The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-11-30
WASHINGTON NOT PERFECT.
Faults of the Immortal George Are
 Being Brought to Light.

rdultS O1 Lle Anliortdl OeOfge Are
 Being Brought to Light.
 This was gloomy day for the Father of His Country, George Wash ington, first in peace, first in war f.ad first in the hearts ofihis countrymen," stands accused of tax dodging. of non participation in the cherry-tree incl dent and of violation of those prinel- ples which proved the pitfall of Charles Warren Fairbanks in the eyes of some Prihibitionists, Two of these charges bobbed up in Chicago to-day. The trio are calculated to make Georges pedestal in the hall of demi- gods wabble, and, it Is feared, cause many of his countrymen to suffer from heart trouble.
 Following is a brief ensemhia of the snags in the memory of WashiEg- ton:
 Documentary evidence was discoy- cred in Fairfax County. Va, t1 nrove that in the May term of the Fairfax County Court, in 17G0. Washinst n was publicly presented '--an action similar to an indictment-by tho grand jury for swearing to a false list of his taxable propertg- Washington with a number of other citizens, was charged with not entering 2 easr.a6e in his list of taxable property, Librarian Frederick Fl. Hild of ;ne Chicago Public Library cast doubt to- day upon the authenticity of .hA fam ous cherry tree story. He lndmared that it was manufactured by {, eulog- istic biographer Of Washington, A search through the records tf- day developed that Washington has been charged with securing fis cleo tion to tke office of county 3argess-- a position he held when he Was halei before the grand jury-by eleeti,n- eering methods not in accord with temperance principles. A n.usty gacu- ment found in his effects indleNss that Washington, in alleged vloat oa of law on the subject, bought large quantities of varied liquors be Gls- tributcd among the voters on and be- | fore election day.
 Thus stand the thgae iriictmon.s against our countrg's DarenF. Taken singly they are fully as stariiing as the statement made by Attorneq John Barton Payne in a heated argumani on telephones with Attorney Levy Mayer last winter Mr. Payne at that time declared that an ancestor nf his Payne, had smote George Washing- ton to the ground in a word batt.e q Colonial days
 Librarian Hid hit the main pror under Washington's prestige for tho l truth after being informed oe the news from Fairfax, Va Mr Hid de clared that his admira,i5n for Wash Ilngton was not lessene1 by the Fair fax discovery, holding thu Washing l ton was only human.
 The cherry tree story first became | public through the lils of Washing l ton written by the Rsv Mason L l Weems," said MT Htid The Weems book had a great vogue many years ago, and the cherrystree anecdote wa: 1 lfamiliarized by every child in America "No record of the cherry-tree yarr can be found prior to the phblieatior of the Weems book. Personally, l think 1t is very likely that MT. Ween' manufactured 1t to emphasize tht point he sought to make as to Wash I ington's character"
 I Now comes the ssum-punch scand- l al," which makes thslTairbanks cock I tail incident look like the glnger-pdl I carouse of sworn water driiker 1 Washington 1t appeals, was a capdi I date for burgess against CaptaiT Thomas Swearingt9n Tn 175S. George had been defeated by Swearngen In previous contest, so.h decided to tak' I a few tips from the colonial wart heelers. There was sW l1w at tha time against the purchase of refresh ments for voters, put the future Pres Iident apparently ignored this statute 4 A list of his camp1ign expen iltures perused to-day by rep ortar for th' l Daily News shows that he bought fo
 general distribution forty gallons C rum punch, fifteen gallons If wire three and one-half pints of branGy, g gallons of strong beer, thirteen gal Ions of beer not so stlDng, aud othe items of similar damoness.
 The following was written b. Washington in hls declining days;
 That I have folh!es. and perhap
 many of them. I shal not Geny.
 shoud este 4m my5s'f. as the wcri,
 would, vain and empty. were I so. ar rogate perfection "-tSAicago News.