QRATI8.
I
W
Wj
feu
EH
iASHINOTON. Tlioro
was mivflluil In tin.1 na
tion's cnpltnl lecontlyu
statue of tlio Ilev.John
Wlthorspooii, one of
tlio signers of tlio Dec
laration Of Indepen
dence Mo 10 and more
attention Is IicIiik Riven
throughout the country
to the memories of the
men who signed the
liberty document. Not
long ago tliorc was held In Wash
ington n ronvontlon of the descend
nntn of tho signers. It Is expected
that ns the result of tho labors of
thin hereditary organization thero
will he withered together for pres
ervation In ono safe place nil tho
things that are attainable which
had Intimate association with tho
men who on tho 4th of July. 177(5,
took their lives nnd their pens In
hand.
In tho year 1770 lived a woman
who was fond of giving curtain
lectures to her husband. She was
the original Mrs. Caudle, though
her name was Mrs. Dickenson, the
wife of John Dickenson of Ponii
Bylvnnin. whoso "Letters of a
Pennsylvania banner" had done
much to nrouso a spirit of liberty
among tho people Ono night sov
cral weeks before the meeting of
the conllnentnl congress, of which
Dickenson was a member, his
spouse, speaking from beneath tho
shadow of her nightcap, said:
"Johnny, If you hnvo nnythlng to
do with this independence business
jou'll bo hanged, and leave a most
excellent widow." John Dickenson
spoke against the resolution de
claring the colonies to be fiee and
independent.
The gieat Independence debate
was held within closed doors, nnd
no recoid of the speeches was kept,
because it was felt that l case of
v vuUilIM mswv'ZwviM .iZmtii&i HHH
-" "BSIStlmtfnmyLJlljHfixiinEMBtnm Hull fs V. , . H ,,,s'5'l!:',''-iHH
7 , SEnffllfly AUrdtX-Mmk. xSfiKfKrfxv-. livw x. B'SMHHHRHMBKHHSSBf'Mwitisc
u - ', .;2vvafasvw ..r'i jataasiiisaHicviwAjstii m imuy
- J!i"M.n war'i ...Aarffl tyflMumMiuwssssiwajRiii XJv!BMflffl xzznr
A S11.33l "W
H' mmmKSM ' f ILn I IlilBMHBBBWflWEMi) I
Q3
OFomfcr "rsfijew worr ths DrciAMrorf
tho capture of any ono of tho members of the
body that King Cieorgo would have him strung
up speedily should thero bo written evidence
that ho had spoken against the supremacy of
the crown. When tho Urunswlck monarch,
however, had been forced to rellniiulsh his grip
on the united colonies, somo of tho delegates
told what they had said or what others bad
Bald These fragmentary speeches bad never
before been gathered together. It is believed.
Hits or them appear here and there in revolutionary-day
stories. Others are to bo found In
the correspondence of somo of the fathers ot
the republic, and two others have had their
spirit, but not their letter, preserved through
one of the almost matchless orations of Web
ster. It is a well-known fact tlmt the declaring of
tho colonies Independent was not thought of
scilously beforo tho convening of the memor
nlilo congrebs of the spring of 177(5. Washing
ton was bitterly opposed to nny such declara
tion until It became a military nnd civil neces
sity Patrick Henry was perhaps tho only out
ipokcn advocate of the year when tho cutting
wns nctually accomplished, though Hcnjamin
Franklin nnd Timothy Dwight thought, nnd
sometimes said, that tho yoko should be re
moved Henry, by tho wny, In one of his
speeches, undoubtedly gave tlio keynote to
which Ilobort Knimot nfterward attuned tho
Inst senteuco of his speech when condemned
to dlo. As early as 1773 Patrick Henry de
clared that the colonies should strike for indo
pendonco, nnd prophesied that Franco would
not be backward In coming to their nld. Tho
last words of his speech woro almost literally
a part of the concluding words of Robert
Emmet's speech: "Then our country shnll
take her place among tho nations of tho
earth "
Tho original declaration of liidependenco
was a local aftalr. Mecklenberg county. North
Carolina, at a public meeting held in tho town
of Charlotte, In August, 1775, declared that
"It throw off forever all allegiance to tho Brit
ish ciown." It was not long after this that
North Carolina Instructed Its dolegates to tho
continental congress to vote "ilrst, last nnd
always" for tho Independence of tho united
colonies. It must bo said that many historians
doubt tho authenticity of tho Mecklenberg
declaration.
Tho congress tlint was to declaro America
freo convened In Philadelphia, nnd In n general
wny discussed tho matter of tluowlng off tho
yoke. Richard Henry Leo of Virginia Intro
douced this resolution: "Moved, That these
united colonies are, nnd of right ought to be,
frco and Independent states, and that all po
litical connection between us nnd Great Urlt
alu Is, nnd ought to bo, dissolved."
John Adams of Massachusetts seconded tho
motion, but tho nameB of both mover and bee
onder were omitted from tho record, because
It was tho belief that If tho Hrltlsh authorities
got hold or them as prisoners they would
stretch hemp without n trial. Ilefore the ills
cubslon of tho resolution congiess adjourned
nnd came together again In June, when began
the debate, perhaps tho most momentous In
history. bo details of which, save in detached
form, were never pre
served. During n pnrt
of the proceedings Don
jamiu Franklin pre
sided. In a letter written 20
years after tha debate
ono of tho delegates
said that when Benja
min Franklin, after the
signing, said: "Now,
we must nil hnng together or we'll all hang
separately." Harrison, who had n ready wit,
looking nt his ample proportions, said: "If
they drop us off at a rope's end somo of you
lightweights will bo kicking and suffering long
ufter I'm dono for."
During tho time of the adjournment, the
commit too which had been nppolnted to pre
pare the declaration of independence choso
Jefferson, tho youngest of their members, to
write tho document, on tlio ground thnt he was
"tlio best penman" In tho lot. Now, tho word
penman In those days was sometimes used to
denoto a mnn who expressed himself well on
paper, and not necessarily a man who wrote a
good hand Tho Kngllsh of tho declaration
perhnps shows that the word was used with
tho former significance, though some of Jeffer
son's detractors have insisted that Tom Paino
wrote tho famous document.
The Declaration of Independence was read
paragraph by paragraph to the assembled
members. As a matter of fact, the most bril
liant spenkers were opposed to tho tcsolutlon.
Among those so opposed were Dickenson, Rob
ert It. Livingston, James Wilson and Edwnrd
Uutlodgo. It leaked out afterward that most
of these men mnde speeches opposing tho sev
ering of tho British bonds. Of threo of those
who spoke In favor of independence It was
nfterward said: "Jefferson was mi speaker;
George Wyetli was sensible, but not clear, and
Witherspoon was clear, but heavy."
It has always been believed that Richard
Henry Leo said, In standing for the nbsoluto
Independence of his country: "Why still delib
erate? Why, sir, do you longer delay? Lot
this happy day give birth to an Amoricnn re
public. Let her arise, not to devastate and
conquer, but to re-establish tho reign of peaco
and law. Tho eyes ot Kuropo nro llxed upon
us; slio demands of us a living example or
freedom that mny oxhlblt a contrast In tho
felicity of tho cltlzon to tho over-Increasing
tyranny which desolates her polluted shores.
If we aro not this day wanting in our duty to
our country the names of the Amoricnn legisla
tors of 1770 will bo placed by posterity at tho
sido of Theseus, of Lycurgus, of Romulus, ot
Numu. of the threo Williams of Nassau, and ot
all those whose memories have been nnd for
ever will be dear to virtuous men nnd good
citizens."
Just how Lee's speech leaked out was uot
known, but It led to a somewhat remarkable
scene in tlio Kngllsh school of St. Hoes. Lee
had a son, a mere boy, n pupil in St. Bees.
A member of a board of vlaitots to tho Institu
tion aslwd the head master who the boy was.
"Ho is the son of Richard Henry Loe of
America." was the answer.
Or MD-P-S0C- AS PRESERVED -"Hn"ua
"C o m o
here, young
man," said
tho Inquisl
tor, nnd
w lion Loo
approached
the English
man said to
him: "Do
you kno w
wo will soon
lmvo your
father's head
on Towor
hill?"
"You may
have It when
you can get
it," was tho
boy's spirit
ed answer.
John Dick
enson of
nl
though he
had been ono
of tho fore
most advo
cates of resistance to tyranny, spoko forcibly
against the adoption of tho declaration. It
may bo that his wife's, "Johnny, you'll bo
hanged," was still on his mind. Ho was ono
of tho best speakers In tho congress, nnd tho
friends of liberty feared tho effect of his argu
ments. The gist of what ho said was yenrs
afterwards made public, and, whllo Dickenson
feared simply that the time had not yet como
for tho declaring of tho country's Indepen
dence, and was In reality a patriot at heart,
his memory has suffered for tho stand ho then
took.
When Daniel Webster delivered his pano
gyric of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams
ho drow a verbal picture ot that scene In the
continental congress when tho Declaration of
Independence wns under discussion. Ho know
tliu thread of Dickenson's dlbcourso as It had
been Imputed to htm, nnd though Webster
mentioned no name, his amplification of Dick
enson's words will probably stand forever as
containing the essence of tho opposition of tho
colonlnl legislator to tho taking ot a ilrm stand
for his country's freedom.
Dickenson's speech, as It has como down,
runs in pnrt n3 follows: "Let us pause. This
step, onco taken, cannot bo retraced. This
resolution, once passed, will cut off all hopo
of reconciliation. If success attend tho arms
of England wo shall then bo no longer colo
nies, with charters and with privileges; theso
will nil bo forfeited by this act, and wo shall
bo In the condition of other conquered peoplo
at tho mercy of the conquerors. For our
selves, wo may bo ready to run tho hazard,
hut are wo ready to carry the country to that
length? Is success so probnblo as to Justify us?
Whore is the military, whoro the naval powor,
by which we aro to resist tho wholo strength
of tho arms of England, for slio will oxort that
strength to tho utmost? Can wo rely on Jho
constancy and perseverance of tho peoplo, or
will they not act as tho peoplo of othor coun
tries lmvo acted, and, wearied with n long
war. submit in the end to a worse oppression?
"Whllo wo stniid on our old ground nnd In
sist on redress of grievances wo know wo nro
right, and arc not answerablo for conse
quences. Nothing, then, can bo imputed to us.
But if we now clinngo our object, enrry our
pretensions fnrther and set up for nbsoluto in
dependence, wo shall loso tho sympathy of
mankind. Wo shall no longer bo defending
what wo possess, nnd which wo have solemnly
and uniformly disclaimed all intention of pur
suing from tho very outsot of tho troubles.
Abnudolng thus our old grounds of rcslstanco
only to arbitrary acts of oppression, tho na
tions will believe tho wholo to hnvo been mora
"voteiiso, and they will look on us not as In-
PVUAA7 mfEJG, CU6T0DJAN
Jurcd, but as ambitious, subjects.
"I shudder berore this responsibility. It
will bo on us If, relinquishing the ground
on which wo have stood so long, and stood
so safely, wo now proclaim Independence
nnd carry on war for that object, whllo
theso cities burn, these pleasant Holds
whiten and bleach with the bones of their
owners, and these streams run blood. It
will bo upon us; It will bo upon us If, falling
to malntnin this unreasonable and Ill-judged
declaration, a sterner despotism, ninintnlnod
by military power, shall bo established over
our posterity, when we ourselves, given up by
nn exhausted, n harassed and misled people,
shall have expiated our rashness and ntoned
for our presumption on tlio scaifold."
It Is a fnlrly well established ract that ono
ot the delegates, lacking a prepared speech of
his own, quoted from Tom Palno's pamphlet,
"Common Sense," which somo months boforo
had created a sensation. Tom Paine, as Is
well known, was an atheist, but that made
little difference to the delegate, who was said
to be a pious Puritan, when ho had a chanco
to lot his feelings go ripping through sentences
like theso: "It matters very llttlo now what
the king of England either says or does; he
linth wickedly broken through every moral anfl
humnn obligation, trampled naturo and con
science beneath his feet, and by a steady and
constitutional spirit of insolence nnd cruotly
procured for himself n universal hatred.
It has been reported thnt John Witherspoon
of Princeton, stanch orthodox Presbyterian,
wns tho man who quoted thus liberally from
Tom Paine, atheist. Somo years afterward tho
Scotch dominie, it Is said, wns tnken to task
for quoting Paino, and reverend John said, if
tradition may be believed, that tho devil's
pitchfork was nono too bad a weapon to uso
In prodding John Bull out of tho country.
It was left, however, for John Adams to
make the great speech that hi ought to tho
side of thoso favoring Independence nil tho
wnvorlng ones, nnd strengthened In their posi
tion thoso who stood for tho signing of tho
declaration. What Adams said was given la
substanco to tho world when there wns no
longer any danger of his being hanged for his
utterances. Daniel Webster lent his own elo
quence and something of his diction to his In
terpretation of Adams' discourse, which, on
tho eventful dny, It may bo truly said won
for tho country tho declaration of indepen
dence. Adams' powerful and electrifying speech
wns in part as follows: "It is true, Indeed,
that In the beginning wo nlmed not at inde
pendence. But thoro's a divinity which shnpes
our ends. Tho Injustice of England has driven
us to nrins, and, blinded to her own Interest
for our good, sho hns obstinately persisted till
liidependenco Is now within our grasp. Wo
hnvo but to reach forth to It and it is ours.
Why, then, should wo derer tho declaration?
Is nny man so weak as now to iopo for a
reconcllntlon with England, which shall leavo
either safety to tho country and Its liberties or
safety to his own life and his own honor?
"I know thero Is not n man hero who wo .Id
not rather see a genoral conflagration sweep
over tho land or an enrthquako sink It than
ono Jot or tittle of that plighted faith fall to
tho ground. For myself, having 12 months
ago In this plnco moved you that Georgo
Washington bo nppolnted commander of tho
forcos raised or to bo ralsod for dofenso of
Amoilcnn liberty, mny my right hand forget
her cunning nnd my tonguo cleave to tho roof
of my mouth If I hesltato or waver in the
support I gio him.
"My Judgmont npproves this measure and
my wholo heart is in it. All that I have and
all that I am, nnd all that I hopo in this life,
I am now ready hero to stnko upon it.
I am for tho declaration. H 1b my Mvlng son
tlmont, and, by tho grace of Goo. 1: shall bo
my dying sentiment, Independence now and
indopendenco forover."
Tho 2d of July Is in reality Indopeiidenco
dny, for on tills dato in tho year 1770 a ma
jority of tho dolegates from each colony votod
for tho declaration, Two days lator tho docu
mont wns signed nnd went Into effect, and
from that day to this, In fuHlIlmont of John
Adams' prophecy, tho day has been celebrated
"with pomp, parade, games, sports, guns, bells,
bonfires, and lllunilnntlon from ono end of tho
continent to the ether."
Youth (at a bun emporium) I say,
you know, this milk Is sour.
Sweet Thing Well, thero's plenty
of sugar on tho tablo, ain't there?
Hypothetical.
"Let me," snid tlio stranger at the
baseball gate, "ask you a hypothetical
question."
4' Go ahead."
"Supposing that I had ten cents,
nnd desired to witness nn exhibition
of tlio manly sport Inside the en
closure, the price being 25 cents; and
supposing that I were to approach you
Tor 15 cents necessary to fruition of
my hopes, what would you say?"
"That's easy. I'd say: 'Lend me tho
10 cents as I have Just 15 myself, and
am a rabid fan.'"
Thus, after all thl3 subtle eloquence,
there wns nothing doing.
Laundry work at homo would bo
much more satisfactory If tho right
Starch were used. In order to get tho
desired stiffness, it is usually neces
sary to uso so much starch that tho
beauty and fineness of the fabric is
hidden behind a paste of varying
thickness, which not only destroys tho
appearance, but also affects tho wear
ing quality of tho goods. This trou
ble can bo entirely overcomo by using
Defiance Starch, as It can be applied
much more thinly becnuso of its great
er strength than other makes.
That's a Reason.
"Take off your coat, Herkimer,"
snid the boss, in kindly tones, ns ho
directed the electric fan a little moro
1 toward himself.
Herkimer Hoskins blushed furi
ously. "Thank you, sir," ho said, "but er
tho fact is my wife makes my
shirts."
Tho extraordinary popularity of fine
white goods this summer makes tlio
choice of Starch a matter of great Im
portance. Dcflanco Starch, being freo
from all injurious chemicals, Is tho
only ono which Is safe to uso on flno
fabrics. It great strength ns a stiffen
or makes half tho usual quantity of
Starch necessary, with tho result of
perfect finish, equal to that when tho
goods wero new.
Gratitude Poorly Expressed.
An old woman was profuso In her
gratitude to a magistrate who had
dismissed a charge brought against
her.
"I thought you wouldn't bo 'ard on
me, your worship," she remarked, as
she left the dock; "I know 'ow olten
a kind 'art beats boind a ugly face."
Not Noticeable.
Llttlo Moso Lamblack Do teacheh
done sent me home, mammy, 'cause
you didn't wash mail face.
Mrs. Lamblack (angrily) You fool
chile, whrtt fo' you done tolo her 1
didn't? Illustrated Sunday Magazine.
Scoring a Point.
"I thought Jenks had niado a mis
take In that sk,"y, so I Just nailed him
down."
"Well?"
"And found, as I expected, that ho
was on the wrong tack."
Nebraska Directory
Velie Wrought Iron Vehicles
Will Not Wear Out. InnlBt on having them
nsk jmir looiil ileuloror
JOHN DEERE PLOW COMPANY. Omaha Sioux Fall
Lightning Rods-fti,
w ri-HteiH for telo-
plumes. Protects forover. Tlio ueHt.
W. C. SHINN, - - Lincoln, Nebraska
TYPFWRITFB3Q M-.
.." MAKkS
; tuHMfrnprliti. Itenti or tlmuiwy.
liii-nu. Ill nti-il. rant npiillin. Wrrhlp
jaiiyw lioru for fnxi uiamliiMlnn. .Vxlu.
I"- - - " ... it . in. mirr
1 1 Hmii.i,n ( ii ,1 JHto.Mloj.il III l ,UMik.
M. Spiesberger & Son Co.
Wholesale Millinery
OMAHA, NEB.
i iU
The Best In the West
REBUILT TRACTION
ENGINES
nt Imrcnln nrlces. Write
"T.llHt. LINIGER IMPLE
MENT CO., Omaha, Neb.
Soldby'tliellMtDoalcni. Wo III vend to tiill and
twiifrmmrfieliit oU5etK.lu Ktatnjui, a lMnrli, Iwd
innplo, ImiHH ciUfd rule. JOHN Q. WOODWARD
&CO."Tho Contlv Men"CouncllBluffs, la.
Beatrice Creamery Go.
Payx the highest price for
CREAM
RUPTURE
Of nil vn-
rletlFH per-limit-lit
U
cured In n
fewdnyH without n nureicut operation
or detention from IniHlnuHH. No pny
will lj aeeepted until tint patient In
(ompletely Hiitlxllrd, Write or cull on
FRANTZ II. WRAY, M. D.
Room 30B Bee Uldg., Omaha, Neb.
v i
u
V
I
