Evening star., 1946-11-05
Thousands Casting
Ballots on District
Suffrage Questions
Continued From First Page.)

of the largest crowds at the opening
hour as the reports from the pre-
cinets started pouring in.
All over town, however, lines be-
gan to form early George Damn,
ABB Ninth street S.W., arrived at the
Bowen School we'll ahead of the
opening of the polling place. A
grocer here for 81 years, he said he
was determined to be the first in
his precinct to cast his ballot for
full suffrage.
At Stuart Junior High School, a
huge red and gray sign lettered by
the art students was suspended from
the pillars at the school entrance
advising, "Plebiscite, vote here, pre-
cinct three
Heavier Than 1888 Voting.
Mrs. E. L. johnson and Fletcher
Tilden, poll officials who helped take
the straw vote here in 1888, said
the voting was running five times
heavier today than at that time at
the Adams School, where 400 people
voted in the first half hour after the
polls opened.
An early voter in precinct % was
Mrs. Howard L. Hodgkins, who said
she was the oldest living charter
member of the Daughters of the
American Revolution.
Among others voting in this
precinct were former District En-
gineer Commissioner Charles w.
Kutz and Hugh S. Cummings, former
surgeon general of the United States
Public Health Service.
Voting early in other precincts
were the Right Rev. Angus Dun,
Episcopal Bishop of Washington;
Melvin D. Hildreth, Democratic ma
tional committeeman for the Dis
trict; Mrs. Paul Porter, wife of the
price administrator, and Edward F.
Colladay. Republican national COM
mitteeman.
Ir precinct %, voters living in the
District without legal voting res
idence elsewhere by far outnumbered
those with a right to vote through
the States. By 1915 am. only II
out of nearly 500 people who voted
said they had legal voting residences.
At the Chamberlain School an
elderly gentleman who preferred to
remain anonymous stood outside the
school urging those entering to vote
double yes"
Taxis on Call for Crippled.
6,1c 1t tho pnuan School
was so anxious to make her voice
felt that she kept insisting she be
allowed to sign her ballot. Another,
also taking the plebiscite very seri-
ously, complained because there was
no voting booth.
At the Bruce School, 2-year-old
Sandra Nash placed the ballot in
the box for her mother. Mrs. Ida
Nash of 772 Irving street NV, who
explained: Il want her to know
about voting, because I am trying
now to make sure she will have the
vote when she grows up
Taxlcabs were on call to take the
crippled to the polls. One woman
came into Woodrow Wilson High
School leaning heavily on her
crutciaes. She wanted to vote today,
she explained because she has no
legal residence emitting her to q
vote elsewhere.
Clerks to Go to Patients.
At Gallinger Hospital, polls were
open for resident personnel, of
whom there are approximately 300,d
mostly doctors and nurses.
Robert E. Southwick, deputy
supervisor, said eight women volun-.
tsers from the Washington CouncilA
Of Churchwomen would go from
ward to ward later in the day get
ting the votes of patients. They will
be sworn in as election clerks.
Working under pressure in many
polling places from the moment the
polls opened were the chairman
Judges, their assistants and the
polling clerks. Among them were
longtime civic leaders as well as
recently returned overseas veterans.
One of the latter was William j.
Bartle, veteran of 80 months with
the Army Air Forces, serving as
chairman judge at Peabody School.
PIebiscite officials also included a
number of husband-Wife combina-
tions, among them Mr.. and Mrs.
w. 1. Linscott, 337 Maryland avenue
NE, who came here from st. Angus
tine, Fla, 18 years ago. Mr.. Llnscott
is a Senate employe, serving today
~, ;,-yoo i111rn of Stuart ,Il1nJ0r
High School in precinct 3.
Some Polls Slow to Open.
Several of the polls had difficulty
In getting under way for lack Of poll
clerks.
At Madison School the polls did
not open until 9;45 instead of 8
O'Clock. Harry N Stull, one of the
city election officials, had to open
the polls himself when none OF the
assigned staff appeared.
He said that approximately so
people had left before he arrived.
They told students at the school
they were going elsewhere to vote or
would return later.
At Eastern High School, James A.
Crooks of 4103 Eighteenth street
NV. chairman of the local poll,
found none of his volunteer workers
present when he came to open the
polls. He said it was the co-opera-
ton of the school principal, John
Paul Collins. and students that en-
abled him to register 135 voters by
1890 m.
Mothers Help at School.
Mothers of students at the Blow
Elementary School saved the situ-
alton there by coming in to help
when volunteer workers did not
show up at the prescribed hour.
Mrs. Mary Brooks of l739 L street
NE. president of the Blow-Webb
Parent Teacher Association. and
Mrs. Bessie Fairbanks of 1926 E
street Ne came from their homes
to help the chairman, John N.
Weber, get the polls open on time.
AS voting started in the 25th pre-
cinct, more than SO persons were
lined up in front of the Grant
G street between Twenty
first and Twenty y-second streets NV.
First man to vote was William R.
Brown, 2121 H street NV. Mr..