New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-07-04
THE DATE AND THE DAY.

The President did well to remind his
hearers at Cleveland yesterday Of the
admonitory value of the statistics which
disclose our national defects, such as
those which tell of the magnitude OF the
destruction which the nation has yearly
suffered in its celebration of the Fourth
or July. He did well, also, to remind
them that the men whose deeds are CON-
memorated to-day had too much sound
sense and practical humanity to coun-
tenance any such silly and savage
method of celebration. His words give
a keynote for the whole tenor Of to-day's
doings which the public will be wise to
heed.
America is probably TO be accounted
unfortunate in the date Of its chief ma
tional anniversary. The opening days OF
July are not always as oppressively hot
as they have been this year, but they
are practically always hot. The result
IS that usually on Independence Day as
sembling is an ordeal OratOry Is bur
den and parades and pageants are mar
tyrdom These circumstances have per
hans had not little to do with the
character of former celebrations. The
average man, being disinclined TO exer-
ton in torrid weather, has been Wiling
to leave the active commemOration TO
the small boy, who apparently never
feels the heat and who is as ready 10
plav with fire when the mercury is in
the nineties as to throw snOwballs when
it approximates zero. Hence, crackers
and tetanus.
There is the more credit, then, In
the hopeful movement for safe and
sane" celebration. Beyond doubt, to get
up patriotic meetings and parades and
pageants and TO give serious thought to
the purport of the day require vastly
more fortitude and resolution than just
10 lie i'm shaded hammock and let
Young America do the rest. Yet the
movement is succeeding in a most graft
flying way. A few years ago, when we
began 10 call attention TO the dreadful
yearly cost in limb and life and property
W llltn was dtlNiihHhA UPON NIt WV
brutal method of celebration. there was
more incredulity than encouragement ex-
tant. The general opinion was that fire
crackers and bombs and toy pistols never
could be eliminated. But the thing has
been done. Many important communi-
ties last year restricted the celebration
to rational limits and methods, and their
number will be largely increased this
year. At the same time there is n per-
ceptible growth of intelligent interest in
the purport Of the day and Of desire to
celebrate il in a manner cOngru0us with
its origin and with its real significance.
This inclination is by all means to be
encouraged. 1t costs something to com
memorate the day in a becoming and
patriotic manner but only n 1.-THE of
what il has been costing to mark 1t with
death and destruction 1t has, we be-
lieve been sufficiently demonstrated that
safe and sane celebrations are prac-
ticable and acceptable. Under such cir
cumstances it is the moral and civic duty
of citizens 10 promote the work, even at
the cost Of some personal discomfort and
eXertiOn. TO take part in a parade or
pageant or to attend a patriotic meet
ing may mean some sacrifice Of personal
ease and comfort. but that at most will
be an insignificant trifie contrasted with
the sacrifices which were made in the
establishment Of this day or with the
sacrifices which these reformed methods
will avoid.