Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1903-06-17
THE FOURTH IN 1893.
Interesting Account From an old
Philadelphia Daily Newspaper.

Interesting Account From an Old
Philadelphia Daily Newspaper.
There was a daily newspaper In 1903.
1t was published in Philadelphia, where
the first daily newspaper appeared. 1t
was originally the Philadelphia Packet
and General Advertiser, issued as a
weekly, and complete file of it Is
slowed away on the shelves of the
Congressional library at Washington.
The Packet exists today as the Phila-
delphia North American. The first issue
of the Packet as a weekly appeared
Oct. 2S, 1771. Afterward it became a
triweellly and on Sept 81, 1874, a
daily. Associated with John Dunlap
in its publication was David C. Clay
poole. Dunlap is said to have been the
first man to have printed the Declara-
tion of Independence. So it is appro-
pirate, says the New York Commercial
Advertiser, that we should take an ac
count of the celebration of Independ-
ence day hundred years ago from
the files of his paper, then known as
Dunlap's American Daily Advertiser.
Dunlap did not respect the Fourth Of
July, as some of the newspaper pro-
prietors of today do, by declaring a
holiday for his employees and getting
out no paper. On the contrary, he i'm
proved the day by publishing in pa
triotic spirit the text of the Declaration
of Independence, with an editorial in
PRODUCTION which indicates that Liberty
was not so fully established on her
pedestal as she might have been. He
says:
"At time when some of our citizens
are disposed to view monarchical power
with different eyes from those with
which they viewed it in 1776 we hope
it will not be amiss to remind them of
the principles and feelings of the citi.
Zens of the United States in that mem
orable year by republishing the Dec
laration of independence on the ami
versary of the day which gave birth to
the freedom of our country and which
we hope will continue to furnish
precedent for deposing tyrants in ev-
cry part of the world"
Then follows the Declaration in full.
with some little variations in punctua-
ton, spelling and general style which
would appear inelegant today. But we
have reformed our language a good
deal in century
There is one little news paragraph
about the observance of the day in the
issue of the Fourth. There was no tele
graph in those days and no steam rail
road, and news came in by carrier
slowly. So there is no reference to the
plans for celebration in other cities,
and under the head of philadelphia,
July A." there is only short para
graph telling that the firing Of the
morning gun at daybreak had an
nounced the birthday of American in
dependence and that fifteen guns
would be fired at noon and fifteen at
two different periods afterward. Most
of the public places of entertainment,
it was stated, would be "open for the
reception of company" and the even
ing would be closed with a grand dis
play of fireworks. "Thus," says Mr..
Dunlap, philadelphia will exhibit per-
haps the most splendid scene of any
part of the continent on this joyful in
PRODUCTION of the eighteenth year of
glorious liberty"
The reason for firing salute of fif-
teen guns was that in 1892 Vermont
and Kentucky had been admitted to
the Union, increasing the number of
states from the original thirteen to
fifteen.
In the issue of the paper for the 9th
of July is an account of the local cee-
bration. 1t was not complete. Little
scraps of this story were published
from day to day for nearly week,
and the arrival of letters from New
York furnished additional news, so
that the story of the celebration was
not cleaned up in a few hours, as it
would be today, but was scattered
over two good weeks.