Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-04
DAY ONE OF GREAT JOY
Praises of Men Who Mark Pages of History
Sung by Many Orators Local
Programs Rendered.

Today. the ver-gIorious Fourth OF july
ts the 12gth birthday of the great A'"eii0"',
nation and all over this broad lahu' anu
N the governments insular possessions do
we'll the free flag of the stars ana stripes
flies In the breeze. patriotic men anu
,r,ep gather everywhere to talk of the
=. Tho rrasent and what the future may
have in store and the youth OF the couh-
trv give rein TO the incipient patriotism
az only they know how. 1t has been more
than a century and quarter-long as the
lives of men are measured: brief in the HE
of a nation-since the little group of Amer
lean immortals signed the most treasured
document in American annals-the Declara-
ton OF Independence.
No need TO tell the American people OF
those days of storm and travail no need
to call to their minds the names of those
whose signatures were traced below the
first great proclamation Of united people.
Not a school boy but knows the why's and
the wherefore of 1t all; but understands
the motives behind the act; but realizes
the unselfsh patriotism that actuated ev-
cry man OF those who signed the immortal
scroll
And now. although the scroll itself is
faded and dim with age. the names of the
signers illegible blurs below the body
OF the instrument the spirit of freedom
and of independence fostered by the Dec
laration and secured by seven years OF
ruthless war. is as strong today as at the
time when the ink was hardly dry upon
the imperiShable parchment. and when us
ringing sentences were plain for all to
read Each Fourth OF July that has come
and gone has seen the day and the occa-
sion more sincerely and more f1ttingly hon.
ored Time seems to serve a purpose OF
It's own with this great national holiday.
in bringing fresh and fresher each year be-
fore the people of the great republic the
deepest meaning of the day. The memory
of things more than a century gone does
not DIM but. rather It would SEEM de-
sends as a valued inheritance upon each
succeeding generation of the country's chill
dren. They are born. and into the world
with them comes something Of the spirit
of T6. the principle of liberty DEATH the
breath of patriotism and love of country
that is the birthright of the free and ma
tive-born. There are other national holi-
days in our yearly calendar and it is true
that all are celebrated, each in its own
way but of the list not one is received and
welcomed and speeded on into the arms of
the waiting past as is this Independence
day. No other one means so much to the
young and the middle-aged and the old: no
other one can stir so strongly that indie
Unable and impersonal something that lies
In every breast. dormant and still in the
piping times of peace, waiting and ready
for the cOuntry's call
A General Din.
ana the Cefebrauon of the Fourth Is in
way a call 10 arms. cry from out OF
the past OF the nations greatest need All
over the country the soul of imprisoned fire
and the power of engines of noise contrib
ute to the general din; the smoke of gun
powder hangs In heavy haze over the
iand. It's pungent smell intoxicating as
WINE reminiscent of the days when the
nation received its battle baptism
There those who deplore the Fourth
the noise and the smoke. the smell of the
burned saitpeter in the air, the litter of
past noisy license underfoot And yet de-
spite these. there is probably not a man In
all this broad land with native blood in his
veins and the national heritage in his
heart whose pulse is not quickened on this
day OF days, who does not devote a mo-
ment to thoughts of the past. the present
and the future
The Fourth OF July Is not a holiday Of
only recent observation. The men who af-
fixed their signatures to the Declaration of
Independence realized the immense and far
reaching possibilities of the sentiments to
which they had subscribed The patriots
who fought In the armies of the young re-
public understood 1t well. and there was
not Fourth of July that rolled around
during even the darkest days OF that seven
year war OF the revolution. that did not re-
ceive Its proper welcome Footsore and
weary might those warriors be. half clothed
and hungry. suffering and sick. but not
once during even those times of greatest
doubt, OF desperate strife. did they fail to
say This Is the day.
Growth of the Nation.
And since then It has been the same
Each year has seen the nation grow a lit
tie stronger little bigger a little more
truly worthy of the name The land OF
the free and home of the brave" From the
thirteen original colonies. weak and strug-
Cling. penniless and apparently lacking in
everything-save patriotism-that goes to
make a country strong and great-has
not fNEF %
with colonial possessions near and far hon
ored abroad and loved at home rich and
prosperous and strong. a power even among
the great powers OF the world, a power
that up 10 now has always worked for
good
Certainly. then, Il is no strange thing that
the celebration OF Independence day should
grow apace: that with each new step for
ward along the broad. smooth far-reach-
ing pathway Of national prosperity and
power there should be a backward glance
strange that as the nation grows in all
the things that make nation great. the
ceremony OF Its birth should loom larger
and larger through the mlsts of passing
years and that each succeeding anniversary
OF that great event should be. naturally
and Inevitably; more universal. more sin
cere. more enthusiastic and more patriotic
than any other that has gone before.
At Nations Capital.
And Washington. the capital of this ma
just 80 years old. is not behind the rest
OF the country In testifying by noise and In
other ways to its appreciation of the day.
II was remarked by many residents of the
city today that the Inevitable racket-and-
am features of the program were controlled
better this year than ever before. Formerly
The cannon and firecracker bombardment
began promptly at midnight, and 1t was
only lucky few. Of even tempers and
steady nerves who could manage TO secure
any sleep between then and dawn. Then
several years ago the police regulations
were amended so as to prohibit the use of
toy cannons This furnished large meas
uro OF relief. which was increased by the
prohibition with respect to giant crackers.
This years regulations issued by Major Syl-
yester were more stringent than ever before
and citizens of Washington generally APP
preciated the fact. There was very little
noise between midnight and dawn, and the
general enthusiastic bombardment did not
begin until o'clock or whereabouts.
And even then. owing to the absence of
cannon and giant crackers from the small
fy's store of noise-making contrivances,