The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-07-04
THE CAPITAL CELEBRATES.
How the Nations Birthday Is Be
ing Observed in Washington.
Firecrackers and HomBs Play Their
Usual Prominent PaTt-PatTiOtic
Exercises nt the Columbia The
utre-Crowds at Suburban Resorts.

/ A~uaE DInIntnI I8FI-tEatBEOItC
| Exercises nt the Columbia The
| utFe-CrOxvdS ut Suburban Resorts,
/ 4 century and n quarter after the Dec
/ laration Of Independence was signed at
| Philadelphia, the people Of Washington,
in company with the citizens Of every
1 city, town, and hamlet of the country are
I today celebrating the event which severed
! the American Colonies from the rule of
/ Great Britain While the commcrncration
4 has not been of a spectacular chara cter.
! or one calculated to arouse unusual en-
/ thusiasm, it has nevertheless been of
| such nature as TO evince the fact that
/ the great national holiday Is sti9 remem-
! beTed and revered- The celebration has
1 been quiet but none the less patriotic.
! Instead Of expressing their devotion TO
/ their country and its institutions by
/ noisy demonstrations and tiresome pro
I gramnes, Washirgtonians. none the less
/ loyal than the citizens of any other com
J munity have for the most part enjoyed
a day of rest and recreation. Save for
/ the occasional popping and swapping Of
! hrecrackers and small explosives by the
! junior element OF the population, the
! streets have been remarkably qu3et, and
Z the downtown thoroughfares were during
! the middle Of the day almost deserted,
! presenting the appearance Of a mid
summer Sabbath. rather than a great fes-
/ tai day
; me various departments of the Gov
ernment. both national and municipal
with the exception Of the Postoffice.
! were closed in observance Of the dav. and
/ even at the latter place the clerks and
carriers enjoyed a half holiday a large
majority Of the business houses of the
/ city were closed-in fact all OF the Iarg-
| er establishments. The national emblem
| toated from al the Government buildings
and adorned many private residences, but
| no profusion of flags were displayed
The departments closed at , o'clock yes
/ terday afternoon, and a great many of
| the employees took occasion TO 20 out Of
town for the day All Of the river boats.
and cars of the Suburban Street Railway
lines. as well as the steam railroads, were
crowded with pleasure seekers fleeing
/ from the city's heat and humidity. All
the suburban resorts entertained 4 goodIy
portion of Washington's population to-
day, where they found recreation. amuse-
ment. and diversion from toll
The principal public exercises of the day
were held under the auspices Of the local
chapter OF the Sons of the American Rev
I
Inhabitants, the former at the Columbia
Theatre and the latter at Carroll Insti-
tute.
The audience at the Columbia Theatre
was not large one, owing to the intense
heat but it was patriotic in its demon
strations. Noble d Larner. President of
+! the Columbia Society of the Sons Of the
American Revolution. presided. Patriotic
music was rendered by the Marine Band
under the leadership Of Prof. Sautelmann.
! The members of the band in their white
duck uniforms. presented most attrac-
tive appearance, and their inspiring mel
odies were a feature of the morning :
programme IN celebration OF the nations
birthday
Among these occupying seats on the
! stage We're Hon Frank Hackett Assist
ant Secretary OF the Navy: Philip Walk
er. W. L. Marsh. W II. Bayly. Francis
E. Grice, Noble D Laraer. Hon. Frank
l. Cam1beII, Rear Admiral Greer VII
liam \. Caindry, Capt L NJ. Kelley.
Rev Thomas s ChHds, d. D; Leon L.
Channel. Philip Larner, Leon l. French.
and John Paul Earnest
In calling the meeting to order Mr.
Larncr briefly referred to the duty of all
patriotic citizens to commemorate July
as the anniversary Of the day Of the
adoption Of the Declaration Of Independ-
ence, and called attention to the fact nat
it had been the custom of the society
since its organization to publicly observe
the occasion.
Mr.. Laruer then introduced the Rev
Thomas s, ChiIds, D D, Chaplain of the
Columbia Society who invoked Divine
blessing. DR. Childs offered thanks for
the blessings Of Providence and for the
the Declaration Of Independence. and
those who had fought for its principles
To the familiar strains of Yankee Doc
die" Icy the drum corps the standard of
colors was brought in by Compatriot
Leon L French and placed in the centre
Of the stage amid the applause of the au-
dience. Fank 5. Pierce sang '.Vive
LAmerica,' after which Col Edwin B.
Hay was introduced and read the DecIa-
ration OF Independence.
Mr.. Hay prefaced the reading by mar
rating some of the incidents which lead
to its adoption, ard made particular ref
eTence TO the par which John Hancock
had taken In the PRONUNCIATION of the his
toric instrument, Because Of his activity
in the cause Of America independence
and his efforts 70 throw of the rule of
Great Britain. Colonel Hay said. the Brit
his head After John Hancock had in
scribed his name to the famous document
in those characters which he said would
enable the King OF England TO read it
without resOrting to the use Of his spec
tacles. Hancock said Now let John Bull
read that and double the reward"
The crowd outside the building" con-
tinued Colonel Hay. was large and ca
ger to learn the action of the Congress
The delegates We're long IN signing. and
all the time the old Watchman in the tour
waited patiently for the signal from the
messenger below to ring out the glad It'd
ings Of American independence. Finally
the boy ran to the belfry and cried aloud
Ping out. grandpa ring out and the old
Liberty Bel which then peeled forth the
joyous news, was heard IN effect through
out the whole world declaring to all man
kind that new nation had been born
Colonel Hays reading Of the Declaration
was dramatic and effective. and as in
spring as might have been the reading
in the convention which adopted it When
he concluded the Marine Band played
THE Star-Spangled Banner"
After the rendition 10y the Marine Band
of Our Glorious Banner by Santelmann,
the presiding officer Noble D Larner
with a few fitting remarks. introduced the
speaker of the day the Rev Dr. Frank
NJ Bristol, who delivered an eloquent ora
ton The Rev Dr. Bristol said in part:
Fellow citizens: One hundred and
twenty-Sve years Of Iaw-protected free
dom has clearly demonstrated that the
most benign. intelligent. and righteous
Sovereignty is the sovereignty of the peo-