The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1910-02-17
~ EoRGE WASHINGTON is the
one classical hero of the re-
" public.

~ EORGE WASHINGTON is the
one classical hero Of the re-
" public.
The great man whose
birthday Americans are now celebrat-
ing Is the only figure in the history of
the nation whose lifecan be compared
TO the notable men of the countries of
antiquity.
Washington made the nation, Lin
coin saved 1t. In the minds of many
patriots their achievements are linked
forever; they stand out as the two
mightiest figures in the history of the
New World, yet they are so entirely
dfherent that they do not resemble
each other at single point.
Washington is classical, Lincoln is
Intensely human. Here in q word is
described their most marked differ
ence.
Washington was the son of a
wealthy and important family; Lin
coins beginnings were those of most
absolute poverty, and the line from
which he sprang was lowly and not
entirely free of criticisms.
The founder of the country was
cold and reserved. His life among the
aristocracy had fashioned him to hab-
its OF self-control. and It was perhaps
this rigid poise that enabled him to
support all he did, when he not only
had to be statesman, but general as
well, when he was forced against the
antagonism OF his many friends at
home, to obtain the liberation of his
country in the field, and then, in the
capacity of chief executive. begin the
reconstruction, the upbuilding that he
would have been better content to
nave left to some one else.
Through all the experiences of the
Founder OF His Country he shows lit
tie OF what he feels. He is reserved
balanced, and save for the sentiment
that marks his farewell address, there
Is little sign Of humanity in this
grand, august figure that towers so
matchlessly above it's contemporaries.
/. Andrew Jackson and Thomas JEFF
Herson both have won lasting places
In the affections of their countrymen,
but they are as different from WASH
tngton as the distance from the poles
washington was of impressive dig
nifty, and he never departed from it.
In fact, he was at times criticised for
forsaking what his contemporaries
thought the proper exterior for the
leading man of the most democratic
of countries.
Thomas Jefferson, riding to the
White House unattended and hitch
Ing his horse outside the gate while
he went in to be proclaimed third
President OF the United States, and
Jackson, with his blunt speech. not
disseciated from profanity, both prid-
ed themselves on their complete di-
vorce from any pose or assumption of
superiority.
At later period. in General Grant
the republic produced a man whom
military experts concede as ranking
with the greatest commanders of all
time, yet the unassuming, modest lit
tie general, wearing frayed old uni
form, and despising the pomp and
parade OF warfare, reducing it strictly
to business, an unfortunate kind of
employment, that could not be too
quickly dispensed with, was not a
classical figure. He had the same ac-
tANS uOUlely S1UnDllCltS
that is so appealing in the life of Lin
coin.
Stories about George Washington
are few and far between, and not
many OF these we'll authenticated. BY
contrast there are stories by the hun
dreds about Lincoln and told by him.
1t was ever his favorite method of
relieving his feelings in time of stress
by retailing a good story. of which
he had an endless stock. The idea of
the grave Washington dealing in fun
ny stories is so far fetched that no
stretch Of the imagination can carry
one that far
Nor could any painter or sculptor
ever have thought of Jefferson, Grant.
jackson or Lincoln in the guise Of
classic heroes with laurels on the
brow and Roman toga replacing the
dress OF modern times. Nor would
the good DR.. Franklin, statesman,
philosopher and inventor, without
whom there might never have been a