Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-07
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

! In these commencement days, when
all of our universities and colleges are
bestowing honorary degrees. Represent
ative Sol Bloom, director Of the George
Washington Bicentennial Commission,
has uncovered the fact that The
Father of His Country" received honor
airy degrees from five of our leading
niversities-Harvard in 1776, Yale in
| 1871, University of Pennsylvania in
| 1785, Washington College (Chestertown,
Md in 1888 and Brown University in
1870.
It's far cry from washingtons de-
| gree days to those OF President Hoover
who has ceased to count the UNIVERSE
ties and colleges dotting the earth
which have conferred honorary de-
grees upon him-more than IS when
ne stopped counting them, including
Brown. Pennsylvania, Harvard, Yale,
Columbia. Princeton, Johns Hopkins,
George Washington, Dartmouth, Rut-
gers, Alabama, Virginia, Oberlin. Liege,
Rensselaer,, Tufts, Swarthmore, VIII
liams. Manchester, Louvain and Prague.
So our Presidents. first and last, have
through the years exemnlified and dig
nified and emphasized education.
| Bicentennial Director Bloom has also
found well authenticated records that
George Washington attended divine
service in churches of 80 denominations
or sects with equal reverence, whether
Dutch, Catholic. Quaker, Presbyterian
or Congregational, as well as his own
! EpiScopalian.
Because of this religious background
| in Washingtons life, the churches Of
America, of whatever denomination. are
preparing TO take a fittingly prominent
part in the Bicentennial Celebration next
year. Director Bloom, himself Jew, en-
| phaSizes that every crisis in Washing
tons life found him turning to Divine
| Providence for help and guidance and in
| thankfuiness for the benefits he has
received. He expressed on numerous
! occasions In his diary his thankfuIness
! for success in military exploits and for
| preservation from disaster. He attended
! church services wherever he happened
to be, unless he was prevented from
doing so by the press of Official duties,
| bad weather or worse roads"
During Wash!ngton's travels through
New England, which he started on Oc-
tober IS. 1889, he not only attended
| church whenever possible, but he noted
! in his diary the churches in the towns
he visited. For example, of Stamford,
Conn, he wrote: In this town are an
| Episcopal church and a meeting house.
] AT Norwalk, which is ten miles fur
Their, We made a halt TO feed our horses.
To the lower enc of this town sea YES
sells come, and at the other end are
/ mills. stores and an Episcopal and
Presbyterian church" He also re-
corded of Fairfield. Two decent-looking
churches in this place. though small,
viz: an Episcopal and Presbyterian or
Congregationalist as they call them
selves"
While in New Haven he attended,
October ID. 1889, two churches-Trin-
| ity Episcopal in the forenoon and in
the afternoon one of the Congrega-
tional meeting houses. During this
visit and his previous stay in this sec
ton during the Revolutionary War
Washington attended Queen Chapel of
st. Johns at Portsmouth, Trinity
Church and Christ Church, Boston;
Christ Church, Cambridge; Trinity
Church, Newport, and st. Michael's
Church, Litchfield.
Gen. Washington's deep regard for
| church ediflces. no matter how humble.
| was shown during the war, When pass
ing through Litchfeld. he reprimanded
some soldiers who had thrown stones
at the old Litchfeld Church. by say
ing: Il an a churchman and I wish
not to see the church dishonored and
! oeSclated in this way
| y
These days of interlude. when Con-
greSs is not in session, the House Office
Building, erStWhile a beehive of activ-
ity with Offices for some 435 members
CT Congress and their clerical forces,
is as deserted village. Very few of
the members are in Washington and.
while one here and there keeps his
Office open all Summer the big ma
iority of the Offices are closed and the
marble corridors reverberate to the
footsteps of the few visitors which go
echoing down the corridors Of time.
On the other hand, the Capitol
Building is f1ocked with tourists. who
come in successive waves CT humanity
surging through the more historic
places. When Congress is in session
| a majority of the visitors make it
a point to see their respective Con-
gressmen but now, with the Congress
men back home" this is one of the
thrills" of a visit to washington that
is denied them.