OCR Text |
Show EMERY COUNTY PRnr.prgg tff CASTLE DALE. UTAH Early HWpry ' cm 11 Eli as Boudinot r. Hamilton SCOTT WATSON HEN, where and by whom was the first Thanksgiving day celebrated In the United States? "Why, by the Pilgrims at in 1G21, of course I" you reply. But you're wrong! It's true that the Pilgrim Fa thers held a Thanksgiving day cekbration that year, but since Plymouth was an English colony it isn't strictly accurate to say that it was celebrated "in the United States" because the United States of America didn't come Into existence until more than 150 years later. The first Thanksgiving day celebration held after we had become a nation took place in 1783 and it is more analagous to our presently observance of the holiday than the Pilgrims Thanksgiving because It came about as the remit of a Presidential proclamation. Most Amer-tan- g know that it was George Washington who taied the first Presidential Thanksgiving day Proclamation but few, perhaps, realize that the wea originated in the mind of Alexander Hamilton, our first secretary of the treasury, and that we first official step toward carrying it out was taken by congress rather than by the Chief By ELMO Ply-mon- th Executive. Last year while CoL Edwin A. Halsey, secre-wr- y of the United States senate, and James D. !.t0n' Senate ,lbrarlan. were unearthing many wa documents which date back to the beginnings and having these manuscripts bound In specially designed books w preserve them for future generations, they me upon the congressional resolution which nought about the first official Thanksgiving day lebratlon In the United States. Jhf. 8tory back of th!s "historic first" is investing, even though it is not a story In which e can take much pride any more than we can especially proud of the celebration which In it Is the story of the Jeal-llfn- n tW0 great Americans, Alexander Dam- and Thomas Jefferson, a story in which as usual, played a none too admirable jjwics, republic Zjb tored and ldea of a Thanksgiving With Aleanler day celebration who Hamilton the 8ubject at a meeting of Washlng-o- f !.ca"inet ,n New York city, then the capital nat'n' ,n Auest. 1?S9- - Hamilton, a Primp m"ver n securing the adoption of the to ttatl , ' had succeeded in getting his own York t0 ratlfy u and th,s raade " WfflciP . nnniber of acceptances even though North p "na and Rnode Is,and wer st,n ont-neMe th ' t0 assure the permanence of the that fhVernment- - So Hamilton must have felt nation' 88 wel1 a he, personally, bad eanL J f"- thanksgiving. probab,e that HamHton, Instead of press-tai- n tag maUer ,n the caWn( where It was n tn T6 wlth PPostIon from Thomas 8ecretnry o' tate and Hamilton's the J! enera. engineered the matter so that na"nai i nanKsgiving aay onM from ingress. At any ' rate, on Fri- av sme September 25. 1789. mem- Rnndinnt. of theTRress frora New Jer8ey t00k the floor resolntinn representatives and offered a , ThankiMCa ins nPn th President to issue a Jn movnnday Proclamation. tne reso,utJon be adopted, Bon-th- e ainot tall l that he "could not think of letting ge, pas8 over without offering an oppor-Jolnln- 2 tnnitj cltlzen.of the United States of Jul the cxl thLi! . one vo,ce. n returning to Almighty ere thank for the many blessings HP haH I bron h f w cer-fergn- Jef-Polltlr-ai a ' Washington. It has been seldom since President Roosevelt took the helm of govern. Jobs, Wot nient that Wash Giftsof Money lugton has wit nessed such an upheaval of conditions and plans as has occurred In the last few weeks. Part of the changes result naturally enough from development of plans for submission of new national policies to congress which will convene gain In about six weeks. The other part comes from a sudden deter mination by the administration to revise Its recovery methods. Possibly the most significant of the forthcoming change in recovery plana is the determination to try, at least, to get away from direct relief. Instead of plain gifts of money, the administration Is now seeking to find additional means for creating work so that Individuals needing help may obtain their relief in the form of jobs for which the government will pay. Officials still are loath to discuss exact figures, but they are, never tbeless, going steadily forward with plans for converting the vast fed eral relief machinery into an ex tensive program that will embrace such things as slum clearance, low cost housing and rural rehablllta tion. Mr. Roosevelt will wait until the last moment before he fixes in bis own mind bow many hundreds of millions of dollars will be needed to carry out these projects. The total cost obviously will depend somewhat upon bow quickly the dole can be abandoned. It may run Into billions of dollars because, ac coruing to some autnonues, removal from the dole Is going to be opposed by certain types of persons. And, it seems, they can hardly be blamed because once the government altered Its traditional policy and made direct gifts of money it cre ated a new psychology and the people who benefited thereby quite naturally will be unwilling to have the source of the gifts closed for this easy manner of living. One of the plans nnder consider ation as a part of the whole program Is provision for employment by direct federal subsidy for hous ing. Under this plan, the govern ment would advance part of the cost for Individual homes cf low price construction. In keeping with the theory that the number on relief rolls will descend In direct proportion to the revival of private construction, advocates of this plan contend that the cost would be less than out right relief. They say that with the government advancing part of the funds needed, private lending agencies would feel more secure and would offer aid in the form of the remainder of the loan necessary. - tra J"!e National Topics Interpreted by William Bruckart resolution was not unexpected and Jefferson's supporters In congress, principally southerners, immediately made known their opposition to the idea. Representative Aedamus Burke of South Carolina declared that he "did n not like this mlmfnfrtnv nf nefnma j u. ujrvilH LUOigiUO, where they made a mere mockery of thanksgiving." He pointed out that "two parties at war frequently sung Te Deum for the same event, though for one it was victory and to the other a defeat." Representative Thomas Tudor Tucker of South Carolina "thought the House had no business to interfere in a matter which did not concern them." He suggested that the people might not "be inclined to return thanks for a Constitution until they have experienced that It promotes their safety and happiness." He said further that If a Thanksgiving day must be held the states could institute it He said thtft "it is a religious matter, and, as such, is proscribed to us." Through the words of these spokesmen we can hear the voice of Jefferson, protesting against a monarchial trend in the new government, against encroachment upon the boundary line which had been fixed between church and state and against any invasion of "states' rights." In answer to these protests Boudinot "quoted further precedents from the practice of the late Congress" and Representative Roger Sherman of Connecticut rallied to his support, declaring that the practice of thanksgiving was "warranted by a number of precedents In Holy Writ: for instance, the solemn thanksgivings and rejoicings which took place in the time of Solomon, after the building of the temple, was a case in point" The resolution was carried and Representatives Boudinot, Sherman and Peter Silvester of New York were appointed by the house committee to wait upon the President The senate, on the following day, adopted the resolution, apof pointing Senators William Samuel Johnson Connecticut and Ralph Izard of South Carolina to be the senate members of the committee. Accordingly this committee waited on the President and on October 3 Washington Issued the proclamation in which he recommended that Thursday, November 26, be observed by the peoas a day of thanksple of the United States Pni-ntinu- giving. . Hamilton had won the first maneuver over his rival but there were still stormy days ahead for him. For now arose the question of how the celebration should Be carried out and, of course, Hamilthe two statesmen were at ods on that offton proposed a monster parade of military headed by dignitaries, icials and governmental as he President Washington. Jefferson, opposed was to all displays of pomp and circumstance, celebration. He apparprotested against such a was determined that it for his won point ently and should be the day was a domestic holiday after the home of the the in observed privacy New England tradition. Accordingly Mrs. Washington began making true colonial style at plans for a levee In the in Franklin Square to Mansion Executive the in evr York which every one of consequence a to be great octal was invited. It promised to by forward looked was eagerly occasion so It the beaus and belles of the city. outmaneuvered But even though Jefferson had not was yet ready him In this respect. Hamilton all kinds organizing He began defeat to o those the plans to upset of pule festivities the day celebrate to wished who aloof Jefferson held himself somewhat word SJom celebration, the for preparations ofThls latest anugonlsm between the two cabinet members had leaked out and two different Sc ions of celebrators began to form In New formed In BosYort More than that factions bit- considerable and ton and Philadelphia also as ot rejoicing and gratitude, be. it would ington had hoped San one' Wash- Thomas Jefferson History records that this first national Thanks giving day in New York was fair and warm even though It was late in November. The festivities opened with a parade in the morning as Hamil ton had planned and the secretary of the treasury reviewed it from In front of Fraunces tavern, that historic Inn where Washington had said farewell to his officers at the close of the Revolutlon. After the parade Hamilton was host at a great feast in the tavern and It Is this first official Thanksgiving dinner to which we can look back, but not with any great pride, for it degenerated into a disgraceful brawL Hamilton could not be present for the entire affair. He was to have remained long enough to respond to a toast and then leave for the President's mansion, where his official presence was required by his position in the President's cabinet. While most of the city had been holding its noisy celebration, Washington had attended church and at noon began to receive guests at the mansion. But Hamilton was late In arriving at his own party and his guests, impatient to bit at their feasting, sat down without him and began to eat Almost immediately a disagreement arose among the diners. A certain Lieutenant St Clair, who had toasted the festive day not wisely but too well, felt called upon to assert upon his honor as a gentleman, that he was "perfee'ly sober." Whereupon Alderman Tisdal of the city council, who had probably also been toasting the festive day extensively, disputed the statement and called upon St Clair to prove that he was sober. St Clair's retort was to seize a bottle from the table and hurl it, not at Tisdal nor at anyone in particular but at the whole company tn general. Fortunately it hit none of them but it did throw the room into an uproar. And Into the tavern a moment later walked their host Alexander Hamilton, to look upon a shameful scene in which food, glassware and china and guests were all In a heap. Hamilton, dreading the scandal that would result if the story of the affair became known, set about swiftly to restore order. Enough quiet was obtained so that he was able to make bis speech. Then he departed, probably with a real thanksgiving feeling in his heart to escape from such guests. But unfortunately for Hamilton, rumors of the disorder In Fraunces tavern had already reached Washington's ears and the President was plainly disturbed by the fact that what he had Intended to be a quiet religious holiday had been turned Into a rowdy affair by the friends of his secretary of the treasury. So when Hamilton arrived the President lost no time in questioning him about wbat had taken place. When he learned that a young soldier of the United States army bad been injured In a disgraceful brawL especially at a gathering presumably for the purpose of giving thanks to God for the blessings of "good government peace and concord," his anger was aroused to the extent that be demonstrated again, as he did when he rebuked Charles Lee on the battlefield of Monmouth, that he knew how to use strong language when the occasion called for It "It is disgraceful, by , sir!" spoke George Washington, and there was nothing left for Alexander Hamilton to do but meekly agree and discreetly withdraw from the presence of his chief without further comment . Thus did the political rivalry of two of h cabinet members have a part In detracting from the solemn character which onr first President had wished the first Thanksgiving day to have, and although this may have had nothing directly to do with it the fact Is that not for five years thereafter did the President again proclaim other official Thanksgiving. C br Western Newspaper Union. It has long been recognized that cannot be accomplished without a Private mendous increase Construction ,n construction, Private construction, however, will not go forward in a period of uncertainty now no more than it has In other years. and the experts have decided that the government must take the lead In this direction. They have ad vised the President there can be no real upturn In private building operations unless a start is made by the government Whether this Is the right theory, of course, none can foretell. It may turn out to be the government is pouring additional funds down Just another e as it has on numerous other occasions In the course of recovery experiment My conversations with men in both public and private life, men who are qualified to judge, lead me to believe that there will be considerable- - construction resulting from this program. The conclusions which have been expressed to me, It must be said frankly, do not indicate that there will be any such total of new con struction development nnder the new administration program as the enthusiastic exponents of the program now contend. There are numerous reasons for these conclusions as they have been explained to me. One of these reasons and perhaps the most Impor tant, is that no one is going to build a house nnles be feels that he can continue to pay for it recovery tre-Ne- rat-hol- Another road which the adminis tration is now following in Its ef-forts to cause Ea$mg Up money to on Bank Loans more freely flow Is the recent ruling eas ing restrictions on bank loans. Heretofore, banks have not been permitted to make loans of more than 10 per cent of their capital and surplus for Industrial purposes to one borrower. The treasury now has abrogated this provision, long regarded as a sound banking ruling, and has told the bunks they can loan more than 10 psr cent the amount loaned above 10 per cent la guaranteed by the Reconstruction FIttance corporation or the federal reserve system. It happened that on almost the pro-Tide- d same day that the treasury policy was annonnced, one of the largest banks In the United States reported privately that one of Its vice presidents had returned from a six weeks' scouting trip in an effort to find places where It could loan money. This man visited Important cities in 10 states, lie is a practical banker and be Is thoroughly acquainted with the means of approach to potential borrowers. Bot his six weeks' tour netted one loan application That bank's report may sound silly because there are so many people that, need money. Yet it must be remembered that a bank Is trustee for the funds placed la Its care by its depositors and It cannot hand out money with reckless abandon. It must feel .reasonably sure that there will be a repayment, and this was the thing which the bank's vice president failed to find. There were plenty of individuals and corporations that needed money but they had no security to offer and little to guarantee that they could repay the borrowed funds. Financial experts, therefore, are not unduly excited about the latest treasury ruling which was released with much gusto and with statements that this will free "many hundreds of millions" to business. I am told that the banks are chock-ful- l of loose cash. Reports to the treasury certainly Indicate that to be a fact But when borrowers who need money have no security and when business Is at such a low ebb that only the minimum of funds Is needed, I believe it can hardly be said that the bankers are wholly to blame. The bankers have been rigorously criticized in the last four or five years and obviously a considerable spanking was due them. On the other hand, I think It is a plain statement of fact that you can no more force people to borrow than you can make a horse drink after you have led him to the trough. Senator Gerald P. Nye. North Dakota Progressive Republican, has started on a speak-Unusu- al tour that as fflr as I can find, ng SpeakingTour Is without prece- dent The senator is chairman of the special senate committee named to investigate the munitions, aircraft and shipbuilding industries, to determine whether these businesses have been active in fomenting trouble between the nations of the world. The committee has held hearings covering a period of three weeks, and the hearings will be re- -' sumed later with the prospect that they may run on for many months. Senator Nye Is making a series of six speeches in the United States and one in Canada, dealing with the question of who really starts wars. He has announced that he desires to tell the country how nations are driven into conflict and the Inference is, of course, that he believes munition makers and others producing material for war are at the bottom of the heap. But the point Is that Mr. Nye Is an advocate of government ownership of all plants now engaged In the production of anything used in wars between nations. He is authentically reported to have a draft of legislation in mind which he will present to the forthcomHe Is not alone ing congress. in holding this belief for at least four other members of his committee entertain the same general trend of mind. There are seven members of the committee so that It Is apparent the Nye plan will have a majority of that committee supporting It If and when it Is presented to the senate. I have examined records rather comprehensively In an effort to whether ever before any senator or member of the house had gone out to the country with an appeal for support of legislation under a circumstance such as this. The committee has three or four months more of Investigation ostensibly to ascertain all pertinent facts. Despite the fact that the senate has voted money for the committee to make this investigation and the money will be spent at hearings, Senator Nye has proceed ed to make known his views In ad vance. Disclosures made by the commit tee thus far have been accepted generally, I think, as showing there was some fire as the cause of the smoke. Certain testimony given be fore that committee linked some of the American munitions makers with foreign interests whose designs were of a political character. It was shown how some ' of the foreign agents had attempted to provoke trouble between nations of Europe and the logical assumption is that If such activities occurred In two or three instances, they must have occurred In many others. Nevertheless, there Is a considerable amount of criticism heard In Washington about Senator Nye's plan of action because, it Is contended by these critics, it is hard to see bow the senator can conduct an unbiased Investigation after having committed himself In this unequl vocable way. per-sonal- ly die-cov- er & Westarn Newspapor VbIom. f- i ; 1' S ! |