The Harrison times., 1911-07-08
4th OF July Grafton.

. by Jesse Is. Hawkes., at the fth OF
July celebration in Harrison on
Tuesday last:
/ Fellow Citizens, Ladies and Gentle
men:
We are assembled today for the
purpose of celebrating the 135th
anniversary of the independence of
these United States Of America and
the signing of the Declaration of In
dependence,
1t is highly appropriate that one
day in each year should be set apart
for this purpose and that we should
on that dav take some thought
upon the history Of our country,
upon those stirring events which
surround her birth, the noble pa
triotiSm of her founders, the hard
ships they endured And it is well
that we should follow her history
from t! e thirteen original colonies,
Sparsely populated, without much
wealth, with their primitive means
of communication and transporta-
tion to our present greatness IN pop
ulatiOn and wealth, in intelligence
and civilization At such a time it
is highly appropriate for us to give
thanks unto a divine Providence for
the blessings that we, as residents
and citizens OF this country enjoy
A essings of liberty, of prosperity
and Of happiness. And it is well for
us to dedicate ourselves and our
efforts anew in the high cause of cit
izenship, of clean and efficient gov
ernment in our country, our state,
our county or city, our neighbor-
hood. And it is well to remember
that any citizenship that is worthy
of the name means an uUSelhSh de-
sire for the greatest good to the
greatest number regardless OF mere
" personal considerations of loss or
gam.
We all love holidays-timcs when
we lay aside for the time our daily
cares and tolls, and meet together
for recreation, for enjoyment or So
ciability; and next day we 60 at our
work with renewed energies and
accomplish more because of the rest
than had we not enjo,e ed it. But
there is always a significance to a
holiday, it was set aside and estab-
lished for a purpose and it is this
purpose and significance that should
never be lost sight Of Those who
We and work in the larger c"mnu-
mites seem TO lose all consciousness
of this significance, and use the day
simply as a means to escape from
the toll and noise of the city to the
country or to the pleasure resort.
1t is really the people of the smaller
cities and the surrounding country
who seem to have caught the true
significance of holidays, and especi-
ally Of Indep ndence Day,
Without the small boy and the
hrecracker, suppose patriotism
would disappear from off the face OF
the earth He is up at daybreak,
re.acting the Battle Of Bunker Hill
of Lexington, the surrender of Corn
wallis. At such a time his superior
ity over womankind is Ito him) too
great for utterance. And if he has
reached, in his history lesson at
school, the Revolutionary period,
his enthusiasm is still greater. And
it is well indeed that this should be
so For the boy of today is the
man of tomorrow, and one never
quite forgets the enthusiasms of his
early youth
The desire to make the biggest
noise and to shoot off the biggest
frecracker has in late years become
a great menace, with its destruction
of life and property. But happily
a wave Of resentment has recently
swept over the country against
these high explosives, and now we
are back to the hve.cent bunch of
hrecrackers and we are just as well
pleased.
From the very time Of her birth,
our country has never ceased
to grow in population and in
wealth; nor has she at any time
been free from serious problems that
have menaced her continuance as n
free and prosperous nation, She
was born in debt, and her earlier
years were clouded with questions
of finance, currency and the national
bank.
Fifty years ago we had a struggle
between North and South which
nearly rent the land asunder We
can never forget that terrible time,
but our bitterness has long ago died