The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1911-06-29

uVW\ll|IIVI course not A soon
II VIl|IV suggest Easter without
A eggs. Decoration day
- without hags. or
Thanksgiving without
. turkey. Why, We could better dis
psnss with the nrscracksrs and other
noios-maksrs on the glorious Fourth
than to worry through the day with
out The inspiring strains Of martial
music. Indeed. a. . matter Of fact.
The crusaders for safe and sane"
Fourth are trying to teach all the
people that It 10 the better part Of
wisdom and patriotism to 90 short on
explosives and to increase the Fourth's
always generous menu Of band music.
This may serve to explain In part
how It is that the brass band-or the
vauntsd silver cornet band" II you
please-is coming to play = more
prominent part than ever in our In
depsndence day festivities. But. Of
course. It did not await this awaken
ing to the charms Of the music OF the
horns and drums to render the band
indispensable ON Fourth of July.
The Oldest citizen will testify that II
was 20 In the days Of his youth. Like
- not he fell into . feverish. ntful
sleep ON the night before the Fourth
to the lullaby OF the village band
"practicinE' for the morrow. 1t 10 an
sven chance that 1t was the crash Of
the band and not the roar Of artil-
lsry that awakened him on the event
full day. And thereafter he heard it,
inspiring tunes" at short intervals
all through tho day until the last sky.
rocket had winked out its brief glory
Q few minutes before July Fourth
gave way to July NTH.
And pity the poor bandman-per-
haps. That is you would be prone
70 pity him II you did not wildly re-
call what An object Of envy he il
to all the rising generation. Even the
fat man who manipulates the bass
Arum-hs 10 nearly always, you know,
the most portly of the musicians-is a
hero in the eyes Of the youngsters
who march in tn course Of the day
Just ~ far as the band for the simple
reason that they follow 1t faithfully in
all its migrations up and down the
town. And as for the drum major
sweltering in the lofty fur hat and
torrid red coat. literally bespattered
with gold lace. why. not the ball play
er Of renown nor yet the president Of
the United States could command
such worship as he receives from
barefooted admirers at his heels.
But. all joking aside, the Fourth Of
July 10 pretty certain to prove the
busiest day Of the year for the mem
bers of the average military band
they are military bands" you know.
II We are to believe the posters that
herald the Fourth Of July celebration.
A. has been hinted above, the band
10 likely to be called out early in the
morning for 4 street concert or more
likely to welcome and escort to his
hotel the orator of the day, who ar
rives on an early train. Then, not
later than ten O'Clock, the music
makers must be in their places at the
head of the parade then forming. and
for the next couple of hours they will
be tramping up and down streets and
roads that may be dusty enough to
spell discomfort even for the head OF
the procession.
At noon there Is . hrief respite for
luncheon and mayhap the bandmen, If
they are lucky, are treated to ice
cream by the local bellies who are,
for this day at least. enrolled in the
service Of the aid society or the
patriotic organization that has things
in charge. The lull Is brief. however.
for one o'clock 10 favorite hour for
4 band concert. according to the ideas
OF those conscientious committeeman.
who feel that something must be hap
pening every moment. In the after
noon the band is equally busy, and the
only difference from the morning is
that the players get to sit down-that
10 they are called upon to play in
connection with the speech-maktns
and the singing in the local park or
the races at the fair ground or other
set program. In the evening there is
more band music as an accompani-
ment for the fireworks, and then the
bandman, who does not work at it
regularly" can 20 home convinced
that though he has been earning