The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1896-07-01

American, though, and boy, and he
felt that it was his duty to make noise.
The only question in his mind was how
he could make the most noise.
elbow can we celebrate the Fourth,
pop?'' he asked when he came i'll to
breakfast.
Celebrate, +" said Mr.. Perkins, who
was very solemn looking man. "The
best way to celebrate is to do your chores
extra we'll, and''-
"All done, pop" said little Peter. 81
got up an hour ahead of time and
Eyes, / know you did, +" said Mrs.
Perkins dryly. "You made noise enough
to get everybody else up
"Well," said little Peter, to-day is
the day when every good American
ought to make noise. Didn't President
Adams say that we ought to fire off can
non and ring bells and kick up all sorts
of a fuss on the Fourth, or was it Presi-
dent Madison?"
He turned to his father as he spoke,
and his father said: you'd better
study your schoolbooks little more
closely, and you wouldn't have to ask
that question. But can tell you how to
celebrate. The young man who is going
to teach school in the district next fall
is in the village today, and If you get
all the boys and girls together this aft
ernoon I'll have the big barn cleared
out and get him to come over and make
Fourth of July speech to you. And l
guess your mother will have some kind
Of a little feast for you all after the
speech.
That struck little Peter as very good
idea, and before 10 o'clock he and four
or five of his playmates were securing
the village to get all the youngsters to
promise to come down to the Perkins
farm at 8 O'Clock i'll the afternoon.
Then, when the time came, to Peters
astonishment, there was great crowd.
Not only did the children come, but
nearly all the grown people as well, and
the schoolmaster was there too.
The old white haired preacher was
there, among the others, and he first
asked the people to sing America. ="
Then he introduced young Mr.. Whitney,
who was going to be the schoolteacher,
and he, without any fuss or nonsense,
began talking.
ST am not going to make any set
speech, {" he said. 1--WE have had ora
lions and addresses and speeches on the
Fourth of July 80 long and SO often that
it seems to me that we are beginning to
lose sight of what we are trying to do
in celebrating the day. All l shall try
is to set before the young people some of
the reasons why they ought to be glad
they are American citizens, and why
they should remember the people who
ON the Fourth of July more than 100
years ago made it possible for us to live
as happily and as we'll as we do.
"We are community of quiet farm
ers. There is no excitement, and no bus
tie, and no great struggle for existence
here such as there is in the great cities,
but there is just the same opportunity
here that there is anywhere else in this
great country for any one Of the boys
and girls am talking to. Any one OF
them may become famous and great,
distinguished and wealthy, il he or she
has natural talent and the genius for
hard work.
"All that may sound commonplace,
but it is only because you have heard 1t
SO often. 1t would not have been so If
it had not been for the Fourth Of July
and what was done that day. Before
then laws were made for our people
without their consent. They were gov
erned, not by themselves, as we are to-
day, but by strangers in another coun-
try who were sometimes friendly to
them and sometimes were not. They
! were subject to what was called the d.