The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-02-21

Tor ratlncaClOn, It was the influence OF
Washington that saved that great state
for the cause of the union and thus
saved the union itself Not taking part
in the debates of the legislature or the
subsequent convention, he was active,
nevertheless, by writing to his friends.
and answering inquiries from nuraer-
Gus citizens until the ratification was
of some of the ablest of Virginia's re-
1iIarkable galaxy of statesmen.
Most powerful of all, however, was
the quiet influence of Washington's,
personality at that time, not only in his
native state, but al through the states;.
and it is in this silent force which was
ut work among the people that his
unique position in history stands out
most clearly. The personal element is.
always strongert than that of an abstract
idea in political movements. 1t may
be fairly doubted, and is actually
doubted by the highest historical au-
thority, # the new government could
have been established on broad nation
al lines merely on the strength of it's
inherent virtue, had there not heens
back of it the heroic figure of Wash
ington. The new plan of government
being a compromise between conflict,
ing interests and modes of thought met.
with dissatisfaction, in some particu-
lar, almost everywhere, but there was
abroad among the people the feeling;
sometimes clearly expressed but gen.
orally remaining in an indistinct form,
that whatever there was unsatisfactory
in the plan was bound to work out well
in the hands of Washington. This I'M
bounded trust in the peoples hero had
designated him for the first executive.
long before the constitution itself was
ratified, and but for this faith in the one
man we might not have had the nation
of the United States of America, but in
its steGd several disjointed cOnfedera--
cies. With perfect propriety could the
Italian patriot Alficri greet Washington
with the words: Happy are you who
have for the sublime and permanent
basis of your glory the love of country
demonstrated by deeds" And it was.
not merely local feeling, but fairly
represented the universal sentiment of
the people which found expression in.
the parting words of his neighbors of
Alexandria when he left them on his
Journey to New York to enter upon his.
duties as president of the United
States: Farewell, and make a CRATE.
full pepole happy; and may the Being
who mal:eth and unmaketh at His WILL,
restore to us again the best of men and.
the most beloved fellow-citizen."
1t is customary to speak of Washing
ton in his public capacity of command
er-in-chief or of president. 1t may
he well, therefore, to have called at
tention to the silent influence above
described, for it is not blazoned on
the pages of history, but nevertheless,
perhaps, the most important part of
his life work. And it was well for
the young republic that it enjoyed dur
ing the first years of it's existence gov
by n man of supreme self-con-
troll and moderation. The success of
the American revolution famed into
life the spark of liberty in Europe and
the organization of the government 4
must be on firm foundation to with
stand the influences of the commissions
that We're to occur within a few years
and set the nations of Europe at each
others Threats. Washington was pre-
pared. His comprehensive mind dis
;erned the approaching storms both
abroad and in his own country. He
well the conflict of opin-
ions in which ne had borne a dignifed
part in the federal convention of 1877,
and the fierce party strife which it fore
shadOwed. When he was called to the
chair he was ready with a
federal policy, the result of long med
tatiOn. This was his policy: ITO pre-
serve freedom, never transcending the
powers delegated by the constitution;
even at the cost of life to uphold the
union "a sentiment which, as George
Bancroft says, in him had a tinge of
anxiety from his thorough acquaint--
ance with what Grayson called the
southern genius of America); to re-
store the public finances; to establish
in the foreign relations of the country
4 thorough American system; and to
preserve neutrality in the impending
conflicts between nations in Europe
BY no act of his life, full of glory and
leroism though it was, did Washing
ton become more truly the father of
his country" than by that influence
which emanated from him and from
he example of his life while he was
quietly striving to repair the remains
If his fortune shattered by seven years.
absence and the ravages of the war,
that fortune, which. when it was vet
n full bloom, he had pledged TO the
starving soldiery in support of the.
credit of the nation yet unborn. -
II. z. o. HEINE3IANN.
Real Excitement.