The morning times., 1896-06-28

mense and lavish expenditure OF time and
logarithems, that IL a Roman candle tblue
or red light optional> is fired up perpen-
dicularly it will not come down par0doxi-
cally, and hence the surrounding houses
with tin or slate roofs will have "A certain
immunity from confIagration. Secretary
Tindal OF the Board OF Rockets and Set
Pieces agrees with the Engineer Commis-
sioner on the mathematics OF the case,
but dissents entirely as to the ethics.
The president OF the board is understood
to he in favor OF the more drastic measure
ofpermitting 10 firecrackers uo he explta aed
or otherwise injured except within radius
OF twelve feet from park fountain basin
The Police Commissioner has perhaps Is
sued the wisest of all the Spot Fourth of
July firInans He is credited with a pre-
Cautionary provision that no scorcher shall
carry the common Chinese cracker, the eX-
traordinary red American cannon, SuE
cotton, Joveite, dynamite, OF any other COM
bUstible in, about, under, or among his or
her shirt waist, coat, pants unale or fe-
male). on the Fourth proxiino. The reason
for this is obvious.
WHEN THE FUN WILL CONE.
In our opinion, the clash OF arms Will come
when tue ma jor OF police aud the Janizaries
charge the children, aud try TO round them
up, as it were, in 1896 Spots. 1t is a
clear case of discrimination. Just now
the sons aud daughters OF the Pilgrim
Fathers Of Massachusetts avenue, and other
Mayflower districts of the mort Invest, have
left the city for a free country. and can fire
the festive cracker with the untrammeied,
upburnt finger.
Those who are left. forsooth, are TO be
berded like lambs and driven to indiscrimin-
nate slaughter of each other in the govern
mcnt Reservations with overloaded gas-pipe
cannon and toy guns with hair triggers.
When children go out to blow themselves
they are ust as likely to go up as down.
We confidently look for a repetition of the
scenes Of the Paris commune, and We doubt
and the police force will have been removed
from the streets in time for the Times bi-
cycle pageant, should Young America re-
sent this aggression to the death.
1t ought to be easy for the Prefect Of the
Potomac to see exactly what Will happen.
1t will take the whole force and the fire
department. to keep order aud TO subdue the
flames at even one of these Fourth OF July
spots for sports. If, on the other hand, the
young people get the charley horse and re-
fuse To celebrate in such captivity. but
hold conventions in the backyards, their
fathers and mothers will have rented
houses to burn sure enough, and
;. that's no joke. 1t should, of course.
~ m be remembered that we assume no
'W/H3 responsibility for the opinions of the
M correspond ants who furnished the
tIXW incendiary pabulum for this page.
w We nevertheless think that there is
SY great danger OF local civil war from
- what we have heard from the southwest
Most of the children there inherit military
genius, for proof of which read the war of the
late rebellion, with special reference to Joe
HoolSer's picnic in the First police precinct.
THINGS THAT THREATEN.
We are in for free trade, or a sufficiency
thereof, free gold, free Cuba, and a free
Fourth of July.
As we began to sa y the fire sky rocket or
boom is dangerous element in politics
1t is the Alpha and Omega Of the lives of
a great many men whose footprints on the
way home remind US that an election as a
delegate at-large is no cinch on the Presi-