The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1908-07-09
Was MassiIIon's Monster
Celebration oflndepen.
dence Day-Former
Efforts Eclipsed
OTHER NEWS NOTES
(From Mondays Daily News)

spite of the damp weather which pre-
vailed during the morning, never in
the history of the city did the plans
Of the Fourth of July committee carry
out so well, and the grand celebration
of last year was almost esclipsed by
the success of yesterdays program.
The Fourth of July of 1908 will go
down in the history Of Massillon as
one of its greatest events and those
who planned the celebration will not
only receive credit now. but their
memory will remain in the hearts of
the citizens for future generations.
To thH entire committee on the Fourth
OF July celebration of which Mayor
Frantz was chairman, is due great
credit, for it was only through their
tireless efforts that the brilliant sue
cess of the day was made possible.
The estimate of the number of Wis
itors is about 5000 Over the N. o. T.
G. L. lines, a double car service was
maintained during the entire day. 1t
is estimated that the number of Wis
iCOrs from Canton was close to 1000
while from points further down the
line, south of Massillon, the visitors
numbered many more. New Philadel-
phia, Canal Dover and Navarro all fur
nished their quota of spectators and
every other town of this vicinity was
represented by at least few visitors.
Meyers lake and the Canton races
proved much OF an attraction for the
p Il. ~ tn.
ly ON that account that the crowd was
not larger.
The only hitch to the entire program
occurred at 9 o'clock. A balloon ascen-
sion by Prof Caselle was made impos-
aible by the rain and 1t was deferred
90 long that It was finally abandoned.
However, in the evening, the ascen-
sion was made with success.
Whatever may be said of the pro-
gram. its success would have been ex-
oeedingly doubtful, had it not been for
the Massllon fire department. Their
exhibition would have been much Of
a celebration in itself and it gave a
gigantic boost to the remainder Of the
program. During the afternoon, the
az nual inspection of the department
was made by the city officials and with
the conclusion of this an exhibition
run was made on South Mill street.
The entire course was lined with peo
pie and it kept the police busy to keep
them from the roadway The fire lad
dies were given hearty cheers along
the line as the huge trucks careened
and swayed along the course.
In the evening the fire department.
olimaxed it's part Of the program, when
It fought the mock fire at the corner
of Mil and East Main streets. At s
O'Clock, persons standing in that vi
cinity saw the second and third floors
in a great blaze and the lurid flames
Ieaping up from the roof Of the build
ing So real did it appear to one man
that he hurriedly telephoned the fire
department. Companies l, 2 and 3
raced to the fire The Central de-
partment is credited with the best
work Before the bell had stopped
stI king, a 55-foOt ladder had been
erected and the fire laddes began the
rescue of those imprisoned in the
burning (?) building. The net was
spread and many jumped from second
and third story windows to escape the
terrible flames. A length of hose was
stretched to the top of the ladder and
a heavy steam of water soon extin-
guished the flames. CThe damage to
the building was slight)
The work of the fremen greatly eX-
oelled that at a similar exhibition
fast year. The red light in the build |
ing produced a wonderfully vivid ef- |
feet and the whole fasco had the ap-
rearance of terribly realistic blaze. !
The work of the firemen was not ham |
pered to any great extent by the spec
tators as the police kept them well
behind the ropes.
The program Of the day was con-
o,uded with a $500 fireworks display !
that lasted from $3.50 until $50. For !
blocks in the vicinity of the fireworks |
stand. the streets were jammed with !
people, spectators of the display. The
whole fireworks exhibition was al
marked improvement over that OF last |
year.
One of the most singular features
of yesterdays celebrations, is that so
far not one accident or fatality of any
kind has been recorded. The whole
day was an especially quiet one in !
police circles, too, several drunks rep
resenting the entire days work,
But one fire occurred during the
day. The residence of Louis MAIDEN |
on Plum street, took fire from a FIRE
cracker that was thrown upon the
roof. The alarm was sent In at 11;O6
p. m The fire was discovered before
It had made any headway and the fire
men had little difficulty in extinguish-
ing the blaze. The damage was small.
A rumor which tonight found It's
way into police circles, was to the ef-
feet that a dead man was lying with
his body partly submerged in the river
at the extreme north end of the city.
Lieutenant ROtoner was sent with the
patrol wagon to investigate. After
bunting vsinly about in the swamps
for two hours, the search was absn.
doned It is believed that the whole
AFFAIR was q hOaN nlavad nv aona nm