Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-07-06
GLORIOUS FOURTH
chapter on the Great Holt
day of This Country.
i AND DOWNS OF PATRIOTISM
This Gland of the Free and
4 Home of the Brave"



time Of the year when the genial fire.
cracker appears on the scene and we all
feel how much we love our country.
fortunately, our patriotism doesn't get
fNmpant but once year and at election
Vine. AT Fourth OF July it expresses
self in blue and red fire, in fiery, un-
@med steeds, known as pin-wheels, and
ID rockets that come down absolutely
rs sticks, always with possibility of
letting some house on fire. At election
fine this patriotism takes the form Of
torch. light professions, Of sore throats,
And, l regret to say, of lying. The
average American politician is very
Rhort on facts and very long on romances.
~ doesn't make any difference as to his
party--if one will take the trouble to
listen 10 speeches on each side, he will
become convinced that he need not vote
Bat all, for, no matter who gets in, accord
hing their own accounts, the workingman
Twill have nothing to do but ride In a
lchaise and dictate to the rich man; the
rich man can retire in glory to seek
green fields and pastures new, and the
country will be made over after the
fashion OF man,
PATRIOTISM is A MOVABLE VIRTUE;
IL has it's ups and Its downs At the
time that tits up, there is danger Of fire,
In the present, resulting from the crack
frs and the rockets and the pin-wheels,
and also danger from fire in the future,
Resulting from the lying. This may sound
u little odd, but really | believe II.
lacking in reverence, we attempt great
Emotions toward our native land, and,
{nnnily enough, we don't succeed. We
Aongratulate ourselves that we don't be-
3bng to etfete monarchies, and the result
Il that we have very little respect for
Anything except that of to-day, The
Email boy has q vague idea that the
Reason he shoots tirecrackers on the
Fourth of July is because they used
4lrecrackers 10 drive the British soldiers
but of America; and then, as he prepares
10 light pack, he gleefully sings, in a
Manageable voice, my Country, TITS of
Thee" to the tune Of "God Save the
Queen" Politically, he believes that
$he side which Is in ought to be out /;
#nd, as the streets never get any cleaner,
Dor the postoffice service any better, or
Ahe butchers bill any cheaper, most
housekeepers are forced to agree with
him. So he thinks he loves his country.
WHY Bah DIsLIKEs PLUMBERS.
No matter what affection one might
bave for ones country, one would lose
~ in combat with plumbers. These
8entlemen have charming way of
5ahlhg possession of your house, accord
Ing b the laws of the union to which
they belong, which means that they will
sake half your gas burners off, stop in
Ahe middle of the work when the clock
Strikes 5, leave you in semi-darkness for
the night because the union orders they
must cease work at certain hour. You
may plead, you may storm, they are
pbdurate; they simply tell you it Is the
union, and being feminine, and having
people come to dinner, you first weep,
and then you get up and give them your
opinion of the union. One Of them will
unfortunately say that this is a free
country, and he knows it is by the boy
Shooting firecrackers; and you tell him
you wish to goodness sakes 1t wasn't a
free country; and you ask him if he
thinks anybody has got right to take
'your money, arrive at o'clock to do
three hours work, succeed in tearing
the whole establishment to pieces, and
then prancing off at o'clock, leaving
gou amid the ruAls, Then you remem-
Der hearing some fool orator talk about
The power of money. Bother the power
of money. That grlnning plumber who
persistently says Its de union" is more
powerful than all the millions in the
banks.
One wouldn't care If they organized
for anything respectable, and l don't
believe any human being ought to work
longer than eight hours day, but they
have got no business to time their work
As badly as they do. Attached to their
onion there should be a consulting
Board of Housekeepers, who would state
8xactly the hours of the day most CON
Venient for them to work, and the union
should agree to 1t. Long before the days
81 unions, good workman had little
shop of his own, made laws for himself,
and in consequence, plenty of money.
Now the little tin god in the shape of
the plumber appears on the scene with
two assistants; the first duty is to down
all the women In the house; to accuse
bach one of having caused break in the
pipe, or loosened the chandelier. AS
that is none of his business, it seems a
little irrelevant, but he always does it if
there are no men around. After that
he conscientiously climbs ladder, and
in testing the chandelier, he breaks two
globes, for which he refuses to pay. One
of his assistants holds the ladder and
the other one stands admiringly and
Looks at both of them, and at intervals
Remarks; "That's damn good piece of
work" As your household has six foot
of mankind in it, you can get all the
disappearing you want for nothing, but
ps this is a free country, the plumber
Throws it in, and charges for it in the
bill. 1t is not difficult matter for YOU
10 guess that have been undergoing
Especial treatment from these plumbers,
And the only hope l can express for
chem is that 4 plumber may be the next
president of the United States, and that,
Knowing the tricks of the trade, he will
treat the United Plumbers as they ought
10 be.
PATRIOTS NOT BORN IN FLATS.
81 But the Fourth of July--are you going
10 have an Grafton and procession, and
talk about George Washington and
Ihomas Jefferson, and finish up with
Grovor Cleyelands suppose there are
people who will do il. People get
5patriotism once year, and, instead of
taking liver pills for it, get rid of il by
what is yulgarly called blowing. Idon't
Pee how anybody can get patriotic who
has to live in city. How in the name
pf everything good and holy can you
get small boy, raised in fiat, to love
bis country? His country to him repre-
Vents the moving every two or three
Years and getting higher up town.
People have got TO have places that they
#ill love, and where the living can
Nollect around them and their dear dead