A Rainy Election, and a Runaway Horse
Olympia’s municipal election unfolds in rain and quiet, with saloons shut, candidates’ teams hauling voters, and one horse making a break down Main Street.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Nothing but the incessant rain occurred today to mark the occasion of the municipal election. The saloons were closed and a general quietness prevailed. There was plenty of speculation as to the successful contestant for the offices of city treasurer and that of councilman at large, each candidate seeming to be equally balanced. In the First ward 240 votes were cast at the hour of going to press—3:30. In the Second 90 and in the Third 108. Henderson, Glover and Chilberg, candidates for treasurer, worked vigorously, each having their teams out to carry their supporters to the polls. Henderson conducted his campaign in person, while the other two entrusted it to their friends. This morning one of Henderson’s teams took fright at a sign which was thrown across its back and started on a tear down Main street. The driver, Mason Hinchcliffe, stayed with them, however, and pulled up at the end of Main street. “If Henderson makes a run like that,” remarked a bystander, “he’ll be elected.”
“If Henderson makes a run like that, he’ll be elected.”
Olympia’s 1891 election was decided in the rain, with saloon doors shut and candidates’ teams hauling voters to the polls. The horse race and the runaway horse are period color, but the low turnout and last-minute scramble for city offices would look familiar to anyone watching a modern municipal election.
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