Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-02-21
GEORGE WASHINGTON.


and Lauded Everywhere.
The human trait of hero worship has
this disadvantage, that it often exalts its
heroes into the clouds and cuts them off
from human sympathy by making demi-
gods of them. No man of modern times
has suffered from idealization so much
as Washington. We all acknowledge that
he was the greatest of Americans, that
his patriotism was of the purest and his
character of the noblest, and that we alb
solutely owe our national independence
to his consummate generalship. Yet the
homage paid to his greatness in these
days is of the head rather than of the
heart.
Excessive idealization has eliminated
the warm human heart from our idea of
him and has left in place of the real
Washington sort of alabaster image or
only steel engraving. This is wrong
both to him and to ourselves, but it seems
to have been inevitable in view of the un-
deniable greatness and nobility of his
character. His chief fault, SO to speak,
: was In being too perfect. He was so
high above the ordinary man that hero
worship was bound to strip away all the
natural human traits and leave nothing
but sort of demigod exaled on pedes-
tai to be worshipcd from afar off. In
recent years this unfortunate process has
had Its natural reaction, and the pious
rhapsodies of Weems have been partly re-
placed by biographies which allow the
lonely hero at least few human limita.
tons and peccadilloes. 1t is even said
that he hurled strong language at Lee in
the battle of Monmouth, but men are
etill writing books to dsprove this evil
dence that he could lapse into justfiabIe
human passion. For the present, then,
we must be content with more or less
defed Washington.
Ii any man was ever Justly idealized
that man was George Washington. But
for him the country could not have won
Its independence, but for him it could not
have formed its union, and but for him
It could not have set its new government
into motion. FIe alone could bind North
and South together. He embodied the
qualities and virtues which won the nd.
mfration of the austere New England
colonists as well MS of the aristicratic
Virginians He had the practical knowl-
edge and the rare balance of Judgment
which could cope with every emergency
and render Justice in every dispute. He
could be eloquent with the Virginians
and devout with the puritans, and could
command the respect and devotion of nil
who came within reach of his unselfisL
and fascinating character. Modest. gen.
S,rous. just, forceful, fearless. of absolute
integrity, declining all pay for his price.
less patriotic services, what wonder that
his soldiers offered 20 crown him kim
or that. after his panied and angry re-,
fusal, the nation made him not only its
President but its canonized hero forever?
Beyond doubt the greatest of WASH
angton's many services was rendered as n
soldier. John Adams and Congress said
the colonists were free, and there left the
matter. Washington and his soldiers
made the Declaration of Independence n
fact, instead of mere assertion. 1t was
- comparatively small body of heroes that
presented freedom and nationality to the
thirteen colonies. The feats of general
ship by which Washington achieved this
end have never been surpassed in the his.
tory of war.
From the days of his youthful but dan.
gerous mission to the French frontier on
the Ohio, and from the time of his warn
ings to Braddock, he showed an unusual
grasp of the art of war; knew the
value of striking quickly rs well US Grant
did. Napoleon never struck more swift
~ or suddenly in his brilliant Italian
campaign than Washington did on that
Christmas night in 1916 at Trenton. Nor
was Napoleon's following-up blow more
emphatic than Washington's attack on
Princeton week later. 1t was not
mere complimentary platitude that Fred
erick the Great uttered when he sent his
kindly message from the Oldest general
In Europe to the greatest general in the
world" 1t was not n play of empty
words in which the President of the Con-
tinental Congress said to Washington
when he resigned his commission: THE
glory of your virtues will not terminate
with your military command; it will con-
tinue to animate remotest ages"
This was the man in honor of whose
death Napoleon ordered all the standards
and flags of the French republic to be
bound with Grape for ten days. This was
the respected enemy for whom great
British feet hungsits flags Mt half mast
! when he passed away. The g-ief of the
young nation over his death was heartfelt
and human enough then. Since that time
the tributes to his memory have been
such as no other man of ancient or mod
arm times has commanded. Washington's
greatness, unlike that Of Lincoln, has
been recognized and lauded by all the
European nations. His name is house
hold word In every land that has dream
s.l Of liborty. To every school boy In the
United States 1t ID the synonym Of the
Highest American manhood. II his use as
lay model has somewhat dehumanised
Washington, It has ennobled the ideals
asd lives Of ths msn Of the nation. The