The sun., 1903-11-05
The Election Night Carnival.

Election night was an exciting time in
New York In the so-called Tenderloin
district Broadway was the scene of a
veritable carnival. Nowhere in the world
is the like of it TO be witnessed, and even
TO New York the scene is new.
This manner of celebrating The result
of an election aprang up suddenly and
spontaneously only few years ago,
Dangerous bontires kindled by boys were
the old method Of celebration. while
drunkenness and consequent rioting
once prevailed among men, Bloodshed
used TO be frequent incident.
Now there has succeeded a great popu-
lar carnival and both the victorious and
the defeated take part in the merry
making with equal zest. On Tuesday
evening, instead of bad blood showing
itself. the men and women who marched
in procession on the sidewalks and the
pavement of Broadway from Twenty
third street to Fortv-second street and
beyond were all ont simply for fun and
to give vent to their animal spirits. They
were political enemies no longer; the
battle had been decided and they were
abroad for trolic without ill-will one
to another and without reproaches.
An election had passed in which the
contending parties We're so nearly even
that the vict orv had been won by only
about II per cent. in total of toward
six hundred thousand votes, yet when
night came with its announcement OF the
result all hands turned out to celebrate
it as il it had been their common victory.
The defeated cheered the victors and the
victors the defeated. Everybody was
blowing horn, swinging rattle or using
his voice only to contribute to the din,
and of the loudest and gayest celebrants
a great part were women. A stranger
would have concluded from the demon
stration that everybody was elated over
a victory won He would not have sus-
pected that the carnival was an exhibi-
ton of exuberant spirits after a canvass
in which the bitterest reproaches had
been cast, the keenest partisan rivalry
aroused and just after popular election
in which much more than two-fifths OF
the electorate had been sorely disap-
pointed.
Such scene under such circumstances
could have been witnessed in no other
country than America and nowhere else
in America than New York. Never was
there more impressive vindication of
American popular government. The
popular will had been expressed and
| there was unanimous acceptance OF II as
| final cheerful even joyous acceptance
of il. The people reioiced simply in
their privilege Of self rule. However the
election had gone they would have had
| their celebration all the same, for which
ever side had won it would have been a
triumph Of popular suffrage.
| This wonderful carnival, in spite Of all
| it's freedom of intercourse, its exhilara-
| ,ion of animal spirits, its hustle and lts
uproar. was marked by no dangerous
| disorder. The gcntlest and purest woman
might have gone unaccompanied into the
| throng in Broadway in the Tenderloin
| without encounterirg other annoyance
than was due to the jostling crowd of
merrymakers. The high spirits of the
people moving in ceaseless procession
| along the street for hours together were
! natural and not artificially stimulated
| Tntoxication was rare, far rarer than in
| London on the quietest day of the year
Even rough behavior was almost un-
known, though of course carnival free
dom prevailed and squeamish taste
might object to many Of it's manifesto
tions, as it might in any European car
nval Dignity Of reserve received nc
consideration. for equality reigned SUI
preme. Everybody was simply human
| being and all were on the same level in
that wild frolic.
When the people of New York, after &
period of intense political excitement
can he left free To govern their own be.
havior practically without lei or hin.
drance. il is dcmonst ration of their