City Hall Bans the Big Firecrackers
A heated debate over fireworks and public safety ends in a compromise measured by the inch.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
No great big grown-up firecrackers, no life-sized sky rockets nor elongated roman candles will be tolerated in Kennewick on the Third, Fourth and Fifth of July. This is the edict that has been handed down by the city council and is part of a general program to keep the local observance of the national holiday within the bounds of a safe and sane celebration. In fact, the small boy and the small firecracker came devilish near losing their birthrights at the regular meeting of the council Tuesday evening when Councilman John Sercombe moved that firecrackers and fireworks of all kinds be entirely ostracised. Three councilmen voted 'yes' and three voted 'no,' and the mayor declared the motion lost. Councilman R. H. Anderson then brought forth a compromise measure which provides that the small boy may shoot as many firecrackers as he has nickels to buy so long as none of said firecrackers measure in excess of two and one-half inches from breech to muzzle. The police force will be armed with tape measures and fire extinguishers and detailed to watch the fun.
“The small boy and the small firecracker came devilish near losing their birthrights.”
Local government battles over holiday noise and safety ordinances are a timeless civic fixture in American towns. The image of police officers armed with 'tape measures' to enforce firecracker length is a charming window into how town councils balanced public safety and small-town tradition.
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