The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-09-22
THAT CHERRY TREE STORY.
New Version of the Tale About
George and the Hatchet.
Washington Post.

washington POST
The Fourth of July and the annual re-
vival of patriotic thought and tradition
call to the mind the threadbare narrative
of Washington and the cherry tree. Every
American has had this story told or read
died and made fun Of In his later years,
but few indeed have any idea as to its
origin. Washington woman, who has
devoted great deal of time, study and
research to this and other subjects and
phases of the life of the father of his
country, relates the following account of
the origin of this story.
During the latter part of Washingtons
life," she said, there came to Westmore-
land county, Virginia, school teacher,
whose name do not at this moment MON. recall IL;
the neighborhood of WaShingtons birth
place. He was from South Carolina, and a
rather eccentric character-playe the nd
die, danced and did other things that
straightlaced Puritan might have frowned
down upon, was very fond of moralizing
and guiding his pupils In the right path by
means Of stories which he invented and
which were all of a character somewhat
similar to that of the boys and the apples
In the old blue-backed speller. He was
dined at Mount Vernon. In fact, he was
extremely popular wherever he went I'm
like most schoolmasters of that period, who
believed that to spare the rod was to spoil
ping, controlling his pupils by means of
attractive stories and comparisons calcu-
lated to foster their ambition In the right
direction.
Now, this schoolmaster had not been
I'm Westmoreland county very long before
he observed that the boys of his school
were extremely proud of George Wash
ington. Those were the days when faith
ers mothers, schoolmasters and preach
ers promulgated the pleasant fiction that
every boy had an equal chance with every
other boy of some day becoming President
and, of course, every youngster In West
moreland was thoroughly convinced that
he, too, would some day be great a
man as George Washington. The school,
master In question observed this and de-
termined to employ 1t as a means Of pro-
noting good morals among his pupils. This
he accomplished by writing and circulating
among his pupils the story about Wash
ington and his little Ratchet.
This story, which he invented merely
as a means of instilling a due regard for
truth in the minds of his pupils, spread
from the bounds Of Westmoreand into
other counties and States, until it became
generally believed and accepted all over
the country. Finally IL came to the ears
of Washington, who was very much put
out ana aggravated TO think that such a
foolish yarn had gone forth about him.
Being a far-seeIng statesman he realized
that a day would come when hero-worship
would be far less general than was then
the case, and when this story would sound
ridiculous in the ears OF more cultivated
and skeptical generation. Tracing the
sharply to account for it.
1.-The teacher explained that he had never
dreamed of its travelling beyond his little
schoolhouse, but that inasmuch as IL did
Washington would pardon him for what he
had done The latter appears to have
taken the same view Of it the school
teacher, for he had nothing further to
story remained on good terms with the
Washingtons to the end Of his life"