Milford chronicle., 1920-02-27
UNCLE TED'S
BED TIME STORIES
Current Events for the Children
and Grown-Ups, Too
RECALLING THE ADVICE
OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

JAM odlu OuCle tu dlLtI he ld
persuaded the children to stay hom
from the movies, there is nothinj
that / could tell you about tonigh
that would be more in keeping witt
this month than to tell you sometime
about the Father of Our Country
George Washington. You see. the
month of February is one of the mos
important months in the history of our
country. We celebrate the BIRTHDAY
of Abraham Lincoln on the 18th of this
Month and that OF George Washington
on the 22nd."
when was George Washington
born?" asked Ruth.
That is a date every child should
learn and remember, Ruth" answered
Uncle Ted. He was born on Febru-
=. airy 22nd, 1732, and if he could have
[ lived until this year he would have
been one hundred and eighty-eight
years old. His birthplace was known
as Bridges Greek, in Westmoreland
County, Virginia. Not a great deal is
known Of his early life His educa-
tion was of the most meager sort and
the nature of the country in those
early days made it necessary for him
to take care of himself to a great de-
gree. We know that he was a good
surveyor, that is a man who measures
land with certain instruments and he
enjoyed this work and found in it a
way to make enough money to take
care OF his living expenses. You both
know that he was a great soldier. You
know how he warned the British gen
eral, General Braddock, in the battles
with the Indians and how the general
was killed with many of his men be-
cause he refused to follow Washing
toms advice. l am going to skip over
the many great things he did as a
soldier, especially those clever things
he accomplished duruing the Revolu-
tiOn and show how important were
the lessons he taught while President. |
Those lessons were important in the |
early days Of our country's history |
but they are even more important to- |
day.
Washington name, character and |
influence have grown immensely as
the result of the war with Germany.
The things he did and said have be-
come almost as well established and
as important in the affairs of our
country as the Declaration of Inde-
pendence or the Constitution. Being
the first president of the United States
lC ueA1 nOuS " 1OllOH. ne cOulQ not
stop and say to himself when a hard
problem faced him, Now how did
President so-and-O do this? There
had been no other Presidents and he
had to blaze the trail alone. For that
reason the things he did are of the
greatest importance because he was
the head of the nation after a great
war, which makes the situation SINH
lar to that which confrOnts our coun-
try today While he had a strong will
be had keen sense for what was [
just, a cool brain and a sound bust
ness head and after he had served in
the presidential chair for two terms t
he declined to serve third"
when did he give his Farewell S
Address?" asked Jack. I
81 am coming to that" said Uncle {
Ted. 1T was in his Farewell Address, O
delivered on September II, 1896, that
Washington gave to the people of that t
day and all the days to follow in these t
United States, the lessons which he
learned while president and the things L
he knew must be done if our country
is to keep its important places in the L
world. The most important lesson n
which he brought home in this ad- T
dress was a warning against getting d
The United States entangled with Eu- t;
rOpean nations. That warning is more L
important today than it was in the fl
lays of Washington and for that reas- G
On Washington should and must live a
stronger in the hearts of men today e.
han ever. When certain men have n
ried and are still trying to join this R
country in a club with the nations of e!
Europe so that the very power of our h
,wn government will come second to e:
svery other country in the world, it "
S certainly time to stop and listen to c
words. Listen now,
while l read you some of his own h
words on this subject. Against the W
wiles of foreign influence is Of
me of the most baneful foes of repub n
lean government Those were his
irst words on the subject. He says CT
hat we must keep awake to the fact
hat Europe is looking out for herself G
lrst and that the things she tries to eC
10 to tie us with her are the greatest al
,nemies of "a republican government
Since our government is a republican 81
he of course, refers to the te
United States. He goes on, But that sc
ealousy,' meaning the jealousy of a
,eople like ours, to be useful, must G.
e impartial; else it becomes the in W
trument of the very influence to be al
voided, instead of a defense against
/. Excessive partiality for one for to
ign nation, and excessive dislike for
mother, cause those whom they ac- da
uate to see danger only on one side, NJ
nd serve to veil, and even second,
he arts of influence on the other vi
But prabably the greatest state tn
lent of all in this address was the
Ollowing, so far as it applies to con- pa
itions today, The great rule of con-
uct for us, in regard to foreign ma W
ions is, in extending our commercial
elations, to have with them as little di
olitical connection as possible. So far bC
s we have already formed engage W
tents, let them be fulfilled with per-
ect good faith. Here let us stop to
hat statement is very plain. He sim
ly say that we must not mix inter ST
ational politics with our information
trade. 1t is all right and necessary W
} do business with foreign nations but ei
10 must not make alliances that hC
Tould mean tying ourselves to act
hen and how they might want. That
applies directly to the world club plan -
HE knew that Euruope is always =.
nd always will look after her own ~
lterest first, just as we should. That "a "a
why she is so anxious for us to Join 4"
lie world club. It would make it DOS
BILE for her to use our money and our
)ldiers to help fight her battles. On
lis point he said, Europe has a set of
riu1aru fnfnractc ruhfoh fo