Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-31
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

formed to consider fitting ways
Of concentrating it, One Of the COM
mittee, MIR. Bernard M. Baruch of New
York. looking forward, has asked the
writer of this article for suggestions.
The writer hereby turns the request
over to the public. This anniversary is
certain to stimulate the imagination of
Americans In some direction or another,
or in several directions. How can the
event he so managed as to get the best
out of it?
For example, one means Of honoring
Washington and calling the peoples
minds to him Is already in existence.
1t is monument in the city Of Wash
| ington. the highest In America, over SIS
feet, and Il think the highest in the
world. Nothing is to be said in deroga-
| ton Of that method. 1t, however. is
concentration upon one physical object.
Is there a means by which, so to speak,
! the coming celebration may be more
difTused? BY which more people can
participate In it-and, by participating,
To do something analogous to the
Washington Monument would be COM
paratively easy. It would be simple to
collect the money, start the building.
and let 1t 60 at that. To concentrate
upon one object or one event would be
the easiest way for the memorial COM
mittee to fulfill its function.
But would not the committee do bet
ter II it would, to speak in apparent
paradox, concentrate upon diffusion?
The best measure of the committees
success and usefulness might readily be,
not the spectacular quality OF any one
monument or event, but rather the
number of persons who are led to turn
| their minds toward Washington and his
! times to find individual ways OF ex-
/ pressing their interest, and to partici-
! pate in local celebrations by local COM
munitieS.
Nation In Mood.
| America Is already in the mood for
! it. There has been under way for some
| time clearly marked and appealing
trend in American life. trend express
| ing itself in a disposition to turn with
more interest. and conSpicuouSly with
more affection, toward older American
| heroes, institutions and ways of life.
| The tendency Is only beginning to get
under way; 1t Is certain to gain increas-
ing momentum by reason Of the prepa-
rations for the Washington anniversary
| in 1892.
This obvious mood of the American
we shall have period Of revived inter-
est in Americas past, renewed affection
| for our older ways. The reasons for
this renaissance Of the Americanism OF
| twenty. fifty, a hundred or two hun
dred years ago are too complex for
analysis. Indeed, analysis does not
matter. The fact Is more important
| than the reasons. Doubtless one reason
has been hare-up Of. so TO speak.
native AmericaniSm accompanying q
| political issue, our decision to remain
out OF the League OF Nations. Another
cause has been q natural reaction OF
| Indignation against an excessive icon0-
| claSm about America-reaction from q
| jeering attitude which has expressed
| itself during 10 or 20 years past in
cynical books from q school of modern
authors, authors who make a cult Of
| iconoclasm Doubtless another reason
has been the rather sensational success
| of some very recent books which have
dealt with the America of the past
and dealt with 1t in spirit OF respect
and affection. ..-l---.- .-.. r.,
! Whatever the reasons, We have had
/ during some two years past an increaS-
! ing number of books dealing with the
| America of one two, three or more gen.
eraticnS ago. The further number OF
| such books nov in preparation is such
as to suggest the prediction that during
the three years until the 200th ami
versary of George Washington's birth
February %, 1932-America will turn
more and more toward seeking out the
details of its own past, recalling Them
| and tO some extent preserving them.
Special American Need.
The writer of this article happens to
have, among considerable number OF
| convictions. one minor one about q
! special American need.
| It is that each American community,
especially the smaller ones, should have
greater pride in the things that are its
| own that little towns should be less In
a hurry to accept new ideas, standards
of taste, styles, and the like, that come
out of New York or Washington. For
example, in little towns as small as
| 5000 people, one hears, as a local boast:
I'VE have skyscraper, just like New
York" In little villages, as small as a
| 1000 people, where every family could
readily have its own house and front
| yard and flowers; where every family
| could have the attic and the cellar
which are happy attributes of house
hold life-even in such tiny little towns,
one Is told, with perverse civic pride:
I'VE have big. new apartment house"
The present writer, out Of a consid-
| cradle acquaintance with America. be-
A, lieveS that one Of the loveliest little
| towns in all the land is Fredericksburg,
| Va. Not to be confused with Fred
erick Md, which Is nice town in its
own way and has Barbara Fritchie for
| its local Legend. One reason for the
/ lovelineSs of Fredericksburg, Va, is that
| it has preserved more of its old build
, ings and old institutions than any other
! American community. When a new
building is put up in Fredericksburg,
| Va, the aim In mind is, not to initiate
the latest thing in New York-but to
| conform, in architecture and other
wise, to what is local and traditional
in Fredericksburg's own past. To some
extent, this fidelity to local standards
| Is insisted upon by city regulations
; Fredericksburg, Va, incidentally, is
/ closely associated with George Washing
! ton: Washington'S mother Is buried
, there).
Several Possible Suggestions.
If the object of the coming Washing
! ton anniversary be to enlist widespread
| participation, and to cause each local
community to take pride in its own
past-in that case, there are several
, possible suggestions:
Let each community seek out It's own
local historical figure. If there is not
already memorial to him, set one up.
This idea need not be confined to local
heroes who have had part In national
| history. 1t can be extended to figures
purely local. Practically every COM
munity, no matter how small, must have
been the birthplace, or the abiding place,
temporary or permanent, Of some one
who had distinction, local or national,
whether teacher, q judge, writer, an
inventor. Senator, governor, men,
Der of Congress.
Pursuit of this notion will lead to the
discovery of some depressing conditions,
and the correction of them. There are
some American heroes, not local at all,
but national and very important, whose
graves are in the communities from
which they spring. Some such graves