Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 148, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 June 1910 — Indiana Aids Move For Saner Fourth. [ARTICLE]

Indiana Aids Move For Saner Fourth.

Less powder will be burned in Indiana on the Fourth of July this year than ever before if present plans of the towns and cities of the state are realized. The movement for a safe and sane celebration has been taken up generally throughout the commonwealth, and, while there are some towns and cities in which no legal steps have been taken to lessen the danger to life and limb by the reckless use of explosives, reports show that sentiment in favor of fewer firecrackers and more thumbs is rapidly growing. In many Indiana cities drastic ordinances have been passed to regulate the used of fireworks, and in some cities the touching off of firecrackers or the streets has been forbidden. There are a number of cities which already had rigid Fourth of July dinances on their statute books, and in these there is a prevailing sentiment in favor of enforcing the laws more vigorously than in former years. There are few cities or towns where regulations in some form or other have not been announced, and in those where the use of fireworks is not prohibited, laws have been made to confine the noisy celebration to the twen-ty-four hours of Independence day. In many instances the city councils have sought to regulate the celebration by passing ordinances regulating the sale of fireworks, certain kinds of explosives having been prohibited. Merchants in some cases have given aid to the movement by agreeing to handle only the less dangerous kinds of fireworks. The movement has been championed by the civil organizations of the state and the local bodies have in a great way been responsible for the action of the city authorities in joining in the support of a crusade against dangerous celebrations.