The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-04-29
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
why Jefferson and Not Franklin Wrote
1t.
(Rrander Matthews in Harper's Maya
zine.)

(Rrander Matthews III Harper's Maya
zine.)
When the time came for the people of
the thirteen united colonies to proclaim
to the world that they were free, and
that they held themselves absolveG from
all allegiance to the British crown, and
that all political connection between
them and Great Britain was totally dis
solved, a committee of the continental
Congress was appointed to draw up a
declaration of independence. The mem
bers of this committee were BENJAMIN
Franklin of Pennsylvania, John Adams
of Massachusetts,, Roger Sherman of
Connecticut, Robert r. Livingston of
New York and Thomas Jefferson of Vir.
ginia. Why was it that their colleagues
committed the writing of the Declaration
OF independence to Thomas jefferson and
not to Benjamin franklin? The Vir-
gilman was not the most prominent
though his reputation could not fairly be
termed. local, it was but little more.
while the name of the Pennsylvania
was we'll known throughout the whole
civilized world.
franklin WAS not only the foremost
citizen of Philadelphia, where the Con-
gross was sitting, he was the most exper-
fenced publicist and the most aoco M
pllshed man of letters in all the thirteen
colonies; and no was especially well
equipped for the drawing up of an appeal
to Europe, as he had but just returned
from London, where he had been plead
ing the cause of his countrymen with
indomitable courage and indisputable
skill. Yet Franklin was not asked to
write the Declaration of Independence;
and although he and Adams made few
verbal amendments, the credit of that
great state paper belongs to jefferson.
And why was it that this responsibility
was placed on jefferson, and not on
franklin
1 think tine explanation lies in the fact
that Franklin was humorist Not only
was Franklin's sturdy common sense felt
to be too plain homespun for wear in
the courts of Europe, when the thought
needed to.be attired in all the lofty rhet-
orio that the most feIyid enthusiasm
could produce, but also. fear ms great
ly, his colleagues were afraid that
Franklin would have his joke. 1t
would be a good loke. no dou bt-probab-
ly a very good joke; but the very best of
jokes would not be in Keeping With the
stately occasion. They were acute, those
leaders of the continental Congress, and
they knew that every man has the de-
feots of his qualities, and that humorist
is likely to be lacking in reverence and
that the writer of the Declaration of In-
dependence had theme which demanded
the most reverential treatment.
So it was that Benjamin Franklin had
to ray the penalty of humor in the last
century just as Abraham Lincoln had to
pay it in this century. Because Lincoln
was swift to seize upon an incongruity,
and because he sought relief for his abid-
ing melancholy in playfulness, there were
not few who refused to take him seri-
ously.
Even after his death there were honest
folk who held the shrewdest and loftiest
of our statesmen to have been littls bet
ter than buffoon. Of the three great
est Americans, franklin, Washington
and Lincoln, two were humorists; and
it is perhaps his deficiency of humor
which makes Washington seem more re-
mote from us and less friendly than
either Of the others.