Evening star., 1924-11-02

member for his carelessness in losing
the paper.
must entreat the gentlemen TO
be more careful" said Washington,
lest our transactions get into the
papers and disturb the public repose
by premature speculations ] know
not whose paper 1t is, but there it
Is. let him who owns 1t take it
Paper Was Never Claimed.
On saying this, Gen. Washington
threw the paper on the table. bowed
and left the room with such dignity
that the members were awed. 1t is
interesting to note that no member
ever claimed the paper.
For the most part the public ac-
! cepted the terms of secrecy withou,
objection. A rumor did arise in some
sections that the statesmen had gath.
cred together to make monarchy
OF the United States, and that a kin g
would soon rule over the Young Ma :
ton.
Yet Washington, who was the out.
standing leader of the day, was
known to he strongly opposed to Il
monarchy.
Some time before he had received a
letter sounding out his opinion or
the subject and asking if he would
consider the Office Of king Of the
| United States. Washington answered
the letter at once and rebuked his
misguided admirer for suggesting
such thing. And that there might
never be any Misunderstanding re-
garding his ambitions to wear a
crown, Washington had his answer
attested by two witnesses. Thus the
public which looked forward to see
ing Washington as the head of the
Nation did not take seriously the ru-
NOR of American royalty.
Philadelphia regarded the conven-
ton as a. great event in it's history
There were many banquets teas and
dinners given for the delegates
Washington, who kept a record of his
engagements. said that he attended
more than 100 functions in the four
months. Almost every day he was
invited to dinner or tea, or both.
Twice. it Is said, he broke away
from the convention and spent a brief
vacation fishing, once near Valley
Forge and once near Trenton.
The convention and its delegates
following directly after the toast to
the United States
Lasted Longer Than Expected.
The convention like other conven-
tions in American history lasted con-
siderably longer than anybody ex-
pected. Each delegate received a
public Allowance, and one delegate
at the beginning Of his stay wrote in
a letter:
I'VE are very we'll accommodated
at the Old Indian Queen and are
charged only 25 Pennsylvania cur
rency per day including our servants
and horses, SO that I hope I shall
be able to defray my expenses with
my public allowance. and more than
that can not wish"
AS the convention continued week
after week. however, the delegates
began to grow restive; some became
i'll and had ito return home, others
discovered important business. One
member of the convention departed
in order to fight q duel.
But the majority of the members
remained throughout the hot Sum.
mer earnestly hoping that some wise
and honest plan Of government would
be decided upon.
The convention did not aim to set
down code Of laws. 1t wished only
government could be based. A mum
ber of different plans were suggested.
The one known as the Virginia plan
WAS the most popular.
It provided for . supreme execu-
tive. Legislature composed Of two
bodies, a supreme judiciary, and q
council Of revision. This council of
revision was not adopted as a part
of our Government. It was to con-
sist of the chief executive and the
United States Judges, and it was to
revise the laws before they went into
operation.
The delegates were all men OF good
education and strong opinions. Each
one had his own ideas about running
| = government. and II soon became
evident that It was going to b Z
difficult matter TO md . constisu.
tion that would suit every one. From