The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-06-15
The Fire Cracker Nuisance.
From the Detroit Tribune.


The annual celebration of the day of
the national existence approaches. In
four weeks it will be upon us, with all
its horrors-the midnight shotgun, the
early pistol, the mellifuous anvil, the
sleep destroying cannon, and omnipres-
ent fire.cracker Why this nation has
taken to celebrating what ought to be
the highest and holiest of its anniver-
saries with the detonation of gunpowder
is question of history and philosophy
which has not yet been solved by our
scientists. But that such is the method
of commemoration we know too we'll by
sad experience. We have again and
again protested against this Chinese,
this barbarous, celebration of day
which ought to be held sacred by every
patriotic American. Aside from the
incongruity of celebrating the holiday
of a nation which pretends to be civil
lied with explosions of gunpowder, the
injury which this barbarous ceremony
inAicts upon sick people, and the danger
of confagration with which it threatens
every city, are matters of no small i'm,
portance.
The latter subject has been made a
special study by the National Board of
Fire Underwriters. The Centennial
Fourth was viewed, on its approach,
with absolute dismay by the board.
They knew very well that no stretch of
municipal authority could suppress the
ardor of the people. They knew that
bonfres would be built, that rockets
and Roman candles would blaze and
fire-crackers explode as they never had
popped and fixed on the American
continent. 1t was not to be avoided.
The board, however, in anticipation of
a general conAagration, appointed
committee on statistics, to ascertain
how much the people in their patriotic
madness would destroy. Fortunately,
the worst antioipations of tho board
were not realized. We got through the
Fourth of July, 1876, with loss of only
1854, 4,574, directly traceable to the ex-
plosion of fire crackers, rockets, etc
This was tolerable tax for patriotism
upon insurance capital, but the board is
thankful to Providence for rain on
that day, which wet down the West
very extensively. The losses for the
Centennial year, however, from con-
fagrations attributed to fireworks, were
but little under $500,000.
This, however, was an exceptionally
fortunate year. Within the past ten
years two confagrations, entailing
loss of SIS, 600, 900, were traced to fire.
crackers. Between 1865 and 1876,
S2,556,G00 worth of fireworks were
manufactured in America, and the
amount Of Chinese fre.cra ckers i'm
ported for the same period was Sl,500,-
600 in round numbers, on which the
Government levied a duty of 80 per
cent. ad o1lorem If Congress were to
prohibit tho importation of the mis-
chievous nuisances, the revenues of the
Government would not be appreciably
affected, and we should find more sensi-
BILE ways of celebrating the national
holiday were the use of fireworks, ex.
cept under stringent regulations, al
together suppressed by law. But Con-
gress will be slow to act, and the board
meantime appeals to municipal authori-
ties to frame and adopt ordinances pro-
hibiting tho use of fre-crackers in the
streets, and requiring those who manu-.
facture fireworks to carry on their busi-
ness outside municipal limits.