The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-11-04
IN FIGHTING SEVENTH
Continued from Page ~

300 men in line waiting for a chance to
cast ballots. The election officers were
not ready until ten minutes past eight,
and the crowd began to push into the
booth and demand that the voting be-
gin The line extended along the fence
on King street, in front of the Reform
school, for half a block and it was
strong Home Rule.
The seventh of the Fifth is a hotbed
of Home Rule sentiment, but If has
been the scene Of a hard fight this cam
paign and the Republican managers
look for better results than they have
achieved before. There has always
been trouble in the seventh, either in
voting or in counting votes, and during
the primaries last September an effort
was made to steal the ballot box. The
crowd of politicians that made the
trouble We're on hand early this morn
ing and the day began with a feeling of
impending disturbance.
Several police were sent for and the
force was added to as the morning went
on and the crowd increased. Those at
the end of the line shouted impatiently
and demanded quicker work, and those
at the front and in the middle were
hard pushed They crowded into the
inadequate, stuffy voting booth as fast
as possible. j. l.. Holt got in the first
vote at about fifteen minutes past eight
and after that the voting was constant.
After about an hours voting it be-
came evident that a full vote would
prove impossible, unless there was more
haste. Eighty-two votes were cast in
an hour and ten minutes from the time
the voting began. With 500 to be cast in
nine hours this rate of speed was not
enough by any means.
They're not voting quickly enough
said one of the inspectors. "Youn
have to handle those ballots faster if
We are to get them all in"
loud voice told the inspector that
his advice was not wanted and invited
him to visit the neither regions and take
it with him. 1t was a sample of the
beautiful harmony with which things
are done in the Fighting Seventh. The
inspector went way back and sat down,
and prophesying disaster
There were many predictions of riot
when the last hours came. Greater
anxiety to vote was never seen than
among the 300 men who lined up along
the fence, and it will be difficult to pre-
vent many rows when the last hours
for voting comes, if a lot of citizens
find that they are going to lose their
votes because of the expiration of the
legal time for voting.
The voting became more rapid later
in the morning, though it was not up to
the mark BY 11:25 the number of votes
cast was 23l. At this rate five o'clock
will come before all the votes are cast,
if all who registered appear at the
polls.
The line of voters was just as long at
noon as it was when the polls opened,
and crowds of watchers were attracted
to the scene. There were many women
about the place and politicians Un-
counted. They busted themselves UP
and down the line, giving out cards
and decorations, and now and then in
dividuals whom the closing of saloons
had not prevented from liberal indul-
gences in booze, enlivened the proceed
ings by speeches.
The politicians frequently hurried to
the booth to inform the election officers
that they were not working quickly
enough The officers knew this, but az
short intervals someone arrived to tell
them about it, and they sWeated and
toiled, packed in a little room which
was hardly big enough for voters to
pass through. By the time they have
counted the votes, they will all have
earned their pay several times over,
whether they have to pass through the
customary Seventh rough house or not.
Delegate Wilcox was an Interested
spectator during the morning. He APP
peared to think things were going well,
and said that everything was all right,
only the Seventh was not voting quick
7 ly enough.