Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1901-01-18
AS VIEWED In 1904.
How Newspapers at the Thresh-
hold of the Old Century
Wrote oft.

| w SSiSoAobSN tht QdWu III luS
nineteenth century. Independence
Hall up to nineteen days before had
been the capitol of the United States
and the QUAKER City then was noi
only, as ever since, first in American
ism, but first, in commercial impor-
tance.
To look back over the files of the
papers of January2 and 3, 1901, re-
calls Solomon's utterance that there
is nothing new under the sun. Thele
was the same old discussion as to
whether the new century began on
January 1, 1900, or on January /,
1901, and the avalanche of opinion
from "Veritas," "Constant Reader"
"Judex," "Pro Bono Publico," ga
Citizen" and other contributors who
have been familiar to the public press
ever since printing was invented.
Several Philadelphia societies had
jubilees, notably the German Society.
The churches held watch meetings,
the boys kindled bon-fires on the
street and there was q great crowd
OF ous,cheering citizens around
independence Hall when the State
House clock struck the hour of I2.
The men Of affairs, however, seem
to have gone in for wiuing and din
ing, and the banquet in honor of the
new century was set at "the house of
Citizen Miller, at the sign Of the
Green Tree" on north Fourth street.
According TO the newspapers the ban
quet was prepared to celebrate the
Favorable commencement of the
nineteenth century" DR.. Reynolds
presided, and judging from the num-
Der and frequency of the toasts none
of the guests suffered either from lack
of speech or thirst. The principal
toast of the evening was "The
World, Our Country; Man, Our Fell
low-citizen; Benevolence, Our Re
ligion."
Other toasts were to "Thomas JEFF
ferson," just elected President; to
"Aaron Burr" his unsuccessful rival;
universal Toleration," "The Con-
stitution" and "Benjamin Franklin" I"
The Ever Green Isle then as now
seemed to hold warm spot in the
hearts of the citizens of the New
World, for it is recorded that no
toast was responded to with more en-
thusiasm than the one "Irelandl
May She Rise Like Antaeus From
Her Fall and Crush the Despots
Who Exult in her Miseries." The
AmorG seems to have been instilled
with the journalistic enterprise that
has ripened into the newspaper mar
vels of to-day and showed it by print
ing seven-column review of the
historic events of the eighteenth Gen.
tury.
AS for the newspapers, each and
every one had a weighty editorial or
two, welcoming the new century and
regretting the old. Washington had
been dead only one year and two
weeks, and repeated mention was
made of him in the most compliment
tary terms, irrespective of party af-
filiations. The Boston Independent
Chronicle on the first day of the
nineteenth century said:
"This day commences the nlne-
teenth century. The great events
which have arisen at the close of the
eighteenth century are to be matured
in the. progress of the nineteenth,
Whether the rights of men or the des-
potism of tyrants shall be established
on permanent basis are subjects
with which the womb of the present
century is pregnant. Monarchy has
follen with a rapid celerity. Hier-
archy has expired in Europe in vio-
lent convulsions. Liberty, rational
philosophy and Christian Catholi-
cism have assumed their native Dig
nifty. In America the prospect is Pc
culiarly brilliant The people be-
gin to think and to act, unawed by
the threats of monarchists or the
frowns of priestly fanatics, they come
forward in manly attitude in vim
dication of their Constitutional
rights"
Reviewing past and future the
Baltimore Federal Gazette of Janu.
AIRY 1, 1901, said:
"Atan epoch SO strikingly singular
as the present, what sensations crowd
upon the rejecting mind and how
forcibly occur the questions: What
was the situation of the country, thi;
day, one hundred years ago? And
what is it now? Where the deep si
lence of the woods was disturbed b,
no sound but from the dred savag,
and the wolf, fields now smile under
the plastic hand of the cultivation
and the groves reply in glad responses
Long may this happy procession con
tinue and may the commence
ment of the next century witness /:
greater advance to virtue, power an6
glory than even the last"