The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1921-02-22
WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY

Nations must have their heroes whom the people
can love and emulate Back in the good old
days when heaven and earth were closer together
than now, the gods came down and filled these
positions But in later time national heroes have
been created by the process of apoheosizng real
characters and investing them with the attributes
which the nation regards as most valuable. Thus,
Scion anil Lycurgus represent the best there is of
the Greeks; Romulus and Remus are the modest
Romans of them ALL" Alfred the Great typihes
the aspirations of the British Clovis, Pepin
Charemagne and that unique heroine, Joan Of
Arc, are all necessary to display the versatile ma
tional genius of France.
America, the youngest of the great nations, has
in the course of century and half built up
national hero of the first rank. George Washing
ton--the Washington of popular fancy-reAects
the most Ealued qualities of colonial and federal
America. Quiet, wise, austere, with prophetic
vision and intensely burning patrotism-hrst in
war. first in peace and first in the hearts of his
countrymen-the embodiment of safety, sanity and
responsibility the traditional father of his coun-
try was everything that Americans consider god
like in man.
The process of dedication began while he yet
lived The artist Gilbert c. Stuart added new
lines of sateliness to his already courty FORM re-
touched his features with dignity and repose not
of earth. and presented him gazing benignantly out
into the celestial spaces and smiling nscrutably but
kindly on the destinies of his children As work
ct art ii is the masterpiece of the western hemis-
phere.
A minister named Weems wrote Life of
Washington" which, though short on facts, was so
filed with anecdotes illustrating the divinely-
guided youth and sanity manhood CT the hero of
the Stuart painting that it took the country by
storm. and crowded out the more prosaic biogra-
phies which relied upon verify for their appeal.
The George Washington in honor of whom the
country pauses in its labors today is the comb ned
creature of these two gifted artists
There was George Washington, however,
who did some of the more important things at
tributed to the traditional hero. whom it would
have been a delight to know and with whom it
would have been a meal ticket to have been on in
innate terms. He showed the British several
tricks Of frontier warefare, presided with amazing
and possibly amazed, dignity over the constu-
final convention, and weathered two presidential
terms mainly by the wise expedienl of dclcgating
the difficult jobs to his subordnatcs He was one
of Virginias foremost and weahicst citizens,
Nqwned the largest and opcnest house in the state,
raised the finest cattle, hogs and horses, kept the
most obedient and industrious bunch of negroes,
grew the juciest apples and made the best brandy
He was a shrewd leve-headcd, sensible man.
somewhat impulsive given to profanity when the
occasion required, cared little for books, was
bored by political questions, wrote little, and
spelled he pleased. dearly loved good dinner,
and could step it off with the best of them when
the music started
While we are celebrating the birthday of the
mythical American who couldn't tell lie, here's
glass-of water, alas-to the man who lived at
Mt Vernon and ran things 10 suit himself.