The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1898-01-07
s. 4. R. At DINNER.
Morristown Patriots Participate
in Patriotic Exercises.

Evenings Speech by DIR. Macnaughtan
and Fun Notes of the Proceeding
Members Present from Korristown and
List of New OfHcers of the Society.
Among the one hundred men who sat
down at the tables at the eighth annual
banquet of the New Jersey Society Of
the Sons of the American Revolution,
held ir Newark on Monday evening,
were the following from Morristown:
John Whitehead, Phillip FL. Hoffman,
Rev. J. Macnaughtan, D. D., Hon. Nah
Ion Pitney.
4 President John Whitehead of this city
presided at the banquet and after pro-
posing toasts in the name Of Caleb Bald
win, though 98 years old, Youngest mem
Der of the society, and to the wives and
daughters who were present, made a
short address in which he said they were
commemorative the time when Wash
ington and his army were in winter
quarters at Morristown. Then he gave
word picture Of rhe rise of the Ameri-
can Republic to its present grand pro-
portions, saying that its flag was respected
everywhere. "But, strange to say, there
are some men who decry its proud his
tory" he said, 'rderide the Declaration
of Independence and doubt our future.
Shame upon such men! They do not de-
serve the name of American citizens, and
are worthy only of our contempt"
He was followed by Professor William
M. Sloan, formerly of Princeton College,
now of Columbia University, who told
the old story of the battle of Princeton
in new and interesting way. During
his remarks he said that when a student
in Berlin he was told by Field Marshal
Won Moltke that Washington's campaign
in New Jersey was marvellous exhihi-
ton of generalship, and his turning the
flank of Cornwalliss army at Princeton
was the greatest piece of strategy ever
recorded in history. He also said it is
estimated that there are 100000 of
native Americans descendants of the
Revolutionary fathers-in this country
now, and that they DO the bulk of the
fighting when it is needed. and also lead
in great mercantile and 0. sr enterprises.
I Next the Rev. Dr. Macnaughtan.
D. D., pastor of the First Presbyterian
Church of Morristown, was introduced
as one born in a foreign land, but an
American in every fibre and made the
speech of the evening. DR.. Macnaugh-
tan spoke on 'Some Hopeful Features of
Our National Life, and his address was
strong and stirring one The first point of
the address was concerning the increased
interest in historical societies-such as
the one then celebrating bringing out
| the fact that nation was not projected
upon time by fat, but is evolved, and
of course if a nation has come to any
thing it must have a past. and the study
of that past is the source of patriotism
for the present. The present is, of
course, vulgar, because we see the
meanest side of men and fail to recog
nize the other side simply because we
are close up to them. He mentioned the
new book of General Schofeld, where
we have view of the squabbles, the
petty self-seeking Of men for promotion,
and who at the time they were discover
ing the meanest qualities in themselves
were ready to come to the line of battle
any time and die. We have got to get
away from the present to judge facts
and look at them in their broader rela-
tions.
A second point which the doctor
strongly impressed upon those present
was 1.-The intensity of our nationality"
Referring to the previous remark of
Professor Sloan that 100000 of the
population were directly descended from
Puritan stock, he said that no other prob
lem was so stupendous as that which
confronts us in this statement. Now we
are being invaded by people from every
lshore-including Scotchman, the Doctor
remarked, and the question simply was
sCan the 100000 absorb and repro
duce .the other fifty million. One
thing was very evident, that hitherto
the fraction had been equal TO the
problem and that the intense spirit of
of Americanism had been able to over
come all the provincial elements that
had been poured in upon us and that it
required but generation to reconstruct
every phase of nationality into Ameri-
cans, SO that in generation there was
nothing that any man or any woman
would be prouder of than being an
American citizen.
& A concluding and equally important
feature of our national life was its re-
ligious aspect that while we have no
national church and do NOT recognize re.
ligion in any way in our articles Of con-
stitution and are not in any expressed or
public way religious people, that yet
religion was one of the centers of our
life. The ten commandments were not
imposed upon US by statute. because they
didn't need to be, they belong to the con
stitution of the universe, and could no
more be abrogated than the law Of gravi-
tation. We did not receive them as the
tenents of religious system but as the
defense Of our institutions and our free