Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-05
TANMANY POSTED,
The New Ballot Law of New
York, on Its First Trial, Had
No TerrorS fer Them.
THEY WERE INSTRUCTED,
And Therefore Made No Mistakes in
Casting Their Votes.
INTELLIGENT VOTERS PUZZLED.
Many Of Them Get Disguised and Do Not
Vote at All.
THEY WERE INSTRUCTED,
VOTERS PUZZLED.
Many Of Them Get Disguised and Do Not
Vote at All.
THERE WEEE MANY SERIOUS BLUNDERS
ESPECIAL rELEeRAx TO THE prsrA

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DTsPATcH.I
NEW YORK, November An sorts of
opinions prevail as regards the working OF
the new ballot law. Men who went around
the city to-day from district to district TX
ing with all sorts of voters and the leaders
of the political parties found no uuani-
nifty of expression. 1t was plain, however,
that Tammany had learned the new law by
neart, and Tammany voters were thorough
ly instructed in its requirements. Some
thought that the new system had worked
very well upon its first trial, and others
thought that it had worked badly. There
was general beiiefthat no correct estimate
of the new tangled method could be given
until the votes were all in. and study made
OF the results of two years ago and the re-
suits Of this election.
INTELLIGENT CITIZENS PUZSLED.
The count. however, was made with un-
usual expedition, Thousands of citizens
presumed to be intelligent had difficulty in
handling the puzzle. From Chauncey NJ.
Depew down to the longshoremen, one OF the
most frequent errors made was in the
omission TO fold the unused ballots. To
man who had not thoroughly studied the
law, it did not occur that there was any
necessity OF folding the 0, 10 or IL unused
ballots in precisely the same way tha
hskuew he ought to fold the ballot which
he Wished to vote. AS a result not only
Mr.. Denew, but thousands of others had to
90 back TO their booths and prepare their
extra ballots according to the law 1t was
generally agreed that the new method of
voting had greatly increased the possilili-
ties OF the total votes misrepresenting to
cdrtain degree the real feeling of the mass
OF voters.
MANY BLUNDERS MADE.
It was asserted that under the old system
there was an opportunity ior bribery. 1t is
evident that under the new method many
men did not get into the ballot box the
ticket which thev really wished to have
placed there. 1t is quite likely that in
many cases candidates for the Assembly and
other officers below that of Mayor were
voted Tor TO-DAY simply because
their names happened to be on
a ticket which bore at the head
the name OF the man in whom the voter was
chiefly lntererted. There were Grant
tickets with mrrks on for Sheriff, and the
careless voter, supposing that twas straight
Tammany ticket, used that ballot, SO that
If il was his intention to vote for
German for Sheriff, he did not succeed in
carrying out his purpose. Another trouble
experienced to-day was that men who wished
10 vote for particular candidates in their re-
spective Assembly districts had difficulty in
getting pastors. Some one who did not In
tend TO vote the straight Tammany ticket or
the complete Peoples ticket, prepared
themselves beforehand.
MIXTERE OF PAsTERS.
For example: A man in the Seventh
Congressional district who wanted to vote
for every man on the Tammany ticket eX-
cept the Tammany candidate for Alderman,
took into the booth with him not only the
ten official ballots, but Tammany
blanket paster and a paster for Goetz,
the County Democracy candidate for
Alderman. His ballot when he had
arranged ii, therefore, consisted of
the Tammanv blanket pasted upon one
OF the official ballots an one of the GoetZ
pastors stuck over the name of Oakley for
Alderman. In districts where there were
severe local fights. such as in the Sullivan
Elnaldo and the Cowie-Glbbs contests,
there was great trouble on account of
this pastinG. Reports were general
this afternoon that serious DELAYS
were caused by the new-fangled
method. Business men who live away
uptown IN districts, where more than 800
voters were registered, went to the poles
early and the result was that frequently
there were great crow ds waiting. One man
coming down in an Elevated Railroad train
said that he had not voted, because when he
got 70 the polls there were fully 90 men in
line Il estimated" said he, that it
would take on an average of six minutes
JOY each man to get his vote in
There were only six booths and on this
basis each one would be occupied for an
hour ana l would have 20 wait that long in
order to get chance. l could not afford to
vail. l snaG't get up town again in time to
vote, and so / lose my right to BAY who shall
be Mayor. At the time left the polls there
were many other men coming up to vote, and
l saw some OF them take out their watches
and look at the crowd and then 90 away"
EX-PKEsIDENT CIEvELAND's EXPERIEN
Grover Cleveland had an experience some
thing like this. He went TO his polling
place at a comparatively early hour, but
there were too many men in line and he said
be could not wait. He went back later
however, and voted. To what extent the
new system affected men of detective
education cannot now be determined. If
Tammany had not devised the wise scheme
of furnishing complete paster tickets, it is
very likely that a large number OF these
men would have been disfranchised
The instructions to citizens which |
had been given by Tammanv be-
fore election day counted strongly
in her favor. Many laboring men went to
the polls better prepared than were many of
the voters OF Fifth avenue. In fact, it was
quite common for a weli-educated man to
take his ballots and do everything in the
wrong way, and in scores of districts the
one who might have been expected to 60
through the process without trouble, got
disguised and returned the ballots without