The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1897-07-09
OUR BOSTON LETTER.
Patriotism Cannot Be Killed by
Climatic Conditions.

Fourth of July Celebration Has Changed
In Characteristic Bicycle Did It--HuD
Growing More Cosmopolitan-SOm
Census Pigures--SheItering Home For
Dumb Animals-How Starving Pets
Are Cared Decentralization and Base
Battle-Ground and Dramatic Notes.
Patriotism Is not dead. 1t has been
demonstra ted that cold freezing weather
will not destroy it, and now we know that
a sWeltering, blisteding day will not
prevent Americans from celebrating the
Declaration of Independence. There may
have been hotter "Fourths" than Mon
day, but few of us can remember them,
and we would not desire to if we could,
yet the celebration went on, and there
was in 1t as much of real patriotic fervor
as Boston has known for years. AS
said last week, the character of the day
is changing from the old jubilee, but we
are not going backward Every step is
toward more sensible and intelligent
observance of the day.
This is all the more pleasing and salts
factory when you consider the mixed
character of our populace and the in
crease toward cosmopolitanism that the
more recent census figures show. Let us
| glance at a few findings Boston has
Sl6,522 native inhabitants and 1870, 1893 for
| elgn born. The excess of females over
males Is greatest among the foreigners,
the figures being 96,973 females and 49,
4l5 males, the disparity being due prob
ably to the immigration of young work.
| ing women from the provinces. The
males and females among the natives
are more evenly matched. being 1876, ~
and 160,2S1 The Hub also has 799 China
men, II being natives, and six Chinese
women, the five who were born in China
being all married, and the native being
little girl about 10 years Of age. There are
9474 colored people in Boston, ATT being
males and 1897 being females.
There are more married white men of
foreign birth in Boston than native, the
figures being 1924 and 39, 1886 The same
holds true of the women, there being 49,
15S married women of foreign birth and
but 1888 native. The almost exact cor
tive men and women married shows that
the fntermarriage between, natives and
foreigners was almost )inappreciable.
There are many other interesting feat
ures shown, but have given enough of
the statistics to show that Boston is not
now Yankee city in the strict sense and
mat there are great many in our midst
VINO are Americans only by adoption.
Yet ell of these, apparently with COM
mon purpose, Joined in celebrating the
day of days dear to the American heart,
and Joined hands with us and each other
In paying tribute to the flag of freedom.
yer, IN another sense, 1t was a very
quiet day. The old "slambang'' cele-
bratfon, the crowded Common, was no
more. There was a time when every
pody hastened to the common on the |
FOURTH and when an inuufsitiye or
pleasure-seeking individual might go
there and wade up to the neck in pic
turesque incidents. But now all that |
seems to have Joined the dim, historic
past There was time when, on the |
Fourth" the common was alive actual |
ly, literally alive with humanity. The |
malls in those days, not farther back |
than last year even, were fringed with |
booths-sandwich booths lemonade and !
spruce beer booths, popcorn booths, and |
30 on, and son on. Those Anare the times
when all kinds of fakirs abounded and |
red lemonade and gingerbeer held the |
fort with Young America.
But on Monday all was different
Comparatively speaking, there was no
crowd, no long lines of lunch stands, no
hogsheads Of red lemonade, no clouds
of pretty balloons, no Jumbo balloon, no
din of patriotic noise, no elaborate de-
ception Of the great American people in
their day of jubilee, no-nothing, as the
boys so expressively put it. The BIZ
cycle, though, was in evidence every
where, and this silent steed that has
broken the hearts and fortunes of so
many iverymen and stabIekeepers, is
largely responsible for breaking up our
old -fashioned jubilee. You cannot even
celebrate without taking the wheel in
to consideration. Racing men are as
great an attraction as racing horses.
This is the age of the bike.
If you read the editorial column of
one of our leading newspapers last week
you found in one issue in prominent po-
sition an article calling attention to and
the frequent neglect of cats.
Of course, a feline is not such an issue
as bimetallism or the tariff, but the edi-
torial was timely in its character, and
deserved a reading. The instances of
cruelty to cats are much more COM
mon than you may suppose. When the
family goes away for the summer, tabby
Is too often either forgotten in the hur-
ry and hustle and allowed to wander
homeless abroad, or, what is worse,
ocked IN the great house and left to die
/ lingering death from starvation.
Many person hes stopped to pity the
appearance of a homeless wanderer of
he cat family, but 1t remained for
benevolent Boston woman to do more
han pity and pass on. She saw, she I
)itied, and, as a result, founded a I
Home for Dumb Animals" {
Happily, this institution is Just what II
,retends TO be, and is maintained ex-
lusively for homeless and abandoned q
ats and dogs II is not for the pets of (
wealthy owners, but for those of penuri- {
JUS persons whose consciences allow i