WASHINGTON — The religious vision that came to a young Eng i lishman 300 years ago brought into | being one of the world's most in i fluential faiths and contributed much toward founding the Com monwealth of Pennsylvania. The young Englishman was George Fox. The religion he found ed was that of the Society af Friends, or Quakers. And the de sire to create a sanctuary of re ligious freedom in a world of per secution motivated one of the great est of the Quakers. William Penn UM4-171B), in the establishment of Pennsylvania. Penn was the son of a wealthy and influential admiral . serving England and before the Restora tion. As such, the young man could have been an important courtier to Charles II and James II. and he did spend considerable time in or near the court. But he fell early ' under the influence of the follow ers of George Fox. and became a close friend of the Quaker leader. Traveled Youth As a youth Penn lived in England and Ireland, traveled on the con tinent and tasted the pleasures of the French court of Louis XIV. But when he was in Ireland at the age of 22 the Quaker influence, long within him. became dominant and he was converted. It is ironic that while Penn was : on military duty in Ireland, shortly before his conversion, his best known portrait was painted. This portrait shows a man whose Quaker principles were absolutely opposed to armed force clad in a suit of armor! For almost 20 years after his conversion Penn worked for the | Friends in England and on the i Continent, suffering imprisonment i and indignity. In 1681, he pressed Charles II for accounting of a debt i owed his father, and was granted what is now Pennsylvania in pay j ment. Medel Constitution The grant was what Penn de sired. and he wasted little time in setting up the colony. Penn drew up a constitution that was a model of fairness and toleration It grant ed complete freedom of religion, democratic government, and free dom of opportunity. The death penalty, applicable in England for some 200 offenses, could be invoked only in cases of wilful murder

68.4%