Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 150, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 June 1911 — FIRING FOURTH OF JULY SALUTES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FIRING FOURTH OF JULY SALUTES

BY WALDON FAWCETT

dinto HE early morning salute on th<> Fourth of July is to the celebraT tion of our greatest national holigp, gtt&e dft F much what the gorgeous Sff£ffe morning parade, or better yet. the “grand entree” and pageant A of all nations, ie to a long-awaited AAk\T circus—that is in the eyes of the yYf average small boy. It is at once the herald and foretaste of the i vlnrlAf. in «mu And what man whatever his years or present-day responsibilities, - can wholly forget the keen anticipation with which he awaited that early morning sum mans, if. Indeed, he was not down on “the commons” or the vacant field at the edge of town to see with his own eyes the barking of the tamed dog of war. From time out of mind the firing of salutes with cannon has been one of the approved methods of celebrating the Fourth of July and it to likely that it will continue to he the fashion to the end of the chapter, no matter what other changes may be made in ithe approved ‘form of commemorating our festival of independence. The discharge of big guns on the July holiday is simply an elaboration from the noise-making standpoint of young America’s practice of exploding firecrackers, and since , the average red-blooded citizen Is merely a small boy grown tall, there is widespread •sympathy with, If not cooperation in, this noisy acknowledgment of the glorious Fourth. Whereas cannonading seems to be a fixed feature of the program of the day we cele- • ■ WISI I - -*- vv

brate, it must bo admitted that the practice has undergone some changes with the passing of the years. In the days of our grandfathers the booming of the big guns kept up pretty much all day—indeed in these days the patriotic citizens of the new republic liked such din so well that they fired off cannon not merely on too Fourth, hut on Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Tear’s as well. And on Independence Day if toe booming did not literally keep up all day at least there was a prolonged salute at sunrise, another at noon, a third at sunset and a final thundering along with toe skyrockets and Roman candles in the evening. In this more decorous generation we have fto be content, most of us, with one salute of this sort on toe Fourth. At U. S. navy yards ■and military poets and other governmental reservations the salute Is fired at noma, but in too average town or city where the civilians must do the firing—especially if these selfsame civilians are to participate in a picnic or a parade—toe regulation salute is sent echoing over toe countryside soon after the break of day. Of course, if there is to be s ceremonial flag raising during the day, or a monument Is to be unveiled or some high-up public official is to he given s reception, there may be a salute as s sort of accompaniment for the function, but for the most part nowadays the average American community has to get along on toe Fourth with one formal salute. Another change that has come with the passing of the years is in the matter of the arrangements for the firing of the salutes. The average individual who listens to the reverberation of the distant guns never gives a thought to this part of it, but obviously somebody has to attend to this part of the celebration, in the old days almost anybody who volunteered for toe task—and who, mayhap, was willing to contribute for the powder—was considered competent to act as artilleryman for the occasion. Similarly almost anything that would answer the purpose of a cannon was accepted as a vehicle of noise making. How often under such circumstances was a worn old field piece dragged forth to do such duty and loaded nigh to the mnssle by enthusiasts who thought far more of the din than of the danger that lay in an overcharge of ammunition. Sometimes a hollow log or even a length of pipe was made to serve as a substitute. The natural sequel of such a happy-go-lucky scheme of firing Fourth of July salutes came In a constantly increasing record of accidents which finally bestirred public sentiment on too subject Manifestly a large share of the mlahaps of this kind, the chronicle of which fitted the newspapers on the day following the Fourth, were due either to inexperience in handling the guns or to the kindred cause at lack of knowledge in measuring powder charges. Well, the upshot of the agitation Was that there found favor a scheme for having ail Fourth of July salutes fired by “professionals.” as It were —that la by men who jSmake a business of setting off large caliber guns and who do it every day of their Uvea, or at least quite frequently, instead of merely once a year. Thus tt has come about that in most communities where their services are available the official Fourth of July salutes are now army, navy or marine corps or members of the National Guard or Naval Militia of the several elates. Accidents have not been ellm

gunners greu tired or the powder was exhausted and when the volume of each peal of artificial thunder varied according to the guesswork of toe amateurs in measuring out the powder. In one way, though, it is a pity that there had to be any change in the method of firing

the Fourth of July salutes for noise making was genuine fun for toe men who did it years ago, whereas it is no more nor less than a detail of the day's work for Uncle Sam’s gunners. Indeed it may surprise some of our readers to learn that there are artillerymen in our regular army and men-o’-war’s-men on our naval vessels who thoroughly detest the roar of the big guns. It is not that they are afraid or are lacking in experience, for some of these men have been in the service for years and have repeatedly faced- death in a variety of forms and yet many a veteran never gets over his dislike of the din fct close range. But then the enthusiastic crowds that on the Fourth of July hear the echoing salutes In the distance have no Idea of the shocks administered to the men behind the gun when a “shooting iron” of any size lets go. The strain of waiting for each report and bracing himself to withstand it is also a severe tax on the nervous system of the gunner, to say nothing of the unpleasant experience that follows the discharge when the gunner Is struck In the face as though ®by a sharp gust of wind and sustains a jarring, particularly of the spine, which may force him to have a memento all the remainder of the day in the form of a severe headache. Of course guns of the largest size are never employed in the

firing of salutes. On United States warships, where guns of every caliber are at hand, from which to pick and choose the saluting is usually done with three-pounders and on shore light artillery or field pieces of about the same dimensions are utilized. A salute should consist of a specific number of discharges having a certain significance, and one or another of these regulation salutes are fired when the noise-making is in the, hands of regular or volunteer Boldiery, but independent gun crews recruited for the Fourth continue to claim extensive license in this respect. There are several different salutes as prescribed in Uncle Sam’s books of regulations that may be adopted for the Fourth of July greeting. Perhaps the most extensively used of all is the American salute of one gun for every state in the Union. By allowing an interval of a minute and a half between discharges this salute can be strung out for more than an hour and at half-minute Intervals, which Is slow enough to suit most persons, it enables an Interval of booming that exceeds twenty minutes. Another salute that is useti on this holiday and that is appropriate to the occasion is the old Federal salute of thirteen guns—one for each of the thirteen original This salute is no longer used to any great extent on other ceremonial occasions, but It comes

in pat on Independence day. Extensive use is also made on the Fourth of the standard national salute pf twenty-one guns. Ordinarily this number of guns is also accepted as the international salute and it is also the special salute of the president of the United States, fired whenever the chief magistrate visits a fort or ' steps aboard a naval vessel. ’ The salute is popular on the Fourth because it seems to be just about the proper and its use on this holiday is justified

by the fact that the number twenty-one is formed by the addition of the figures 1,7, 7,6, comprising the numerals in Uncle Sam’s birthday year. Every saluting vessel in the Uhited States navy will thunder out a salute to Independence day no matter whether she be at anchor In a foreign port, tied up in one of our navy yards or cruising out of sight of land In the open sea. The national salute is the one used Just as it is on Memorial day and on Washington’s birthday. The salute of minute guns is prescribed under certain conditions in the navy, but the regulation interval between guns in all salutes including the national salute of twenty-one guns is five seconds. During the firing of the salute all the officers and men stand at attention. It is customary for foreign warships anchored in American harbors to fire a salute in compliment to the United States on the Fourth and the same courtesy is usually shown by foreign forts and warships when Yankee naval craft are spending the eventful holiday in alien waters. Whenever any foreign authorities or ships firs our national salute, the firing is no sooner concluded than an officer from the American ship In port makes an official call upon the foreign officials and extends thanks.