The Wichita daily eagle., 1901-06-12
THEY MAY NOT Pop
Chief Burt Wants Light on
Fire Cracker Business.
WILL ASK THE COUNCIL
Whether Young America Can
Have a Noisy Fourth.

Chief OF Police Frank Burt does not
like to take the responsibility OF saying
to young America that he shall not be
loyal on the Fourth day of July and
make life miserable to everybody for four
blocks round with his fire crackers. He
is going TO ask the city council whether
it wants him TO enforce the ordinance
which says that any person guilty of
firing any gun, pistol or fire cracker
within the city limits shall be fined not
TO exceed fifty dollars, OF whether be
shall look terror with one eye at the
kids and wink at them with the other to
proceed with the celebration OF the na-
tional holiday in their own way.
The average American boy when told
that he cannot shoot on the Fourth day
Of July, regar4s it in about the same
light that he would If told that he must
go without his dinner on Thanksgiving.
He some way has it in mind that the
burning of powder had something to do
with the winning of the independence of
this country. and for the life OF him he
cannot see how anybody can object to
the explosion of firecrackers on the glor-
ious Fourth. His own nerves are steady
and ne thinks the nervous people who
object to the explosion Of a fire cracker
are effected with disl0yalty to this re-
public. He had dreamed OF how he would
surprise the people just across the street
by the bursting OF a giant fire cracker
on the early morning OF the national
holiday, and now to have a chief Of po-
lice threaten TO lock him up in the city
dungeon for doing that very thing is
something he can never be made TO com
prehend until the sun of his natural life
is low down in the west Chief Burt is
dead onto all this for he was once a
boy himself, and lAere is a well grounded
grounded sucpicion that at heart he is
with the boys and in favor of turning
things loose on the Fourth of July, and
that is the reason he is trying TO shove
this particular ordinance on the city
council.
Bets are offered even that the city
council will either shirk or tell the chief
to give young America a pretty wide
range on the national holiday. ONE of the
business men and particularly those who
sell fire works have been asking Fire
Marshal Walden about it and they claim
that there has never been & serious fire
in this city from the use of fire works.
The most objection comes from people
who drive on the streets but it is pointed
out that hack, transfer and other horses
used daily on the streets do not mind a
little noise and they think people could
afford to let their horese used for pleas
ure riding stay at home and est on the
Fourth day of July.
The fight is on between the Fourth OF
July boy and the rest of mankind and a
good many people will watch TO see how
the boy comes out. VIII he be permitted
to shoot or will he shoot anyhow and
depend on his heels to save him from
the consequences of his violation Of the
city ordinance.
Speaking of the matter last night
Councilman Isley said that if this mat
ter came before the council he would be
for the boys. His idea was that the boys
ought to be given chance to work of
their accumulation of patriotism. He said
he was allowed 10 shoot all the fire
crackers he could manage 70 get hold
Of when he was boy. and that he never
hurt anyone with them. He was opposed
to preventing all the boys shooting fire
crackers because some hoodlem threw
fire crackers under a lady on the street
He said it would be better to let all rhe
boys come onto the paved streets and
shoot their fire crackers than to scatter
over the city and fire them in close prox-
unity to barns and other buildings stor-
ed with combustible matter