Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-06-09
PRESIDENT EXT0[S.
Continental army
Indicates Princeton Monument,
Declaring Battle There Gave
!, Assurance Of Liberty
PRAISE FOR WASHINGTON
nv the Associated Press

= action and the devotion OF his fOl.
%,..s of the Continental Army under
Nst priyation were extolled BY Presi.
MI Harding today in an address at
~ dedication Of the battle monument
st Princeton. .
The memorial was fitting to the he.
- and heroism Of that day, he de.
Ssred. adding that 1--WE bring and lay
- ia foot the laurel wreaths which
latitude and patriotic sentiment will
ssivsvs dedicate to those who have
Sorns the heat and burden Of the con-
The President, in his address, said:
ssMy fellow Americans: -..#f
1--WE have come here to say the for.
Isl words Of dedication and consecra. :.
Hon before a monument In granite and
ssrble, But we stand, to say those
words, in the presence of another mon.
Sment, which is the true memorial to
She events we celebrate. The real mon.
nment to the achievement Of Washing.
tion's patriot army in the Trenton.
Princeton campaign is not In workings
a bronze or carvings Of stone. 1t rears
itself In the institutions of liberty and
representative Government, now big in
the vision Of all mankind.
Consocrste Ourselves to Cause
"In the presence Of such a monu. I.
seut we can do no better than conse. .
erste ourselves to the cause In which
A this place the soul Of genius and the
pirit Of sacrifice shone forth with
steadfast radiance. On no other battle.
sround, in presence Of no other me.
mortal OF heroism, could we find more
assuring illumination for our hopes, our
anticipatins, oOr confidence.
Here the genius of General Wash.
inston reached the height Of its bril-.
Nancy In action. Here his followers
wrote their highest testimony Of valor
Here liberty seeking devotion strugRled
through privation and unbelievable ex-
Srtion, to gain the heights. The Grim.
soned prints Of numbed and bleeding
feet marked the route a pathway to
eternal glory. Thithcr they trudged
through storm and torrent but from
l9e, In the purchase Of victory, went
out winged messengers to tell all men
that liberty was safe in the keeping Of
her sons.
"Point me the field of strife, to
which have converged more roads that
Id through disbursement, calamity.
and all justification for depair. And
point me, next, that field from whence
Yadiated so many highways Of the buoy.
ant heart, the confident hope, the in.
demitable purpose, the will to win !
Take down the tones, thumb all the
Nlackest, all the fairest pages, and tell
\ me where you read Of nobler, finer
)sye, or more fruitful-sacrifice Of men
for their fellows!
Low Ebb Of Continental Fortunes
Here, among you to whom the ira.
dtions Of those events are q sacred
trust, Is no place for recounting the
Encouragement of the patriot cause,
the low ebb Of Continental fortunes,
the seeming that final disaster could
not long be stayed. The army was
erumbling. The enemy delayed to fin.
ish his task, only because he was 80
certain Of his quarry that haste would
be unseemly.
"And then the fash Of Washington 8
defiance! The crossing Of the Delaware
IN storm and ice foes; the march and
the delays which made 1t impossible
10 effect night attack and q com.
plete surprise: Washington's stern and
iateful decision to press on and stake
everything on the issue; finally, the
attack, and the victory!
Indomitable Spirit Won
brilliant as was the accomplishment
Washington, on the Jersey side, was
faced by the superior strength Of the
now consolidated British forces. At
hst his rival was sure of 1.-The Old
Fox" Then came the strategic with.
dnwal BY Washington. at night, In Sc
eet, from his line on the Assunpink
Creek, the fanking march to Princeton.
and the second surprise and defeat of
the enemy.
In the narrative Of those magnifi.
cent winter days Of marching and fight.
ing, surprises and victories, one finds
the truest presentation Of the indomit-
able spirit which sustained and at last
won the Revolution.
The destruction Of Washington q
army would almost have snuffed out
the Revolution. 1t would have given a
demonstration Of the overwhelming pre-
pcnderance Of British power, which
even the most stout hearted patriot
would have found difficult to deny. On
the other hand Washington perceived
Goth the military and the political on.
portunity presented to him in the dis
position Of the enemy's forces.
There was a desperate chance ia
WIN telling victory, which would con
yHt the New Jersey campaign into O
disaster for the enemy, and there was
aIso the possibility OF winning a politi-
eal victory BY demonstrating the ca
pacity Of American leadership and
american soldiers to outwit and out
psnt veterans Of European battle6elds
Washington Seized Opportunity
."Washington, who was at once sol
~, politician and statesman. recOg.
nAed all these possibilities. He seized
Se opportunity, he turned 1t complete
70 his own advantage, and thereby
sp'led MS army and the country be.
nInd him with new confidence IN
pCornwallis regarded the Trenton
sery Of the Washington military career
and we do not need to he reminded o.
verdict of Frederick the Great
xao ranked the Trenton Princeton
.sampaign as the most brilliant Of which
~ had knowledge,
Battles have seldom decided tn,
tes Of people. The real stor,
y human progress Is written elsewhere
sa on the worlds battlehelds. Bu
nons the exceptions among the case,
which particular conflict has hat
asequences and reverberations IA
ses sss In their potency than coul,
ss'oiy be imagined from a consitlera
n o. the numbers engaged or tn
t ned,ate results, none stands ou
p.s distinctly than does the Trenton
Fnnseton campaign.
,,aMe we cannot say that the cause O
dependence and union would hav
am, nm lost without 1t, but we must fin,
Nt",*ves Ntves at loss II we attempt I,
fsvuithe fsaLe the successful! conclusion Of tn