, however, for the club alighted
upon his face, laying open his chin and
fracturing his jaw. Officer Walsh, who
was on a beat near by, was summoned
to the scene and placed Collins under ar
rest,. not, however, without some diff
Guilty, as there was good deal of fight
vet left in him. On arrival at
the city Police Station Collins was
promptly hauled up before Justice Austin
and charged with having made an as
sault with deadly weapon, this result
ing in his examination being set for
Saturday, and bond OF $500 for his ap-
pearance being demanded before he was
allowed to go free.
All over the city scratching was going
on right and left, Republicans voting for
Democrats, Democrats for Republicans,
and Prohibitionisis getting ballots from
both parties. In precinct D in the
Eighth Ward, on Aliso street below
Alameda, Colonel Miller, the Prohibition
candidate for Street Superintendent, had
q squad of ten negroes working for him,
and as quite number of the colored
population live in that vicinity the Col
onel's device appeared to work with good
effect.
Walter Moore acted as a generalissimo
for the Republican forces, and the
amount of whispering that went on be-
tween him and the party's representa-
ives ct the different precincts showed
that good deal of squaring was being
arranged for the afternoon. Soon after
O'Clock the Republican sack arrived,
and from that time on everything
went on merrily. A HERALD man
who had dropped down to the Plaza, saw
men taken behind wagons and handed
money and the Republican tickets at the
one time, whereupon. they marche
boldly up to the booths and deposited
their ballots. In spite of the ordinance
compelling the closing of all saloons and
liquor-houses, it was astonishing how
drunks began to appear on the
streets, there being evidently convenient
back entrances and side-doors through
which the searchers for alcoholic fluids
might find what they required. When
the evening closed in the reports from all
quarters showed that big vote had been
polled, and in spite Of the fact that the
precincts were open until O'Clock,
quite a number of people were shut
out when, at that hour, the balloting
was closed. Many people passed
the evening listening to the mo-
notonous counts of the tellers, as they
wrestled with their task, rendered
doubly formidable in consequence of the
quantity Of scratching, and the great in
terest taken by all as to how the result
was going indicated how strongly the
pulse of public excitement was beating
The result of the count up to a late hou r
will be found in another column.