The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1914-02-21

tribute TO his love of freedom, his wisdom and
kindness of heart All Of them snow why Ne
never failed in anything of consequence ne unoer-
took. Without exception they bear witness to
the thought, the careful consideration, the Sound
judgment of the writer.
With these qualities dominant there is lacking,
matter Of course, the bias. the egotisn the
proneness to give way to the passions, that nave
caused many able to fail
Above all, there is an Astounding love of free
dom, an all-poweTfuI desire to serve the best in
terests of his feIlowmen that cannot fail to touch
the heart of any one who to read the old
volumes that have been sheIved in favor of so
much less worthy material.
Take him, for instance, a soldier. His
earlier show that he realized fully the difficulties
of the tasks ahead of him. First of ALL his breadth
of vision prevented his army from being divided
and subdivided by the claims of the various col
onies that the troops they raised should be de-
voted to their defense. As he wrote to the
governor of Connecticut:
81 am by no means insensibIe to the situation
Of the people the coast. wish could extend
protection to all, but the numerous detachments
necessary to remedy the evil would amount to
dissolution of the army, make the most i'm
portant operations Of the campaign depend upon
the piratcal operations of two three men-of-
war and transports
Again when he recruiting his forces, he
dismayed by the fact that not all the people
were animated by motives high as his To his
secretary, Joseph Reed, one of the closest of his
friends. he wrote:
"Such dearth of public spirit, and such want Of
low arts to obtain advantage of one kind
other in this great change of military arrange
ment, 1 never saw before, and pray Gods mercy
1 may never again What will be the end OF
these maneouvers is beyond my scan. tremble
at the prospect. Could 1 have foreseen
what 1 have experienced and am likely to ex-
perience, consideration upon earth should have
induced me to accept this command"
His letters during the winter at Valley Forge
are models of their kind. But nothing he wrote,
during his period of command, bears higher trib-
ute his character than his letters to
General Gage that 1.-The officers engaged in the
cause of liberty and their country, who by the
fortune of have fallen into your hands, have
been thrown Unfortunately into common Jail,
appropriated to felons-'
General Gage insolently replied that but for hrs
cIemency the captured would have been
hanged, and made counter-charges that. British
captives were lmistreated. To this Washington
replied with the following letter:
IT addressed you, sir, the 18th instant, in
terms which save the fairest scope for that hui
mainly and-politeness which were supposed to
form a part Of yeHr character. 1 demonstrated
with you on the unVzDrthy treatment shown TO
the officers and citizens OF America whom the
fortune Of war chance or mistaken confidence
had thrown into your hands. Whether British or
American mercy, fortitude. and patience most
prominent; whether our Yirtuous citizens whom
the hand OF tyranny has forced into arms to de
fend their wives, their children, and their proper
nation aEarice, and revenge best deserve the
scpallasi0ns and the punishment Of that
cord, which your affected clemency has forboTne
to .fAfict; whether the authority under which
act is usurped or fodnded upon the genuine prin-
cipies OF liberty. were altogether foreign to the
subject. ! purposely aypided all political discus
sion nor shah now avail myself of those adj
vantages Shtehssthe seered cause OF my. country,
OF liberty. and OF human nature give me over
you: much less shall stoop to retort and IL