he Society of the Sons of
the Revolution in the District of Columbia.]

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:--In behalf of the Society of the Sons of
the Revolution in the District of Columbia it becomes my pleasant duty
to bid you welcome on this occasion, the anniversary of the birthday of
George Washington, the Father of his country.

The Society of the Sons of the Revolution was founded in 1883, in New
York, its purpose, as expressed by the Constitution, being "to
perpetuate the memory of the men, who, in the military, naval, and civic
service of the Colonies and of the Continental Congress, by their acts
and counsel achieved the independence of the Country." The New York
Society, to be historically correct, was instituted February 22, 1876,
but was reorganized in 1883, when the General Society was formed. State
Societies were subsequently formed in Alabama, California, Colorado,
Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia,
State of Washington, and West Virginia, there being, therefore,
thirty-one State Societies, with a total membership of 6,031. The
District of Columbia Society was formed in 1889, and now numbers over
two hundred and fifty members.

The object of these Societies is not, as some may imagine, to indulge a
pride of ancestry, or to establish exclusive organizations with a
membership dependent upon the deeds of forefathers for its own
distinction, but rather to encourage and stimulate a desire for
knowledge of the problems which were presented to, and the circumstances
which confronted our revolutionary forefathers; to study their courage
and wisdom in council and their valor in war, which resulted in the
establishment of a Republic, the most potent in the history of the
world.

The illumination of the past is useless unless its rays are made to
penetrate into the present, bestowing guidance and confidence. The
records of our forefathers, therefore, are brought forth and published
to the world, chiefly to stimulate ourselves to like courage and
devotion should occasion arise.

The patriotism displayed by both the North and the South during the War
of the Rebellion, and the patriotism displayed during the recent
Spanish-American War, are evidences that true American