The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-20

ceiVe that in a little time there will be
nothing either for my negroes or horses
to eat without buying it, which will
neither comport with my interest or
inclination. By Stuart's report I find
he still continues to feed horses with
corn instead of cut oats, as 1 directed.
What two saddle horses are those
which stand in the mansion house re
pert? I know of none but the one Mr..
Whiting used to ride" The planter
who demanded reports like that must
have been a good business man.
Speaking of Washington as a farmer,
from an almanac of 1890 comes the fol-
lowing:
Gen Washington possesses 10, 900 acres
Of land where he lives. He employees
$50 hands and keeps twenty-four
ploughs going all the year when the
weather will permit. In 1887 he sowed
600 bushels Of oats, 700 acres OF wheat
and a large quantity of corn, barley
and potatoes. He has $50 acres in tu1-
nips, 500 acres In grass and great
fields of peas and beans. He visits
his farms every day unless the weather
is stormy, and he is making extensive
experiments toward the Improvement
of agriculture. In 1856 he killed $50
hogs, weighing 1880 pounds, for his
family use, which was made into ba-
con-"
From the above it will be seen that
Washington had by no means an easy
life. He had many troubles outside of
those connected with the estate. He
had as many enemies as our leading
politicians have today, and he was ac-
cused Of all kinds Of crimes and mis-
demeanors. The Philadelphia Aurora
charged him with having committed
m 1I-1G inc q ion Writ n
Braddock. Griswold, in his Republican
court, states that an attempt was made
to poison Washington when he was
president, and it was John Randolph,
of Roanoke, who during a dinner at
Alexandria rose and proposed the toast:
George Washington, may he be
d."
When his birthday was first celebrat-
ed. in 1888, there was a great deal OF
criticism on the part of his enemies,
and the Aurora, one of the opposition
newspapers of Philadelphia, published
long poems describing him as the worst
! of men. He was nicknamed the Ameri-
can Caesar and the stepfather of his
country. The house of representatives
was asked to adjourn for half an hour
on the 22d Of February, 1896, to pay it's
respects to President Washington on
the occasion of his birthday This
practice had been In vogue since Wash
| 1ngtOn was first inaugurated The
house, however, refused to adjourn, on
the ground that it was the duty of con-
| gress to attend to legislative business
! and not to pay foolish compliments.
When Washington delivered his fare
well address he was reviled by the OPP
posite party. All sorts of libels were
uttered against him, and the Aurora
said there ought to be jubilee in the
United States because the Washintoh~
| ian administrations were at an end.
Notwithstanding all this, the character
| of Washington shines brighter today
than ever before. With his little weak
nesses, which historians have done
| their best to hide, he is, taking him
altogether, perhaps the greatest Ameri-
can our country has ever produced,
and the false charges against him
were but drops of moisture on the mir
ror Of his fame, which time has long
since washed away.