The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-02-26
Points From the Latest
Census Bulletin.
Only ST Negroes In the Two
Big Democratic Wards.
A Straight Tip On What 10 DO With
a Brainy Man in Office.

A census table by itself isn't very in.
teresting compilation save TO those who
dabble in figures and spend good part
of their time in calculating percentages
of this and percentages of that with
which to overwhelm any one unfortunate
enough to set them talking But occa-
sionally an examination of table will
disclose some curious facts which can be
obtained nowhere else and which may
furnish fruitful fields for speculation
more or less profitable Take the census
bulletin dealing with the color race and
sex of the population, which has just been
issued and a half hours study of II will
bring to view many facts that are worth
knowing because such information is, as
q rule, confined TO a very narrow circle.
Now it is generally known that the
females in this town outnumber the
males, but it isn't known whether this
excess of females holds good as TO every
ward or whether there are some In which
the sterner sex predomnates According
to the bulletin there are only two wards
in which males form a majority OF the
population and this minority is so slender
that il is hardly worth noting, certainly
il can be no source of pride to trousers
wesrers in these sections. in the Eighth
Ward there are just eight more males
than females and in the Ninth Ward the
males have majority of four-an even
dozen for the two wards.
These are the figures for the white pop
ulation. The figures for the colored
population gives practically the same re-
suits. In two wards only-the Fourth
and Sixth--do the colored males outnum-
Der the females. In the Fourth the males
have a majority of 20 and in the Sixth
majority of 3, an increase of IL over the
excess of white males in an equal number
of wards making total OF 30 OF both
races.
Providence has a colored population of
4045, which is something over half the to-
tai for the state, and this is pretty even
ly divided through all the wards save
two. These two wards are the most pop
ulous in the city and they are also Demo-
cratic. Evidently the coloied brother
doesn't feel at home in Democratic en-
vironment, for out of the four thousand
odd colored people in Providence just 81
ic wards. In the Third there are 40 and
in the big Tenth, with its total of more
than q, 900, there are just two colored
persons-one male ADD one female.
The Chinese laundryman, however, is
scattered over the city with an impartial
ity that would indicate that "biled"
shirts and fan tan are a necessity in
every ward and cannot be dispensed with
| by any Of them. The Democratic Tenth
| comes TO the front with IL OF these
knights of the wash tub and fiat iron, an
| Indication that the unterrifed Of that dis
| trict occasionally think Of something a
| little more personal than politics.
Providence has "a out of the 16S de-
| scendants Of the noble red man, fair
| quota with which no one will find any
| fault. When it comes to the japanese
| Newport has a decided monopoly. There
are just nine of these Yankees Of the East
| who have expatrlated themselves to live
| IL that part of real Yankeedom known as
| the State OF Rhode Island and Providence
| Plantation. OF this number Newport has
| nine, while one owns Providence as his
| place of abode and the other claims Cum
| berland as his home.
They are telling good story about
| Overseer of the Poor Cummings anent the
| Democratic love feast in honor of the
| our Democratic Mayors given by the
| Young Mems Democratic Club last Mon
| day evening. The tenor of the speeches,
so the tale runneth, was that when the
| Democracy caught good man and sue
ceeded in getting him into public office
| they should see to it that he was kept
| there. This sentiment seemed to strike
| the fancy of several Of the speakers, who
| included it in their remarks. 1t must
| have struck Mr.. Cummings as particu-
| larly good thing, but one that needed
| slight variation, so when he was called
upon a. the concluding speaker at the
feast he preserved the sentiment but varied
hx. tar
| ported to have declared with all the force
| of positive personal conviction, "When
| the Democracy secures as its candidate a
| brainy man, a man Of great ability and
unquestioned capacity ard elects him TO
| public office it Is the duty of Demo
cracy to keep him there. - And then there
was nudging of neighbors and smiles
that were expansive and expressive if not
| audible.
Conductors on the local street railways
| will be interested in a new disease which
| has made its appearance in Syracuse and
which so far has confined itself entirely to
| the men who collect the fares for the
street railway corporations. Half dozen
| conductors recently were afflicted with q
| very marked swelling of the eyes, which
| was accompanied by partial loss of sight
| All OF them with one exception stuck TO
their work, and in time the swelling dis
appeared ana they regained the fun use
| OF their eyes. One of the the afilict d,
however, had such n severe case that the
was compelled TO consult doctor. This
| conductor had noticed that occasionally
| his hands became discolored from grasp
ing the brass failing of the car. In windy
| weai her he had brushed the dust out OF
| his eyes with his hand ana after he had
suffered from swollen eyes for some time
he bethought himself that there was some
L ..ss A..t. l..r fr..
| his hands by the brass rtilitg and the
| trouble with his optics. IL was then that
! he consulted doctor, who decided that
| the case was one OF metallic poisoning
and SO treated Ii with ultimate success.
That conductor now wears glasses. As the