The Coolidge examiner., 1934-06-29

military policy OF the English was overshad
owed In importance by another of Hendricks
speeches at the congress II was delivered on
July I. 1854. and To Il be anticipated By - years
10 the day some Of the ideas expressed In the
Declaration Of Independence lie said:
Brethren. II is very true. as you told US. that
the clouds hang heavy Us and II Is not very
pleasant 20 look up. but we give this belt TO
clear away all the clouds that may all live
In bright sunlight. and keep together In strict
union and friendship Then we shall become
strong and nothing can hurt Us
Brethren. | will just tell you what a people
we were formerly. II any enemies arose against
Us. We had 10 occasion 20 nft up our whole
hand against them. for our little finger sufii-
Client; and as we have now made a strong con-
federacy II We are truly 10 earnest therein. we
may retrieve the ancient glory of the Five
Nations
II is easy to imagine how attenuvely one
delegate 60 that congress listened 20 the words
Of the Mohawk chiefiain as be told OF the an
clent power Of the Iroquols confederacy. power
gained so many years before because these "snv-
ages" realized that "In union there Is strength"
and put that realization into practical effect
That delegate vas Benjamin Franklin Of Penn
sylvania. who had In his pocket a plan for a
union OF the colonies which he had brought from
Philadelphia with him.
His plan provided for the appointment Of a
president general for the colonies appointed By
the Crown, and the election by the various
colonial assemblies OF legislative body 10 be
called the grand council The powers which they
were 10 exercise resembled In many ways those
conferred upon the President and congress by
our federal Constitution. The delegates 10 the
Albany congress unanimously adopted Franklns
plan. but IL was defeated when brought to a vote
In the colonial assemblies.
So the colonies and the Mother country turned
deaf ears 10 the wisdom that came from the
lips OF such men as King HendrIck Of the Mo
hawks and Benjamin Franklin OF Pennsylvania
and went hack TO their policy OF "blundering
through" They blundered seriously several
times In the campaign against Crown Point the
next year. One Of their blunders was In dlsre-
gardng the advice OF King Hendrck who had
led his Mohawks TO aid his friend Sir William
Johnson. who commanded the expedition
When II was proposed 10 send detachment
OF 1000 troops and 500 Indians to the aid OF
beseged Fort Edward. the Mohawk chief OBJ
jected. IF they TO fight they are too few"
he said. IF they are to die, they are too many"
But the council OF war overrode him. Then when
IL was proposed TO send the detachment against
the enemy In three parties Hendrick again
preached his message OF ''in union there is
strength" Picking up three sticks from the
ground. he SAID: Put these together and you
cannot break them; take them one by one and
you will do II easily"
But again his advice was disregarded and the
detachment started against the gallant and able
commander. Dieskau. The result was the ambush
nj Bloody Pond. the defeat OF the colonials with
the loss OF 100 men, including the leader OF the
detachment Col. Ephraim Williams. and stout
old Hendrick His horse shot down at the
first yolley and before he could extricate him
self a French bayonet pierced his heart
SO the great Mohawk died before he could see
his English allies blunder through the French
and Indian war TO a successful conclusion. But
his oft-repeated "in union there Is strength" was
not utterly lost Another man who had preached
the same message at the Albany congress con-
tinued TO preach it-through his snake cartoon,
through his writings and In his speeches In the
Continental congress. So Benjamin Franklin
lived to see II become an accomplished fact He
helped write a pledge to such union in the
Declaration OF Independence and even though
during the dark days OF the Revolution the bonds
of that union seemed about to be broken. they
survived long enough TO win American liberty.
But before he died he saw that union imper-
ishably preserved in the Constitution OF the
United States of America
G By Western Newspaper Union