Democrats Did Well

New York, 1895

THEY RECAPTURE FOUR TOWNS WITH GOOD MAJORITIES.

Oyster Hay, North Hempstead, Flushing and Newtown Get Out from Under Boss Youngs' Rule — In Jamaica the Liquor Dealers Carried the Day for the Republicans.

Democrats did not expect to get much out of the elections on Tuesday. The party did not try to pull itself together, the offices to be filled not being considered worth a battle. The Democrats have, however, good cause to rejoice over the result, for they have regained the towns of Oyster Bay, North Hempstead, Flushing and Newton, all of which went strongly Republican at the Spring and Fall elections last year. The Republicans are entitled to the credit of giving three of these victories to the Democrats, for in Flushing, Oyster Bay and North Hempstead party men proclaimed their intention of resenting the arrogant rule of Boss Youngs. The election last fall was a thunderous protest against Boss rule all over the state, but Boss Youngs was blind to the lesson that it taught, and has gone on bossing more offensively than ever. It is not likely that this last emphatic protest will make any difference to him, for he has gotten in so deeply, and has so many jobs on the spit, that he cannot recede gracefully.

Here in Jamaica the Democrats took little interest in the election. It seemed to be a time for bleaching soiled linen, and every politician who had a grudge to satisfy went in for blood. The people, without regard to politics, put up a good fight for Justice Lester, and would have won the day but for the combination between the saloons and the Republican machine, which was well organized and had plenty of money.

Mr. Waldron, the Republican and Good Government candidate for excise commissioner, courageously announced himself as in favor of high license and a limited number of saloons. The liquor interest took alarm, knowing that Mr. Clayton would co-operate with Mr. Waldron for a high license. They knew, too, that Mr. Clayton would vote against every applicant for a license, and that it would be within Mr. Waldron's power to decide who should and should not have license. The saloon people approached the Republican managers for a deal on candidates. The saloon people were willing to accept the whole Republican town ticket if the Republicans would accept the Democratic nominee for excise commissioner, and the deal was made on that basis at 2 o'clock in the morning in A. B. Pettit's hotel.

The vote shows that the saloon people had good reason to feel alarmed, for under this deal Mr. Broedel was only able to receive 1087 votes against 920 for Mr. Waldron. Mr. Broedel's majority over Mr. Waldron is 167, and, taking Mr. Bauman's vote of 168, Mr. Broedel lacks a plurality of the votes. It shows that the people have waked up on the excise question, and had the news of this deal got to the people in time, Mr. Waldron would have been elected by a considerable majority. The deal is made fully apparent by the figures of the vote, the head of the Republican ticket running 487 ahead of the Republican nominee for Excise Commissioner. These 487 votes represent the strength of the saloons.

The board of canvassers met at the Town Hall on Wednesday and canvassed the vote, the results being declared as follows:

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, April 5, 1895, p. 1.

Note: It's interesting that B. Frank Wood won and Justice Lester lost. I had no idea what kind of influence The Farmer had, of course, but they sure editorialized against Wood in a harsh way. It must have been a little bit humbling to see the results.