The News Democrat

G. O. P. HOT AIR ON THE REGISTRATION

Democrats Have Solid Basis of Fact and Actual Work at a Time When It Told on Which to Base Their Confidence of Success for the People's Fight Next Fall.

"Say, there will be a few more electric storms needed," remarked a Democrat today to a News-Democrat reporter, "to clear the atmosphere of this Republican hot air talk on being satisfied with registration.

"I know a thing or two about this matter and how registration jumped during the last few weeks.

"Meet a Republican officeholder, and you will find him well drilled in the song about having got to work early. He will tell you a yarn of work done that, if one-quarter of it was true, the biggest voting section in the country wouldn't be Manhattan, but just Providence; and one of the curiosities for future historians would be a photograph of the Republican workers for 1906.

"But the fact is the Republican officeholder has found 'bluff' so useful a factor in the past years that he won't be convinced that there is not one more fight left for that banner.

"Democrats who have done the real work know that in different sections of the city men have gone to the city hall this year and registered who have seldom bothered in past years about qualifying to vote.

"These men are all disgusted with Braytonism; but they have heretofore claimed that it was no use to make the fight.

"Some of them had the stiff argument of Col. Goddard's candidacy and the earnest work being done by an honest and fearless Democratic paper put up to them; and they admitted that it was just now worth while to take a hand in the fight.

"There will be lots of surprises next fall. The Independent voters are fully aware that the Democrats in their registration appeals had no idea of partisanship.

"I am in a position to know that the leaders of the Democratic and Independent canvass urged constantly that those helping them should see that the appeal to register was made to men irrespective of past political affiliations.

"The Young Men's Democratic club registration committee first took the names of all the voters that could be secured, and without stopping to bother about the politics of a man sent him an appeal to do his duty as a citizen.

"How different the talk of the Republicans now. All they claim is that some time early in the year they got the men who they supposed would be with the 'Graft in People' machine no matter who happened to go to the city hall. Since the Christmas holidays the issues have become more marked.

"The Democratic leaders in their registration work justified a non-partisan course by saying that the arguments against Braytonism would be so strong this year that it would be well to make the resulting blows as strong as possible, and the people could be trusted if they only qualified to vote.

"Another thing that is certain is that when the ward figures are given out it will be found that the Democrats of Wards 3, 5 and 10 are remarkably well registered this year. Anyone who followed things close the last few weeks knows that registration practically doubled in that time.

"Notice in this regard that the Republicans when they make any positive statement only refer to the first of the year.

"The new year of the nation will enter prosperously enough for Rhode Island, I think, for there are plenty of Gracchi and Reinzil to plead the cause of the people and of justice against the modern oppressors and bribers, even though the designation of the most devoted and liberty-loving officials in ancient Rome, is stolen to distort the truth and to try to cover from the righteous fire of a people's indignation the plunderers and manipulators of Rhode Island politics."