The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-10-27
The Greater New York Election,

The Greater New York Election,
"Therell be hot time in the old
town." down in the southeastern cor
ner of the State of New York on Tues
day of next week, and there has been
hot time in all the precincts of the
Greater New York every night for two
weeks past. The heat wakes in fervor
as the day Of election draws nigh.
There will be other elections on
Tuesday, November 2, but none will
equal in interest and importance the
result of the contest for the Office of
first mayor Of the Greater New York.
All over this nation the first inquiry on
the night of election day will be not,
How has Ohio gone? or, Is Iowa hold
ing her ground against Organism? but,
has the party that alone stood up for
social order, for obedience to law and
for the national honor, year ago, held
in the enlarged city of New York the
ground it then wrested from it's enc
mics?
A canvass only less energetic than
that of year ago is being made for the
mayorality of the new city. The en-
larged municipality contains 1856 square
miles and 100000 inhabitants. There
are four candidates of prominence
Tracy, Republican, Van Wyck, Tam
many Democrat, George, Bryanite and
Socialist, and Low, Independent. The
Low candidacy will detach Republican
votes from Tracy, and the candidacy of
Mr.. George, it is believed, will split the
Tammany vote very near the middle.
This forecast of the division of the vote
on election day is made by the political
experts. In the territory that will con-
stitute the Greater New York, the Re-
publican vote for governor in 1896 was
274,4O3; the Democratic vote, $780,
OBS; National Democrat, Is, 416, total
of 528,857. The registration this year
is 567 ,4S8, and the aggregate vote prom
ises to equal that for governor in 1896.
OF this aggregate, excepting the Ma
tional Democratic vote of 1916, the
experts give Tracy O6,4O3; Van Wyck,
40, O3S; George, $4,000; Low, $4,000.
The cipherers, in spirit of liberality,
gave the entire National Democratic
vote to Mr.. Low, raising his vote to
83,416. These estimates give General
Tracy plurality of 1896 over Van
Wyck.
Critics of the foregoing figures allow
that Mr. Georges vote is underestimate
ed. In 1886, when candidate for
Mayor of the present New York, he
received 5000 votes. He is as popu-
lar now as he was then, and it is deem
ed not improbable that, in the enlarged
city, he may draw from $4,000 to 10000
votes to his standard. This would
lessen correspondingly the vote for Van
Wyck, or part of the increase might
be drawn from Mr.. Lows following.
For one reason or another-or for no
good reason whatever an indetermi-
nable number of Republicans will de-
sert their party and vote for Low
Herein is the weakness of the Repub-
lican position. 1t is believed, however,
that vigorous campaigning, the power
of General Tracy's candidacy and his
forceful speaking, and the efforts of
leading Republcans-among them Ex-
President Harrison-from other parts
of the Union, have had the effect to
check assertions and rally Republicans
with their old enthusiasm, around their
own standard. Republicans who went
over to the Low candidacy in its in
cipiency, before its tendency was fully
understood, are returning to their al
legiance, and it is estimated that actual
assertions will be Offset by accessions
from the gold Democrats, LOWS
strength being practically the Mug
wump vote.
Substantially this is the situation
week before election. What it will be
on the eve of election is matter of
conjecture. There are signs of frater-
nization between the forces led by Mr..
Low and those by Mr.. George. The
| latter have accepted the formers candi-