The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-07-04

1t is estimated that 100000 will be
expended by the people Of the United
States on their Fourth of July cele-
bration. Consequently. as the birthday
of independence is at hand, not I'M
natural curiosity must arise in many
minds regarding pyrotechnical displays,
how they are organized, what they cost,
how the effects are produced and what
are the novelties which the year has
brought forth. Besides, recollectons of
the glorious Fourth must 10 the
average American be fraught with
"reminiscences Of the festive frecracker.
it's works and pomps. Such an idea
impelled the writer to make an eN-
tended tour through the stores and
factories Of the leading fireworks max
ers in this country.
A FOURTH OF NOISE AND BRIL-
LIANCY.
There are scarcely a dozen first class
manufacturers of pyrotechnic supplies
on the entire continent, and almost all
of these are situated within the radius
OF Greater New York. Money depres-
sions cannot Quench patriotism, nor
can the wolf cry of hard times dam
pen the Fourth of July firecracker.
This year-declare the principal pro-
ducers-Will see a bumper Fourth" in
the matter of noise and briiliancy, If
their order books may be relied upon.
1t will, say they also, be a Fourth" of
noise rather than of brilliancy. Many
beautiful picture effects have been
placed upon the market, but the taste
of the great American small boy seems
to run more to the simple and loud
than to the complicated and esthetic.
At all events, an overwhelming major
ity have purchased the explosives in
preference TO the less noisy but more
pleasing, creations of the pyrotechnical
inventor. For there ara inventors in
this trade, as there are in every trade
nowadays. Each year brings forth
some clever, or even brilliant, novelty
in the line Of fireworks-the outcome of
much busy brain work during the win
ter and spring.
This year." said the importer and
manufacturer Zone whose name is
known over two hemispheres) there
will be no startling novelties, although
a large number of minor inventions, all
possessing beauty and ingenuity, can,
for the first time, be purchased. Each
big factory employs severalseXperienced
inventors to design its annual summer
output, and, in addition, we always
have useful suggestions from outsiders.
OF course every new design is carefully
patented. For years there has not been
a Fourth during which we expected to
do better business than we do during
the coming one
ELECTRICITY ON INDEPENDENCE
DAY.
Contrary TO natural expectation, in
this, the age of electricity, purely cleo
trical fireworks are as yet practically
unknown quantities. Their advent is
of course, only a question of time, and
haY- nf irDad and burned
celebrators of Independence Day will
doubtless long for them heartily; but at
present electricity is only used in the
actual sending OF of big displays, and
Of the more ingenious explosive toys.
The makeup of the hrecracker and its
family is still either "villainous salt
peIre" or the new and dangerous COM
position used exclusively in the Amer
lean cracker factories (and of which
more anOn.)
To the large dealer in fireworks
said the experienced authority quoted
above, there are four distinct subdi-
visions of the stock which he expects
TO dispense. First of all there are the
intricate pyrotechnical displays, set
pieces and the like, which are made in
his own factory. and after his own de-
signs. These fully protected under the
patent laws, and their secrets religi-
ously guarded, are rarely given to the
lIaut las Nlle QteLcIS are cd4ltuj lot
q 12-mOnth after their trial Secondly
comes the great import of Chinese Ian
terms and Chinese firecrackers, and
thirdly, one may count the rival
cracker Of the American shops. Any
large dealer win tell you that the Chi
nese variety is far away the more
popular AS a matter of fact 1 do not
Keep the American frecracl1er in my
stores at all, save as a medium of COM
parison. None of the New York man
ufacturers turn out firecrackers at all,
relying solely upon the Chinese influx.
CHINESE FIRECRACKERS.
The causes of the superior popularity
of the crackers from the fiowery king
dom are simply that they are cheaper
and less dangerous. The question of
danger is one that comes up every year,
and it is a duty that we owe to the
public to be careful in the kind of
goods we send out Now in the Chi
nese crackers the explosive medium is
gunpowder, and the crackers are so
wrapped up in paper and ornamental