The morning journal-courier., 1908-06-01
yULGARIZED PATRIOTISM.

The few expressions of desire for saner and quleter Fourth of July this year. which have already found their way into the columns of the Journal-Courier, by no means reflect enthusiasm on that subject which Is solely local The press of the coun- try 's demanding that there be an end of this barbarie way of showing our patriotism with all the noise of bat tie in every street, with warhoop and tomahawk, cannon and revolver, to the destruction of life and property, health and safety, and to the lowering of our ideals and patriotic standards Not only Is the press demanding thls but, what is more. the country at large is demanding 1t. After a care ful investigation a writer in the cur rent number of the Century Magazine gives figures which show that. during the celebration of the given national birthdays, from 1903 to 1907 lnclu- sive, l,153 persons were killed and 22,520 were injured as the result of the rampant doings connected with this jolly" celebration. Of those in- jured, eighty suffered total blindness and 3S9 partial blindness; SS0 lost arms, legs or hands. and l,67O lost one or more fingers. IL is a big price to pay for a little heathenish pleas ure and with all these statistics as the writer says. no mention is made of the weeks and months of anguish of the injured the suspense of en- tire families while tho fate of some loved one hung in the balance, the horror of the future of sightless years, and the pinching poverty now the lot of many because of the maim- ing of the bread winner.
 Springfeld's board of aldermen has Just passed some regulations for the coming Fourth of July that should be of interest locally and should of- fer food for thought to our own city fathers The legislation provides that fireworks shall only be sold in that city on the second, third and fourth days of July, and that fireworks shall only be used on the Fourth between a m and 10 ?. m No torpedoes, cartridges, blank cartridges, cannon, firearms, cannon crackers or explo- sives of any character are to be used after 10 a m, except fireworks as are used for display, spectacle, or Hum ination only, which may be used be- tween 7:30 and 10 p. m No explo- sives arc to be put on the car tracks or be set off within 300 yards of any concert, exhibition or exercises being l conducted at the time.
 It should not be necessary to resort to any law of this nature. The peo- pie should be sane enough to realize that our methods of celebrating the Fourth in the past would have been little short of Imaginable In the eyes of other nations were it not for the fact that they have resulted in SO many serious accidents. If the peo" pie are not sane enough to see this the Springfield regulations commend themselves as satisfactory until that sweet day when the ce-destroying
 awed altogether
 As a correspondent of ths paper has said the place to begin reforms In this regard is with the children; they are "the first factors in effectine change |, the observation of tho day" When they change their elders will follow suit. Exercises of z patriotic character with recitations
 marching, character costumes, songs and addresses are suggested Tn, natural liking of the children for Ma,
 pole exercises and the like is rightly
 taken to be "fallov ground, waiting
 for such planting of patriotic and req
 sonahle seeds as may bring harves
 of holidays not to be marred by nois,
 hnd distress" The teachers and tht schools might well be asked to talk,
 an, active part in such exercises a
 these were 1t not for the fact that a
 that time the schools will have dis missed their scholars for the Ions summer vacation. But arc there no } others willing to show their patriot !, ism in interesting the children in saner and less selfish way of cele
 brating our greatest national holiday