The Detroit times., 1908-09-24

oaoy precincts were the only city ulb-
tricts In which the county ballots were
counted.
The armory was brightly lighted
and the clerks were busy at 100 tables
before midnight, one caller and two
checkers being at each table. Auditor
Milton Oakman was In charge, and
assistants were deputed to watch the
count and decide on diflcult ballots.
each assistant having ten tables to
look after.
Smoking 10 Barred.
smoking was barred Candidates
were also supposed to be absent from
the floor. and this rule was generally
followed
Edward Barnett. estimator from the
Third ward. and VIM. II. Considine.
were among those who got in. Bar
nett withdrew and Considine was
given hint TO do likewise.
At frst there was a curious throng
OF men. with some women inter
spersed, In the galleries Of the arm
DRY. AS the night wore ON, the crowd
decreased, and soon there were only
q few left. A half dozen individuals
slept fitfully through the night In the
hard chairs. BY daylight the clerks
of the day shift began to appear. and
at z o'clock the other clerks were dis
missed and the fresh crews took their
places and began counting where the
other crews left on.
Few crews had completed their
count of city ballots, and 1t was ruled
that they must roll up the bundles
they had counted and note the number
Of votes checked on at the time or
their leaving. This was done SO that,
In case OF mistakes, the careless
clerks might be identified and pro-
ceeded against. In spite of this there
was some confusion.
The work had hardly got we'll under
way when lunch was served at mid
night. Sandwiches and coffee were
the only refreshments. but these went
rapidly No breakfast was served. an
the night crews were going out at that
time and the day clerks were sup
posed to have eaten their breakfasts
before coming
The lack of smoke was an improve
ment over the last counting board SEES
sion. but the atmosphere Of the big
hall was close and hot and the count
ers were soon Invested of coats and
working with collars OF and sleeves
rolled up.
.Befefe-tha- bells had chimed 3
o'clock many a pair Of eyes was red
and dozens OF clerks were nodding
over their books. The callers had tho
better Of II but they grew more Ia
tigued as time passed and the coming
of daybreak saw haggard lot or
men toiling slowly and painstakingly.
A few crews volunteered to stick
by their work until they had finished
the count OF city ballots In certain
precincts, which were nearly done.
Faster Work by Day shit.
Faster work Is being done by the
day shift. as this set of 800 counters
did not have any waiting to do before
There was a score OF precincts CON-
plete, as to the city ticket only, by
7 O'Clock. while about 80 were par
tally counted. There remained be-
tween 40 and SO city boxes which had
not been opened.
The biggest precinct OF all was the
eighth OF the Seventeenth ward. This
had $40 votes, of which most were
This district lies north
Of -Charleyoix-st. and Is bounded by
Field and Crane-aves. and the city
limits.
It will take 60 or 20 hours to count
the city and county tickets In this
precinct IL single crew Is worked
1T II constantly.
Some of the ballots that came In
were ludicrous in the display OF ignor-
ance as to the correct methods OF
voting in a primary. Many men
marked a cross in front OF every name
on the ticket while others placed their
crosses and then marked out the print
I'd names. Others again made circles
or dashes or wrote "Yes" or mo" In
front of names. A few signed their
names while a handful tried to vote a
ticket by putting few
crosses at the tops Of columns.
A peculiar disclosure was that OF q
voter In the second district OF the
First ward. The tag attached to the
ballot had not been removed and q ref
erence to the poll book showed that,
while this voter Is candidate for OF.
Ace on the Republican ticket for a
minor position, he had voted q Demo.
cratic ballot.
John Gillespie, who has driven
Park Commissioner Breitmeyer around
the city In an automobile during the
campaign, was in the armory as an
honorary employee Of newspaper.
He devoted himself to getting informa.
ton regarding the mayoralty and
early claimed the nomination OF
Breitmeyer. At $3.50 Gillespie could
contain his Joy no longer and box
of cigars was the visible token.
Dust's Small Vote Surprise.
The small vote p0lled by VIM. t.
Dust was a surprise to everyone. He
had made a hard campaign and was
thought to be sure of second place at
least.
None of the candidates for impor-
tant Offices were present In the gal
Iery. but a lot Of the smaller fry poll
ticians were visible.
There was no excuse for thirst. in
every aisle there were placed three
water coolers and these were exceed
ingly popular. Some of them were
smashed and the floor grew slippery
with the dripping, but this did not
/, othar anvopa ma rffcularfy