Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-02-23

ington helped to build into the
structure of our institutions. There
is no other structure on which they
can rest.
Envy, malice, mcharitableness,
class jealousies, race prejudices and
international enmlties are not reall-
ties. They do not abide. They are
only the fictions of unenlghtened
comprehension. Those who preach
them are not safe advisers and not
sound leaders. Nothing but discor9
and disaster at home and abroad can
result from following these policies.
Washington was the antithesis of all
this. His writings and teachings
breathe a higher broader purpose, a
more inspired leadership. No man
clung more tenaciously to what he
believed was right or was prepared
to make greater sacrifices in its sup
port. But he viewed the right as
universal principle, to be applied not
only to himself but to others, not
only to his own state but to the ma
tion, not only to his own country but
" lOIGl ll6IS. mere was nOblliHS
about him of the small American.
He believed our own political in
stitutions were superior TO those of
other countries, but he never preach
ed hatred of all things foreign and
he made large concessions in the ne.
gotiation Of treaties for the settle
ment of disputed questions which
were for the advantage of foreign
nations. He believed that obligations
were mutual; that what we expected
to receive we should be ready to give.
both in the field of citizenship and
in the larger domain Of international
relations. He clung to the realities.
That was his greatness.
Washington has been known as one
! of the most practical of leaders. He
was not emotional. He was possessed
of that broad comprehension of sit
uation which made his judgment
eminently sound. With the possible
exception of the field of Monmouth,
when disobedience to his orders
amounting almost to treachery was
llosing the day, history always reveals
his as calm, COOL and collected. He
always knew what he was doing. He
was not a sentimentalist. But he
was a man capable of deep and abid-
ing affection and of exalted and in
spring ideals. He loved his country
with an abounding devotion. He law
ished upon it a wealth of genius.
We are wont to think of him as
d military commander and a civil ad-
ministrator-as man of public af-
fairs. He was surprisingly great in
all of that. But he was very much
more He wished to see his country
not only materially prosperous and
politically successful, but beyond Lnat
and above it, he wished to see the
intellectual, moral, and spiritual life
of the people developed. This is the
side of Washington to which too Its
tie attention has been given. He did
not fail during his lifetime to give
the most painstaking thought tc
these subjects. In his farewell adj
dress he solemnly warned mis- coun-
trymen that these are the founda-
tions on which rest all American in
stitutions. More than that, they are
the foundations on which all civiliza-
of these great principles that he per-
formed the greatest service for the
world.
Our country has prospered, our
government is secure. But that pros
perity and that security flow from
the school and the church. They are
the product of the mind and the soul
They are the result of the character
Of the American people. Through and
through Washington is the great ex-
ample of character. He sought to
bestow that heritage upon his coun'
try. We shall fail in our estimation
and understanding Of him unless We
remember that during his lifetime he
helped to build a place OF religious
worship; in his will he provided Tor
institutions of learning, and i'll his
farewell address he emphasized the
spiritual values Of life. But what he
did was even more eloquent than
what he said! He was soldier,
patriot, statesman; but in addition
TO all these he was a great teacher.