"I see," said the President. "Many kinds of effort will have to be made to squelch this many-headed monster. More and more laws may be called for but it makes me sad to think of it. I am prejudiced against law--its autocracy, its insulting enforcements, its perplexing entanglements. As to celebrations when they grow to be such dangerous nuisances as to require the interference of law to any great extent, it is a sure sign that they ought to be done away with." "How I wish this savage old Fourth which is so full of boasting and danger, _could_ be done away with!" said Ruth. "It will be so hard to make it entirely harmless--especially for the children--the little innocent children who are born into the world so helpless, and have to live in it so many years before they can learn how to avoid its dangers--the simple every day dangers, to say nothing of the complex and deadly ones that lie concealed beneath attractive forms. Who have to be taught, denied, imprisoned and punished every step of the way almost. O what a task for loving parents!" "And what a shame," said Ralph, "that people should go on inventing and manufacturing more and more of those horrible things and almost forcing them onto the community and into children's hands! What can we do about that?" "There's a place for strong prohibitory laws and a call for the enforcement of those we have. Appeals are all right for sensible grown-up American citizens; but the young and innocent should not be permitted to walk into the fire, the idiotic and mercenary should not be allowed to furnish the fire for them to walk into, and the devil's imps should be prohibited from pushing them into it. Yes this is a good place for prohibition. Prohibition that _does_ prohibit--not as it now stands. I believe that the whole system will have to be overhauled to make it largely effective. That the general government will have to take it in hand and appoint earnest ununiformed watchers for all perilous times and places." "O that would be splendid," cried Ruth--"like having guardian angels, invisible but earthly, for the young and innocent!" "They are not here yet, dear," laughed Ralph, "except for the President of the United States and others in authority, but I'm sure they are needed. It's a sorry spectacle to see the small boy dodging the policeman and the hoodlum intimidating him with stones. I am glad we did not have a prohibitive notice on that account, besides Schwarmer's hand would not have shown up so plainly." "And so am I," said Ruth. Then she thought of the hand that had tried to pat her shoulder and blushed while Ralph grated his teeth and the President said in a serious voice: "And I was just beginning to be sorry that we did not accept Dr. Normander's wise prohibition to back the appeal since I perceive that lack of it has caused you needless trouble, insult and expense." "O we did not care about that, our hearts and souls were in it," said Ruth and Ralph in chorus.