The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-08-15
GENERAL WASHINGTON IS
 NOT RIGHTLY APPRECIATED
From the Washington Herald.

From the Washington Herald
 There has recently arisen in Boston a claimant for the lands given to General Washington by the country in recogni- tion of his services as patriot A phy- sician of Boylston street states he has positive proof that he Is a descendant of the family of Washington, and thinks s'the land is worth striving after" so has s'put in claim for all the land given to George Washington by this country" and has begun a legal fight to obtain title and possession.
 A cynical writer once declared that the Goddess of Fame was kind to the first President in denying him posterity In view of the utter selhshness of this latest claim, the declaration might be amended to a wish that the great general might have resembled Topsy in having just growed" and therefore enjoyed a paucity of relatives also.
 The whole idea of making gain out of the land he loved was entirely foreign to the character of Washington, as is shown by many incidents of his varied career. When he rejected the anonymous proffer of a crown and rebuked the act Bo scornfully and with such sincerity that the fomentor of this one and only con- Bpiracy against Washington's honor wrote in remorse You are in my eyes a great and good man"
 John Adams. the son of Massachusetts. who understood the character of Wash ington-he lived nearer the light, to be sure-in a manner beyond the comprehen- sion of the present-day Boston claimant, wrote as early as 1774 to his friend FL bridge Gerry who died in this city while -~-tA T l.s. 1on's disinterestedness. In speaking of fhe patriotism which induced Washing ton to turn from the peace and plenty Of a very congenial life at Mount Vernon to face difficulty, danger and possible death for the love of his country, Adams says: -'There is something charming to me in the conduct of Washington. A gentleman of one of the first fortunes upon the con tinent, leaving his delicious retirement and family and friends, sacrificing his ease, and hazarding all in the cause of ihis country. His views are noble and dis interested. He declared when he ac- cepted the mighty trust that he would lay before us the exact account of his expenses, and not accept a shilling for pay"
 Lately the country at large seems to be suffering from reaction from the period of overadulaton of the character and life of Washington, and is hardly giving him the credit that belongs to him. Admirers sometimes wish the first President had been u-ore pliable. affab1e and willing to curry favor to a larger extent with the people; but it is to be remembered that he was a republican, and consistent one, and probably the last except Lafay- ette. of the school of Milton; a very dif- ferent proposition from the republicanisTn of today, which would have been consid- al Washington.
 Again, much of Washington's early life had been spent in the solitude of a camp and in lonely surveys Then when fame came to him it came in such great meas ure that it brought with it the isola- tion of those in high place Knowing fhat his teruper was high when aroused and being s just msn. Washington seemed always to be holdfng himself with tight rein all of which made for repression and killed any charm of spoutanRity he smay originally have possessed Wash tngtun was a good hpUsekeeper, though not a generous one and frcrn this dis !tance it seems to us small that the mind which could plan 2 successful campaign and GRITTY it through in the face of storm wild country, and an empty war chest, should give directions as to the number of candles the household might use and twhat curtains were to be put in the first executive mansion; still this attention sfo detail made him a dependable quantity. There is no record of his ever breaking a promise. and those who had business Aealngs with him forgot his aIsterities tn his integrity. It was the custom of Virginia planters living Tn tidewa1er to ;sfifp their crops direct from their estates Ito London Bristol or to the West Indies, and it is an historical fact that Wash 1ngtons farm products were so well put .up, and quantity and quality so strictly np to the requirement that the four dbearing the brand of George Washing ton Mount Vernon Virginia was ex-