The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-05


observance of the Fourth of July this
year in Washington was gratifying to
many thousands of peace-loving people
with more or less sensitive nerves, to doc
tors and nurses, to invalids, and to aged
persons whose sleep has hitherto been
| driven away on that anniversary for the
whole of twentyfour hours. 1t will be
remembered that during previous celebra-
| tons an ear-splitting racket generally be-
gan promptly at midnight July 8 and con-
tinued until midnight on July 4. besides
the numerous ebullitions which made the
two or three days preceding the Fourth
| almost as much pandemonium as the
Fourth itself. and prepared the nerves of
those sensitive to noise for state Of
(! pain-racked exhaustion during the celebra-
ton OF Independence Day. This year, on
the contrary. there was no noise worth
mentioning until daylight on the Fourth,
and the cannon cracker, the powder
charged cannon and the anvil Substitute
for artillery were conspicuous by heir alb
sence. No laundering explosions shook
the windows of whole blocks of houses and
no cannon cracker deafened the pedes-
train by exploding just behind his back.
There was a great deal of guapowder
burned-enough to burden the air with
certain peculiar smell of sulphur-but
there was not enough to cause smoke to
hang in a cloud above the city and the
atmosphere to be poisoned for q day or
two afterward.
This is certainly step in the right d.
rection. There has hitherto been a sort
of superstition that in order 10 display
proper spirit of patriotism, and inculcate
in the youth Of our nation love of coun-
try, the said youth must he allowed to
make all the noise they possibly could for
two or three days during the sul;riest
season of the year, and that any attempt.
even the mildest, to restrict or modify that
noise would be 4 crime against the princi-
pies of the Revolutionary fathers. 1t is
little difficult TO see how love of country
can be taught by utter Indifference to the
claims and comforts of ones countrymen,.
and it has been shown over and OVER again
that the unccnscionable racket sometimes
made on the Fourth of July has been the
direct cause of deaths among hospital pa
tents and of serious deterioration in the
condition of invalids whose state demands
quiet. The worst of it is that when abso-
Lutte liberty is allowed to a population OF
nearly three hundred thousand people in
the matter of burning gunpowdeT it is ut |
teriy impossible TO escape the ear-split- |
ting noise except by going out of the city /
entirely, which the average person is IN !
able to do So. being helpless. sensitive |
people resigned themselves TO the loss of |
at least two nights sleep in succession
and wrecked condition of nerves which I
interfered seriously with their work for /
a week; a majority of the hard working
people of the community allowed them
selves 10 be tormented by a minority of
noise fiends, and the result was a condi-
ton of things more suited to Chinese
Boxer celebration than TO Il civilized city.
This year the unnecessary and eXag-
gera,ed demonstrations of previous years
were prevented. All the small children
have had their frecrackers and their tor
pedoes and fireworks. The number of
people who are disappointed because there
was not more noise is probably SO small
part OF the population as not TO count for
anything. And adult Washington draws
long breath OF relief at having escaped
two days nj fnrrure