The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-03-14
GREAT FATHER BROKE
Washington Shows by His Letters
That He Was Otter, Il
Hard Up. s.I3
He Wrote High-Sounding Appeals
oThose Who Were Slow ..
s 90 4, a
in Paying Him. s'..
Presents Of All Kinds Were Sent
Him and He Accepted s.s
r .s'i5 Them All. :55....3 \.

Him and He Accepted
Them ALL. Il
When Gen. Washington died his estate
was estimated at about $3.50, 900. AZ large
part of this was, however, unproductiye
real estate, and during the latter part ct
his life he found it difficult, to meet the
many acquisitions of. a public and private
nature that were made upon him: Dur
ing the seven years that he served as eom-
nIand Ter -in-chief of the continental army,
without compensation, he was compelled
to neglect entirely his individual affairs,
and when he returned to Mount Vernon In
1888 he found them in such a state Of COM
fusion that it required years of care and
attention to put them upon a prosperous
basis. Meanwhile he was compelled to
keep up liberal hospitality at Mount Ver-
non, whittier came all strangers of distinc-8
tion who visited this country, to say noth-
ing of frequent visits from his comrades OF
the war, who; always received a cordial
welcome from their old commander. ..
Glancing over his voluminous CORE
spondence, now among the government
archieves, abundant evidence is found
that he was often sorely pressed for mon
ey, and was sometimes forced to the un-
pleasant necessity of dunning those who
owed him. . Here, for instance, is a letter
written in 1885 to one Of his debtor
friends:
'From the assurance you gave me |
had f1attered myself that should ere this
have received a payment from you. [
beg you to be assured that the disclosure
made to you Of my circumstances was
candid; and it cannot be more disagresa-
BILE to you to hear than it is to me to re-
port that my wants are pressing. Some
debts, which l am really ashamed to owe.
are unpaid, and have been, for want ct
money, unable to do more with my manu-
featuring mill than to grind UP my own
crops. for wheat IS not to be bought on
credit and j. have not cash to pay for IT,
In 1888 he writes to the same person:
II should be glad to know precisely
whether1 am to expect any and what part
of the f2O0, on which you assured lne in
Phila. I might absolutely rely, and the
half of which you informed me i'm No
venIber should be sent to ME by your scr
want in ten days, # you could not get the
residue. I have put the sheriff off three
times: if he comes again must. if have
no further expectations from you, suffer I
him to make distress, as raised nothing
last year for sale, and allotted this money
for the payment OF taxes
The first presidential election under the
constitution was held in November, 1888.
and the electors chosen by the several
states were all supposed to be In favor Ct
Washington for the chief magistracy, as
turned out to be the case when, ON the IA
of March, 1889, they all voted for him.
In anticipation of this event Washington
made his preparations for removing to
Philadelphia, but he found himself so
hampered by the want of money that lie
was compelled to write his friend, Capt.
Richard, Conway, asking the loan Of $500
In his letter, dated March 4, 1889, the first
president says: ,t1
Give hundred pounds would enable me
to discharge what | owe In Alexan l1ia,$
etc. and to leave the state, If 1t shall not 4
be in my power to remain at home i'll re--;
tirement, without doing this would be ex-ss
ceedingly disagreeable to me. sss
1t need not be said that Capt. ConWay# &
was only too happy to oblige his Illus
trious countrynaan, and Washington was
spared the "disagreeable" alternative.
While thus pressed for ready money.
Washington showed himself a most crn-
siderate landlord to the many tenants who
held lelases on his landed estates, who 4
were unable, from the stringency of the
times, to pay their rents promptly But
while lenient to these he showed no ia
vors to those who had the ability but not
the inclination to pay. He writes his
agent: t424. 445 g4gsG