Evening star., 1909-07-06

a spirit of levity. but in all good faitn ana
seriousness In patriotic New York the
Fourth of July toll of the Grim Reaper
is usually much greater than this
But New York is great Dig city. an
immense place. with millions OF popula-
ton Accidents are to be expected. What.
Then lets try Philadelphia. where they
are also patriotic and unsafe and In
sane What is the record of Philade-
phia on their old-fashined Fourth
Here il is,
Five dead, 3 fatally injured. Sc
riously injured and 42o painfully In
jured And 30 fires.
Would safe and sane regulations have
helped Philadelphia? Would they? In
East Camden crowd of boys loaded an
ornamental cannon with powder and
fired it. The piece exploded. Killing a
mother and her six-week-old babe and
fatally injurinS youth OF sixteen 1hree
lives the toll of that little display OF
patriotism in Philadelphia where they
don't like the safe and sane idea.
Four Dead in st. Louis.
St Louis is another patriotic city in
which the safe and sane idea was at
discount yesterday. They just went ahead
and celebrated with pistols and firecrack-
ers. and all sorts of explosives. And old
fashioned Fourth of July for ST Louis.
Here is the record of that city:
Dead. 4; injured. 20o. And news dis
patch to The Star from that city says
that reports of accidents continue TO pour
into police headquarters. And there were
many fires.
Pittsburg didn't have safe and sane
Fourth. either. So today the under
writers got together and figured The
way they celebrated the day in the
Smoky city had cost $4,000 in fire losses.
In addition. one violent death is reported,
with several others likely. and 20o injured
In Memphis. Tenn, they let children
play with fireworks. Little Charlie Be-
donis. a crippled newsboy, was walking
along the street. with big buncn OF
firecrackers stuffed in his shirt some
how or other they became ignited. Charlie
viii die.
Wilkesbarre Pa. isn't a big place. but
the way they celebrated the Fourth there
abouts already has resulted in four deaths
and physicians expect many lockjaw cases
in the near future.
IN York of the same state a team.
frightened by firec=ackers ran away.
killing the driver
Near Pottsville fires in six extensive
forest districts were started by fireworks.
At Bangor the mill of the Star Slate
Structural Company was consumed by
fire started by Fourth of July explosives.
Loss, $1,000: many employees thrown out
Of work.
Boy Blinded for Life.
The Fourth OF July harvest at Frank
lin. another place where the safe and
sane idea is not highly considered. con-
sisted of a boy blinded for life and a
barn burned.
Today, near Rumford Falls. Me-, a
forest fire is raging. The cutting-up mill
of the Oxford Paper Company has
burned. with a loss of $4,000 Firecrack-
ers started the merry little blaze yes
terday.
one dead and fifty injured in Wheeling
W. Va. Wheeling isn't big place and
1t doesn't believe in the safe and sane
idea.
Forty fires. and the injury of fifteen
children was the toll of BuffalO's old
fashioned celebration.
In Boston the Official list of victims
shows 10 injured. five seriously.
Seven seriously injured in Poughkeepsie,
\. Y. This town believes in letting chill
dren play with fireworks. So yesterday
a nine-year-old boy stood on giant
cracker to see If he couldn't smother the
noise. He will die.
four-year-old tot. She was burned to
death lighting firecrackers.
Figures Speak for Themselves.
At Indianapolis scores of injured from
exploding fireworks have been reported.
But the hospital list isn't complete. for it
rained last night and the authorities have
permitted another Fourth of July for to-
night
Newark. n. j., has two score injured.
several of whom may die. This the New
ark papers say, is the ''best record in
years.
Louisville's Unenviable Distinction.
Louisville, KY, has the unenviable dis
tinction OF having provided the most
prominent Fourth of July victim in Ar
thur Granville Langham, who died from
shock after his right hand had been shat
tered by cannon cracker. Mr.. Langham
was the uncle Of the Baroness Won Stern
burg and was prominent in society and
finance.
Everywhere the story Is the same Only
in those few cities which, like Cleveland
and Washington. enjoyed safe and sane
celebrations, is there break in the roll
OF the violently dead. Here the day was
any other day. The police, the fire.
men, the physicians, had no more to do
than usual. 1t was the first time-but it
is safe proposition that it will not be
the last-that Washington. with it's abso-
lutely clean slate as result of yester-
days new form of celebration. will not
take backward step by returning to the
patriotic" and od-fashioned manner of
celebrating the Fourth.
Once more let those who labored for the
safe and sane idea and those who sneered
and talked against it read the above all
sufficient summary of results.