Gradually public opinion changed.
The newspapers joined in the cry; women's organizations insisted upon
action from local municipal bodies.
Finally, the civic spirit in Cleveland, Ohio, forced the passage of a
city ordinance prohibiting the sale or use of fireworks on the Fourth.
The following year when Cleveland reported no casualties as compared to
an ugly list for the previous Fourth, a distinct impression was made
upon other cities. Gradually, other municipalities took action, and
year by year the list of Fourth of July casualties grew perceptibly
shorter. New York City was now induced to join the list of prohibitive
cities, by a personal appeal made to its mayor by Bok, and on the
succeeding Fourth of July the city authorities, on behalf of the people
of New York City, conferred a gold medal upon Edward Bok for his
services in connection with the birth of the new Fourth in that city.
There still remains much to be done in cities as yet unawakened; but a
comparison of the list of casualties of 1920 with that of 1905 proves
the growth in enlightened public sentiment in fifteen years to have
been steadily increasing.
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