The Election of 1888
The election of 1888 was one of the most important ever held in New Orleans . Ever since the return of the democrats to power there had been in existence a state ring. Its first efforts had been to abbreviate Nicholls' term of office. Thereafter its labors had been chiefly directed to bring about the exclusion from power of the better element in the party. To that end it had co-operated with the professional politicians in New Orleans whenever the need of their support was felt. Out of this alliance had arisen a city ring, leaning upon the state ring for support. Thus almost every political movement in state or city had ramifications that extended into unexpected places and occasioned the most unexpected results. After the defeat of General Ogden's candidacy for the gubernatorial nomination, in 1884, the ward leaders in New Orleans had come together and made common cause against the reform movement headed by Behan, with the result that the citizens' ticket was defeated, as we have seen, by "gross irregularities and criminal violation of the law."
Four years later, when the contest over the state nominations came to an end with the second election of General Nicholls, city politics were in a state of chaos. Naturally the supporters of General Nicholls felt that they were under some obligation to the men in New Orleans who had exerted their influence to insure the success of their candidate. But these men were members of the city ring, and it was generally understood that their support of Nicholls had as ulterior object the election of their own ticket, on the assumption that Nicholls' name would be powerful enough to carry through any ticket which it headed, municipal as well as state. For this reason Nicholls' lieutenants, feeling that the material interests of the city were paramount, in spite of any sentiments of gratitude in the premises, were reluctant to commit themselves to the support of any candidate or policy which appeared to threaten the prosperity of New Orleans .
In this situation the younger element in the local democracy organized itself into what is known in history as the Young Men's Democratic League, with W. S. Parkerson as president and John M. Parker as secretary. It refrained from participating in the primaries of 1888, contenting itself with waiting to see what the regulars would do. The primaries were held on March 22 and "passed off quietly," according to the Picayune, which, nevertheless, in the same issue, chronicled numerous instances of what it termed "pugilistic encounters" and worse. In the Tenth Ward "some of the voters were driven away from the polls through fear of being injured if they voted the wrong ticket; others left with black eyes and bloody noses"; while at 4 P.M. a pistol shot in front of the polling place caused a stampede, "but no one was injured." Shooting scrapes also occurred at the corner of Magazine and St. Andrew streets, where a dozen men were involved, and also in the Eleventh Ward. "In both of these wards the toughs made themselves felt and were not backward in showing their weapons and brandishing them in the air." In many other wards fist fights took place, "but nothing of a serious nature" was discovered by the serious-minded reporter who investigated the matter. These incidents were as harbingers of what might be anticipated on election day.
The democratic nominating convention met in Odd Fellows' Hall on March 24 and was called to order by its youthful chairman, B. C. Shields. "The various factions of the party seemed to get along in harmony," was the Picayune's description on the following morning. The delegates were very evenly divided between the Nicholls and the McEnery factions, and the nominations for the general parish offices were arranged on that basis, but insofar as the city officials were concerned it was soon apparent that the city "ring" controlled the delegates and would pay no attention to any opposition. The convention therefore named R. C. Davey for mayor, G. W. Flynn for comptroller, Herman Meister for city treasurer, Peter Farrell for commissioner of public works and C. Taylor Gauche for commissioner of police and public buildings. Davey was one of the "Big Four," the little group of individuals who were reputed to control absolutely the regular democratic organization. The other three were John Fitzpatrick, Patrick Meallie and Tom Duffy. Davey was from the Second Ward.
The Picayune, which assumed an attitude of more or less independence, commended the major nominations. But when it considered the councilman's nominations, put forth by the convention, it expressed strong disapproval. "They are not calculated to afford any guarantees that the cause of good government in this city will be promoted by their election," it observed, editorially, on the following day. These nominations were made by the wards individually, and the councilmen were chosen each in his own bailiwick, but it was inevitable that the city at large should estimate the character of the ticket from a scrutiny of these purely local candidates. The dissatisfaction of this one influential newspaper only faintly reflected the opinion of the mass of the people.
The feeling of indignation which greeted the ring nominations found vent at a great mass meeting called by the Young Men's Democratic League at Washington Artillery Hall on March 28. Parkerson presided and stirring speeches were made denouncing the ticket. "Whereas," ran the resolutions adopted at the close of this meeting, "the administration of New Orleans has fallen into the hands of men who have used their power to serve their personal and selfish ends, in total disregard of the financial and labor interests of the community [. . .] and put out a ticket which is an insult to the intelligence of this community and a menace to its progress and prosperity," action must necessarily be taken to avert the impending calamity. A complete city ticket was thereupon presented to the excited throng in attendance and ratified amidst scenes of wild enthusiasm.
At the head of the ticket was the respected name of ex-Mayor J. A. Shakespeare. Since leaving the mayoralty four years before he had figured in public life only as a member of the Board of Health and of the Shakespeare Almshouse Board and of the Board of Commissioners of the Charity Hospital . For comptroller Otto Thoman was named. Mr. Thoman was a prominent citizen of German descent, who had attracted attention in the Behan administration as a member of the council and as chairman of its Budget Committee. Thomas Agnew, who was nominated for one of the commissionerships, was president of the Screwman's Association and of the Trades Assembly and stood well with the laboring classes. James N. Harry was nominated for city treasurer. He had held this position in the preceding administration and given general satisfaction. The honored name of Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard, illustrious in the Civil war, and always a talisman in city affairs, lent strength to the ticket.
The other nominations for the more important position were equally good, but the Picayune criticized the names put up for the council. In a long editorial that paper gave as its verdict that there was small chance of the Young Men's Democratic Association's success. "A general fight against the whole ticket" named by the regulars "can accomplish little," wrote the sapient editor. "There are good men on the regular ticket whom no combination can possibly defeat. The ticket, as a whole, we believe to be stronger than any which can possibly be put up against it." Opposition to the Young Men's Democratic Association, however, was based upon something deeper than mere individual preferences. There was a feeling that the democracy was engaged in a state-wide contest for supremacy and that to insure the re-election of Nicholls and the permanent discomfiture of the opposite party, it was necessary for him to have a majority of many thousands in the city. The Republican Party was alive in the country districts and it was feared by many cautious voters, like the Picayune's editor, that any division in the ranks of the democracy would furnish an opportunity for its effective revival in the city. This was not the case, as the event demonstrated.
The insistence of the Picayune on the necessity of revision led the leaders of the Regular Democracy to attempt in April to make such alterations in the ticket as would make it acceptable to this influential paper. Several of the councilmanic nominees withdrew, and by April the Picayune was able to announce that eight "good men and true" had been found to take their places. But the ticket was still unsuitable. Subsequent efforts to modify it seem to have been unavailing.
On April 15 the Republican state and parish convention met and endorsed the Young Men's Democratic Association ticket. This action was, however, only taken under pressure. Warmoth, who was nominated for governor, announced that unless the endorsement was forthcoming, he would withdraw his name. However, the republicans ran true to form in other respects, nominating state senators and members of the Legislature in each of the city districts. Thus was injected a third element into a political situation already sufficiently complex. The convention was exceedingly unruly; it only completed its work after an extra force of police had been sent to the meeting-place on a riot call.
Early in April Mayor Guillotte announced himself an adherent of the Young Men's Democratic Association, and, in fact, did yeoman's work for the ticket during the remainder of the campaign. On the 15th an effort was made to get the regulars and the young men's association to agree not to send bodies of armed men to the polls on election day, and that both would assist in procuring the arrest of all persons carrying weapons that day. The negotiations failed. The association recognized the proposals for what they were — traps; and would agree to no arrangement except to post their forces not nearer than one block from the polls. This failure was equivalent to a declaration of war. It meant that the Young Men's Democratic Association was arming, and preparing to see that the election was fairly conducted, if need be at the point of the bayonet.
The election took place on April 18. " New Orleans is to be congratulated upon the fact that the election was attended by scarcely any violence or serious disturbance of the peace," commented the Picayune on the next day. The Nicholls state ticket carried the city by large majorities, and as one of the newspapers said, jubilantly, "the old state ring is smashed." As far as the city ticket was concerned, the Young Men'sDemocratic Association candidates were successful everywhere by a heavy vote.
Shakespeare received 23,288 votes, as against Davey with 15,645.
Thoman ran ahead of the ticket. He received 25,715 votes as against Flynn, with 12,205.
Beauregard received 23,039 votes, and his opponent, Farrell, 15,570.
In fact, the only majorities scored by the ring were in the Second and Eighth wards. Every attempt was made to intimidate voters. "The almost countless questionable devices and election legerdemain," said the Times-Democrat, in its account of the election, "so familiar and so often practiced by the ring, were utterly and woefully futile on Tuesday last.
In the First and some other wards, certain notorious hoodlums were reported as lurking around the vicinity of the polling precincts, armed and anxious for an affray." They did not, however, venture to provoke trouble, in view of the fact that armed squads of Young Men's Democratic Association men were posted not far away. From time to time during the day detachments of men were dispatched from the Young Men's Democratic Association headquarters at the Continental Guards armory, to help bring in the ballot-boxes from the various precincts where the henchmen of the ring might otherwise have caused trouble. In the Twelfth Ward, for example, a man who had been indicted a few years before for ballot-box stuffing, made himself conspicuous by kicking the box out of the carriage in which he and it were being conveyed to the City Hall.
In several instances ring officials neglected to sign the returns, hoping in this way to complicate the count; and, in others, they absented themselves from the polls towards the end of the day, carrying off the keys, with the same reprehensible object. A ring leader, who was a candidate for an important position, had an organized shot-gun brigade stationed at a short distance from one of the polls, but the presence of thirty-six well-drilled Y. M. D. A. men, under John M. Parker, prevented him from using it to interfere with the voters. In only one case was a citizen actually attacked, and that was in the Second Ward, where T. S. Nobles was set upon and badly beaten when he presented himself at the booth to cast his vote. Nobles was subsequently lionized by the victorious party. As a victim of ring mispractices, he was made the recipient of a handsome testimonial from the Produce Exchange, in recognition of his services and sufferings on this memorable day.
The ballot boxes were brought in from many points under protection of the Y. M. D. A. forces, armed with rifles, and preceded by bands of music. The boxes from the Second Ward were thus escorted by forty men carrying Winchesters. They were delivered at the Criminal Court, where another division of the citizen army awaited in the clerk's office, to see that they were not tampered with there. It was understood that armed representatives of the Young Men's Democratic Association would remain on hand until the last ballot had been tallied and the totals promulgated. The resolute demeanor of the citizens effectually cowed the ring emissaries, and the result was really never in doubt. Even the reluctant Picayune, on the next day, "saluting the Y. M. D. A.'s triumph," said that the association had "vastly improved upon the present city government. [. . .] The regulars have only themselves to thank for defeat. If they had not embarrassed their friends by making absolutely unsupportable nominations, they might have been more fortunate. The good men they did nominate were crushed under the weight of their bad nominations."
The new administration was inducted into office on April 26. The members of the just-elected government assembled at the Denegre Building on Carondelet Street , and in a solid column, headed by Mayor Shakespeare, marched to the City Hall. They were warmly cheered along the route, especially in front of the exchanges, the members of which had been especially in promoting what, in effect, was a revolution. A great crowd followed in their wake, and swarmed into the City Hall. The new officials were welcomed by Mayor Guillotte, and with the briefest and simplest of ceremonies, in the council chamber, were installed in office. Shakespeare had no message ready, and his inaugural address was very short, consisting only of a few words pointing out that the administration took office with no pledges or trammels of any sort.
