The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-04-28

occasion. it was at first thought that
choice be made from men in public life.
but In the end all else gave way before
the eminent qualifications of the gentle
men who promptly responded TO the call
of the president to perform the unique
service which devolves upon him today
His exhaustive study Of the life OF
Franklin his enthusiasm for the subject.
and his powers as a speaker singled him
out for this service. | have now the
honor to present Mr.. Albert Henry Smyth
special representative of the United States
for the Franklin bieentennial celebration
in Paris
Mr.. smyth said:
Orator Of Day Speaks.
THE story is told that at a certain ex-
hibition of historical portraits Thomas
Carlyle WAS seen absorbed in the con-
temptation of picture of Benjamin
Franklin A small crowd attracted by
curiosity gathered about him, to whom
the sage of Chelsea said. as he pointed
to the portrait There is the father of
all the Yankees.
ut would seem that Carlyle expressed
the sentiment and opinion of mankind;
for upon this two hundredth anniversary
OF the birth of the greatest American.
the world has united in spontaneous and
splendid celebration of his vast achieve
ments and matches public service.
THE history of the career of Frank
lin is the story of a struggle. 1t is the
record of life that began in humble
and obscure surroundings and ended in
splendor: It contains therefore, the sub
stance of the tales that have chiefly fas-
cinated mankind. Every one is familiar
with the incidents of his fight from Bos-
ton to Philadelphia, where on a Sunday
morning he walked the quiet streets of
the sober city-a ridiculous figure munch-
ing his roll-how he found shelter the
first night in the strange city at the old
Crooked Billet in Water street.
THE strange mutations of life, This
vagrant adventurous lad, ragged, travel
stained. awkward his pockets stuffed
out with shirts and stockings. and a
Dutch dollar his whole stock of cash-this
humble soap boilers son was destined
to become the most conspicuous and adj
mired figure of two continents. to stand
before kings, to converse with scholars,
and to receive every hosor that the most
venerable academies Of learning could
bestow.
Astonishing Grace and Versatility.
More extraordinary even than the
sure and firm-set steps with which he
advanced to lofty and secure renown,
Is Ills ASTONISHING grace dlu NtiSdAillANs
He was philosopher and nhilanthropist,
as well as politician and printer. He was
the first American to transcend provin
cial boundaries and limitations. AS post
master her went abroad over America and
took the wind of all its moods. He was
the first man of letters and the first man
of science to achieve wide and perma-
nent reputation in Europe, asd he is the
only dipomatist whose signature is APP
pended to all the great state papers
the Treaty of Alliance, the Treaty Of
Peace. the Declaration of Independence
and the Constitution. He was at home
in the cabinets of Lord Chatham and the
Comte de Vergennes; in the laboratories
of Priesty and Lavoisier; In the clinics
of Sir John Pringle and Felix Vcq d
Ayr; in the drr wing rooms of Mrs. Howe
and Madam II vetius. Although he had
never been to- college and had scarcely
been to school. he received the honorary
degree of doctor of laws from st. An
drews and. Oxford, and the honorary
master of arts from Harvard. Yale asd
William and Mary. He was elected
unanimously a fellow of the Royal So
ciety an honor voluntarily conferred and
all fees RENTED, and from the vener-
able society he received the Copley gold
medal. In France he was appointed one
of the eight foreign associates of the
ACduenlN Oh OtltIttS--dn llOHOi OHly Olltt
repeated Is the history of America. Ger
many received him with respectful
honors at Hanover and Gottingen. He
was meda1led and diplomatized by
learned societies from st. Petersburg to
Madrid, and from Edinburgh to Padua.
Never Man More ldolIzed
! Never lived there a man more idollzed.
Everything about him was initiated and
extolled; his spectacles, his Martin fur
| cap, his brown coat, his bamboo cane.
at Is impossible to trace in a few words
| the growth of Franklin's vast European
! reputation. 1t rested primarily upon his
scientific achievements The mind of
| Europe bordering with all the intensity
| of first enthusiasm upon natural science
| was thrilled and amazed by the magni-
| tude and meaning of Fran5lins re-
| searches. At once he became, In a world
enanoured of science. the object of uni
versal interest and admiration. Louis XIV,
| through Able Mazeas returned his
thanks and compliments to DIR. Franklin
| of Pennsylvania. for his discoveries in
electricity Artists printed him with light
nings playing in the background of the
picture, or lighting up his benign fea-
| lures. condorcet addressed him as the
| modern Prometheus. Voltaire erected a
| lightning rod upon his house at Ferney.
| Foremost In Science.
| at was not alone in the domain of
| electricity that Franklin made important
| contributions to knowledge. He estab-
| lished the science Of meteorology. demon
| strated the geological theory of the earth
| in advance of Kant held views upon light
| with those held by Cavendish and
| Clerk Maxwell; wrote upon conta-
| pioua colds and the eolica nictonitn,
so successfully that he was elected
| to membership in the royal societies of
medicine In London and Paris. and touch
| ed informingly upon every subject famil-
| lar and unfamiliar in the eighteenth cen
| tury. 1t Is not strange that the world
came to regard him as an encyclopedia
! of universal knowledge. Men of learn
| ing, the foremost in their professions, ap-
preached him In the attitude of pupils So
| Letting his exploitation of old problems
and his judgment upon new theories.
| 1.-THE audacity Of eighteenth century
| thought was not confined to natural
science The spirit OF the age Intercepted
| the social order, tested its foundations
sanks its probe deep into the crumbline
| substance of government and found not
| only decay
"The outside was fair. and tranquil,
| ancient glories shone upon a radiant
| Versailles, Luculus feasts were daily
| given, gay and silken throngs chartered
| in the dazzling halls of palaces. red
| heeled courtiers dined and danced-whle
here and there. in town and country, men
| who had drank bitter draughts of penury
| and despair. saw upon the horizon strange
| images of portentous things to come.
| All Turned TO Franklin