Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-06-28
CELEBRATING The FOURTH.
Having Fun With Fireworks.
Where and How Chinese Trees, the
Devil Among TailOrS, Stars, Roman
Candles, Etc, are Made---The Cost of
Some Great PyrOteGhnieal Displays.

Some treat Pyr0tecnnleal DlSpIayS.
AS the Fourth of July is day partic-
ularly set apart for our self-glorifca-
ton, I suppose may be pardoned for
saving that accustomed as We Ameri-
cans are to being the biggest" in any
direction. probably no youth in the land
will be surprised 10 learn that the lar
gest mandatory of fireworks in the
world is in America. The word manu-
factory will doubtless call up TO your
mind, as il did to mine. visions Of
huge brick building of many rooms,
more or less vibrant with the noise and
hustle of machinery and labor. So you
will easily imagine my surprise when l
found myself escorted instead 10 vast
meadow of some seventy acres, dotted
over with little smokeless, nolseless
hutS. fifty or sixty in number, inter-
spersed here and there with larger ones
and two-story buildings. In these
small huts are kept all the more dan
gerous combustiblss, and they are there
fore placed at such a distance from each
other that an explosion in any one OF
them would not affect the others. Here
all the charging is done. The floors are
covered with rubber and projections are
numerous. Taking is strictly forbid
den. as il is unsafe for mans atten-
ton to be distracted from his work. In
foot. only one man is allowed in hut
at al time.
PUTTING THE WORK TOGETHER.
Alta respectful distance form the huts
are the larger buildings where the less
dangerous work is carried on, and where
many boys and not less than seventy
five girls are employed. Here one finds
enormous quantities of brown and white
paper. hundred weights of pins for at
taching the quick match to set pieces,
steel and iron filings for producing the
bright starry coruscations, chemicals to
give TO the stars their wondrous hues of
red, green, white and blue, and other
harmless materials.
Scarcely less interesting was 1t TO
watch the nimble fingers as they filled
the Roman candles. Into one of these
strong eases were put layers in the fol-
lowing order: Composition, pinch Of
gunpOwder. q star; and so on until the
case was quite filled. the composition
and gunpowder furnishing respectively
the necessary combustion and propeller
for the variOusly colOred stars. The
Roman candle not only shines by her
self, "a thing Of sweetness and of light"
but fills an important part in pieces like
The Devil Among Tailors," Chinese
trees. etc. Altogether dainty, modest
creature. quite unlike her more noisy,
frisky kindred.
Letters, figures, in fact, all designs
for set pieces ale made by means of hun
dreds. yes, thousands of lances connect
ed by quick match, and the making Of
these requires many nimble fingers. A
lance is a small tube, about the size of
a squib, filed with ordinary compost
ton, which is gunpOwder debased by
the addition CT ingredients TO reduce its
rate of combustion. containing proba-
bly, not more than ) psr cent. of actual
gunpOwder
Thee quick match. the indispensable
fire conductor. is made by saturating
piece Cf lamp wick with damp gunpow-
der and gum. It is then reeled off and
dried. and afterwards cut into lengths
and encased in paper tubing. Girls are
chiefly employed for making this fiery
maccaroni and turn out millions of
yards in year.
Let Us suppose, for instance. that one
wants the head of George Washington
TO appear in the heavens outlined by
brilliant band Of light A scale Of the
,,,o.o,-.:,e ~ hi "a n, ie frcf ~, q a. fro,,.
a picture. A large frame is then laid on
the floor. and in the center of this frame
with a bit of crayon is drawn on the
floor. according to the scale. a very much
enlarged picture usually measuring at
least thirty inches from forehead to
chin. A girl then takes a piecs Of rat
tan and bends it in the exact form of
The crayOn outline. This is fastened to
The frame. and unon this rattan outline
lances are placed very close together.
and are connected by the quick match.
Naturally. for this sort Of work and for
oil finishing off processes girls are pre-
farred on account Of the su0erior fexi-
hilty Of their fingers and their general
destness.
NEW FIREWORKS.
Among the most fascinating fire
works are always the rockets and the
beautifully scin4illating complicated
wheels, which give such charm to set
nieces. There will be this year an in
initely new and beautiful variety of
both these devices. Rockets display
ing a swarm of magic dragonlike SER
penis with vermilliOn hued bodies.
rockets bursting forth into a broad
snread Of of LIQUID gold with streams of
glittering radi9ncy lighting MP pretty
par3chutes. willow tree rockets. dia-
mond chain rCckets-rockets wrthout
end. Then the number and variety of
wheels, Wheels with 4 brilliant outer
ring encirclipg an inside ring Of red or
green. contra revolving wheels with pots
OF fire n vari gated colors. colored dou-
bic triangle wheels. &c. The motive
power Of these delightful displays is
simply due to the rapid evolution of
gas. One has but 10 light the fuss in or
der to produce gas with sufficient rapid
ity 10 press astinst the air and thus
imp5l the piece onward in its course.
The wheel is used as a motive power
in some very funny set pieces. I was
shown the skeleton OF donkey outlined
oy the lanceS and quick match in the
manner which I have described. At
tached to it was a wheel. which. when
set in motion by lighting, acted upon