The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-10-23


travagance, of undue corporation infiu-
ence in the Council, OF charges OF NAL
feasance in office On the part of boards
and officials in q number of the depart
ments OF the municipal administration,
7Ol7 citizens of Providence last year voted
for the candidate for Mayor who stood,
as was e.srged, for all the outrage upon
good government specified and oenomi-
mated In the campaign as made by the
opposition. And 1888 citizens voted for
three other candidates who represented
each in his own way opposition to the
administration of the city OF Providence
as conducted for half century by men
who call themselves Republicans in nlu-
nicipal affairs.
This newspaper at that time stood up
for the Repu blican candidate for Mayor
for no other reason than that 1t believed
those charges false. And IL any one OF
those 7017 citizens who then voted for the
Repn blican candidate for Mayor did not
believe that the charges made were false
his vote was stultihed, his citizenship
was at low standard and he was an
enemy OF good government, dangerous to
the community. or the 1888 who
voted for three other candidates
they can only be accounted for on the
ground that what appear to be only
trivislities to the majority of men are of
prime Importance ever to some men.
The faith OF these 70l7 citizens WHO
presumably gave no credence to the in
famous charges that were made to boost
the Hon. T.. ID. McGuINNEss into office
and In fact, did so boost him, and the
faith OF this newspaper that the charges
made were nothing less than political
cslumniations have been amply, fully,
absolutely justified. Not single charge
upon which a Republican administration
was deposed and candidate MoGuINNEss
was elected has been sustained. Every
one of them has been proved by the ver-
dict of the calumniators themselves to
have been as false as malicious, as
groundless as they were insincere. They
were doubtless believed at the time by
1:any good citizens. They may have
been believed by the men who made
them. Candidate McGUINNEss may have
believed what he said. We have no
means of knowing. IL he did believe the
charges he made he must now acknov-
take. He has naturally kept very quiet
about that. He wac prompt and hot to
defame men tnen In Office but he makes
no reiraction now that retraction is
plainly demanded. Tnst is one kind of
politics we suppose--evidsntly enough
tho Mayors kind.
OF course, SO far as the Democratic
machine is concerned, the truth or fslsity
of the charges was OF secondary import
ance. OF prime importance was the
necessity Of trumping up some scheme to
win votes for the machine candidates
from outside the Democratic ranks. This
scheme was successful.
But those OF the 1904 citizens who voted
for Candidate McGuINNEss year ago, not
because they were Democrats hut be-
carse they believed him when he told
them that the town was misgoverned,
extravagantly governed, and that the
ad m nistration and several important de-
partments were maieticent and corrupt,
the Goo Coos in a word, what is their
position today? We confess we don't
know. II they were sincere year ago,
ss we presume they were, we should sup
pose they would rise up In righteous in
dignation and help to sweep the mas.
quersding, bunco admin istration OF Mayor
McGUINNEss out OF Office. In no other
way can they commend themselves 10
their fellow citizens as men OF honest, IL
one time miguided, views.