Los Angeles herald., 1890-11-05
The Returns Coming in Very
Slowly.
The Scratcher Gets in His Work
Extensively.
The Vote Cast as Far as Heard From
Last Night.
Ed Gibson Gets Large Vote and Aguirre
Correspondingly Small One.
Where the Scratching Was
Chiefly Done-The Repub-
lican Majority Badly
Cut Down.

The streets of the city yesterday, up
till p. m., were as quiet as on Sun
day, and there was not even scintilla
of excitement at the polling places. Vot-
ing went on quietly, but, nevertheless,
steadily, all day until late in the after
noon. when it gradually Stacked down
until the close of the'polls- There was
no enthusiasm of the sort that will
break out in hurrahs and loud noise, but
voting was pursued in business like
manner.
Scratching was the order of the day.
The pencil was run through the Demo.
cratic ticket and the Republican ticket
in an extraordinary manner, even in a
reckless manner. Tickets with ten and
eleven scratched names were no rarity.
On the contrary they were the order OF
the day. Nobody seemed to have an
inkling as to how the election was
going, although each party stout
ly endeavored to stand up for
its ticket. Yet, good bluff would make
a fellow take in his horns and admit
that it was very close election-either
way. The services of the police were
called in only in two precincts. The
first fuss occurred when Jack Skinner,
the contractor, got biff on the ear.
Officer Sanchez investigated the matter
and reported that the man who took
care of one of the Republican tables on
San Fernando street had some words
with Jack Skinner, and in answer to one
of SINNERS remarks. told him that he
had been waiting for his money since
Monday, and that he had better pay
him before he started to "boss." One
word brought on another, and resulted
in Skinner getting one on the ear. No
arrests were made.
The next fuss occurred at precinct IL +,
near the corner OF Arcadia street, at
3 O'Clock. Ropes had been stretched
around the polling places short time
before, as the crowd was getting rather
large. One OF them was cut, and Officer
Dugan accused Charley Webber, or
"Big" Webber, as he is called, of having
done it. Webber made no answer, and
Dugan warned him not to do it again.
This again led to talk forward and
backward, and finally Webber dared
Dugan to touch him. Dugan went up to
Webber and placed him under arrest,
which the. latter resisted. A general
scrimmage ensued in which Geo. Hop
kins participated. Webber walked away
while it was going on and the unfortun-
ate Hopkins was lugged to the police Of
fee, where he was charged with disturb
ing the peace, but released upon depos-
iting $40 cash bail.
James G. Peacock, printer working
in the Times Office, was arrested on a
warrant issued out of the federal court,
charged with having registered before
he had been 80 days in the county.
Messrs. Spalding and Mcfarland quail
fed on his bond for $500 and he was re-
leased, pending his examination before
U. S. Commissioner Van Dyke.
A warrant was also issued by the same
commissioner for the arrest of E. ID.
Gaudin, who is charged with having
illegally voted in the eleventh precinct.
1t is believed however that mistake
has been made in this mans case.
The United States deputy marshals
were busy also hunting up F. A. Vein
reich, accused OF a similar offense in the
eleventh precinct. but he had not been
found last night.
That same eleventh precinct is a
pretty tough one, and there was many a
hard citizen around there yesterday
hunting for the sack. And there was a
sack, a well-filled one, there in the
mornings; but, alas! it became ex-
hausted in the afternoon, and the vot-
ing dwindled down so that there were
but nine votes polled within the last two
hours. Yet hungry and seedy-looking
"citizens" hung around the ropes like
toughs at prize fight. But would they
vote for "nawthin'?" Naw And thus
it went on similarly in the delectable
precinct at the corner of New High and
Walter streets, and in measure also at
San Fernando street. In the morning
money was shelled out pretty lively,
and one man boasted that he had been
offered $40 for his vote by "mac" who
was working in the interest of Aguirre.
1t is said that the voting stopped as
soon as the sheriff had expressed
his determination to shut off. The
story goes that about 3 O'Clock p. m. he
was informed that $50 was wanted to
make the boys come up to the polls, but
that he put his foot down and refused to
let any more Doodle slide. Then it be-
came apparent that the select element
which had held out so long had lost all
interest in the election, and that was the
reason that the voting so suddenly
dwindled until the close.
From another precinct it was reported
that over sixty colored men had refused
to vote, although offered So piece, be-
cause they did not consider it enough,
but in whose interest they were to have
been voted was not made quite clear.
The story on the street at about
O'Clock was that Aguirre was defeated
and had thrown up the sponge, but his
denied it with all their might.
A big vote, which will probably ex-
ceed 5000, was polled in the city, and
the election passed off quieter than any
in the annals of Los Angeles. The ex-
cellent arrangements of the chief OF