Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1876-06-29
CENTENNIAL J0TTINGS.

IOCChSlOllHl 1 HlhNHci)iliu correspondents
of the CLARIoN
You remember in one of Dickens
stories the character of Mr.. Grad
grind. His speciality was "facts.' A
fact must be an actual fact to him.
1t must be straight up and down,
square, solid fact, or he would have
none of it. He would allow no en-
largement or curtailment of its pro-
portions, nor tampering with its quail
ity. In matters of fact he was I'M
compromising. In fact he would a
hair divide exact 'twixt South and
Southwest side. Only the actual fact
would suffice him. In it was wrapped
M his sole sense and love Of the beau
tiful. The ideal, the world of poetry,
was of no account. 1t was too bar
rem fact. He lived IN fact. We
may reasonably suppose he died in
fact.
But his spirit yet walks the earth.
His mantle or his mission has been
taken up by men of like views and
purposes. Their greatest delight is
in the explosion of old historic rec.
otds which have been accepted as
truth fer generations. They would
ruthlessly demolish what they can
not possibly rebuild, and standing
amid the ruins would claim they did
it in the interests of truth. Grad
grind's croaking voice is heard even
at Christmas time, while the hearts OF
little ones are bubbling over with
gleeful anticipations, he is ready to
demonstrate that the 18th of Decem-
Der is not in fact the joyous day fol-
praise and carol to which grateful
hearts devote it. A few years ago
the dark shadow of Gradgrind fell
upon the heroic story Of VIM. Tell, so
dear to Youthful readers, with the file
spirit of his class he would rob it Of
all its dramatic pcturesqucness and
reduce it to the barest statement OF
f.ct. Another Gradgrind has writ
ten a few years past, essayed to oblit-
crate from Virginia's early history
its most fascinating chapter Of young
romance, the thrilling story Of Poca
hontas and the gallant Capt, Smith.
Such is the cynical spirit Of Grad
grind, reducing everything that is
grand, beautiful and inspiriting to
the cold, rigid angularity Of fact
Nevertheless he is Of some practical
use in life. Let US not hastily speak
i'll Of him.
l am lead to speak with some feel
ing Of Indignation against the Grad
grinds at this particular time, because
find they are very searchinsly at
work on our Centennial history and
in their wild hunt after stern facts
are upsetting many of our most inter-
esting traditions and historical days.
All our lives, for instance, we have
been celebrating the 4th Of July as
the true Independence Day. But as
we learn now from these great stick
lers for fact the Declaration was pass
ed on the %. 1t was signed on the
4th by John Hancock and Charles
Thomson only. Mr.. Jefferson states
that it was signed by all
the members present on the
fourth, but chief Justice Mexican
asserts that this was done on the ID
Of August. There seems to be good
deal Of doubt as to when the sigma
lures generally were affixed. Some
Of the signers, DR.. Rush, George Ross,
Charles Carroll, Samuel Chase and
Robert Morris, were not members on
the fourth OF July, and according to
Jefferson they signed when admitted.
The close hunters after facts have
brought to light, also, the fact that
the Declaration was not officially
made known to the people until the
9Th of July, when it was read to a
large concourse of people in the State
House yard. One writer says it was
read by John Nixon, who was depu-
ted to read it by the Sheriff Of Phila-
delphia, who had received it from the
committee. Another writer says it
was read by Charles Tomson, Secre-
tary Of Congress, whose proper duty
it would certainly be to read it. Be
the fact as it may, when the reading
was concluded cheers rent the air, a
yo]ley of mueketIv was fired, the