Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 89, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 July 1904 — A Noiseless Fourth. [ARTICLE]

A Noiseless Fourth.

Good parents and really patriotic citizens have long dreaded the annual epidemic of deaths, accidents, tetanus,

increased illness, etc., which has Invariably followed a noisy Fourth of July. The more noise the more death and injury, but the less patriotism, is a pretty safe rule. Regrert must, therefore, be expressed for the public declaration of the Mayor of an eastern city that he believes in a firecracker Fourth. Perhaps this is a better plan than to publicly condemn the toy cannon, etc., and privately condone all offenses against the unexecuted law. The toy pistol boy is often the criminal in the making. The “Chicago idea” is said to be to celebrate noiselessly by means of good literature, speeches, etc., but Minneapolis tries to aboli&h the noise-making and replace it by innocent games and athletic sports. These methods are surely more hygienic, and will cheat the doctors out of their yearly crop of emergency cases and accidents, but from the antis we will scarcely get credit for such worthy or unworthy motives.—American Medicine.