Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1926-01-29
Comment and Criticism
Observation-Disclosures.


Rupert Hughes a TO wdays ago
delivered a speech to the Sons of the
Revolution in Washington, d. c., in
which he said that George Washing
ton would, upon occasion, dance all
night, that he drank and made liquor
and that he had fair crossword vo-
cabulary.
Whereat the Sons rose up in their
sonly wrath and sizzled Mr.. Hughes,
maintaining that George was a saint,
pure and undefiled, that it was SLAM
derous and disgraceful to say what
Mr.. Hughes had said and that such
things as the author had repeated
were mighty little short of treason
Gus.
Told about this attack" on the
father fhis country, President Cool
idge, with his we'll known loquacity,
looked out the window and remarked
that the monument was still there.
The New York Times, being 240
miles away from the White House,
published an editorial about the chill
dishness of the Sons of the Revolu-
ton, saying that We could afford to
know the real facts and that heroic
regulations could very well rest on
deeds performed and didn't need a
prop of myths and fairy stories.
The Washington Star, being just q
few blocks from the White House and
right in The line of fire between White
House and the capitol, came manfully
TO the defense of the Sons of the Rev
olution, the cherry tree story and the
spotlessness of the Washington Iepu-
tation.
The burden of its song was that II
the sanity concent was a myth il had
better be preserved anyway and that
it was a good thing to teach children
about the cherry tree incident, ever
If 1t didn't ever happen.
If it is treason to tell the truth, ever
the unpleasant truth, about heroes OF
history, then let's have a couple OF
columns of treason every now ant
then.
What kind of father of this rough
| and tumble country would it be whC
| swore a swear word, who never tolC
red coat TO get to hell out of here
who never lied like a gentleman wher
necessary, who never drank a drop Of
wine or anything else in days wher
| every person who knows a thing about
history knows that every gentleman
| in Washington's social level took a,
many drinks of wine as he wanted
| and sometimes more than he needd
| 1t Is only in recent years that wine
as drink in Washington official cir
| Giles has been taboo.
If our respect for Washington rest.
| ed on nothing but reputation for be.
ing colorless though pious, there
jolly we'll is and long may it wave
The New York Times points out
that we like Washington little bet.
ter when we know that he had baC
upner teeth and his habitual straight
and sober face was largely mask
to conceal his dental defect
On the contrary the dear old Stal
intimates that when anyone says any
thing as naughty and diSreSpectful as
Mr. Hughes remarks, it comes pretty
near to being subversive propaganda
and the speaker or author, as the case
may be, ought to be watched and fol.
lowed to see where he goes from there
TO which healthy minded persons
will no doubt say, "0h, rats"
The fame Of George Washington is
in no danger of slipping, He per
frmed nightly. He lived through
dangers and hardships, he fought like
titan and he won what he fought
for. He got busy and left heritage
Life with him was not merely pro-
longed debate about something.
The Sons of the Revolution in this
case didn't talk like sons of Revolu-
ton; they talked like daughters OF
the dilletanti.