Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-06-13

$1,000 u ltlO
workmen. and if l rightly remember
What the interpreter who read the writ
Y ing for me, the money they cost
mount to $4,000 talents of silver (up-
wards of 81, $50. 000). If his was real
~ true, how much more than must
nave been spent on the iron with which
they worked, and or the food and cloth
ing of the workmen, seeing that they
worked for more than 10 years, and /
belleve that no shorter time could have
been occupied with quarrying and
transporting the stones, and with the
work and the excavations under the
surface of the EARTH"
Viewing these great structures of
stone, after ones amazement at their
enormitN has passed, ones next great
Wonderment is as to how they were
ever brought about. 1t has never been
learned that their builders possessed
means for carrying and lifting such
heavy stones. which are not in use
today, and if such is the case. it is
most mysterious as to how the work
was accomplished. even with the great
numbe of men employed over a period
OF so many years.
could not be found historians decided
to discredit Voltaire's story and they
failed to record it in their narrative.
But this picture fnally was brought
to light. 1t seems that the Dutch paint
ing had fallen into private hands which
unconscious of its interest Kept it
packed away until 1887. Then at a sale
in Paris it was purchased by the Dutch
government, which, for a long time,
did not guess the historical interest the
extraordinary canvas possessed.
This Dutch canvas is more than three
by five feet and is signed at the bot
tom, to the right, by the artist, Cor
nelius Bischop, of Dordrecht. When
Dordrecht decided to honor the ex-
nnftS nf tho nar-~ h~~AL-- TD;--L~,
got the commission to paint the allie
gorical representation of the Dutch ex-
petition to Chatham in 1867, with the
portrait of Cornelius De Witt and the
attributes of a %conqueror painted in the
background.
This painting hung upon the walls
of the Stadthuys unnoticed and it prob
ably would have been hanging there
until this day but for the cutlery of the
EngliShmen whom Charles III had sent
over to pry about. Not a detail escaped
their notice. and the offending picture
was hit upon as the necessary pretext
for a war declaration.
While in this retaking of New Ann
sterdam the Dutch showed much clev-
erness. 1t was for naught. for before
their government at home received the
news of what nae occurred on this side
of the water, the articles Of peace at
Westminster We're signed in 1914. One
may WSIl imagine lne surprise OF tno
little Dutch fleet when it returned to
The Hague expecting all kinds of hon
ors to be showered upon them. to learn
the news that all their efforts had been
in vain.
This peace of 1874 gave Manhattan
Island again into the hands of the Eng
lish. But had the proud De Wits lived
they would never nave consented 20
h states-general sending that meek
note of acquiescence to Charles III
wherein was written:
This demonstrates sufficiently to
what a degree we wish to deserve your
majesty's affection since we offer YOU
the restitution of so considerable a con-
quest as New Netherland is, without
hope of receiving anything in exchange
for it,"
Indeed. they went further, for they
took down this Dutch allegorical paint
ing which had brought on the war. that
it might not again offend the English,
and ignominiously sold it to a private
buyer. This is probably the only in
cident in history in which q painting
was used as a pretext for a war, al
though it was only a pretext and the
English undoubtedly cared nothing for
what this picture represented.