THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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