THE 8EMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
A MODERN PORTIA
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ROM much that historians havo
written about tho Fourth of
July, 177C, an erroneous ldoa of
tho happenings of that great day
has hecomo a common hcrltago of
tho pcoplo of our land. Many an
American considers It a part of
a patriotic duty to musoupon tho
Imaginative plcturo entltlod "Tho First Fourth
of July," which some hlMtorlcal wrltor has painted
upon his vision.
In fancy ho seos Indopondonco hall In Phila
delphia and tho Continental congress with Its
ruffled Bhirts, long cloth coats, knoo pants, silk
stockings and low shoes sitting with dignity, but
llstonlng spollbound to a wonderfully strange and
entirely now document callod "Tho Declaration of
Indopcndonco."
In fancy ho even hears tho popular acclaim
of "That Is Just what wo nil say!" and "It Is
well worded, Mr. Jefferson." Then tho mind pic
tures tho various delegates to congress hasten
ing forward, eager for tho honor of fixing their
signatures to a sheepskin document.
Tho sceno changes to tho ringing of tho great
liberty bell, to tho assembling of tho people at
Philadelphia who applauded tho reading of this
bill of rights and to tho final closing of tho day
with ovory man, woman and child In Philadel
phia happy because ho is no longer a Dritlsh
subject, having becomo a free American In u
alnglo day.
Such a vlBlon pictures a heroic scene; but tho
truo record of events does not nfflrm that theso
ec-callod happenings took placo on that me
morable day. Dy blotting out the Imperfoct de
tails of tho plcturo tho Fourth of July Is in no
way robbod of any of Its glory.
An authontlc account of what transpired at
that timo changes tho meaning of tho Fourth of
July from ono day to about sixty In which tho
wholo history of our national liberty is told and
tho heroic heart-throbs of tho sorely tried colo
nists ara keenly felt.
Tho day itself properly symbolizes tho liberty
for which the patriots of that timo stood ready
to sacrinco their lives In order to launch, tho
United States as a national craft which should
bo anchored by no weight of foreign despotism.
It was a timo of danger when brothor, friend
and nolghbor becamo ostranged by reason of
political opinion. Some colonists still loved tho
mothor country with truo English pride, whllo
others wore so embittered by tho Injustice of the
soverolgn across tho soas that they willingly
gave their all to tho causo of tho pcoplo of tho
new land.
During the latter part of 1774 Cloorgo Wash
ington himself wrote that no thinking man
among tho colonists wnntod to soparato from
England, and Franklin ridiculed tho Idea.
During tho oarly days of tho revolution tho
bluccoats novor dreamed of separating, from tho
boloved land of tholr ancestors. In fact, such a
courso would havo beon condemned by Ameri
cans themsolves as treason. Jefferson declared
that prior to April 10, 177G, ho had heard no whis
per of tho disposition of anyone to stand from
under tho governmental power of Groat Drltaln.
Tho iuovltablo, however, camo with tho spring
of 1770, when local nssombllos began formal dis
cussion regarding tho liberty of colonists. Those
loglslatlvo bodies possossod but Uttlo power, but
they did a great part In crystallizing the senti
ment for Indopondonco In ninny quarters und
forcing those opposed to tho Idea to dcclaro tholr
Inimical nttltudo.
Tho good work of theso small loglslatlvo bodies
was reflected and magnified as soon as tho dele
gates were sent to tho Continental congress.
Then tho spirit of liberty permoated the very at
mosphere of the national assembly and many an
Individual received tho courago to align himself
with the now cause.
If, Juno 7, 177C, thoro had beon an "extra
paper" to havo Informed tho public of tho latest
political news ono might havo read the flaring
headlines "Richard Henry Leo of Virginia tho
Man of tho Hour," for It was ho who on that day
started the Fourth of July, it was this south
erner who introduced the first declaration of In
dopondonco In congress declaring the American
pooplo free.
Good Judgment dictated tho caution of omit
ting John Adams' namo from tho minutes, as
tho second to that motion, yet tho fact Is known
today, when there Is no army of redcoats wait
ing to solzo patriots as rebels.
Too much praise cannot bo given to tho In
troduction of Loo's resolution, yet It was to tho
credit of tho Continental congress that action
wan not forced upon such an important measure
at that time. It could not have succoodod until
all objections had been silenced, all fearB of
England's success allayed, until nil woro con
scientiously convinced that tho coubo of llborty
was Just. It was imperative that all should look
the GoddOBS of Liberty aquarely In the face with
a devotion to follow whoro alio should lead.
As no agreement could bo reached on Juno 7
tho roBolution was laid over until the next day,
whon It was again postponed for consideration un
til July 1.
In ordor that the causo of llborty should not
be retarded during this wait, congress at that
To Miss Luclllo Pugh, tho criminal
lawyer of New York, belongs tho dis
tinction of being tho first of her box
to defend a man accused of murder.
Thin honor Miss Pugh accopts with
tho same. unassuming frankness that
characterized her conduct in tho de
fense of Leroy Poindexter, tho negro,
whom alio saved from tho electric
chair. t
Thanks to tho skill with which
Miss Pugh handled tho caso tho first
Jury disagreed, and at tho second trial
sho obtained a verdict of manslaughter
in tho second degree
When trying her now famous case.
Miss Pugh made a remarkable plcturo.
Standing but an inch over flvo fcot,
her auburn hair parted at tho sldo and
drawn tightly around her shapely
head, her brown eyes glancing from
tho tenso face of tho accused negro to
the Jury of twelve whlto men, her
right hand outstretched In an appeal
ing manner toward them, her loft in
dicating tho prisoner, she subtly Bought to forco Into tho minds of her hear
ers tho innocenco of tho man she was defending. Ono of tho best-known
court ofllclals, who has attended for the last twenty years all the notablo
criminal trials in New York, stated that in his opinion, her defense was tho
most capable ho had ever heard.
r
HEAD OF ITALY'S NAVY
time nppoluted a committee of five to preparo
n declaration of lndopondenca of the same pur
port as Loo's resolution, In tho hope that tho
now doctrlno would bo unanimously accepted
whon tho mattor should bo again taken up In
July.
Policy domnnded that a southerner should
bo choson to wrlto tho declaration In order to
Increase tho probability of ltB unanimous adop
tion. Logically, Jefforson was tho man to carry
this work through, for tho masterly stylo of his
pon was woll known. With such coworkers,
though, It cannot bo supposed that ho alono was
tho author of tho resolution; for tho responsi
bility hnd been assigned to nil fivo Jointly, and
tho counsel and advlco of all wero necoBaary.
However, tho credit of the phraseology Is given
to Jefferson, whllo John Adams Is said to have
given closo nttentlon to tho revision and the
amondlng of tho resolution. Tho entire commit
teo helped perfect tho documents by making It the
subject of critical analysis. In nllowlng tho
Declaration of Indopondonco to bo ready before
its assembly on Juno 28 congress precodod its
schedule.
Satisfied that all wero' acquainted with Its con
tents, tho legislature then laid tho bill on tho
table until It Bhould come up for discussion by
congress sitting as a committee of tho whole.
By trial voto July 1 only nine colonics voted
as favorablo to tho resolution.
Final legislative action was therefore deferred
until tho noxt day. That, July 2, was probably
the most mamorablo of all dates of our national
history. During tho Btormy debate at that time
the declaration was both attacked and com
manded. When tho voto of tho day was taken It was found
that tho declaration had boon unanimously In
dorsed by all of tho thirteen colonies.
Tho voto In favor of tho declaration was not
sutllclont to mako tho adoption of tho now reso
lution comploto, for tho noxt day congress sat as
a committee of tho' wholo to consider tho bill. At
that timo slight alterations were mnde, certain
clauses censuring England wore omitted nnd
othors regarding alavo trado woro loft out. whllo
other amendments wero added.
On July 4 congress assembled again and im
mediately rosolvod Itself into a committee for tho
consideration of tho Declaration of Independence.
When John Hancock, as president of tho con
gress, resumed tho chair, Mr. Harrison, great
grandfather of our former president of the Unltod
States, roportod that his committee had agreed
to tho declaration, which thoy desired him to
report.
What followed this announcement Is largely a
matter of surmloo, dosplto tho fact that tho do
bato lasted all through tho warm day, when dele
gates olther talked or Hstonod swathed In hoavy,
closo-fitttng stocks.
If it had not been for a seomingly trivial inci
dent the dobates of that day might probably have
loatn.i nvor until thn next, and so July 5 would
have becomo tho birthday lnstoad of July 4.
TnwnrH ovpnlnc tho discomfort of the as
sembly was Increased on account of the awarms
of flies which came from a nearby livery stable
intn h hnll nf lnciBlaturo. Those peats wero so
n.,Haninna in nRtmiiUs uDon the statesmen that
Jeffersca said their annoyanco helped bring tho
matter to a conclusion, ana iiarnson reHCU
ia.inrfilnn tn rnncress as accepted, though
in tho minutes of that day tho declaration was at
first loft out on acount of, the vengeance m e,uB
Innd.
rr.l Tnrfnnnnri'pnfifl hall, in the old State hOUSB
In Philadelphia, remains about as It was on that
July 4, and so as far as tne seiung ui i"
tho drama Is comploto, but the drama Itself Is
left for us to supply.
All that we have left of the record of that
memorable day Is the text of the Declaration o
Independence, and as that represents what all
brave American colonists wore ready to lay down
tholr lives for and what Bhould bo handed down
to us and guarded as courageously as It had
been won, tho Fourth of July has amply sorved
Its purpose and desorved Its one monument.
"The Spirit of Llborty for All."
Whether or not tho Declaration of Inde
pendeuco waB signed on July 4,' 1776. by any but
Hancock, as president of the Continental con
Kress and Thompson, as secretary, la a matter
of doubt, for tho Journal entry records signed
by ordor of and In behalf of congreBB. Jeffer
son himsolf made conflicting statements regard
ing this question.
Some contend that tho delegates met Informal
ly on tho morning of July G and signed tho docu
ment. Whether or not the signatures were af
fixed on July 4, congress' act was official on that
day that Jefferson's Declaration of Independence
was declared acceptable to every colouy. And so
It resolved that copies should be sent throughout
tho new.formcd republic.
The general assemblies, conventions, councils,
committees of safety and the commanding offlcers
of the Continental army had to bo Informed of
the Independence of tho United States. These
copies woro slgnod by Hancock and Thompson.
The Congressional Record of July 19 showa that
a resolution was Introduced In tho national as
Bembly to tho offect that tho declaration should
be engrossed on parchment and presented for the
signature of every membor on August 2.
This fact, thorofore, serves as authority that
the parchment copy signed on that day In August,
after it had been compared with tho fair copy
and the latter destroyed, Is tho copy of the Dec
laration of Independence which was considered
for so many years tho original draft of the great
bill of rights of tho Americau people. It la Bald
that oven this signing was ontered Into with "fear
and trombllng."
RfiHnHnii that tho signed parchment was a
iiinnnn of tho' birth of the new nation.
congress took no further official action regarding
tho instruments Itsoir unui January, mi.
ny that timo tho new republic began to feel Its
Btrongth, and congross doclded to promulgate
thn nntnna nf thn slcnera of tho Declaration of In-
dopondenco by ordering that printed copies of the
document Bhould bo made, with the uamea of tho
signers added.
Mnrv Tvnthnrlnn Goddard. a worn tin whn fnr.
- - . - -
rled on tho printing business on DroudBlde, Dal
Mmnrn nrohahlv never heard of woman's rtahta.
yet It so happenod that It becamo her right to
print these coplos of tho American bill of rights.
From thoaa coploa numerous others wero soon
mnAtk until hflfnrn Inner nvnrv linmn hnnatnri at
least one copy of the original document which
gave lire to our ropuonc.
Prince Louis of Savoy, duko of tho
Abruzzl, admiral of tho fleet of Italy,
Is known to Americans largely through
tho American associations of his In
teresting career. Ho has made several
visits to this country', ono of them
resulting In a love affair which, after
world-wide publicity, left tho duko
still a bachelor. Ho Is distinguished
as an explorer, and mountain cllmbor,
and at the timo of the earthquake
which destroyed Messina, as well as
last January, when Avezzano and Its
vicinity were roughly shaken, ho was
a leader In relief work.
From his earliest youth tho duke
has mado his life one of activity and
of service. He entered the navy and
camo to tho United States on board
an Italian warship when ho was eight
een years old. He became bo Inter
ested on his first trip hero that ho re
turned some live or six years later,
and then ho camo again about ten
years ago. On this latter tour of the
country It was persistently rumored that ho and Miss Katherine Elklns,
daughter of tho West Virginia senator, were engaged to bo married.
Tho duko of Abruzzi won moro ronown as an explorer and climber of
mountain peaks than In any other of tho pursuits to which he had given
attention. He ascended Mount Ellas, Alaska, made his way to a height of
24,000 feet, tho greatest on record, In tho Himalayas, and ho penetrated far
into the recesses of tho Uganda district of Africa.
Italy's sea chief is only forty-two years old. Ho is moro like an Ameri
can business man in appearance than a European naval officer.
OUR NEW SUBMARINE CHIEF
an M m
Germany's remarkable develop
ment of submarine warfaro has
aroused the Interest and action of
every civilized nation, and tho United
States is not behind others in recog
nizing its importance. In order to de
velop the undersea arm of the Amer
ican navy and to ellmlnato its pres
ent faults, Secretary Daniels has des
ignated Capt. A. W. Grant, ono of tho
highest ranking officers of his grado,
to command the Atlantic submarine
flotilla and exercise general supervi
sion over that branch of the service
He already has got under way an
organized effort to put every unit of
the submarine flotilla in first-class
condition to perform all of tho func
tions for which it Is designed, and
much of his timo is spent in Wash
ington and at tho various Bhoro sta
tions. His powers in the work of con
struction and development aro very
large, and he receives every possible
asslstanco from the navy department.
As assistant in this important task, Captain Grant has Commander
Yates Stirling, who Is considered ono of tho leading experts on underwater
craft and who last winter gave congress and tho public some interesting:
information about the weaknesses of the vessels under his charge.
CONGRESSMAN SEES WASHINGTON
The day after congress adjourned
Ed Keating of Colorado entered on
what considering that ho Is a con
gressman was an odd form of vaca
tion. Accompanied by his wife, Keat
ing becamo a Washington tourist.
"Well, I supposo the first thing
wo ought to see,' suggested the con
gressman to hii wife, "Is tho capltol."
"Tho wh-a-a-t!"
"Tho capltol," repeated Keating.
"I've been in it, of course, Beveral hun
dred times, but have always had some
thing on my mind. Many's the timo
when I've seen guides pointing out
the historic palntlngc to tourists that
I had curiosity to know what thoy
were about, but I always figured that
I could Just as well wait until I wasn t
quite bo busy."
So thoy hired a guide aid were
shown about tho capltol. Then they
climbed aboard a big rubber-nock
wagon and listened to the megaphone
man as he pointed out tho homes of
tho Nation's great inon. After that they went up in tho Washington monu
raont Keating had seen it a thousand times or saw it from the window ol
his hotel room, but never before had bo beon up closo to It.
Oh, they tqok In everything the tomb of Georgo Washington at Mount
Vernon, the Leo mansion at Arlington, the bureau of engraving even the
pension buroau, because Keating Is on tho pension committee Every HttU
Whllo thoy paused to buy souvenir postcards to send home to friends.
