The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-02-23
EDWIN EKLuND.
George Washington"
Third Prize Essay by
Edwin Eklund,
RHnorho cod AEinn
Moorhead, MINI.

Third Prize Essay by
| Edwin Eklund,
Moorhead, MINI.
Ask any thinking american what is
the greatest nation on earth? Unques-
! tionably he will tell you the United
States. 1t is the greatest nation be-
cause its possibilities are greatest. At
| present the ascendency and conquest of
the world by America is a question of
greatest importance In all the cabinets
| of Europe. Their foremost statesmen
see our power and recognize the dam
ger. 1t is almost an impossibility that
we should not become the greatest
power on earth, and our greatness will
| far surpass that of ancient Rome, Eng
land, Greece or Spain, as far as the
civilization of our day goes beyond that
of theirs First we are imperial in size.
Any of the European powers but Rus
STA could be set down in any one of
several of our states. Then we are i'm
perially located within easy access of
Europe, South America and the East.
| Our coast line is greater than that Of
/ the five powers together and with our
large, deep and protected harbors
makes our commercial supremacy GER
| tain. The natural resources Of our land
are unbounded, greater than the hui
man mind can comprehend. There are
| the vast forests, which, although they
have been wasted without regard, will,
with proper care, endure for hundreds
of years. Our mines have only just been
opened. Our agricultural lands are the
| greatest and best in the world, and are
far from thoroughly developed; in fact,
! hundreds of thousands of acres await
the hand of the enterprising farmer.
AS regards manufactures, we are fast
becoming the workshop of the world
. But our government, the great free
| government is the greatest doWry of
every American citizen. The land of
! liberty, the refuge of the oppressed of
all nations, the land which permits the
unrestrained, unhampered expansion Of
| soul and intellect, is ours, the land
which in true greatness will tower far
above that of any other nation Of the
past or future. s1Rsss3 500
! What honor then Is not the due Of
| him who made this country a posi-
| bility, or at the least, was the greatest
! factor In SO doing? Does he not deserve
| all that canb be givensto mortal man? He
/ does, and 1t has been given him and
Will ever be acknowledged his right.
Let us give all but our souls for up
| holding this man. No question remains
| in our minds as to who this man is.
| We know him. The world knows and
| honors him as it's hero. He is THE
Father of Our Country" George Wash
| ington.
Reared by simple and virtuous par
| ents, he early in life held positions of
| great responsibility He rose step by
| step to positions of trust and respon-
sibility, until his life's work was ended.
| He received homage and praise that
would have turned the head of any
| other man.
| He was the thinking part of the ma
| ton for twenty-five years and his his
| tory is that of the early nation, for
| nothing of Importance happened in
which he did not take the chief hand.
| Without him the Revolution would have
| been failure. 1t was his prudence,
| f1rmneSs of resolution, ability to cope
with large force with a small, ILL
| equipped army, and power to keep the
| army sustained, that made the war a
| possibility. AS to his military genius,
! its greatness is not questioned. His
| Trenton campaign has been pronounce
| ed the greatest of the century by Fred
| erfck the Great. While his farsighted
| genius and readiness to take advantage
! of opportunities is shown in the York
| town campaign, which eventually
brought about our liberty. Then when
he had accomplished what no other
man could have done he resigned his
| commission. A beautiful incident of
| history. But he loses no interest in our
national life, in fact, in the following
! years he accomplishes the greatest
things of his life. During the most
| Critical Period of American History"
| he plays the chief part, again making
| our existence a possibility. He prevents
| the country from falling into anarchy
and civil war. 1t was his commanding
will more than anything else that made
the constitution a possibility by guild
ing 1T through the seas of strife and
| preventing the overbearance of per-
| sonal interests
| Then he was chosen as the first
| president of the nation. He entered the
| presidents chair with paper constitu-
ton. He left it an existing nation, with
a good financial system, splendid for
eign policy and a united people. When
he undertook his duties the land was
divided into thirteen quarrelsome re-
/ publics, a mere confederation. He left
it with a government so enduring that
it has increased In power for over 100
years and will continue to do so for
centuries to come.
! What name in history is comparable
with his? Should we honor Alexander,
| who, by the debauchery of a night
ruined his young life, more than him
/ who lived true life of Christian
morality? Is Caesar, who ~defied the
laws of his land, who slaughtered thou
sands because they defended their
homes, comparable to him who saved
people for the sake Of the righteous
ness of the world? MOI Neither Rome
nor Greece, England, Switzerland,
France nor Holland can show a man
| whom the worid will acknowledge the
equal of ours. For who can SO reveal
| the characteristics of an ideal man. A
man Of great intellect, military
genius, while as a conservative states
| man few ever surpassed him, and with
all this he led a life of true morality.
The vital flaw in his makeup is yet to
be found, and IN truth, never will be
| found.
Let us, therefore, unite in giving his
dues to him who lived a life so just, SO
| true, who performed his duties so
| thoroughly, that not only his friends.
and enemies, not only the American
people, but the world, love him as their
hero. OF whom it has been truly said
"a greater figure never stood in the
forefront of a nations life but of
| whom it can be said a greater fio11re