The Independence Day Horror at Killsbury

BOSTON HARBOR STYLE.
The Independence Day Horror At Killsbury
By Asenath Carver Coolidge Author of “The Modern Blessing, Fire” and many other short stories and poems
Illustrated by Cassius M. Coolidge
Watertown, N. Y.: Hungerford-Holbrook Company. 1905
Copyrighted 1905 By Asenath Carver Coolidge Published April, 1905
HUNGERFORD-HOLBROOK CO., WATERTOWN, N. Y.
Dedicated To my Grandmother, Asenath Carver Townsend a descendent of John and Mary Carver who came to America to escape persecution for their religious belief which would not permit them to countenance war or its vain-glorious celebrations

The world is a dangerous place to live in, especially for helpless and innocent children. Wise parents are sadly aware of this fact and have always been striving to make it less dangerous. That this was no small task even in the beginning is easy enough to be seen; for there were poison fruits and reptiles and savage beasts to contend with; but it was light indeed compared with the parental task of today, when the monsters of militarism and greed are abroad, planting their danger-traps in the pathway of unwary feet.
In our own country Independence Day has proved to be their golden harvest. The freedom given to small boys on this day makes them easy victims to the tempters’ wiles, who under the treacherous guise of patriotism have seized upon them more and more every year, until the list of the dead and wounded has assumed appalling proportions. Still there is little talk of doing away with this hideous slaughter; while there is “big talk” about “race suicide,” and an appeal to mothers to bring forth more sons to supply the nation’s need.