Evening star., 1902-02-24
GEORGE WASHINGTON
Commissioner Macfarland's
Address,
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY
MCMAHON HALL FILLED WITH
INTERESTED AUDIENCE. 80
Influence Of the First President in ths
Twentieth Century Admir- ~
ably Shown. ers rr-9
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

Commissioner Henry B. F. Macfarland
delivered the annual address at the cele-
bration Of George Washngton's birthday
by the students and faculty of the Catholic
University Saturday afternoon at o'clock
The exercises took place in McMahon Hall
before large audience. The closest at
tention was paid to all that Mr.. Mcfarland
said and his address was interesting
throughout. His subject was George
Washington in the Twentieth Century" He
said:
This Is the 10th anniversary Of the
birth of George Washington. On that
birthday the only one which is national
holiday. it is difficult TO speak Of any one
else. Yet more than century has passed
| since he was buried at Mount Vernon. The
wonderful nineteenth century. with all it's
| mechanical and scientific discoveries and
all its material progress, the gre atest of all
the centuries in these respects, inferior
though it may be in other respects. knew
not Washington in the flesh. and now We
have entered another century.
THE time OF Washington is almost as
far distant in scientific. mechanical and
economic things the time of Christopher
Columbus. In spite OF Franklin's expert
ments, the applications of electricity for
mechanical purposes would seem almost
as strange to the one to the other. We
are separated from Washington by thought
in some matters far more distantly than
by time. He belongs to a different period
of civilization, an older order OF society.
The political and the social conditions In
the United States today would seem as
strange to Washington as the telegraph or
telephone. the national bank system or the
latest hypothesis OF science. Mount Ner-
non, made sacred by his home and his
tomb. and preserved by patriotic women,
is unchanged, but otherwise the most famii-
lar scenes Of WashingtOn's experiences
| would seem strange to him, so rapid and
how han oh.
Not Faded Into the Past.
yet Washington has not faded into the
dimness of irrecoverable past. He is
not receding from our view into the dis
tance beyond a great flood of time. He Is
not simply remembered as one OF the an
clients, a great force in by-gone age. who
must be honored, but need not be reckoned
with. He Is not locked up in book or
statue or picture, an object Of Veneration.
but with no relation to present day at
fairs. If he were, the ceremonies in his
honor would become perfunctory and
| would soon cease. Men, women and chill
dren would no longer meet to celebrate his
birthday, and his farewell address would
| no longer be read to the Senate of the
United States on the 22d OF February.
"The fact, Of course is that George
Washington is in the twentieth century as
much as he was In the eighteenth century.
Such unique greatness as his, greatness OF
mind and greatness of spirit. lives through
all time, and makes it's influence felt In
distant centuries as In its own day or ac-
ton. It Is like the Washington monument.
not only in its simplicity. strength and SUI
periorty, but in that 1T endures And, as
the Washington monument dominates the
scene, appears at every view, and impresses
| its idea on every hour so Washington looms
| before our eyes and grasps our minds to-
| day.
| being alive here, well as in the other
| world, he stills commands when he was
| here in the body. 1t is admitted that our
| foreign policy is that which Washington
| laid down for us. 1t Is admitted that, In
this important regard, the nation which
| he established has advanced steadily and
securely to it's present proud position in
| the field of International relations. Ihe
wisdom Of his principles for our dealings
| with foreign nations. SO sharply questioned
| in his time, Is now universally acknowl-
| edged at home and abroad. Thanks to that
| wisdom, our government, through all the
| changes in its administration, has MAIN
tanned an equable frendiness toward all
| other governments and has made no en-
| tangling alliance with any or them.
Vitality of His Principles.
"The recent diplomacy of the State De-
partment, by Secretary Day, in the Span
| ish war, and Secretary Hay, in the nego-
| tiations to preserve the integrity of the
Chinese empire and the open door for our
| commerce in China. under the direction of
President Mckinney and President Roose-
welt, furnishes a striking illustration of the
vitality as well as the value OF Washing
toms principles for our foreign intercourse;
while it must be remembered that the So
called Monroe doctrine was the natural out
growth of those principles.
..It is not so generally admitted that
Washington's principles govern the admin
istration of our Internal affairs, but in q
large view this ought to be admitted.
Washington's greatest thought was that
the United States ought to be a nation and
not a confederacy, and that 1t was to ex-
pand Indefinitely and not to be kept be-
tween the Atlantic and the Alleghanles. His
great mind had no little thoughts for his
country. He Thought continentalg, as
has been said, when most men thought
otherwise, and did all his work, even to
the planning of magnificent city for the
national capital, in the faith that this ma
tion would endure and enlarge without
limit. The Constitution of the United
States and the opinion of Chief Justice
Marshall, which made its great powers OPP
erative, are the reflection of Washington's
political purpose, and while Htoek the
costliest and the mightiest war country
even knew to carry out that purpose fully,
it has been done =
Live in Accordance With His Precepts.
But cannot we honestly say that. In the
main, and in spite of things which we right
ly deplore. we do cherish the principles Of
Washington and endeavor to live accord
ing to their precepts? ,It@seens to me that
some things which as nation we do are
regarded as In contradictions Of those sRr1n-
ciples simply because the principles are
misinterpreted misappled. We are told.
for example, that our dealings with the
islands taken from Spain under the stress
of the war of 1898, are contrary to the
principles of Washington. But l. believe
that the whole career of Washington con-
tradicts that claim. L believe 1t teaches
that he would have met the responsibilities
of 1898 as William Mckinley met them, And
1 cannot doubt that he would have ap-
proved on the whole, the manner In which
the islands taken from Spain have been
administered by our government In the
transition period from tae old regime to the
new order of elf-goyernment. Certainly,
Governor Taft, Governor Wood and Gov
ernor Allen are men whom Washington
would have admired and whose work SO
difficult. SO discouraging. but so well and
SO bravely DONE in the interest of alien
races, numbering more than twice as many
people as Washington governed as Presi-
dent, would lave received his unqualified
approval. -.
Above all. Washington is more than ever
great national example, Is In this re-
spect he still serves the country that he
loved more effectively than IN any ether
Now that we know the real Washington.
the human Washington, the man OF like
passions with ourselves. though with a self
mastery that we cadnbt boaSt man Of
sympathy and sepsibility, as wei as ex-
traordinary common sense military. geafus