Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-05-25
From the Baltimore Sun

father of his country, who died In n
18th century-112 years ago, to be cor
rect. This man who actually saw the
co%untenance OF George Washington is
still in possession of his faculties and
remembers we'll how that great man
looked. He is not merely the only
man alive today who ever saw the first
presidents face, but he is the only man
of the present generation who ever a
that privilege. He is this generations
Washington.
For even this man, John Lane, OF
the city of Washington, was not born
until a quarter of a century after
Washington died. Yet, as stated before,
he viewed that p%atriarch's face and is
the only man of the present generation
who ever had that privilege.
The occurrence which makes this APP
parently impossible thing 81 fact was
the opening of the tomb of Washington
"a years ago. AT that time h body
of the great man was moved from one
tomb to another. A committee of
congress officiated at the transfer. The
coffin was opened for one brief mo-
ment, and the committees members
took a last. long look at the face of
the man Who had done most towards
establishing the nation which vas all
ready growing great. The remains
had been completely embalmed, and
the face remained as in life. After
this n look the coffin was placed in
Its new sarcophagus. hermetically
sealed n placed in it's new abode,
where it has rested undisturbed ever
since.
But hen this congressional COM
mittee on that October day three
quarters of a century ago, wound its
way to Mount Vernon there went with
it a bit of a boy. And while it's MEM
harC CaVnd - rr,ply nn vr,INof thn1,
saw. one of them raised the boy aloft,
n he, too, looked.
This boy still lives, having attained
the ripe old age of Sc years. All the
other members of that party, being at
the time men of maturity, have long
since died. The boy of 1887 is the
venerable patriarch of today, John
Lane, of Washington. Now and again
he becomes reminiscent and tells the
stories of the men he knew in the
early '3Os. For then Washington was
but a small town, and the residents
knew personally the men who were
making the nations history.
his uncle kept on Pennsylvania ave-
nue.. There came Davy Crockett in
1884 and talked loudly of having an
tagonized his constituents and their
consequent refusal to return him to
congress.
MY constituents" he heard Crockett
say, may go to h, and / will go to
Texas!"
1t is not recorded whether or not
the constituents did as they were bid,
but Crockett went to Texas and died
gloriously in the Alamo two years
later.
Next door lived Widow German, who
kept a boarding house n to whom
q certain .coxcomb. who worked in he
val department. owed a board bill of
800. He refused to pay it. and on
the advice of friends she went to
Andy" Jackson. then president, about
the matter. Jackson told her to ask
the debtor for a 6O-day note. The
debtor gave the note and forgot it.
Widow German brought it to the
president. who Endorsed it, and the
widow discounted it at her bank.
When h bank presented it to the
debtor. saying it had been discounted,
he asked who was big enough fool to
indorse his note. He was told and
Immediately hustled out and got the
money to redeem 1t.
Tales Of the garrulousness of DAN
lei Webster, of the fastid1ousness of
Henry Clay, of the great stature of
Sam Houston. of the young lieutenant,
Jefferson Davis. who one day brought
In from Fort Dearborn. where Chicago
0S01AO6, lax 1klAldll w
tains-Black Hawk, Prophet and Sun
-as prisoners. Finally, he comes to
his best story-that of his trip to
Mount Vernon with the congressional
committee that viewed the remains Of
Washington.
George Washington, before he died,
realized that the vault which held the
bodies Of the dead members of his
family and was destined to hold his
own, was Inadequate. In his last will
and testament he had said:
The family vault at Mount Yer
o requiring repairs and being inn
properly situated besides, I desire that
scale may be built at the foot of which
10 called the vineyard enclosure, on
the ground which Is marked out, in
which my remains and those of my de-
ceased relatives (now In the old Vault,
and such other of my family as may
choose to be entombed there. may be
deposited"
Nothing was done in the matter,
however, for 30 years. Then it was
discovered that ON vandal had
broken into the old tomb and, in an
evident attempt to steal the bones OF
Warrington. had borne of those of
some other members OF the family.
These were. however, gotten back and
the criminal punished.
This turned attention to the request
Of Washington for the building of the
new tomb. and in 1887 It vas COM
pleted and ready for transfer. John
4truthers and William Strick-
land. Of Philadelphia, under the guild
iandce OF Major Lewis. the sole re-
naming executor Of Washington. pre-
pared o the removal OF the body. The
formal part OF the transfer was to be
made under the eye Of the congression-
a committee.
On the morning that the transfer was
% be made the members Of the COM