The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-16
STORY OF THE BATTLE.

No general rule is to be found to gov
ern yesterday voting. 1t vas thought
that there would be an unusually big
vote in the wards wherein there were
local fights and that there would be
very megre turn out In such wards as
had only the city ticket to attract in
terest. This rule did not, however,
hold good, for in the Sixth ward, for
instance, where there was the bitter
est kind of a factional fight among the
Democrats and a strong effort by the
Republicans to wedge their men in, the
vote was not even ordinarily large.
Then again in the First and several
other wards where there was abso-
lutely nothing that would tend to bring
out the Indifferent voter there was
fairly good poll for an "off year. cleo
| tion.
Most of the wards, though, that had
warm councilmanic or other such fights
polled a comparatively large vote and
some of them especially the Second
| Eighth, Twelfth, Sixteenth, Eighteenth
and Twentieth brought out what might
| be termed full vote.
What was doubtlessly the hitterest of
| the several really bitter fights of the
| day was the contest for the select
| council in the Second ward between
J Wade NJ Finn, Republican, and p, F.
Gordon, Democrat. Freely speaking
4 every man in every one of the five
| districts of the ward who could turn Il
vote or who was thought to be able
| to turn a vote was pressed intO SER
! vice by one side or the other. That
| party lines We're lost sight of in many
! instances was demonstrated by the
| open and above board fighting of prom
inent politicians against the success Of
| their party's choice.
WERE AGAINST FINN.
Mr.. Finn possibly suffered the great
| er in this respect. The Gillespes head
| ed n faction of the Republicans who
| worked might and main for Gordon,
not only yesterday but for weeks pre-
| yious to election. Joe" Church, whose
| power among the foreign born element
| of I,ulrs Head and vicinity, is by no
means insignificant. hustled about the
| Second district polls all day wearing
| in the band of his plug hat big pla-
| card bearing the legend "Hurrah for
| Gordun!" Democrats who We're Finn
lieutenants, We're not so open in avow-
| ing their choice but they did telling
work If they didn't do 50 much shout
| Ing.
over in the Green Ridge end of the
ward the battle was not carried on with
| such demonstrations of feeling as III
the Providence districts, but 1t was
| none the less intense. ID. p. Replogle,
the Democratic nominee for common
council, and A. l.. Francois, the Demo-
cratic candidate for school director
| both live in that district, and both bent
their every effort to the general sue
cess of the ticket and particularly to
the defeat of Finn. The returns show
that their work was not i'm vain.
| In the second district the vote al
$50 O'Clock was 3s5 within two of the
total vote polled last fall. There was
at that hour such a crowd of voters In
line that two policemen We're called
upon to regulate their going in and
coming out of the booth. 1t was eX-
pected that the vote would reach 425
at least, which is the full strength of
the district.
One of the surprises of the day was
the small vote polled in the Sixth AT
$50 O'Clock only los votes had been cast
i'm the Second or Dodgetown district
which is almost wholly Democratic
| naturally, and where the strength is
twice or three times what the showing
at time indicated the vote would be
| What caused the light vote had to be
guessed at, and the general conjecture
was that the thinking Democrats were
! disgusted at the internecine strife and