The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1897-07-04
now OUR rLAo WAS BONN.


On May 70 the PeBHsJ iyani society Of the
Cincinnati with great md imposing dem
Onuratl0ns, dedicated their unique and su'
pefb statue which now graces tbs Gre'n street
entrance to FsifmouHt Park 10 the memory n
the illusuirUs Wasblngtob.
| While extO ling by yoiee and PEI on that
.1em0rable occasion the rare yinuss and glon-
Gus deeds of him who II "6fst the HEARTS oT
his c0untrymsp." Il was. perhaps, Just ~ well
that r. was left nill lister for the people Of
! Philadelphia. IN the most emphatic manner 70
call the attention ofihe,whole cOubtfl and the
world ai large 70 the Sublime and not % be
| forgotten fart thai Il WAS through The ini1ehee
oi ihl. most marvellous naB that the hag oi our
country. with H. typical stars and stripes
came into exlitence
! u was mt very many year, ago that the real
origin Of the United state, aag seemed some
what obscure 10 he people 81 srg'. Eshy
historian, of the hsg hsve graveiy repeated
that II wa, mot known 70 whom The c'sdit o.
designing the stars ard stripes u due
| Exactly why the brief snd Incomplete rec
ofds Of the Continental Congress, at least those
| hich have been preserved and handed down
| 10 ~, contain nothing 70 throw hny light upon
this most interesting subject. and why George
Washington, that wonderfully mysterious per
sorsge. whose nature was W impeneirsble,
and the fiii scope Of whose life Is not fully
| C. mprehsnded even 20 this day, left no token
/ IN explanation Of his intlnlate connection
Herewith. will probably never be H. own.
I, happen that Philadelphia. not only proud
Of being the birthplace Of American ihdfSenc-
ence. now vel knows that within her borders
was FIRST brought n light the starry banner,
inside rnder the direction ard from drawing
pencilled by wsshlngons own hand. and tb-t
! living descendsnis Of Betsy Ross yet survive
who bad from her own mOde-t 'ips the DOW
wonderful ,tory. which. In Tart. can nov be
timely related
when with bis reorganized army a. Cam
bridge. hghilug not for independence, but
against the CALLING yoke OF British oppression.
under which our colonial inrefathe's rsbelIsd,
AID sin with The hope oi union and ju-tlee
under English sovereignty, Washington flung
70 the bferzr, on January J., l756. his grand
| union flag. with thirteen red and white stripes.
fepr, seutlng the thirteen colonies, united with
the cross of si George and 81 Al drew on the
field.
That very day came from Lord Howe eor.es
! Of the Kings last speech. breathing sentiments
which beiokened only the direst calamity. In
a letter Immediately written by Washington,
after other scaihing w6rd. OF burning sarcasm,
we read I'VE now knew The ultimatum Of
British justice, and we Of today now read siill
deeper, which in the present light Is as eleasas
the midday sun. as seen by the fash OF In
dignation which burned his patriot brea'L
coupled with a et determination, terribly ap-
parent that from the fiag raised that day should
be expunged forever every yest'ge Of British
union.
In very short time, as we read on, the story
Is continued through sudden APP eafance OF
his siege guns. which, on March :, were skill
fully placed on Dor hester Heights the sight
of which drove Howe in dismay from Boston
TO his ships in the hsrbor and away TO Halifax.
Very soon after this, on Apill IS, Washington
was In New York. attending the memorable
events ihore and on Long Island, and by May
| q a hurried conference with Congress brought
| him 10 Philadeli hiA,
Then il Wa, that with the secret committee,
the Official records OF whose actions If any, have
1 been lost to the word. he was led by George
| Ross t1 the humble dwelling and upholsiering
shon OF the spriRhtly widow. whOse younE
husband. John Ross his nephew, had recently
died from injuries received at night while
guardirg military stores upon the whsrt. Then
/ and there, more than month before the Dec
! laration Of independence had been determined,
in the privacy OF Betsy Ross back parlcr, the
stripes and stars in a suggestive design, which
had been hastily drawn by Washington, was
produced; and IN a reply to the question
whether she could make a flag, Betsy modesty
| replied that ".he did not know, but would try"
| Behold today the city floating on a sea Of
/ patriotism; everywhere on every hand is seen
the beaateous banner, the result OF ttat meet
| ing Of Washington with the little Philadelphia
woman, who in her graceful efforts "builded
better than she knew" OF conrse she did
nothing more than obey duty set before her
by the exigeneies of the times in which she
! lived, and had no thought Of becoming q
heroine OF history, but quietly lived and died
with the consciousness Of her work well done
Nor can we wonder at the silence OF Wash
ingtop giving no credit to himself for taking
the suggestion Of the stripes 'snd stars, with
which be was so familiar, as is quite evident
from the coat of arms Of his ancient ariStoeratie
auce'tors, and placing them as appropriate
symbols upon the banner of a new American
democracy. Whether Washington himself could
have foreShadowed ii or not, for us II is hap
py thorght to entertain, that from his family's
heraldc insignia bloss' m,d in full time cur
own beautiful flag, and that from his proud
paternity descended in an equally inselutable
manner tn g man himself who we now hCnor as
The Father ~ His Country