Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-07-05
SANEST FOURTH
IN CITY HISTORY
Day Passes in Rock Island
Without Serious Accident,
Due to Explosives.
REGULATIONS OBSERVED
Only Violations by Outsiders-Thous-
ands See Celebrations at Long
View Park and River.
FIREWORKS ACCIDENTS.


ALBERT cooLE, 27oo Sixth ave-
nue.; left leg Iacerated by premature
explosion of railroad metal dynamite
cap, piece of metal lodging in flesh.
Before the arrival of a physician cooIe
had cut out part of metal in flesh with
pocketknife. Injury not serious.
acknowledgement daughter of
Mr.. and Mrs. Fritz Luchman, Ninth
street and Nineteenth avenue. Eye in
jured by premature explosion of fire.
cracker. Not serious.
) Rock Island passed the sanest Fourth
In it's history, reckoned from the point
of fireworks casualties and the manner
In which the populace enjoyed and OBJ
served the day. There was not a SER
lous accident, due to the explosion of
fireworks, in the cfty-an unprecedent-
ed record
There was manifest on all sides
disposition on the part of citizens to
cooperate in the movement, general
over the country, to refrain from the
riotous demonstrations that heretofore
have desecrated, rather than honored,
the spirit of Independence day. While
the small boy had his harmless fire
crackers, and there were numerous
home celebrations, there was present
the supervising hand of the elders, all
keeping In mind the danger in the pro-
miscuous and careless use of eXplO-
sives. In former years the tracks Of
the street railway ripped and snorted
with dynamite caps, frightening pas
sengers at times to the point of hys-
terra; the blank cartridge pistol and
the cane with the dynamite cap, and
the cannon cracker, all were in con-
tinuous play in the business section,
endangering the danger of pedestrians.
All of these, with an occasional excep-
ton, were absent in Rock Island yes
terday.
Visitors Are Offenders.
The exceptions were attributed by
the police department to the visitors
from nearby towns, of whom there
were several hundred who came for the
local celebration. Unfamiliar with the
rules laid down by the city authorities.
they came armed with their pistols and
loaded canes, but they soon learned
that the Fourth of July celebration had
been arranged for them, and that the
bottled noise they brought with them
must be suppressed.
81 suppose the members Of the de-
partment who were on duty yesterday
picked up all told a bushel of blank
James Brinn said. 1--WE learned in al
most every case that the offender did
not know that the firing of these pis~
tolls was prohibited in Rock Island,
and therefore we were not severe be-
yond the confiscatiOn of cartridges.
Where we found a person displaying a
pistol we demanded that the blanks be
turned over and we allowed the reten-
ton of the revolver, but with the I'M
derstanding that if our orders were not
obeyed the pistol would be cOnfscated
and the owner arrested and prosecuted
In a number of cases we took pistols
away from owners. Our own people
behaved remarkably we'll; in fact, l
can't remember of a Fourth of July in
Rock Island when there was so little
noise and trouble"
Boat Races Are Exciting.
The motor boat races held in con-
junction with the Fourth celebration
were NlIuSSScu ny Il large COlCOuISe
of people who lined the levee front in
the vicinity of the starting boat, which
was located out from Eighteenth street
Three races were pulled off and in each
of them the finishes were close and ex-
citing and the prizes were pretty we'll
divided up.
The first race was one for boats I'M
der 90 feet in length and having less
than 14=horse power. This race was
over three and half mile course and
there were nine starters. The winner
was the Alice II, owned by August
Heimbeck. The prize was a silver tro-
ply cup and pair of gold cuff buttons
donated by Fred Bleuer, the jeweler.
The Limit, owned by George Gathoren-
sen, was second; the Squaw, owned by
Lee Schaum, third; and the Lazy Boy,
owned by A. J.. Mcdonald, fourth. The
prize for second place was a silver tro-
pry cup, for third another trophy cup,
and for fourth place 81 hat donated
by Gustafson & Hayes.
MalIard Wins Second Race.
The second race of the afternoon was
for boats over 20 feet, and it was won