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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1909)
"f"1p"v" -"w t--7rwr tHnijii'ij 'q ff hii i w niii i nfmiplMMMm NOVEMBER 12, 1909 The 1909 Elections There wero many surprises in the returns from the 1909 olections. In New York City Judge Gaynor, the demo cratic nominee, was elected mayor by a plurality of more than 70,000. over Bannard, his republi can opponent and almost 100,000 more than Hearst, who was the third man "in the race. Bannard received 24,000 votes more than Hearst. The board of aldermen will be com posed of . forty-two democrats and thirty-six fusionists. The board of estimato which con trols the city's pursestrings will not bo con trolled by Tammany, Judge Gaynor being the only one on the regular democratic ticket to be elected. The board of estimate, as elected, Includes, besides Mayor Gaynor, five anti-Tammany democrats and two republicans. Tho board, therefore, will bo controlled by demo crats but it will be by those who have cither made war upon Tammany or have had no sym pathy with its efforts. It seems that tho anti Tammany democrats and republicans on tho Bannard ticket, who were elected, received plu ralities ranging from 74,000 down to several hundred. As the result of tho New York elec tion all sorts of reports are in circulation. Her bert Parsons, republican chairman, says that the election of the fusion ticket, except mayor, considered with Bannard's clean campaign, makes him the logical republican candidate for governor of New York next year. Another re port was that Charles F. Murphy would retire from the head of Tammany. Murphy denies this. Following close upon the election returns was the appointment, by Mayor McClellan, of three women to be members of the New York board of education. ThiB was one of the big points contended for by the women's suflrage organi zations. The temperance forces claim to receive en couragement from the results of the up-state part of New York. Returns from towns voting on local option showed that the no-license advo cate had a larger following than heretofore. In the city of San Francisco, P. H. McCarthy, the union labor candidate for mayor was elected by perhaps an 8,000 plurality. Francis J. Heney, who won national fame'ffs a graft prose cutor, was defeated for district attorney by Charles M. Fickert, republican union labor can didate who received a plurality of 13,000. Heney says "the election shows that tho people do not appreciate the fight I have made for them." Rudolph Spreckles, Heney's backer, says they will organize for a renewal of the fight in 1911. In Cleveland, Ohio, Tom L. Johnson, candi date for election to a fifth term as mayor, was defeated by Baehr, republican. Baehr's plu rality was about 5,000. The only candidate on the Johnson ticket to be elected was Newton D. Baker, city solicitor. Johnson made his fight and lost on the three-cent fare proposition. An Associated Press dispatch says: "Tom L. Johnson first entered public ofilco nearly twenty years ago when he ran for con gress on the issue of a single tax. He was then an earnest supporter of the doctrines of Henry George. Incidental to his congressional career was his defeat of Theodore E. Burton, now United States senator from Ohio, who sought a' second election to congress. Johnson retired from Cleveland politics and went to New York tvhen Burton later defeated him for his seat in the lower house. He returned to Cleveland in 1900, running for mayor the following spring on an issue of a three-cent fare. He waged tho fight for six years, finally gaining control of the street railway system and placing a' modified form of three-cent fares in operation. The peo ple at a referendum defeated the franchise on which the three-cent rate was based, after six months' trial, and the Municipal Traction com pany, which the mayor had organized, went into the bankruptcy. court, where it still remains. A new company is now operating the Cleveland street car system. An attempt by the Johnson administration to create a new three-cent system "was defeated at a referendum election in Aug ust, the issue being the lack of adequate service under the former trial. The mayor said that he would drop his street railway plans." In Massachusetts the democrats received great encouragement. While republican Governor Draper and the rest of his state ticket had plu ralities they were comparatively small, Draper The Commoner. of n3n7ugnnnV?0Ut !000 P,ura"ty in a total finiXIS; tC8, The rPub"can nominee for th SSSf eovornor defeated Eugene N. Fobs, aJL lomocra,t,c nominoo, by about 5,000. Tho SI.?18 alS0, mad0 Ba,ns In th0 loBlBlatjro. ifl o vote was closer than at any time since 1892 and democrats say that thoy now havo hopes two years henco of defeating Senator Lodge. un0 Important result in Boston is told by tho Associated Press In this way: "Under tho now plan of municipal government for Boston voted on and adopted yesterday the mayor will bo nominated by petition of 5,000 voters and elect ed for a. term of four years, with a chance, Should ho prove unworthy, of being recalled at the end of two years. There will bo a city coun cil of nine mombors, tho terms of throo'of tho members expiring every year." In Rhode Island tho republicans won unpre cedented victory. Governor Pothler, republican, was elected by a plurality of 11,834 in a largely reduced vote. In .Kentucky democrats won now and pro nounced victory. Louisville was restored to democrats, W. O. Head, democratic nomineo for mayor being elected by 2,700. Tho noxt Ken tucky legislature will bo democratic by moro than two-thirds majority and thus able to pass any measure over tho republican governor's veto. All the important cities of Kentucky with but few exceptions went democratic. In New Jersey the republicans lost three votes In the lower house of the legislature and gainod three in the state senate, thus making the re sult. In that state practically an offset. Pennsylvania rolled up the usual pronounced republican majority. Philadelphia wont repub lican by more than 100,000 and in all sections of the state it Is made clear that Pennsylvania is joined to her idols. Columbus, Ohio, elected for mayor George S. Marshall, republican, and tho entire republican city ticket over Frank Vance, tho democratic and liberal candidate. In Cincinnati republicans won, electing for mayor Dr. Louis Schwab over John W. Peck, democrat. In Indiana tho majority of tho municipal con tests were won by democrats, although tho re publicans won In some of the larger cities, notably in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Evans yille. In these towns the democrats lost on tho "liberal" feature. In Maryland the amendment to disfranchise tho negro was defeated by a large majority. The legislature will be democratic, thus insur ing tho re-election of Senator Raynor. Balti more gave a majority of more than 11,000 against the disfranchise amendment. Virginia went democratic by 25,000, electing Judge Mann to tho office of governor. In Illinois temperance forces made gains, win ning twenty-eight out of thirty-three precincts where tho liquor question was tho issue. In Nebraska three judges of tho supremo court and regents of the university were chosen. The republican candidates for university regents wero elected, while Barnes, Fawcett and Sedg wick, republican candidates for judges, pulled through by a narrow margin, their pluralities being estimated at about 2,000. In Toledo, Ohio, Brand Whitlock was re-elected mayor by 6,500. In Salt Lake City J. H. Bransford, antl-Mor-man candidate, won by 17,000. Other mayors were elected as follows: Buffalo, N. Y. Louis Furhmann, democrat. Troy, N. Y. Ellas P. Mann, Rep. Gloversville, N. Y. Wesley H. Barst, dem ocrat. Johnstown, N. Y. Abram Harrison, democrat. Elmira, N. Y. Daniel Sheehan, democrat. Watertown, N. Y. Francis M. Hugo, re publican. Schenectady, N. Y. Dr. Charles C. Duryee, democrat. Rochester, N. Y. Hiram N. Edgerton, re publican. Rome, N. Y. Albert R. Kesslnger, democrat republican. Fort Wayno, Ind. Jesse Grlce, republican. Muncie, Ind. Edward Tuhey, democrat. Lafayette, Ind. George R.,Dungan, democrat. Sacramento, Cal. M. R. Beard, democrat. Binghamton, N. Y. Clarence M. Slauson, re publican. Ogden, Utah William Glassman, republican. A general election waB held throughout tho Philippine Islands for members of the assembly and provincial and municipal officials. A cable gram to the New York World says: "Domlna dor Gomez, former president of the nationalist party, who was ousted from the last assembly, furnished the only picturesque feature of tho election in this city. Following his "election to tie assembly two yearn ago tho courts decided that ho was not a eitlzon, and tho assembly unseated him. Nevertheless ho Insisted upon running for tho assembly again today nnd wan e looted by a small majority. As was the caso at the first oluctlon In 1907, tho contest for tho assombly was between tho nationalist and tho progressists. The original Ihhuo for which tho nationalists stood was tho Immcdlato Indepen dence of tho Islands, whllo tho progressists ac cepted American suzerainty. The nationalist! won easily In 1907, but their policy of Inde pendence was blocked by tho Phlllpplno com mission, which constitutes tho upper house, nnd is composed of tho governor-general and olght commissioners, of whom four arc Americano, and four Filipinos. Today there wero no Im portant Issues involved In tho assembly content. Iho provincial olections wero for a choice of governors, nnd tho municipal elections for tho selection of presidents, vice presidents and coun cillors. South Manila elected Pablo Ocampo, formerly a delegate from tho Phlllpplno Islandn to Washington. Ho is a candldato for speaker." TOM JOHNSON CHEERFUL Following Is k dispatch to tho Chicago Record-Herald: Cleveland, November 3. Although ho had llttlo sleep, Mayor Johnson stopped Into his offices at tho city hall at noon with a smllo aa bright as if he had won. And ho told his friends not to bo sad. "I'm sorry, Mr. Johnson," ono crnployo said, as ho grasped Mr. Johnson's hand. J'S0"'.1 my that'" tho "wyor retorted, crisply. Talk about what wo are going to do tomorrow, not what wo did yosforday," and tho mayor held to his own admonition, for he steadfastly refused to analyze the result of tho election. "Of course, I won;t," ho said. "It's tho rising sun thnt the people aro Interested In, not the sotting ono. During tho noxt two years I will do my work here, whatever It Is. "Wo aro going to hasten tho traction settle ment all wo can. Judgo Tayler Is tho only man Who can toll you whether it will be settled be fore January 1. Ho has tho power to end it any day." Through tho day tho candidates who had won and beon defeated camo to pay their rospocte to tho mayor and ho greeted thorn Impartially. With tho mayor tho greater part of tho day wero N. D. Baker, A. B. Dupont and tho othor members of his old traction cabinet. In tho afternoon Mr. Johnson sent a letter of congratu lation to Mr. Baehr. It read: "Please accept my congratulations upon your election. I havo always believed that the posi tion of mayor of a great city affords a largo field t)f usefulness to the people, and It gives me pleasure to assure you that at any time during the remainder of my term or thereafter I shall always bo glad to be of any assistance to you In any manner possible." One of the mayor's callers was Henry George, Jr., the son of tho slngle-taxer and a personal friend of the mayor. "Tho election merely shifts tho responsibility of carrying on Mr. Johnson's work," was Mr. George's comment. "A man who has a Hfo work must expect some re verses." NEW YORK'S NEW DISTRICT ATTORNEY Referring to New York's new district attor ney the New York correspondent for the Chicago Record-Herald says: "Charles Seymour Whitman, who has been elected district attorney of New York to suc ceed William T. Jerome, promises to be as great a terror to evildoers to real evildoers, whether they be friends or foes as was over district attorney, police commissioner, magistrate or other officer of the law In New. York. As city magistrate and member of tho court of general sessions, Whitman has had a splendid career. In that office he sat for eight years to tho emi nent satisfaction ofeverybody who cared to look into his conduct.and to speculate on his future, for Judgo Whitman is essentially a man of tho future, and few who know him hesitate In say ing that he will take full advantage of the de velopments that have made him virtually tho head of the political life of thftf city. Whitman will enter into office with the eyes of two kinds of people turned in his direction the people who would like to see vice and prime promptly and efficiently smashed, and the people who aro afraid that that very thing is going to happen. It appears that to both kinds Whitman feels that he Is personally responsible, and he will give a good account of himself to both. In his determined-looking face, in his clear and hard gray eyes, there seem3 to be danger for all sorts ill !K1 1 ' fl '.-.. 'J. &, jzlb . u."U