The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-11-02
ALL CLAIM IT.
Every One of the Greater New
York Managers
Claims the City Election for His
Candidate.
THE VOTING WAS FAST
One Third of the Vote Cast By
s A. NJ.
1t is Expected $4,000 Votes
Will BE Cast.

New York. Nov. 2.-The first mayor OF
Greater New York. will be elected to
day. For bitterness. complex situations
and uncertainty the campaign has new
er been excened in national or munich
pal elections The dramatic death and
funeral of Henry George, the nominee of
the Democracy of Thomas Jefferson.
and author Of Progress and Poverty -
ON the eve of the election, an unpre-
cedented event in the political history
of the country if not of the world, and
the selection of his son Henry as his
political heir, may in case the uneXpect-
ed happens. because of sympathetic
and sentimental considerations, have an
effect upon the general results.
1t is difficult if not impossible, to
make any estimate in this regard, be
cause Of the absolute lack of prece-
dents similar in character, The aver
age man. however, appears to be of
the opinion that the votes which would
have been cast for the late leader Of
the Democracy of Thomas Jefferson,
VIII be scattered among the candidates
under the existing conditions IN
manner which while they may alter
the totals received by the various nom
inees. will not affect the positions of
the leaders at the conclusion of this
municipal race.
WitlT the dawn of day came prepara-
tiOns for the opening of the polls. The
skies were dark and lowering, the fall
ing rain presaged a long and disagreed
bic day for the workers at the polls.
Political leaders early commenced the
struggle for the control of the second
greatest city in the world for the priv
ileges involved in the expenditures of
perhaps $500 000. 600 during the next
four years, for the patronage involved
in the appointment of at least $4,000
men to places under the next municip-
al government.
There is a weather tradition attach
ed to New York state politics which is
believed by many to hold good in this
municipal struggle.
Fair weather is called Republican
weather. - While rainy weather, Demo
cratic" A full vote will mean prOba-
bly, 529, 600. and this estimate is arrived
at by taking the total registration
568, ,568-and deducting therefrOm the
usual per cent allowance for defective
ballots, stay-at-hOmes and nOn-voters
out of the tangle of alleged deals
and splits and straddles and with
drawals'' have been drawn into align
ment four prominent political parties
with the following as their mayoral
standard bearers:
Democratic (Tammany)-ROber A.
Van Wyck.
National Democratic and Citizens
UniOn-Seth Low.
Republiean-Benjam F. Tracy.
The Democracy of Thomas Jefferson
Henry George, Jr.
Patrick Jerome Gleason, the present
mayor of Long Island City, is running
as an Independent candidate and may
poll 10000 The official ballots show
that there are three other candidates
for mayoralty honors-Lucien Saniel
who heads the socialist labor party and
who viii possibly receive 5000 votes;
VIM. T. Wardwel, the leader of the
PrOhibiti0nistS, who is not expected to
poll more than 5000 votes at the max
imum and Alfred B. Cruikshank, less
than / 600 votes.
The scattering total therefore, for
Gleason, SanieI, WardWeI and CruIk-
shank would be "A 900, which, deducted
from the estimated number of votes
that viii be cast, would leave about
5o5 600 to be divided among the candi-
dates-Van Wyck, Tracy, George and
Low. If the above calculation is accu-
rate and if the candidates break
even,' the man who receives over 126,-
250 votes, will be the first mayor of
Greater New York.
The ante-election claims of the
chairmen Of the four leading campaign
committees are as follows: Democrat
ic estimates gives Van Wyck a major
ity over all other candidates combined
of 10000 and plurality over Low the
the next highest of 0.000. Republic
an estimates give Track a plurality of 75.-
900; Citizens Union estimate gives Low
a plurality of $1,000; George estimate
gives George a plurality of $1,000.
There are /, $40 election districts and
of course, as many polling places in
Greater New York divided as follows:
BorOughs of Manhattan and the
Bronx 1888; borough of Brooklyn SIS:
borough of Queens IS; borough of
Richmond A.
To reach a total of $4,000, an average
of nearly $50 votes for each district
must be attained. In 1896, the total
vote in the same territory was 536, ,254
Rain which fell more or less per
Sistently throughout the forenoon, has
had little effect to restrain the voters
preston to their preferences for city
and borough officials. The polls opened
al O'Clock and within two hours
good third of the votes had been polled
in the residential sections of New York
and Brooklyn. From that time for
ward the polling proceeded 2 little less
rapidly, though still with enough ami
nation to keep the clerks of election
from gossiping so that there was at
nOOn Dut a small fraction of the reg
istered vote remaining uncast. In the
suburban precincts, the voting was a
little behind.
1t cost $4,000 to vote four of the seven
registered men residing in Central mark
today These four men voted at I1Oth
street and Eighth avenue where a
special booth had been built for the in
spectors, ballot clerks and police had
to be furnished for the four voters
The men live in MeCowan's Pass tav-
ern.
BY $50 o'clock all had voted and the
inspectors and ballot clerks were free
to discuss politics, or anything else.
until sundown, but the booths must be
kept open in accordance with the law.
until o'clock
The other voters in the park were
@amed Conway and his tive sons who