Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-09-25
To Celebrate Pilgrims Landing.

The plan of the First Unitarian Church
To appropriately obscrvcc the three hum
dredth anniversary Of the landing OF the
Pilgrims ut Plymouth, Mass, is COM
mendable, and the only regret there can
be is that the observation Of our most
important historic event promises to
be left to a comparatively small part OF
our people. No other epoch Of American
history stands out so conspicnously as
the coming of these deeply religious people
to the New World, to set up nation
where they might be free from tyranny
and where they could worship in nc
cordance with the dictates Of their con-
science. They brought with them stur-
diness of character and severity of dis
cipline that were essential to the success
of such an undertaking, and it was largely
due to their industry, their bravery and
their sense of Justice that the little colony
which came over on the Maynower had
such a vital and far-reaching influence for
the founding and the success of our now
mighty Republic.
Their compact to set up government
in their new possessions in America was
the first real Declaration Of Independence,
and, indeed, their seemingly unimportant
experiment in free government WAS great
step toward the liberation of mankind the
world over. II must have seemed like
small, insignificant undertaking when
the Pilgrims sailed from the other side OF
the Atlantic TO find home for religious
and personal freedom, and if they were
regarded at the time as fanatics, IT is
not to be wondered at. However, they
sowed the seeds of independence in this
country and the spirit spread until today
all mankind owes homage to their mem
ory and bows in reverent respect for their
lofty aspirations, their high ideals, and
their readiness to make the sternest sacri-
fees to put them into practice.
A community, State, might well pause
for half day at least TO pay tribute TO
the Pilgrim Fathers and Mothers and 10
ponder over the lessons we may still
learn from their splendid struggles against
most disheartening conditions in order TO
blaze the way TO freedom in new and
largely unknown world, The lessons of
their rugged honesty, their intense re-
ligious zeal the rigid uprightness Of their
lives, should be emphasized anew these
days, when the peoples Of all nations seem
to be drifting so far from the narrow.
straight path of our Pilgrims, or Of our
Quaker ancestors-the adherents of VIII
liam Penn-who followed so faithfully and
laid the firm foundations for such glorious
achievements.
Many Wilmingtonians are directly
descended from members Of the Ply
mouth Colony, but there are more who
date the setting Of their family tree here
on the day Of the arrival Of the Welcome,
bearing the members Of Penns colony TO
the western shore Of the Delaware river,
there to found the present city Ct Phil
adelphia
The three hundredth anniversary Of
such an event as the landing Of the Pill
grim Fathers might well be celebrated with
fitting propriety by all Delaware, but no
doubt the members and friends Of the
First Unitarian Church will, in possibly
smaller way, inpart practical emphasis to
the lessons that are to be learned from
their great undertaking. which, small in
itself, has grown to such mighty proper
tioDs