Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-06-29
THE EYENTFUL HOUR
TWO O'CLOCK, JULY 4, f776, MARKED
A NATIONS BIRTH.

Impressive Scene In the Continental
ConEress-SiEninEt the Declaration.
Spreading the Glad Tiding.-Apoth-
costs of July 4.
Up TO ? o'clock In the afternoon OF that
Fourth Of July, 1870, American independ-
ence hung in the balance.
How eyes and thoughts were turned
that summer day to the old statehouse at
Philadelphia! Would the body Of men
gathered there take the steps Would they
dare To do itf
For many months the oolonists had
been carrying on brave, unequal strug-
gle with the mother country But that
struggle had been as loyal subjects Of the
English king, In arms only as against GER
tain acts Of injustice.
Now that other conception, Mt first pass
ed in hushed whispers from man to man
and later set ringing through the colonies
by the eloquence Of Patrick Henry and the
logic of Thomas Paine, that glorious con-
ception of American independence was be-
ing finally weighed in the balance against
the claims Of George III
And yet nll knew there were grave diff
culties in the way OF independence. Many
would have known it better could they
have stood within the east room Of the old
statehouse through the long hours of that
hot July day. There sat the Continental
congress, now pale faced, grim and care
worn.
At the cast side of the chamber on q
dais sat the presiding officer In his red
leather chair Before him was a large
mahogany table, on which a massive ink
stand of silver held a bunch Of fresh
quills. A document then under discus
sion lay beside IL. The men who were to
use the quilts that day In making that
document Americas Magma Charta,"
were grouped about in a semicircle.
They were not men of the same nation
ality, for among them were two English
men, three Irishmen, two Scotchmen, one
Welshman; the others were born In the
colonies. Not of the same occupation,
either, for "a lawyers, IA farmers, Q mer-
chants, physicians, / gospel minister
and 1 manufacturer were there. Not rep
resenting the interest of a single state but
of IS separate little governments, torn by
longings, fears and dissensions. On the
right of the chairman sat Benjamin
Franklin, with his soft hair flowing down
his shoulders. Farther on was Thomas
Jefferson, the writer of the document on
the table, now busy taking notes Of the
proceedings Directly in front sat young
Richard Lee, who had risen days before TO
read to the hushed assembly the daring
resolution, THAT these united colonies
are and of right ought to be free and in
dependent states, and that all political con-
nection between us and the state of Great
Britain Is and ought to be totally dissoly-
ed"
Here, in their quaint attire, with pow
dered hair in "cues," knee breeches and
buckles, broad tapped coats and bright |
hued waistcoats, sat the men who were to
be known as the signers of the Declaration |
of Independence.
Inch by inch the ground was gone over.
the chamber now ringing with applause,
now hushed in awe, as fiery words pic |
tured the triumph Of liberty or warning |
voice foretold humiliation and defeat. |
Then came the moment when the last |
word had been spoken. Even the plea for |
postponement because 1.-The people are not |
ripe for a declaration OF independence"
had been finally crushed by the answer in /
the broad Scotch accents Of DIR. Wither-
spoon: Not ripe, sirl In my judgment /
we are not only ripe, but rotting. Almost /
every colony has dropped from Its parent /
stem and your own province, sir, needs i
no more sunshine to mature it. "
1t was o'clock when the vote was tax 4
en-. Secretary Thomas arose and announc- L
ed to the assembled congress the final de-
cision and sat down. Suddenly the cham /
Der, but now so full of words, Of gestures,
Of flashing eyes and Of impassioned figures. /
is hushed, and those within It motionless;
almost the rapid heart beats can be heard Il
Then, in geographical order, the MEM
bers signed the paper. And in the relief Il
~ da,{ciN,, hos 10 tnL
So big Ca ter BruIton of Virginia said /
to little Charles Carroll OF Maryland as
the two walked to the table, "Well, Mr.
Carroll, the British say they will hang US
as rebels II they catch us. II they do, /
will have greatly the advantage for, as
am heavy, my neck will be broken at once,
while l fear you will dangle in the air and
hang on for some time" Still smiling at
the jest, Mr.. Carroll stepped forward and
signed his name. Then he added of Oar
rollton," saying, "There is my address IL
any one wishes to find me-"
John Hancock, the president OF con-
gress must have taken a fresh quill to |
mako his big signature, remarking, as he
wrote, that he guessed John Bull could
read that without spectacles. Then he
added gravely that there was great neces-
sity of their ''all hanging together In this
matter"
"Yes, Indeed" said Benjamin Frank
lin, I'VE must all hang together, gentle
men. or assuredly we shall all hang sepa-
rately."
The big bell that had been muffied to |
toll on the passing Of the stamp act (which
the people declared was the death knell |
Of liberty') now rang the joyous procla-
nation of liberty throughout the world,
unto all the inhabitants thereof"
So plain July 4 came to be the great
Fourth Of July. And though the event
took place little late In the day for full
yet good use was made Of the
hours that remained, and Of several days
that followed, too, for joyful recognition
Of Independence day Philadelphia had
the start in all this and showed her rejoio-
ing in illuminations, the ringing Of bells
and firing of cannon.
But slowly the glad tidings crept over
the colonies. So slowly 1t seems to us In
this day Of rapid communication. Copies
Of the declaration had to be sent out by
tearing madly through the
colonies upon loan bespattered steeds yet
unable to do in days for this great mes l
sage what n moment will accomplish for IN |
prize fight report today. But II was rapid
work for those times, and a rider stopping |
ON his way to deliver one Of those precious
copies would be, as an old chronicler tells
u.s. "at once furnished with fresh horse
and dispatched on his way" How the
of the body must have been
forgotten by such a news carrier Here
and there, where the express stopped, he
broke up grave assemblies, whose MEM
bers putting all else aside, gave them
selves up to the great document. Then
would follow great meetings In the square
where to the sound of flies and drums all
the kings arms, his pictures and al signs
of his tyrannical majesty would be hurled
into the leaping flames amid cheers and
ringing of bells.-Chicago Inter Ocean.
Dutifui Little Girl.
"Such a lot of people live In our
Ouse, =" she told me. at Of us; two
indies live in the cellars" And her
mother always went once a week TO call
1n lady who lived in the ''workus-
please IN, father calls mother such
wicked names" she suddenly informed
Il. % Il