The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-04
ELECTION IN ST. PAUL MARKED BY
ITS QUIET FALL OF
BALLOTS.
NO DISTURBANCES AROUND.
PEOPLE GOT OUT EARLY, VOTED
AND WENT ABOUT THEIR
BUSINESS.
Much Uncertainty About the Way
the Vote Was Going in the
City.

Election day 1896 was DISTINGUISHED
by two facts in ST. Paul-the most or
derby election and the early vote. as
we'll as the per cent of registration
voting was the largest in the history
or the city. The weather was ideal
until late in the afternoon. The sun
came out early, and there was a brisk
southwest wind blowing, but there
was less Of frost in the atmosphere
than the weather man promised All
over the city all classes of voters went
10 the polls early. In the big First
ward, where the laboring vote is
heaVy the per cent Of early voters was
not larger than in the Seventh where
the voters are mostly business men
who usually get down to business af-
ter o'clock. At noon in every pre-
cinct more than 60 per cent Of the vote
mad been polled. By o'clock less than
20 per cent of the voters had not put
IN an appearance. Both parties had
provided carriages and other vehicles
TO get out the delinquents, but the ne
cessity for their use did not develop
during the day. Patriotism alone was
sufficient to call out the voters. There
was no disturbance reported at any
polling place. In the booths every
thlng moved quietly and rapidly. There
was little conversation and very little
elecuoneering. The voters came to the
polling places with their minds made
up. They did not have to be told what
candidates to favor, nor did they take
long in marking their ballots. A close
watch was kept in some of the booths.
and it was noted that the average time
for each voter was less than two min
utes.
The city was remarkably quiet On
the streets, in the hotels, about the
union depot, the day was even more
quiet than on a Sunday But the pa
triotism of the people was every where
manifested. From every Flagstaff there
was banner floating In the bust
ness district as we'll as in the resi-
dence portions of the city flags and
the portraits of candidates were flung
to the breeze. AT the headquarters of
the parties there was absolute quiet.
Aside from a few idlers there was no
one about the places except those who
were preparing the blanks to tabulate
the returns as received. Chairman Ros-
ing, of the Democratic state central
committee, went to his home at Can
non Falls to vote and returned early
in the day He reported greatest in
terest in the election in that village
and predicted great Democratic gains
in Goodhue county for, he said the
Democratic vote in his town was so
per cent heavier than ever before.
In the country, too, the deep interest
in the election was shown in the heavy
and early vote. Word was received
from all the country precincts about
noon that more than half the vote was
already polled at that hour. At
o'clock the last of the $50 voters regis
tered at North st. Paul deposited his
ballots So the word came from all
over the city and county.
The early indications were that Lind
would rNs1 ahead of his ticket in the
First ward and that Chapel would fall
behind. Mckinley and Lind seemed
to be the sentiment among the Swed-
ish voters of the ward In the Second
ward the Republicans claimed the
heavy vote, more than half the regis
tratlon being heard from before noon,
would result favorably for their candi-
date. On the contrary the Democrats
claimed that Wagner was running
ahead Of Chapel in the ward and that
ne would carry them and other Demo-
Gratis along with him, promising a good
Democratic majority. In the Third
ward the voters were not so active
Less than half the registered vote had
been cast at noon, but in the afternoon
the candidates did some lively work
and before dark most of the vote had
been polled. In this ward 1t was impos-
sible to form an estimate of the drift
of sentiment, but the Democrats who
nave been claiming the ward from the
first, were confident that the count
would show majority for the Demo-
cratic candidates.
In the Fourth ward the voting was
lively up to 10 o'clock and then there
was lull. The rush began again after
3 o'clock, and from that time on until
O'Clock, there was a rush at every
polling place. The Chapel men made
themselves conspicuous in several of the
precincts and were finally denied adj
mission to the polling places where
they were too much in evidence. The
Democrats claimed the ward all day bv
maJorities ranging from 200 to 600.