Show V 4 aa aci j yiu u i ise iseyo yv t ii fiew l Z tt if y t baia rf sl J 1 g i IJ T i i mcf i i lol wi i AP fa aya ty a ri y yel ill r i foj SJ ir f J r M AA A M 1 i iK ff 11 A i lf cy caty f ri iirth an fn eis agaj Q aa ylli i W R ooh 4 afaf y M y imay amii myrtt byg A f gf L r by MARIE H He released leased by western newspaper union THE Thim HE six year old boy pulled himself self up on the marble stool to look into the glass case As with us it was his first visit to washington and he had to see everything he let out a squeal of surprise mother he said looking up to see where she was its all gold is it a treasure we all laughed but the policeman stationed there on the west gallery of at the main floor of the congressional library bent down to the small boy r deed it is s sonny its so 0 priceless les that there is a special guard like me here every hour of the day do you know what they are sonny 7 nope said the boy his eyes eyes growing larger the birth certificates of this nation that one up in the cabinet on the wall Is the declaration of independence and ghisone thi this sone one in the case below is the constitution of the united states I 1 the guard pronounced the words with so much pride th that a t they sent a thrill through us listeners and we edged closer to see the golden documents under protective glass see specially lighted and kept under a protective glass coated with a yellow chemically treated film so the parchments parch ments wont fade here speaking to all of 0 us look at john hancocks signature written big and bold so the king of england might read it without his hill spectacles have these documents always been bean here a asked i a man in the group no always been at the seat of government at first that was new york when philadelphia became the capital they were taken there after congress fixed upon washington as a permanent capital they were moved to this city and been here ever since someone asked no the guard explained for a short time when the british captured washington during the war of 1812 they were removed to virginia far enough away to be sate safe they were preserved in a vault but in 1021 1921 president harding ordered them placed here why are some of the names rubbed off asked the six dixy year earold ear old boy we looked closer and saw a few signatures somewhat obliterated they tell a story about that but no one can prove it when the british attacked the city of washington in 1814 these parchments parch ments were forgotten in the confusion that followed then a clerk of the state department in whose custody they were rolled them up in a hurry shoved them into linen bags and fled to georgetown and then to leesburg it is said that on an his journey the ink on the surface flaked baked off from this rough handling now win will you remember he asked the little boy all those things on september 17 constitution day the date on which the constitution was finished way babkin back in 1787 philadelphia celebrates not having such an introduction to the origin of our constitution most do not even know when constitution ution day Is but the philadel phiang have observed it with greater regularity than any other place in america perhaps this city is conscious of the distinction it holds in having independence hall the building in which both these documents were drafted in 1887 philadelphia held a national centennial celebration on september 15 16 and 17 arranged 1 by a constitutional centennial commission this commission included representatives from each state and territory appointed by the governors the president and his cabinet governors and other officers from each state and territory and members of the diplo in this shrine in the congressional library in washington are preserved the birth certificates of this nation the declaration of independence and the constitution of the united states matic corps the celebration began with an industrial parade in which people demonstrated the progress made i i by the united states in the century of its existence in the evening Gover governor beaver ot of plans delphia held a reception in honor of the official guests 0 on n the second day members of state and federal military organizations paraded in review before president grover cleveland at night the president held a public reception in the academy of music attended by thousands cleveland Is speaker on the third day the real anniversary of the constitution exercises were held in independence square before the building where the constitution waed was drafted d president cleveland made an add address in which he concluded As we look down the past century to the origin of our constitution as we contemplate its ito trials and triumphs as we realize how completely the principles upon w which aich it Is based have met every national nation al peril and every national need how devoutly should we confess with franklin god cod governs in the affairs of men and how solemn should be the lie reflection that to our handsets hands la ts committed this ark of the peoples covenant and that ours Is the duty to shield it from impious hands bands in the century the anniversary has attracted general attention throughout the country various radical groups small but noisy beg began a n to agitate for the overthrow of american america n institutions public dubuc spir cited men decided that citizens ought THE AUTHOR editors note this article won first prize in a contest sponsored by western newspaper union at the fifth annual writers conference 1 Z at northwestern 44 ty la in july 1944 for the best feature article appropriate prop to the observance of constitution n day it was written by mrs marle marie a a marie H teacher ln in a acm chi cago high school mrs is the daughter of an immigrant bohemian shoemaker and although born in this country she did not learn to speak english until she was six years old she has achieved distinction as a writer having won several contests in short story and feature writing in the middle middie west she is the mother of a son who recently was accepted for CAA training raining and who hopes hopel to become an army aviator to be more fully instructed in thi th nature of the constitution and iti guarantees of their freedom so it 1914 the national security league was was organized to promote this Ns in It ruction the league prepared t s catechism of the constitution dr cir cu dilating lating hundreds of copies II 11 urged schools to devote more time alma to the teaching of the constitution and observance of the celebration ol of september 17 by 1919 there were active committees working wo aking in 41 states with chair chain men men from presidents of state stat ebat bai associations presidents of colleges chairmen of school boards pre presidents asi of historical societies state branches of sons of the american rev revolution alution and other distinguished citizens under the guidance of bf the th league constitution day was observed by 22 states and a hundred cities in that year the national security league tried to counteract the effect of attacks upon the constitution by r radicals ad cals out of office in 1934 these radicals charged the democratic president and congress with setting up a go government disregarding the constitution a kind which the radicals of previous years had bad advocated at that time measures were adopted to overcome the effects of financial panic in the fall fail of 1929 and the consequent e business depression to save our Libei liberties ties prominent republicans and democrats organized the american liberty league to use all means in its power to prevent the destruction of those liberties guaranteed by the constitution the constitution day anniversary in 1934 was observed by distinguished orators of both parties calling legislation for the relief of business as subversive of the constitution meetings were held under the auspices of the SAR SAB DAR DAB YMCA american legion and other i organizations so some rne speakers defended the recovery legislation ai as constitutional and said they had bad as profound respect for the constitution as the critics of such legislation this difference of opinion on fundamental issues made the 1934 celebration more notable than any before it demonstrated too the rights right americans were privileged to exercise under this same constitution constitute lon in more recent years there is a growing tendency to have 1 I am an american day on september ja 17 as in an especially appropriate way to celebrate the constitution day those who become of age before that day and any aliens who aha have e been naturalized are welcomed as new citizens of these united states by their local community officers the pledge and national anthem anthe in given by these new citizens has such fervor that it makes one c conscious clous anew of what it means to be an american few changes perhaps this years celebration of bf constitution day just two months before a national election would be a good time to look up the constitution in any encyclopedia and study its articles drafted by 55 delegates from 13 states who working tour four months in secret session often violently disagreed the constitution now in its year has had few changes in its text among all the constitutions in the world it is the oldest and yet is well adapted to the expanding needs of the resourceful american people even in their complex civilization men like washington franklin hamilton and madison had a hand in shaping it and because of their divergent views compromised to make a more perfect union possible you will learn that it confers powers upon the federal government and again exerts limitations upon both state and central govern governments me n t a today with accusations hurled by presidential candidates ringing so go loudly in our ears a quiet contemplation of the original constitution is almost a must for every citizen it is a good way to celebrate constitution day this year |