The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-05-04

A popular pastime at the agricultural
fairs is made by inserting the head of a
lusty br other through hole in
a canvas and for the small price of a
nickel permitting all comers TO shy
baseballs at the wool-top..
This exciting and exhilarating game
is commonly known as Kill the Coonv'
OF course you don't really kill the coon
because his head is too hard, and you
can't often even hit him because he
ducks. SO it is, after all, proftless
game, however amusing.
They played "kill the coon.' at the
Rhode Island Business Mems Associa-
tion. that high sounding organization
which is notable for the large mem
bership it has on its books,
and the small number it gets
TO attend its meetings and which,
some time ago, its affairs having re-
lapsed under the statute of limitation of
usefulness into the control of handful
of pestiferous young men, has done
nothing but make itself uncomfortable
to itself ever since.
Last evening Mr.. Z. ID. BAssETT was
invited to address the meeting OH the
increase of the city debt, as we noted in
these columns yesterday, the meeting
being designed as porus plaster to the
wounded souls of the pestiferous
manipulators OF the association
who had undertaken to get up
a meeting to "protest" against
the trolley company, and had abandoned
the project because the biggest part Of
the membership preferred to discuss the
proposed subject rather than go into the
protesting business with their eyes shut.
The idea of these projectors of
last nights meeting was, SINH
larly, to have everybody enter heartily
into the condemnation business and
have it go forth that this Business Mems
Association, with its splendid list of
membership and its farcical manage
ment, had thrown its apparently impos.
inss weight at the city government.
As matter of fact, however, the
meeting being public one, some un-
kinl man proposed little discussion
from the floor. and the result was that
several gentlemen, who knew what they
were talking about somewhat better
than Mr.. BAssETT, seems 20 have, figu-
ratively played Kill the Coon," Mr..
BAssETT being the coon. Unfortunately,
many of our fellow citizens who would
have enjoyed the game were absent from
the meeting. Indeed, only very few
persons were present, as the kind of men
who make up the rolls of the association
have grown tired of being % worked by
the pestiferous handful, and not believ-
ing it worth while to bother about the
shell that is left of the organization,
don't go to the meetings at all. But 1t
was great sport, just the same, though
the majority OF those present were
doubtless disposed to regard it as cruel
and unusual. The only bar to
the merriment was due to the
fact that the coon in this
case neither ducked nor lodged,
but allowed the thr0wers Of the base
balls to plug him in the neck with
out Offering any resistance. This made
the sport tame after while, as the
mark was too easy.
We sympathize with Mr.. BAssETT be-
,ause he is too good fellow to see led
,stray by such tawdry piece of pre-
ense as the Rhode Island. Business
Mems Association without exciting
emotions of regret in the hearts of his
many friends. Still if he has learned
omething about the city's debt the re-
ult has not been proftless to him and
will inure thereby to the benefit Of the
community in which Mr.. BAssETT
tsuallv shipac