The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-04-15

Important Documents Will Not Be Takeu
From Safe Until 1923.

a message from the White House
few weeks ago announced that the pres
ident had given a permit to q man who
wanted To see with bis own eyes Tic
original copy of the Declaration Of In,
dependence, or what il left OF it, Ii
that permit had been issued and had
been presented AT the department oi
state, ii would have enabled its holder
to have the first view Of the Declaration
Of independence that has been had since
the spring Of 1908. No one has seen Gle
document for five years II is locked
up III safe in the library of the state
department, and not even the officials
of that department get 1t out to look
at III Even before 1908 it was kept
IN the safe, but it was often brought
ont for admiring citizens to scrutinize
and to exclaim over. Since 1908 the
light Of day has not fallen on 1t.
There had been too much light Of day
before that, says the New York Sun. In
fact, there had been too much Of good
many things; too much folding, too much
roiing, too much handling, and, alas too
much stealing OF its immortal language
BY a wet press copying operation re-
sorted to in 1920. This was tried ais a
means of securing facsimile copy. Il
was good enough for the copy, but it
was powerful bad on the original, for
IL resulted in transferring to the copy.
the ink which belonged on the old parcH
ment itself. Not content with swiping
it's ink, the government put the docu-
ment up on exhibition in q nice, bright
light, 50 that visitors could decipher the
traces Of ink WHICH remained.
For 80 years the Declaration of Inde-
pendence hung In the light, and the long
er il hung there the more necessary the
light became, for the ink that was LETT
grew paler aud paler until it was hard
to make ont any Of the signatures ex-
cept the big black name of john Ham
cock Finally it became evident that IL
anything except the parchment was To he
left, the document would have to he kept
i'll the dark. 50 IL went into retirement
in the safe. being brought out only upon
special requests. ia 1908 the late John
Hay, then secretary Of state. appointed
4 committee to examine the condition Of
tile Declaration Or Independence ard TO
recommend what should be done to pre-
serve 1t. The committee found It creased
and bereft Of its ink. but they were
pleased to find no evidence Of mold or
other disintegrating agents They rec-
that the document be kept
dark and dry, and their recommendation
has been reiigiously followed
The original parchment was photo
graphed ia 1883 and again In 1903 The
committee recommended that ii. be pho-
tcgraphed again from time ID time. The
present Indications are that il will not
be seen until perhaps another 20 years
has gone BY and the time comes. Id
1923, for taking another photograph In
the safe with the Declaration Of Inde-
pendenee repuses also the original copy
of Tire consultation Of the United States.
II ii not on exhibition. hut If doubt as
70 its existence continues to grow. it may
81 produced III Vet such fears BIT rest.
There Is nothing the matter with the
that II to say, not with
the document Itself The ink II all
light the provisions clear So far as the
writing goes. 1t Il shut mp IN tl.s $50 1
TO preserve II from the fate Of the De-
aration.