The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-13
RECEIVING THE RETURNS.
First Precinct In Indicated the Land
slide for Taggart,

The Republican leaders gathered at the
Journal office as usual last evening to get
the early returns of the election. They were
not pearly so cheerful as they had been
twelve hours earlier, for each one had seen
how things were going in his section of
the city and most of them were familiar
with the fact that the Republican vote had
been slow in getting to the polls all day,
and that much of it had not appeared at all,
despite the efforts of the organization to
get 1t out. They were, however, not pre-
pared for the shock given them by the first
precinct that came in. This was the Tenth
of the Tenth ward. A hasty comparison
was made between the returns and the fig
ures of the poll. No other comparison could
be made for the precinct boundaries have
been changed since the last election. 1t
showed the startling Republican loss of "A,
over the Republican poll, which predicted
2,9O0 plurality for Harding. Inquiring eyes
were cast toward Harry Smith, TO whose
care the Tenth ward had been committed.
He was unable to solve the mystery. The
boys in charge of this precinct had worked
like beavers all day and were as reliable
and enthusiastic Republicans as could be
found In a days walk. 1t was almost ff-
teen minutes before the next precinct came
in and in the meantime they told each
other their troubles of the day.
When the next precinct was heard from 1t
haa sccey sed When Ge
brought news of another that showed a
loss of g.. There was no use going any
scattered parts Of town and there could. be
no doubt of what they portended. After
this they began to come in rapidly and the
losses continued steadily.
The first ray of light came from the Fif-
teenth ward and A. A. Young sprang from
his chair with warwhoop, when his oom-
anN- II lr4a-w a1fapr
gain of 20 in the first precinct that came
in from the Democratic Gibraltar Little
surprises like this came in occasionally
from the Ninth and Eleventh, as Well as
from the FifteeAth, and they were all the
more welcome because they were SO
precious seldom.
We're enthusiastic about it. They came
down town by the thousand early last even
ing and packed the street in front of the
a canvas. They felt that they were going
to get good news and Justify cheered the
pictures of Lincoln, Harrison, Mckinley and
other Republican leaders that were shown
before the returns began to come in. 1t was
about 1880 when the first precinct was
heard FROM This was the Tenth precinct
of the Tenth ward. The crowd stood the
discouraging news hopefully and cheerfully
waited for better news. 1t did not come for
a good while The next precinct bulletin by
the next a further loss of 81. This was suf-
nc1ently conclusive for the leaders ana
they threw up their hands then and there,
but the crowd did not give up so readily.
They became somewhat more subdued but
they Staid, and when a few scattering re-
turns of favorable nature showed Repub-
lican gains in the Fifteenth, Eleventh and
Ninth wards, they cheered again and again.
Returns of this character, however, We're
few and far between, and by $3.50 o'clock the
crowd was pretty we'll satisfied that the
battle had been lost. The people did not
disperse, however, until an hour later.
But for the crowds in the streets last
Viu ct fF0n
that it was an election night. There was
no horn-blowing. Around the newspaper
offices crowds collected and read the returns.
The saloons were filled with men, no small
number of them under the influence of
liquor There was no betting to speak OF.
At the Denison and at Irons the betting
boards were closed early in the evening, with
a number of bets still on them untaken.
AT 7:30 a bet of $50 to $500 that Taggart would
not get a plurality of 1000 was promptly
taken. Offers of bets at 80 to Is and % to
bunch of money was placed at odds of to /.
In front of the Journal office fully $500
people waited for the returns. On Washlng-
ton street the crowd was not as large as
on Market street The bulletins posted in
front of the News Office were mostly an
nouncements that that paper would issue eX-
tras later in the evening. On the LeVee
a noisy, disorderly crowd had gathered.
Drunken men promenaded the streets and
shouted for Taggart. The saloons on the
street did a rushing business.
Around the Grand Hotel crowd of heel
ers had gathered A path was worn between
that place and the Union block, where the
Democratic committee has quarters, by
"trooly loil' Democrats in search of 'Iley
Tom" He was found only by few, how
ever
At all of the theaters election returns
were read from the stage. well-hlled
house heard the returns at the Empire. 1t
was a Taggart crowd and the Harding gains
were not received with favor. AT the Park
the large audience was ready to cheer both
candidates The crowd at the Grand had
gathered more to see Walker Whiteside than
to hear election returns and the announce
ments from the stage were not received as
boisterously as at the other two houses.
The most noticeable thing of the night was
the absence of those unseemly noises that
drive the average citizen home at an early
hour on an election night. The tin-horn man
was nowhere TO be found and those imple-
ments Of torture, tin horns, were happily,
out Of sight and hearing.
The usual crowds Of bosterous young men
in a drunken condition We're on the street
The chief amusement Of these parties was
the old habit of holding up people and COM
n shout for their candidate