The Coolidge examiner., 1936-12-17


Washington, D. C.-WNU Service.
THE charm of Delaware grows
melloWer and more potent
with age. Its effect is grad
ual, stealing almos: imper-
ceptibly upon the senses, yet alto
gether enthralling once it asserts
its power. Unfortunate indeed is
the traveller who, as too many do,
dashes the length of the state in
four hours on the main highway
without pausing to SAVIOR its gra-
ciouSneSs. Such a traveller may not
even see a native Delawarean; for
81 per cent of the trucks, &c per
cent of all the motor vehicles on
the highways are from outside the
state.
Perhaps the Delawareans are
little to blame for not making them
selves and their treasures better
known to outsiders. They are a
delightful people, genuinely hospi-
table, but ELUSIVE.
Houses exquisite with the patina
of age are to be seen everywhere,
but few of them are restored"
set apart as shrines, and labeled.
They are homes that have passed
from father to son for generations,
growing old gracefully, receiving
necessary, not disfiguring, repairs,
and keeping silence concerning the
famous persons they have shell
tered, the stirring events of their
past. True, the Delaware Historic
Markers commission has placed
tablets here and there, but these
are unobtrusive. To appreciate the
real glamour of the state, one must
bide a while and-forgive the pun
absorb "DelaWareness" from the
people.
Delaware is not obvious in its
bid for attention. Measured by pop
ulation and area combined, it is
the smallest of states, having more
square miles but fewer citizens
than Rhode Island, and more people
but far less territory than Nevada.
1t is only ITO miles long and its
width varies from nine to 35 miles,
but its citizens are forward-looking
and its industries far-reaching.
Penn Bought II for 10 Shillings
A wit in congress once referred
to it as a ''sandspit on Delaware
bay, with three counties at low tide
and two at high" William Penn
bought it from the Duke of York
for 10 shillings, and Lord Balti-
more disputed the ownership,
claiming it under a prior grant
from the king of England. Because
of an ill-fated Dutch settlement in
1851 near the present site of Lewes,
Baltimore lost the case, for his
grant of hactena inculta specifically
excluded land previously occupied
by white men.
From its very beginning Della
ware has been subject of contro-
versy. The families of Penn and
Baltimore went to law over posses
sion of ''the three lower counties on
the Delaware" and their claims oc-
cupied the attention of the courts
for years. Penn landed at New
Castle on October 27, 1852, and re-
ceived from the citizens of that
thriving village bowl of water, a
piece of turf, and a tWig as earnest
of his undisputed possession of the
land, water, and forests within an
arc described on a radius of II
miles from the New Castle court
house. Thus was established the
northern boundary of Delaware.
Later Penn was awarded the south
ern part of what is now the state.
Unfortunately, the surveyors who
described the arc did not designate
the exact length of the segment.
The result of their oversight was
more than two centuries of litiga-
ton over boundaries.
After the United States came in
to being, New Jersey and Delaware
began to squabble over certain wat
er and fishing rights on Delaware
river and bay. Delaware claimed
possession of the river and bay to
low water on the Jersey side, and
New Jersey insisted the boundary
should be fixed at midstream.
Courts were in quandary, shift
ing the boundary first to one side
and then to the other. Both states
sent commissioners to England to
obtain evidence. 1t was not until
February 5, 1884, that a final deci-
sion, was handed down. The Su-
prefne Court of the United States
then determined that Delaware is
entitled TO all land and water with
in the 12-mile circle, and that be-
low the circle the boundary shall
be considered the middle of the
ship channel. The two states were
ordered to share equally in the
costs of the litigation.
On it's face that decision appears
a mere compromise to settle a