The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-04-28
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

n,ycrsary Of the birth Of the greatest
Americun, the world has united In
I spontaneous and splendid celebration
OF his vast achievements and matcnlcss
public service. III
lin is the story OF q struggle. It Is ne
record Of a life that began In humble
and obscure surroundings ana enucd III
splendor; 1t contains therefore the SUD
fascinated mankind. Every one ls FAINT
liar with the incidents Of. his flight
from Boston to Philadelphia, where
on g. Sunday mSrnlng ne ,. WaiKr rid,c cme
lous figure munching his roll-how ne
found shelter the first night In the
strange city at the old Crooked Billet
In Water Street.
Franklin's Fame.
"rhe strange mutations OF llfo! This
vagrant, adventurous lad, ragged,
travel stained, awkward, his pockets
stuffed out with shirts and stockings.
and n Dutch dollar his whole stock Of
cash-th!s humble soap boilers son was
destined to become .the most conspic-
uolls and admired figure ofStwo CONT.
nents, to stand before kings. 10 con-
verse with scholars, and ito receive
academies OF learning could bestow.
More extraordinary even than the
sure and firm-set steps with which ne
advanced to lofty and secure renoW NJ
/ is his astonishing grace and versatillty
He was philosopher and .philnnthrop-
list, as we'll as politician and printer.
He was the first American to tran
scend provincial boundaries and limlta.
tations. AS postmaster he went q broad
over, America and took the wind of all
It's moods. He was the first man OF
letters and the first man OF sclencc
tolnchieye wide and permanent rep uta 1..
ton In Europe, and he IS the only
diplomatist whose signature Is append
ed to al the, great state papers papers ne
Treaty OF Alliance, the Treaty .ot
Peace the Declaration Of lndepe ndencc. I
and the. Constitution. He was at home
in the Cabinets Of Lord Chatham and
= the Comte de Vcrgennes;s IN tho labora-
tories Of Pricstly and Layoisler: IN tMe
clinics OF Sir John Pringle ana fellh
Of Mrs. Howe and Madam Helvetius.
Although he had never! been to college
and had scarcely been to school ne re-
ccived the honorary degree OF ooctor
4 OF laws from st. Andrews and Oxford.
and the honorary master OF arts from
Il Harvard Yale and William and Mary.
He was elected unanimously. leiiow
of the Royal Society, an hono ar S ;,, ~
and from the venerable society he re-
Franc France he was appointed one Of the
eight foreign associates OF the Acaa.
repeated in the history OF America;
Germany received him with respectful
honors at Hanover and Gottlngen. re
was medalled and diplomatlzed by
learned societies from St. Petersburg
TO Madrid, and from Edinburgh to
Padua.
Everywhere Idolized.
Never lived there a man more IDOL
lied. Everything about him was ini-
tated and extolled: his spectaclos. his
Martin fur cap, his brown coat, his his
bamboo cane. -si5 $40
words tho growth Of Franklin's vast
European reputation. It ,a rested H dn,dpN r,-
ments. The mind Of Europe, ponder
Ing with all tho Intensity Of first en-
thuslasm upon natural science. was
thrilled and amazed by the magnitude
and meaning OF Franklln's researches,
IT, after slumber Q Of q century %o n1i
would their calm gaze have reste
The vast images that he saw in glIm-
merlng dawn have. become the com
. ,hnn 1>oy