Show spirit of first ath will give new note to independence day fourth of july celebration to be Worl worldwide divide in scope this year by CHARLES A released by western newspaper union you write it said john adams to thomas jefferson for you wield a pen ten times more eloquent than my own and thomas jefferson wrote it that was years ago but today the declaration of independence gleams among the literary jewels of the te world through the sheer beauty of its phrasing and the human dignity for which it stands thomas jefferson time in the year of grace 1776 was a young man of 33 known for his clarity of expression and ability as a writer how well he wrote all the world now knows in that hall in philadelphia learned and courageous men pledged their lives their fortunes or tunes and their sacred honor that we mag mfg might ht be a free nation surely enough the i rien who signed the declaration of independence risked their fortunes to say nothing of 0 their lives for those indeed were perilous times king george of england was not disposed to treat lightly the matter of disloyalty to the crown we must all hang together benjamin franklin had said or we will all hang separately but he knew when he be said it that it was no joking metter matter methe mathe although millions have had a good laugh since then at the wittiness of his remark that first fourth the fourth of july 1776 was a hot sunny day and in the afternoon a thunderstorm broke although the declaration was adopted on the fourth it was not engrossed until some weeks later the announcement of the declaration created a restrained enthusiasm tempered by a knowledge of the gravity of the step in this respect it closely resembled our own declaration of war against japan and then against the entire axis when a peace loving nation fully in accord with these dedla declarations la of war waited tensely for developments the document was procla proclaimed aimed to the people in the state house yard on july 8 at the same time the liberty bell was rung to summon the populace within a few weeks after the great bell tolled king georges army under general howe was hovering uncomfortably close and soon thereafter the long and bitter chapters ol of the revolutionary war were being written in privation blood and heroism the first publication of the historical document was on july 8 in dun laps pennsylvania Pach packet ret other printed copies appeared in newport boston and salem A symbol of freedom the big bronze bell with the familiar M war rent in its side has been the symbol cymbol of liberty and free expression to countless millions of americans since the new republic embarked on its perilous enterprise to in the year 1776 the crack came into th the e bell when it tolled the funeral of justice marshall in 1835 in the e raised letters which adorn its crown it is proclaimed that the bell was cast by pass stow in the year 1753 by order of the assembly of the province of pennsylvania for the new state house erected shortly before in that city however the great bell could make other claims it could claim but it does docs not that it was the first bell turned out in an american foundry this then is the background in which the first independence day was cast and all should be familiar with it the spirit of liberty which glowed from the pages of the immortal declaration has been the guiding star of the american people from that far day to this the pattern a t of liberty which was fadhl fashioned cp e q then has been woven into all of our institutions as well as into our speech and our everyday lives liberty Is an essential part of all of us we draw it in with the very air we breathe it Is inconceivable that a country nurtured in these fine traditions could ever accept the y yoke 0 ke of a foreign power or that the flame of liberty should ever burn out on these thes s e shores those who in their arrogance thought that it might planned badly indeed liberty bell rings again and so the liberty bell has run rung g again its first reverberations were heard from the augusta in the north atlantic at the time the atlantic charter was written the bell pealed still louder when america entered the war but this time its reverberations were heard throughout the world guaranteeing to all peoples that freedom which Is the divine heritage of an all this fourth of july will differ both in celebration and in spirit from other fourths of many years past otice once more america Is at war but this his time we fight no not t alone for our own liberty but for the liberties of conquered countries and for those nations whose liberties are threatened by the aggressor nations the changing times the fishing trips and the basket picnics of last fourth and earlier fourths will largely be converted this year into trips to training camps 7 C zv Z v this fourth of july will find american boys celebrating the declara tion ol of independence on many fronts throughout the world picture shows show a group of typical 0 S fighting men who are manning our caribbean de tenses benses they are equipped with modern garand rifles and wearing m mos 0 s quito helmets these finely conditioned men are experts in t i bush warf ar e throughout the land to visit soldiers sailors marines and airmen inthe in the making millions who formerly sought pleasure in countless ways in city or country will find strange new delight in wielding the hoe or pushing the cultivator in victory gardens all over the land many too will glean with pride and satisfaction some ol of the agricultural rewards of early springtime efforts to be placed on the fourth ol of july table for never before in the history ol of our country has there been such a trend towards grow your own as in the spring ot of 1942 thousands of boys who celebrated last fourth in the traditional american way will celebrate it this year in foreign lands in iceland in china ireland australia and 26 other outposts of our far flung battle front the declaration will be duly celebrated on aircraft carriers battleships cruisers destroyers subs and minesweepers on PT boats a and nd flying fortresses tribute will be paid to that first grand fourth of july and it wont be done with firecrackers firecracker sl 1 widening range of the he fourth while the fourth of july has been a major american holiday from time immemorial it has been strictly an american holiday with little more than passing press notices in foreign lands however there is reason to believe that those countries which are not under the nazi heel beel will hall hail the fourth this year as never before it may even become an international holiday after victory is won at least to in those axis dominated countries who will owe their liberty to the efforts 0 of america and the other united nations engaged in the struggle tor for world freedom A quiet fourth expected indications now point to the quietest fourth in many years regulations issued last march by the federal explosives control act placed a ban on the sale ot of fireworks and torpedoes of the fireworks variety the measure was designed design ad to save materials needed tor for munitions and at the same time lessen the danger ot of tires fires however this ban has been somewhat modified since then to dispose of s tocks stocks on hand amended regulations tio ns forbid giant crackers and rockets of the super duper variety but allow manufacture and sale of firecrackers not more than five inches long of torpedoes containing less than five grains of explosives and all other oilier works within specified size limitations during the motoring years that stretch behind us the fourth has been marked each year with a great flux of auto travel from city and country brid and vice versa this year however the scene will change considerably sider ably because of the rationing 0 of tires and gas hundreds of workmen who have been accustomed on the fourth to drive far into the country will spend this fourth bending over lathe machines or putting TNT into frito shells to whittle down the axis auto fatalities which usually reach the years peak over the fourth of july holiday will probably be much lower this year A happy day for children the fourth has been one of the happiest days of the year for children in the past however it must be admitted that the fourth of july during these later years has become mainly a holiday for the children and the larger significance of thedac has been lost loit in thi the rat a wt tat of the firecracker and the boom of the rocket with its spray of colored fire are and stars against the darkening evening sky how the children have pestered their parents around this time to break down all restraints and resolutions for a safe and sane fourth and yield to their implom ings to buy them just a few crackers before they are all sold the celebration for years has start around of june one could always tell that the fourth was just around the corner by thel the crack of firecrackers or the boom of cannon crackers noises that would have shocked us ds into anve investigation sti gation a i few weeks earlier boyish celebrants i bra ants were everywhere and measured their patriotism by the amount of noise they we were reable able to make many of u us s can look back to the days day when no celebration of the anniversary niver sary of independence was con com complete unless somebody had bad at least two fingers blown on off in those days all smart dogs left for parts unknown about two weeks in advance the fourth was a day of gayety gaiety of festivity and basket riles a day when the brass band played on all day long under the shade of the oaks and maples and the amber fluid flowed freely down parched and dusty throats these are the dear dead fourths of long I 1 ago |