New-York tribune., 1910-11-27
OGIETHORPE.

The unEell1ng OF n SI<atuo VI
Edward Oglethorpe at Savannah ids'
week was g tardy and strangely neg
lected act Of recognition of one or the
most admira ble and by no means least
important Of the founders of the Ihir-
teen Colonies. and yet one OF the ieasl
Inovn and least honored 1t would not
he easy to tell precisely why SO little
attention has popularity been PAID TO
The memory Of the great philanthropls''
or at any rate to explain the clrcum-
stance in way which would be at
once truthful and credliable 10 the
American nation Perhaps 1t Is pest
not to try. But certainly the belated
honor which is now shown him IS to De
approved and should be only the earnest
of further recognition Of his high de
SertS.
What We know of Oglethorpe person
ally is almost wholly good He was OF
eminent and honOred ancestry. He was
= fine scholar. He was a brave and
skilful soldier He was farseelng
statesman He was an efficient prac-
teal administrator. He was. In brlef
"a gentleman Of unblemished charac-
fer. brave. generous and humane And
he was possessed OF an aggressive anu
love of his fellow man.
which dominated his career and urged
him to arduouS labors in many lands
quality which Pope. fitlngly recog-
nized in his couplet on those who
driven by strong benevolence Of soul.
VIII fly, like Oglethorpe, from pole TO pole
The fact that SO exacting and often in
tolerant 4 critic as Johnson urged him to
write his life and offered himself to do
it. is significant of Oglethorpe's status
among his contemporaries, while his
failure To act upon the suggestion de-
notes the fine modesty of noble ma
ture
The crowning work of his long and
busy life was, of course, the foundation
of Georgia, and its conception was
typical He saw honest and respectable
men imprisoned for debt, and while
some men preached against the stupid
and oppressive law and others exposed
its iniquity in works of fiction, he set
to work TO redeem the guiltless prison
ers by securing their release on condi-
ton that they would become colOnists
in Georgia. 1t was not penal colony,
but one of men redeemed from the in
justice of q barbarous law. Nor was
that all Other colonies had been
founded TO secure religious liberty to
their members. though not always to all
who might seek asylum in them. He
determined 10 make Georgia refuge
for those subjects of European states
who were oppressed and prosecuted for
conscience sake. Charity for and re
lief of all human Distress with no
thought Of personal gain or glory. was
the guiding principle Of his colony.
than which. Southey truly said. none
was ever projected or esta blished upon
principles more honora bic 10 its found
erS
1t is Of interest to recall that OgIe-
thorpe's dealings with the Indians were
probably the most honest. humane and
friendly in all American history; that
so long as he had control OF it the colony
permitted 30 drunkenness and no human
slavery: and that if Georgia long Jagged
behind other American colonies iii md
terial prosperity. ii was because these
humane and elevated conditions were q
handicap 10 II in its competition with
less moral and less scrupulous neigh
bors. Nor should we forget that it was
Oglethorpes giving an asylum to the
Salzburgers and MOravians that led TO
the coming of the Wesleys and White
field to these shores and the profound
Of the nation. Beyond doubt Georgia
had a founder well worthy Of highest
honor both for what he was and for
what he did, and of honor not from
Georgia alone, but from the whole ma
tion.