Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-07-04
Ghe Declaration
Of independence

You have all read the Declaration of
Independence, I suppose. 1t is print
ed on fine type in the back of the
Child's History, and at the top of the
names signed at the end to show how
they wrote them is John Hancock's
big and bold, the way a person would
write If he were doing it with a burnt
match. Papa used to gather us to-
gether in the parlor after breakfast
every Fourth of July and read us parts
Df 1T n explain the long words, so
Shat we would understand what the
Fourth OF July was really for-that 1T
wasn't just to burn holes in your
clothes, and frighten horses, and leave
stubs of irecrackers on the sidewalk
that don't get swept off for days. When
we children came to have our own rev.
olution against the g%overness hat time
mamma and papa went away to be
gone two days, we knew just how to
go about it; and we wrote q Declar-
alton of Independence, copying 1t after
the real true one, and then we all sign
ed our names at the bottom with big
dOur1shes, the way John Hancock and
the others did.
We thought with all our preparation
success was sure. just as the patriots
OF '76 were successful as the reward
Of their daring, but alas!
Our gOverEess' name was GeOrgiana
-GeOrgiana Saunders-which made 1T
all the more appropriate. because the
name of the king about whom the
original Declaration was written was
George. as you probably know.
When we got the Declaration done,
1T was something like this-some OF
h language we took from the .book
and some we made up ourselves:
When in the course of human events
1t become necessary for something to
h~M @0~@ h@nI 4 -~1 ---SA -.
1t any longer. The history Of our pres
ent g%overness is a history of repeated
injuries and usurpations. To prove
this let facts be submitted to a CAM
did world.
1. She makes us brush our teeth
twice a day, which is unnecessary as
well as Wasteful.
@. She won't let us lay books face
downwards, and SO you lose the place
and are a long time finding it when
you come back.
8. She objects If you make a fork
in your mashed potatoes.
4. She won't let us breathe on the
window and write with u fingers
days when it rains.
s. We can't have butter and sugar
on our rice. only milk and sugar.
s. She notices, and makes us go
back to look where we've made finger
marks on the white paint.
a. We have to make our own beds,
and then, IL there is a wrinkle, or 1t
isn't done right, we have to do 1t all
over again.
can think of.
We. therefore, do solemnly. publish
and declare that we are and by right
ought to be free and Independent, and
that mother and our father went
away this morning and will n % -bei
back until tomorrow evening, and that
she is not our mother and our father,
never has been and never will be, and
that we mean to do as we please, and
that we have full right to levy war and
also to do all other acts and things.
And to this we pledge our lives, our
fortunes and our sacred honor.
{Signed) 4
Arthur L. Bainbridge CHATS me),
Majorie Bainbridge,
Hester b, Bainbridge,
Charles w. Bainbridge,
Gregory Bainbridge, his x mark.
And we brought In Rex-he's a mix
ture of an English mastiff and q Siber-
ian bloOdhOund-and we linked his paw,
and made him step on the paper just
below Gregory's name. And then we
drew q circle around 1t and wrote rex
his mark" Then MAZDA, the collie dog,
had to come In. too, n pretty soon
there was a mark o the size OF a
dollhouse violet, just below where Rex
had printed q big black carnation-
sehaped thing with his lordly paw.
6potty. the cat was the best Of all;
upset the ink bottle on the nursery
carpet, and got all her four paws IN
the iuk. and then a right across the
paper, 20 her name was In several
gplaces. Charley (who wrote IT. was
sort Of madsat dr1t-safd 1t spoiled the
IT. Rewritten all ove but we told him
~ allowed how interested and enfhlaf.