Connecticut western news., 1912-01-11
Eyes Monument in Canaan
Editorial Suggestion Offered by Col.
 Hardenbergh aa Years Ago.

IldIOGnOeTRn oO ears ago.
 Some thirty-three years ago-Novem
 Der I9 1879, to be exact-there appeared
 in The News an editorial written by the
 late Col. J. B. Hardenbergh, in which he
 paid his disrespects to a. proposition to
 erect in the city of Elmira, N. Y, monu.
 ment to Fat her Adam, in whose fall I've
 sin-ned al" and advocated a similar
 memorial to Mother Eve, to be erected
 here in Canaan, where "Mrs. Adam $
 lineal descendants" had their abiding
 place. The delicious humor of the arti-
 cle justifies its reproduction here, at this
 or any other time-perhaps more aptiy
 now, since the prominence and militant activity of the Canaan Equal Franchise League and the benefcent influence of those other ladies' organizations, the Hawthorne and Cranford Clubs, might be appealed to in behalf of the project If Col. Hardenbergh were only here to present the case, as only he could present it. The editorial follows:
 "It is certainly a funny idea to erect a monument to Adam at this late day when we have so many more distinguish ed and important characters in this coun- try, notably Mark Twain but the fun niest part is, to erect such a monument in Elmira. Why in Elmira? What con- nection has that place with Adam or Eve, unless it is Paradise Lost?
 "lf it were proposed to erect it in Ca naan we could see some propriety in it. Here some of our oldest and most re- spected familes-some of the first set tlers-bear the name, (Adam,l and they are doubtless lineal descendants of him who first bore the honored name.
 "When Adam was expelled from the Garden of Eden he naturally prospected for the next best place and pre-empted a section of the public domain flowing with milk and honey, which he called Canaan There he and his descendants lived for many years. When Columbus discover ed America they heard (probably through some Litchfield Paper) of its wonders, of the fertility of its soil and it's natural ad- aptability for grazing purposes, and some of the younger members took the advice of the late lamented Horace Greeley, to go West. When they arrived here they naturally cast about for place that was as much like the land of their fathers as, possible, and so they finally settled. in this place (they may have been in fuenced somewhat by the fact that it is a good location for a creamery } and they named it after their beloved home Canaan-and here they have lived ever since.
 "It would be very appropriate there. fore, to erect such a monument here There would be historical as we'll as poetic justice in it. But why they should want to erect a monument to Adam way out i'm the southern tier of York State passes our comprehension. They have no linesI descendants. there, and if there are any blood relations in that re- mote section they must be in some col lateral line.
 "We>don't propose. however, to inter fere with Elmisa in her rigt1s or her claims in any way. If she insists upon doing thing waich seems so-so-well, let her; we have no objections This is a wide world, and there is roonG enough in it yet for all of us and for all the monuments we have a mind to put up.
 We have proJact of our owgG which we like much better than the, Elmira dea. We propose that instead of erect ing a monument to the man who was foolish enough and weak enough. to be and then tD deny it and try to put the blame all on his companion, whom he had promised to love-, honor md protect in sickness and in health, un- il death did them part, we erect one to he better man of the two, to the first ,trong- minded worRan-in short, that we erect one to Mrs Adam, familiarity called Mother Eve
 'eWhat would be more appropriate, nose beautiful than. such monument in ,uch a place2 We are perhaps more closely connected with the past than most other places The spirit ok kbygone years still fingers with us, and is, likely O. We cling to- the traditions of our athers, and we contemplate wilma pecul- ar satisfaction the good old days of Mother Eve.
 And then we, have such an excellent site for such a monument. We would place it on the hill overlooking. the will age, right in front of the schoolhouse. Ut would stand, there for all coming time io impress upon the tender minds of our children as they go and retuRn from their daily lessons, the tender and ennobling sentiments which are expressed or i'm oiled in those tendercst and, sweetest of all words, My MOtherp
 "Now won't the ladies of Canaan take hold of this enterprise with their accus- toned tact and energy, and push it to