Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-12-11
/ HUNDRED YEARS OF CONGRESS
Continued from First Paqe.l

absolute love of country, of themselves, and of
mankind, he had become first in the hearts OF
his countrymen.
Because thus first he was to become first in
peace by bringing to the charge Of the practical
working Of the system he had participated in
creating on behalf Of the people whose indie
pendence he had achieved the same serene
Judgment, the same sagscity, the same patience,
the same sense of duty, the same far-sighted
comprehension Of the end to be attained that
had marked his career from its beginning"
WASHINGTON AND HIS TIMES.
He dwelt upon that part Of Washington's
character which made it his highest ambition
10 advance the felicity of his country and of
mankind, and showed by example the harmony
of this sentiment with the spirit Of the century
within which Washington's life was comprised.
ut was century" be said. 'instinct with
the recognition of the human soul in every
human beng, an alive with aspirations for
universal brotherhood
Washington and his colleagues were famil-
lar with prior forms of government and their
operation, and with the specuations Of the writ
ers upon that subject. They we're conversant
with the course of the revolution of 1858, the
then triumph Of public opinion and tho htera-
fure OF that period. They accepted the thesis
Of Locke, that as the true end of government
Ii the mutual preservation of the lives, hber-
ties and estates of the people, government
which invades these rights is guilty OF breach
they were persuaded of the soundness of the
views of Montesquieu, that the distribution
OF powers Is necessary to political liberty,
which can only exist when power is not abused,
and in order that power may not be abused it
must be so distributed that power shall check
power.
at is only necessary to consult the pages Of
the Federalist, that incompatible work on the
principles Of free government, to understand
the acquaintance of American statesmen with
Arn0 fol MT md
modern, and to comprehend that the Constitu-
ton was the result, not of a desire FOR novelty.
but Of the effort to gather the fruit of that
growth which. having its roots In the past,
could yield in the present and give promise for
the future"
HIS WONDERFUL Provision.
Speaking of the wonderful foresight of Wash
ington, he said:
''Of the future greatness Of the new nation,
Washington had no doubt. He saw. as if face
to face, that continental domain which glim-
mered to others as through glass darkly.
THE great west was no sealed book to him,
and no one knew better than he that notoreign
power could long control the flow of the father
Of waters to the gulf.
HE is said to have lacked imagination, and
II the exhilaration of the poet, the mystic or
the seer is meant, this may be true.
"His mind was not given to indulgence in
dreams of ideal commonwealth like the re-
public of Plato or Of Cicero, the city of god Of
Augustine, or the Utopia of Sir Thomas Moore.
but it grasped the mighty fact of the empire of
the future. and acted in obedience to the
heavenly vision"
HIS ASSOCIATES.
The orator pointed out the admirable skill
and wisdom with which Washington, on under
taking to start the new and mighty machinery
Of a free government, surrounded himself with
he hest men of his day regardless of their diff
Ierences in theory so long as they were patriots
and devoted to the Constitution. On this gen.
sral subject he said:
''As to the appointments generally, he did not
recognize the rule of party rewards for party
work. although, when party opposition became
clearly defined, he wrote Pickering that to
bring man into any Office of consequence
knowingly whose political tenets are adverse
to the measures which the general government
Is pursuing would be, in his opinion, "a sort of
political suicide To integrity and capacity,
ss qualifications for high civil Office, he added
that of marked eminence before the country,
not only as the more likely to be servceable.
but because the public will more readily trust
them. As IN appointments, so in the conduct
Of affairs, prudence Cancellation and accommo-
dalton carried the experiment successfully
along, while irmness in essentials was equally
present, as when, at a later day, the suppress
sion of the whisky rebellion and the maintain
ance Of neutrality in the war between France
and England, gave information at home that
there existed a central government strong
H..
abroad, that a new and self-reliant power had
been born into the family of nations.
The course taken III all matters, whether
great or small, was the result of careful con-
sideration AMI the exercise OF deliberate judg-
ment as to the effect of what was done, or for
borne to be done. upon the success of the
newly constructed cabinet. Thus, the regula-
ton Of official behavior was deemed a matter
OF such consequence that Adams, Jay, Hamil-
ton and Madison were consulted upon it, for
al he 1iv iof@, I,l
substituted for monarchy and titles, and was
held inconsistent with concession of superior
ity by reason Of occupany Of official station,
yet the transition could not be violently made,
and the people were, in any event, entitled to
expect their agents to sustain with dignity the
high positions to which they had been called.
,'During the entire presidency of Washing
ton, upon the details of which it is impractica-
be here to dwell, time for solidiication was
the dominant thought. The infant giant could
defend himself even in his cradle, but to be-
come the Colossus Of Washington's hopes the
gristle must have opportunity 10 harden.
HIS FAREWELL ADDRESS.
"After more than seven years of devotion to
the interests committed to his charge and in
tense watchfulness over the adjustment and
working Of the machinery of the new system
having determined upon his own retirement
thereby practically assigning a limit to the pc
Rod during which the Office could with pro-
priety be occupied by his successors still re-
garding the problem not solved, and still
anxiously desiring to contribute to the last to
the welfare OF the constant object of his ven
Grafton and love, he gives to his countrymen
In the affecting farewell of an old and affec-
tonate friend the results of his observations
and OF his reflections on the operation of the
great scheme he had assisted IN creating and
had so far commended to the people by his ad-
ministration of Its provisions.
'Punchllous as he was in official observances
and dear as his home and his own state were
to him. this address was one that rose above
home and state and official place. that brought
him near, not simply to the people to whom it
was Immediately directed but to that great
coming multitude whom no man could number
and toward which he felt the pathetic attach
ment OF noble and prophetic soul. And so
he dates II, not from Mount Vernon nor from
bus Official residence, but from 1.-The United
States
Washington had never permitted his public
action TO be influence by personal affec tion or
personal hostility, and in urging the avoidance
OF political connections or personal alliances
with any portion of the foreign world, he
Enthusiastically condemned indulgerc e in an
inyeterate antpathy toward particular nations
and passionate attachment for Others while
observing good faith and justice toward all
No reason existed Tor becoming implicated in
the ordinary vicissitudes of the politics of Eu-
rope or the ordinary combinations and col.
hsions o: her friendships enmities Inter-
vention meant war, not arbitration; the as
sumption OF obligation meant force, not words
No Held was to be opened here for for