Democratic Sentinel, Volume 11, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 September 1887 — AN EVEN HUNDRED. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AN EVEN HUNDRED.

Celebration of the Centennial of the Birth of the American Republic. President Cleveland Delivers a Brief Address to Ten Thousand People. Justice Miller, of the Supreme Court, Contributes a Memorial Oration on the Occasion. Ex-Minister Kasson Delivers a Speech and J. G. Blaine Writes a Letter. * The great centennial celebration of the signing of the National Constitution, lasting three days, came to a successful termination at Philadelphia on Saturday, Sept. 17. A Philadelphia correspondent says of the closing day’s exercises: Shortly before 9 o’clock a. m. the President, accompanied by Secretaries Bayard and Fairchild, left the Lafayette Hotel and proceeded to the Commissioners’ room in the east wing of the City Hall, at Market and Broad streets. His appearance was the signal for an enthusiastic burst of applause from the enormous crowd in waiting. For an hour and a half the President stood shaking hands with all who approached, young and old, rich and poor. Promptly at 10:30 the Presidential party started for Independence Square, where the memorial meeting was to be held. Here a grand stand with a seating capacity of 10,000 had been erected. For half an hour before the exercises began the Marine Band, stationed on the east Bide of the stand, had discoursed music, a chorus of 2,000 children, with 200 men as leaders, Binging a patriotic air. At just 11:46 the appearance of the President and his wife at the head of the double column of distinguished visitors caused a perfect uproar of applause. As they came down the center aisle toward their places in front the President leaned on the arm

•of ex-Minister Kasson, and directly behind them came Mrs. Cleveland, leaning on the arm of Thomas M. Thompson, Chairman of the Committee on Reception of Distinguished Guests. Next <yime Secretary Bayard, Daniel Lamont and wife, and Secretary Fairchild. After the President and Mrs. Cleveland had reached the stand a general hand-shaking with those whom they recognized or were recognized by took place, after which, in response to the tumultuous applause of the multitude, they walked side by side to the front railing of the structure and bowed their acknowledgments of the compliments paid them. Among those present on the grand stand were representatives of every condition of life. Hide by side were the Chief Magistrate, the highest ecclesiastical representatives, the justices of the highest law tribunal, the ministers extraordinary of foreign powers, the nation’s lawmakers, and representatives of the army and navy, and all other departments of civil, military, and religious life. At the front of the stand facing south an inclosure was railed off for the President, his party, the speakers, and others. At the front, and suspended so as to be in full view, hung a photographic copy of the original Constitution. At the east of the stand stood the quaint old high-backed chair occupied by George Washington as the presiding officer of the Congress which adopted that honored and venerated document. Suspended from the back of the chair was another copy of the nation’s charter. After all tae distinguished people had taken their seats and the cheering had subsided, Bishop Potter arose and, with uncovered made the opening prayer. The Bishop read from manuscript. He invoked ;the divine blessing upon the day’s proceedings and upon the President and other officials of the nation. The prayer was quite lengthy. When the Bishop concluded, General Sheridan with his aids, followed closely by Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop Byan, and a number of Catholic clergymen, marched down the aisle and were heartily cheered. When they had been seated, John A. Kasson made the introductory address of the day. He referred briefly to the object of the celebration, and reviewed the progress of affairs from the time of the drafting of the Constitution up to the present. Cardinal Gibbons, clad in official vestments, sat at the side of the speaker, and was one of the most attentive listners. At the conclusion of Mr. Kasson’s address the chorus sang, “Appeal to Truth." The President then delivered a brief address. While he was speaking the old Liberty Bell rang out the midday hour, every stroke drawing forth a rousing hurrah from the multitude present. Mr. Cleveland paused in his remarks until the final cheer had been given ana then continued. His address was as follows : “I deem it a very great honor and pleasure to participate in these impressive exercises. Every American citizen should on this centennial day rejoice in his citizenship. He will not find the cause of his rejoicing in the antiquity of his country, for among the nations of the earth he stands with the youngest. He will not find it in the glitter and the pomp that bedeck a monarch and dazzle abject and servile subjects, for in his country the people themselves are rulers. He will not find it in the story of bloody foreign conquests, for his Government

has been content to care for its own domain and people. He should rejoice because the work of framing our Constitution was completed one hundred years ago to-day, and also because, when completed, it established a free government. He should rejoice because this Constitution and Government have survived so long, and also because they have survived with so many blessings, and have demonstrated so fully the strength and value of popular rule. Ho should rejoice in the wondrous growth and achievements of the past one hundred years, and also in the glorious promise of the Constitution through centuries *- -''me.

*We shall fail to be duly thankful for all that was done for us one hundred years ago unless we realize the difficulties of the vork then in hand and the dangers avoided in the task of forming ' a more perfect union’ between disjointed and inharmonious States, with interests and opinions radically diverse and stubbornly maintained. The perplexities of the convention which undertook the labor of preparing our Constitution are apparent in these earnest words of one of the most illustrious of its members : The small progress we have made after four or five weeks of close attendance and continued reasonings with each other, our different sentiments on almost every question—several of the last producing as many nays as yeas—is, methinks, a melancholy proof of the imperfection of the human understanding. We, indeed, seem to feel our own want of political wisdom, since we have been running about in search of it. We have gone back to ancient history for models of government, and examined the different forms of those republics which, having been formed with the seed of their own dissolution, now no longer exist. In this situation of tip's assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it wuen presented to us, how has it happened, sir, that we have not

heretofore once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Light to illuminate our understandings ?* “And this wise man, proposing to his fellows that the aid and blessing of God should be invoked in their extremity, declared: ‘I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of the truth that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings that “except the Lord build the house they laborjin vain that build it ” I firmly believe this, and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no bett r than the builders of Babel. We shall be divided by our little partial local interests, our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and by-word down to future ages ; and, what is worse, mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing governments by human wisdom, and leave it to chance, war, and conquest.’ “In the face of all discouragements the fathers of the republic labored on for four long, weary months, in alternate hope and fear, but always with rugged resolve, never faltering in a sturdy endeavor, sanctified by a prophetic sense of the value to posterity of their success, and always with unflinching faith in the principles which make the foundation of a government by the people.

“At last their task was done. It is related that upon the back of the chair occupied by Washington as the President of the convention a sun was painted, and that as the delegates were signing the completed Constitution, one of them said: ‘I have often and often in the course of the session, and in the solicitude of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now, at length, I know that it is a rising and not a setting sum’ “We stand to-day on the spot where this rising sun emerged from political night and darkness, and in its own bright meridian light we mark its glorious way. Clouds have sometimes obscured its rays, and dreadful storms have made us fear; but God has held it in its course, and through its life-giving warmth has performed his latest miracle in the creation of this wondrous land and people. “As we look down the past century to the origin of our Constitution ; as we contemplate its trials and its triumphs ; as we realize how comiletely the principles upon which it is based lave met every national ueril and every national need, how devoutly should we confess with Franklin, ‘God governs in the affairs of men,’ and how solemn should be the reflection that to our hands is committed this ark of the people's covenant, and that ours is. the duty to shield it from impious hands. We receive it sealed with the tests of a century. It has been found sufficient in the past, and in all the future years it will be found sufficient, if the American people will be true to their trust. “Another centennial day will come, and millions yet unboin will inquire concerning our stewardship and the safety of their Constitution. God grant that they may find it unimpaired ; and, as we rejoice at the patriotism and devotion of those who lived a hundred years ago, so may others who follow us rejoice in our fidelity, and in our jealous love for constitutional liberty.” The President concluded his remarks at 12:05, and on taking his seat was greeted with a tremendous roar of applause. In the middle of the cheers the chorus broke into a song, and for a few minutes the noise was simply deafening. When quiet had been restored United States Supreme Court Justice Miller stepped to the front of the stand, and, facing the assembled dignitaries, began the delivery of his oration. He held his audience spellbound, and was followed with rapt attention. He described briefly the -work of forming the Constitution and the objections made to the drawing up of the instrument. He also touched on the mode of selecting United States Senators. He closed his address with the recitation of a quotation from Chancellor Kent. During the oration Mrs. Cleveland sat beside Secretary Bayard, who protected her from the sun’s rays. Justice Miller’s address occupied one hour in delivery. The new national hymn, which was contributed by F. Marion Harlaua, was then recited by Prof. Murdoch with a chorus of two hundred men’s voices.

At 1:40 President Kasson, of the Commission, gently took the arm of Cardinal Gibbons, who.

with the glittering sun pouring down upon his Cardinal vestments, and the “red hat” so lately placed upon his head by the venerable Leo XHI., looked his best, and was the recipient of much attention. After walking to the front of the stand and paying his respects to the thousands of people who surged in and around

the square, with a bow he turned and, facing the President, and within hearing of all who occupied seats around the circle, offered a prayer to the Almighty. He was listened to with the closest possible attention, and upon the conclusion of the prayer the sweet strains of the patriotic “StarSpangled Banner" broke upon the crowd in volumes frcm the voices of the grand chorus, accompanied by the Marine Band. An impressive benediction was then pronounced by Rev. Jere Witherspoon, of Nashville, Tenn. Just as he finished the benediction the leader of the Marine Bond signaled his musicians to render a march specially prepared for the occasion. As the band struck up, the President and Mrs. Cleveland walked arm in arm to the front of the stand and bowed repeatedly to the multitude in acknowledgment of the thunders of applause that greeted t-iem. When the occupants of the stand noticed the pair standing a wild rush was made over the chairs to the place where they stood, and the President held a short reception, shaking hands with all who succeeded in reaching him. The police soon cleared a passage, and in a few minutes the President and wife were in a carriage. They sat on the back seat of a handsome barouche, the President with uncovered head and both smiling. They were repeatedly cheered by the throng, and they were given a continuous ovation from the time they left the stand until they disappeared within their hotel. James G. Blaine’s Letter of Regret. The following letter was received by the Constitutional Centennial Commission from James G. Blaine: “ x, *mbubg, Germany, Sept. 2.— Gbntlemen:

It is with sincere regret I find myself unable U accept your invitation to be present at the cele. bration of the centennial anniversary of the promulgation of the Constitution of the United States. Sept. 17. Next to the Declaration of Independence, the ordaining of the Constitution is the great e vent to be celebrated for all time by the American people. As years roll by and the nation grows in numbers, in power, in prestiga, our admiration and appreciation of the men who framed our organic law are steadily strengthened It was assuredly a work of genius to construct for thirte m feeble States, with an aggregate of 3, you, 01 people, a constitutionwhieh, 1m years later is found perfectly adapted to the needs and wishes of a powerful nation, expanded four-fold in its territorial area, with thirty-eight States and more than 60,010,000 people. Perhaps in no country and in no period of the world's history has the conception of free government, firmly secured by the checks and balances of a permanent and conservative Constitution, been more profoundly studied and comprehended than by our forefathers. 'They effectually organized a revolution ajainst the fool-'sh tyrann v of an English King, and against the arrogant wrong of an rlngh h Parliament. After victory in the field they completed their work by laying, broad and deep, the foundations of a popular government, in v» hich the people are rulers and the officials are servants. The extraordinary proportion of men who in that patriotic generation wore fitted by long study and training to the highest duties of statesmanship, is shown by the fact that of the fifty-five memb. rs.of the Congress of 1776 who signed the Declaration of Independence, only six were included in the thirty-nine members of the convention of 1787 who signed ths Constitution. The reverence and the affection which we feel toward these great men w 11 be best shown by cherishing their work, and assuring to our descendants as many and as grateful reasons for a national celebration of the establishment of our Constitution as tnose which influence us to-day. With great respect, faithfully yours.

"J. G. BLAINE."

INDEPENDENCE HALL.

THE OLD HIGH-BACKED CHAIR.

THE OLD LIBERTY BELL.

INK-STAND USED IN SIGNING THE CONSTITUTION.