Milford chronicle., 1903-02-27

WAAlNn klOME As7nAEL anu UAA1AAAIA oA
, sheds forth a more refulgent light unit
at last that light sinks away into tn
twilight after the glowing sunset ha
covered the clouds with garments 0
gold.
Goodness, Not BriIiance, Needed.
What the world most needs today
not brilliant men, but good men; no
men with the scintillating genius o
Aaron Burr, but men with the good
ness of a Father Washington. Th
world does not need an orator who cal
make a brilliant speech and then will
a dissolute private life repudiate al
the noble sentiments he enunciated il
that speech. But the world does neeC
good men-men who are honorable il
their homes, men who are honorable il
their business dealings, men who are
cOnscientiously faithful in every duty
of life which confrOnts them. When
the tidings of Bunker Hill were carried
to Washington, he anXiOusly asked the
courier this question: did the militia
fight well?" When told that they did
he replied, "Then the liberties of the
country are safe" That principle is
our ground of hope today. On this ma
tiOnal birthday we re-eehO Washing
toms words and declare that 'the lib
critics of the country are safe" when
its citizens, from the humblest to the
greatest, are good men doing their re-
spective duties we'll. 1t was in Wash
ingtOn's genius of character" that we
find his greatest element of strength.
George Washington was a well round
ed man. That means in ordinary ev-
eryday language he was a good man
wherever you study him.
George Washington was ready to sac
rifice his all for American liberty. do
not suppose he was any more willing
to sacrifice his all than thousands and
tens of thousands of other men. But
the simple fact was that George Wash
ingtOn had more to sacrifice than al
most any other man of his day. First,
he was a home body. He had to give up
all the endearments of his Virginia
plantation life. The glory of war and
the pride of craftsmanship never ap-
pealed to him, as they often do to the
selfish ambition of the modern poll
tician. How pitiful." he once wrote to
a friend, lin this age of reason and re-
ligion, is that false ambition which
desolates the world with fire and sword
for the purpose of conquest and fame.
hope to spend the remainder of my
life in cultivating the affections of good
men and in the practice of domestic
virtues" But though George Wash
ington was essentially home man,
and loved his own fireside above all
throneroOms, yet at the call of duty
he sacrificed his life's desire and drew
his sword as the commander Of the
American armies.
WeshiaErou-s Great Sacrifices.
The e&crifice Of his ease and comfort
was not the only sacrifice he was will
ing to make. Wnen he became COM
mander of the American armies, he
placed his head and life in jeopardy in
more ways than one When the Dec !
laratiO Of Independence was being |
signed in Independence hall, Benjamin |
Franklin, | think it was. turned to
some of his colleagues and said, I'VE
must all hang together now or else we
shall all hang separately" That was Il
figure of speech that may not have |
been true of every signer of the Doc
laratiOn. but it would certainly have |
been true of the man who was rightly |
regarded as the head and front of the |
revolt. If the Revolution of 1TI6 had |
failed, whosoever escaped, George !
Washington. as the leader of the |
American armies, would have been !
shot or hung or decapitated- AS rle
greatest leader of that time. he would |
have had to lay down his life as a /
warning to all future cOnspirators.
Washington not only ran the risk of
the battlefield, but also the risk of the
eXecutioner's AK.
--ye.
George Washington placed his prOr-
erty also in jeopardy. His wife was [
not only rich in her own right, but
Washington himself was considered
.ylle of the wealthiest men in all Amer
lea. / have seen it stated that he was
worth at the time of his death over
ST50OOO. That, of course, was fabu-
lous fortune in his day. Yet Wash
ington was ready to sacrifice all he
owned as we'll as his peace of mind and
his head upon the altar of principle If
America could only be free.
When Il great crisis comes, are you
and l similarly ready to make a sacri-
fee for principles sake? When we see
might triumph over right and injustice
over justice. are we ready to say: Here
is my life. Here is my property. Here
is the property of my loved ones.
stake everything in the struggle which
wage to make all men freeY Have
we the same faith in Divine PrOvi-
dence as George Washington had? Are
we as true 70 principle as lie. as ready
as he to put liher;sS. PTc7erty and life
itself in peril eor the sake of right? Do
we feel it is better to die right than to
live wrong?
George Washington was also stead
fast, though he had to battle against
and overcome the mismanagement of
tha Amerfpon sta tasman and tha iaal-