New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-11-07
VOTERS SHUT OUTIN XXIST
CONGESTION IN THIRTY-FOURTH ELEC
TON DISTRICT


FORTY-TWO MEN IN LINE WHEN THE
POLLS cLosED-REMARKABLE PLUCK
OF CRIPPLED REPUBLICAN.
Eight hundred and seventy-two voters OF the
1O9S registered in the Thirty-fourth Election
District cast their votes at the polling place In
Eighth-ave. One hundred-and- thirteenth
ST. yesterday between the hours Of a. m and
p m. When the polls were declared closed
there were forty-two anxious and angry voters
still in line. 1t is probable that about ole hun
ored and nifty voters were shut out on account
or the excessive number Of voters in the district
for during the day many men came to the polls,
noticed the long line OF waiting men, and then
went away again. Just before the polls closed
the shut out voters made regular football rush
70 get inside the temporary polling place along
side the pavement. knowing that II they could
only gain entrance they would save their votes
whether they had the ballot in their hand at B
o'clock not.
The election inspectors and poll clerks were
bitterly criticised for alleged sowness In order
to facilitate matters. they thought the reg
ular method Of giving a voter a ballot as soon as
he reached the guard rail was not observed In
stead, the officials In charge gave out the ballots
in blocks Of twenty. Then the twenty went into
the separate booths marked their ballots and
stood IN line until there were twenty, when the
the waiting ballots. The inspectors and clerks
asserted that they made time by this but it
was departure that came In for denunciation
from those who failed at the last to get their
votes IL
There was not the slightest disposition among
the voters TO make trouble for the police or the
election officials until about o'clock. when 1t
became apparent that in spite Of all the crowd
ing many voters wou'1 be shut out. The rush
,ha %baD 0Igo off
their feet and for a time blocked the Eighth ave
cars. At o'clock the streets were lined with
spectators attracted by the knowledge that the
election officials were racing with time in order
to get all the votes in.
The Thirty-fourth Election District is bounded
by One-hundred- and-tenth and One hundred
nd-fourteenth SITS. and by Seventh and Morn
ingside ayes. The Republican and Democratic
captains discovered just before registration time
arrived that there were about thirteen hundred
voters in the district. OF these LOIS registered
General Rodenbough. chief Of the Bureau OF
Elections, and General Greene tried to arrange
matters so that the counting would be facilitat-
ed and had number of reputed experts trans
ferred from other districts to this overcrowded
one. How well they succeeded IN getting the
votes in has already been noted.
Ex-Justice William n. Cohen called up Mr..
Gruber, the Republican leader OF the Assembly
district in the afternoon. and suggested that II
the voters at the close Of the day could be got
inside they would be entitled to vote. even II
their votes not deposited until after .
O'Clock This suggestion did not apparently
have much weight with the election officers. At
8 O'Clock there was room lot HItSen OF twenty
more voters inside the polling place II the cleo
ton officers had simply allowed them inside
There was an abundance Of room back Of the
guard rail- but the space in front was so
cramped that that quickly congested.
The Republican watchers were unanimous in
saying that under the present system few more
than eight hundred votes be polled In one
election district. Allowing for any inexcusaole
slowness and bungling that may have taken
place yesterday. it would not have been practi-
cable to get many more votes IN than were aCtu-
ally cast.
The voters in this big district began TO gather
before daylight AS early as 5:30 o'clock yes
terday morning there were forty men in line
and at O'Clock there were one hundred The
line reached around the corner OF Eisers saloon
into One-hundred- and -thirteenth-st.. and at no
time in the day until just before the polls closed
were there less than hundred men in line
OF the forty-two who were in line at O'CLOCK
more than half were Republicans. who had put
off voting till the afternoon.