The Watertown news. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1917-1919, 1917-07-05
T THE STROLLER

Once more the Fourth of July has
arrived and departed, and the same
may be said of all the joys pertaining
thereto. Twenty years ago it was diff
ferent, and thirty, still more so. MANY
older boys will remember arising at
daylight and taking the old musket
bored out for shot, from behind the
kitchen door. You poured in a hand
full of powder, and wadded it down
with the iron ramrod. Then you put on
a cap and let 'er 20.
The dew fell away from the clover
and timothy heads and the family cat
skunk under thee orn crib. You lis
tened, and soon there was an answer
ing shot from over across the fields
where Bill Jones lived. You were sat
lsfied, for you had beat him to it.
There was little time for breakfast
FOR there was to be grand celebration
at Walnut Ford that would never be a
success if you were not there. Of
course there was the reading of the de-
claration of independence, and a pa
trlotlc speech by the Hon." someone
or other who wanted to be returned to
congress. By the way, right then and
there is where we learned about all
that most of us know about our 'in-
dependence" and freedom Somehow or
other in the years that followed there
was less of the simple speech-making
and more attention was paid to in
creasing the size of the cannon crack
ers
Twenty years ago the cannon crack
er reached the limit in size, and Ii
censes to throw the same around pro-
miscuously was also the limit. In 9th
er words, "the lid was Off
But. suddenly someone the re-
former this time-for the reformer
was too busy stepping on the tail of
Demon Rum about them, got the idea
OF the sane Fourth" The idea took
from the start, and today there are
thousands less MANNED and killed on
the Fourth than in days of yore. Strict
city ordinances and national laws
have shut off the toy pistol, the cannon
cracker and other sources of noise and
annoyance until now they are reduced
to minimum
10 be sure there is still the big hulk
Ing boob who goes around from early
morn til late at night on the Fourth
with his pockets full of fire crackers
and torpedoes to throw in front of
women he may meet or young girls and
children. To be sure this intelligent
young man perhaps never heard of
the Declaration of Independence or
the battle Of Bunker Hill, and may
think he is celebrating Lincoln's birth
day. in a year or two, however, this
individual nuisance with thee crackers
will be out of business, for the max
ers of fire crackers say that the laws
are getting so stringent that it does
not pay to make the big crackers any
more, so the public July Fourth NUS
ance will have to begin cultivating his
brain or using some other method of
drawing attention to himself.
The whole system of celebrating In
dependence day is changing, and in a
few years, even the methods of today's
July Fourth will be ancient history.
Listen! Perhaps it is the little
brides singing in the trees May be it
IS lulu bird or whangdoodle. But
1t is neither That's where you get
fooled, for it is only an imitation
birdie which some one may be operat-
ing under cover. In other words, it is
a very clever little warbler" which
Secretary Harte of the Watertown In.
ter-County Fair association has pur-
chased to contribute to the publicity
department of the biggest fair in
southern Wisconsin" If you are lucky