City Observes
Its 300th Year
In Dutch Vein
N. Y. HERALD TRIBUNE
FEB 2 1953
Opening City's 300th Anniversary Celebration
New York City's 300th anniver
sary celebration was opened yes
terday at St. Mark's in-the-Bou-
werie with an address by Prince
Bernhard of the Netherlands. The
city is 300 years old today, reckon
ing from the date the Dutch gov
ernment granted local government
to its citizens in New Amsterdam.
Mayor Vincent R. Impellitteri,
Park Commissioner Robert Moses,
church and civic leaders and rep
resentatives of the governments of
Amsterdam and the Netherlands
also took part in the service at the
Protestant Episcopal Church at
Second Ave. and Tenth St.the
burial place of Peter Stuyvesant,
last Dutch governor of New Neth-
erland. The service was sponsored
by the St. Nicholas Society.
Prince Bernhard, husband of
Queen Juliana, arrived here by
plane Saturday for a short visit
expressly to represent his govern
ment at the St. Mark's service and
at other celebrations of the anni
versary here this week.
Traces Historic Ties
In his talk at the church he
traced ties between New York and
Holland, which date back to 1609,
the year the Dutch explorer Henry
Hudson first sailed up the river
which bears his name. Today these
ties, formalized through the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization, are
in some ways closer than ever,
Prince Bernhard said.
He reviewed the early history of
the Dutch settlement under the
West India Company; Peter Min-
uit's purchase of Manhattan from
the Indians in 1626, and how, after
the settlers had petitioned to the
States-General in Holland, peg-
legged Peter Stuyvesant was di
rected to allow them local govern
ment in 1653. The colony came
under British rule in 1664, was
renamed New York and stayed
under British rule until the Revo
lution, except for a brief period
when the Dutch temporarily re
captured it.
As an example of the close ties
between America and Holland,
Prince Bernhard mentioned Klaes
Martensen van Roosevelt, early
New Amsterdam settler whose de
scendants include seven Presi
dentsthe two Roosevelts, James
Madison, Martin van Buren, Zach-
ary Taylor, Ulysses S, Grant and
William Howard Taft. In a deeper
sense, the two nations are tied by
a common tradition of human
rights and belief in law and order,
he said.
Turning to more recent history
he said: "The Dutch will never for
get the great part American troops
itook in the liberation of the Neth
erlands; the numerous graves on
Dutch territory of your- brave sol
diers who sacrificed their lives for
the freedom of Europe will be an
everlasting reminder of the indis
soluble ties between our peoples/
At the end of his prepared
speech, Prince Bernhard said he
had just received "some very sad
news-."
"The worst flood in centuries,"
he said, "has taken place in my
country. Our oldest enemy, the
Herald Tribune—United Press
Prince Bernhard (right), husband of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, arriving yesterday
for service at St. Mark's-in-the-Bouwerie. With him is the Right Rev. Horace W. B. Donegan,
Protestant Episcopal Bishop of New York. A bust of Peter Stuyvesant is in the background
sea, has struck again, more cruelly
than ever. Great parts of the
country that we had restored with
great trouble and work from the
ravages of war are apparently
ruined.
"I count on your prayers for
those who have lost their lives and
those who are in danger, suffering
or in distress."
Prince Bernhard said he could
not tell yet whether the disaster
in the Netherlands would compel
him to cut short his stay in the
United States.
The St. Nicholas Society, spon-
sor of the service, was founded by
■Washington Irving to collect and
preserve information about the
history and culture of New York.
The society's president, Lee
Thompson Smith, wearing the tra
ditional cocked hat of the office
at the service yesterday, is also
chairman of the Mayor's Commit
tee on the Tercentenary Celebra
tion. Dr. Gilbert Darlington
headed the committee arranging
the service.
Also present were the Right
Rev. Horace W. B. Donegan,
Protestant Episcopal Bishop of
New York; Baron J. A. deVos Van
Steenwijk, Consul General of the
Netherlands, and Dr. P. Mijkse-j
naar, a representative of the
Mayor of Amsterdam.
Today, the Prince will attend
the private opening of a special
showing at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art of paintings lent
by the Dutch government in con
junction with the anniversary
celebration.
Various ceremonies are planned
for the anniversary year but no
official, city-wide celebration has
been announced
BernhardSaysNATO Keeps
IIoIIand-U.S.Tie; Service
at St. Mark's-in-Bouwerie
