New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-07-05
to an illegal assemblage, prize-fghting VIII
migrate to some less civilized country.
PONDER AND, PATRIOTISM.

rs the old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration
going to become extinctp And u so. Will coming
generations be rs patriotic without III These are
questions which come with more and more force
each year. as municipality after municipality pro-
hibits the booming frecraclSer, the sizzling sky
rocket, the bursting cannon, and thus, virtually,
the patriotic grafton of the man anxious TO go to
Congress in the fall.
Time was, and that but few years ago. when
the spread-eage celebration prevailed everywhere.
There were cannon at midnight cannon at
o'clock, cannon at 2 o'clock, and so on
to the grand salute at sunrise; but the
crafty great gun never burst during the
early hours preferring TO wait till about 0 o'clock
in the forenoon when there wns good crowd
around. After this was disposed Of and of the
minds of the celebration committee, leaving only
the ordinary firecracSer accidents TO small boys
and confagrations in the suburbs the solid bus-
ness of the day was begun with the reading OF the
Declaration Of Independence by the schoolmaster,
followed by the scathing Grafton Of the local law
yer. in which our old antagonist, the British lion,
was first roughly handled and finally ANONYMOUSLY
routed. And, through il ALL not even stopped by
the explosion of the brass cannon nor by the rush
of the FIRE company. punctuating alike the Dec
aration and the oration the patriotic song OF the
Sunday-school children and the original poem OF
the al college student-rising above everything,
persi. It, undaunted, was the steady pop of the
small Us firecraclzer. Must we give up all this
forever9
When patriotic citizens talk of celebrating
now. even in r1e smaller towns. the Mayor looks
gloomy. and says that two houses and barn
we're burned up by frecrackefs last year.
and ne was shot through the silk hat with
L.
benns agitating the subject. and q dignifed
and grumpy citizen, who owns property I'm all the
wards in town, writes the editor a letter, saying
that "nigger-chaser" tried TO run up his trousers
leg last year. and he is against any sort Of cele-
braton in the future The matter comes before
the City Council and while the small boy listens
anxiously outside tho door, it calmly prohibits
frecracl1ers and fireworks within the city limits.
1t looks as if the old-fashioned celebration-the
frecracker celebration-the sanguinary celebration
the powderand-ball celebration-was almost o
things Of the past. This brings in the more inn
portant question, viii the next generation be as
patriotic? So far, few boys have come up with
out course of frecracl1ers. The attempt to cul-
tivate love Of country on few flags and patri-
otto editorial in the morning paper may be sue
cessful, but it is experiment. 1t may be good
thing for the country at large, as well as for the
insurance companies, but should go slow. Yet
there is one thing which seems certain whatever
effect the suppression of nrecrackers may have on
American patriotism, il only work good in the
case OF American fingers A century of fire
crackers has reduced the average number Of fingers
on tho hands of the male American TO something
like nine and half. The future American may
not he quito so willing TO die for his country as
he should be, but he viii have more fingers