The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1917-03-02
HONOR FOR PATRIOT
FATHER OF Country
METHODIST MEN PAY FITTING
TRIBUTE TO WASHINGTON
Several Addresses Were Delivered Fol-
lowing Supper That Was Served Last
Evening in ParIors of the Sanctuary;
Outstanding Features of Hero's Life
Were Discussed; Appropriate Decor
atoms Accompany Choice EdibIes

VtTe DiSCuSScu, app OpTldtc UtCOT'
atoms Accompany Choice EdibIes
From Fridays Daily.
Minneapolis, February GA soiled
postcard, worn with age, is today the
most treasured possession in the home
of DR.. R. A. Baker, 100 East Eighteenth
street, Minneapolis, instructor of chem
istry at the University of Minnesota. The
card contains six hairs from the head of
George Washington, which are a part of
a, patch given to the first presidents
colored servants when he died. Mrs.
Baker received the hairs from her moth
er, Alice Downey Porter, professor at
Baker university, Baldwin, Kan. She re-
celved them from her father, Charles A.
Downey. An old negro by the name of
Hamet, who was Washington's youngest
servant, gave them to MIR. Downey.
Honors to the memory of the father
of his country were ittingly observed
by the Mems club of the Centenary
Methodist church in the church par
lors last evening on the anniversary
of the birth of that illustrious soldier
Aid society of the church, under the
direction of the chairman, Mrs. w. e.
Davey, in expressing the thanks of the
club to the ladies, l.. w. Andrist, the
president, called attention to the
fact that each piece Of pie was ap-
propriately decorated with a little
flag. The dining room was festooned
with red, white and blue bunting. The
tables were adorned with ferns and
red carnations.
At the opening of the program, Mr..
Andrist spoke of the union meeting
church on March IA.
Charles Elliott entertained the gath
ering by reciting an original poem on
the well-known Ratchet story, ending
with the words:
In freedoms nest an egg was laid.
1t Matched into a nat on,
And Washington presided Ger.
The job of incubation.
The task was hard, the danger great.
His strength and courage matched it.
He's father of his country now,
Because, you see, he Matched it.
Attorney F. e. Morse delivered an
address on washington, the Young
Virginian." This was an intensely in
teresting account of the early life of
George Washington. Mr.. Morse spoke
of the writer's who had shrouded the
early history of Washington with
myth. Mr.. Morse brushed aside the
unfounded talks that had been told of
Washington as a boy and young man,
and revealed him as the sturdy young
Virginian, strong in his convictions,
devoted to duty. high-tempered but
self controlled. He told of the surveys
that Washington made when a boy on
the Fairfax estate. So well done was
this work, that the lines are accepted
as authoritative to this day. He spoke
of one of the most striking proofs OF
Washington'S characteristic devotion
to duty in the long and perilous
Journey that he undertook through he
wilderness in the service of his
try and state. just before the out
break of the French and Indian war.
Washington AS a Soldier.
washington as a Soldier" was the
topic of an address by Attorney A. G..
Edwards. Mr.. Edwards remarked that
every person possessed some brains
and the power of improving what he
had. Washington possessed ability and
he cultivated what he had, improving
and preparing himself for the great
work that was to fall to him. AS a
soldier he was obedient to those who
were over him. AS a subordinate Of
fcer he performed the duties that
were assigned to him with energy and
ability. AS a commander he was I'M
surpassed. Mr.. Edwards narrated in
a striking and vivid name the main
events in Washington's military ca
reer. illustrating the herO's character
and strength.
Rev. G.. A. Cahoon spoke of Wash
ington's soundness of Judgment and
his practical ability as a leader of men.
He gave a striking illustration of the
trials, taht often confronted Washing
ton, by speaking of the jealousy and
the Numerically opposite convictions
of two members of the presidential
cabinet, Thomas Jefferson, secretary
of state, and Alexander Hamilton.
secretary of the treasury. Amid such
friction, Washington carried the
government safely through many per-
lis.
Rev. Cahoon said Washington saved
the country three times: First as the
leader of the Americans in the Revo-
l~utionary war; second, as president
of the constitutional convention, and
third. as guide of his country in the
friction that occurred between this ma
ton and France.
Rev. Cahoon gave a highly enter
tanning account of his visit to Mount
Vernon last April, when he saw the
dwelling that was built by Lawrence
Washington in 1S43, the barn that was
built in 1853 of bricks imported from
England, other historic objects and
above all the tomb of Washington.
Mount Vernon was Washington's home
for forty years.
The speaker took occasion to an
nounce the address that would be de-
livered Saturday night by Bishop
Charles B. Mitchell in the Methodist
church IN "The Original Idiot" The
address opens at eight o'clock.
The program closed, all singing the
national hymn, America"
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