Not many weeks remain now until July Fourth, and the preparations for the celebration of this day of greatest significance in the history of the American republic appears to have progressed considerably, at least in so far as regards the manufacturers and sellers of fireworks. Young America is not idle these days, but seems ready to prepare for the great day with all vigor.

Not long ago, the Board of Education of this city gave expression in a very unequivocal manner against the "noisy, unseemly, unpatriotic, and dangerous" nonsense which has come to be an accompaniment to the celebration of July Fourth. The Board added that the time has come to place a limit to the customary noisy and risky celebration of the day in question, the chief aim of which seems to be the enrichment of the fireworks trusts at the expense of life and property 2of the American people.

Every year more people lose their lives on July Fourth than was the case in the bloodiest battle in our latest War, and every July Fourth property of many million dollars value is destroyed by fire. Without danger of being accused of exaggeration, we may say that the celebration of July Fourth, as a rule, is the cause of more misery, sorrow, and wailing, than any other day in the year, however much it is supposed to be a day of joyfulness. We have laws prohibiting firing weapons or light fireworks on the streets, but the police will not dare to enforce these laws this year on the Fourth any more than they dared to do so in previous years. Young America and part of the grown up America have started to practice already, in order to be fully prepared for the first Saturday in July, and dealers in fireworks are already doing a record breaking business. Nobody seems to care about the stipulation by law of punishment for those who illegally sell explosives, or who illegally use fire weapons on the streets.

But if the police on July Fourth do not want to enforce the laws, or perhaps, do not dare to, yet it would not be amiss if parents in Chicago took notice of the appeal made by the Board of Education.....Dynamite is no plaything, least of all for children.....and how dangerous these playthings may be is evidenced every year in the newspaper reports on accidents, which fill the papers on the days after the Fourth.