THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1926
George Mason,
Patriot and
Statesman
CENTRAL POINT AMERICAN
room in m ncn the great Democrat
w rote an outline of the D eclaration
Defandad State«' Right».
Mason was one of the commissioners
who made a compact with commis
sioners from Maryland on the Juris
diction of the t^hesapeake hay. the Po-
F THE word "Immortality“ he used
with the familiar formula, "Some
I
are born ------, some achieve
----- , and some have ----- thrust
upon them,” It will be found that the
last phrase most aptly applies to
George Mason, father of the Virginia
bill of rights, which substantially con
stitutes the first ten amendments of
the Constitution of the United States,
Florence Seville Herryman writes, in
Georgs Mason.
the Boston Herald.
Such a man was George Mason of lomac and Pokomoke rivers. A con
Gunston hail, In Fairfax county, Vir ference held by these commissioners
ginia, who was the fourth to bear at Mount Vernon was in reality the
this name In America. But although first steps toward a new federal gov
he was “as patriotic as Washington, ernment, for Maryland, ratifying the
more Intelligent^ than Jefferson, and compact, proposed that Pennsylvania
far superior to Patricls Henry in and Delaware should be Invited to Join
philosophy," as some one has said, his them, and Virginia favored inviting
name is as yet obscure compared to
ties to because
Immortalise
It to opportun!
au extent a"
to consider a uniform
theirs,
he ignored
scarcely paralleled by any other pa commercial system.
George
Mason's
next great role was
triot.
that of a delegate from Virginia to the
Of English Descent.
constitutional convention in Philadel
George Mason exhibited, to a marked phia In 1787.
extent, qualities of mind and charac
His activities In the convention were
ter which he had apparently Inherited highly Influential and altogether cred
from his great-grandfather, the first itable. He was ever alert to the pro
George Mason of Brewood, Stafford ceedings and on his feet In an Instant
shire, England, who had been a mem
ber of parliament under Charles I,
and had fearlessly and eloquently op
posed those royal measures which
seemed to him arbitrary. Yet at the
same time he believed In supporting
the established order against radical
ism, for he fought with the cavaliers
against Oliver Cromwell, after whose
victory he was obliged to escape to
Virginia, where he settled In Stafford
county, and soon gained wealth and
prominence In the colony.
George Mason IV was bom In Staf
ford (later Falrfux) county, Virginia,
in 172.”i. No record of tils birth lias
been found, and consequently there Is
extensive confusion as to the exact
date. His education began early, for
he attended a hoarding school in
I’rlnce William county from the years
South Front of Gunston Hall.
1736 to 1739, Inclusive, at a cost of
1,000 pounds of tobacco annually for to defend the stntes' rights with what
board, and 84." pounds for schooling Flanders termed “inflexible integrity
and books. Such schooling had custo and unbending republicanism.” He was
marily been preceded by private tutor the first to argue that coercion could
not be used against sta tes; first to see
ship at the young student's home.
the danger In the resolution that the
Mason’s Service to Stats.
Throughout his career George Ma national legislature should be empow
son contributed to the political litera ered to call out the force of the Union
ture of the United States some of the against any delinquent member, and
most Important documents ever writ the first to suggest an acceptable al
ternative.
ten.
He opposed every measure which
The Non-Importation resolutions
constituted his first outstanding piece would peri»etuate slavery, yet at the
of work, und were a momentous step same time advocated that the South
be
toward the Revolution. George Wash- should
,
, protected
, . . In regard to those
. _
...
, ,
slaves already held.
Ington. the near neighbor and close
„
.
,
friend of George Mason, who was fre-
“ e,
k
J , ? ' ” !“ 0On,," 0t
quently associated with him In schemes
on M
T"" **?(, Y i* "" n
. . . the public
... welfare, wrote
. . to . Mason
.
' for the new national constitution.
But
for
.
i although a great number of features
warmly advocating non-importation as
were adopted In this new organ which
sociations, which should be bound by
Mason had consistently fought against,
voluntary agreement not to Import or
such as a single executive, he was
use articles from England which were
to sign until toward the end
burdened with obnoxious duties. This willing
. .
_ scheme
.
It passed
the
was thoroughly sound, as It i of , the convent
. ,
, on.
, „ when
,
1
1 clause giving Indefinite powers to con
attacked the Achilles heel of Great
Rrltnln, the purses of her merchants. gress and to the executive, and “the
Mason heartily favored the Idea, and power given to congress, by a bare
drew up the plans, which Washington majcylty. to pass navigation acts,”
was to sponsor at the next meeting of which would bind over the minority
the house of burgMMM, of which ice southern states \o the eastern states.
So, on September 17, the f’onstltu- I
was a member at the time, wiille Ma
son was not. Lord Botetourt, then gov tlon was read and signed by all except i
ernor of Virginia (and Incidentally one Mason. Edmund Randolph and El- |
of the sanest and most popular of all bridge Gerry. Mason returned to Vlr- I
pre-Kevolutlonary Incumbents of that glnla and led the fight the following
office), had heard of these resolutions year against ratification
Within two yews, as we recall, the j
and felt obliged to dissolve the house
before they could be offered. But Its Constitution received ten amendments,
members met Immediately afterward which were substantially Mason’s hill
and unanimously adopted this Mason of rights; and the eleventh amend
ment prohibiting suits against states
and Washington scheme.
in federal courts Is the direct fruit of
D««lln«d Scat in Congress.
George Mason was a member of the Mason a arguments.
Rut his fight proved vain, and he
Virginia convention during the years
1773 and 1776. He was elected a dele- retired to Gunston hall, where he died
gate to the continental congress In * few >'M ™ Ib,ct' on October 7. 1792.
1775 and again In 77. but he declined
M EDFORD NEW S
to serve, for his beloved had died In
73, only thirty-nine years of age, and
he felt he owed his first allegiance to
Bliss Heine
his motherless brood.
Captain Hansen of the National j
staged a very interesting
h* render**! the mu»* of liberty In hla . ,
own state surpassed In Importance
* ro* ram ■
»""»«Tf on
anything he could have done In tha I Monday evening before a large
rowd o f fans. In the first prelim- |
Continental congress
Early In 1776. In Virginia's last co inary Art Hautman. 118 pounds, and '
lonial assembly before the Revolu Billy Nelson. 113 pounds, fought j
tion. George Mason drafted the Bill four rounds to a draw; in the arc-
of Right«, his greatest work, and aiao ond preliminary Sonny Austin, 140,
the first constltdtloo of Virginia, both
adopted unanimously by the conven and King. 140, fought four rounds j
tion. The Bill of Rlghta was anhstan to a draw; in the third preliminary !
tialiy the inspiration of the Declara Warren “ Kid” Bybee. 126, won in |
tion of Independence, for Jefferson was the third round over Bud Thomas. I
an Intimate friend and enthusiastic
admirer of George Mason, bis senior 126. The main «rent went nine
by 18 years, and often vialted Gunston rounds between Padelford of Med
where, there ia bow a
ford and Johnson of Portland. Pad-
elford made the best showing
I throughout eight rounds and in the
| ninth Johnson came back fast and
was given the decision by the ref
eree.
Larry Simpson’s Orchestra played
a return engagement on Monday at
the Oriental Gardens, again to a
capacity crowd. This is the same
orchestra that played the opening
engagement.
The Oriental Gardens gave a very
enjoyable and successful dance last
Saturday evening with music fur
nished by Tillotson’s 7-piece orches
tra from Portland. This orchestra
will be kept here for some time. The
feature of the evening was a Charles
ton exhibition. On Monday evening
the management secured a return
engagement with Larry Simpson’s
11-piece orchestra which made such
a hit with valley dancers on the
opening night. This is the finest
dance orchestra ever heard in Med
ford.
In addition to having large fans
recently installed, A. W. Walker has
had the floor improved and a tank
of ice water installed in his popular
hall in the Medford building. This
popular place continues to have
PAGE THREE
large crowds in attendance.
Nearly t w o hundred students
have enrolled for the six weeks’
summer course at the Ashland Nor
mal.
More than 3,500 automobiles car
rying nearly 11,000 people have thus
far entered Crater Lake National
Park. A number of the Guardsmen
went up Saturday and Sunday.
SAM’S VALLEY
S. S. Abbott, was in Jacksonville
| last Saturday on business in con
nection with the Sam’s Valley school
district, of which he is the clerk.
R. V. Williams and family have
moved to Medford to reside. We
are sorry to loose Mr. and Mrs. Wil
liams from our midst. However Mr.
Williams still has his orchard prop
erty here in the valley.
Loyal D. Abbott was a business
visitor in Jacksonville Saturday.
Mrs. F. M. McKinnis and daugh
ter Wenonah, were the hostesses at
a dinner last Sunday given in honor
of the birthday of F. M. McKinnis
who was 68 years of age on Ju ne 25.
The following guests were present
for the occasion: Mr. and Mrs. A.
L. Baker and children of Ashland,
Wm. C. McKinnis and family of Ash
land, Mr. and Mrs. Thos. Roseberry
and children of Medford, M. M.
Abbott of Central Point, Mrs. C. E.
Roach and daughters of Ashland.
Mrs. A. L. Baker and children are
spending a few days at the farm
home with her parents Mr. and Mrs.
McKinnis.
The hot weather still prevails—
although Tuesday was not quite as
hot as last week.
Mr. Bailey has moved into the
house recently vacated by the Wil
liams family. Mr. Bailey is employ
ed on the Williams orchard.
Swimming seems to be the cor
rect thing these hot days and eve
nings. Many of the young folks go
to the river for a swim in the eve
nings.
--------------- —o —
— —
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