Evening journal., 1911-05-06

bunting were everywhere including
on the trolley cars. The visitors were
photographed and Alexander B. Cooper
delivered the following address by way
of welcome:
Sons of Delaware
1t will not be amiss, on this joyful
occasion for me to promise a few
words OF personal character.
I was born in Delaware; and from
my birth, | have continuously Eek
cepting a few years of slight inter-
mission, trod her fertile soil. breath
ed her fresh air and been more or less
actively identified with her interests,
her welfare and her progress.
Il intuitively love her free institu-
tons, her good people and all that
has made her what she is,-a great
little State. So that it naturally and
logically follows. that l love those
who love her; and particularly those
who have sprung from her loins, who
though abiding elsewhere, still re-
tain their fidelity and interest in her.
I'm this connection, let me say. the
Philadelphia, Sons of Delaware
stand high in my estimation.
Gentlemen. ! take this opportunity
to heartily congratulate you and those
of you who started the movement,
upon your magnificent organization
and the building up of a society so
large, so respectable and for such
laudable purposes.
To-day, (what I understand to be
one of your annual outings TO your
native or ancestral State), finds you
in New Castle, and at the request of
our Board of Trade, (Which has your
reception and the program of the day
in charge), 1t gives me more than or
dinary pleasure, both individually
and in their behalf, to extend to each
of you a warm hand of brotherly well
come and greeting. The city is yours,
accept its hospitality in the spirit in
which it is given, and for the day, at
least, be as ourselves in Delaware.
II am not sufficiently informed of
the provisions Of the constitution and
bylaws of your society. as to know
your requirements for membership,
but l take it that you are all that
your name implies,-Sons of Della
ware. Not that you were all born
upon her soil or beneath her sky;
but that the root of the family tree,
TO which you belong, was and is firm
ly planted in Delaware earth, and that
the name of each of you is engrafted
OF may be fittingly inscribed upon one
or more of its branches, and that you
are thus inseparable lin a figurative
sense) from the parent tree.
1T makes but little difference, where
we may dwell; whether 1t be iu the
neighboring city Of Philadelphia, in
some more distant State or in foreign
lands, so long as the true blood of
Delaware ancestry flows in our veins,
and our love and allegiance TO the
State are faithfully and reverently
preserved. Our physical lives may
be- cast in pleasant lands and among
pleasant and companionable people,
vet the instincts of our nature, the
throbbings Of our heart and the long
ings of our soul, are for Homei Home
in Delawarel
Who can pluck from the heart and
mind the deep rooted feeling and
memory Of Homel
In the ever changing panorama OF
life. our ambitions, our business
avocations and countless other causes,
often prompt, (either willingly or un-
willingly,) our removal from home,
to other fields and scenes of labor
Yet we must not forget, that our lifes
mold was fashioned and framed in
Delaware soil; and that our every
act, worthy Of thought be it good or
bad, reflects honor or dishonor, as
the case may be, upon our good old
mother Delaware.
Thank God, the Philadelphia Sons
of Delaware whom you represent, are
of the true type and above suspicion.
Their character and reputation, are
well established, and We welcome you
today as worthy sons
Some Early Settlements.
so far as 1 am advised, you have
no recreant member. All are men
among men. Honest, true, faithful
and worthy of their parentage. For
this reason, we are more than glad
to sc you, to fraternally emrace you
and 10 wish you God-speed in the
coming pleasures of the day; and
when they are ended, a safe return
to your families and friends in the
city of your adoption,-whence you
came. This is no idle or unmeaning
feature
"The theme is a pleasant one, full
of high and manly sentiments but
your time Is precious and l feel that
you would rather see than hear, for
the hlBnln VI inc loMh oAc Aheh@ eiAN
interesting.
"As you are doubtless aware, New
Castle, is among the earlies4 towns of
the country. and historically, one of
peculiar interest.
ct may be truthfully, said, (al-
though doubted by some) that New
Castle, then under a different name,
was the first permanent European
settlement, with continuous and un-
interrupted existence, in the terri
tory now comprising the state OF
Delaware.
1T is true that a settlement was
attempted near Lewes in 1881, some
twenty years prior to the settlement
here, but It was of short duration, for