THE CENTENNIAL AND MEMORIAL ASSO

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CIATION OF VALLEY FORGE.

HE most important result of the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the Evacuation of Valley Forge was the determination to secure the headquarters as a memorial of that event. To accomplish this there was formed "The Centennial and Memorial Association of Valley Forge," of which Mrs. Anna M. Holstein was elected regent. This association really carried forward the work of "The Valley Forge Centennial Association," which had so successfully arranged for the celebration of the anniversary. The new association appealed to patriotic citizens for contributions, and for every dollar contributed a certificate was issued giving the holder a share of stock in the association. The house and one and a half acres of land were purchased for $6000, one-half of which was secured by a mortgage. Despite the efforts of the members of the association it was unable to pay the interest, and an appeal was made to the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America at its convention in Norristown in 1885. In a little more than six months the order paid off the mortgage and canceled all the indebtedness of the association, receiving in return 3600 shares of stock, and a voice in the management. Col. Theodore W. Bean, of Camp 114, did much toward the success of this movement by the publication of his "Footprints of the Revolution," first published in the "Camp News." The State of Pennsylvania appropriated $5000 to further the work of the association, and in 1887 the building was restored to its original condition, as far as possible, a warden's lodge was built, and the grounds improved. Additional ground was purchased in 1889 and in 1904. The association maintained the headquarters in an excellent manner, and was aided in this by a small admission fee. In the report of the Valley Forge Park Commission, in 1904, attention was called to this fee and the recommendation was made that the State acquire the property. This received favorable action and on August 15, 1905, the Commission took possession of the headquarters under the new powers given to it by the Legislature, paying the association $18,000 for its property.

THE VALLEY FORGE PARK COMMISSION.

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HE Valley Forge Park Commission was appointed June 8, 1893, under the Act of May 30th, of that year, which provided “for the acquisition by the State of certain ground at Valley Forge for a park." This bill was the result of an effort begun many years before by Mrs. Mary E. Thropp Cone, to whose schoolgirl verses America owes the preservation of the old Trappe Church. Born at Valley Forge, she loved its historic hills and plead for years for some monument to properly mark the neglected spot. She and her sister Amelia originated the Valley Forge Monument Association, which began work in 1882. Of this association Anthony J. Drexel, Jr., was the treasurer and George W. Childs a charter member. Mrs. Cone and her friends appealed to Congress for aid, but in vain. Thereupon an effort was made to obtain a State appropriation, and this effort resulted in the Act of 1893. The idea of the monument was abandoned for that of a reservation by which the intrenchments would be preserved to the Nation. The first act provided $25,000 for the purpose of the Commission, and in 1895, $10,000 were appropriated. Including the 1909 appropriation, the State has appropriated $365,445 for Valley Forge. The park includes about 500 acres.

The Commission has done a noble work for the American people, and the Valley Forge Park is destined to become one of the greatest pleasure grounds in the country. The determination to preserve the wooded heights in their rugged beauty, to leave the earthworks untouched, to make every part of the encampment accessible by well-kept walks and roads, and to guard every part of the reservation, are resolutions which must meet with the hearty approval of all visitors to Valley Forge. The Commission as now constituted is as follows: W. H. Sayen, President; John P. Nicholson, Vice-President; Samuel S. Hartranft, Treasurer; J. P. Hale Jenkins, M. G. Brumbaugh, William A. Patton, Richmond L. Jones, John W. Jordan, John T. Windrim, and A. H. Bowen, Secretary and Superintendent.

"No spot on earth-not the plains of Marathon, nor the passes of Sempach, nor the place of the Bastile, nor the dykes of Holland, nor the moors of England, are so sacred in the history of the struggle for human liberty as Valley Forge."—Cyrus Townsend Brady.

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WASHINGTON AND VALLEY FORGE.

AVING made a tour of the encampment, it may well

be asked, What impression is left on the mind of the visitor? All who think seem to feel the spell of the place. These hills make a subtle appeal to the best in man, and many go away pledged to a nobler effort in life. Valley Forge affects one as does no other place in the land.

No better analysis of this characteristic power of Valley Forge has been made than that by Bishop Gibson, of Virginia, who, in the course of his sermon at the opening of the Washington Memorial Chapel, said:

"The chief distinction of Valley Forge is human, personal, individual, practical. In one word, it is spiritual. It grows out of the unintentional and unconscious display of a character. Need I say the character of Washington? Valley Forge was Washington's place of martyrdom. Never again in the course of a life filled with extraordinary experiences did this 'greatest of good men and best of great men,' who had accepted the office of commander-in-chief with unfeigned reluctance, and, because of his feeling that he was always liable to make mistakes, was ready at any time to have his actions freely criticised by those from whom he had received his commission, never again, I say, did Washington pass through an ordeal so fiery as that which made Valley Forge for him and for many others the Valley of Decision. 'He that findeth his life shall lose it,' said the Master of Wisdom and of wise men-'He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it.' On this spot Washington fought out the spiritual battle of his career, endured and triumphed in the majestic name

of Duty; which is also the name of Him to whom all is due. When he turned his back on these scenes there was no longer any question as to who should command the armies of America, nor was his heart again torn, as here, by the sight of troops under his own eye, starving and naked from neglect. And what is the result? He has become the genius of the place; investing all we read with his own aura, supplying the clear atmosphere through which each incident of the time is seen, clothing with the colors of actual vision every account of hospitals and huts, of wounds and bruises, of chilly, comfortless nights, and days of weakness from hunger. We see what he saw, we feel his emotions. Into our faces failure stares and treachery kisses us on the cheek. As the story moves on, gathering force in its progress, we are drawn more closely to the hero. As troubles thicken about him, apparently unconscious of their presence, our anxiety deepens, the tension of our hearts grows rigid. He saved others, we say, but to save himself is beyond his power. And so it was. He was not tried to the limit of death or disgrace, but he was tried so sorely as to make him one of the exemplars of mankind. To secure independence for his country he suffered that which made him a great moral luminary for the world. The exhibition of the character of Washington is the crowning glory of Valley Forge."