The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-10-19
AT TURKS HEAD.
Curbstone Talk Between a
Couple Of Taxpayers.
One Explains TO The Other What
q Newspaper Hoax Is.
Point of Difference Between N. ".
Herald and Providence Journal.

"Did you ever hear of the animal hoax
printed years ago in the New York Her
aid, asked the first taxpayer of the sec
ond taxpayer at Turks Head this fore
noon.
"No; never did. What it is?'
s'Well, the Herald came out one morn
ing with a hair raising story to the effect
that all the animals had escaped from the
Central Park Menagerie and were devour-
ing men, women, children and stage
horses in the street. There was'a panic
in the city-parents were terrified, several
young children died of sheer fright and
the Mayor issued orders for the closing
Of all schools and other institutions until
the baests would be captured---all because
they read this frightful story in The
Herald-but they didn't read it all before
their terror got the best of them-the last
line of the article which nobody read un-
til the next day was to the effect that IL
was all joke. That was the famous ami
NAL hoax
"whsr induced you to tell me this story
just now and cause me to lose an Atwells
avenue carp
because it's so appropriate TO the
times. / was reminded of il by these re-
cent illusions of the Providence Journal
about the breaking out of all the reform
ers and Indignationists 10 devour their
| corrupt fellow citizens. It's political
hoax-that is, there is nothing In it.
| Only, The Journal differs from The Herald
| i'm this respect: The Providence paper
| doesn't know il Is "A hoax-it takes itself
SO serious by that that is the real joke in
! this case. The final saving line TO the
| effect that it's all bluff isn't there.
| hal mi
al never thought of that. Most people
| seem to think that The Journal prints
| these things in the hopes that 1t Will all
| come true and that the paper will get back
| some of the influence that ii had years
| ago, before the present editors and ele-
| vator boys knew where the Office was.
Some think that the editors are paid by
4 space and cut editorials out OF rivsi
| weekly papers about town-meeting time,
and paste them in for manuscript. You
know there are no reporters on The
Journal-they are all editors except one,
and he, the official feeler of the public
pulse, who never does any work himself
but Just goes about feeling and then re-
ports to the first editor he meets how
much he has felt. And the editor does
the rest--he has TO. 7"
Eyes, that's all true. I've heard those
things myself and lot more, but what
ever the substitute for a reason or a mo-
tive may be think my analogy to the
hoax holds good. BY and by, after elec-
tion, men will laugh. The last time
they laughed legitimately, that is, with
the sanction of The Journal. was when
the Official Pulse Feeler couldn't find an
Editor and wrote something himself
about Men Laughed
"But to continue the hoax analogy. The
Journal has been harping on the state of
affairs in Ward 8, you know. for
some time, ana prophesied that
the Sixth Ward would be torn as
sunder last night at me eting of
the tax payers OF Washington
Park. Well 1t wasn't. The taxpayers met
and had a long pleasant chat together
about the proper way to celebrate the
opening of new fire station. Then some
one moved that the association endorse
Councilman James 4. Freeman and sup
port him for another term at the city
hail. AS Mr. Freeman is a very good
| man and as next to bis country and his
family, he loves Washington Park, and
as the gentlemen CT the Taxpayers Asso'
citation are all courteous, well bred and
appreciative OF good service, the motion
was carried without dissenting voice,
whereupon Mr.. Freeman made an interest
ing speech 45 minutes long and was ap
plauded.
"Councilman Barney was there, but h,
wasn't tortured and maltreated as The
Herald said the children Of New York wer,
and as The Journal said he would be
Some one at the meeting questioned Mr.
Barpey's opposition TO a school house In
Washington Park but that someone
was a personal and political friend OF Mr.
Barney's who asked the question for th
purpose OF giving him an opportunity, 4
explain his action and he accepted the op
portunity. Twenty members or NOR
took the trouble TO personally assure Mr.
Barney that they did not intend TO with
draw their support from his candidac,
for reelection. Mr.. Freeman himself SAT-
in his speech that he had no desire L
antagonize his colleague in the Council
There are a great many who don't believ
that MIR. Freeman meant IL, but what o
that; there are over thousand voters II
the Sixth Ward and only 200 OF them ar
, In the Washington Park district.
"Then again. continued the taxpayer
, "a prominent Republican who has recent
ly moved into the Sixth Ward tells m
that that voting district is no longer a
close as II used to be. The Republican
were most always practically sure OF II
, but to add TO their certainty they use'
TO make a fusion ticket by putting on
couple of Democrats, Fuller and FreeuR
for instance. Fuller was laid away q
the last election because the fusion fes
ture was only half az necessary as IL he
been; now it's hardly necessary at all an
80 Mr.. Freeman, who is a Democratic oi
flee holder, isn't nalf so sure OF his nom
nation as he was last year when he ro
fused II from a Democratic caucus to get
something more reliable from the Repub
| licans.
81 Sec" sighed the other taxpayer
"then got all wrought up for nothin
the other day when | read The Journal
dissertation on Washington Park. +"
"That's what you did. ~
. "There Is a Fifth Ward rumor whic
the Official Feeler seems TO hav
skipped"
What's that3p
"Thomas w. Waterman, Councilman
from that ward told me this mornin ini
that Roswell Smith, chairman OF th'
ward committee. had told him that tn
ward committee was gcing 10 drop Coun
Gilman Burton from the present delega