Los Angeles herald., 1905-06-19
SAFE AND SANE
FOURTH OF JULY
MORE PATRIOTISM AND LESS
NOISE
TO REDUCE CASUALTY RECORD
Season Of Slaughter Of Innooents at
Hand, and Statistics Argue
for Law and Order In
Celebration
TO REDUCE CASUALTY RECORD
! FOURTH OF JULY
{ TETANUs RECORD

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The annual Fourth of July slaughter
of the innocents is at hand. Already
can be heard the crack of the pistol
and the noise of the bomb, exploded on
the sly by venturesome boys and reck-
less men, who cannot wait for the ma
tons birthday to arrive but must cut
| loose" even thus early.
And soon the record of the killed
and wounded will be made up for 1905,
and there will go up the annual shud-
der over the awfulness of the casual
ties.
Shall this city profit by statistics and
experiments Of the last two years? Or
shall we again make up record of
! fatalities rivaling those of good sized
battle? Shall we have a saner, de-
cent, quiet and orderly Fourth or turn
it over to the hoodlum unconfined and
the noise-maker unrestrained and SOL
emnly figure up the awful cost next
day in dead and MANNED, sightless and
otherwise wounded? There is no middle
course. AS certain as the Fourth it.
self, if it be unrestrained is the after
math of fatality and suffering.
Easy to Prevent
Yet we know how to prevent it. 1t
is very simple. To a degree, the rem
edy was applied last year. here and
elsewhere. And the tetanus deaths, as
recorded, dropped seventy-five per
cent-from 466 to 1873.
Largely, perhaps, this reduction was
due to anti-toxn treatment, more skill
full handling by the doctors of Fourth
of July wounds, and prompter service
But undoubtedly much was the result
| cf legal action; the enforcement of
laws against the toy, pistol and the
indiscrimnate use of fireworks.
Just before the last Fourth of July
a very vigorous campaign of educa-
ton was waged by the daily press
against the fatal toy pistol and fire.
works in general. The danger in these
alleged patriotic devices was pointed
out. Parents were advised that a
blank cartridge wound was danger
Gus affair which needed immediate
surgical attention; the average physi-
clan learned that ordinary treatment
os such wounds was utterly inadequate
and, best of ALL municipalities were
aroused to the hideous danger in the
pyrotechnic sort of celebration and
were induced to enact preventive
measures and to see to the enforce
ment of those already passed.
This year the country has been fully
forewarned, repeatedly and emphat-
Cally, the danger has been dwelt upon
The laws are on the statute books and
if enforced they will induce a sane
Fourth almost everywhere. They are
So drawn that the explosion Of pistols
Is absolutely prohibited
Only by relaxation, by private sus-
pension, in fact, of the law which holds
for every other day is such license per-
rnitted on the Fourth. No one would
think of walking along the street on
June shooting promiscuously; he
would soon be in the cooler. The
same law holds for July 4, and there is
just as much reason for its suspension
II. JUNE DIS III July.
No Patriotism in II
Patriotism has nothing to do with
this matter. 1t is a poor sort of pa
triotism" that demands human sacri-
flee as part of it's celebration. 1t is
not necessary for Americans to seek
means of exuberance in Chinese ways.
Patriotism implies something broader
than plugging blank cartridges at the
gutter or shooting fireworks in fash
ion common to the yellow devil" The
have no thought of patriotism in their
souls. They only know that "the lid
Is off," and their only care is to be as
reckless and wild as they can. without
landing in duress. Your real patriot
wants no deathroll addition to his joy;
demands no battle roll OF slain to
verify his feelings overflow.
The movement for "sane" Fourth
here has the support of the law, the
facts, good sense and humanity The
wide open" Fourth is wanted by the
rowdy, the "pistol-toter" and the heed
less. unthinking small boy. The city
has ordinances enough to compel the
sanity of the day and to eliminate the
tetanus epidemic to be expected II 4,
be a day of license.
If the Japanese and Russians to-
morrow should clash. and 500 slain and
1000 wounded should be recorded Il
would be good sized battle. Two
years ago, these were the casualties Of
one American Fourth of July.
A good start toward their reduction
was made in 1904. The percentage OF
decrease can be still better maintained
this year by a little sanity and COM
mon sense.