The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-09-21
IN A REMINISCENT VEIN.


Just about thil time preliminary de
mands were being made upon them tc
get themselves very much excited.
Specifically what they were asked to
excite Themselves about they may not be
able readily to recall.
We do not ourselves, scout OF mind, ~
recall the specifications although 1t is an
important part OF the business OF news
paper to remember everything for a
| long way back. But after all, like our
| gentle readers, we are only human.
However, II was only n short time ago
that the things to which We now refer
were beginning to stir, or rather to be
stirred. Our files will furnish details,
and maybe some oay we shall look up the
matter = for 1t 4 of some interest now,
as it was then, despite the fact that
memory of the events ia detail may IA IL
our gentle readers and us.
| Let US put on our thinking caps, just
| for dsy-dresm OF that brief past. AS
we recall 1t there was good deal of talk
about transfer tickets in the air. AS we
remem Der, there had transpired what, at
the time, was called an "indignation
meeting" some months before this time
year ago. And the citizens OF Provi-
dence were asked TO arouse themselves
and wax indignant. Over what? Oh,
like our gentle readers, we repeat we
don't exactly recall what, but we propose
to look the matter up later, just to fix
things in our MIND. We are sure,
though, without referring to our files,
that something about transfer tickets was
at the bottom OF thiIgs. Then too, II
our memory does not absol utely fail us,
the peop'e were being told about this time
that the City Council was composed IN
large part OF corrupt men who were in
the employ of the Union Railroad Com
pany. Furthermore, IL memory is still
acting in good faith, at this time year
ago the public were being told that the
Union Railroad company was souless
corporation that had the municipality by
the throat and was squeezing the stuffing
out of 1t.
Citizens were requested to wax indig
nant, at any rate. We are cock sure OF
that. They were called upon to rise up
aud crush the IN mo ,oly and drive out the
boodlers from the City Council Inciden-
tally, ss we may remind our gentle
readers, they were informed as to the ex
act method to be pursued to properly ex-
press this indignation snd accomplish the
ends that they were told were SO necessary
Of accomplishments The method suggested
was fer indignant Republican, to JOIN
with their Democratic fellow citizens who
are ever indignant az a matter OF princi
SON we suppose and finding nm apotheosis
OF Indignation In BILLY BRYAN, ana
choose a non-pirtizan candidate for May
or. who should OF course be Democrat
and non -partizan candidates for the coun-
ell, who should be Democrats 30 far as
practicable and that pledged to secure
transfer tickets and to release the munich
pality from the clutch OF the Union Rail-
road Company, these gentlemen should be
forthwith elected TO administer the a fairs
OF the mum icipslity.
At the time, a year ago about this
time. there were a large number OF citi
zens who declined TO be indignant and
who regarded with suspicion the things
they were told. and who saw only q
Democratic scheme In the methods OF
bringing about what nobody outside the
leading indignationists had asked for.
IT was not, In word, made altogether
zens that the Union Railroad Company
was an organization engaged in the pdr-
suit OF robbing the city and Its citizens.
There was, indeed, abundant evidence to
the effect that 1t was strictly attending
TO its ostensibie buJiness OF serving the
city and the citizens. And despite the
general dissem nation of the idea that
the people demanded FREQ and unlimited
transfer tickets at the sacrifice OF any
thing and everything else, investigation
failed to demonstrate that the demand
was anything like so widespread as was
the talk about it from the promoters OF
indignation.
But tl~e, OF course, lie neither here nor
there. The fact that we are compelled
to remind our gentle readers and our
setveq that anv such condfffop m ,na,