We expect that this time the electoral fight would be dreadful, but it exceeded all our expectations. A bunch of crooks in the City Council were entirely victorious again, thanks to the indifference of the citizens and to the electoral swindles perpetrated by this City Council gang. None of our candidates won, on the contrary, they were defeated by such an immense number of votes that it seemed almost incredible. It is supposed that those men who have succeeded in being re-elected were prepared for a severe fight. That's why their whole electoral machinery was already started in the morning working with full steam throughout the day.

It seemed in the 8th Ward that Lawler had entire gangs of criminal characters at his disposal. These gangs acted in such an impudent and challenging way that honest citizens were almost afraid to approach the electoral boxes. Drunken young Irishmen were to be seen everywhere threatening every voter 2that appeared to be against the corrupt interests. But these gangs were not only composed of Irish youth. We saw among them some mischievous Bohemian boys who faced the Bohemian citizens in a more insolent way than the Irish themselves.

In the 6th ward, where the precincts are more densely populated, the Bohemians acted valiantly, and many Irish blackguards were sent home with light injuries. There were places where the Bohemian voters did not dare to show up without their risking the possibility of bodily injury at the hands of Cullerton's drunks. Generally speaking our countrymen behaved themselves with dignity.

It was different in the 8th ward, especially in the precinct at the corner of Clinton and De Koven streets, where fights were almost uninterrupted. Here was assembled the most vicious mob, which we have ever seen. In many cases our voters were obliged to run away from the polls, otherwise they would have been injured by one or more of the Irish hoodlums who had absolute control of this precinct. Everyone who attempted to resist them at the polls went home with some form of bodily injury.

Ant. Pregler, who the day before had made in Bohemian-American Sokol Hall a speech against the candidate, Lawler, paid also for his boldness. Some one of our countrymen must have informed the Irishmen about it, and an armed Irishmen wounded A. Pregler on his hand. Tomas Bilek was the only one who proved that even a tough Irishman can be defeated by an old Bohemian Sokol. Being attacked by one of the Irishmen, Bilek threw him instantly to the ground and right into a small pool of mud. All these single incidents were only a preliminary start of the general battle which was to be finished in the Jurka saloon. Many on both sides were wounded and sent home for first aid. About the policemen? They favored the Irishmen.

We have described all these abuses to show to the readers how electoral competition is conducted by the other party, which exerted all its efforts to make the polling places as dangerous as possible to citizens who wanted to vote against them.

It is no wonder that a large number of Bohemians did not avail themselves 4of the opportunity to vote. The corrupt elements in our city will always be victorious until we do something to bring about a condition that will enable our citizens to vote freely and fearlessly.

The Bohemian traitors. The mentioned events are not the only ones which helped the corrupt elements to victory in the 8th ward. We must say with shame that some of our own countrymen also helped. Some of these were businessmen, dependent on Bohemian customers. They publicly agitated in favor of Lawler, distributing pamphlets encouraging Bohemians to vote for Lawler. These businessmen sold their true conviction for a few paltry dollars. These people were not only traitors to their countrymen but a disgrace to the honor of our Bohemian race. They worked for a corrupt Lawler against an honest Bohemian, Kaspar.

If an Irishman behaved himself the same way as these Bohemians did towards a countryman, you may be sure that the Irish countryman would remember it to the end of his life. But we are more tolerant, that's why the impudence of these traitors amongst us has no limits. If an Irish-Bohemian youth had been guilty 5of this kind of perfidy we would not have been surprised, but this was done by Bohemians whom we had respected until now, who should have taken into consideration the value of the friendship of their countrymen. We really do not know what to think about them. Such traitors are the major cause of the defeat of honest Bohemian candidates, and the instruments of victory for the corrupt element.

They succeeded and the Bohemian citizens will be very thankful to them, because all citizens of the 8th ward know very well who they are.