The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-04-30

LII 10 hEEoVN
Lest we should be misunderstood In
the matter of some observations we
made yesterday with regard TO the
uneasy sentiments that a certain pro-
portion of our fellow citizens entertain
toward corporations asa whole, and just
now toward the Union Railroad com
pany in particular. let us reason to-
gether a little more specifically.
We want 10 state in the first place
that we have no possible interest in the
trolley company and do not presume to
defend this semi public corporation, II
indeed ID needs TO be defended, or 10
attempt to represent it in any way or to
go ont of our province as a caterer of
news and a vender of opinions for
the public's consideration to make
any explanations in its behalf. We
are Of the opinion that the majority Of
u fellow citizens are a sensible lot Of
men and are able To distinguish flap
doodle from horse sense, and will take
NbAN Va AhO AhhNtCoNo VI thO tAOAASg Nchh
pany so far as they may be affiliated
with the public interests, and will
tackle firmly that or any other corpora
ton or body of men doing business
with the city if the public interests are
subverted by any such bodies for their
illegitimate gains. Our only object is
to place this newspaper on record in OPP
position to certain sentiments which
happen to be arrayed just now and
specifically against the Union Railroad
Company.
Our esteemed local contemporaries by
dint of much loose writing, the motives
for which are as various as the hues
Of a chameleon. have brought some
Of our fellow citizens to think strange
thoughts about the trolley company, to
conjure mp the DOGGY man, and to give
certain other Of our fellow citizens a
chance to vent themselves In a direction
most pleasurable to them personally.
An estimable organization. known a
the Union for Practical Progress, is to
be made the scapegoat Of this "move-
ment," and under its auspices it is pro-
posed to hold a mass meeting to protest
against the Union Railroad Company
for something or other that, while
possibly clear and ineligible to the
projectors Of the protest, is not so clear
to men who do a little thinking before
they talk or write.
Let M reason together, briefly, on this
matter.
The frs. assumption, on which this So
called protest is based, Is that the trolley
company has the best Of q bargain en-
tered into a coupleof years ago, by which
the municipality gave a franchise to the
company on certain conditions contem-
plating the establishment Of a trolley
service and the payment Of O certain
percentage of the receipts therefrom
into the city treasury. 1t is urged by
those who want to protest that the
bargain was a bad one for the city, but
we have never seen any figures presented
to demonstrate this. What we do know.
and what Is evident to the most casual
observer, is that, with a right of way
free from competition for 90 years, the
trolley company has set up the finest mr.
ban and suburban service hat exists any
where in the United States. We think
this has never been questioned. The
rolling stock Is handsome and luxuriant
in its appointments, beyond anything
enjoyed by any city that we know of.
The cars are run by intelligent men
who are paid salaries somewhat above
what the same service commands else
where, and that the efficiency of these
employees and the discipline Of the com
pany are superior is demonstrated by
the extraordinary freedom from acct
dent and the unrivalled skillfulness in
the handling of cars that are matters of
local pride. We think no Providence
can be made to believe that any
city in the land has a better conducted
transit service than we enjoy. And what
is more, the company that established it
for us invested a big capital in a lump,
promptly, on being guaranteed protec-
ton from competition, or trickery under
the guise of competition, and set up its
from end to end Of the city al
most in aday and a night.
It is well TO recall, at this point, that
the trolley company that has given us
this service is not the same corporation
that made the contract with this city,
but is its successor. IL there is any
thing the matter with the contract the
company that has given us the trolley
service was not a party to the DEAL. 1t
bought out the old horse railroad man.
agement and accepted conditions as it
found them, put new life and new
money into the service and gave the
city the rapid transit that it wanted.
Now there are a good many per-