Independence Day and the Declaration by S. B. H.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 27, 1911

Independence Day and the Declaration

By S. B. H.

FROM press reports it is learned that an appreciable decrease in deaths and wounds followed the “safe and sane” Fourth. It is also a source of satisfaction to note that the basic idea of the nation’s birthday, and the value of our Magna Charta, which made that day the most important of all holidays, are still recognized and kept before the world. We give extracts from two editorials which appeared in the Washington Herald on the morning of July 4:—

“Independence Day

“The basic idea of the old-fashioned Fourth was patriotic. It was intended to foster and keep alive the spirit which brought about independence, and gave Americans a country and a government of their own. The explosion of gunpowder was merely incidental to the main purpose. The fourth-of-July oration was, for the elders, at least, the most important feature of the day. But in recent years the fourth-of-July celebration had degenerated into a carnival of noise and a day of license. . . .

“Increased safety is the main value of a sane Fourth. If, at the same time, a less noisy and more rational observance of the day can be made popular, the spirit of John Adams’s patriotic prophecy will be fully observed.”

“Saving the Declaration

“Every one remembers the tradition, now said to be untrue, that when the British entered the national capital by way of Bladensburg, Dolly Madison cut the portrait of George Washington from its frame in the White House, rolled up the canvas like a blanket, and hurried in her coach to a place of safety. It is almost unknown, however, that the engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence was saved from falling into the hands of the enemy by a clerk in the State Department, who carefully put it into a canvas bag, and carried it to a grist-mill on the Virginia side of the Potomac, just above the Chain Bridge. The story of the incident is not in the official archives of the State Department, but the clerk who saved the precious document wrote a letter which has been preserved:—

“On this day of days, when we celebrate the signing of our Magna Charta, it is worth while to remember the thoughtful patriotism of a man who, a century ago, rendered his country a great service. Happily, the document to-day is not menaced by any foe, within or without. It rests securely in the State Department, where future generations may regard with veneration its fading characters, and thank God for the wisdom and the courage of the men whose signatures still remain as mute witnesses of their devotion to the cause of human liberty.”

How different from these words sound the pronunciamentos issuing from some of our national universities about three years ago, when Mr. Bolce, a magazine writer, after various interviews was compelled to report:—

“Out of the curricula of American colleges a dynamic movement is upheaving ancient foundations, and promising a way for revolutionary thought and life. Those who are not in touch with the great colleges of the country will be astonished to learn the creeds being fostered by the faculties of our great universities. In hundreds of class-rooms it is being taught daily that the decalogue is no more sacred than a syllabus; that democracy is a failure; and the Declaration of Independence only spectacular rhetoric.”

America is to be congratulated upon the possession of an intelligent and free press, which keeps its columns open to the consideration of the achievements wrought by the forefathers. It is also to be congratulated upon having statesmen who still dare to stand for those achievements. S. B. H.