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About The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936 | View Entire Issue (July 6, 1911)
r m - v r - m 4s m p ffl brate it must be admitted that the practice has undergone some changes with the passing of the years In the das s 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 Buch din so well that they fired off cannon not merely on the Fourth but on Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years as well And on Independence Day If the 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 the skyrockets and Roman candles in the evening In this more decorous generation we have to be content most of us with one salute of this sort on the Fourth At V S navy yards and military posts and other governmental reservations the salute is fired at noon but in the average town or city where the civilians must do the firing especially If these self same civilians are to participate In a picnic or a parade the regulation salute Is sent echo ing over the countryside soon after the break of day Of course if there Is to be a cere monial flag raising during the day or a monu ment is to be unveiled or some high up public official Is to be given a reception there may be a salute as a sort of accompaniment for the function but for the most part nowadays the average American community has to get along on the Fourth with one formal salute Another change that has come with the passing of the years is in the matter of the ar rangements for the firing of the salutes The average individual who listens to the reverber ation 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 tho old days almost anybody who volunteered for the task and who mayhap was willing to contribute for the powder was considered competent to act as artilleryman for the occa sion Similarly almost anything that would answer the purpose of a cannon was accepted as a vehicle of noise making How often un der such circumstances was a worn old field piece dragged forth to do such duty and load ed nigh to the muzzle by enthusiasts who thought far more of the din than of the dan ger 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 the subject Manifestly a large share of the mishaps of this kind the chronicle of which filled the newspapers on the day following the Fourth were due either to inexperience in handling the guns or to the kindred cause of lack of knowledge in measuring powder charges Well the upshot of the agitation was that there found favor a scheme for hav ing all Fourth of July salutes fired by pro fessionals as iOwere that is by men who make a business of setting off large caliber guns and who do it every day of their lives or at least quite frequently instead of mere ly once a year Thus It has come about that in most com munities where their services are available the official Fourth of July salutes are now fired by enlisted men of the United States army navy or marine corps or members of tho National Guard or Naval Militia of tho several states Accidents have not been elim inated but they have been greatly reduced and the salutes are more accurate that is a ealute fired by such a gun crew will consist of Just the proper number of discharges of uniform volume and with the proper intervals between instead of the hodge podge that was formerly delivered In many instances when a ealute was likely to bo prolonged until the S2TJ - V - Hsr HE early morning salute on the Fourth of July Is to the celebra tion of our greatest national holi day much what the gorgeous morning parade or better yet the grand entree and pageant of all nations is to a long awaited circus that is in the eyes of the average small bo3r It is at once the herald and foretaste of the glories to come And what man whatever his years or present day responsibilities can wholly forget the keen anticipation with which be awaited that early morning sum mons 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 Is likely that it will continue to be the fash Ion to the end of the chapter no matter what other changes may be made the approved form of commemorating our stival of inde pendence The discharge of big guns on the July holiday Is simply an elaboration from the noise making standpoint of young Americas 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 co operation in this noisy acknowledgment of the glorious Fourth Whereas cannonading seems to be a fixed feature of the program of the day we itV rJmi i - to m o AfX 2 Ar gunners grew tired or the pon der was exhaust ed and when the volume of each peal of artificial thunder varied according to the guesswork of the 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 II WlMiiriipHPMWWH1pf iSAP9f sd a tfmz kt mo rr scM ts y - Wr SJL4 fjfti m v TC VZrr wm n S3M zz AS 79 m Wi 85 i W TOKCLDPffiR3 IMRKDETTTT k m htA M1 TyFF OFMODFft FFjLD ARTllEffY I S0 FO FVYG SAilTFJ - Hfs 4 9C r Vm ytj mn O xr m E5 5ft K m Rtoro wnnni S vildoiii rAWCBrr m SFOLrsV OFJlY sSJ7JFF TT A fflVV YAD the Fourth of July salutes for noise making was genuine fun for the men who did It years ago wHereas it is no more nor less than a detail of the days work for Uncle Sams gun ners Indeed it may surprise some of our readers to learn that there are artillerymen In our regular army and 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 at close range But then the enthusiastic crowds that on tho 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 fol lows 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 me mento 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 wwwnwk Z vT i - r J w A lVffr is- i v - it u - - - -A firing of salutes On United States warships where guns of every caliber are at handjfrom 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 ot another of these regulation salutes are fired when the noise making is in the hands of regular or volunteer soldiery but In dependent gun crews recruited for the Fourth continue to claim extensive license in this respect There are several different salutes as prescribed in Uncle Sams books of regu lations that may be adopted for the Fourth of July greeting Perhaps tho most exten sively 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 be tween 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 used 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 states This sa lute is no longer used to any great extent on other ceremonial occasions but it comes A r 38 - fSTtiiK KZXX i setaO fV JA V Vi i s v Mie Xi V l Vi - ZS teZPS8 S 3P m RFWY TO F 77F FOUPrf Of lLY cW 7 UT N ff sttSSTX VlM mm QA TtfF AfOMrt OF TFGlOS0lSFOM7H in pat on Independence day Extensive use is also made on the Fourth of the standard national salute of twenty one guns Ordinarily this number ci guns is al30 accepted as the interna tional salute and it is also the special salute of the president of the United States fired whenever the chief mag istrate visits a fort or steps aboard a nava vessel The salute is popular on the Fourth because it seems to be just about the proper length and its use on this holiday is justified by the fact that the number twenty one ia formed by the addition of the figures 1 7 7 6 comprising the numerals in Uncle Sams birth day year Every saluting vessel in the United 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 Washingtons birthday The salute of minute guns is pre scribed under certain conditions in the navy but the regulation interval between guns in all salutes including the national Salute of twenty one guns is flvo seconds During the firing of the salute all the officers and men stand at attention It is customary for for eign 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 nayal craft are spending the eventful holiday In alien waters Whenever any foreign authorities or ships fire our na tional 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 I MOLLY PITCHER HEROINE I The best known of all the American hero ines of battle Is Molly Pitcher the story of whose adventures especially on the battle field at Monmouth is one of the most pictur esque Incidents of the revolutionary war The early life of Molly is somewhat vague- She is supposed to have been born at Carlisle Pa October 13 1744 Her right name was Mary Ludwig and while tho soldiers were nly fa miliar with her first name calling her Molly they soon applied the second because wher ever they saw Molly they also saw the pitcher with which Bhe carried water to the sick and wounded in the camps Several writers say Molly came to this coun try from Germany with her parents who were among the Palatines The first information we have of her is that she was employed aa a maid in the family of General Irvine atjGar lisle and on July 24 1769 was married to John Hays a barber Her husband was com missioned a gunner in Proctors First Pennsyl vania artillery Continental line December 1 1775 and Molly followed him to the field This was a common thing for the wives of private soldiers to do their time being passed in laundering for the officers At the assault at Fort Clinton she showed much pluck and also the following year in the Important battle of Monmouth N J In the latter battle her husband a gunner had fallen when she sprang to his place and fired the cannon Molly had been carrying water to the sol diers from a spring the mercury being at 96 degrees in the shade As no one was able to take his place when he became incapacitated it is said she dropped her pail seized the rammer and vowed that she would avenge his death She proved an excellent substi tute her courage exciting the admiration of all and on the following morning in her soiled garments General Greene presented her to Washington who praised her gallantry and commissioned her a sergeant It is related she received many presents from the French officers and that she would sometimes pass along the French lines cocked hat in land and would get it almost filled with coins She is aaid to have served in the army nearly eight years in all She was placed on the list of half pay officers and for many years after the Revolution lived at the Carlisle bar racks cooking and washing for the soldiers The house in which she spent her later years In Carlisle was demolished in recent years She died January 22 1823 at the age of seventy nine and was buried with military honors but her grave remained unmarked un til 1876 when Peter Spahr of Carlisle con ceived the idea of erecting a monument A monument on the battlefield of Monmouth further commemorates Molly Pitcher a bas re lief representing her In the act of ramming a cannon She also figures In George Wash ington Parke Custis painting Tho Field of Monmouth So familiar had the heroine of Monmouth become that tho name Molly Pitcher was applied by the continental sol diers in their hot and weary march through New Jersey to any woman who brought them water to drink Molly Is credited with having remarked at a banquet at which there were British sol diers when she was called upon to toast King George When Washington leads his soldiers into battle God help King George COULDNT STAND EXPOSURE The member of the legislature of whom some graft stories had been circulater wafc about to build a house You will want a southern exposure I sup pose asked the architect No sir said the man If you cant build this house without any exposure Ill get an other architect - fwi immfmm ufliatn nt wfrrwibTmi w11 f - -- HAVE YOU TRIED PAXTINE The Great Toilet Germicide You dont have to pay 50c r 100 a pint for listerian antiseptics or per oxide You 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Rest for Tuberculosis Patients Dr Joseph H Pratt of Boston wha was the founder of the first tuberculo sis class in the United States in the Emmanuel church in Boston claims that in the treatment of tuberculosis absolute rest often in bed must be extended over a period of months be fore the consumptive should take any exercise He says Prolonged rest in bed out of doors yields better re sults than any other method of treat ing pulmonary tuberculosis Patienti will have a better appetite and take more food without discomfort and gain weight and strength faster than pa tients with active disease who are allowed to exercise Complications are much less frequent When used In the Incipient stage recovery i3 more rapid and surer Laundry work at home would ba much more satisfactory if the right Starch were used In order to get the desired stiffness it is usually neces sary to use so much starch that the beauty and fineness of the fabric is hidden behind a paste of varying thickness which not only 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