Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1912-02-16

O lHE OIL uu'
] man nature, perhaps, may
be attributed the fact that
people are more likely to
- admire q brilliant fail.
ure than a solid, substantial success.
And to this, also, may be attribut-
ed the additional fact that, Of all the
heroes OF the Revolutionary period.
posterity has been inclined to dwarf
the stature of Washington.
Doubtful 1t Is, nevertheless. II an
other Of the great figures Of anything
like recent history stands out with
such a record of unvarying success as
that which was attained by the IA
Their Of his country" Virtually, he
was one Of the exceedingly small MI
nor1ty Of men who never failed. All
that be did bore evidence to his sound
Judgment and virility of mind.
For a time his b~iographers tried to
transform him into a saint. Obvious
ly impossible, this, because, above all
things else, he was a man among men,
a figure in his time which, 80 far as
obtained to his personality, was not
unlike that Of the late King Edward of
England-prone to human weaknesses,
but at the same time a gentleman of
rare tact and dignity. The compari-
son may not be entirely inapt, because
Edward was ever tried as was Wash
ington.
After it became apparent that Wash
1ngton was not a saint, the trend OF
opinion was to consider him a re-
spectacle numskull, a creature of cir
cumstances, who managed by luck
never to do the wrong thing. At the
same time, men who, in his day, took
minor parts were exalted into heroes
of the first rank, largely because OF
their fondness for epigram and that
further weakness of the general pub
lie, which would rather scent cut a
hero of it's own than acknowledge to
the greatness Of the obvious, outstand-
ing figure.
All of which would indicate that the
time has about arrived when Wash
ington should be rescued from his
biographers.
Moderation and determination are
the two dominant characteristics OF
which time has not robbed Washing
ton. OF them, the first is the one
which has deprived him Of a great
deal of the appreciation which has
been lavished on less deserving char
acters.
Whatever the vices OF the man, they
were always held within respectable
restraint. Whatever his virtues, he
never gave them undue prominence.
SO 1t is that, after more than a
century, there has come a tendency
to d%epreciate the ability Of the one
man who, more than any other, would
naturally be exalted. For a long time
It was held that his fame was tar
nished because he swore real oaths
at the battle Of Monmouth. That was
succeeded by the present epoch,
which has chosen to regard him as a
lcvable gentleman, with enough horse
sense not to make a fool Of himself
and, by a series of events over which
he had no control, to become the IA
Their of his country.
And yet 1t is doubtful If another
character Of the age is more to be
admired for it's many-sided excellen-
e:es. As man, warrior and statesman,
Washington yields to no figure of his
time.
What place Washington held, In his
own day, must now become a matter
OF interest. Shortly after his death,
Felix Faulcon voiced the opinion of
the French parliamentarians when he
addressed the Legislative assembly as
follows:
The tomb has claimed him who
was the model of republican perfec-
ton. This is not the time to trace all
this truly great man has accomplished
for the liberties of America, the gem
srous inspirations which he impaired