The daily Alaskan., 1909-02-23
GEoR eE WASHINGTON.

and quarter. Compared with th' nations of Europe and Asia We are in our infancy Yet our country has been prolific Of great men; and nc nation co- toast of greater states men tran the two men who stand out prc-cmiueut in the history of Amcri ca. Washington and Liuclou
 Time has not dimmcd the ustcr or Che me of George Washington. Today his personality and his accom-. meuts loom as prominently as they did when in I7So he refused third term as president and returned to pri ya-c life amid the acclamations of tho infant republic. First in war. first. in peace; first in the hearts of his couutrymen.
 Today Lincoln has a firmcr place m the memory Of the people of the United States than has Washington. There are several reasons for this. Lincoln Is still remembered by many personal acquaiutauces. lie was per. bups a gentIor. kiudHcr spirit Again he was 80 man of the people by birth and choice. while Washington was an artstocra,. But Washington was a man of warm. human instincts and Jose who think of him as being dis t,ur and aloot. and prig in morals. have been sadly misled by history
 By birth Washington was endowed generously. lie had a clean strain ol blood. like Lincoln his health was perfect and enabled him Co withstand long scigcs of stress and trouble with ous wayeriug in his determination lie was given a good education and had influential relatives and friends.
 George Washington went to school until he reached the age of IG. He then became surveyor and after. wards was a participant in the border wars between the CoIonists and tn,  French and English. At the time Of Braddocks bloody defeat it was Wasn ingtou's cooIness and command that saved che beaten troops from extern. ination.
 At the age of 2 Washington mar ried Martha Curtis. a widow. and set tied on his estate at Mount Vernon. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress- in l77i and I775 and when bosuHues broke out with England he was made commander in chief of the Continental forces in I775. From then until England finally admitted defeat George Washington was the chief figure in the war
 His was not the genius of an Alex. auder. a Hannibal or a Napoleon; but he handled his little armies with rare caution and ability and time and time again defeated larger forces by quick mauouycring and good geueralship. At times the Continental cause looked hopeless; but never once did Wash iugton admit defeat and his powerful personality keep his often wayering soldiers firm. The terrible winter at Valley Forge tested his mettle to the utmost, but he emerged without dis, aster and in less than two years com pelled the surrender of Coruwallis and ended British aggression.
 His iudomnitable perseverance, his unfailing good judgement, his liberal sense of fairness and justice, and his own private virtues lead his grateful countrymeu- make him president. In deed. many there were who would have him king. But his head was not to be turned by flattery and he steruly refused to sacrifice the cause of liberty for personal ambition.
 For eight years Washington was president. serving from l7S9 to l79T. During his administration the machin- cry of government was established, commerce and finance regulated, the political parties crystallized, Vermont,