Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-04-13
FIRST IN OVER 200 YEARS
Issue Is Over the Abandonment of
St. Johns Chapel.
EXCITING CANVASS FOR VOTES
Partisans Busy Electioneering at
Polls, With Several Candidates
Acting as Assistant Inspectors.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, April 13.-For the first
time in 212 years the annual election of
the corporation of Trinity Church is be-
ing attended by a well-defined contest.
The battle of ballots began today, and
the activity Of those who are running on
the opposing ticket is quite as pronounced
as II they were seeking some municipal
office with a world of patronage attached
to it.
The annual election Of wardens and
vestrymen today is the elimination of
the bitter fight that has been waged
within the church as to the advisability
of abandoning worship in St. Johns
Chapel, and the partisans of the chapel
are as determined as the members of the
parent church.
Long before 10 o'clock, the hour desig-
mated for the opening of the polls in
Trinity Church vestry room, the corpora
tors as the voters are called, began 10
assemble. Many Of them arrived In
bers of the ST. Johns Chapel. who arrived
1:S strong and they soon let 1t be known
that they intended to fight to the last
ditch for the chapel in which they had
worshipped so long.
The voting today was under the super
vision of ex-Surrogate Charles II. Beck
ett Council for Trinity Church, and Will
liam H. Hamilton. the churchs counsel
of record. The Rev. DR.. Manning, rector
of Trinity, was chief of election inspect
ors. and his assistants included Z. r.
elthrop. jr, A. S. Murray, J. P. Lock-,
land. Elihu Chauncey, DR.. w. Nj. Polk
and G. F. Crane.
Candidates as Election Inspectors.
A noticeable fact was that all of the as
sistant inspectors of election are running
| for reelection on the regular Trinity
Church ticket.
When the opposing factions met in the
body of the church each was armed with
a number of ballots, which they handed
out to their friends and asked that each
do his duty and vote as he saw mt. st.
Johns partisans- handed out little white
they said: "All we ask is fair deal.
Give us a chance and. vote as your con-
science dictates and we can ask no more. :
The regular ticket. which was printed
on blue slip. contained the names OF
| two candidates for warden and twenty
| for vestrymen. They were as follows:
For wardens-William Jay and Edmund
Randolph.
For vestrymen-Herman H. Cannon,
| Elihu Chauncey, Richard Delafield, Sgd
ney Webster John T. Lockland. David
| B. Ogden, Stuyvesant Fish. Nichols F.
Palmer, William NJ. Polk, Francis 8.
Bangs, j. Howard Van Amoringe, 5. Ed
ward Nash, Henry c. Swords, Charles A.
Schermerhorn, William Barclay Parsons,
George F. Crane. Francis B. Swayne, Am
| brose s. Murray, jr.. Judge Vernon NJ
Davis and Edgerton L. Winthrop, jr.
The ticket put in the field by the ST.
Johns faction was similar with the ex-
ception of four vestrymen. Their ticket
contained the names of Philip X. Schell,
Henry st. John Hyde. William s. Rose
and Henry Bustown. who oppose Messrs.
Cannon, Delafeld, Palmer and Bangs, re-
| spectively.
Voting Proceeding Rapidly.
In spite of lot of scrutiny on the part
of either side. the casting of ballots pro-
ceeded without delay. Over 800 votes
were put in the box during the first hour,
and before another half hour had passed
the long voting line had been reduced to
a string of not more than half dozen.
An inspector was detailed to identify
the voters from each chapel. By him
stood the vicar of the chapel, to vOuch
for the voters being duly qualified. The
qualification required was status as
communicate for a year.
At IL o'clock something like 400 ballots
had been cast in all and. judging by the
color of the ballots, the watchers thought
that less than a quarter of these were
Tor the st. Johns ticket.
Though the polls need not be kept open
after noon, by the church laws. 1t was
announced for the vestry that they would
remain open until p.m., at least. and
later il any probability remained of
votes still to be cast.