Jasper County Democrat, Volume 3, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 April 1900 — FOURTH OF JULY IN INDIANA. [ARTICLE]

FOURTH OF JULY IN INDIANA.

Citiaena Aaked to Celebrate It and tai Preserve the State’s History. ’ (<ov. Mount has issued a proclamation regarding Independence day, in which he •ays; . oj “At a meeting of representative citizens of Indiana, held in the (Jovernor’o office on the 2(Jth dny of Marrii, 19W, it was decided to call the attention and enlist the interest of the of the State to the prestring need for the collection and preservation of early’ history, incidents connected therewith. This important work has already been delayed toodlong. Many of our phrneenr who had witnessed events nnd were participants in scenes of thrilling moment have pass- ■ ed away, with their valuable cxi>erience nnpreserved. It was the consensus of ? opinion and expression at the meeting aforesaid that it would be wise for the chief executive of the State to formally invite the co-operatiou of nil citizens of Indiana in putting into effect the purposes herein outlined, the appropriateness of the occasion being emphasized by the | lad that this is thc» centennial year of our territorial organization and therefore an opportune time for the taking up of the tong-neglected work of systematically collecting historical data. It was further agreed that our national holiday could be observed in no more appropriate way than in reviving and gathering facts ap- ; ixrtaiuing to the early growth of onr State and its subsequent progress in splendid nchievemmts “Therefore I, James A. Mount, Gov* ernor of Indiana, in compliance with the foregoing expressed sense of said meeting. do hereby designate the Fourth oi July, 1900, to be devoted, so far as practicable, to the promotion of this work. It is recommended that the public addresses in the various counties of the State be given to the discussion of early incidents connected with each county; that those addresses be printed and finally aggregate and for preservation by the State. It is ftfrther reconiniendecl that meetings be' called and that some person bo designated to collect from the recollections of old inhabitant* and from such n>cords as may be acceesible the most important events of each county. There are many local histories extant, from which much valuable information can be obtained. “The lives of our pioneers, which were marked by so many striking characteristics of heroic daring, of patient eiwieavor, of deprivation, of sacrifice, of danger, coupled with the burdens of increasing toil, must’ to future generations lie a theme of manifold importance. The school house and the log church formed the foundation of Indiana's greatness. Primitive agriculture, the prude hnplenients, the old-time corn huskings, quiltings. wool pickings, etc., are things of the past. The doom and the wheel, the home-made wares ami fabrics are no more. Much regret exists that the crude implements of agriculture, the wheels and the looms of the cabin homes have not been preserve,!. Greater regret will., be telt if we fail to preserve the history of those times, which should include also nil available records of courts, schools, printing (n-ess. clHirches, roads, mills, mim-s. fiat and steamboat canals, the early railroads, the Indian tribes, their removal, the conflicts with Indians, early hunting and fishing, our great forests, >awmiUs in short, everything connected with the pioneer associations of our great common weal tii. "We owe to future generations a comprehensive history of the heroic struggle and the conditions nnd environments which were the foundation of our present greatness. “Cognizant of the fact that the public pre».s molds sentiment and moves the people in public enterprises. I earnestly soHcit the co-o)H‘ration of the newspaper* in the forwarding of this ini)M>rtant work. The active aid of county commissioner* and, other local officials is invoked to the end that the purposes herein contemplatcd' may be eousummatwl. "Done ar the capitid. in the city of Indianupolie. this 2tith day of March, iu the year of our Lord IIMMI, of the independence of the United State* the one hundred ami twenty-fcnirth. and of the State the eighty-fourth."