The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-02-16
Tiresome Work Comes to a Close
With Arrival of Midnight.
NUMBER REGISTERED is 1904
Last Day q Busy One for the Clerks.
Hut . Much Greater Rush Would
Have Suited All who Are Interest-
ed In Good Government-Many
Excited Man the Last to Register.

An excited man rushed into the city hall
minute or two before midnight last night.
There were several city officials In one of
the offices. Il want to register; L want to
register. Where do you register" He
was told to go down stairs and into the
old municipal courtroom The excited
man disappeared and arrived just as a
clerk remarked: We'll. we're through
mo. you're not" said the excited man.
tered with less ceremony. When he went
out Of the door he sighed. So did the
registration clerks.
Registration for the coming city election
Is at an end. 1t closed at midnight. The
total number registered Is 1854.
IL is estimated that there are approx
mateiy $50 voters in the city entitled to
register, and IL this is true. on March s.
when IL is the duty of every citizen who
can vote to do so. there Will be over g GO
stay-at-home voters. For the municipal
election OF March. 1885,, s3s4 voters regis
tered, and this was considered a very
light registration. For the national and
state election OF November, 1886. the reg
istration was 1l.44l. and was one OF IL
not the heaviest in the history of the city
The number of voters In the city has
without doubt been considerably decreas-
ed by the rush to Alaska since the cleo
ton OF November, 1855. although the
city's population is now larger than at
that time.
The climax of the rush to register was
arrived at about o'clock yesterday even
ing, and for over an hour the little regis
tradon bureau bore strong resemblance
TO an overturned ant hill in It's sudden
access Of activity. Applicants for regis
tritlon good-naturedly jostled one an
other in the tiny anteroom where regis
tration tickets were given out and be-
hind the long counter In the registra-
ton room proper large force OF busy
clerks worked like machines, amid the
fumes of bad tobacco and the hundred
and one perfumes not OF "Araby the
Biest' which a heterogeneous crowd can
exhale. Tho portly business man with
the glossy top hat turned angry re-
monsirance when some bronzed fisher
man from the upper water front. shak-
ing the gold hoops in his ears. planted his
broad gumboots on the business mans
brilliant patent feathers, and as he did
SO he would catch in his floating ribs
the powerful elbow of some rnyhanded
wood chopper from the shores of Lake
Washington. IL was a great crowd. and
no doubt many VOW TO come early and
avoid the rush next time was breathed-
together with spice of profanity-by the
procrastinatiug ones who neglected regis
tering until the eleventh hour. The num-
Der OF well known citizens who seem TO
have had time TO do everything else but
register for the past month was surprs-
ingly large in the crowd AZ the registra-
ton bureau last night.
How the tardy ones began too late TO
take interest In registration Is probably
best shown by the figures showing the to-
tai registration each day for the past
week or more. On Monday a week ago the
total REGISTRATION was go: Tuesday 80:
Wednesday, $40; Thursday, 2gl; Friday.
309 Saturday, AS: and Monday last oy7.
For the three weeks prior to Monday,
February !, the average rate OF registra-
t.on was not far from 20 a day. During
the last few days OF registration the books
were kept open until O'Clock each even
ing. which partially explains the larger
registration during the last few days
Taken as a whole. the registration is
perhaps a tribe larger than was generally
anticipated
The making Of new citizens. which has
been going on merrily in the superior
court for the past few weeks, Is one OF
the most noticeable symptoms OF the ap-
preaching election. The following aliens
were yesterday admitted 10 citizenship by
Judge Benson: Frank c. West, Norway:
Alex. Mcdonald. Grea; Britain Peter T.
HGsChmarn Norway: Joseph r Goulet,
Great Britain: c. l.. Christopher, Nor
way: \. j Thuand. Norway. George
Bauer Russia: u. l. Rees Great Britain
Most 81 the men Were accompanied TO the
court house hy some city politician. In
this connection IL might be mentioned that
Il IL estimated that about b per cent. OF
the voters who registered this time are Of
foreign birth, as shown by the registra-
ton books.