Evening star., 1925-10-18
BY FLORENCE SEVILLE
BERGMAN.
II F the word Immortality" be used
with the familiar formula, Some
i are born - some achieve -

lne word immortality be uSeC
with the familiar formula, "Some
are born --, some achieve -,
i and some have - thrust upon
them,' it will be found that the
last phrase most aptly applies to
George Mason, father of the Virginia
bill of rights, which substantially con-
stituteS the first 10 amendments of the
Constitution of the United States.
So completely occupied was he with
public service, that he took no steps
TO insure his own personal, lasting
fame. But this Autumn, on the bi-
centenary of his birth, a little group
of enthusiastic admirers, headed by
r. Walton Moore, Representative in
Congress from Fairfax County, Va,
George MaSon's birthplace and home
is planning to honor his memory with
celebrations this month and early in
the Winter.
The newspapers of a certain Eastern
city carried, last Spring, notices OF
the death of a man of 60 years or so
whose entire life, from early youth
had been dominated by his desire for
earthly immortality. He had never
married, but had lived alone in the
meanest of surroundings, and had
often journeyed to nearby cities to
spend whole days in graveyards, where
he studied the designs of mauSOleumS.
Upon his deceaSe- it was learned that
he had managed, during these barren
Years, to accumulate $4,000, all of
which was to be spent upon a preten-
uouS monument to himself.
Il have never done anything that
would make people remember me- he
said. Il have no friends, and my rela-
tives never bother with me, SO the only
way people will know l ever lived is
by the inscription on my tomb"
But long before the stone of his
handsome shaft shall have crumbled
the name engraved upon it will mean
nothing, as it meant in life. For he
did nothing Whatsoever to benefit an
other, nor did he even attempt to
tread the other road to earthly re-
membrance by modelling his life upon
that Of Nero or any other infamous
character of history.
Contrasted with such individuals,
whose opportunity to live graciously
and richly has been tragically wasted,
are the truly great, whose numbers
grow with every generation, and
whose names throughout many cen
turies stand for service to their fellow
men.
Such q man was George Mason of
"Gunston Hail." in Fairfax County,
Va, who was the fourth to bear
this name in America. But although
he was "as patriotic as Washington.
more intelligent than Jefferson, and
far superior to Patrick Henry in
philosophy" as some one has said, his
name is as yet obscure compared to
theirs, because he ignored opportuni-
ties to immortalize it to an extent
scarcely paralleled by any other
patriot.
Throughout the first and most COM
plete record we have of his life, writ
ten by Kate Mason Rowland in 1892,
are found letters In which he refuses
to serve in the Virginia Assembly
again and again, and Is urged and eX-
horted to do so by no less a person
than George Washington. Mason was
elected one of the first Senators from
Virginia to the Congress Of the United
States, where his words would have
been accurately preserved for us. But
he declined this honor because do
nestle affairs needed his attention.
Another factor, too, was that his fight
against the Constitution had failed,
and he watched with apprehension the
growth of strong central power. He
had done his utmost to avert what
he considered powerful menace, and
doubtless felt that in becoming a men,
ber of the Senate he could not suffl-
ciently serve his State to compensate
for the abandonment of his private
life.
X X y X
GEORGE MASON wrote no men,
~ oirs, and kept no diary, which Is
greatly to be deplored, for the greatest
men of his day were his warm friends
and admirers.
His main interest was the present,
his own time; although he thought
frequently of the future, 1t was never
In connection with how his words
might echo down the ages, but how
humanity would be benefited or irrev
ocably injured by the events of his
day.
George Mason exhibited. to marked
extent. qualities of mind and character
which he had apparently inherited
from his great-grandfather the first
George Mason Of Rrewood. Stafford.