The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-05-31

VINO ever liV'
ed Others
have added to the country's greatness,
and still others to come will perhaps
Improve upon what has gone be-
fore. But of all except Washington it
must be said. America produced
them Washington, without a coun-
try, without distinct nationality, tow
I cred above the great men of the earth,
the father and the founder of realm.
Others had dreamed of republican in
dependence for mankind. Washington,
by his sword. and as much by his brain
and heart as by his sword. made the
dream of ages reality.
Was Washington an accident? We
say of Napoleon, Of Lincoln, of Bis
marck, that they were the products of
their time. The age was ripe for them;
they had to be. Nature has never been
a bankrupt, and if men mighty in the
battles of time are needed she has the
material on hand; if not one, then
another But how select from among
the figures OF the Revolution another
who, like Washington, had the firm
!
as the leader of a struggling people?
In morarchies such as have ruled the
earth from time immemorial there is a
| divinity about the throne, even when
occupied by nobody, which masters
the minds of men and keeps them in
awe. The American revolutionists
threw that divinity and all the re-
straining force of the idea to the Winds
They had no ruler, no constitution. no
organized state Who but Washington,
through all the seven years struggle
/ from 1716 to 1888. through defeat and
disaster, amid suffering and in the face
of fierce political jealousies and dis
putes, stood for the idea of divinity,
stood for the constitution, stood for the
unorganiZed state?
Therein lies one of the marvels of ma
lures processes when dealing with hui
man events. The American Revolution
was mighty original upheaval of or
binary mankind in a contest for liber-
| ty. The Declaration of Independence
starts in as though it's writer's had an
/ entirely new inspiration to set forth
| when in the course of human events
| it becomes necessary" and so on up to
that brief but sweeping asseveration,
"All men are created free and equal"
smacks of primitive thought and feel
ing. There were masters of logic and
of diction among those brilliant minds
who voiced the peoples thought and
will in 1776. But they rested the cause
upon plain expression of grievances
and resolutions. Every little farmer,
every fatboatman, every backwoods-
man, the humblest and most illiterate
toiler of city or hamlet, thought the
very thoughts which went into the Dec
| laration in those choice and vigorous
words. To read that earnest, pathetic
and simple appeal to posterity and to
fate, to think OF the awful path to be
trodden in order to reach the goal and
| to know Washington as he was is to
| feel that only that raw. calm. big brain
ed and stalwart Virginia borderer was
| fitted to be the war god of the hour. to
/ stand in the stead Of king, to speak the
will of the state. to rule mems souls
with all the majesty of a fixed law.
The personal power of most little
great men lies in the quality called
! magnetism Washington had none of
that, and he didn't need it. His face
and his physique were at once striking
and attractive. Measuring six feet two
in his stockings, with q well developed
figure and the strength that goes with
1 healthy SIX footer, his very stature
compelled attention. The average man
thinks that five feet ten is a special
| favor of nature and the man who
reaches six feet giant. Washington's
] countenance fifty crowned his stature.
1t was pleasing and benevolent, yet of
a strength which kept men in a respect
full awe of him His features were al
ways under perfect control, even when
he was laboring under emotion His
voice was agreeable TO listen to and his
manner composed and digniGed.
When Washington came to stand at
the head of the army, target for the
eyes of the nation and for the scrutiny
of envious or jealous colleagues. he had
attained that success in life which gives
a man an air Of solid Importance He
would not be wrecked by what most
public men call failure He would not
be bankrupted by the loss of fortune
as fortunes went in those days. He
could live in the style becoming his
/ position without accepting a dollar of
the public money Taking all in all,
then, nature had made the leader of the
Revolution man without a peer to
stand the test of time and trial and
rally the people in that terrible strug-
gle for national independence. No
cheap victories, 10 half way successes,
would satisfy this almost potentate
from the queen of the rebelling colo
MES. Colonial soldiers. colonial states
men and the soldiers and diplomats of
foreign nations all unite in praising
Washingtons noble and lofty stature,
his fine and striking countenance, his
composed and awe inspiring demeanor.
The war of the Revolution lasted so