Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-08-06

the Navy Meyer. United States Sena-
tors Lodge and Wetmore, and Justice
White of the supreme court of the
United States.
Escorted by company of blue lack,
cts President Taft and . the other
guests were driven up the hill to the
| Srandstand at the foot of the monu-
ment. The exercises were opened at II
n. NJ, with prayer by Rev. James De-
Normandle. pastor of the First Con.
g"egational Unitarian) church Of Rox-
bury.
Capt. Sears was the first speaker.
ne briefly reviewed the history of the
Pilgrims and the plans which resulted
in the erection of the monument.
President Emeritus Eliot of Harvard
| University then gave an historical adj
dress.
DR.. Eliot was followed by NJ. Van
Wee'lc, charge d'affaires of The Meth
criahds legation at Washington, whose
government was represented on this
occasion because the Pilgrims sailed
from Leyden.
The formal transfer of the monument
from the government commission
which directed its construction to the
Cape Cod Pilgrim Memorial Assoca-
ton. was made by Senator Lodge.
| William II. Lawrence of Medford ac-
| cepted the monument on behalf of the
! Memorial Association and quartet
sang THE Landing of the Pilgrims,
by Mrs. Felicia Hemans.
| Congressman James T. McCleary of
| Minnesota, who supported the bill in
| Congress for governmental appro-
| priatcn to assist in the erection of the
monument. was the next speaker.
| 1t was we'll past the noon hour when
Governor Draper arose to introduce
President Taft.
| President Taft was warmly applaud
ed when he arose to speak. The Presi-
dents address was not lengthy. He
| touched on the circumstances which
| led the Pilgrims to settle in New Eng
land and spoke of their widespread in
| nuence on the history of America.
The spirit which prompted them to
brave the seas has furnished the Unit
ed States the highest ideals of moral
| life and political citizenship said the
| President.
President Taft said:
Here, 290 years ago, band OF loo
| pilgrims in small, crowd and leaking
| vessel, first saw their new home. Ihey
| had been preceded by the French on
the St Lawrence and by the English
| at Jamestown; and other efforts mad
| been made on the New England coast
to found colonies for profit before loss
| This was the attempt made by men
| seeking political and religious lnde-
pendence to secure an asylum In
America, where they might escape the
fussy, mcddling, narrow and tyrannl-
cal restraints imposed by the first OF
the Stuarts. They were not OF the
nobility; they were not of the upper
middle class. They were OF the yeo-
manry of the farmer class. Their min
listers were university bred men put
the rest were humble. God-fearing per-
sons who were avowed non-conlorih-
lists and had been prosecuted az such
in their homes in the eastern part ol
| England. AS early as 1909 they Iieu 10
Amsterdam and then to Leyden to en-
jov the freedom OF religious worship
| for which Holland was then distin-
gllished among the countries OF the
| world 1t was there that years pe1ore'
| Eresmus. had preached the wisdom
and virtue of federation of relious be-
Iicfs. and the elimination OF the span
;sh inouisition left The Netherlands
l
faith The wish to remain lGnglishmen
. finally induced this venturesoh'e
u,1est tor another place of residence
where they could maintain theocracy
based on human democracy.
",rhe differences between the Pll-
yrims and Purintans emphasize the
heroism of the Plymouth coio'ists,
The Puritans had wealth and social
l .,,A,,
, in comfort and freedom from danger
and they came in thousands No' 80
, with the Pilgrims. They were the
humble men whose faith was extreme
in its simplicity and stern. The spirit
which prompted them TO p.aNe .n
cons to land on this forbiddng coast
in winter. and to live here' mas mo-.
tho history of this country what 1t is.
.It nromnted and fought the Revoiu-
.;o,.ry War. 1t welcomed and fought
. ~ C;,., War and has furnished the
1rritea States the highest ideals of moral
,. na no,it;cal citizenship. We need
not aofend the lack of liberahty Which
T., .h.ir earlv history the Pilgrims may
h,,,o shown to those differing with them
| =. ,,;,;ous belief and creed. out oil the
,ocic of their processes intellectually
. +hor. came religious freedom, whlle IL
tha energy of their religious falth 'heS
: uncomplainingy met the hardships tna'
were inevitable in the search for liberty
1T is meet, therefore. that the uniteo
states as we'll as the state OF Massachu
setts should unite in placing here nae
mortal TO the Pilgrims. The warsh'ps
that are here with their cannon TO les
tifv to it's national character typify the
strength of that government whose peo
ple have derived much from the spifi
and example of the heroic band. GOV
bradford. Elder Brewster Capt Miles
standish are the types of men in whon
as ancestors either by blood or by edu
cation and example as citizehs' th'
American people may well take pi'oe
This magnificent monument VIII nttiheI
remind the traveller by sea OF the. oes'h
nings of New England and note the lac
that those whose spirit of liberty wa:
n nersist for centuries. even to the toun
dation and preservation of our great re
nub,ic. here first saw the land ana mrs
Get foot upon the shore
The exercises at the monument "er
II ,x,;tl ho