Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-06-30
JULY 4TH, 1923
Our ~Independence Day

Wednesday will be the Anniver-
sary of the birth of u country,
| which is a forward looking rather
than a backward looking day. The
event which it celebrates was con
ceived in hope and dedicated to the
future.
1t is n hundred and forty-seven
| years since that fourth day of July,
1875, on which the Continental Con-
gress unanimously adopted the reso-
luton known as the Declaration of
independence. This Declaration
says:
1--WE hold these truths to be self
evident. that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain u~nalienable
Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happi-
ness. That to secure these Rights,
Governments are instituted among
Men, deriving their just powers from
the consent of the governed"
The immediate cause of the move
ment for independence "a the i'm
position of taxes on the American
Colonies by a Parliment in which the
Colonies were not represented. I'm
der such a system of government
they believed that neither their prop
erty, their rights, nor their lives
could be secure from tyranny.
But is was not merely a political
independence from another country
that our forefathers sought. They
intended to establish a government
of their own, conceived in freedom
and dedicated to liberty" When that
Government had been formed,
GEORGE WASHINGTON, who was
the leader of u country in its
struggle for independence and be-
came the first President of the new
Republic, said in his Farewell Ad-
dress to the people:
1.-The unity of government, which
constitutes you as n people is now
dear to you. 1t is justly So, for it
is a main pillar in the edifice of
your real independence, the support
of your tranquility at home, your
peace abroad; of your safety; OF
your property in every shape, of that
very liberty which you SO highly
prize"
Many great men devoted them
selves to the task Of laying an en-
during and just foundation for our
Government and of defending it by
word and deed. One of the Greatest
OF these, Alexander Hamilton, an
orphan lad of unknown birth, who
came to III country, as a penniless
immigrant and became one of the
staunch supporters of our system of
government, in reply to the enemies
of that system cried out:
"Give me the steady, uniform, I'M
shaken security of constitutional
freedom. Give me the right to be
tried by a jury of my own neigh
bors, and to be taxed by my own
representatives only. What will be-
come of the laws and courts of JUS
tice without this? The shadow may
remain but the substance will be
gone"
At a later time in our history, Carl
Schurz, another immigrant, who be-
came Of the greatest defenders
of u government and its institu-
tions, urged on the people of the
United States a deeper appreciation
of their benefits:
81 wish the words of the Declar-
alton of Independence was inscribed
upon every gate post within the
limits of this Republic. 1t is the
most progressive and at the same
time, the most Conservative one
(thought); the most progressive, for
it takes even the lowliest members
of the human family out of their
degradation, and inspires them with
the e~levating consciousness of equal
human dignity; the most conserva-
tive, for it makes a common cause
of individual rights"
1t was, indeed, these individual
rights and the qualities of self-de-
pendence. industry and thrift which
they produce that our forefathers
sought to secure for themselves
and their children.
BENJAMIN Franklin, a leader in
the development of American in
dependence. lost no opportunity to
impress these lessons on all who,
like himself must make their way in
the world by the energy of their own
character. Thus he said:
THE taxes, are, indeed. very heavy
but if those laid on by the Govern
ment were the only ones we had to
pay, we might the more easily dis
charge them; but we have many
others. and much more grievous to
some of us. We are taxed twice as
much by III idleness, three times
as much by our pride. and four
times as. much by our folly; and
from these taxes the commissioners
cannot cas- or deliver us by allow
ing an abatement"
To this development of individual
character. George Washington look
ed as the force on which the country