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THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND MRS. COOLIDGE AT THE OPENING OF THE 34th CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

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The 34th Gontinental Gongress of the Daughters of the American Revolution

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ITH patriotic pomp and ceremony the 34th Continental Congress of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution convened in the New Auditorium in Washington, D. C., on the morning of April 20th.

Uppermost in the minds of the thousands of delegates and alternates was the fact that it was 150 years and a day after the battle of Lexington, and the high purpose of the organization in preserving the ideals and achievements of their heroic ancestors was the theme of speakers throughout the day.

Masterly in its conception; logical and forceful, and filled with patriotic fervor and idealism, the opening address of the President General, Mrs. Anthony Wayne Cook, will stand out as one of the great speeches made before a Continental Congress. The press of Washington was unanimous in its praise, and editorial comment of a favorable nature was given after its rendition.

The whole text of the speech was as follows:

At daybreak one hundred and fifty years ago yesterday morning, Captain John Parker, American, said to his neighbors, grouped at the bridge at Lexington: "Don't fire unless you are fired on, but if they want war it might as well begin here." And there the "embattled farmer stood and fired the shot heard 'round the world."

John Parker's words exemplify the spirit of the American far better than we, perhaps, have realized. In fact, too often we have been criticised for what seemed submission, or at least extreme patience. It was Samuel Adams who first thought of Independence, and he only some seven or eight years before the outbreak of the Revolution. On that April morning one hundred and fifty years ago, walking across the fields, he heard the firing at Lexington. Turning to his companion, John Hancock, he said, "Oh, what a glorious morning is this!"

How well all this illustrates the character of the American when he believes his rights are assailed. Not an impulsive enthusiast, but careful, even cautious, willing almost to be driven into a corner, but then standing for justice and right with every fiber of his mind and body responding. Perhaps that member of the English Parliament who answered Lord North's sneering comment with the reply, "The Americans are a numerous, a respectable, a hardy, a free people," gave an analysis of the character of our people of which we may well be proud, and may hope to live up to throughout our history.

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