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o
T la sa(o to sny
that no moral
crusade ever In
utiguruted In tills
country hns made
more rupid prog
l'flM than the
movpment for "a
Kufo and sane
Fourth." It It
only a few years
sincH tho Idea
wiia ilrst suggest
ed In lis present
tanglblo form,
and yut dozens
of cities and
towns have nt ready adopted It In Its
most pronounced form, while count
less others havo accepted a portion of
tho creed, and yet othcru are planning
to fall Into lino this year. It affords
the most conclusive evidence of the
power of public opinion that In prac
tically every community where tho
afe anil sane crusado has taken root
no otllcial action has been taken nor
recommended by tho municipal au
thorities until public sentiment
spurred them to It.
What Individual deserves credit for
first conceiving tho Idea of a safo and
sano Fourth, and what town or city
can lay claim to first putting tho Idea
in practlco, presents almost as mooted
question an tho famous one as to
who llrst suggested the name of Wil
liam McKlnk-y for tho presidency
Several different persons and several
different cities have laid claim to the
titlo of originator of the Innovation
Perhaps It would be most Just to con-
10 BE ft PtI
Illinois to Preserve Grounds of
Old Fort Chartrcs.
fnls Stronghold of tht French Wat
200 Yeara Ago the Strongest
and Most Costly Fort
In America.
Chester, III. Among tho npproprlw
IIoiih made by tho late Illinois legis
lature Is $5,000 for n stnto park on
tho site of old Fort Chartrcs. near
I'ralrlo du Itocher, 111., 50 miles south
of St. Ilulu and between tho Missis
sippi and the Knakaskla rivers.
In nuven yeaiH thl old fort will bo
U00 years old and at ono tlmo It was
tho strongest and roittllest fort In
America. Now there Is little left ex
cept the outllncH of tho stono walls,
the powder magazine and tho two
lnrtv wells Itmltln the garrison de
signed to furnish u water supply In
rase of a siege.
This fort was first built in 1718,
when It wns hastily constructed of
wood by tho French under Commnnd
tint llolsbrlant. At that time It was
designed for protection of the French
In rase tho Spaniards camo up from
Santa Fe.
A new menaco appeared In 17f0
when tho Knglish became aggrcnslvo
during tho fow years preceding the
Fionch and Indian war. The Kngllfih
troops wero expected to march west
and tho old fort was torn down to
make wny for ono built of stono.
This new structure cost nbout fl.GOO,
000, far more than any other fort In
America cost until long aftor that
dato.
The powder mngar.tno wan built of
dressed stono and Is still In good con
dltlon. So are tho wells, which were
lined with stone. Tho material was
obtained from a quarry four miles
away and carried from the quarry to
tho fort slto by boat on a lake that
has since disappeared. Tho dressed
stones were all numbered at the quar-
rroNN
"SVW MHOONCIHl)
eedo that the plan took shape spontaneously and
simultaneously In several different localities,
auch communities as Cleveland and Washington,
D. C, being among the first of tho larger cltlea
to put tho plan In practlco on a comprehensive
tcale, embracing the whole Jurisdiction of the
city involved.
The Incentatlre for tbla aafe and sane move
ment was found, of course, in the appalling lost
of life attendant upon celebrations of the Fourth
In the old-fashioned way. Perhaps there were
Juat as many accidents proportionately In con
nection with Independence Day celebrations In
the daya of our grandfathers aa there were juat
prior to thla crusade, but then again there may
not have been, for the toy pistol makers and
firecracker manufacturer! were busy In later
yeara devising "Improvements" In the nolse-mak-Ing
lino that seemed to prove fruitful of mishaps
when In the hands of Irresponsible youngsters.
Or even If, as opponents of tho safe and sane
Fourth have claimed, 'the proportion of -accidents
did not ahow an Increase the growth-In the
population of the country served to roll up a
total so much more appalling In sheer force of
figures that a good many people wero aroused on
the subject. Then, too, tho perfection of present
day methods of ncwsgatherlng has made It po
aible for the newspapers to give a complete
chronicle of tho havoc of the old-fashioned
Fourth on the morning following tho day wo
celebrate, and this has served to bring home the
matter to many people who never Buffered from n
Fourth of July accident In their own Immediate
family and circle of friends.
When the statistics began to thow, a few years
back, that the American people wero expressing
their patriotism on the Fourth In a manner that
each year cost the lives of several dozen persona
and Injured, more or lesa seriously, several thou
sand othera, there waa a country-wide protest
that swelled In volume. Not, of course, without
tome opposition, the Idea hns sproad and Its ex
tent may be surmised from (he statement that
the recent failure of ono of the largest fireworks
manufacturers In the country was Bald to be dua
aolely to this new order or things, whereas other
Importers and manufacturers of firecrackers and
fireworks havo loudly lamented that their busi
ness will be ruined If tho thing goes on.
Tho "safe and sane Fourth" Is so now that
thero are few hard and fast rules regarding It.
Indeed, a conception of tho Idea, differing In
more or lesa dogree, Is encountered in every dif
ferent city which has adopted the plan. The
basic prlnclplo Is not, however, as some peoplo
suppose, tho abolition of all noise and firoworks
on tho Fourth. On the contrary, the advocates
of tho safe and sano program favor waving flags
and booming guns and sputtering sky rockets
and all tho othor frills dear to the memories of
our childhood, but they tako the stand that these
thlnga should bo managed and particularly the
fireworks "Bet off" by experienced hands, In
ttead of by children and grown-ups who have
little practlco with
thla sort of thing
and who, perhaps
through thought
lessness, are very
careless of other
people's safety aa
well as their own.
The extent to
which a city regu
lates tho sale of fire
works and noise
making explosives
may bo taken as an
Index of the meat
urn nf it adontlon
w Wff "" rne or of ne Bnf e and fane
gospel. Some cities have gone bo far as to pro
hibit absolutely the sale of firecrackers and fire
works, while otherB merely limit firecrackers to
length of three Inches with a view to eliminating
the deadly "cannon cracker." All the more
progressive municipalities have put a ban on the
toy pistols and the miniature torpedoee, which
In yeara gone by have probably caused more
deaths than any other similar destructive agent,
particularly among the younger children. In our
up-to-date cltlea It has been necessary for tome
yeara paat for a retail merchant to obtain a
license or police permit to atore and tall fire
works, and thus It has been a simple matter for
the authorities to put a snuffer on the business
by refusing to Issue such permits.
Tho accepted plan of prqvidlng a safe and Bane
celebration aa a substitute for the old-time noisy
free-for-all Jollification Is to place the matter In
the hands of a committee of prominent citizens,
which raises by subscription a fund of several
hundred or several thousand dollars, to defray
the expenses of the common celebration, just as
money Is raised for a streot fair. The popular
Idea Is, to centralize the new-fangled Fourth of
July celebration. In sorao places this is dono
literally by holding all the events of the day at
some centrally-located rendezvous such as a pub
lic square, a fair ground or a park. In other
Instances there are three or four, or maybo half
a dozen, "centers" of celebration loeatod In as
many different sections of the city and designed
to give tho residents of each district a lively
Fourth without necessitating a Journey' far. from
home.
Two main alma are constantly kept In mind by
wide-awake committeemen who plan a Fourth of
July frolic In accordance with the safe and sane
Ideals of the twentieth century. One of these
ambitions It to have "something doing" every
minute of the day bo that no critic can aay that
things are less lively In the old town than In the
daya when every citizen could make his own
celebration in his own front yard. The other pur
pose Is to arrange features that will enlist the
co-operatlon of the greatest possible number of
children so that the little folks will not feel that
they are being cheated out of their Fourth of
July fun and made to merely serve as spectators
for the performances of the grown-ups.
This latter consideration explains why It Is that
tho average safe and sane Fourth Includes one
or rooro open-air plaj-H or spectacles or drills In
which hundreds of school children and oven kin
dergartncrR tako part, appropriately dressed in
red, white and blue, and carrying lings or other
suitable emblems of the occasion. These open
air fetes are not wholly restricted to tho young
er members of tho community, though. Pageantry
has been growing rapidly In popular favor In this
country of recent years following Its vogue In
England and elsewhere abroad and of course
tho Fourth of July makes an Ideal occasion for
such a portrayal, particularly If It deals with a
historical subject
Many of the features of the safe and sane
Fourth are old friends familiar to us from the
Independence Days of the past. For Instance,
there la the early raorulng salute of cannon and
the "exercises." embracing tho reading of the
Declaration of Independence by some local orator
and an "address o: the day" by somo celebrity
brought to town for the occasion. Even the fire
men's contests and hose races still have honored
places on many of the programs, and bo, too,
havo the time-honored balloon ascensions, al
though more likely than not the onco-popular
parnchuto Jump has now been succeeded by an
aeroplano flight. Even tho "$5,000 display of fire
works" that rounded out the day under the old
plan Is retained, only now It Is considered advan
tageous to have the rockets and plnwbcels and
all the other spark throwers set off by profes
sionals sent by the firm that furnishes the dis
play, Instead of leaving It to local talent that
doesn't get much practice at this sort of thing
except on the Fourth and at election time, fed
In consequence Is apt to pay the price of blistered
hands and singed hair, If nothing worso.
And speaking of fireworks brings to mind the
fact that daylight fireworks pjay a prominent part
In most of these now safe and sane celebrations
of the big summer holiday. Of course, daylight
fireworks are no new Invention and they bare
been used to somo extent on the Fourth of July
for many years past. Only they have been hailed aa
one of the vohlclcs of celebration specially adapt
ed to tho safe and sane scheme, and the market
hafl been stimulated accordingly while the manu
facturers have been encouraged by thla new de
mand to Improve their offerings and give greater
variety in effects.
The approved style of daylight fireworks con
sists of bombs in tho form of large balls, which
aro shot aloft from mortars Just as aro the bombs
which now have conspicuous place in all preten
tious displays of'nlght fireworks. The discharge
of the gun from which the bomb Is hurled sky
ward In Itself affords sufficient nolso to satisfy
any lover of the old-fashioned Fourth, and when
tho bomb has attained n. considerable height It
bursts with a second report and releases a num
ber of tiny flags or ntreamors of red, white and
blue bunting, or mayhap a fanciful design In tis
sue paper that Is Inflated by the breeze and In
the form of a snake or dragon or what-not floats
gracefully to earth to be graspe! by some for
tunate member of the struggling throng of chil
dren that have watched Ita descent. The time
honored hot air balloons of trt-colored tissue pa
per are another stand-by of the safe and Bane
committeemen and In connection with an up-to-date
city celebration hundreds of these couriers
are dispatched to the clouds. To lend zest to
the flights for the youthful spectators it Is some
times the custom to append packages of "prizes"
that drop as the balloon ascends prizes such as
fans or flags or badges or possibly tickets, each
"good for one plate of Ice cream."
6J-"Jr -"-' 5&a
c3BBBriBr 1r- V.
AUTHOR OF "MONEY."
The author of "Money" hold a high opinion of
tho influence exercised by. his works, especially
by "Polham," his flrst novel. "This book," he
writes, "killed Dyronlsm. It put an end to the
Satanic mania and turned tho thoughts and am
bitions of young gentlemen without neckcloths,
nnd young clerks who were sallow, from plnylng
tho Corsair and boasting that they wero villains."
It certainly drew at least ono substantial trlb
unto from a reader. According to Lytton's bl
ographor, "amongst tho curiosities at Knebworth
Is an enormous gold dressing case, elaborately
fitted with every conceivable requirement for tho
tollot of an exqulslto, which was an anonymous
gift of somo enthusiast to 'the young author of
'Pelham.' "
Powder Magazine at Fort Chartrea.
tf, according to the same system used
at this timo.
In 1723, flvo years after the orig
inal fort was built, Philip Renault
camo from Bermuda with his slaves
and settled near St. Philip, using tht
fort for a storehouse and a rcfugt
whon the Indians Ecemcd hostile.
Fort Chartres was the capital ol
Now France until ceded to England
In 1703. In 1778 the fort was captured
from the English by Gen. George
Rogers Clark, commanding troops
under a commission from the gover
nor of Virginia. Fort Chartres then
becamo the capital of the great north
west territory, and the seat of gov
crnment remained there until statei
were formed from the territory. High
water, which occasionally flooded ths
fort, caused Fort Gage to be built
near by. Thin waa followed by tht
Inal abandonment of Chartres.
When the French ceded Now Franca
to the English and tt& flag of France
waa hauled down, many resldontt of
that district refused to live under the
English flag and went to St. Louis.
Among tho families who moved away
rather than live under the English
flag are several whose descendents
became very prominent In the com
mercial and social llfo of St. Louis.
Of tho several old forts built In
tho Illinois Hottoms more than a cen
tury ago, tho only ono that has any
Milng left of the original buildings
a Fort Chartres. Under the care of
i custodian appointed by the state,
:ho placo will be made Into a park
ind preserved from further ruin.
HERE IS A "BORN T' DER"
Indiana Man Starts Out With 100.00;
Haa $50 and "Junk" at
Night.
Hammond, Ind. President Frank
Nelson of the Lowell bank gave Frank
Coorae an old stiver watch In the
morning. The watch ran when Coorae
ran. Coorse gave 16 cents to a Jeweler
to make the watch tick and aold It
for $2. With the $2 he bought a sick
borso from a farmer.
This he traded for an old buggy and
two extra wheels. He thon traded the
two extra wheels for the body of a
road cart and put his buggy wheels
on the cart, trading the body of the
buggy for a set of harness. For this
lutflt a farmer, traded him a blind
sroncho. Coorso did not know the
broncRo was blind until It ran away
Kith htm.
Another farmer, thinking the bron
co a spirited animal and not knowing
It was blind, gavo him 150 for it after
Coorso had wept and told him ho had
raised the animal from a colt. Nelson
Is now ready to match Coorse again!
any other trader.
WESTERN CANADA'S
GOOD CROP
PROSPECTS
YIELDS OF WHEAT WILL LIKELY
, BE 25 TO 30 BUSHELS
PER ACRE.
In nn Interview with Mr. W. J.
White, who has charge of tho Cana
dian government Immigration office
In tho United Hiatus, and who has re
cently mado an extended trip through
the piovincPH of Manitoba, Saskatche
wan and Alberta in Western Canada.
Ho said that every point ho lulled
ho was met with tho ono report, tint-
enmity good crops of wheat, outu
mid Imi ley. There will this year be a
much Increased ntreago over last
year. Many farmers, who had but
one bundled tunes last year, have In.
creased their cultivated und seeded
acreage as much as fifty per cent.
With tho prospects an they are at
present, thla will .mean from V1 to
$15 additional wealth to each. Ho
saw many largo fields tunning from
300 to 1,000 acres in extent and It ap
peared to him that thero was not nu
aero of this but would yield fiom 2)
to 25 or 30 bushels of wheat per acre,
whllo tho oat prospects might safely
bo estimated at fiom 10 to TO bushel
per acre. In all parta of the west,
whether It be Manitoba, Saskatche
wan or Alberta, north and south, east
nnd west, and In tho districts when
last year thero was u partial falluro
of ciops, tho condition of all giuln la
unluirsally good nnd claimed by most
of tho limners to be from ono to two
weeks In udvanco of auy year for tho
past ten or twelve yeaiB. It does not
ueem that there was u single foot of
tho ground that was pioporly Bceded
that would not produce.
Thero are thoso throughout western
Canada who predict that thero will bo
200,000,000 bushels of wheat raised
thero this year, and If tho present
favorable conditions continue, thero
does not seem any reason why these
prophesies should not tome truu.
Thero Is yet a possibility or hot
winds reducing tho quantity in some
parts, but with the strongly rooted
crops and tho BUtllclency of precipita
tion that tho country hns already
been favored wkh, this piobabillty Is
reduced to u minimum.
Tho prices of farm lands at tho
present timo mo holding steady and
lands can probably still bu purchased
at tho prlco set this spring, i tinging
from $15 to $20 per ucrc, but with a
harvested crop, such as Is expected,
there Is uo reason why theso same
lands should not bo worth from $20
to $25 per acre, with an utmost abso
lute nssuranco that by next spring
there will still be a further advance
In prices.
Mr. White says that theso lunds are
as cheap at today's figures with the
country'sv proven worth as they were
a few yeara ago at halt the pricu
when the genoral public had but a
vague Idea of tho producing quality
of western Canada lands.
Tho land agents at the different
towns along tho lino of railway are
very active A largo number of acres
are turned over weekly to buyers
from tho different states In the south,
where lands that produce no better
are sold at from $150 to $200 per
acre.
Tho homestead lands aro becoming
scarcer day by day and thoso who are
unablo to purchase, preferring to
homestead, are directing their atten
tion to tho park acres lying lu the
northerly part of tho central dls
trlcts. It has been found that while
these are somewhat more difficult to
bring under tho Bubjugation of the
plow, the soil is fully as productive
as In the districts farther south. They
possess tho advantage thai the mora
open prairio areas do not possess;
that there is on these lands an open
acreage of from fifty to seventy per
cent of the whole and tho balance Is
made up of groves of poplar of fair
size, which offer shelter for cattle,
while the grasses are of. splendid
strength and plentiful, bringing about
a more active stage of mixed farming
than can bo carried on in tho mora
open districts to tho south.
Tho emigration for tho past year
has been tho greatest in the history
of Canada and It is keeping up in
record shape. Tho larger number of
those, who will go this year will bo
those who will buy lands nearer tho '
lino of railways, preforrlng to pay a
little higher prlco for good location
than to go back from tho lino of rail
ways Borne 40 or CO miles to homo
stead, Mr. Whlto has visited tho different
agencies throughout the United States
and he found that the correspondence
at the various offices haa largely In
creased, the number of callers It
greater than ever.
Any one desiring Information re
garding western Canada should apply
at once to the Canadian Government
Agent nearest him for a copy of the
"Last IJest West."
The Only Way Out.
Peter (sent for tho milk) Oh.
mercy, I've drunk too much of 1W
What shall wo do?
Small Hrother Easy. We'll droa
the Jug. Meggendorf lllaetter.
Beautiful Post Carda Free.
Bend !o Ktiimn for live samples of our
Very beat Oold KmboBurd Hlitliday. I 'low
er and Motto Post Curds: beuutirul color
nnd loveliest (IckIkiih. Art I'oiit Card Club,
731 Jackson St., Topeka, Kun.
You may havo noticed that It costs
a man a good deal to get in lino at
tho political plo counter In this great
und glorious land of tho free.
'TIs well for men to learn self
conquest In the school of suffering.
Georgo Eliot.
gaggwwwwwwiiiiiwjMiwa. .,( "jiW4iaAttauU'-v7jE triff rcnicascf -"-T"
ri
i
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fcpas 4