The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-05-29
a LIVELY TIME THE FIRST.

WEIGH and Graves from the Third ward.
a LIVELY TIME IN THE FIRST.
THOMAS Safely in tho Lead and EckIoff
Wins by One Vote.
The voting in the First ward was very
light during the early morning hours,
but grew quite strong as tho day ad-
vanced.
The candidates were all on the field
at the beginning of the fight, together
with their supporters, and as voter APP
preached the polls, which were in the
Junior Fire Departments hall, he was
presented with any number of tickets,
and 1T was a very fastdious man who
could not be satisfied with the variety.
There were Woodward and Eckloff
tickets, EckloT and Thomas, EckloH
and Wcrtz tickets with only one candi-
dates name pointed on them, and in fact
any combination desired was obtaina-
BILE.
The vo ling was very quiet and outside
OF the small crowd which surrounded
the polls all day, there was nothing to
denote that an election was in progress.
a fine, drilling rain fell all day, but
this had no effect on tho candidates and
their co.workers. Encased in rubber
coats or ulsters, they stood around the
voting place, keeping eagle watch on
all who approached and voc to any one
who came in sight with an undecided
air. lie was Immediately surrounded,
and tickets of all kinds thrust upon
him, and no matter how firm his End
may have been to vote for certain per-
sons it was changed dozen times from
the time the crowd of politicians struck
him until he got to the polls, and the
candidate who was fortunate enough to
be nearest to him when he got in front
OF the little window generally secured
the vote.
Some of the voters marched to the
polls like soldiers, looking neither to
the right or left, and, turning a deaf car
to the opportunities of tho aspirants
for political fame, deposited their bal
lots entirely oblivious to the clamor
around them.
AT one time during the afternoon it
looked very much as though there
would be u sWall-sized riot. An old
white-haired colored man, who looked
as though he might have been one of
Geo. Washingtons body servants,
ambled up Campbell street and stopped
in front of the hall. lie was imme-
diately surrounded by both colored and
~ w ihpiis CNCiJ OllC luSlSIlIp UDaG he
should vote their way. The poor darl1ey
was completely dazed and after much
talking and pushing on the part of the
crowd, started forward with an Eckloff
and Woodward ticket in his hand Some
one snatched this away and presented
him with different one. Thereupon
the crowding and pushing was once more
started. One Of the candidates and n
friend, who had been working hard for
him all day, tried to land their voter.
While this interesting performance was
going on, Policeman Organ appeared
on the scene and took hand in the
disturbance.
The friend of the candidate, not rccog-
nizing the policeman, and undoubtedly
thinking him some rival worker, grab.
bed hold of him and attempted to pull
him away. Organ Immediately placed
the gentleman under arrest and
tried to drag him to the station
house steps. lie naturally opposed
this movement and refused to 90.
For few minutes bedlam reigncd. The
two mon were surrounded by the crowd,
and everybody was talking at once
Organ, while trying to arrest his man,
claimed that he had inSulted him, but
IN the police station made q Charge
against HIM of resisting an officer.
Organ finally succeeded in getting the
struggling man to the foot of the steps
leading to the mayors office. The gen
tlcman then grabbed hold of tho rafting
and insisted that he would die rather
than be taken up stairs.
The noise attracted the attention of
tho policemen in the station house and
they all rushed to the rescue of their
brothor-oliice. In the face of these new
arrivals tho gentleman in tho hands
of the officers undoubtedly thought
discretion the better part Of valor. and,
listening to the advice of his friends.
walked into the station house. There
the candidate for whom he had been
working went his security, and in n
few minutes the gentleman was on the
street again, working as earnestly as
ever.
Later in the evening the gentleman
who had been arrested reported the
matter to Chief of Police Morris.
At shutdown the polls closed and then
commenced the tedious work of count
ing the ballots The crowd. which had
surrounded the polling place all day.
dwindled away and the only thing that
marked the scene of battle was . multi
| tude of ballots scattered over the sido-
| walk.
The judges of election were very
judicious, and had the votes counted bv
about o'clock. AS the count progressed
1T became evident that Messrs Eckloff
ana woodward were running very close.
In fact, the result was not known until
the last vote was counted, and then it
was found that Echlotf had won by one