The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-04-30
QUIET FOURTH IS URGED IN STATE
 BY VIM. H. AVIS
Hamden Man Suspects. Enc mics Might Take Advan-
 tage of Celebration.

To all thoughtful persons it should pound of powder should be allowed to get into the hands of the general pub- lie this year for the purpose of cele- brating the Fourth of July. A na- tional law to this effect should be passed by congress, shutting off the sale of powder and all other explo- sives to be used in the celebration of the Fourth, and for once in our his tory as a nation we should celebrate the day quietly and decorously. wrote to some of theNew York pa- pers recently along this line, and I find that since doing so the city au- thorities of the metropolis have taken the matter up, and 1t has been an- nounced that no explosives whatever will be on sale in New York this year. and that the Fourth will be celebrated in a noiseless manner.
 Should our national legislative bod ies fail, however, to make such a move national in scope, the govern ing authorities of Connecticut should see to it that a law of that character obtains in this state this year. For Connecticut has truthfully been called the arsenal of the United States" and every precaution should be talk en to protect the great intuition con- cerns within her borders. The in discriminate sale and use of explo- sives this year might jeopardize the existence of some of these great con- cerns, through the fact that alien enemies could easily take advantage of the day to put into effect secret schemes for their destruction. A gen. eral use of explosives in the celebra- tion of the day would offer a psycho- logical moment for putting into prac- tice plans of this character, and who knows but even now. alien enemies are laying such plans?
 | Could the general public realize the | priceless value of these munition fac tories to the government at the pres ent time, there would be no need tc legislate for a noiseless Fourth this year. For general recognition o1 the tremendous difficulties which have been met and overcome in theil establishment would demonstrate the necessity of their preservation as nothing else could do. In fact, SC great would be the difficulty in re. building and re-equipping one o1 these great concerns at the present
 time that it would mean a most om
 inous calamity to the American peo
 pie to suffer the loss of one of the bis rifle or munitiOn works. Thus the people as a whole should consider il a sacred duty to safeguard every ave. nue which might lead toward the de. struction of such factories, and to sec to it that no harm shall befall them For their preservation may. mean oul future existance as a nation before the present world war comes to ar end, for no man can tell where the exigencies of the war may lead us a. a nation before peace once agair smiles throughout the earth. l It is no oxaggeration to say thai are national diamonds at the present
 moment in our history, and that they should be religiously guarded as such In guarding and protecting them the people simply guard and protect
 themselves. Thus no psychological occasion for their destruction should be allowed to exist. Cut out the use of explosives and fireworks in the celebration. of the Fourth of July this year and the most dangerous and om. I inous psychological moment fol harming our munition, works is kill. ed. The governments of the nation 1 and of the state owe 1t to the people to cut out this danger. It is an obli- gation so vast and sacred in its>nd- ture that there should be no hesitan. cy whatever in making the nations birthday this year silent one, in-so. far as the use of explosives is con. ! cerned. Rather let every loyal citi- zen do all that lies within his power to protect the great munition works of the country, for in their protection may lay our very salvation as a ma. tion.
 WILLIAM H. AVIS. 1 Hamden, Conn.,, April 26, 1917.