The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-02-25
GREATEST OF AMERICANS
WHY THE NAME OF WISHINGTON IS
 ENROLLED

Among Those of tho Greatest Men of Any Raeo or Time-The Washington Birthday Address of Hon. l.. NJ. Hubbard at the Reoent Patriotic Celebration in This City. ] may not hope by any utterance of mine to add to the interest or enthu- siasm of this occasion. At the same time l am gratihed to be present, and deeply sensible of the honor of being permitted to participate in the exer- cises of the hour. The anniversary we are met to commemorate relates to an events which, for every lover of civil lib- erty, possesses an interest that perhaps none other in human history can sur pass.
 What is it that has given the name of Washington pre-eminence throughout the civilized world, and on every recur- ring anniversary of his birth, inspires the rapidly growing millions of this great and free republic to unite in demonstrations of reverence and honor to his memory?
  of the part he performed in the inn mortal work of freeing an oppressed people, and establishing on these shores 8 government under whose protecting aegis, civil and religious liberty have at last become the unquestioned right of all who swear allegiance to the flag
 The very sublimity of the objects he
 ,Ia,, I1 md in exhaustible practical value they have been shown to possess for the welfare or society and the highest promtion of 1n~ clividual happiness and improvement, tend to subordinate in the general con- temptation of him, that intent consid- eration of the traits and qualities of his character which is his due, and from which alone may be derived the great lessons of his life.
 The works he did shall live for ever. A hundred years of intellectual strain and assault on the foundations he laid for the liberties of his people, witness to the priceless value of his achieve ments, and the growing splendor of his fame.
 But let us, though necessarily with the greatest brevity, direct our atten- tion to the man, and inquire what were the forces within him that account for the unparalleled deeds that thronged his life. He is sometimes said to have been, with single exception, the great est man the English speaking race has produced, and, though much lesser tribute, he was regarded by many lead ing men of his time, at home and abroad, as the ablest among contem- i porary rulers. He is generally conced- ed to have been the greatest of Ameri- cans. Whether all these encomiums were deserved, it is not my province now to inquire.
 That he was, in the summation of his character the greatest man this country has produced may not well be doubted. And yet when viewed as a military commander or civil ruler his was not the greatest that learning bestows. He had not the equipment of a mind largely trained in the schools, nor to his dying day was he deeply versed in the history of nations or the literature of his pro- fessions. His reading was largely con- fined to the history of his mother coun- try.
 Tn his civic career, among the state
 
 were not a few who excelled him in these respects, as we'll as in power of logical thought and statement, and in the arts of accomplished diction. And while it should almost be treason to disparage whit the public character or services of this matchless man, it remains true that the luster of his re- nown is in some degree reflected from oI,c natr +zJ ...:l1 I... authority, most especially that one, the discerning wisdom of whose selec- ton by Washington as his most inti- mate and trusted adviser, has been vim dicated in the general acknowledgement and growing fame of Alexander Hamil. ton as 8, true lover of his country and the greatest conservative statesman the rounded century of our national exist ence has brought forth.
 That Washington, however, had a remarkable capacity for affairs is not to be denied. The imprint of his decis- i've authority in general administration and in the many great individual issues and policies with which he was off, cially concerned, is clear proof of this. But the chiefest attribute of his power lay in his incomparable devotion to his country. He was first of all and last of all a patriot; the very incarnation of an ideal patriotism. His country was his supreme passion.
 Consideration of personal comfort, ease, thrift, ties of kindred hindered him never in the presence of her call. Discouragements, privations, peril, want of popular or official support, jeal- ousy, treachery all served only to strengthen the heroic purposes to which he had dedicated his life.
 Calm, undaunted, with zeal that never Jagged and a purpose that never faltered, his majestic spirit reposing in the assurance of divine favor, he moved grandly on to the accomplishment of his mission.
 With his love for the principles of truth and justice, he could not have been other than the patriot he was. From the very constitution of his moral nature, the cause of civil liberty found in him necessary champion.
 The moral qualities in Washington dominated his character, and combined with his rare discernment, his large practical knowledge, and sound judg- ment to insure for him that unique and unfailing supremacy that never seemed yielded, but rathersto be assumed to be