The Newtown bee., 1899-07-14
Fairfield County.
BETHEL.

BETHEL.
 PAPER READ AT THE TAYLoR-ADAMs
 REUNION IN DANBURY, JULY 4, MISS
 KITTY BOLTON, ELoCUTIoNIsT.-PAPE
 COMPOSED BY NELSON TAYLOR OF
 BETHEL.
 We have met once more beneath our generous bIOther's rOof-tree to pass few brief hours of pleasant intercourse with our near and dear relation. To all who are present we extend the s'glad hand" and to all who are absent, we send kindly greeting In behalf of those sainted ones who, we are led to believe, are rejoicing in spirit with us today. Since our last reunion you have been for tunate in preserving your lives, your health and general welfare far beyond the average. This may be considered of no great merit, but 1t shows 8 presence of mind and an alertness In times of dam ger that sverts disaster, also a temper ance and frugality of living that con- duces to health and happiness and pre- sages & sound old age. Having on 8 former occasion gone somewhat into the family history we will only say in this connection, that our family-tree is still flourishinR and firmly rooted in the ground. Some buds have withered, some leaves have fallen, but It Ia healthy and vigorous and bears an abundance of fair fruit. May the weary and faint-hearted ever find restful help within it's shade.
 Since our last reunion, the war with Spain has been hRply ended and the em- blems of peace once more have place among our household decorations. Dur ing our lifetime-approxlmating one gen. eration-our country has been engaged in three considerable wars-the war with Mexico, the war of the Rebellion, and the late war with Spain. This leads to & curious reflection: whether the rising generation will witness any serious war fare. The war with Mexico established the Rio Grande as the western boundary of Texas, gave us the then Territory of California and made Gen Taylor Presi. dent of the Union. The war of the Re- belliOn eliminated slavery from the Con- stitution at a great cost of life and treas ure and huge pension list. 54s made Grant President for two terms and great ly aided Garfield and Mckinley to obtain that high office. The late war gives us one of the Antilles, a coral island in the Pacific and the purchase of the Philip pines at our own option. Whether it will make any one President Is problem to be solved by future events. As to the honors and glory won, we can only say, Luhb LnGNu hB yDu khcy AFG at their best but poor return for the valuable lives lost In their pursuit.
 All of the states and territories beyond the Mississippi have been acquired since Colonial times. They all abound in gold or silver or other valuable ores in which the Thirteen Colonies were deficient, and 1t has been whispered lately as a great secret that some of the fair sex who have been faithful to their absent lovers will have their wedding rings made from the gold that the soldier-boys have banned ont in those Isles of the Indies that Col umbus set out to discover when he ran upon a rock of the Western Continent. Some of our good friends are anxious and worried about 'sImperialism" and Expansion" 1t Is little strange how anyone can be blind to our history and traditions. Our history had small be- ginning and whatever progress we have made and whatever success we have achieved has been accom- plished mainly through expansion. Counting time as time Is generally counted in history, we are an infant nation-An infant prodigy If you will-but no matter We are not very remotely descended from the pioneers; their traditions i: the lc 2 cabin che garden patch slowly expanding to a cleared and cultivated farm; the sornber, silent and boundless woods--rayless and painless; the painted Indian, with his tomahawk and sealping knife; the night surprise; the burning cabin; the in- human massacre; the bloody scalp; the slow and fiendish torture; the captivity of women and children; the heroic res cue; the conflict with wild beasts; the hair-breadth escapes; the patience and fortitude, the hardships and privaEiOns of our mothers in the wilderness all this is part of our life, inherent in the blood and will long survive to be trans mitted to future generations. It Ia to be regretted that SO much tragedy darkens the historic page through mis- placed confidence and mistaken kindness towards the treachorOus aAvages.
 Our f0refathers wrested the land in 1 which we live from savage beast and 1 more savage men and have left it 10 us i for nm inheritance. Thev set In motion l \ tide Of em igration which swelled into vast army; who with their faces to- l wards the settling sun, slowly but surely [