The San Francisco call., 1896-12-20


are always five times as many candidates as
offices. He SAID that with one exception there
never was an election, either before the Press
Club got into debt or since it got out OF it,
when there were just as many offices as there
were candidates. and that time was at the last
election of the Board of Freeholders.
In the late free-for-an scram BILE for Offices
there were forty-fve places and 27o candi-
dates; so there ought to have been at least
225 more offices to go round.
Mr.. Hinton said he did not know who in
vented the Australian ballot; he knew who iu-
vented barbed-wire fences Hamburg steaks
and Supervisors, but no one knows who dis
covered the Australian ballot, although since
the last election hundreds of men have been
looking for him hard.
The Australian ballot is printed upon paper
which is tinted pink. Before it is printed
some one advertised for bids-not for the bids
of Tehama street. but for offers in writing in
which the man who wants the job bids the
amount which he expects to make off it.
When the ballot is printed every candidate
has a mum Der, and often all that the voter
knows about the candidate is his number.
Each candidate is also branded with his
party designation thus R. stands for Republi-
can, S. for Socialist Mp. for Non-Partisan
and II. G. fo- the crowd Sometimes the voter
don't care either for the number or the name
OF the candidate. but votes solely on the
brand.
A convention nominates candidates; con-
vention consists of two or more bosses, who
call themselves United Labor or Independent
Republican or Gold Democrats. but the only
way you can tell the difference between them
is by the name.
When a convention won't nominate can
didate he gets on the ballot by petition; that
is, he gets three or four thousand people who
do not know him to sign a paper at 10 cents
per head saying that he is the best man in
the country for the place; and then they
leave blank for him to f Il in any place he
wants. This is cheaper way OF getting ON
the ticket than by nomination. A nomination
costs nearly as much as the horse show.
For an Office with big salary like Auditor
there are usually three or four candidates,
but for the office of School Director. who gets
no salary, there are usually about one hun
dred candidates. / asked Mr.. Hinton why so
many men ran for Office without pay, and
he said that if / ever served as a School Di-
rector I would find out
ii voter wants to vote for any candidate on
the Australian ballot he takes little stamp
and puts cross at the end of the name, notin
the middle of the name, as he does when he
writes his own signature. When he votes for
Superior judge he finds seventeen candi-
dates for that Office.
He cannot vote for the whole seventeen, but
he can vote for one only. Such vote is
called plumper No one believes in plump
ing except the man who gets the plump; then
ne says the voter is good citizen. But If the
other fellow gets the plump he says the voter
! is - fool
tbs said that in the last election there were
occasional instances of plumping. Some voters
voted for two judges, some stood three and @
few went four but 3400 voters could not pick
one. II voter voted for five Judges his
vote would be no good, because FOUR were as
many as the public could stand at one elec.
| tion.
| On the Australian ballot the names of the
candidates are printed alphabetically; some
candidates say that position on the ballo,
affects the result, and that man whose name
commences with @ never can be elected to any
| Office, except TO an unexpired term on the
! Board of Freeholders. But this rule did no,
work in the election of 894, when S standing
for Sutro beat standing for Ellert.
Before voter can vote he must be regis.
! tered; that is, he must go to the Registrar
| Office and give his name, if he can remem bel
! it; then the Registrar looks at his teeth tc
learn his age, measures him TO get his height
| and ii the voter has any peculiar mark about
| him as marks OF intellect, the Registrar care
! fully notes it.
The next trouble for the voter is to find his
polling place. The one nearest his house is
usually the wrong one. When however, he
! finds his polling place he can go in and vote
| provided some one else has not already voted
| for him TO save him the trouble and provided
he answers his new City Hall description, and
! provided he is not in the wrong district or In
| the wrong county and is able to read and
write.
If he is allowed to vote, they give him an
Australian ballot and he goes into little
place that looks like stall, and there he
wrestles with his ballot. In selecting the
candidates the voter is usually intelligent and
discriminating; thus he will vote for one ma Il
because he don't know him, against anothel
because he does, for another because he
runs independent, for another because
all of the conventions have nominated
] him, for another because he likes his
/ picture and for another because his name
commences with A. And lastly, he is ex
pec,ed to put some money in cigar box upon
: the clerks table, which is marked "tharity'
or "For the Poor The box is marked in thi.
way because all OF the money put into i
| goes TO the Big Jim Fund, TO provide cots il
the wards south of Market street for disabl eG
suffers.
A clever paper was read by Wells Drury
being trayesty on hifalItin' journalism m