The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-06-17
Judge Beardsley Makes Address and Presentation of the
 Monument Sculptor H. Daniel Webster Warmly Congratulated Funds Raised by Sons American RevOlu-
 ton

the unveiling of the statue of the Minute Man, at Compo Beach, Westport. began at 2:30 o'clock, this afternoon and were carried out ac- cording to the program, which is given herewith. Many people were present from surrounding towns, and from other states. If the weather had been more propitious the crowd would have been much larger. As it was the Compo Beach cars had all they could do to transport the crowds which arrived at the Saugatuck depot and from Westport, by way of River side avenue. Arriving at the historic spot the people saw a very inspiring and life like bronze of a man kneel- ing on the top of @ stone, placed up- on the summit of a beautiful mound, and surrounded by substantial iron fence. There was universal ex- of art, and the sculptor, H. Daniel Webster, received many congratula- ltions. Judge Beardsley expressed the iopinion that the statue could not be duplicated for less than S10,000.
 The program was as follows:
 Invocation, Rev. Dr. Edmund Guil- bert.
 Music, "The Star Spangled Banner by the pupils of the Staples High School under the supervision of Prin- c1pa1 BOyden.
 Address and presentation of the monument to Lewis B. Curtis, Presi- dent of the Sons of. the American Rev. lolution, by Judge Morris B. Beardsley Of Bridgeport.
 Unveiling of the statue by Master Brewster Jennings and Alice B. Cur .tis.
 Acceptance and presentation to the town of Westport, by Lewis B. Cur tis, President of the Sons of the American Revolution.
 Acceptance for the town of West port by Hon. L. T. Wakeman, First Selectman-
 Historical Address by W. H. Burr, of Greens Farms.
 Address by the sculptor, H. Daniel Webster.
 Poem by Mrs. Agnes Lewis Mitchell.
 Greetings by William A. Marble, President General of the National So- ciety of the Sons of the American Revolution, from Mrs. John Sterling, vice president of the Daughters of the American Revolution and from Mrs. E. c. Buell., state regent of the D. A. R's.
 Music, 'America,'' by the school
 The speech by Judge Beardsley fol- lows:
 In the Introductory note by the ed- itor to the admirable article of MT. Burr upon the event which the monu- . ment to be unveiled today is to cop1- rnemorate and which I hope every one who has not already. done so will read, occur these words.
 'The American people are inclined to undervalue the nations historic shrines and in it's unparalled prosper ity the noble land marks are being i swept away to make room for pro- gress.
 "such is the thoughtlessness of a material age when the supreme mo- ment is the next one and the great yesterdays are forgotten" It requires an organized appeal to gain the att tention of the populace today.
 The Patriotic Societies, among which ours occupies no mean place furnish lthe medium for making this appeal and the organization necessary to carry it into effect. Among the ob- jects enumerated in our Constitution Is "to mark the scnes of the Revolu- ition by appropriate memorials"
 The Connecticut Society of the Sons of The American Revolution has to it's credit in this line the purchase. fitting up. and noaintenace of the old war office at Lebanon; the purchase and restoration of the Nathan Hall School Huose at New London, and live bronze tablets marking histori- ical sites in different parts of the State.
 Connecticut is not rich in these
  lof the entire Continental Army. Her sons fought on every field, but little at home It was her boast, and al- most true that no foreign foe ever re- lmained over night on her soil.
 For nearly a decade it has been our purpose to place a suitable memorial lon this spot. Oct. 20. 1908. the present committee was appointed. We were fortunate in securing the services of MT. H. Daniel Webster, who has giv- en us a statute, artistic and beautiful and the equal of any in the State. He has not been actuated solely by money considerations, but has been public spirited and so desirous of gfv- ing to his town something in which its people could take pride. He has been patriotic, as well, and has assisted us to erect this tribute to those who fought and died for liberty, giving us more than we could pay him for.
 The money to pay for the monu- ment came in part from the State ap- propriation, in part from most gen. erous contribution from the Jennings family. whose ancestor, Col. Abram Gould fell at Ridgefield; $50 from Gen. eraI Silliman Chapter of Bridgeport, and the rest from contributions Of a few members of the Society. Not a dollar was taken from its treasury. I wish to give especial credit in the matter of securing subscriptions to MT. Burr and Judge Hotchkiss, and to thank every donor.
 MT. President, your committee have finished the work which was given it to do, and we have placed upon a foundation of rock this statue of en- during bronze. We believe in the eff ficacy of this manner of teaching his tory Mayor Gaynor, of New York, recently visited his boyhood home, and there for the first time learned that the e battle of Oriskany was fought within mile of the place where he was born Our Society has erected on the spot a monument and now every one knows it.
 Leonidas with his 300 Spartans held the Pass at Thermopylae against a countless horde of Persians. The scufptured lion that was placed there with the inscription,
 Go, stranger, and to Lac-e-dae-mon
 tell
 That here obedient to her laws, we
 fell.
 has made them, the event, and the pass immortal.
 It has been said that all Greece for centuries had the lines by heart. How few people of these times know the full story of Tryons raid or realized that in connection with it took place the most important fighting of the war in our State; or the numbers and quail ity of those engaged on both sides; or of the great part it played in defeat- ing the scheme of cutting off New army of it's supplies.
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