Evening star., 1896-06-27
The Fire Record When There
Were No Restrictions.
4 FIREMAN'S OPINION

spired several versiiers to seek muses. al
belt these forerunners of the coming flock
are mostly moved by a sort Of indignation
caused by the announcement that the Dis
trict Commissioners have determined to
prevent the celebration Of the occasion by
the setting off in the streets Of explosives
and pyrotechnics. One gentleman essays
Parnassus and brings down the following
bold advice that nay be regretted when
regarded POLITICALLY, but has no shortcom-
ings on the score of patriotism:
The Way to Do 1t.
Get every juvenile a drum.
To beat with all his might:
Let him begin when days beams come
And pound away till night!
Get hrScra6 ke rs by the pack;
IorpedOes by the score.
And when the last one makes Its crack
10 out and get some more!
Fly out the flag in every street,
Fill In the cracks with noise!
Let oldsters stand aside, discreet,
And make roOm for the boys
There's only one day in the year
When they should have full sway,
To have patriotic tear
That's Independence Day.
Another Individual who stuck his spurs
In Pegasus and rode a hot race up the
road Of rhyme sings his ditty in sarcastic
strain, as follows:
Advice to the Young.
HIVE na.a care care little boy: On the Fourth Of July
Or the copper who peeps round the corner 50 sly,
VIII HI rry you of to the station house quick.
Time was when the day was season of mirth;
Rnt vi eenolng San e',Enon hl and ernckers galore
And you can't celebrate the great Fourth any
For people lave Ierves in these far advanced days
That are shocked by the slishtcst suggestion OF
They forget that your ways precisely their
ways
If went to shoot crackers. go the back yard:
And the fences will burn. while the engines run
And Insurance rates climb about three per cent
higher.
But keep of the street II you'd celebrate right.
Keep back all the fervor your bosoms may hold.
Or you'll fiId yourself locked In 4 cell over night
Where the walls are all ciammy-and buggy-and
cold.
Many other effrsions of the same char
acter have been written. and so it is easy
to perceive that the order Of the Commits
soners Is having an even more deplorable
effect than that of keeping juvenile cele-
brants of the Fourth in certain defined cor
rails. for eny one who has nerves must
receive a worse shock than the explosion OF
a firecracker could possibly convey by SIM
ply perusing them.
Keeping Celebration Spots Secret.
tions or co-rals where the explosive energy
of the small boy may be expended are to
be located. Nal Moore has been engaged
in selecting. but he Is pursuing deeply
mysterious course and the announcement
of his decision will not be made until the
Commissioners have ratified his selection.
The small boys are indignant to q tot,
and many Of their parents share the same
sentiment. but they say they will remem-
Der their forefathers on Independence day
and let their breasts swell with patriotism
even If they have to burn down all the
backbdildir gs and work the fire depart
ment to death. record Of the fires that
have occurred on July In the first six
years of this decade shows the effect of
the open and general celebration Of the
day in the good old maEner described in
the leading ode in this article.
Few Fires ON FOurths.
In 1890 one regular fire alarm was rung.
There was sI5 damage done. and the cause
of the fire was an overheated stove. One
local ALARM was sent III because Of bon
fire.
There were four regular alarms turned
in on the day in 1891. The total damage
was $40, caused by skyrocket falling In
the window Of a laundry establishment.
No regular alarms called out the depart
ment in 1892; but two locals were received
caused by fireworks that did s. damage.
Four regulars and six locals was the
record of July A. 1898. No damage was
caused by any, and three incip!ent blazes
were attributed to f1recrackers.
In 1894 there were four regulars and
four locals. Two fires caused by fire.
crackers did damage Of $50 each.
Last year one regular alarm was struck
for a fire started by f1recrackers. The
damage was $. There were two local
calls caused by fires started, respectively
by q sky rocket and frecrackers. The
total loss was $50.
An Old Fireman's Advice.
While the members Of the fire depart
ment are naturally discreet about express
ing themselves, they all expect to have
hard day Of it on the Fourth If the pres
ent intention Of the Commissioners Is car
risd out.
You might as well try to stop a crow
from stealing corn as to stop boys firing
Oft 6recrackers on the Fourth of July"
said an old fireman yesterday. "If they
can't do 1t on the street, where they can
be seen and where any fire that may
catch would be discovered at once, they
will go in alleys and back yards, where
there Is always more or less rubbish and
litter, and make the chances for setting
fire to things ten times as great. Nearly
every fire caused by firecrackers on July 4
In past years have occurred in back sheds
or fences. If the boys are going to shoot
of crackers at all they'd better be allowed
to do 1t on the street. Not one in a thou
sand will go off to any park or reserva ton
hnfn