, 1924-06-25

the other. AS a matter of fact. the
Declaration was taken out Of the old
Wal Office building, and with several
sacks Of other records was put In a
wagon and driven through George
town to a barn about two miles above
the old chain bridge across the Poto-
mac.
Here the records we're kep. over
night, but Pleasanton. the State de-
partment employee who had charge of
them. was afraid that they might be
discovered, and he took them next day
another 80 miles to Leesburg, and
gave them into the care of a minister
named Littlejohn. who hid them until
the British had left Washington.
Brought back again to the capital,
the Declaration was first housed in a
building on G street near Eighteenth.
and then in another on the site of the
present treasury. where it remained
over ten years.
Lodged In Patent Office.
In the meantime. plans for the con
structlon of the city had been drawn
up by the French architect, L'Enfant.
aAid many g Bol u IL
Guiding the patent office, which was
finished in 1871. Built of white mar
BILE this structure, which still stands
at Seventh and F streets. was sup
posed to be fireproof, and accordingly
the Declaration was transferred here,
with other historical records, and put
on exhibition.
For the next 35 years 1t hung there,
exposed to the light, and It was prob
ably during that period that it faded
so badly. although as far back as 1917
the signatures showed signs of deteri-
Grafton.
sition In 1876 In Philadelphia drew at
tention to the state of the manuscript,
and rescued 1t from total de"av. A
one Of the features Of the celebration
the Declaration was once again placed
in Independence hall in a fireproof
safe with a heavy glass door. and at
this time of particular interest in the
Did historical record its damaged con-
dition aroused much comment. 1t was
not till 1880. however. that a commit
tee of the American Academy OF
Science considered the matter. but be-
yond making a report they appear to
have accomplished nothing.
In the meantime Philadelphia had
tried hard to keep the manuscript,
%contendlng that the logical place for
1t was In the city where 1t had been
drawn up. but this was not permit
ted. and in March, 1877. the Declara-
tion was returned to Washington and
exhibited In the library Of the State,
War and Navy departments. This
proved a blessing In disguise for a
few months later the supposedly fire
proof patent office was burned. Still,
the document received no special care,
and in 1894 II was in such bad condI-
ton that 1t was taken from exhibition
and locked up in n steel safe in the
charge Of the secretary OF state.
Now In Library Of Congress.
Here II remained for twenty-seven
years. Then In 1921. by order of the
president. II was carried under guard
to the Library Of Congress. the las.
trip being made by automobile. a very
different mode OF conveyance from the
clumsy wagons In which II made Its
first Journeys about the country. At
the library 1t was locked up until the
shrine could be prepared for II.
One hundred inc twenty-eight years
Of Indifferent care have left their
marks on the Declaration. Like all
parchments, 1t was Mt first kept rolled,
md as a result of frequent rollIngs
and unrolllngs 1t has many cracks.
The text Is badly faded. but the
process has been uniform and the Dec.
lnratlon itself Is still legible.
The signatures have deterlorated
the most. these having faded much
more than the rest of the script. This
Is explained by the fact that the Dec
laration Itself was prepared by nm ex-
pert. who used the best ink available.
The signatures. on the other hand,
were inscribed in ordinary ink and not
all on the same occasion. The ink,
too. differed much from the preparn-
ton to which we are accustomed. be
Ing In the form OF n powder, which
was mixed with water when needed.
This mixture varied In strength. nc.
cording to the fancy OF the user, and
had n tendency to. scale on when dry.
II Ia n fact TINT many OF the sigma
lures have peeled OF more than they
have actually faded.
II has been decided not to nttempt
any restoration OF the Declaration,
and those who see II now will have
before them the original document
and signatures.
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