The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-09-16

ballot-box was opened. In no instance
dic the clerks wait until the box was
opened to count the ballots. They simply
marked up the tally they thought it
should contain-enough to look well.
The polls { y were at 518 In ion street in
the Second Ward. There the same per-
formance took place. At $3.50 in the after
noon 295 votes had been recorded.
In the Fourth Ward st the same time
lob votes had been recorded.
at polling-place of the Twelfth Ward
at Green and Larkin streets, at the same
time, no less than 40S votes were counted
in the books.
Kelly fitted in his buggy, and cast anchor
at all the polling-places and went in be-
hind the ballot-box. He was there TO
survey and superintend. What he saw
may not have occasioned surprise in his
mind, and probably did not, for whatever
the game was he made it. His henchmen
were in all the polling-places and in the
adjoining saloons, whenever there was
any money in sight with which to buy
drinks and cigars. In polling places
which no one approached for long pc
riod the votes for the Kelly delegates
dropped in or were stuffed in. The num-
Der of votes was enough to prove the fact
to the proverbial blind horse, TO whom a
nod is as good as a wink. In certain COR
went through the various gradations of
mildly drunk, fully inebriated and up to a
vote-repeating jag.
The primary election" was joshed in
this ward and in other wards as some
thing so perfect in the line of flake" as
not to deserve serious consideration.
When there were no voters or repeaters in
sight the pencils flew over the names, and
there may have been correspondence, in
some cases, between the number of ball
lots picked out of the box when the time
came 10 call the farce off and TIE number
of names checked on the list; but if such
correspondence and agreement occurred
in any case it must have surprised the
men in the booth.
At the polling-place on Drum On street
near the corner of Sacramento, 1877 votes
we're reported to be in the box at o'clock.
Noione was IL sight for long time, but
finally five exactly showed up and threw
in their votes, and then went off together,
presumably TO make the circuit. A broad
grin overspread the faces of the men in
the booth as they checked" At 203 Te-
hama street, just off Third, the gang gath
ered steam in a saloon and came in with a
rush, and al o'clock the men in the
booth gave out the astonishing total of
$40 votes polled there. At the polling
place near the corner of NaIoma and First
streets 900 votes were in at 3 o'clock.
was "raw." At Octavia and Grove streets,
where hardly dozen persons went after
noon, the box filled up quite steadily. At
Laguna, off Post, there were 405 votes
when the hour came for calling it a day.
and this neighborhood did not know, ac-
cording 10 good and reliable testimony.
that an election was really under way.
In the polling-places south OF Market
street and out in the Mission everything
was as still and bamy as a June morn
On the sidewalk the solitary policeman
detailed to see that no uproarious person
disturbed the serenity within the booth
nodded in the warm afternoon sunshine
The passers-by stopped and looked in,
saw box with glass sides full of folded
paper and three or four men sitting
around it penciling down four horizontal
marks, with a fifth running diagonally
across them.
Occasionally a man would come up, get
ticket from the tally-sheet manipulators
and drop it in the box. Frequently
and an individual would spring briskIy
out and enter the room. There was a
wholesome air of industry about the bust
ness even if there were no voters. And
the votes were tailed all the same
A reporter looked long and patiently for
the ballot depository advertised as located
at 927 Mission street. Nobody in the i'm
N ediate vicinity could give any informa-
ton regarding its whereabouts and even
the storekeeper next door was in the dark.
Primary he queried in turn, what
primary? Whose primary"
Finally he was enlightened and went
back into his shop to digest the piece of
news. Yet. according to the carefully