Evening star., 1896-01-29
set the crowd Laughing and roll away the

clouds
This precinct is in one of the most popu-
| lous sections Of the city inhabited by the
colored people, and steady stream of men
| flowed up to the ballot box during the three
hours for voting, and even then several
hundred were deprived Of their suffrage by
the arrival of o'clock. and the closing Of
the polls. There were innumerable charges
| of repeating, and, il these are true, this
may account for the large business done at
this ballot box.
| that thronged the sidewalks and streets
| around this voting place. Here and there
v as the solid colored man of substance,
intent upon exercising the right Of modi-
1led suffrage In all earnestness and casting
scornful glances at the reckless young
bucks who regarded the whole thing as a
| Zig joke and chance to get drinks and
| cigars.
'Yo' had better go home and cut yo' MAN.
my some kindlin' wood boy" remarked one
old patriarch to flashy young buck who
IVES handing out ballots. what you know
about voting anyhow? Ef was yo' daddy
I'd take you benin de house and lambaste
you good, fnstid er having you trapesin'
round the streets huraying for candidates" :"
said the young one, Indignantly Il belongs
to de risin' generation, an We is gwine to
run things now. You OF men IL have to go
to de ra'ar.
"Yaas, I'll go to yo' a'ar wild nv stick IL
L gets at you," answered the old man, as
the other moved off, amid the jeers of the
byStanders.
The young bucks were in the majority in
this precinct and made themselves very
much in evidence by their noise and cleo
u0neering. Each newcomer was surround
ed by a group Of canvassers with tickets
ana entreafed to vote the straight ticket.
Between times the heelers for the different
candidates amused themselves and the line
or waiting, voters by dissertations upon
the virtues of tkcir candidates. investing
them usually with halo OF glory A knot
OF spoilers stood around the polling place
10 challenge suspected repeaters or men
from other precincts
Dat man don't live in dis precinct" they
would shout, as some stranger presented
himself.
"Yaas he does" the other side would
cry; IAN he is gwine to vote hyah, too
Go on, man, and drop yo' ballot in.''
Don't let dat man vote" tine oppr sition
would cry, and then the crowd would surge
around the window In a wild mass, some
trying to keep him from voting and the
others supporting him. At iast the right
moment, when the casual onlooker would
expect to see the flash of the deadly "raz-
zer,' the heavy hand of the big. six-foot
sergeant Of police would come down on the
nearest shoulders, and the trouble would
cease II the applicant was refused the
right to cast his vote he would go away
laughing at having nearly outwitted the
judges, and If he succeeded, would be car
ried off triumphantly by his followers
When o'clock arrived there was a line
OF nearly SO men awaiting opportunity to
~, T.
ly carried the place by storm in their ef-
forts to get up to the window. The polls
were closed promptly, however, and the
characteristic philosophical nature of the
negro race moved the crowd into good hu-
NOR as they turned away. The men went
away in little groups giving a cheer for
their respective candidates as they went, or
shout or defiance to the opposition.
Ninth District.
A very light vote was cast at the polling
place of the ninth district. at No. 9Os 1lth
street northwest There was no serious dis
oroer. although at the opening there was
talk Of somebody being bulldozed. How
ever, as the charge was not made plain
the police officers simply cleared the side
walks, and the business thereafter pro-
cecded without incident.
Tenth District.
The polling place Of the tenth district was
located in the barber shop on the west side
OF 18th street. next to the corner Of c
northwest. There was crowd present
from the time the polls opened until they
| closed. and much amusement was created
by the manner in which Bill Dudeney, who
was managing affairs for Andrew Gleeson
IN that locality, secured votes for his IA
Vorite Few people who came along,
whether they lived in the district or out Of
It,, could resist the magnetic invitation
which Dudeney held forth to come up and
vote for good man. No questions were
asked here to the qualifications of q
voter or anything else. The judges were
george ID. Mccoy. George Davis and F. F.
ferguson. and although the district is
small one, bounded by and G streets
northwest and 1lth and 18th streets north
west, the total votes returned as being cast
there in the three hours the polls were
opened were no less than 1900 OF these
Mr. Gleeson received Gill Mr.. Bailey /. .40S
and Mr. Holland 1885, while Carson got DOL
Saunders 50, Nauck g. Brooks 65 Key lSO
ard Bradshaw 25. The returns from this
district were protested last night by Daniel
Murray and several others, who believed
that it was physical impossibifity for
such number of votes to be cast in such
small district.
Eleventh District.
There was good order at the eleventh dis
trict polling place during the afternoon.
Although Sergt. Barry was there with
dozen policemen they had nothing to do
but chat and jest with the scores of col
ored voters who hung about the place
FROM time to time the hilarious boys and
young men, who seemed to be most active
in peddling ballots, had to be cautioned
against loud talking. The judges sat in the
dining room Of st. Paul's Methodist Church,
which was approached by a long narrow
alley at the side of the church The crowd
stayed out on the sidewalk and but three
or four voters were in the alley at one
time. The voter found at the end of the
alley shut door with a little wicket win
dow about foot square. Through this he
and to a hand reaching out of the dark
| ness he handed his ballot Now and then
| 0lSEnSSl {