The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-02-14

due to fellow-citizens and brethren, but even
those execrable PARTICLES, whose counsels ana
aid have deluged their country with Dlood, nave
been protected from the fury of a justly enraged
people. Far from compelling or permitting their
assistance, l am embarrassed with the numbers
who crowd to our camp, animated with the purest
principles of virtue and love to their country.
you affect, sir, to despise all rank not derived
from the same source with your own. l cannot
conceive one more honorable, than that which
flows from the uncorrupted choice of a brave and
free people, the purest source and original foun-
tain of all power. Far from making it a plea for
purity, a mind of true magnanimity and enlarged
ideas would comprehend and respect 1t.
What may have been the ministerial views
which have precipitated the present crisis, Lex
ington, Concord and Charlestown can best declare.
May that God, to whom you, too, appeal, judge be-
tween America and you. Under his providence,
those who influence the councils of America, and
all the other inhabitants of the United Colonies.
at the hazard of their lives, are determined to
hand down to posterity those just and invaluable
privileges which they received from their an
cestors."
To Washington's high personal character. and
his lack of small weaknesses, his correspondence
all bears testimony.
AS a statesman, Washington was as sure, as
oadminde and as determined as he was as a
general. All his letters to his friends and to those
who served him show that his efforts were di.
rected toward the prevention. not only of entan-
cling Alliances ABROAD, out 10 Gaining INTERNAL us
sensions and directing the business of the nation
into healthy channels.
For a time the agricultural interests and the
merchants saw the growth of manufactures with
jealousy and distrust. But Washington yielded to
no economic fallacies. Scarcely had the Revolu-
ton been brought to a successful termination
when he wrote to the Delaware Society for Pro-
noting Domestic Manufactures, in 1898, as fol-
lows:
The promoting of domestic manufactures will,
a. Nl1 Rr,E
which may naturally be expected to flow from an
energetic government. For myself, having an
equal regard for the prosperity of the farming,
trading and manufacturing interests, | will only
observe that | cannot conceive the extension of
the latter ESQ far as it may afford employment to
a great number OF hands which would be other
wise in a manner idle) can be detrimental to the
former. On the contrary, the concurrence OF
virtuous individuals, and the combination of eco
nomic societies, to rely as much as possible on
the resources of our own country, may be product
i've of great national advantages by establishing
the habits of industry and economy. The OBJ
jects of your institution are, therefore, in my
opinion, highly commendable; and you will permit
me to add, gentlemen, that ! propose to demon
strate the sincerity Of my opinion on this subject
by the uniformity of my practice in giving a de-
cided preference to the products and fabrics OF
America, whatsoever it may be done without in
volving an unreasonable expense or very great in
convenience"
Along educational lines Wash1ngtonS Ideas
were equally sure and far-seeing. When the fed
eral commissioners in 1875 were considering the
erection of a unworthy, he wrote to them as fol-
lows:
1T has always been a source of serious refec-
ton and sincere regret with me that the youth of
the United States should be sent to foreign coun-
tries for the purpose of education. Although there
are doubtless many, under these circumstances,
who escape the danger of contracting principles
unfavorable to republican government, yet we
ought to deprecate the hazard attending ardent
and susceptible minds from being too strongly and
too early prepossessed in favor of other political
systems before they are capable of approaching
their own.
For this reason | have greatly wished to see
a plan adopted by which the arts, sciences and
bellesletters could be taught in their fullest ex-
tent. thereby embracing all the advantages of
European tuition, with the means of acquiring the
liberal knowledge which is necessary to qualify
our citizens for the exigencies of public as well
as private life; and (Which with me is a consider.
alton of great magnitude by assembling the youth
from the different parts of this rising republic.
contributing from their intercourse and inter
change of information to the removal of pre-
JUDGES. which might perhaps sometimes arise
from local circumstances"
These few extracts have been selected at ran
dom from Washington's correspondence, extend.
ing over a period of rs years. If'they stimulate
just a few persons to make a frst-hand study of
the life and writings of the father of this coun-
try they will have fulfilled their mission.