Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-08-24
The Remington Celebration.

The dual celebration at Bennington, last
week, will rightly rank among the greatest
of the centennial celebrations. In magpi-
tude, as measured by the numbers in atten-
ance, it largely exceeded the great ceie-
brations at Lexington and Concord, Mass,
in April 1875. In dignity and interest 1t
was second only to the great celebration OF
the Centennial Independence Day, at Phila-
delphia, July 18th, 1876. Of course there
were some draw backs. No affair OF such
magnitude ever passes of without some
mistakes, some failures of preparations,
some omissions of due attention to distin-
guished guests. Perhaps the most notifying
of these was the (of course unintentional)
omission to provide for proper reception OF
the Legislature of Massachusetts on their
arriv.., Thursday morning. Some $50
members of that body arrived late, after the
procession had formed found no commit
tee of our own Legislature, or other officials
to receive them marched out by themselves
upon the sidewalk and, finally, accompani-
ed by Senator Dawes, Judge Colt of
the supreme court and other digni-
taries, stumped through the mud, on
foot, in the procession Some OF the
bitches and omissions, could probably
have been prevented by more thorough or
ganization and greater harmony in the local
management. But these were minor mat
tiers. In its great features the celebration
was an unqualified success. 1t gathered the
greatest concourse ever seen in Vermont. 1t
WIS an orderly, intelligent, and patient
crowd, Of anywhere from fifty to seventy
five thousand persons. This immense null
titude Was provided for somehow, and was
carried to and from without serious mishap,
with the solitary exception of the railroad
accident at lioosick Junction, n. G.-not on
any Vermont road-which had no fatal re-
suits. The military display and the parade
of veterans of the war for the Union were
truly imposing. The President Of the United
States with his lovely wife and four members
of his Cabinet, lent the dignity and grace of
their presence. The number Of distinguish
ed men in attendance was very large. The
literary exercises were of remarkable inter
est and ability The president Of the day
filed his difficult position with rare grace
and tact. Mr.. Roberts grafton, was, in the
a, ID h. be
arly, learned, Just, patriotic, admirable
discourse which, while it showed no lack
of appreciation of its subject and of tine
merits of the founders and freemen of our
State, was gratifyingly free from the sound
ing self-praise in which yermonters-we are
sorry to say-are too apt to indulge on such
occasions. Mrs. DORIS poem was in all
respects-in intrinsic beauty and fitness, in
the admirable way in which it was read by
Prof. Churchill, and in its interest and effect
upon the vast audience-one of the most sue
cessful things of the kind we have ever known
on a public occasion. 1t thrilled and de-
lighted every bearer. President Bartlett's
Grafton, though long, was an admirable
address, spirited, interesting, able, histor-
ically valuable. and in passages eloquent.
Mr.. Bryant's poem and the other minor
poetical efforts, were, if not great, good.
The impromptu and after dinner speeches,
were, with hardly an exception, pointed and
happy-and were pronounced by the Spring
field Republican to be decidedly better than
those at the lexington Concord celebration,
which is considerable of an admission for
Massachusetts, man. All in all, it was an
occasion such as will not be likely to be
witnessed in our State under a hundred
years to come. And we trust that its pro-
ceedings will be carefully prepared for per-
manent record and published in handsome
volume.