The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-07-01
OUR NATIONAL BIRTHDAY.
Why We Celebrate 1t, as We DO, with Ar
tiIlery and Fireworks.


tiIlerY and Fireworks.
As the morning dawns upon us on the
Fourth of July, We hear the booming of
guns and of cannons, the pop and noise
of firecrackers, and the voices of en-
thusiastic youths. And well may they
shout and well may we usher in this
day with the roar of the cannon, fill it
with parades and patriotic speeches,
and chase it to its close with the rocket,
the candle and the balloon; for we are
celebrating the anniversary of the day
on which it was declared that ''these
United States are, and of right ought to
be, free and independent states" Not
only is this a day to be remembered for
the beneficent results which have
flowed from it over all our subsequent
history, making our country "The
Land of the Free and the Home of the
Brave" where we are blessed with the
power to govern ourselves in all mat
tiers, fearing no man or nation, and pos
sessing the bounties which nature be-
slows upon us in measure unknown
in any other land; but we have been q
World, by whose light they have shaped
the course of their ships of state and
guided them into the channels of free
dom and liberty. While they have
not yet attained unto our own measure
of these blessings, they are following
on, looking to us for guidance. Well
may we celebrate this day and renew
in our minds and in those of the children
and the citizens adopted from foreign
shores the principles for which our
forcfathers sacrificed and fought; for
there are other questions which have
arisen and which we must solve that
will require our patriotism and love of
country, and for which we must pre-
pare those who will rule the land
when we are gone. But while we thus
celebrate the day with artillery and
fireworks, have we ever stopped to
think why this form of rejoicing was
adopted?
Two days before our anniversary was
inaugurated July ., 1776) John Adams
afterwards president)w wrote to his wife:
1.-THE second dag OF July will be the most men,
orable epoch in the history of America. / an
apt TO believe that it will be celebrated by the
succeeding generations as the great anniver
sary festival 1t ought 10 be commemoTated GS
the day Of deliverance by solemn acts Of de-
vOtion to God Almighty. 1t ought to be SOL
emni1ed with pomp and parade, with shows,
games, sports, bells. bonfres and illuminRtions
from one end OF this continent to the other,
from this time forward and for evermore."
He designated July 2 because the
doc larafinr, N-as
but the people chose the day of its
adoption by the convention. One rea-
son why Adams prominently mentioned
and the people adopted military dis
play and the use OF fireworks and fire
arms was that they were in the midst
of the war with Great Britain, and
patriotism and devotion to their coun-
try meant war and the use of the in
strumcnts for carrying it on. 1t was
fitting that, since they had declared
themselves free, they should celebrate
their declaration with the means and
instruments used for maintaining their
freedom. The declaration was read at
the head of every regiment of soldiers
and in every city and town, and the
people used the means at hand, cannon,
guns, fireworks, bonfires and bells, not
only to signify their JOY, but to pro-
claim to those at distance the glad
tldings.
And we, as we celebrate the anniver-
sary of the same event and think of the
scenes through which our fathers
passed, have adopted the same method
of proclaiming our allegiance to the
flag and devotion to our country.
Again, from time immemorial, national
festivals have been celebrated by the
display of national organizations of
and we, following the same
custom, use the instruments of war,
upon which we rely in time of peril, to
declare, in times of peace, our love for
the country the anniversary of whose
creation we elebrate.-0range Judd
Farmer.