Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-10-13


eyentful one of the surrender of York
town, October 10. Historic exercises
will be held in nearly every school in
the country, at which a nominal adj
mission fee will be charged. Millions |
of pennies and dimes thus received |
from the rising generation of Ameri- |
can patriots will be applied to a La
fayette monument fund. With 100000
schools and a great army Of patriots, |
it is believed that more than enough
will be realized to erect monument
that will be the pride of two CONT
nents. The monument, which is to
cost 5000 900, is to be unveiled in Paris |
In 1899, and to be the gift Of the young
of one republic to those of sister ma
ton.
On the committee in charge of the
affair are William B. Allison, Edward
Everett Hale, DR.. w. T. Harris, Arch
bishop Ireland, John w. Mackay,
Ferdinand w. Peck, Melville E. Stone,
Alexander H. Revell and Charles G.
Dawes. The governors of all the states
are honorary vice presidents and
many of the municipal executives are
on the honorary advisory board. It's
secretary is Robert ]. Hampson of
Chicago, and his appeal to the schools
of the country is as follows: 1.-THE
commission has decided upon October
18th, the anniversary of the surrender
of CORVALLIS at Yorktown, as the day
which the schools of the United States
are asked to recognize as Lafayette
Oh &c NV
concerted effort ample funds will be
secured to build a monument on
scale commensurate with the occasion.
In the universities and colleges of the
land, the heads of the institutions are
asked to appoint committees from
their students to arrange and carry
out public exercises suited to the idea,
embracing perhaps historic drama, pa
triotic oratiOns. ETC., charging an adj
mission fee or collecting voluntary
contributions as local conditions may
suggest, and turning the proceeds over
to the president of the college, who
shall forward it to the treasurer of the
memorial commission. In the higher
grades of the public and parochial
schools the same general plan so far
as possible should prevail as in the
universities and colleges. In the pri-
mary grades and district schools the
children may be asked to solicit from
their parents or acquaintance small
contributions of from one cent to ten
cents, to be given to their teacher and
thence forwarded to the treasurer of
the commission"
Washington, Jefferson and Fox were
devOtedly attached to Lafayette. Ma
poleon, Charles x, and other rulers
admired the qualities which held him
aloof from bribery and kept him with
in the bounds of loyalty, no matter
what threatening clouds o'erhung his
political destiny. When his death was
announced, in May, 1884, the church
bells of France, Belgium, Poland,
Switzerland and Great Britain tolled
in mournful requiem. In the United
States the news of his passing was re-
ceived with profound sorrow Con-
gress formulated resolutions ex-
pressiye of the nations grief and of
its lasting gratitude, and both houses
wore badges of mourning for thirty
days. By order of President Jackson
the United States army and navy paid
the same hOnOrS to Lafayette that
were shown in memory of Washing
ton.
In the general orders issued the day
after the Yorktown capitulation, La
fayette was among the officers particu-
larly mentioned. Indeed, his services
in the capture of CORVALLIS COM
menced from the moment in which the
British general arrived in Virginia.
His skillful and patient manoeuvres,
the consummate sltll of a veteran,
united to the ready and chivalric cour-
age of the youth, conducted CORVALLIS
into the tolls which led to his surren-
der, and to the close of the British
rule in the states of the union. Great
and enthusiastic were the rejoicings IN
every part of the United States upon
the intelligence of this victory. It's
consequences were at once perceived,
and the whole people were filled with
the most cheering anticipations.
Lafayettes Return.
Lafayette having expressed his in
tention of revisiting the United States,
congress unanimously passed, in Feb
ruary, 1924, a resolution directing the
president to assure him of the grateful
recollection Of the American people,
and rendering him national ship for
his passage hither. But with his con-
sistent love of true republicanism, he
preferred to take passage in a private
ship. He was accompanied by his
son, George Washington Lafayette, M.
Auguste de Vasseur, and one servant
His arrival opened a series of grateful
pageants, which in splendor surpassed
anything exhibited before in America
Lafayette landed on Staten island on
the 18th of August, where he passed
the night. On the day following a
fleet of steamboats, went down and es-
corted him to the city; and on board
were over six thousand persons, be-
sides the committee of the corpora
ton, members of the Society of the
Cincinnati, revolutionary officers and
soldiers, deputation from West
Point and many other distinguished
guests. New York bay never present
ed a more magnificent spectacle. The
shipping was literally decorated with
flags and signals. The day was de-
lightful, and the surface of the water
was dotted with every imaginable de-
scription of craft in holiday array.
Continual salutes of artillery rolled