The Virginia enterprise., 1908-08-28

sAoAo " oAoip poA d Aodu peuCAi, rNseo
the cause of his death. His slayer,
after a bitterly contested legal battle
carried to the supreme court Of, the
state, was sentenced to serve speni-
tentiary term. Another time one
crowd broke into the doors of a.closed
meeting, with revolver volley from
both sides as the doors crashed in.
Two men dead and several wounded
was the result of this fracas. No one
was ever tried for any crime IN: con-
nection with this. :. e..
OF course these desperate afrays
were not frequent, nor did they: usual
ly happen except in the tough wards;
but they sometimes did occur in good
wards, where the people were above
the average in intelligence and order
liness. Anywhere, in the fierce ami
mosities engendered by the excite
ments of an election, of primary, or
city convention, there was a very
strong probability that somewhere
within the city's limits there would
be death to lay at the door of party
politics. Whisky, of course, often was
a contributory agent of no little i'm
portance. One time q would-be voter
lined up to get into polling booth, a
pistol in his side coat pocket, and
something like eleven drinks in his
immediate possession. A man Of the
opposite party approached from inside
the booth with the salutation: Hello,
Jack" Hello, Andy" was the re-
sponse, and instantly following his
reply he drew his weapon and killed
the man in his tracks who had just
emerged from the booth. A jury &C.
quilted him after it had been shown
that the dead man was terror" who
had shot three times at his slayer on
one occasion, and had shot another
man through the head who was then
in an insane asylum from the effects
of the bullets. The slayer afterwards
said he had "keyed up to get" his
man at that election, if he wasn't got
ten first.
AS for ordinary assaults and slug
gings, they were matter of constant
occurrence. Even the most respec-
table of men who really engaged in
active politics had to make up their
minds to fist fight, if necessary,
rather than to back water" When
was in politics the "scrapping" was
mostly confined to the rougher ele-
ments; but you had to either be ready
to fight, or convey the impression that
you would fight. or you would lose
caste. A man might get along all right
without any personal encounters. but
he had to make up his mind not to
''lie down" if trouble presented itself.
The Australian ballot and the rigid
house-to-house canvass in the wards
did away with a good deal of the
abuses of illegal registration, and
about knocked in the head" the IAN
cient and honorable" practice of ire
peating." Sometimes these old-time
schemes were tried, and the expert
menters sent to the penitentiary for
their pains. Ballot-box stuffing at the
regular elections was much of lost
art also, and stealing ballot boxes a
desperate, dangerous and generally
futile means of gaining an end. Each
party had it's judges, watchers and
challengers, and the closest possible
tab was kept on every detail of the
vote. When man arrived at the
polls and handed in his folded ballot
he found that the men in charge some
times knew more than he did about
himself. ~ =. ''s''' q,
whats your name?" asked one OF
the judges to man who was deposit
ing his ballot in the clerks hand pre-
paratory to having it slipped into the
slit. George Fl. Wilson, Where do
you reside?" "One hundred and forty.
two James street" How long have
you lived there?" Seven months, a
little over" How long in the state?'
"All my life" why, you live with
the Smalleys, don't you?" Certainly
was the answer Several men spoke
up from both sides. HE lives with
Smalley, all right" We'll, Smalley
lives at 140 James street. know you're
all right, but how'd you happen to gel
the number wrong?" The man hesi
tated and then said: We'll, I'm sin
gle. and | get home at night so late
that can't see the number and when
l get out in the morning never have
happened to look for it. But l live
with Smalley, all right" Sure" was
the universal chorus, and in went his
vote
On some occasions candidates have
been 'drugged" or ''doped," so thai
they could not come out and make
speeches, and in some ward elections
certain candidates have been extreme
ly careful what they ate and drank
during their campaigns. Not that they
feared being fatally poisoned, but they
did apprehend possible doping a.
such things had been done in the past
Put an orators stomach "out of bust
ness" for week or ten days and i,
may make the difference of life time
to him.
Springing some sensational charge
in the opposition papers the day be
fore election is a fayorite method o.
trying to ''Cut under" a Candidate's
support. Sometimes these thing!
prove boomerang" or ''roor.back,
as it is sometimes called, and defea
| their own aim by shifting supper,
! which had been with the party making
the charge to the party against whom
the charge was made. Sometime:
! they accomplished their purpose, but
recall one particular instance wher.
a candidate had an Influential pape
ION his staff" up to the time h,
sprung roor-back" against his on