Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-01-29

till late in the night. He very seldom
took holiday, and used to work right
on through the 22nd of February as he
did other days. George Washington
was different from some of our modern
statesmen many respects. He scorn-
ed TO enter a convention and grapple
18th the delegates all day. He did not
seek to be president SO hard as some
have since done. He simply places
himself in the hands of some of his
friends and let nature take her course.
The more | study the character of
George Washington the more | regret
his untimely death. We need him al
most every day. If he could see how
badly his orphan country needs him
sometimes. it seems as though he would
almost open the door of the Mount
Vernon smoke house and come forth.
\ very curious incident occurred in
the life of George Washington which
now appears in print for the first time.
1t seems that George was given q
small hatchet by his father when a boy,
and in an unguarded moment the youth
cut down a favorite cherry tree belong
ing TO his father. On the return of the
old gentleman he discovered the act,
and calling his son to him, asked how
it occurred. George did not know
what to say. but finally he looked brave
" up into his fathers face and said:
Father, | cannot tell a lie. l did it
with my little hatchet."
| have often wondered that an anec-
dote like this, concerning a great man,
should have remained so long unknown.
am indebted for the above facts to
friends Of the deceased.
The monument of George Washing
ton is adeserved tribute to great man.
1t is no slouch of job to be president
the first time and pay off the help that
it takes to run such a government as
this. Let those who think it easy to be
president try to write an annual mes
sage once and see how their brains will
throb. A president must not only shine
in society and be able to stand on one
leg and shake hands with every ten
cent official in the union, but he must
be quiet and geutlemanly in his home
life and good provider in his house
hold. Added to all this he must be able
at 4 glance to distinguish between a
tlotilla and a reciprocity. He must
know how to spell at sight and be able
to sign his name so that it will look
like bird eye view of a stroke of par
alysiS. He must be firm with foreign
powers, and still he must govern his
temper and avoid the unnecessary she'd
ding of other peoples blood. He should
be good business man, good states
man, a gentleman and a scholar. We
can readily see that successful presi-
dent cannot be picked up on every
street. OF course, he has good deal
of help. but he alone is responsible.
George Washington was all that was
great, but the most successful thing
that he did was to quit at the right
time and to die before he stopped over.
Late years great men commit an error,
some of them at least. They make a
bad break and then die, instead of dy-
inc first. Some of our eminent men
have saved the American people the
expense of a tall monument, l notice,
by procrastinating in the matter Of
death. George Washington did not
wait till the nation" craved his death.
He now has a monument that is tall
and attractive. This is a powerful les
son to some of our public men not to
overdo the matter OF longevity. Long
life is all right in other walks of life,
but in politics it may be overdOne.
George Washington attracted great
deal of notice, even in his time, by tell
ing the truth. Think what 4 curiosity
he would be now. And yet truth is
within the reach of all. We may ac-
custom ourselves to almost anything il
we begin gradually and work our way
up to it. George Washington to-day
would no doubt Se regarded as a freak
of nature. and yet he told the truth
without effort and without his notes
He used to entertain his friends during
the long winter evenings by allowing
them to tie his hands and feet and then
blindfold him, and on top of all this he
would tell the truth for hours at a
time. He was what we call in science
an anomaly. But he had to give up al
last, and finally he yielded to the un.
equal strain and death ensued. People
who contemplate a political career with
more or less truth in it should see that
they have strong constitutions to begin
with.-BtH Nye, in Net0 York Mercury.