Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-07-06

by the Methodists in 1924.
III the war Of 1872, II responded tn
tne call. find on the roll the names of
Gu Who fought loyalty for the Stars and
stripes in the Rebellion of 1861.
1T may be noted as an item of in
terest that one of the masts of the
ship Constitution was cut on the G II
Fowler place and hauled to the Sc
basticook river by is yoke of oxen
one par being necessary to haul the
rum.
But the glory of town is in the men
ana women that IL sends forth. Unity
has sons who have Won high places in
the business, the political and the edu.
cational world" The speaker named
John l.. Seavey, proprietor of the Ponce
de Leon in Florida John r. Main. NJ.
D., of jackson, Michigan; the late Mel
son Dingley, Jr.; Hon. John Crosby and
President Chase of Bates College. He
concluded:
Friends and Fellow Citizens:-We
are proud of our ancestors and their
work, we are proud of our town as YOU
see it, today and if this anniversary
shall strengthen our pride. shall in
cause our hearts to beat with a stronger
love and patriotism for our native town.
those who have labored for this dav
vii. feel that the recompense has in
deed been sufficient"
Mr.. Taber was heartily applauded at
the close.
1t devolved upon Mr.. Taber to intro
duce the orator of the afternoon. Presi-
dent George F. Chase of Bates College.
in presenting whom, Mr.. Taber said:
We have spoken of the ilIustrioue
sons of Unity. Today we have with
us one who has by his untiring efforts
won renown for himself and honor for
| the town of his nativity"
The following is an abstract of the
address of President Chase:
Sons and Daughters of Unity
Friends and Fellow Citizens:-Wc cele-
brate. today. the birth of a nation and
| the beginning Of q town. One hundred
| and tWenty-eight years ago today was
| born the United States of America. on.
hundred years ago was held the first
town meeting of Unity. TO the hast,
| thinker th. connection between tn,
| events that we commemorate may seem
| remote and obscure. But every stu
dent of history knows that the impulse
of the men who planned this double
| cOmmemoration was sane and true tC
: fact
The nation and the town. Both are
| representatives of popular government
| Both are products of ii movement
| whose origin is lost in the mists oi
| antiquity. In the town was tho
| genesis both Of the state and the ma.
ton 1t was the town that first in
| ured men to the atmosphere of self
| government. 1t was the town tina
| awakened and developed public spirit
| patriotic pride. and generous self
! denial
| The men who had faced and SOLVED
| the problems undei the conditions pre-
| scented in the administration of tn,
| town became the men capable of deal
| ing with the larger and more compli
| Gated problems Of the State and ma
! ton. But if the town conditioned tn.
| nation, no less did the nation condition
| the town.
"lmagine if YOU can how 'cribb'd
| cabin'd ana contined' were the frs
| distressingly limited. must have beer
| the lives of their souls. All Maine wa:
| largely a wilderness. 100 years ago, ant
| even in the most favored portions 81
! New England the only means Of com
| nunication was. on the SeabOard, by
, SLOW moving slOops and schooners and
| in the interior. by horseback riding ol
ut best, by the numbering stagecoach.
our fathers and mothers who set
tied this town We're men and womei
| "f the largest potential interests and
activities When the State was organ
, lied in 1920 they found a new field foi
political activities and We're brought
| into new and important civic relations
However meaSre the news that reached
them, yet even that little was broad
ening the scope of their thoughts, re-
! lieving the drudgery of their toll, and
developing iii them ar appreciation OF
| their privileges as American citizens
in 1904. when Unity WAS incorpora =
ted, the country seemed on the verge
of war with Great Britain. and the
exciting stories must have reached the
citizens of the new town, ana have
aroused their anXietics and kindIed
their indgn@ ton. That the war of
1872 was of absorbing interest to them
is clear from their own contribution
of fully 4 dozen men to the ranks of
our soldiery. When, il 1920, the ques-
ton of Names admission to the union
as an Independent state WAS before
Congress. the people first began to fol-
low the multiplying problems present
ed by the institution Of slavery. Other
great issues We're also powerful educa-
tiers. The Presidential elections played
an important part in helping the people
to feel the unity of their government
ana its direct relation to themselves
But it was the slavery question that
most steadily held the attention and
summoned to its discussion the whole
people.
Although | was nut six years old
at the time, | distinctly remember
hearing my, father read aloud, one
evening. in the family sitting room