El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-04-19

"ODAY. April 10. is the 1S5th an
niversary of the battles of Lex
ingtOn and Concord, the begin
ming of the American revolution. 1t is
also the 49th anniversary of the first
bloodshed of the great civil war. 1t
Will be celebrated by the meeting of
the Daughters of the American Revolu-
ton in annual convention in Washing
ton. In Massachusetts, the day is a
legal holiday, and is known as pa
triOts day"
The Daughters of the American RevO-
luton meet annually on this day, ex
cept when it comes on Sunday. The
meeting this year is OF especial interest,
not only because OF the internecine
strife in the organization, but because
the magnificent marble palace known
rs Continental hall at last Is completed,
and the daughters now have their own
home at the nations capital.
War Stories In Demand.
In Washington, and in every other
American town where a patriotic So
ciety meets this evening to comment
crate the day, there will be stirring
tales of the minute men of the revO-
luton, of the ride of Paul Revere, of
the affair at Lexington, and OF the
fight at Concord No one day IN the
history of the country has been the
subject OF more essays, sermons, ad
dresses and discussions than the event
full day OF Lexington and Concord,
when the preface to the most stirring
volume of American history was writ
ten 1t is realized that in themselves
Lexington and Concord might have
been but little neighborhood uprisings
but for the tense condition of the Amer
lean mind at the time AS 1t was. the
trouble that day started a universal
revolution. which did not end until it
had achieved independence for the
United States, had eliminated in a re-
public of France. and had changed
nearly every political boundary line in
Europe.
One Question Undecided.
Concord and Lexington might have
been in Virginia. in Pennsylvania, in
South Carolina-in any one OF the Is
colonies. The same spirit Of protest
against tyranny and oppression was
rife everywhere, and the British might
have met the same resistance a any
other point. Seldom has the first gun
in any war been fired under more pc
culiar circumstances. 1t still is dis
puted question as TO which side &C
tually did fire the first shot. The Brit
fsh were under orders. 1t was claimed.
not TO fire first Certainly the Ameri-
cans were Some of the Americans
claimed that the British started firing
All Of the British declared that the
Americans did IL. The most probable
theory seems to be that after all. the
real first shot was nothing more than
a flash in the pan of an antiquated
flintlock musket in the hands OF a min
ute man. In HIS nervousness he ac-
cidentaHy pulled the trigger. but only
the cap exploded The British COM
ma nder accepted il as shot, however,
and ordered his men 70 fire. The first
gun of the revolution may have been
flintlock fizzle, but the stars and
stripes OF today is living witness
thai bad beginning did not make a
bad ending
Long Been COmmemOrated.
Patriots day as a legal institution
had its origin in the old time fast day
in Massac husetts- For many years the
governor of that commonwealth an
nually proclaimed a fast day. Grad
ually in practice the fast day by pro-
clamation became feast day by OBJ
servance, a fast day observed chiefly
by its desecration- Then the legislature
took up the matter and declared that
the fast day should be abolished and
patriots day substituted. This was
done, and in 1894 patriots day was cele-
brated for the first time. The cele-
brations this year promise to be more
extensive than ever All over New Eng
land and in many other parts of the
country IL will be observed
Wars Start In April
II is one of the condolences of his
tory that nearly all of the important
wars in which the United States has
had a part have begun in April. The
revolution began April 10 The en-
barge act leading up 10 the war of 1912
was passed by congress in April: the
Black Hawk indian war began April
81. and the war with Mexico April "a.
Sumter was fired on in April, and the
first bloodshed of the civil war oc-
CURED on the 96th anniversary of the
first bloodshed of the revolution. The
Spanish war began on April %.
Stories Refresh Memories.
The man who said that II he could
write the ballads of a nation he would
not care who did anything else might
have had Concord and Lexington in
mind when he said it. Listen my chill
dren and you shall hear of the mid
night ride of Paul Revere" has kept
Concord and Lexington fresh in the