Excerpt from Year Book of the Pennsylvania Society, Sons of the American Revolution, 1903 The society OF sons OF the american revolution is a National organization composed of State societies in the several States and Terri tories of the Union. Its membership consists of lineal descendants of the patriots, who, by their services and sacrifices in the war of the Revolution, achieved American independence. Among its members are to be found the most eminent and honored men of the present day in all the ranks and callings of life. And its rolls prove the fact, which is a matter of pride to the society, that the characteristics and endowments for which the men of that distinguished generation are honored and beloved did not perish with them, but have been transmitted to the generations of their posterity, and are yet influential and useful in promoting the welfare Of our country. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Annual Proceedings, Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution: 1903-1904 T being evident, from a steady decline of a proper celebration of the National Holidays of the United States of America, that popular concern in the events and men Of the War of the Revo lution ls gradua declining, and that such lack Of interest is attributable, not so much to the lapse of time and the rapidly increasing flood Of Immigration from foreign countries as to the neglect, on the part Of descendants of Revolutionary heroes, to perform their duty in keeping before the public mind the memory of the services of their ancestors and of the times in which they lived: therefore, the Society Of the Sons of the Revolution has been instituted to perpetuate the memory of the men who, in the military, naval, and civil service Of the Colonies and Of the Continental Congress, by their acts or coun sel, achieved the Independence of the country, and to further the proper celebration of the anniversaries Of the birthday of Washington, and of prominent events connected with the War of the Revolution; to collect and secure for preservation the rolls, records, and other documents relating to that period; to inspire the members Of the Society with the patriotic spirit of their forefathers; and to promote the feeling of friendship among them. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

. Renewal of Life by Transmission. The most notable distinction between living and inanimate things is that the former maintain themselves by renewal. A stone when struck resists. If its resistance is greater than the force of the blow struck, it remains outwardly unchanged. Otherwise, it is shattered into smaller bits. Never does the stone attempt to react in such a way that it may maintain itself against the blow, much less so as to render the blow a contributing factor to its own continued action. While the living thing may easily be crushed by superior force, it none the less tries to turn the energies which act upon it into means of its own further existence. If it cannot do so, it does not just split into smaller pieces (at least in the higher forms of life), but loses its identity as a living thing. As long as it endures, it struggles to use surrounding energies in its own behalf. It uses light, air, moisture, and the material of soil. To say that it uses them is to say that it turns them into means of its own conservation. As long as it is growing, the energy it expends in thus turning the environment to account is more than compensated for by the return it gets: it grows. Understanding the word "control" in this sense, it may be said that a living being is one that subjugates and controls for its own continued activity the energies that would otherwise use it up. Life is a self-renewing process through action upon the environment.