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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (June 30, 1916)
THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. Tm Tndtajcmr ' it eoow mm RANDLE "MIRACLE MAN OF SEA" The interesting story of the writing and signing of the Declaration of Inde pendenceJuly 2 or August 2 better entitled to celebration than July 4. "WHHj OPULAR history Iihh fastened upon our Impressionable iiiIikIb 11 poetic Hj picture of the signing of tho Deelurn- H-Bj tlon of Independence as n graceful jHI nnd formal function, tuklng place I I July 4, 1770, In a largo, handsomely I k I .....,.rt. Illinl1,1H I., T...t..W.tl.1..tt.l., llil IliniJl'U i:illlllllfui III J uut:in;iiwi;in.ii hall, Philadelphia. To give the nec essary touch of vivacity to the pic ture there Ih the Hcene of the small hoy darting from the door as the InHt signer sets Mh autograph to the precious parchment and dash ing down the street, cullltif to his grandfather, to "Ring I Oh, ring for liberty I" Our Ideal proclamation of the charter of Amer ican freedom must ho shattered In the cause of truth. The Declaration of Independence was fllgncd behind locked doors, and was not general' J.v signed upon the Fourth of July at all. The city wis not breathlessly awaiting the event outside, nor did 'the Liberty bell penl forth on that day the triumphal note of freedom. The accredited historian of tho United States department of state Is Galllurd Hunt, Lltt. D LL. D now chief of the division of manuscripts In tho Library of Congress. "There Is really no ronson for our celebrating tho Fourth of July moro than July 2 or August 2," paid Doctor Hunt recently to an Inquirer. "It wns not until tho latter date that tho document was generally signed. "Tho Virginia bill of rights, of which George Mason was nlso tho author, was drawn up and ndoptcd In tho last colonial assembly In Virginia prior to tho Revolution. The hill of rights Is In effect n part of every constitution In the land to day. It Is beyond doubt that this famous .docu ment, of which his elderly friend was author, was largely drawn upon by Thomas Jefferson when ho wroto the Declaration of Independence. "Tho fundamental principles of government sot forth In Mason's hill of rights were tho snme as those In tho English petitions to the king, the nets of the long parliament and magna ciinrta. "You know, perhaps, that It was another Vir ginian, Richard Henry Lee, who presented to con gress, on Juno 7, 1770. a set of resolutions contain ing the words, 'That these united colonies are, and of right ought to he, free and Independent states, nnd thnt nil political connection between them nnd tho stnto of Oreat Britain Is, and ought to be. totally dissolved.' "It was ns a result of tho favorable voting upon' Leo's resolutions that tho well-known committee, composed of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben jamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Liv ingston, was named to draft the document. Tho committee assigned the tnsk of preparing tho In strument to the Virginian. Jefferson's was the master political mind nnd It wns by no Ntnero chance that ho was called upon to write tho docu ment which has been termed 'tho best-known pa per that hat) over come from tho pen of un Indl Tldual.' Drafting of the Declaration. "Thomns Jefferson was tho personification of method," remarked Doctor Hunt, "and Immediate ly upon receiving his commission to write the declaration ho retired to the two rooms ho rented as a working place at Seventh and Market place, 1'hlliulelphln, and prepared to give his country ono of tho greatest monuments of human freedom. I "Tho department of stnto owns the first draft of the Declaration which Jefferson presented to tho committee for Its approval, nis confreres mado h few alterations, which nro clearly shown In tho toxt, nnd Jefferson has written beside each change tho name of Its author, making the document of Inestimable value. "Tho fair copy which ho made for presentation to congress, nnd which henrs the congressional amendments nnd alterations, Is lost, i "Tho lutter Is tho formal Declaration of Inde pendence laid before congress on Juno 28, 1770. It wns then read and ordered to lie on tho table until July 1. On July 2 a resolution was passed declaring tho Independence of' the United Stntes, although tho exact form of tho proclamation ns prepared by Jefferson was debated upon until July 1, when, with somo alterations and amendments, It was signed by John Hancock, president of tho congress, nnd tho slgnnturo attested by Charles Thomson, secretary of congress. "July 2 wns actually the date of separation of the colonies from tho mother country. On July II wo find John Adams, whom Jefferson called tho 'colossus of tho colonies, writing to his wife, Abi gail, In tho following words : "'Yesterday the greatest question which wns ovor'debated In America was decided, and a great er perhaps never was nor will be decided among men.' Great Day Was July 2. 'In a second letter, written tho same day, ho said: 'Hut tho day is past. July 2 will bo tho most memorablq epoch In the history of America. I am apt to believe that It will bo celebrated by fluccecdlng generations as tho anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as tho day of dollv orunco by solemn acts of dovotlon to God Al mighty.' "There Is little doubt but that the participants In tho event considered July 2 as tho true dato of Independence for tho colonies, hut populnr fancy seized upon tho 4th, tho date of acceptance of Jef fereon'a formal and detailed settlng-forth as tho proper dato of celebration. "John Trumbull's famous painting of tho scene, hanging In tho rotunda of tho cnpltol, Is a poetical piece of work und gives mnny of tho portraits of the slgnors with fulthfulncss, but it Is somewhat fanciful. No Bllkon hnnglngs draped tho windows of thut Htlillng room on July 4, 1770, and tho beau tiful order In which tho men nro ranged up for Blgnlng the luiuiortul document Is also llctlonul. ,!, Ill' mm Em! ma mem 6fi 3?J vw. 1 ) ww -' fl Cnpt. William G. Handle, dean of American nmrlners. knighted by tho queen of Holland for bravery at sen, a former United Stntes naval ofllcer and a shipbuilder of note, has retired to private life nfter serving for the last 17 years as marine superintendent of the New York Shipbuilding com pany's plant ut Camden, N. J. After (50 years of labor, the vet eran sen captnln, ut his home In Ches ter, l'n., will spend the remainder of his dnys, surrounded by pictures of his treasured ships, testimonials from those to whom he rendered the great est service, trophies of war ami fond memories. Ho Is now seventy-eight years old. Captain Handle has been the "miracle man" of the sea in his day. It was he who first guided a steamship across the deep without n rudder. While he wus captain of the American line .steamship Purls which still runs between Philadelphia nnd Southampton, the ship lost Its rudder when 1,200; miles out nt sea early In 1S91. He navigated tho ship safely back to Quccns town, without any discomfort to tho hundreds of passengers on board. When the Spanish-American war broke out, Captain Handle volun teered. He was commissioned a commander In the United States navy tho day war was declared. Captain Randle was assigned to the St. Louis as Its navigating olllcer. Willie the ship was under lire many times, und was attached to Admiral, Sampson's lleet during the blockade of Santiago, Cuba, It escaped damage.. The biggest and most thrilling rescue at sea in which tho veteran, mariner ever participated wns 'the one that won him knighthood. Captain Randle, with the aid of his crew on the St. Louis, saved 212 souls, including the passengers nnd crew, of the Dutch steamship Veendain, of the Holland American line, ut sen ut midnight on February 10, 180S. It required three hours and ten minutes of the most heroic work to get nil of the 212 persons safely on board the St. Louis. v J IF NEWTON HAD ONLY KNOWN Jrxdep&nctesice f&tf "Tlio president of the congress, John Hancock, with the secretary, Charles Thomson, nlono signed the autograph Jefferson document on thnt date. Immediately afterward it was hurried to tho offi cial printer for congress, John Duulnp, to put In typo und several copies were made. By next morning the printed copies of Jefferson's Declara tion of Independence were In Hancock's hands. When ho camo to write tho proceedings for tho Fourth of July, 1770, Into tho Journal of Con gress, Charles Thomson, secretary of the congress, loft n blank spneo for tho Declaration and It Is this broadaldo which now appears wnfered Into the space left for It In the Journal. "This broadside was sent out to tho governors of tho stntes, jto tho Continental army, and It Is tho paper from which tho Declaration of Independence Zr3ftmfl ihe Decarztion of Independence was read to the people July 8, when the Liberty bell was rung and the first public celebration was made In honor of the event." Signed August 2. "July 10 congress ordered thnt the Declaration passed the 4th be fairly engrossed. It wns very beautifully done on parchment. This Is tho document which received the signatures of all tho members of the Continental congress present In Independence hall. August 2. 1770. By this time, however, tho membership had changed slightly, so thnt tho "signers" were not ldentlcnl with tho body of delegates who had declared for tndepond en'co a month before Presumably It was at this time that Hancock, ranking his great familiar sig nature, Jestingly remarked thut John Bull could see It without his spectncles. Ono or two of tho signatures wero not actually afllxed until u Inter dato than August 2. 'This Is tho treasured Declaration of Independ ence now In possession of the department of stnto," said Doctor Hunt. "It Is kept In n hermetic ally scaled case, which Is opened only by special order for very especial reasons. It Is faded, and It would have been better If this engrossed copy had been made on paper rather than parchment. It Is so faded that few of the signatures aro recogniz able. Nothing can now be done which will perma nently benellt It. "I bellovo the main cause of tho fading was tho Impression taken In 1823, by order of President Monroe. Two hundred fncslmlllcs wero then made to give a copy to each of the then living signers and others. Taking the Impression removed the Ink." Byron R. Newton, assistant secre tary of tho treasury of the United States, was raised on a furm up In western New York. He had a boyhood chum named Orla Willard. A while, ago Newton made a journey back to his old stamping ground and visited the little red schoolhouse where ho had first coped with such problems us how long it will take u man to per form a piece of work that three men do In four days nnd u half. On a piece of wentherbeuten siding he discov ered the lnitinls of himself and Wlllnrd carved there one day at re cess n great many years ago. This set Newton to thinking and ho wondered what had become of his old friend Willard. On his return to Washing ton he wroto a letter of Inquiry and nsked, by way of showing friendly in terest, If Willard had any family. Back came an answer to the letter. Yes. Orlu Willard hud a family. In fact ho had a son named Jess Willard the Jess Willard. Now, mind you, the Inst time Newton hud seen Orlu Willard, father of Jess, was at a period In their young lives when prizefighters ranked well to the top as heroes. "What n lot more life would have meant to us both," says Newton, "If only Orla nnd I could have known, when playing about the schoolyard, that he would grow up to be the parent of a heavyweight champion. 6RANDEIS KNOWN AS FIGHTER irtrCrtrCttrtrktrtrtrbtrtrlti history let all true Americans toduy highly re solve on a new birth within their own souls of the faiths of those men 140 years ago, of faith In themselves and of faith In America. THEY BELIEVED IN AMERICA One hundred and forty years ago some half hundred men, sent by their communities to con cert measures for securing their "rights ns Kng llshmen," became convinced that these could not bo obtained wive by ceasing to bo "British sub Jocts" and declaring themselves "American citi zens." Let us look behind tho formal phrases of tho Immortal Declaration to tho faith of these men and of the people for whom they spoke. What was the faith that made vital their appeal for tho Justice of their cause und tho righteousness of their undertaking? They believed in themsolves; In their ability to do right and Justice. They believed In tho com petence of stnlwnrt manhood to govern Itself nnd to provldo for the common welfare. They be Moved they could niuko better arrangements In government than men hud mndc beforo them. They believed In themselves. In their people. In America. Americans of lato have done n great deal of fault-finding with America, Thero Is not so much now ns n yenr or two ago. Tho spectnelo across the Atlantic tends to hush it, and to give new point to tho saying that "other countries" nro what make Americans so proud of their own. In tho light of that spectacle and of our own OF GREAT MOMENT IN HISTORY. Tho declaration of American Independence was of uncounted moment In history. As the result of thnt fuct, the United Stntes of America bus risen to a greatness which has changed the face of tho world. In a little less than seven scoro of years It has changed us from a nation of peo ple scattered thinly along the coast of the At lantic, to a nation of over a hundred millions of people stretching over the whole continent from tho Atlantic to the Pnclflc. nnd even Into the Innds beyond the seas. Moreover, In wealth nnd In material energy, ns In numbers. It now fnr sur passes the mother country from which It sprang. Louis D. Brandels, the newest member of the United States Supreme court, lias been known us a fighter throughout his public career. He has been chiefly noted for his urguments before the Interstate commerce com mission in opposition to the rcouests of the railroads that they be allowed to lncrenso their freight rates, appear ing as counsel for shippers lighting the Increased rates, although he also opposed the New Haven monopoly of transportation In New Englund nnd served as counsel for individuals In proceedings involving tho constitu tionality of women's ten-hour labor laws In Oregon nnd Illinois nnd a nine-hour Inw In Ohio. Ho took pnrt In the light In the city of Boston to retain the municipal subway system, In establishing a slid ing scale gns system In Boston, und was chairmun of the arbitration hoard In the New York gurment workers' strike In 1010. Ho nlso played u celebrated part as counsel for Glnvls In tho Balllnger-Plnchot investigation and bus been the author of numerous articles on public franchises In Massachusetts, life Insurance, wage earners' prob lems, the scientific management of labor problems and the trusts. URGE ASTRONOMER FOR SENATE TRIBUTE TO THE DECLARATION. The historian Buckle was cordial and sweeping In his praise of the Declaration. Ho suld among other things: "Thut noble Declaration ought to be hung up In the nursery of every king nnd blazoned on the porch of every royal palace." If such were the brilliant historian's Idea. It wns as Professor Tyler remarked, "because tho Declaration has become tho classic statement of political truths which must nt last abolish kings nltogethor or else reach thorn to Identify their ex istence with tho dignity and happiness of human nature." Dr. Perclval Lowell, who has been u legal resident of Arizona for some years, Is being urged by representative Republicans of thnt state to become i candidate for the United Stntes sell ate. He bus taken un active Interest In Arizona politics, and a plank relat ing to the restriction of Immigration, written by him, was unnnlmously car ried by the Coconino county conven tion nnd wns being favorably received throughout the state. Doctor Lowell's famous observa tory ut Flagstaff, malntnlned at his ex pense, has mude that Arizona com munity known throughout the scien tific world, nnd tho people of the stafrt ns a whole have shown their eagerness to recognize his public-spirited serv ices. It Is at Flagstaff thnt tho ob servations on Mars have been mnde thut have furnished a basis for con structive speculation as to the likeli hood of animal life on that planet. For his work on Mars Doctor Lowell has received the Jansscn medal of tho French Astronomical society and a gold medal from Soclednd Astronomlca do Mexico. He Is a member of many scientific bodied In various countries, und Is tho author of humorous books and papers on astronomical subjects. "