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Chapter XV
CRUISE OF A BANKRUPT STEAMER
CAPTAIN AND CLERK DESERT-
WITH ALL THE MONEY.-
Pilots and Engineers Took Turns
On the Roof--Old River Men Usually
were Democrats
_______E.H. Thomas Saturday Evening
Post___________________________
I do no not know why it was, but as far as my
acquaintance went among them, I noticed that the river men
were Democrats. Whenever there was a crowd of us together they
had a good working majority. On my run between Davenport and
St. Louis I found but three Republican among the pilots. One
of these was Bill Owens of Montrose. William was
not only a republican but a very radical noisy member of the
party. The other fellows nagged him to keep him going and
along in the 70’s nicknamed him “Horace Greeley,” Bill
wore an old white overcoat and in some respects resembled the
great New York editor, one of the organizers of the republican
party. I was told by some of the older ones, that during the
50’s there was a national law which permitted river men to
vote in any port they might be on election day. That is for
president. If they happened to land in their home state they
could also vote for state officers. But after a trial of this
law, it was repealed. During my time there, some of them got
it into their heads that this act of congress was still in
force, and that they could vote anywhere along the shore: It
so happened that on the day of the presidential election of
1872, there were four steamboats lying at Montrose. The four
crews went to the polls to vote. The judges refused the first
ballot offered, saying that they were not sure that steamboat
men had the right to vote in Montrose. That they would have to
take legal advice on the matter. The river men insisted that
the law of the 50’s was still inforce, and that they
intended to vote there. That they would not be turned down by
three judges. They were angry and noisy, and for a time it
looked as tho there would be trouble at the voting place. Wm.
Owens was a busy man around there, taking a lively interest in
the matter. He came to me and insisted that some plan should
be devised to prevent these steamboat men from voting there,
for the sole reason that they were all democrats. To quiet his
nerves, I explained to William that all men were equal at the
voting place, regardless of political ideas, and that his
argument would not hold in law. I also assured him that if the
entire river vote was cast, it would not be counted, for the
very good reason that there was no law authorizing it. And
further, that, all of us might be arrested and punished for
illegal voting. However, the judges stood pat, and no river
vote was cast except that of Wm. Owens and a few others
that lived in Montrose.
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