USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > Progress of Providence; a centennial address to the citizens of Providence, R.I., with a poem > Part 3
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In the history of Providence the second crushing calamity occurred one hundred and forty years after the first, in the great gale of 1815, which swept all the warehouses on either side below the bridge, destroyed a large part of the shipping in port, and many import- ant buildings. But this disaster now appears as a blessing in disguise, since from it resulted the first per-
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ADDRESS.
manent improvement in the place, the widening of Weybosset bridge, the laying out of South and West Water streets, Canal street and the Cove basin. Street lamps were introduced in 1821, and these were super- seded in 1848 by the general adoption of coal gas. The Arcade, with its elegant Ionic collonade of granite monoliths, erected in 1828, was the forerunner of a new order of things, in which architectural taste and substantial structures were to replace the low frame buildings of a country town. But it was not till 1841 that this desirable change was fairly begun by Mr. Hezekiah Sabin, soon followed by others, till the Westminster street of to-day has come to contrast with the same thoroughfare of the olden times as do the splendors of Munich with the antique quaintness of a German village. At length the old form of town government was outgrown. A serious riot in Septem- ber, 1831, which continued for four nights, in whichi seventeen houses were destroyed by the mob, and five lives were lost, was suppressed by military force. Stimulated by this event Providence adopted a city charter, and under the mayoralty of Samuel W. Bridg- ham, in June, 1832, entered upon a new career of progress. But by far the greatest event, in its bearing upon the prosperity of Providence was the introduction of water, which after being four times defeated by the popular vote, was finally adopted in 1869. The work commenced the next year, and the water was first intro-
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CITY DOCUMENT.
No. 33.
duced from the Pawtuxet river in November, 1871. The question whether Providence was to become a metropolis of trade and manufactures or continue as a secondary city, was thus settled in favor of progress. The stimulus given in the right direction was immediate and immense. The overflow of population soon re- quired the city limits to be extended. and the annexa- tion of the Ninth and Tenth Wards caused an increase of forty-six per cent. from the census of 1870 to that of 1875, a showing which no other city in the country can equal.
That the city of Providence has its future in its own hands is apparent. With the vast wealth and accumu- lated industries of a century at its disposal; with the result which this latest measure of improvement has produced as an encouragement; and with the experi- ence of other less favored seaports as a guide, there would seem to be the ability and the inducement to take the one remaining step necessary to secure the supremacy which nature indicates for the head waters of Narragansett Bay. While our Northern and West- ern railroad connections are already very large and are rapidly reaching their requisite extension, there remains only the improvement of the harbor and adjacent waters of the bay, which can be made at comparatively small expense, to make Providence the commercial emporium of New England. There is no mere fancy in this idea. It is an absolute fact, attested by the
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ADDRESS.
history of Glasgow, and foreshadowed by the opinions of those who have thought long and carefully on the subject. It is a simple question of engineering and of enterprise, and it will be accomplished. When Provi- dence had twelve thousand inhabitants, as it had within the lifetime of many of us who do not yet account our- selves as old, had some seer foretold that the Cen- tennial of the nation would see the quiet town transformed into the growing city starting upon its second hundred thousand of population, it would have seemed a far more startling statement than this with which we now close the Centennial Address-that the child is already born who will see more than half a mil- lion of people within our city, which will then be the commercial metropolis of New England.
POEM.
BY
GEORGE WILLIAM PETTES.
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POEM.
O NCE on a time, as modern legends say, A parson, journeying his accustomed way Descried a storm-cloud gathering o'er his head, The menaced promise of an hour of dread. Then blew the winds and broke the thunder blast, The lightning frolicked and the rain fell fast, When, as he neared the church, his purposed bound, The fire-flash striking, felled him to the ground. Stunned, but not injured beyond quick repair He rose and hastened to the temple where Though for his sake solicitously stirred, His flock assembled to receive the Word. Wearied and shattered, frightened and perplexed, He spoke a preface, ere he named his text, In which he lauded the impulsive play Of the fleet fluid in its special way ; Thought it, administered for nervous ills Not out of place, or given for ague chills ; But when applied with such a telling force As to upset a rider and his horse It might be healthful, but his choice would be To pass a life of equanimity ;
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CITY DOCUMENT.
No. 33.
And that his accident would hinder speech, That in their council he would fear to teach, Save that he was a native born and bred, Whose heart was right, though half his wit had sped. In like regard, my Pegasus and I Charged with our daily liability, Were pressing on through fields of love and fame Not fearing danger when-your letter came.
Something recovered from the first effect Of the explosive, earnest dialect That quick ignored a speculative lode, And claimed a Poem, not an Orphic ode ; I thought, what can be done, what shall I say To those who wait on that Centennial day? I'll tell them of my jealous fear, and then I'll claim my birthright of Rhode Island men ; I'll proudly say, " This is my native State, My heart is loyal as her fame is great ; " That the light gambols of my honest Muse Rhode Island men will suffer and excuse.
There is a word most popular of late In use alike by Fashion, Church, and State, Whose literal significations are T' improve the system and its faults repair ; To change from bad to better, not to trade One sin developed for one newly made. " REFORM !" the modern Politicians shout ; " Condemn the blunder, turn the blunderer out."
" REFORM !" the Priest exclaims ; " dispense with creeds : Let dogmas yield to grand heroic deeds."
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POEM.
" REFORM !" Society demands, and names The barriers thwarting her ambitious claims.
A word must designate the party play : To-day, Reform ; the Tariff, yesterday. " James and Reform !" on blood-red banners flies ; " John and Reform ! " a green ground occupies ; " Charles and Reform !" an independent few In Truth's great cause, announce on heavenly blue.
Now, while 't is plain, James is the very man To change all nature as none other can ; While John's experience and transcendent worth Fit him alone to rule the solid earth ; While Charles exultant, wears perfection's crown And justly overawes both James and John ; While all defenders of green, red, and blue Desire Reform (at least, they say they do) ; Each one discovers that his neighbor's creed Is but the token of some damning deed ; That " foul corruption " festers in his brain, And death and darkness follow in his train.
On the same tocsin it was rung of yore,- This ancient chime ; we've heard it all before ; With the next panic, in the next campaign, Fresh, as of old, we'll hear it all again. 'T is but the nation's farce ; what now we know Of weak foundations, we knew long ago ; But still we, passive, build upon the sand, And look to see the superstructure stand.
James wrote his friends of an initial scheme That died long since,-its memory is a dream.
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CITY DOCUMENT.
No. 33.
A shrewd official hunts the letter up, Finds acrid poison in its mouldy cup, Howls his discovery to all mankind And calls his witnesses from farthest Ind. "Investigation !" Press and Place demand : " Investigation !" rings throughout the land. Mountains are moved, the depths of ocean stirred T' explain the mystery of a phrase or word ; While James distracted, ceases day nor night To rue the hour in which he dared to write.
John once paraded with a temperance league And, after, took a glass with Marshal Teague : Hobnobbed with Richard, kissed Mike's little boy ; Gave Tim, the bricklayer, a day's employ. Oh ! better far that Dick and Mike and Tim Had ne'er been born, or ne'er been known to him. Better that gill of whiskey had been made To pay the rate that Government has paid. The strict tectotallers of many years, Who moisten pledges with canonic tears, Have read John's secret, and, from every pump Stand ready on his theories to jump.
Charles, college-bred, in youth essayed to speak Sophoclean stanzas in their native Greek ; With Virgil journeyed, and with Horace sang The odes which erst from Sabine villa rang. He saw the tall Sallustian gardens wave, And read their moral at the historian's grave. Familiar with the deeds of every age, Patriot and seer, philosopher and sage, Th' eternal law to him unfolds the plan
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POEM.
That guides and governs Nature's nobleman. Upright in business, true to every trust, By grand consent his surname is, " The Just." Proudly he wears his honors, fairly won- What room for such a man in Washington ?
Time was that men, somewhat insanely, thought They had a right to property they bought ; That such as had no land or titled sway Should not make laws to take their own away ; That no rash stranger, in Kilkenny coat, Should land one day, and on the morrow vote. They built the colleges, endowed the schools, And felt that aliens should not make the rules. But when Reform her brazen trombone blew, And heralded the doctrines that were new, Partly from cowardice, but more from pride, The men who should have stayed her, stood aside. Onward she passed, -with joy the showman feels, When thousand idiots dog his chariot wheels ; No lack of leaders, 'mong the motley crowd Who waved their caps, and called her name aloud. Later, the programme has been much the same ; All now have grown familiar with her name. If men are wanted to advance her cause, To prate of service, as they break the laws, The time is quite prolific in her need ; It raised up Sweeny ; the fat cherub, Tweed ; It gave them lawyers to defend their fraud ; It gave them ships to waft them safe abroad ; It gives their faithful parasites to stand Within the loftiest temples of the land.
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CITY DOCUMENT. No. 33.
The modern game, in which reformers play, Is not progressive, owns no gradual sway. Iconoclastic in its quick pretence, It holds no converse with mere common-sense. The negro thanks the people who have freed The negro race. Now, let the negro lead. You have done nothing for his sweet content Until you make the negro, President. Of course, you sandwich him in railroad cars, But mix him lively in your caucus jars. You once did wrong ; now do much more than right ; For what the Lord made black, Reform makes white.
When Luther turned reformer, fought the Pope, And gave the Christian world a conscious hope, His was no cheap religion, to be bought By only doing what good morals taught. He had not flung his glove before the face Of king and emperor, to purchase grace. He knew the charter that salvation brings Bears the true signet of the King of Kings. Modern reformers must be very good, And live on moral, intellectual food. Their ethics compass a familiar plan : They do not need the Saviour, but the Man ; A generous movement inade, Christ is not named To bless the enterprise in which 't is framed. 'T is quite sufficient that they go on guard, And Heaven must give their prowess its reward ; As if a deed could heavenward be driven Without the high authority of Heaven ! Still, in their temples, all unseen, He pleads ; Still sweetly ministers, to supply their needs. They think, at times, He calls on them to come :
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POEM.
At times they think He speaks of Heaven and Home .. Alas ! they worship in a Church so broad That, from its transept, none can hear the Lord.
The pleasant, secular preaching of the day (If that be preaching, that is words at play) Contents not those with consecration rife Whose souls are hungry for the Bread of Life. All things in time and in their proper place : On week-days pitch the ball, describe the race. Talk of conventions, journeys, parties, rides, Of picnics, concerts, everything besides On week-day evenings, in the lecture hall, And drew the happy moral from them all ; But on the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, Remember Him, and sound His praise abroad.
Fashion is full of change that is not gain,- Would, that, like Lear, she'd part with half her train, - Her love is law, as all her followers find, E'en to the half afflicted, half resigned, Who, while decision's instant, august right Is shut in panniers from her lover's sight, Smooths the black ruffles of a dark despair, And hangs the gleaming bow of promise there.
Centuries agone, the Dane to Osric said, " Your bonnet to its use ; 't is for the head." If Hamlet, thinking the court fop to save From influenza, the true order gave, For what we call a bonnet, no one knows Antiphrasis more actual to propose. A bonnet was a covering, of felt, Of Danish kirlin, or of Scottish kelt, 7
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CITY DOCUMENT.
No. 33.
Of Genoa velvet, or of Gallie silk, Of satin, crepe, with trimmings of that ilk. From hoods like hods, from Leghorn lanes, the face Came careful forth, all canopied in lace. Now, no opposing fabrie intervenes Between our eyes and all the summit scenes. Far in the background we behold emerge 'Mong woodbines elambering to its loftiest verge The shield of chips, that lifts itself in air, Bolted, by magic, to the hindmost hair.
Remembering all our wonder at the show, We place the costume of not long ago In size and contour as St. Peter's dome, By the stern, modern pull-back of our home ; The forty skirts, whose substitute is one, The mighty hoops, whose substitute is none. Deem it not stylish to diminish all The requisites for party, street, or ball ; Boot-heels are higher, gloves as long again, Where once was worn one bracelet, there are ten, As many silver bands doth fashion elaim As there are letters in my darling's name. And where once rested an encircling zone A narrow silken belt of traetile tone, Note, as the aeme of reforming taste, The monster trunk-strap round my lady's waist !
While dullness broods o'er all the Christian elimes And Faith is earnest in the " better times," Long promised, long deferred, the star of Hope Seems distant still in this new Century's seope. Patience ! Perhaps for us the hour is near
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POEM.
In which Reform shall run her new career ; When felons, resident in foreign lands, Are homeward hurled, if Government demands ; When no cheap pardons, by weak President, Are to convicted counterfeiters sent ; When no trained gambler with his stocks or dice Plays in the Nation's halls his game of vice ; When no brief visitor or common clown Pretends to change the laws, or vote them down ; When he who sells a vote or he who buys Shall suffer scorn and slight from people's eyes ; When, in high places, crime does not require Investigation till the laws expire ; When, if a saddened secretary's wife Avows the venal business of her life, She cannot trample out the mischief done In Fort Sill contracts, with boots number one; When, 'stead of green slips, handled to a brown, With silver tablets we are loaded down ; When the long greenbacks we once loved to hold Shall be transmuted into circlet gold ; When manly women shall have all they ask, And leave their own, to do their husband's task ; When all the Bridgets and the Margaret Anns March to the polls, and beat their big tin pans ; When men may smoke, whene'er they deem it meet In proper places,-never in the street ; When horse-car tourists shall take thought, and stop Not on th' ascending grade, but at the top ; When meddling pastors don't eseape the stocks, And quacks are shot for lettering nature's rocks ; When slashing Pomeroy, whom the law's abuse By cheap reformers, would at once let loose
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CITY DOCUMENT. No. 33.
To thin, like Herod of the Jewry wrong, The surplus population while 't is young ; Shall swing, like Haman, forty eubits high, And all such imps shall bear him company ; When some rare justice visits Plymouth Church, That left a senior member in the lurch, Who, in his zealous love for virtuous aets, Contrives at last to reach the " bottom facts."
What of the City that, from year to year, Honors its knight without reproach or fear? Who gave the Union, at her quick command, Captains, to lead the armies of the land ? Who march to-day where Earth's insignia blaze, And fear no challenge, though the Nations gaze ?
Be not oppressed, fair City, noble State, That landed neighbors will not call you great ; 'T is men you boast, not aeres. Men, who hold Fast by the precepts that their sires have told. Let others count their ever-valiant names, Whose memories their country's are, and fame's. Read from your starry roll-eall, one by one, And match their proudest champions, son for son. Not always they who claim the numerous host, Or haughtiest volume, ean the victory boast. The broad Philistine beamed disdainful ire, But, mark the sequel ! David slew Goliah. The bulkiest bins dispense not sweetest food, But are themselves recipients of good.
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POEM.
She, who would fain consult the general weal, With little leaven, leavened all the meal.
Where wide-mouthed fountains 'tween their close-shut teeth Hiss the swift spray that stirs the pool beneath, Enter the hall where power and beauty vie To conquer fame, in generous rivalry ; Where Afrie's diamonds lose their yellow stains, And massive tusks unbend in shining chains ; Where Asia's wools cast down their whitest plumes To pave the chambers of ennobling looms ; Where Europe's vaunted, legendary steel Is rolled in ribbons on the polished reel ; Where States and Countries of this Western Land Their wealth contribute with unsparing hand, And, as the hammer falls, or shuttle flies Change crude creations to rare symmetries : There, where ten thousand wheels are swiftly whirled Rhode Island's engine drives the harnessed world.
This is the Nation's hour. From sea to sea Floats the proud Flag, the emblem of the Free ; Which, nor in foreign, nor in civil war, Ilas never lost, shall never lose, a star. Come Carolina, for the feast is spread ; Advance with patriot will, with loyal tread ! We clasp the hand that you in love extend ; Ours the embrace of no uneertain friend. Come, as of old you eame, and nevermore Raise your rebellion on Columbia's shore ! For, by the echo of that dreadful blow By Cataline dealt, received by Ciecro ; By those sad Meceas sought by Christian feet
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CITY DOCUMENT. No. 33.
Where annual garlands deck each green retreat, By those dear graves with Memory's tear-drops wet We will forgive, we never will forget.
What is the moral of the passing hour? Reform is Education's practised power. No sect, no people, can be truly free, Who have not earned the right to liberty. What claim has he, or black, or brown, or white, To vote the ballot that he cannot write ?
Of what avail the politicians' creed Before the eyes of him who cannot read ? Save by the doubtful lore of hearsay sense, What can he know of valued evidence ? Why Colon crossed the wave, why Adams spoke, Why Lawrence fell, why Lincoln bondage broke ?
Men are born equal,-so the record reads That chronicles of George the naughty deeds, And claims th' Almighty improvised the strain,- But did He promise they should so remain? 'T is not with babies that opinion deals, But men who make their marks, or set their seals. Is he whose soul is soiled by murderous taint, Or larceny's stain, the equal of the saint? The man of golden, he of brazen fame, Because they both were born, are both the same? We quote higli precedent for jealous rule That bars the impious knave, the drivelling fool ; " Not every one that crieth 'Lord,'" shall come To know the splendors of the immortals' home.
The folded banner may not float again With maudlin motto, " Principles not Men."
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POEM.
"Ye men of age, ye men of vigorous youth, The principle of principles, is Truth ! Whence shall that principle its power derive, Save from its index representative ? Say that the worlds in heavenly order roll, But what were order did not God control ?
Reform is patient, or 't is nothing worth. God made not in one day sun, sea and earth. Not he who fractures, the reformer is, But he whose wisdom binds the unities. Not the bold woman, who unsexes life, But she who works the love that conquers strife.
In this, the Nation's grand Centennial hour · 'T is well you act your part and feel your power ; Mature and strong, it is her franchise now Before no majesty of earth to bow.
No might prevails her steadfast will to move, Fixed in the justice of her parent love. While each maintains an independent tone Her several States combine to act as one ; Each wears distinction's laurel, each makes claim For separate cause, to bear an honored name. Men of Rhode Island ! in this new-born age, Prize at its worth your glorious heritage ; With grateful hearts, with conscious pride elate Remember, yours was Roger Williams' State ! And, in the truth that God and men approve, Revere the emblems of her holy love ; Her radiant band about her anchor twine, Her Hope supernal, and her Faith divine.
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THE CITY OF PROVIDENCE.
MUNICIPAL CELEBRATION, JULY 4TH, 1876.
ORDER OF EXERCISES
AT THE FIRST BAPTIST MEETING HOUSE.
MUSIC BY HERRICK'S BRIGADE BAND.
PRAYER BY REV. E. HI. JOHNSON, OF THE BROWN ST. BAPTIST CHURCH.
SINGING BY THE CHOIR. UNDER THE DIRECTION OF F. K. GLEZEN, ESQ. "O come hither and behold the works of the Lord."
. READING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, By Master GEORGE W. FIELD, of the Providence High School.
SINGING BY THE CHOIR, "THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER." ORATION, BY HON. SAMUEL G. ARNOLD. MUSIC BY HERRICK'S BRIGADE BAND. POEM, BY GEORGE W. PETTES, ESQ.
SINGING BY THE CHOIR, "WHITTIER'S CENTENNIAL HYMN." Music by JOHN K. PAINE. (As sung at the opening of the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia.)
Our Father's God ! from out whose hand Thon who hast here in concord furled The centuries fall like grains of sand! The war flags of a gathered world,
We meet to-day, united, free,
Beneath our western skies fulfill
And loyal to our land and Thee,
The Orient's mission of good will,
To thank Thee for the era donc,
And freighted with love's golden fleece,
And trust Thee for the opening one.
Send back the Argonauts of peace.
Here where of old by Thy design, For art and labor meet in truce.
The fathers spake that word of Thine
For beauty made the bride of use,
Whose echo is the glad refrain
We thank Thee, while withal we crave,
Of rended bolt and falling chain.
The austere virtues strong to save,
To grace our festal time and all
The honor proof to place or gold,
The zones of earth our guests we call.
The manhood never bought or sold!
Be with us while the New World greets Oh make Thou us through centuries long, The Old World thronging all its streets, In peace serene, and justice strong; Unveiling all the triumphs won Around our gift of freedom draw By art or toil beneath the sun; The safeguards of Thy righteous law, And cast in some diviner moukl, Let the new cycle shame the old. And into common good ordain This rivalship of hand and brain.
BENEDICTION.
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£8450.00
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