The Dolores star., 1921-06-24

ana "ackened the heavy strokes of the quill he
remarked TO his fellow delegates:
but we must be unanimous; there must be n,
gether"
we must indeed all hang together" replied
benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania. cor most as
.mredy we shall all hang separately"
we Americans of 1927 can read n lot between
ne lines of these two historic utterances if we
dc little digging into before-the- Revolution
American history-enough digging to get a clear
idea OF what brought about the Declaration of
lhuepehHehce. And it is every good Americans
patriotic duty to do that SAME diggInr-and do
1t now. OF course were all turred with the
same brush but-to more time-honcred Amer
lean siines-it's dollars to doughnus that the
average American doesn't know enough to last
him across the street about the causes leading up
TO the revolution. And for the Declaration 1t
self lie couldn't to his life tell what half of
il means This is bad business In itself and it's
especially bad right now
For we are going 10 have kind of Fourth
of July celebration in the United States of Amer
lea. The Fourth has quit being the day Of fire
works and casualties. And in the new kind of
Fourth of July celebration the Declaration of In
dependence will come to its own the crowning
touch of public observance, The American Rev
olution is the greatest steppng-stOne in the march
of the centuries toward freedom and the Decara-
tion of Independence is its symbol.
Though the Declaration of Independence is to
be the day when the American Eagle screams and
the orator bawls because Uncle Sam handed John
Bull X o century and half ago. There
two reasons for this.
One is the World John Bull and Uncle
Sam stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of
all that common holds dear of personal
freedom and political ideals.
The other is the fact that the Revolution
not quarrel between two peopes--the British
people and the American people. 1t was, in its
earlier stages at least strife between two diff
erent political and economic systems 1t was no
unrelated event, but formed part of the history
of the on both continents. There a Brit
ish revolution at the same time there
American Revolution. The British revolution
to regain liberty. The American Revolution
10 preserve liberty. On both sides of the Allan
tic the kings prerogatiyes were the aim of rev.
OlutlOnary attack
Now. as to the many things that may be read
between the lines of what Hancock and Frank
lin said here's just hint: Hancock rich
merchant 1t was part of the purpose of the
British troops at Lexington and Concord to cap
ture Hancock. AT that time Hancock
sponden in the Admiralty court in suits of the
crown to recover nearly half million dollars
penalties alleged to lave been incurred for viola
ton of the laws of navigation and trade. Han.
rock had inherited his fortune from his uncle,
Thomas Hancock who had become wealthy Snug
Cling tea SO it was no more than right that John
Hancock should sign his name large and plain
to the document which, If made good, would save
him from financial ruin and give him free com
merce with all the world.
Benjamin Franklin publisher, printer. philos-
opher and statesman, seventyone years Of age,
the oldest member of congress, was more con-
eerned with the political than with the CONNER
cial aspects of the situation He made a clever
lest but no man there knew better that there Is
many a true word spoken in Jest.
So the truth is that on our side Of the ocean
the fundamental causes leading up to the Revo-
luton were both political and economic-and pos
sibly quite as much economic as political. To
rive at the main features of the situation the fol-
lowing chronology is helpful:
17eO-Accession of George III. Conquest of Can.
ada by British.
176i-Revival of navigation and trade laws of
1890 and 1868. Issues Of "WrIts of Assistance"
1764-parament demands that colonies pay