Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-09-18

fore Hamilton resigned as aid-de-camp
TO Washington His duties secretary
had become irksOrnc. He had al idea he
would make great general. He was
disguised with Congress. That body was
sadly inefficient. Hamilton had more
brains than half of is members combin-
ed. He chafed because the various states
were unwilling to aid Congress heartily
and because Congress did not have the
courage to exercise more authority. He
believed in power and the use of 1t. Pos
sibly he was favorable to Washington
intimidating Congress or in the com.
mander-in-chief arrogating to himself
something in the nature of military
dictatorship. The army was in sad
state. Various members of Congress
were known to be "cornering' foodstuffs
while the soldiers went hungry. Mutlny
was threatened in many regiments. The
men had not been paid in many months.
Congress talked, but did nothing.
Hamilton, to whom order and system
were everything, had tired Of pointing out
the looseIess, waste and graft with
which Congress handled the affairs of
the army. He had laid plans for the
reformation of the evils before Congress
various times and had made addresses to
that body. but without effect. In the
multitude of his duties he even found
time for the preparation and presentation
of plan for readjusting the fearfu1ly i'll
volved and crippled finances of the young
republic. This had gone to Robert Nor
ris, and had been declared by him to be
mastery in conception and in detail. 1t
is marvellous how he found time to do
the thousands of things he accomplished.
1t is more amazing how he did SO many
things SO we'll His letters and reports
are models. There is no ambiguity to any
of them. He thought clearly ard wrote
I,~th
subject was finance. tactics. military law.
foreign relations. civil law or politics, he
appeared to know it in all its forms and
phases Washington treated him more
as younger brother than as son or
private secretary. Rare indeed was the
time when their opinions clashed or when
they were not in the keenest sympathy.
One day, however, the break came.
Washington was worried. On the way
to headquarters he met Hamilton and
asked him to join him in a few minutes.
Hamilton. while on his way to obey. met
Lafayette. The two young men chatted
longer than they thought. Meanwhile
the commander-in-chief fumed. What
Washington said was harsh and unwar-
ranted. The little secretary was icily re-
spectful until the general finished. Then
he said he was not conscious of the de-
lay but as the general considered his
aid-de-camp had been ncglectful they
must part. Washington went further in
his effort to appease Hamilton than was
right. but Hamilton was obdurate.
In the early summer of 1871 Washing
ton assigned Hamilton to command
light corps Hamilton was eager for
chance to distinguish himself. The
chance did not come until Yorktown.
Then he won the praise of all. Wash
ington declared that in the taking of the
redoubt Hamilton showed magnificent
proof Of intrepidity, firmness and courage.
No one saw more clearly than i1aml-
ton that the closing of the war ushered
in a most dangerous period for the ma
ton. No one realized more than did lie
the weakness of Congress. the bitter
jealousies of the thirteen states and the
menace of civil war unless a central
government strong enough to deal with
the situation was created. There had to
be a real union, not a loose connection
between the states. But Massachusetts
was jealous of New York, and Virginia