The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-06-28

! finer plant of freedom is to grow. But
Wilen?'
CELEBRATIONS IN THE EAST AND
WEST.
The celebrations which took place were
in many places in the east studlous.y dis
Greet, every effort being made 10 avoid
any reference to the slavery question. In
New York they got ON particularly well
for there they had a pleasant duty TO
perform which took attention entirely OF
politics; this was unwilling the familiar
equestrian statue of Washington which
stands in Union square.
1t was ''out west that the Fourth of
july of 1886 took the most pronounced
political tone. The west had produced
the Republican party and the members
of the new organization, most OF them
young, combatlVe, fearless men, were g ad
of so good a chance to heap sarcasm on
the Interpretation their opponents were
giving TO the declaration OF independence.
In Kansas a particularly dramatic act
was planned. Kansas had at that time
a territorial government OF the usual
kind but 1t was pro-slavery in its SYM
pathieS. The advocates OF free Kansas
or the Free-State party as 1t was call
ed, had the year before QS55,) organized
a state government of their own, elected
their own representatives to congress,
and set about preparing u constitution.
Thus Kansas had II 1856 two govern
lnents, one under the direction of the
United States authorities, one self direct
ed. The latter planned that the legiSla-
ture it had elected should meet at To-
pella, the capital Oh the state, on July
4th, and by the morning of that day part
OF the members and a large body of
sympathizerS were in the town. The ter
ritorial authorities We're rather tired Of
dispensing conventions and mobs, but
they felt that it would be a serious blow
TO their prestige to allow SO irregular
body as the new government to convene
and so celebrated the Fourth by march
ing the dragons upon the capital and
1,-ix- hoe Y7TY1sa1
The ease with which the F'ree-state parry
was dispersed took all the eclat out of the
movement
BY far the most interesting western
Fourth of July celebration to the reader
OF today was that held at a little Illinois
village-Princeton. This town, one of
the fairest in all the beautiful state,
owes much of its beauty to the Bryants
brothers of William Cullen Bryant,
who settled there in the thirties and
through whose efforts it has become in
appearance largely a New England town.
Princeton was the home not only of John
Bryant, an ardent free soil man, but OF
that famous abolitionist, owen Lovejoy.
But it was the presence of neither Bry-
ant nor Lovejoy that made the day his
toric 1t was the fact that the chief ora
ton of the day was made by the man
who was to be the central figure in set
Ting the question: Are all men created
equal? Shall the Fourth of July stand
for something greater than the fire.
coin. The Republican party of Illinois
had been regularly organized only six
weeks before and Lincoln had made
speech at the convention which gave him
by general consent the leadership of the
new party. What would he say today
the first Fourth of July since he had
publicly declared himself Republican?
The crowd which gathered at Prince
ton was an immense one for a town of
its size. The people came from every Of
Tection on foot, in wagons, on horseback.
AS rule they moved in delegations or
professions, it being the intention to
combine the various representations at
Princeton in a gigantic parade. The eX-
periences of a member of one of these
delegations-that from Tiskilwa-were
published in local paper a few days after
the celebration. 1t is evident from the
letter that the Fourth of July, 1856 was a
great day for that part of the world.
AT an ear hour says the correspond
ent, 1.-The wagons commenced pouring into
our town by scores, bound for Princeton,
with their flags flying, and bearing on
them in large glaring letters different in
scriptionS. We noticed a banner in the
Henry delegation with the motto Liberty
or Death inscribed thereon. Load after
load, not wishing to- wait for the process
sion passed on and could not be prevailed
on to stop and fall in with the rest. We
got in our conveyance and after taking
our place in the procession, we looked
ahead of US and the procession in front
reached as far the eye could extend. We
remarked that we must he near the last
end of the procession-looking round, we
came to the conclusion that this was not
the case-just at that time the Henry
delegation. which numbered in AL about
forty or fifty wagons and carriages. was
heaving in sight-thus making quite an
addition TO our numbers and increasing
our length. Before arriving at Princeton
the wagons and carriages were counted,
and we were told numbered $50 vehicles,