St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-02-18

HERO WORSHIP.

mankind dearly loves lord" said
Burns, and never were truer words
written. We are all hero worshipers of
more or less pronounced degree. Some
Worship those who have achieved re-
nown in war; some love the statesmen.
anu some the preachers, while there are
not few VINO bow down at the shrine
OF pOesy and offer the tribute of their
alteration to the makers of rhymes. Ii
all the people IN q prOmScuOuS assem-
blage were given the opportunity OF ex-
pressing their opinions of the relative
greatness of those who have figured in
history. wide diversity of opinion
would be found to exist. and the verdict
would be astonishing, if not amusing.
An Eastern journal, devoted to the
interests of the young, recently asked
its patrons to vote as to who among
forty distinguished Americans was the
greatest. and the following was the re-
suit:
Geo. Washington. 1901 Natl Hawthorne. 1882
Abraham Lincoln. 1852 William c. Bryant. 4i40
Ulysses s. Grant. $685. John Adams 80. 1888
BenJ. franklin. :. 1855 Phil II. Sheridan. 4l63
Daniel Webster. 1882 Cyrus W. Field 1870
Thomas jefferson. 760S James r. Lowell 412S
Henry Clay 80. 1853 Robert L. Lee -. .403S
H.W. Longfellow 1892 John C. Calhoun 1899
W. T. sherman. $50 James G. Blame. 1912
Robert Fulton =. 674. Eli Whitney, 39J1
S. F. b. Morse ...6720lD G. Farragut 1916
John q. Whittier. 6522 Winfield Scott -. 37S6
NaShlng'n Irving. 6lSo George Bancroft 32l6
Patrick Henry. 5946 Oliver II. Perry. .31S)
Alex. Hamilton. .55l4 Charles Sumner. 1892
X. w. Emerson. $3.50 Noah Webster ..2SS6
Horace Greeley. .5l4S John Hancock. 1896
H. w. Beecher. .40i4 Edwin Booth .....2706
Andrew jackson. .4554 Fen imore Cooper. 1924
James A. Garfield. 4536I John q. Adams .256S
Perhaps it is just that the father of
our country should stand the highest in
the esteem of the youth, and that Lin
coin and Grant should follow closely.
Yet Lincoln's was by far the grandest
character of the three, and his achieve
ment was the most mOmentouS. Wash
ingten'S leadership was noble. and in
some respects grand; Lincoln's was
sublime throughout "a triumph of
human genius over conditions that to
most men seemed inSurmountable. , 1t
is queer judgment, however, which
places Horace Greeley, a partisan and
narrow-ninded man, above such dis
tinguished men as Bryant, Field, Sum-
ner, Lee aud Calhoun. Fulton and
Morse justly stand on a substantial
parity; but why should Patrick Henry,
patriot and orator though he was, oc-
cupy higher station than John Han
COCK? There may be some reason for
highly regarding Ralph Waldo Emer-
son, the incomprehensible essayist of
the intangible. verbose and platitudi-
nous; but why place him so far above
George Bancroft? Henry Clay was
not SO much superior to James q. Blaine
as statesman or orator as he is made to
appear in this list, even if his. superb
GRITTY is admitted; while Charles Sumner.
who is placed low in esteem, was the
superior of both as to craftsmanship and
learning. to Say nothing of oratory. in
which art he and Edward Everett have
been long the recognized models. And
this calls attention to the fact that the
name of Everett does not appear on the
list. Is there man in our history WHO
added more to the glory of our nation
than he? He was statesman of sur
passing ability, the model orator of the
century, phiIanthropiSt and littera-
tenr, a master in bellies lettres. CAL
houn and Webster were contemporaries,
and there was always dispute as to
which was the greatest power in the
halls of congress. or on the roStrum, yet
in this list we find them widely sepa-
rated.
The list given shows the general
tendency Of the American people to let
others do their thinking. Men who are
the most talked about are esteemed the
highest, while those who are at the
helm of public opinion and direct the
popular thought and the national policy
are bnt little known or appreciated.
The man who compiled dictionary is
placed upon pedestal of honor. while
those who may be said to have formed
the language are ignored. ALI such
lists as the one given are necessarily of
little value.