Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 218, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 September 1916 — Mecca of Patriotic Americans [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mecca of Patriotic Americans

AMERICAN independence was not an act of sudden passion nor the work of one man or assembly, according to George Bancroft in his “History of the United States,” and the declaration which was made July 4, 1776, was the climax of a long series of deliberations. In the building which had been erected as a state house for the use of the colony of Pennsylvania in 1736 the Continental congress had sat discussing the vital matters pertaining to the prosperity of the colonies, says a writer in the New York Herald. Here, on motion of John Adams, George Washington had been placed in command of the American army, and here, on the most eventful day of all, the great declaration of rights and intentions was presented by Thomas Jefferson, signed by the men whose names are Inscribed high in the rolls of American history and read from the steps of the famous building to the crowd waiting outside. Here, too, the Constitution of the United States was adopted. Most Americans are familiar with the present external appearance of this “Cradle of Liberty,” few know so much about its interior, which is nobly inspiring. .' The land for the building was purchased in 1730 and a committee was appointed to carry on the building operations, one of the members being Dr John Kearsley, who had been so successful with the building of Christ church.

Independence Hall First Built. The first portion to be finished was Independence hall, a room 39 by 40 feet and almost 20 feet high. The work dragged, and when the legislature was ready to occupy it the south wall was unfinished and there was no glass in the windows. The room was not really finished until 1745. The next part of the building to be completed was the judicial chamber, of the same size as Independence hall, and separated from it by three arches. The tower was built in 1750, the steeple being added in After the revolution there was considerable dissatisfaction with the wooden steeple and it was finally declared to be dangerous and was taken down. In 1813 the wings were altered to provide a greater amount of space which was needed by the county commissioners, and in 1818 the entire property was purchased by the city of Philadelphia.

A few years later a survey was made of the tower to determine whether a new bell could be mounted upon it. All of the walls were found to be thick and stanch' except for a slight crack in the wall over the arch of the large Palladian window, probably due to the great width of the window opening and its arch. This was not considered a serious objection, however, to putting up a cupola similar to the original, A bell weighing 4.G00 pounds was placed in the tower and, beginning with December, 1828, struck the hours by means of a new sort of clockwork. Another bell was hung in the tower in 1876. Not Injured by Restorations. Whatever changes or restorations have been made, the spirit of the old architects and builders has been respected and today, as in Colonial days, the state house typifies the refined simplicity and sincerity which has been left as a precious legacy. Architects take their lessons from it, and patriots take theirs. But, satisfactory as are the proportions and the panelling, the treatment of doors and windows and the simple furnishing which leaves the interior unspoiled, there is one object, with no esthetic claims, which yet eclipses all the others—the Liberty Bell, whjch rang out the glad tidings that the Continental congress had dared to sign the Declaration of Independences Parents bring their children 'to gaze upon it and to tell them the story of how it was cast in England but cracked in landing, so that it had to be recast in Philadelphia, when the inscription “Proclaim liberty throughout the land

to all the people thereof” was inscribed upon it. When the British occnpled Philadelphia in those dark days of the war the old bell was sunk in the Delaware, but It was brought back and hung In its old place to proclaim liberty to the citizens of Philadelphia on many Fourths. It was broken when tolling for the funeral of the great Chief Justice Marshall in 1835.

INDEPENDENCE HALL