The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1912-02-29
y0LIVA VOTERS ARE EXCLUDED
Both Hotels Placed in Same Ward SO
as to Prohibit Transients Voting in
More Than One District in the Future.
Big Fight Is Certain.
Talk about gerrymanderingl

LAX about gerrymanderingi
II the Independents of Zion City
haven't "slipped one over" Overseer
Voliva as a result Of having control of
their Council in Zion City, then no.
body ever gerrymandered anything in
that end OF the state.
Through being able to control the
council the Independent faction has
neatly slipped over re-districting
and the creation of FIVE wards in Zion
City, SO that when the time comes to
vote for alderman this spring, ycliva
| it is claimed, will have all of his
votes centered in one ward and he can
roll up a stupendous majority there,
but uselessly, for it will merely center
his strength, leaving the majority of
wards SO arranged that the Voliva peo-
pie are scattered and the Independents
figure they will have the majority
vote to elect their own aldermen.
According to the re-districting of
the city into wards for the first time,
by the anti-Voliva crowd, the two big
hotels controlled by Voliva and in
which many of his followers reside, are
included in the ward which Voliva is
allowed to control But it separated
him from other territory which form
erly held enough voters Of the Voliva
faith to make it close fight with the
Independents. By excluding as far as
possible the Voiiva voters and re-dis-
tricting as far as possible the anti
! Voliva people to certain territory it is
said, the Independents have figured out
a most clever coup by which they
hope and firmly believe they can
swing the future elections and retain
a majority Of the council this spring.
| That the ants admit Voliva has
strength and might have beaten them
this spring is evidenced by the gerry
mander action, which, of itself, is an
admission that they had to do some
thing to make certain of their position
and they established ward lines.
The action was taken at a meeting,
of the council Friday evening, Feb. l6.
The one member Of the council which
the Voliva faction has was helpless,
declaring to the others that he had
had no notice Of the contemplated
change hence had no chance to prepare
arguments against it. The opposition
frankly admitted they were willing
to debate all night if necessary, but it
wasn't necessary, for they had the
votes to swing their plans and they
knew it. So the Voliva alderman
merely had to sit quietly by and see
himself practically "counted out
Up to now, Zion has voted at one
polling place and it was a case where
the party that won, either won all or
lost all, at the election. Thus the In
dependents so arranged the boundary
lines of the five wards they have Great
ed so that Voliva will be allowed to
carry the ward in which the hotels are
located-this they cannot prevent, for,
at the last general election, Voliva had
250 votes out of the big hospice alone
and 500 at the school election. The
south wards are said to be on fairly
straight lines, but the north lines are
very much twisted, having been so
placed that the Independents figure
they can carry them easily because of
the respective location of their votes
One south ward west contains many
Voliva voters and the outcome there
| is in doubt. However, it is figured
that the Independents can elect one
alderman in each of the five wards
and thus keep control of the councii.
Voliva had five holdover aldermen but
two died and there is now but one
Voliva man on the board. The indie
pendents had their five holdover men
last spring and elected two new ones,
so it gave them seven against
Voliva's one.
The lines of the wards were so liked
that the Independents have one hold
over alderman in each ward SO they
will at least have a split In council
even if they should lose every ward
this spring-and, under the arrange
ment they surely will carry one or
two, despite Voliva's strength, all due
to the establishment Of the lines.
Voliva lately had the Medinah hos
pice repainted and it was figured that
he planned bringing many new resi-
dents to Zion, hence the move of the
independents to place both hotels in
the same ward.
Under the new plan, it viii make it
very hard for people to move from the
hotels to establish residence in other
wards and the Independents admit
they have played the biggest col2 on
Voliva in his career. Even the Voliva
followers feel that his chanceS for
winning the city election are killed as
result Of the creation of the wards
in the manner announced.