Evening star., 1925-07-04

1887, and the establishment of a real
nation. That task he took up early,
and to 1t he devoted an energy and
wisdom that were alike amazing 1t
was quite natural that he should be
chosen tor preside over the constitu-
tional convention. When it's work
was done, his influence was one of
the chief forces to bring about ratifi-
cation. After that, there was none to
question that he must be the first
President under the new regime.
None Can Appreciate Him.
Perhaps no character in history has
been subjected to more close study
or sympathetic analysis than that of
Washington. The volume of his writ
ings which have been left to us is
enormous. Moreover, from earliest
manhood his life was lived almost con-
tinuously under intense public obser-
vation. 1t is, therefore, remarkable
that biographers and eulogists should
be so generally accused of failing to
give us satisfying picture of him.
The fault, however, is not his, but
theirs. The explanation is that no
biographer has possessed and prob
ably none eyer will possess, the full
rounded measure of qualification to
appreciate, to understand, to appor-
ton, and to weigh all the elements
that made this man. Unfortunately,
vast myth was early built around
Washington. difficult to avoid, and not
even yet entirely dissipated. Among
his biographers and eulogists some
have seen first and most admiringly
the great soldier. Some have been
most engaged with him as the
statesman-politician, dealing with
great affairs from day to day as cir
cumstances demanded. Others have
devoted themselves particularly TO
portraying him as the constructive stu
dent of government and builder of in
stitutions. Still others have found
their first inspiration in his work as
a wise. firm and discriminating ad-
ministrator.
Volumes have been written, and
they are exceedingly interesting vol
umes, on Washington as a pioneer of
modern scientific agriculture. 1t is
interesting to recall that in their
tastes for agriculture Washington and
his great antagonist. King George III,
stood on common ground. Who
ever cares to familiarize himself with
this particular detail in the careers
of Washington and the king will find
that these two might in other circum-
stances have been the best of friends
For both were devoted admirers and
supporters of Arthur Young, the
famous English traveller and agricul-
tural authority. In the last year or
two before the beginning of the
French Revolution Young travelled
extensively throughout France He
kept journal of his observations and
experiences that has since been inval-
liable to whoever wished TO know
conditions in the France of that
time. Besides all this, Arthur Young
was almost the founder of the mod
ern science and technique of ad-
vanced agriculture. He wrote and
published voluminously on. such sub
jects as rotation of crops, scientific
fertilization, farm drainage. the
breeding of live stock, the growing of
plants and many other subjects
which are now commonplaces. King
George became interested in his work
and turned over to him some farms
of the royal domain to be conducted
as the earliest agricultural expert
ment stations.
Urged Experiments.
Young published an agricultural
journal devoted to his theories and
experiments, and to 1t Washington
became a subscriber. This led him
which seems to have been quite ex-
tended Convinced that the Young
program represented much of value
to American agriculture, Washington
offered to set aside one of his farms,
to be managed by English experts,
if Young would enlist them. Appar-
emily nothing finally came of this
proposal, but the fact that it was
made, and seriously considered, shows
how near Washington and King
George came to an intimate associa.
ton for the betterment of agriculture.
Indeed, inside of two years after the
end of the Revolution Washington
appealed to Young to buy and ship to
him an invoice of agricultural imple-
ments and seeds with which Wash
ington desired to experiment. On in
Vestigation Young discovered that
British law forbade these exports. So
he went to the minister for home af-
fairs, Lord Grenville, and pleaded for
permission to send them. 1t was i'm
mediately granted, and by the cour-
tesy of the British government the
entire order was filed. The incident
is an interesting indication of the lib
eral disposition manifested, so soon
after the war, by leading men of both
countries.
1t Is a pleasant thing to be priv
ileged to recall on an occasion like
this such a bit of evidence touching
the underlying community of inter
est between the old kingdom and the
new republic in matters of common
concern and human advancement
Washington was the last person to
harbor resentments; and in this and