Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-07-03
THE Day We Celebrate.
''The Glorious" vii Be Ushered in at
Midnight.

Tho Time Honored General Cele-
bratiOn on Market Street Will
Probably Be Omitted This Even
ing, Owing to the Mayors Pro-
clamation-The Big Picnic at the
Fair Grounds Tomorrow - The
Day at the Parks-There Will Be
a General Suppression of Business.
Midnight tonight will usher in the
one hundred and twentieth anniversary
OF American independence, and the day
will be universally observed in that
quiet and undemonstrative manner for
which Wheeling people are somewhat
noted. Business, both wholesale and
retail, will be practically suspended, all
the public offices will be closed, except
ssoh restricted service at the postofIice
as is set forth in a paragraph elsewhere,
and the day will be devoted to rest and
such recreation as is afforded by pic
MICS, public and private, trips to the
parks and visits to the country. Quite
a number Of local Democrats will ce!e-
brate by embarking for Chicago to-
morrow afternoon, and will be accom-
panied by a number of Democratic
leaders from out in the State.
For eight or ten years past it has been
the patriotic, but somewhat dangerous,
custom of a hundred or two men to
celebrate the coming OF the Fourth by
a lively fireworks and fre-cracker bat
tie or Market street, in front of the
Register Office Giant crackers, roman
candles, sky-rockets and various other
forms OF pyrothechnics have been
burned in abundance in these little af-
fairs, and much fun" and some few
trifling burns have been the result. The
proclamation issued few days ago by
His Honor, the mayor, will probably re-
suit in this annual custom being decar-
ed off tonight and the street may,
therefore, be expected to be about as
quiet as usual. The fiery, unnamed
sky-rocket will not hiss up and down
the street car tracks, soaring troily-mo-
tors and keeping pedestrians on the
.okout to escape being impaled, and
the quiet and unassuming hack-horse
will not be disturbed in his slumbers be-
tween trips by the explosion of Jackson.
crackers Of gigantic size under his
stomach. There will be 70 rafting VOL
leyS OF revolver shots in front Of the
McLure House and the busy barkeep will
not be disturbed in making high
balls and 'jinrinkashas" by p,n-wheels
and lighted .wh.rligigs dropped
over the bar. That is, these things wont
happen if His Honor's proclamation
goes" Of course, if it don't go" our
remarks are withdrawn, and the gentle
reader will consider that we haven't
said a word"
The union Catholic picnic at the
State Fair Grounds, for the benefit of
the North Wheeling Hospital, will be
one of the biggest celebrations of the
summer. The committee in charge
has made its preparations upon the
most elaborate scale. The programme
OF features is in the hands of the print
erS and will be out to-day. There will be
something of interest happening all the
time, and no two events will take place
at the same tins. The printed pro-
grammeS will be distributed on the
grounds. In addition to the races,
games and other amusements. there
will be several addresses and patriotic
songs by the Catholic church choirs OF
this city and BenwoOd. The appetite
will be catered to by the ladies of the
different parishes, who will have re-
freshmen tables and a supper table
In the evening the grounds will be il
Illuminated and there will be an excel
lent display of fireworks. There will
be dancing and music throughout ths
entire day.
Wheeling Park will be open all day,
and the Opera House band will be pres
eQt to supplement the manifold natural
and artificial attractions OF that most
delightful of pleasure grounds. The
Park is now in the height of its mid
summer glory, and has never been so
charming as this summer The man
agement has made extraordinary pre-
parations to entertain the public, and
tbs Elm Grove road will meet all the
requirements in the way OF transport
ing passengers both ways.
At Mozart Park an attractive pro-
gramme has been provided for the
Fourth, including big lot of japanese
daylight fireworks, and a very large at
tendance has been prepared for and is
looked for. A pleasant day on the
hill-tOps is assured all who take the in
cline
There are a number of semi-public
outings which promise to be largely
attended. while there will be the usual
number of private picnics and eXcur-
sions to the country. which in the ag-
gregate will take a large number OF peo-
pie out of town. Ths new suburban
electric road. from Elm Grove to Tria-
delphia, will be open to the public, and
there ought to be a large patronage,
particularly by city people.
AS mas been repeatedly announced,
the retail grocers, shoe dealers, dry
goods stores, etc, will be closed. The
shoe stores will be open this evening.