The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-05-23

Mr.. c. r. SAVAGE, in a commune
cation which appears in another
column, calls up q matter in connec-
ten with the proposed Fourth OF
July celebration which We have been
expecting would be brought to the
surface ever since the agitation be-
gan, three or four weeks ago. There
has been 10 general celebration Of
the Fourth in this city for several
years past, and fox the best possible
reason, with which we are all more or
less. acquainted. The Fourth of July
is essentially an occasion for a mill
tary display. It is the onIy day Of the
three hundred and sixty-fve when a
military exhibition is appropriate.
IA ali of this broad country. FROM
Maine ID Texas, from Florida to Ore.
gon, this little Territory of Utah is the
only place where she military display
necessary to properly celebrate the
anniversary OF the birth o. the Eepub-
lie ia not allowed. A whisky guzzling
governor, actuated by bigot:y and
fanaticism, pulled up with the i'm
portance of Office, and played upon
by unscrupulous agitators ard adj
ventures, took away the right of the
people to bear arms in public gath
erings. The result was what might
have been expected. The Glorious
Fourth has since been merely holt
day in Salt Lake. The Fourth suo-
ceeding the Issuance Of the proclsma.
ton by Governor Shafer lin 1871, an
attempt was made to do honor TO the
day in the good old-fashioned way.
a grand procession was arranged for,
in which the arts and trades were TO
be exhibited, the industries shown,
speeches made and patriotic enthu-
siasm INDUCED. It was TO he |
such n celebration, only larger |
and on grander scale. as
had been seen here annually |
since the settlement of the territory. |
All was duly arranged, when a shall
loW.minded juvenile who was occu-
plying the position of aotipg-governor,
issued a PROCLAMATION forbidding the
appearance OF the militia; and the
federal troops at Camp Douglas were
called out to 60 through the-to
them-iarce Of seeing that the proc
lamstion was not violated. Ii was
net violated, but vet blanket was
thrown over the celebration. The
PROCESSION moved, the addresses we're
delivered, and the songs were sung,
but there was want of enthusiasm.
Nobody felt well. The same day,
some disconnected citizens endeav-
ored to get up a rival celebration, but
it was 6 siokly affair, its participants
enjoying themselves less than the
people who had exhibited their
patriotism by remaining at home.
Since then, the Fourth has not been
celebrated in this city, unless it can
be called celebration for boys to get
out early in the morning and fire
guns and explode crackers, for peo-
pie generally to suspend work and lie
in the shade, or visit the adjacent
Measure resorts, and for tbs public
generally to complain of the manner
in which Utah is treated in this mat
ter of doing honor to the nations
birthday. Some extracts from old
files of the HERALD will not prove
uuinterestjng. This is from the
HERALD of July 4Ih. 1871:
To-day the ninety-ffth Anniversary
Of American Independence VII be
celebrated throughout the Republic. It
: n matter for regret that in this city
,7sttv feeling and sectional differences
fro,,jd not be buried for one |
5sv' on such an suspicious occasion, that
ono Grand celebration might have united
oil Citizens But q few lmpracteSbies
must keep up a division OF sentiment,
neither OF patriotism nor
6-esdth of thought, and indicative only
of = fanaticism and nsrroW'nlnseaness