The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1897-06-11


ural in this connection that l should
call attention to the language of James
Russell Lowell, in which he says:
Virginia gave US this imperial man,
This unblemished gentleman.
What can we give her back but
Love and praisef
Frances E. Willard. I'm thinking
about Washington | have always been
surprised by the almost unequaled bal
ance that he was enabled to preserve be-
tween the centrifugal force of greatness
and the centripetal force of goodness.
The first alone would have made him a
brilliant meteor; the last alone would
have held him in some quiet station of
life; the two combined made him his
tory's most steady shining star.
General O. o. Howard. Around the
name of Washington has gathered a
halo of completeness which marks and
crowns the highest reaches of any
achievement and honor. Whenever in
boyhood my parents or my instructors
wished to use a name as a means of
grace to a hayward lad they pointed
to that of George Washington. Later
years and the revelations of a great war
have perhaps stripped the name and
fame of Washington of some of their
classic glamour, of some of their singular
sacredness, but there has remained in
my mind deeper reverence for the no.
BILE character of our first general and our
first president than for any other-Of the
iyrand heroes which the nation has
produced. His ability, his wisdom, his
piety, his indomitable energy and his
unselfsh patriotism certainly can never
be exceeded. We have greatly loved
Lincoln, heartily trusted Grant, but
surely our souls cleave in reverent affec-
ton, above all, to Washington.
Rev. DR.. Joseph Parker of London
Others will speak of George Washington
from a military and historical point of
view. If 1 add a word. it must be to
express my reverence for the great mans
personal character, which ! hold to be
one of the pQrest, simplest and strongest
in the ANNALS Ct the world, While do
not begrudge America the Inheritance
of his fame, cannot allow America a
monopoly of his renown. George Wash
ington belongs to patriotism, to civiliza-
ton and to heroism all the world over.
He was a child of the larger history,
not mere unit in the development of
q single nation. l can never forget the
summer day when went over his quar-
tiers Oh the banks Of the Hudson and
touched, as it were, the very spirit and
genius of the man. Any honor done 10
Washington is done to the destiny that
shapes our ends. !"
Phineas 7. Barnum. The true great
ness of George Washington is best ex-
emplifed in the greatness Of this
country, which, as compared with all
other nations. is the greatest show on
earth. We celebrate Washington s birth
day, but in the centennial Of his inau-
guratiOn we celebrate the real birthday
of the nation. Old sayings now take on
new meanings. Hereafter the first in
war, first i'll peace and first in the hearts
Of his countrvmen" will be more par
impressed upon us as first pres
ident of the United States. This means
much more than tine mere fact that he
was the great general who successfully |
carried the cGRntry through the Revolu-
tionary struggle, Another trite saying
now has new significance. We justly |
call Washington the Father of His
Country. When he took the oath of
office as president, New York city had /
less than $4,000 inhabitants, and our
entire population has multiplied from
300. 900 to 60, 100000 Surely Washing
ton, as the Father Of His Country, is |
the patriotic progenitor of more people |
than were promised to Father Abraham. ;
Cardinal Gibbons. 1t is in accordance
with the economy of divine Providence
that whenever the Almighty has any
great work to accomplish in the civil or
moral order he employs the agency of
suitable men to effect its execution.
When he designed to found great and
model empire in this western world, he
raised up men who laid the foundation
If our republic so deep, so strong and 80
broad that IL might continue for suo