Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-12-22

LONG, HoN. b. n curcHEoN AND W. w.
GRANT.
Whether the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth
Rock on the 21st of December, 1870, or some
other day, Is now Of not SO much consequence
to their descendants as that the fact that the
landing be duly celebrated every returning
year by q good dinner and good speeches--the
first to atone for the fact that the real Pilgrims
had not much to eat, and the latter to keep the
memory bright of the heroism and true, stall
wart zeal of the noble men and women who,
having sailed over stormy seas, reached the
cold shores of Cape Cod bay In the bleak days
OF December. long, long ago, and founded the
institutions Of this country on the cornerstone
Of Plymouth Rock. THE STAR, II it Is called
on to express an opinion as 10 the exact day of
the landing would say parentheically that, on
ton, says it is December 20, 1890.
Last evening some one hundred and twenty
nve Of our citizens gathered round the festive
board, spread with elegance, so tar as relates to
the viands, and adorned with taste as to flow
ers and ornaments. The entertainment was
club, of This city, an organization composed OF
members FROM this city, Maryland and Vir-
ginia, and having for its object, like its sister
churches, the discussion OF live. religious, moral
and social topics of the day. Among the guests,
beside the distinguished public men who adj
BILE of Iowa; johnson, of New York, and Bean, Of
Arizona; Hon. NJ. q. Emery, B. H. Warner,
". ]. stephenson, President Gaiiaudet " and
After due attention was paid to the excellent
The speakers were introduced by Rev.
s. NJ. Newman, president Of the club, in a neat
preliminary speech, in which he said that as q
could show the world what could be done by q
youth who had no Pilgrim blood in his veins,
but later In lite he had found that genealogical
no ndad iraof from
Gov. WinSlOw, while his wife traced back her
lineage to no less than three of the Mayfiower
who, he said, had been born In North Carolina,
but had since travelled As far as Connecticut on
bis way to the White House,.
senator Hawley remarked substantially as
follows: "Mr. Chairman and friends, brother
ana sister Yankees, said that gentleman,
rising TO his feet, II hardly know how much OF
Is a large one. But will confine myself to one
portion Of the theme He then proceeded to
Pilgrims. They believed in something, said he,
and required no arguments to convince them OF
the ground of thei- belief. They were dead in
along. They were not close-minded, but were
rare idealists, who had glorious visions before
paey they the SOL
They were not mere atoms fioatlng about
without aim. They were so sure OF their own
differ from it. They demanded one universal
belief In this way they impressed themselves
on this whole continent, and the effect OF their
lives Is felt to-day east and west of the Rocky
mountains. When a question Of public mo
ment was brought forward they did not gather
in crowds and shout and howl, but they held
meetings at which some one was elected mod
orator, and from which an united voice pro-
ceeded. They were not agnostics. 1t may be
that we really know nothing, but agnostcism
will not answer in this world. Nothing will
come Of the world unless we believe something.
He would not, he said, take away the belief Of
HindOo or Mahomedan unless he could sup
ply him with something better. He then re-
ferred to the splendid optimism and great hope
Of the Pilgrims, and to the prophetic knowledge
country they had colonized.
The next speaker called on Hon. B. M.
good luck to be born in New England, but, true
to the Pilgrim spirit had early set out to spre;
ne Doctrines and polity religious and POLITICAL
Mr. CutcheOn remarked:
This day that we celebrate is a sort of a par
dox IN the worlds history. We celebrate
usually victories, the rise of nations empires;
but we come here tonight to celetrate-not,
perhaps, defeat, but the coming of pand OF
sH,ses, religious 39tcasts They came for con-
duct: They came as a forlorn hope OF a new
civilization, as the storming parts of the i'm
which was first pressed by the feet of these
brave men and brave women became the step
ping stone TO Immortality, the portal of a ma
nations of the earth. They brought with them
pure democracy, the government of the people,
by the people for the people the town meeting
Guided by saying that the New Englanders
character was unique one-strOng and cast in
q rugged mould firm as the rock. strong as the
mountains and enduring as the very hills.
The next speaker was introduced as q true
and loyal Yankee, who. born in New England,
a fame as nobleman-Hon. J. ID. Long.
Gov: Long COMMENCED by remarking that he
thought the Pilgrim Fathers would have aues-
tables as the fact that they were
last speaker had made of the typical New Eng.
lander to the White Mountains, grand, stable
and solid. He sometimes thought the Pilgrims
were Mystcs to y certain extent, since they had
SO yelled the exact date of their landing, unless
it was true that with prophetic ken they saw 80
times it would require fully two DAYS each wear
to celebrate properly the fact and the grand re-
suits of the landing. He represented the dis
own town, bingham, was the oldest Congrega-
tiOnal church In the world which had been
continuously , used for church services a large
die and a bell rope hanging down into the GEN.
ter of the audience room. It was q church in
ministered, and its influences for Justice hu-
manity, virtue and righteousness had gone all
over the round world: In the same town had
lived and died that glorious man, John A An
keep myselftrue to the needle Of the past have
optrinas rock But it may be ioadsto y, 'i ne
point true to the high purpose Of the noble men
who have gone before me. Their memory was
an inspiration for all that was goot.
j. He said that the distinction between the Pill
grims of Plymouth and the Puritans of Massa-
chusetts bay was too often forgotten, though
the latter were not to be apologized for, viewed
in the light of their times, and indeed were
among the nOblest OF their times, judged by any
standard. The Pilgrims We're s1ngularly CATH
Ole In all their conduct towards those who Diff
fered In creed from them. twas with the PHI
grims that Roger Williams found a haven ct
sweet repose till he tired OF ease and desired
again to stand in the front OF opposition and
SO, too, no man can safely cast reproach ON
New England as guilty beyond others In the
treatment of witches. In those days
when hundreds and thousands we're
hanged, burned or tortured every year in those
countries, where neither In England or Scot
land was their voice against these outrages II
was true that during one short summer the
mania prevailed in Salem and In the vicinity,
and that less than score OF victims came to
death in consequence. But these excuses
raised such q storm of reproof, such Q tide of
discussion. that the fearful Illusion was dis
PEELED and public sentiment was restored to q
healthy tone. No where else had any such re-
was started feeling that awoke the civilized
world to realizing sense Of the enormity Of the
crime Of prosecuting such helpless one and
hence was the reformation. The witchcrnft de-
fusion was not the shame Of Massachusetts,, but
the redemption of the world nom its delusion
The next speaker. Hon. w. w. Grant, dwelt
In eloquent words on the fact that the Pilgrims,
first OF all, developed the public school,
the tree church and the demo
cratic town meeting as necessary ele-
ments in health body polite. His ideal OF
haiti