The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-07-22
TAX PAYERS DECIDE ISSUE
More Than Eighty Percent of the Vote
Cast on Friday Was Cast by the
Owners of Property in the City
North Wards Against Proposition.

Kenosha voted for parks yesterday.
just about twenty-f per cent of the
voters in the city turned out for the
"little ballot" election and the result
showed 574 in favor of the park bond
issue and 403 against it. The issue
was really carried by the people of the
south and southwest sides of the city
as the three north wards and the big
fifth ward on the west side Of the city
returned small majorities against the
issue. However, the first four wards
gave vote sufficient to overcome the
majorities against the proposition in
the north wards and the ninth ward
with a vote of nearly five to one in
favor of the park bonds swelled the
majority.
In lot of ways the election was the
most unusual ever held in the city
An examination Of the voting lists late
Friday afternoon showed that in near
ly all of the wards eighty per cent or
more Of the votes had been cast by
property owners. Non-property own
ers seemed to shun the election booths
1t was expected that in some Of the
districts there would be very large
vote cast by the working people in
favor of the park bond issue, but these
people did not vote.
One workingman and nom property
owner, went to one Of the polling places
just before the closing hour seemingly
very much interested in the outcome Of
the election. "Have you voted yet9'
queried one Of the officials. emo, and
am not going to vote" was the re-
spouse of the man. II want parks,
but | believe this thing should be de-
cided by the people who pay the taxes.
If they feel that they can afford to give
us parks I want them, but I do not
think that I have right to vote on
the question as / would pay nothing
toward the cost of the purchase of the
park lands.'
There were lot of men who took
this same view of the issue and this
largely reduced the vote cast. Then
there was another class of people Eho
were in doubt and for this reason ey
refused to vote either way. Thine
We're a few active opponents to the
issue of the bonds and they worked
zealously to get out vote against
the proposition.
AS had been forecasted, the north
side of the city, which will get the
greatest benefit from the purchase of
park lands, voted against the PROPOSE
tion. The sixth, seventh and eighth
wards all declared against park bonds.
ut is said that this was in part due to
the fact that lot of the people of
this section of the city were favorable
to the purchase Of lands along the lake
lshore to the north of the city. More of
the people, however, who expressed
themselves at the polls feared the
"Bond DOGGY" The vote in the fifth
ward was the surprise of the day. 1t
had been expected that the people in
this section of the city would give the
bond issue majority.
The small vote in the wards on the
south side of the city is accounted for
by the large predominance Of tax
payers as voters, 1t is thought that a
imajority of the tax payers voted on
the bond issue in these wards with the
possible exception of the ninth.
Members Of the park board and
other people who had been interested
i'm the bond issue, expressed them,
selves as pleased at the outcome of the
election, but at the same time they de-
clared that they regretted that
greater number of the voters of
the city had not expressed themselves
ON the question.
"The small vote is surprise to
me-" said one of the members of the
park commission. 81 had hoped for a
vote of fifteen hundred but at that
consider the vote as expressive Of the
wishes Of the people. The election had
been so thoroughly advertised that
every one who desired to express him
self on the question had ample oppor-
tunity. The vote did not show so
much Of "don't care' attitude as it
showed that many people believed that
Hhere was no doubt but that the issue
would carry and Tor this reason they
declined to go to the polls and add
their voice to the majority"
With the authority of the voters
back of the movement it is expected
that the city council will take imme-
diate steps for the issue of the bonds
to make possible the taking up of the
options secured some time ago bv the
members of the park board. The own
lers of all of the property save the
Ludwig property are ready to turn the
property over to the city at once. AS
had been reported by the park com
mission in its last communication to
the common council it will be necessary
for the board to condemn the Ludwig
property It is not thought that this