Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1915-05-22
SAVE LIFE AND LIMB
To the People of Michigan:

During the year 1914, fireworks in
the United States were responsible for
the loss of forty lives, and 1906 persons
injured. This is an increase of deaths
and 375 persons injured over the figures
OF the preceding year.
1t will now be but few weeks until
the people of the state will read, with
horror, the newspaper accounts of
those killed and injured together with
the amount of property destroyed by
the reckless use of fireworks, firearms,
ETC., in the celebration of the Fourth of
July.
For a number of years many of the
larger cities and towns of Michigan and
the entire press of the state, as well as
throughout the United States have ad-
vocated ''SAFE AND SANE FOURTH
OF JULY" Ordinances prohibiting
the sale and use of fireworks have been
passed and enforced in Baltimore, Bos-
ton, Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis,
Newark, st. Paul, Toledo, Trenton,
Washington and other cities, while re-
strictive measures were adopted in
New York, st. Louis, Pittsburg, Buffalo
and many other places.
Within short time dealers through
out the state will begin laying in their
usual supply of fireworks unless the at
tention of the local authorities is called
to the awful record of loss of life and
property in former years-a record that
can be greatly reduced this year if steps
are taken at once to prohibit the sale of
the dangerous class of fireworks.
Annually the mayors of our cities
make proclamations concerning the use
of cannon crackers and other danger
Gus noise and fire producers upon the
Fourth of July, but it would be impos-
sible for any police force to enforce the
provisions of such an ordinance.
The place to begin is with the dealers
Ordinances which shall regulate or pro-
hibit the sale Of the more dangerous
varieties OF fireworks can be enforced
much more easily than can those seek
ing to regulate or prohibit their use
after they are once sold. Parents should
be urged to use the utmost care in the
purchase and later in the use of fire
works of every description.
The people of Michigan should begin
to realize the awful toll of human life
exacted by needless and useless cele-
brations. The hundreds of children
crippled and disfigured for life each
year is appalling, while property burn
ed, property that cannot be replaced,
runs into hundreds of thousands.
The slogan for Michigan this year,
more than ever before, should be
SAFETY FIRST" The record of the
past five years, showing that in the
year 1910, 1907 persons were killed and
injured; in 1911, 1928 persons killed and
injured; in 1912, 1903 persons killed and
injured; in 1913, 1163 persons killed and
injured; and in 1914 there were 1916
persons killed and injured, or total of
lE,OCG pei CQ OuSht
to be of sufficient interest to the people
of Michigan to secure their utmost CO.
operation in helping to make 1916
ALL CITIES SANE; KILLED AND IN
JURED NONE.
Parents attention should be called to
the following simple rules:
FIRST. Do not buy the dangerous
kinds of fireworks.
SECOND. Under no circumstances
allow small children to handle fireworks
THIRD. Do not allow children to
have gas-pipe cannons.
FOURTH. Toy pistols, blank cart
ridges, large or dynamite fire-crackers,
and torpedo canes are dangerous and
should be prohibited by ordinance.
JOHN T. WlNSHIP,
State Fire Marshal.
Lansing, May 5, 1915.