Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1910-02-24
Washington's Birthday
Continued. from LIST page


without his statue. No state capitol
no pupllc library. no college or public
school building in this country, will be
| properly furnished until picture of this
| eminent man adorns its walls.
| George Washington was born in West
morland county, Virginia, one hundred
and seventy-eight years ago. He came
| of British blood, and was we'll born.
! Was brought up in home of plenty, re-
| finement, and culture. In this respect
| he was unlike Lincoln, Grant, Garfield,
| and many others, who began life in
| poverty, with all its attendant discom-
| forts and disadvantages, browsing and
blazing their ways out of darkness and
obscurity, winning their way to success,
| to glory and to fame, thereby demon
strating the possibilities of the American
boy or the American girl humbly, or
| otherwise born. In his early environ
| ments our hero had many helpful ad-
vantages, and fortunately these were
Utilized by him in ways most advanta-
geous. Being of q sober mind he show
ed but few signs of humor in his nature.
He was never known to perpetrate a
| joke, though he was capable of being
| amused, and could enjoy humorous
situation to the extent of laughing at it,
but soon his face would again assume its
| natural serious expression. In this re-
spect Lord Wellington and Grant resemb-
led Washington. When youth he en-
tered into the sports of the day. No
young fellow could jump as far as he,
and as horseback rider, no one in his
day was said to have been so graceful
and dignified in the saddle as was he.
Washington was of powerful build,
| being six feet two, in height, and mass
i've in body. His strength was hurcu-
lean. He loved the forest and in it he
spent much of his time following bis
profession as surveyor, and iE the
chase. for he was greatly fond of fox
hunting, and many fox pelts dangled
at his belt. For weeks at a time his
bed at night was made of boughs of
the forest trees thrown upon the
ground, with surveying instrument
and gun by his side. This hardy life
was making for him a rugged physical
organism, which was to the better
qualify him for the strain and hard
ships of seven years. warfare to come
later into his life Without a strong
body and robust health he must have
| crushed under the weight of RESPONSE
bility later to be laid upon his huge
shoulders, as warrior, and as organic
er andFpresident of the new Republic
Washington was not highly educat-
ed, nor was he conversant with litera-
ture to any marked degree neither
is it claimed for him that he was intel
lectually brilliant, for with him know
anylitical and logical mind, capable
of estimating with accuracy and weigh
ing matters with precision. Possessing
deliberative and inquiring mind he
went deeply, though slowly, into all
weighty matters lying in his path of
duty or operations. Hence the con-
clusions which he reached and the
Judgments formed were not reversed.
He had brains, ,equipoies, and fortitude.
These were some of the qualities of the
the man which won for him the conf
dence and friendship of multitude of
the bravest and best of his countrymen.
While the world admires the intellec.
tual flash, cleverness of genius, keen
ness of wit, astuteness of diplomacy,
masterfulness of oratory, yet, when
| something of importance is to be done,
| how natural it is to turn to the man of
good average abilities, to the man of
sober mind, mental poise, sound judg.
| ment, with will to work, courage and
| determination. These are the men
upon whose shoulders heavy burdens
are laid. These are the men are the
men who stand in the breach in time
| of danger, warding off the blows of the
enemy. These are the men NAV
be brought the troubles and sor
rows of Others and find relief. These
are the men who are every where com
| pelling the wheels of the worlds work
to 60 around Sane men, safe men,
certain men; men of action, men of the
hour, men of to-day, of tomorrow, of
the day after, everyday men, solid
men, pronounced men, dependable
men. These the are men in demand,
men who bring the largest premium,
the men who are pushed into the
places of trust and responsibility
Such man was George Washing
ton. Not brilliant, it may be, but mas
sive, solid, capable, dependable These
qualities compelled the respect, ad
miration, and confidence of those who
| knew him best.
Having reached the years of his
manhood the sincerity of his character
was fully established. His honesty
was never questioned during his whole
life, and it Is probable he never will
fully told an untruth or performed a
| mean or dishonest act To have done
| any such thing would have been
entirely foreign to his noble nature
This incident is related by Ridpath,
the historian, which illustrates these
! qualities of the men; that during the
Revolutionary War, General Wash
ington hired "a spy for 8 pounds to go in
to the ranks of the enemy, return and
report. But he did not retarn. The
name of the spy was at the time with
| held for prudential reasons, and after
+ ward forgotten by the General. The
amount should have been charged to
expense account of the army, but in
stead we read this statement in regard
to this item, written in the Generals
own hand: Il deem it just, therefore,
since l cannot recall the name, to
charge the sum to myself" which he