Show GREAT DAY IN HISTORY MAD 1 0 I 1 FM f I 1 I 1 rh affix 14 YAM a MONROE MUM 47 lost OM JULY at THE declamation DECLA NATION ENCE WAS REA TO THE MY anaa T Is possible to hold fourth of IT I 1 july celebrations in the shadow of the structure which saw the birth and signing of the declaration of independence the most potent doctrine for freedom in the history of 0 the world and the tha nation has not ignored the opportunity there are many patriotic americans who make it a duty on july 4 to journey to philadelphia a pilgrimage to the shrine of liberty there toi to raise their voices in thanks and rejoicing for the great deed that was there accomplished since that day now distant years when charles thomson rising in his chair read for the first time the final alna draft of that momentous d document acu which thomas jefferson wrote but which underwent many changes before befaro meeting with the final approval of the delegates to the continental congress not an independence day has been permitted to pass without a proper celebration in the public square back of independence hall presidents of the united states senators representatives justices of tile the highest courts and even foreign ambassadors bass adors have poured forth their eloquence at li bertys cradle the municipal authorities ot of the city of philadelphia are careful to see to it that some distinguished man to Is always on hand as orator of the day the pomp of military circumstance has sometimes been called upon to lend prestige to the occasion and the be best a t musicians of the land have been proud to play patriotic alra airs in the shadow of the steeple where hung the bell that so singularly fulfilled the prophetic mission assigned it 24 years before to proclaim liberty throughout the land the location of the hall lends itself to purposes of public celebration there Is ample room both front and back for the he building stands well back front from the alie pavement so that a large company can gather in front in the rear the beautiful independence square there is still more space and thousands assemble to listen list to the orations and hear t the h e declaration of independence read this latter is really the distinctive feature of fourth of july celebrations in independence square it Is a notable record of which every american may be proud that not a fourth of july has passed since we have been a nation without the inspired words being uttered again to the air that heard them first the first reading of the declaration was that by charles thomson the secretary of congress when he announced the completed paper to the men who had framed it thomson did not however read tile the declaration from the balcony of independence hall to talo people crowded outside to hear for the first time in what terms the colonists should tell king george that hla alib control of the 13 colonies was at an end that privilege was wae reserved for john nixon a prominent member of the committee of safety in honor of the occasion delegates to the congress filed out in the july sunshine to listen to the sacred words nixon has been described as master elocutionist with a voice so clear and distinct that it was heard clear to fifth street one square distant lie he took hla his place on the balcony which was then the favorite rostrum of the day crowds had bad assembled to hear him gathered by the ringing of the liberty bell it was a memorable celebration and the first in the history of the nation chief justice john marshall spoke in the statehouse yard at one of the celebrations in the early part of his tenure of office and later daniel webster delivered a notable address there later long years after edwin forest the most noted of american ac whose love for patriotism and tho the institutions of oi hla his country was deeper or ev than his regard for the stage std on the same spot and on a fourth of july morning read the words of jefferson as no man has read then them before or since A great crowd was waa present perhaps the largest ever as sem bled and the actor during and aft er the reading was cheered again and again forest esteemed the declaration ol of independence as the best single piece of composition in existence valuing it even above his beloved shakespeare two years after the first fourth of july there occurred a celebration in independence square that bad a cial signi significance fleance the advance of the british and their occupation of phil adelph adelphia la during the winter of had forced congress to leave the quaker city and go to york after the evacuation congress re turned july 2 and a grand celebration of the recurrence of the promulgation of the declaration was held in which nearly the entire population of philadelphia delphia joined chevalier conrad alexander gerard of frande france the first minister ever accredited to the united states from any power was an interested spectator during the centennial in n philadelphia there was naturally a notable demonstration and no less a person than don pedro emperor of brazil sat among those who cheered the sentiments that had sounded the downfall of monarchy in this country and were finally to take his bis throne from the ruler of brazil in later years another re presenta tive of a foreign country was the central figure at Ili independence dependence square wu ting fang chinese minister spoke there with line fine eloquence and made one of the best speeches cred to him in his many felicitous utterances in this country the anomaly that he was the envoy of one of the most absolute absolu ie of mon archies did not prevent the celestial from painting in most graphic phrana what the venerable building stood for during his first administration grover cleveland president of the united states came to philadelphia one fourth of july and standing on a platform raised on the square appealed to the young manhood or of america that the great lessons of 1776 be ba not ignored samuel J randall judge kelley gen grant lewis cassidy have also figured prominently in fourth of july celebrations there during the administration of mayor warwick himself in an orator or ator of genuine gifts every year was made the occasion of notable demonstrations to which were invited mon men of national fame under the direction of the governor of pennsylvania a work of incalculable interest hns digs been finished at valley forge park by the state valley forge has a close relationship with independence day and the old camp site hns has proved a mecca on july 4 to thousands of americans who como come from all over the union to pay a tribute to the fathers of the united states who suffered and died on this historic spot practically the entire site has been reserved A chapel has been erected on the spot where washington was discovered a at t prayer at the moment valley forge comprises about acres it is a properly policed and cared for by workmen whose duty it Is to keep the roads and the entire park in perfect order public interest has kept pace with the work on oa memorial day 1600 per persons registered at the headquarters and this is probably not one fourth of those who were in tile the park anywhere from to americans will fittingly celebrate july 4 1908 by going over the ground on which their heroic forefathers underwent the sufferings Buffe rings that made maclo independence pen pon dence possible |