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- . . • • ^ • - - C - - ' ; \ . " : V . - « l - ? . : - ' W V , THE jleHETTRT PLArTOKAt.E«, McHEKRT, HX. CHARTER of ffteeooM The interesting story of the writing "and signing of the Declaration of Inde­ pendence--July 2 or August 2 better entitled to celebration than July 4. % • #• ft OPULAR history lias fastened updtf ?' our impressionable minds a poetic picture of the signing of the Declara­ tion of Independence as a graceful-' and formal function, taking plao»: July 4, 1776, in a large, handsomely- furnished chamber In Independent , hall, Philadelphia. To give the nefr -' essary touch of vivacity to the pilK ; ture there Is the scene of the small darting from the door as the last signer set* ttis autograph to the precious parchment and dash- libg down the Street, calling to his grandfather, to *Itlng! Oh, ring for liberty!" ^ '?<'l Our ideal proclamation of the charter of Amer­ ican freedom must be shattered in the cause of 4ruth. The Declaration of Independence wsts, » Signed behind locked doors, and was not general* » ly signed upon the Fourth of July at all. The city , Was not breathlessly awaiting the event outsider' |»or did the Liberty bell peal forth on that dajr the triumphal note of freedom. The accredited historian of the United States department of state is Gaillard Hunt, Litt. D.. LL. now chief of the division of manuscripts in the library of Congress. ' "There is really no reason for our celebrating Ihp Fourth of July more than July 2 or August 2,* ;#ild Doctor Hunt recently to an inquirer. "It wak i#ot until the latter date that the document was generally signed. l3 "The Virginia bill of rights, of which George Mason was also the author, was drawn up and adopted in the last colonial assembly in Virginia prior to the Revolution. The bill of rights is is effect a part of every constitution in the land t<*« dfey. It is beyond doubt that this famous docte jiient, of which his elderly friend was anthor, wdl largely drawn upon by Thomas Jefferson when tat • wrote the Declaration of Independence!. - "The fundamental principles of government set "forth in Mason's bill of rights were the same as those in the English petitions to the king, the acts jut the long parliament and magna charta. "You know, perhaps, thaKit was another Vir­ ginian, Richard Henry Lee, who presented to coa* gress, on June 7, 1776, a set of resolutions contain­ ing the words, That these united colonies are, and' :~«f right ought to be, free and independent stated tnd that all political connection between theq* ' And the state of Great Britain Is, and ought to bl^ . totally dissolved.' " • "It was as a result of the favorable voting upon jfcee's resolutions that the well-known committer Composed of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Be®*- .Jnmin Franklin, Rd&er Sherman and Robert R. Llf- - Itigston, was named to draft the document. Tha Committee assigned the task of preparing the ia» fttrument to the Virginian. Jefferson's was the - faster political mind and it was by no mere thance that he was called upon to write the doctt* fbent which has been termed the best-known pa­ per that has ever come from the pen of an indi­ vidual.' Drafting of the Declaration. • . "Thomas Jefferson was the personification of Biethod," remarked Doctor Hunt, "and immediate* ly upon receiving his commission to write tha Seclaration he retired to the two rooms he rented' s a working place at Seventh and Market placl^ Philadelphia, and prepared to give his country dne of the greatest monuments of human freedom, "The department of state owns the first draft of tfce Declaration which Jefferson presented to the Committee for Its approval. His confreres made a few alterations, which are clearly shown in the text, and Jefferson has w ritten beside each change the name of Its authof, making the document of Inestimable value. s , "The fair copy which he made for presentation £b congress, and which bears the congressional Amendments and alterations, is lost. "The latter is the formal Declaration of Inde­ pendence laid before congress on June 28, 17701. It was then read and ordered to lie on the table Until juiy i. On July 2 a resolution was passed declaring the Independence of the United States, although the exact form of the proclamation as prepared by Jefferson was debated upon until July ,4, when, with some alterations and amendments. It Was signed by John Hancock, president of the Congress, and the signature attested <by Charles Thomson, secretary of congress. "July 2 was actually the date of separation of the colonies from the mother country. On July 8 we find John Adams, whom Jefferson called the *,5CO!OSBUS of the colonies,' writing to his wife, Abi­ gail, in the following words: " "Yesterday the greatest question which was ( •ver debated in America was decided, and a great- ' perhaps never was nor will he decided among iten.' - •. - - . Great Day Was July 2. "In a second letter, written the same day, ha (aid: 'But the day is past. July 2 will be the piost memorable epoch In the history of America, t am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by Succeeding generations as the anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliv­ erance by solemn acts of devotion to God Al­ mighty.* ; "There Is little doubt but that the participants In the event considered July 2 as the troe date of Independence for the colonies, but popular fancy Seized upon the 4th, the date of acceptance of Jef­ ferson's formal and detailed setting-forth as the •'gpropcr date of celebration. "John Trumbull's famous painting of the scene, hanging In the rotunda of the capitol, is a poetical piece of work and gives many of the portraits of the signers with faithfulness, but it Is somewhat Jfonciful. No silken hangings draped the windows that stifling room on July 4, 1776, and the beau- tiful order in which the men are ranged up for Jigning the Immortal document Is also fictional. i i£££l/m*. DUE FRENCH } wt: &Eft MANS tfAPftJfc E tWENCHEg NEAR VERDUN AFTER TEH- PARIS, REPORTS Teutons Are Now Within Three and* One-Half Miles of City Preper--Take jFlrst LlfceTrenches and THIaumorit - Work.'" * '"X -• - ' or* Paris, June 26.--The Germans are nearer Verdun than they have bepn at any time since the great drive for the fortress started months ago. 2 Terrific fighting to the northeast of the city on Friday gaVe them posses­ sion of the first line trenches of the French between the hills 320 and 321. They also captured the Thiaumont work. The attack carried them ro the village of Pleury, which Is only BV4 miles from the' city proper, but a coun­ ter-attack forced them to give some ground'there. The official statement refers to the German losses as "enor­ mous." Following is the text of the official statement issued by the ministry Of war; • . "On the right hank of the Mettse. following violent artillery preparations last night, the Germr.ns made a series of attacks on a, large scale on the front of Hill 321 to the east of the Demloup battery. Attacks with heavy explosives followed each other with extreme stubbornness, notwithstand­ ing the enormous losses which our tire inflicted on the enemy. •Between Hill 321 and Hill 320 the Germans succeeded In carrying our first line trenches and the Thiaumont work. "A powerful German attack, which has reached as far as the village of Fleury, was repulsed by a violent coun­ ter-attack. "Attacks directed on the woods of Vaux, Chapitre, Fumin and Chenols and on the Demloup battery were broken by our lire and completely re­ pulsed." The Germans also have launched a heavy attack in the Champagne dis­ trict. Three violent assaults on the French trenches In the region of Mont Tetu were repulsed, according to tbe afternoon's statement. f Berlin, June 26.--The text of Fri­ day's statement dealing with opera­ tions on the western front-follows: "East of Ypres an attempted enemy attack failed. "Three attacks by the French against trenches we had taken west of Fort Vaux were repelled. Here since the 21st of June we have taken 24 offi­ cers and 400 men prisoners,'* Jnc/€>p€,ncte>sic%€r ff&// "The president of the congress, John Hancock, with the secretory, Charles Thomson, alone signed the autograph Jefferson document on that date. Immediately afterward it was hurried to the offi­ cial printer for congress, John Dunlap, to put in type and several copies were made. By next morning the printed copies of Jefferson's Declara­ tion of Independence were In Hancock's hands. When he came to write the proceedings for the Fourth of July, 1776, Into the Journal of Con­ gress, Charles Thomson, secretary of the congress, left a blank space for the Declaration and it Is this broadside which now appears wafered into the space left for it In the Journal. "This broadside was sent out to the governors of the states, to the Continental army, and It is the pfr the fleeter̂ ?tion of Jndejo ena'enca Was read to the people July 8, when the Liberty bell was rung and the first public celebration was made in honor of the event." Signed August 2. "July 19 congress ordered that the Declaration passed the 4th be fairly engrossed. It was very beautifully done on parchment. This is the document which received the signatures of all the members of the Continental congress present in Independence hall, August 2, 1776. By this time, however, the membership had changed slightly, so that the "signers" were not Identical with the body of delegates who had declared for Independ­ ence a month before. Presumably It was at this time that Hancock, making his great famllUfc sig­ nature, jestingly remarked that John Bull could see It without his spectacles. One or two of the signatures were not actually affixed until a late? date than August 2. "This Is the treasured Declaration of Independ­ ence now in possession of the department of state," said Doctor Hunt. "It is kept in a hermetic­ ally sealed case, which Is opened only by special order for very especial reasons. It Is faded, and It would have been fetter If this engrossed copy had been made on paper rather than parchment. It Is so faded that few of the signatures are recognis­ able. Nothing can now be done which will perma­ nently benefit It. "I believe the main cause of the fading was the Impression taken in 1.823, by order of President Monroe. Two hundred facslmllles were then made to give a copy to each of the then living signers and others. Taking the Impression removed the ink." paper from which the Declaration of Independence THEY BELIEVED IN AMERICA history let all true Americans today highly re­ solve on a new birth within their own souls of the faiths of those men 140 years ago, of faith in themselves ajad of faith in America. One hundred and forty years ago some half- hundred men, sent by their communities to c<*|- cert measures for securing their "rights as Eng­ lishmen," became convinced that these could not |»e obtained save by ceasing to be "British sub­ jects" and declaring themselves "American citl- sens." ' Let us look behind the formal phrases of the Immortal Declaration to the faith of these men 'and of the people for whom they spoke. What was the faith that made vital their appeal for (die justice of their cause and the righteousness Of their undertaking? They believed In themselves; 1n their ability to do right and justice. They believed in the com* petence of stalwart manhood to govern Itself ani to provide for the common welfare. They b£* lleved they could make better arrangements In government than men had made before them. They believed In themselves. In their peqple, In America, » ' Americans of late have done a great deal of fault-finding with America. There is not so much now as a year or two ago. The spectacle across the Atlantic tends to hush It, and to give new point to the saying that "other countries" are what make Americans so proud of their own. In the light of that spectacle and of our own OF GREAT MOMENT IN HISTORY. The declaration of American independence was of unequaled moment in history. As the result of that fact, the United States of America has risen to a greatness which has changed the face of the world. In a Uttle less than seven score of years it has changed us from a nation of peo­ ple scattered thinly along the coast of the At­ lantic, to a nation of over a hundred millions of people stretching over the whole continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and even into the <tnnds beyond the seas. Moreover, In wealth and In material energy, as In numbers. It now far sur­ passes the mother country from which It sprang. TRIBUTE TO THE DECLARATION The historian Buckle was cordial and sweeping In his praise of the Declaration. He said among other things: "That noble Declaration ought to be hung up In the nursery of every king and blazoned on the porch of every royal palace." If such w:ere the brilliant historian's idea. It was as Professor Tyler remarked, "because the Declaration has become the classic statement of political truths which must at last abolish kings altogether <?r else teach them to Identify their ex­ istence with the dignity and happiness of human nature." SIGNERS LIVED TO OLD AGE ' |T)v« of Tham Had Pa»ed Niiwty-YMr 17 ̂ " Mark When Death Claimed T " "H * Them. ' • ' ' ' ' . IS Th^. signers who lived to the great- rlftot age were James Smith of Penn- sylvania, the Irish-born signer, who „fled July 11, 1806, at the age of plnety-slx years, and Charles Carroll, <who died November 14, 1882, also at the age of ninety-six *years. William ^JStory dtod tn me at the age at ninety-three, John Adams died in 1826 *t the age of ninety-one, and James Lewis, the Welsh-born signer, died in 1808 at the age of ninety-one. Those signers who lived to be eighty years old were SsiausI Adams, eighty-one; William Floyd, eighty-seven; Benja­ min Franklin, eighty-five; Thomas Jef­ ferson, eighty three; Thomas McKean, eighty-four; Robert Treat Paine, eighty-four; Matthew Thornton, eighty-nine; William Williams, eighty- one, and George Wythe, eighty. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson; dying in 1826, were, excepting Charles Carroll of Maryland, the last survivors of the signers, and It Is one of the curiosities of history that both died on the same day--July 4 of that year. Charles Carroll survived until 1832. and was the laat of the signers. The signers who did not live to see the independence of the United States won by arms and acknowledged by England were Button Gwinnett, who died to 1777; Joseph Hewe3, died 1779; Philip Livingston, died 1778; Thomas Lynch, 1778; John Hotton, 1777; George Boss, 1779; Richard Stockton, 1781, and George Taylor, 1781. Mast Widely Read Document, One hundred and forty years halve passed since the Fourth of July. 1776, when the Declaration was signed, but that epochal document (is still read and reread with fresh glow. Many s schoolboy has committed it to memory and all intelligent men are familiaf with its style and with its statement of grievances against the BrtUsh king From Our New Dictionary. Cipher--Something one can always get for nothing. Ignorance--Sometimes it's bliss, and Bometlmes It blisters. ^ Clove--A scent frequently used to disguise the breath of suspicion. |5gg--Something a hen lays simply because she cant Stand it on end. Compromise -- An agreement by which two parties get what they don't wn«t.--Iihliannpolis Star. - . .i i-vy • •.. Blood'ees Battle. " > "A soldier home from the waia, "That's the (pan." "Has he been righting la JEurope?" "Dear me, no! Fighting irt Europe Is the wildest folly. He's been lead­ ing a vice < squad in % distant city. "Say. how would yon class these e*» •pert nvifttorsT* "Why. as shooting stars.** The Effects of Opiates* HAT INFANTS are peculiarly susceptible to opium and its vwiots^ preparations, all of which are narcotic, is well known. Even in tiiab$li . smallest c oses, if continued, these opiates cause changes in the fnoo-,; sons and growth of the cells which are likely* to become permanent, causing imbecility, mental perversion, a craving for alcohol or narcotics in later life. receive opiates in the smallest doses for more than a day at a time, and ., only then if unavoidable. -i;Q The administration of Anodynes, Drops, Cordials, Soothing Syrups and Other narcotics to children by any but a physician cannot be too strongly dicried, and the druggist should not be a party, fco it. Children who are iu nfted the attention of a physician, and it is nothing less a w t̂mi to doee them willfully with narcotics. , Oastoxia contains no narcotics if it the signature of Chas. H. Fletcher. Genuine Castoria always bears the signature of* Shipping Fever s<l.' K y i , Distemper and all V'. nose and throat diseases cured, and all others, no matter how "exposed^** ' kept from having any of these diseases with SPOiLW'f BSSTISMPER COMPOl'XD, Three to six doses often cur® a ease. One 50-cent bottle gruarantood to do so. Best thins for brood mares; acta on the blood. 50c a bottl*, J . |u dozen bottles. Druggists and harness shops or ux&uih i facturers sell it. Ag-ents wanted. t ^ f SPOHJf MEDICAL CO., Chemist*, Gwkca, ladL. V. k. A* " v Avoiding Discussion. "¥ou must give your wife credit for knowing as much about the political situation as you dot" "That's what I want to do," replied Mr. Growcher. "I want to give her credit for about everything without putting her to the trouble of explain­ ing a single word." Natural Effect. "Miss Gwendolyn has snch a ing voice." •*That must be because she Is thing of a belle." To give a relish to tomato sanest chop a green pepper with onion. This Is good served with omelet. & • Is";. SHIP FOR AMERICANS Refugees Crowd Vera Crux Awaiting 'Opportunity to Leave Mexican Port--Many on Warship. Vera Cruz. June 24.--Vera Cms Is filled with refugee Americans await­ ing opportunity to leave for the United States. Every train ^arriving here brings from 50 to 100 men, wom­ en and children, who expect to embark on board trnnsports. but no steamships arrived, with the Result that the hotels and rooming houses are filled with Americans. Many are quartered on board the battleship Nebraska, where rhey are awaiting truusfer to the first avail­ able steamship. A special train of ten box cars, car­ rying from 500 to 600 refugees, wai expected here during the night. As all available rooming space Is occu­ pied. many of these persons will be compelled to walk the streets. t ONE DIES, TWO HURT, IN FIGHT Mine Battle at Virginia, Minn., Begun by Woman With Repeating Rifle, Officials Assert Virginia, Minn., June 24.--One man was killed and two wounded in a tight here between a squad of special po­ lice and a crowd of I. W. W. strikers who were on their way to picket the Alpena mine of the Oliver Iron Mining company. A woman armed with a re­ peating rifle and who stood on the porch of a miner's house fired at ran­ dom. Accounts of the affair differ, but it is charged by officials that Mrs. Nick Kosendlch, the woman who used the rltle, started the shooting. NOTED GERMAN AIRMAN SLAIN * Lieutenant Immelmann Killed, Dis­ patch From Berlin Says--Do- stroyed 15 Enemy Aeroplanes. London, June 23.--A Berlin dispatch to the Copenhagen correspondent of the London Telegraph states that Lieu­ tenant Imineiinann, the daring aviator who on the 17th of May brought down his flfteeuth aeroplane, was killed while reconnoitering on th^, western front on Tuesday. ," ^ American Flyer Kurt In France. Paris, June 27.--Sergeant Barnsley of Texas, a member of the Franco- American aviution corps, was wound­ ed during a flight with German aero­ planes near Bur-le-Duc^,AYher&JUe was taken to n hospital. ? " Stated for Governor Gfniml. Ottawa, June 27.--It was tUmored here on Sat unlay that the earl of Der­ by will be the next governor gen­ eral of Canada in succession to the duke of Connaught, wlio leaves in Oc­ tober. -- ' ' * It's a Picnic Getting Ready for a OSvss Pickles Sweet ReEsh Ham Loaf Qucke* Loaf Fruk Preserves Jellies Apple Batter. Lancheon Meats * . Pork and Beaas Ready to Serve h<* -••lb Food Products UMi at fmr groccr', . Libby, McNeill A Libby Chicago Dutch Establish New Mark. The drainage of the Inland lake of 35,000 acres formed north of Amster­ dam by the disastrous floods of Janu­ ary last has been completed, save for one or two of the deeper'"polders" or basins In the ifirea In question. The construction and Installation of the giant puriiplng pfant on the restored Zuider Zee dikes was carried out In four weeks, and the actual pumping took anofher four, so that the problem of removing something like 200.000.000 cubic meters of water was dealt with In a matter of two months only. So far as Dutch engineers art; aware, this is an unequakd feat in any other coun­ try in the world. The advance made by modern hydrographlc engineering may be gathered from the fact that af­ ter the floods of February, 1825, the draining took until July. 1826, lasting thus a period of 17 months. Sopvte Kicks. , r "And yon say the mule kicked yon, Sam!" ^ "Indeed, he did. boss." "How far did he kick you# , " "How far did he kick nieTT ,, V, i "Yes, how far were you from hltrt after he kicked yon?" "Does you mean how far was 1 from him after he kicked ma ftrst or de last time, boss?" The fat aow proverb. Is ajre fed.---Scotch • I f M Stood Up for His Mother. Three-year-old Sherman was visit­ ing a ueighltor and sat watching her make a cake. As she put In the In­ gredients he kept asking, "What's that?" Finally he asked her what kind of cake she was making and this lady replied: "A" angel cake. Don't yonr ever make angel cake?" He studied for a little tttne and then. It a tone of assurance that lito mamma could not be outdoue by any­ one, replied: . - "Ncy aftkpy to* atakes fa ^ ̂ cake.**. ,v"': Real Humorist. ^ "My nephew, Terry Pert, ought <p he writing buttoc. busters for the Star- beams columu, right now!" said old Isaac Ickery. "He's a whole lot fuller of youmer than the fellers that are writing 'em. Why, just yesterday 1 handed hl:i a paper with a picture It of that 'ere big-nosed Csar Ferdi­ nand of Bulgaria, and says I. "What do you think of him?" And as quick as a flash he answered right back* •Goo«iness only nose!' Just like that!" --Kansas City Star. j vi ^ ; O • "T Stella--Did he propose? ^ <„ , Bella--Not yet, but I think fee *f| made his keynote speech. v„ j It's easier to marry for nMusgr «Ml|.. It Is to get the money. 51 Sends *Wettafl« to Kaiser. Geneva, via Paris. June 26.--A spe­ cial messenger carrying an autograph letter from tbe king of Greece to the German emperor has passed through Lugano, Switzerland. The messenger was accompanied by two officers. Would Lift BtocKade. Athens, via London, June 26.--1 here Is general satisfaction over the result of the ultimatum sent to King Conalan- tlne by the entente. The representa­ tive of the allies have recommended uuedlate lifting of ^he blockade. . 1 P Unlike common conk flakes, the New Port Toastie* don't mush down when milk or cream is added, i - And they have a charming new flavour--deKcioua, different, the: true essence of the corn--not found in corn flakes herctofot©. The intense heat of the new process of manufacture raises tiny bubbles on each delicious brown flake and these little puffs are die identifying feature. These new flakes are firmer, crisper, and crumble in the package--in comparison, ordinary com flakes are (Mi "chaff." 4 ; • " » Your grocer can send you a package of • New Post Toasties vVii ; * <•**<! A