The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1897-03-06

81 SEAN IA = 7ts11A ~.
| hnlaa,le." So blsHe}Aps was his praFate
! life that a synod pr the Presbyterian So
ciety, holding ita sessions during his
residence at Moc.pt Vernon, publicly de-
] clared him to be akmqdel Of virtue. His
generosity was unsIinted. To the poor
he displayed pategnaa benevolence.
His heart was stirred with all the TEN
der synpathies witch lean affect human
ity, and his imptt1sss found expression
in efforts for thetaasblit1on OF slavery
and in many worksbf ,private and public
charity. u es5
In a day whent theiswoes of the Irish
people had attracted little attention, he
recorded his deep sympathy with them
and his desire for their relief. No big
etry found Judgement in his bosam.
Long before the date of his birth a hate
| full custom had originated and in ais
| Gay. sad to relate prevailed in England,
and, to some extent, in the American
colonies peepled by the English, of burn
| ing the pope in eaigy. When son Of
the soldiers of the American army IN
dertook to observe this custom, their
contemplated act was forbidden by
| Washington in general orders, and his
| interdict was accompanied by noble
words In condemnation of the wretehed
| insult to the Father of Christendom
Every act in his career seems to- have
! been conceived and executed in spirit
of wide philanthropy and with dis
! timely ethical purpose. No mean or
sordid passion was ever displayed by
Washington. He not only served as
! commander Of the continental forces
| without pay, but invested a large part
! OF his fortune in the public loans made
! for the purpose of carrying on the war
| against Great Britain.
| When he was elevated to the office It
! president of the United States by the
| universal vote of the people, be admins
tered that office strictly as a sacred trust.
! He formed no political party and be
| posed by parties and politicians, aA1
/ calmly and inpartially adopted such as
! seemed best for the interests OF the peo~
PIE and. their government. He PFC
| tected the civil service against the de-
! basement of sinister agencies and parti-
| san manipulation He was in all his
| public ac..s an incorruptible public ser
want. Right, wo1thi1y, therefore, was it
| said of him in the formal resolution of
| the federal congress, "He was first in
| war, first in peace and first in the hearts
of his countrymen.2
! Judge Willis then stretched in graphic
style the leading 'eveflts of the Reyolu-
ton, giving an adtouht of several bat
ties and of manyd transactions in the
continental congress. ,c
Tbs deeds of Washington, Putnam,
1 Warren. Prescott, Stark, Gates, sulli-
van, the Marquis de Lafayette, Nathaniel
Greene, Marion and Sumter, were re-
viewed with appropriate and instructive
| comment. '''
The Judge further said:
l.. The dynasties Of Syria and Of Egypt
have persisted. The political systems
under which they tlouris1,ed have been
annihilated and their nature is forgot
ten. The Orient, cnce instinct with civ
i1tzation and all it's felicitious. amenities
is now the spoil of the barbarian who
wanders among the magnificent ,monu
| ments of past splendor as thoughtless as
| the dog which follows at his heels.
Transitory is human greatness, trans
1tory are human institutions, unless un-
der the guidance of examples like that of
Washington, the selfish impulses Of the
! race are discarded lor the virtues which
tend to exalt and to dignity national
| character, and the history of the people
is surrounded by the sanity halo of d.
vine religion To sink self-interest in
common desire for the good of all is to
tOl!OW the WdSHlAgLolldu StdAudlu anu
thereby to write the annals Of Cur coun~
try in letters of living light upon the
armament of universal consciousness
and to hasten the advent Of the millenial
epoch of political conditions, the period
wherein liberty, equality, fraternity,
shall become the universal creed OF man
| kind and the dominant principles ct
every government.