HUMORS OF A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

Evening Star, Issue 10187, 14 December 1896, Page 4

HUMORS OF A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

A Timaru boy, one of Mr James Granger's sons, who is in the United States learning mechanical engineering, has written to his family here letters which give some idea of the humors and fuss of a Presidential election, and we are permitted to make_ the following extracts. Mr Granger writes from ludianapolis, ludiaua, and as a young man might be expected to write who took a merely outside interest in the election :

" October 27.—1 am having more fun over this election than you could shake a stick at. Of course, a fellow gets used to the people, but if you were to be dumped here on election night you would wonder if you had by mistake got into a large lunatic asylum. Half the people will have little tin horns like the kids play with. Others will roll up sheets of stiff* paper and make speaking trumpets, and shout for M'Kiuley or Bryan. There was a crowd on the corner of Washington street one night shouting some jargon, and I paused to listen, and this is a sample of what smote my ear: ' Free silver,' ' Free soup,' ' Sixteen soups to one bean.' I saw candidate Bryan here a few weefcs ago, but could not get near enough to hear him speak. We have organised a ' Sound Money' Club over at the shop, and have got caps and walking sticks. The sticks are to be held across the back of the neck with a band on each end, and we aro to march to the roll of drums and the flutter of flags. Wo are going to have tho biggest parade of the campaign on next Saturday night. The Democrats are going to have one aide of the street and the Republicans the other. All the shops are organising clubs, and I expect that by the time the last Democrat has disappeared and gone home we shall still be marching on. 1 saw a girl the night M'Kinley was here walk up to a policeman and blow a tin horn right in his ear. Another had a horn in each hand, and every fellow she met she blew one horn in one ear and the other in the other. I escaped that ordeal. Sometimes you will see a gang of twenty or more going up the street shouting 'M'Kiuley, M'Kinley!'or 'Bryan, Bryan!' as the case maybe, and when the rival factious meet they try to drown one another, so yon can try to imagine the pandemonium."

" October 28.—This letter will be full of politics, but there is nothing else to write about. Everybody has about gone crazy, and business is about at a standstill. The election takes place next Tuesday, and then we are in hopes that things will pick up some. I was up hearing ex-President Harrison speak on Saturday evening, He gave a very able address, and is a very nice speaker. He makes his home in this city, and I have heard him twice lately—the other time from the ear platform. We all marched up to the R R station in our working duds, and the company very kindly allowed us the twenty-five minutes on pay. We had a great railroad parade here the other evening, aud only railroad men were supposed to be in it. It was headed by a big wooden engine made exactly like a railroad engine. It was run along the street car track, and had a searchlight at the head and enough steam in it blow the whistle. This was followed by men four abreast and 'floats' without number. I counted twentyfour brass bands at different parts of the inarch, to say nothing of drum corps and bugle corps. Then there was a largo string of section hands driving hand cars along tho track ; then a long string of fellows carrying red, white, and blue umbrellas. Away for several blocks nothing could be seen but umbrellas bobbing up and down. Another feature of the parade was what are known as ' transparencies '—calico stretched on a frame on top of a pole aud a candle iuside, aud lettering on the outside, on the priuciplo of a Chinese lantern. Some of the mottoes were very funny. ' Vote for Bryan and free soup' was one. The streets were blocked as far as I could see, just room for the procession to pats, and all the windows and roofs were crowded. I never saw such a mob in my life. Then they had all sorts of fireworks and colored lights. Altogether it was a sight well worth seeing. I saw another parade where they had about 1,000 bicycles in lino three and four abreast."

" Novt mbet 4.—The most important piece of news is that M'Kinley has been elected, but of course you will have heard all about it before this reaches you. I am just tickled to death over it. It would have boen a great calamity if the other party had got in ; but now, although it was only this morniua that we knew for sure, things show signs of picking up, and'factories are putting on hands aud mills that have been idle are starting to run again. I have had lots of fun. The Democratic emblem is a rooster, while the Republicans have an eagle. I saw one fellow up town among the crowd carrying a dead rooster on the end of a pole. Others have imitation roosters with their heads cut off. Last night we were afraid everything was going for Bryan, and the Republicans had faces so long that they nearly trailed on the side walk. The first returns were overwhelming Republican, but when the returns came in from the rural districts Bryan started to rise until at last the whole thing hung on Indiana, but M'Kinley carried the Stale by about 24,000, aud now we are having a jollification. Our big parade came off last Saturday, and was an immense success."—' Herald.'