Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-25
ANYBODYS FIGHT YET
Campaign in Greater New York Full
Of Uncertainty.
Van WICK SEEMS AHEAD JUST NOW
Tammany Leaders, However, Fear
Inroads Of Henry George.
TRACY'S OUTLOOK BRIGHTER


SuTfeited with Claims gorged with fig
ures Iom the various headquarters, your
correspondent has gone among the voters
among the people, who will, next
Tuesday. decide the question of rulership
In the Greater New York territory. Satur-
day in this city is a half-holiday. During
the summer season the business man be-
takes himself to the seaside for the ozone
ara for the accompaEiments of. seaside
resorts. During the ides of October and
November, in an election year he talks
politics. and Saturday was selected by
your correspondent as the day when there
would be full representation of ali classes
of voters.
"A conspicuous sign, bearing the names
of Tracy and others of the straight re-
publican ticket, attracted him to a resort
in upper Harlem. There was the usual
gathering of workers and heeIers; there
was the proprietor moving among his
| guests as usual, but there was an absence
OF definite politics in the atmosphere. -Four
young men came in and sang IL song the
burden of which was Seth Low Is a high
born baby" 1t fell fiat; there was n wait
and another song, and finally the quartet
mixed with the crowd In front of the bar
politics were discarded, and everybody
see med to be having a good time In spite
of the fact that this was supposed to be
a republican stamping ground not one
man OF the many who talked with your
correspondent had pronounced ideas. or if
ne had, expressed them. There seemed to
be a desire to feel the ouestioner. to
know where he stood before making a
declaration The proprietor had the ap-
pearance and talked like man on the
renee Now mark the difference. Another
resort, in front of which swung the Van
Wyck banner. was entered There was no
doubt about the atmosphere. 1t was Tam
Ihahy; Ihere was money to burn. and
everybody was burning it on the slightest
proNocauon. 1t would have been as much
as mans life was worth to have uttered
sentiment at variance with that ex-
pressed by the standard waving outside the
door.
Gushing Bicycle Parades
There were two bicycle parades on Sat
urday night-one for Tracy and one for
Van Wyck. Through some mistake of the
marshals they ran together in a hopeless
mixture when the Boulevard was reached.
Tracy wheelmen ran alongside Van Wyck
wheelmen In the most fraternal manner
10 test the temper of the gathering. a
dlscourteous remark was made concerning
the republican candidate. 1t was met ,vIth
laugh. and the stereotyped expression.
On! He's all right" A block further
the same remark was applied to Van Wyck.
instantly a wheellnan appeared with an
officer and insisted that the person making
the remark be given into custody And
making the arrest
Then the negro settlement was visited.
me coiored man Is nothing If not enthu-
s,astlc IN politics, but on this occasion
there was an absence of enthusiasm AMI
the appearance OF waiting to shout on the
winning side. ~
conclusions drawn must be doubtful. The
situation is uncertain. There is a strong
van Nyck undertow-that was fully dem
onstrated; but whether it has taken the
folm of grouping or organization remains
to be seen. Undoubtedly there were more
van Nyck people encountered on nv ex-
oursion than there were partisans of all
he other candidates combined. The George
element was conspicuously small, the Low
It shade more energetic, but the two
straight tickets are being worked for de-
termlnedly, with the balance in favor of
Tammany.
District Naturally Democratic,
The component parts that go to make uo
the Greater New York, New York city.
Brooklyn, Queens and Richmond counties.
and the Borough of the Bronx. are all nat
urally democratic, except in unusual years.
when some great national question comes
up for settlement by the people, This is
one of the arguments that the friends of
Judge Van Wyck are using today to show
that their candidate will be sure winner
one week from next Tuesday. They also
say that most Of the citizens of Greater
->eW 1OTh the business men.
want res; from the disturbing influences
of reform administration for the next
four years, and that for this reason the
majority will be on the side of the demo-
cratic ticket. They also argue that the
puritanical laws of New England are not
suited to the cosmopolitan population of
this great city, and they claim that as
Judge Van Wyck advocates. in his plat
form, liberal laws for the government of
the Greater New York, he is sure of the
support of thousands Of men who believe
in making this city as free and open as any
CT the great capitals of Europe
The canvass of the week Just closing has
apparently brought many new supporters
to the Van Wyck standard. The storekeep-
ers, the men about town, the common
people, so-called. who make their living di-
rectly Or indirectly from the small mer-
chants of the city, seem to be Wayerinp
across the line to Van Wyck and 1t is this
perhaps more than anything else that has
caused the betting to be so largely in his
favor.
Hard to Predict Result.
But at this stage of the mayoraltv fight
! II Is difficult to predict with any degree of
positiveness who will be elected mayor or
Greater New York. If 1t were a straight
cut contest between two leading candidates
the task would be easy If 1t were a fight
between three leading candidates 1t would
re easier still. But the conditions of the
| campaign are without parallel in the CITY
u New 1ork, go 1ar as candidates and ma r
ties are concerned, and the field of battle
SO far as territory goes. is an undiscoy,
cred country. What would happen in Man
haitian and the Bronx might safely be nre
dlcted. What would happen in the Borough
OF Brooklyn might safely be figured ont II
| the contest were confined to Kings county
| But what Is to be said of Manhattan and
| the Bronx, with Brooklyn added, and what
| Is to be said of Manhattan. the Bronx and
| Brooklyn standing together, with Queens
! and Richmond added?
Ten days from the election it looks moro
| Ike the election of Judge Van Wyck than
] any other candidate Every poll of am
| considerable number of voters widely scat
| tered. shows Van Wyck in the lead. that
| is TO say all the polls give him a larger
percentage than any other candidate. Tha
| confidential estimates of all the parties
| who have polls show regards Tammanv
| that the 136OO0 who voted for BRYAN IN
New York county will also vote for Van
Wyck, and that 1900 will be added by
| citizens who are sick Of reform.' The
conservative Tammany leaders figure that
Van Wyck's total vote in New York coun-
| ty Will be about 10000 although other es-
| Inmates are much higher