The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-03-16
The Lunch Cart Men Must
Pay a License Fee.
When Grade Crossing Was
Not Thought Dangerous.
James Charles Monaghan Reports
on R0entgen Rays.

II looks now as though the lunch cart
men will have to pay something for the
privilege OF providing provender for those
who keep late, or rather early morning,
hours. The City Council committee on
ordinances has decided to report billre-
quiring owners of persmbulating lunch
rooms TO pay license fee OF $50.
Whether the City Council will agree to
this tax is q question which Will be settled
later, but inasmuch as 1t affects 10 be-
lleve that the city treasury is little short
OF bankruptcy, 1t may be reasonably as
sumed that there will be no serious objec-
ton to the passage of the bill as framed
by the committee. The restaurant keep
ers will unquestionablyt te well pleased by
such action. For long time they have
complained of the unfair competition OF
the lunch cart men and have insisted that
they should be compelled to pay license
fee or be stopped from carrying on busi-
ness at all. They certainly had reason
able ground for their complaint, "a the
lunch cart men not only did not have TO
pay any fee for the privilege OF doing
business, but they were practically un--
restricted as TO hours. On the other hand
the eating house keerer was under the
expense of license fee and rent, often
very heavy, while he was also required TO
close his place at the same hour that
those engaged in other lines of business
did. lie was therefore at serious disad-
vantage fn competition with the lunch
cart man and didn't hesitate TO say so.
Whether the imposition OF the license fee
will be followed by reduction OF the
number Of lunch carts time Will deter
mine; but II the stories OF the profits
realized by the owners be true the pay
ment of 800 will not in any way deter
them from continuing in business.
IL is a fact worthy OF note that when
railroad company has anything to do 1t
does II quickly. There is no delay, no
procrastination, but everything proceeds
with speed that in some cases is
really remarkable. An example OF expedi-
tious work was recently furnished by the
Consolidated road, which began the work
of repairing the burned railway station
almost before the firemen had comp leted
their labors there. Since then the work
has been pushed with corresponding speed
and the repairs are now pretty well along
toward completion. 1t is one of the curl
Gus features of this old station, which at
one time enjoyed the distinction of being
the longest building in the United States,
that, as originally oesignec Il was to be
built in two separate secti, ..s. That Is
to say, the space between the two towers,
which Lave since the fire, been raZed, was
intended for Broad drive way bordered
by sidewalks for the use of the public.
This highway crossed the through rail-
way tracks, and was intended TO give the
people Of Providence access to the park
promenade. This fact is a striving Illus
tration of the insigniticance ct railway
traffic in those days as comp red with
what IL is at present. The city fathers in
those days saw no special danger in pro-
VII in i'm ~
heart OF the city, but on the contrary, be-
lieved they were serving the public in
terest In insisting that such passage
way should be kept open. But conditions
have changed since then and now the mu-
ncipal members are demanding the
adjustment of grade crossings, instead
OF insisting that they be established for
the convenience of the public
There was time when about every per-
son in Providence either knew or had
heard of James Charles Monaghan. That
was in the halcyon days when James
ChaIles was cutting chunks of ice, as it
were, in the Democratic fold and deliver
ing eloquent eulogiums of party candi-
dates and party principles. As a party
war horse James Charles was a success
to the extent of receiving recognition at
the hands of the administration for
like three years he has filled the honor
able post of consul at Chcmnitz. Very
little of interest to home government
or to. the people of the United States goes
on in the vicinity that James Charles does
not promptly report TO the department
at w ashington. AS an instance of his
enterprise in this direction ii may be said
that he is one of the three United States
consuls who have forwarded to the State
department reports on the Roentgen dis
covery in photography. In his report
James Charles gives some very important
information which he obtained from an
eve witness of Roentgen's expert
meut Among other things he sHyg!
professor Roentgen takes a Crookes
pipe "a very strong vacuous glass pipe
through which goes an induction
stream and photographs by means of
rays that are sent out from the pipe
on ordinary Photographic plates. These
rays, whose existence Yves never suspected
till now, are invisible to the human eve.
They penetrate woods, oragnic matter and
otherwise opaque substances. The papers
claim that they will not penetrate iron
or metals, but my informant who attend
ed the meetings where the experiments
were made assures me that the rays were
put through three inches of hard rubber
and carried a good photograph to plates
on the other side; also ihorugh 1l2 CEN
timeter iron plate. Like SO many great
things, the discovery owes its origin 40
accident. The professor was experiment
ing with Crookes pipe. around which
he had wrapped some stuff. He ran a
strong electric current through the pipe
and noticed later some lines on parallel
paper-such as he had never noticed be-
lore by electrical experiments. The keen
eyed scientist studied out these lines
suspected, then experimented and obtain