The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-10-05
CONSTITUTION AMENDED Voters Must Be Able to Read in English Any Portion of
 That Instrument or
 the State Statutes.
NOT A TOWN AGAINST IT
REPEBLICAM MAJORfTIES OF LAS1
 NOVEMBER S SUSTAINED,

Voting Throughout the State Was Light- All the Towns and Cities With the Ex- ception of New Haven, Hartford, Bridge port, Ansonia, Derby and the Town of Naugatuck Elect Town Oficers-A Num- Der of Overturns Issues Were Alto- setller Local, No National Questions Being Involved-SuI prises in Middle town, the Norwallss, New London and Danbury-Eitter Contest at Waterbury, The Small Towns as Strongly Repnbli- can as Ever, While There Were in Sew eral of the Larger Towns Slight Demo- cratic Gains.
 Connecticut's Little Town" elections ~ were held yesterday, and while in some sections of the state there were sur- prising turnovers, the results show that the change from the vote of year ago is not great. The cities of New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport, Ansonia, Derby and the town of Naugatuck did not vote for the officers of the town govern ments, but they, with all of the 16S towns of the state, voted on the pro- posed constitutional amendment, which provides that voters must be able to read in English any portion of the con- stitution or the statutes of the state and must also be able to write.
 With nearly every town heard from there is vet to be found single town which did not pass the amendment overwhelmingly The little towns, to- gether with all of the cities except those named above, elected town govern ments, and voted on the license ques- ton. License prevails generally and very few of the towns changed their position on the liquor question.
 A comparatively light vote was boiled and the few contests which prevailed were made on lines altogether local, with no national issues at stake. In New London Cyrus G. Beckwith, a democrat, won out handi1y in the may orally contest and the town went demo- cratic. Middletown experienced a dem- ! ocratic sweep, the republican incum- bent of the town clerkship for thirty years being overwhelmed. The republi- cans secured few minor offices there, but it was a democratic day.
 In Norwalk and South Norwalk city elections were held and democrats elect ed mayors in both places. The rest of the ticket in those places was divided.
 Sectionally speaking, Fairfield county showed the greatest democratic gains. In that county last year the republicans elected their men in sixteen towns. This year, with five towns missing, includ- ing Stamford, the republicans elected their candidates in but nine.
 The northern counties of the state, es- pecially Hartford county, proved to be 5rock-ribbed republican as ever, with almost no changes
 Tn Danbury the republican candidate for the town clerkship surprised every one by winning out, while the rest of the ticket was defeated.
 In Newtown, Fairfield county, 227 votes were thrown out by the modera- tor on an alleged illegality in the print ing of the ballots.
 Up to midnight, with all but few isolated towns heard from, the indica- tions are that the republicans generally held their own, making enough slight gains in places sufficiently numerous to counter-balance the larger democratic gains ;i less frequent places.