The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-07-05

pendence by the American Congress on the
4th of July, 177G, was a perfectly unique in
cdent. Nothing similar to it had ever oc-
Cured before in the worlds history, and
nothing like it of the same importance is
likely to occur again. Other peoples have
grown from barbarism to civilization,
from weakness to strength, through centuries
of development that formed the national char
acter and formed the system of govern
ment suited to it; but the founders of the
American republic found themselves called
upon to vote q nation into existence first,
then to conquer for it the right
to exist, and lastly to decide what
form of government would be most
likely to make it honored abroad, to develop
its resources and to make its people great,
prosperous, and happy If they succeeded, the
Declaration of Independence would be a
charter of liberties for all mankind, while if
they failed their pretensons would but excite
the ridicule of the world, their act would be
declared treason, and their lives would pay
the forfeit of their temerity. The men who
deiberated upon the Declaration of Indepen-
dence, however, felt that the time had ar
rived for the New World to shake off the fet-
ters of the Old, and for a final protest against
the doctrine of the divine rights of kings
that for centuries had checked the growth of
liberty in Europe. The principles enunci-
ated by the Declaration were responded to
with enthusiasm by the people, who felt thatit
now remained with them to confirm the words
of their representatives, and that a national
existence was something better worth fight
&bo If
that if redressed in the fullest manner would
still leave them in subjection to tyrannical
foreign power. The contest was fought, and
the great American republic from an idea be-
came a fact Europe watched with eager
interest the result of an experiment that, if
successful, was fraught with most momentous
consequences to mankind. The experiment
did succeed, and in the short space of ninety
years an empire that rivals that of Rome in
its grandeur has been established, and, having
proved its power both at home and abroad, it
is at once the object of the respect and admi-
ration of the world.
In a few years more century will have
passed away since that little company of
brave, far-sighted statesmen signed the
Declaration Of Independence in the State
House at Philadelphia, and then the world
will be invited to participate with us, on the
spot of the nations birth, in the grandest cee-
bration of Independence Day that has oc-
CURED since the day ITSELF The centennial
anniversary will be an event only second in
Importance to the signing of the Declaration
of Independence itself Other nations have
invited the world to contribute to and to visit
exhibitions of art and industry, but none of
them has ever been able to ask the partici-
patton of every nation on the surface of the
globe in such an imposing celebration as that
which will take place in this city on the 4th
of July, 1876.
1t is not altogether matter for congratu-
lation that many of the old-time observances
of the Fourth of July have fallen somewhat
into disuse. The Rebellion served to upset
many of our old-fashioned customs and
notions, and since the suppression of the Re-
bellion there has been a growing disposition
to abate something of the pomp and parade
that were once a necessary feature of Inde-
pendence day. The younger generation, of
course, INDUCES in the burning of an un-
limited amount of gunpowder upon the shrine
of liberty, but citizens of mature years are
generally glad to escape the noise and hustle
of the city, if possible, by passing the day in
the country or at the seaside. On strictly
rational principles there is certainly nothing
blamable in this, bat it is certain that the
old explosive enthusiasm of the Fourth of
July served to impress upon the minds of
both old and young ideas with regard to the
origin of the anniversary that ought not to
be allowed to pass into neglect.
The celebration of the Fourth in this city
yesterday was unusually quiet. There was no
military parade, owing to the neglect of Couu-
ellis to make an appropriation for the purpose,
and the few ceremonials that were INDUCED in
were not of a character to make any particu-
lar impression on the popular Imagination
This is to be regretted; for while many per-
sons rejoiced in the at least partial cessation
of noise, many more missed what ought to be
grand feature of the day. We hope that in
future we will at least have parade and
Grafton.
The first will make the streets attractive
and will cause an appropriate excitement in
the hearts of those patriots who cannot con-
veniently spend the day out of town; and the
latter, even if it does not contain anything
but the oft-repeated commonplaces, and the
accustomed spread-eagleism that is character
istic of Fourth of July orations, will at least
serve to impress upon the minds of our citi-
zens the fact that the adoption of the Decla-
ration of Independence by the Continental
Congress was one of the greatest events, not
only in this nations, but in the worlds his