The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-02-22
Member Of The Associated Press
(Official City, State and County
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e. BREWER
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We Bow in Reverence

We Bow In reverence
America bows in reverence today
before the shrine of its greatest citi-
zen. In doing so it harks back to the
history Of this nation and the debt
which it owes to those men whose
names are writ large in that history,
whose deeds form the foundation for
our national greatness.
Towering over all the others is the
figure of George Washington, whose
birthday anniversary we celebrate to-
day.
Do we admire courage and stead
fastness in the face of defeat and
disaster? No other American ever
had more of these qualities than did
George Washington.
Do we admire the statesman who
put service to his fellowmen and the
welfare of the people above his own
interests? No other human man III
all history has finer record in this
regard.
Do we look with affection upon the
loving husband and head Of the fam
lily, kindly Of heart and of sympa-
thetic nature, even erring, OCCASION
ally, on the side of loving leniency?
No other American possessed more OF
this tender quality than did George
Washington.
Every important angle from which
We may view him discloses to us in
George Washington not only the cpl
tome of all that is good and great in
this nation but all that any Of us
may dream of being.
A perfect man? Not at all. George
Washington was too human to be
perfect. No man is perfect who per-
mits himself to be imposed upon by
a profligate and careless brother, as
George Washington did. No man is
perfect who loses his temper, as
washington was known to do upon
occasion.
But the imperfections of the man
were so small when compared with
his virtues that they only serve to
make us love and revere his memory
the more. In him We find true great
ness. II we do not find it in him it
has never existed in America.
We hear much, these days, Of
Washington and Valley Forge, the
evident intent being to compare the
situation which we now face with
that which weighed so heavily upon
the soul Of the Father of His Coun-
try"
It is true that we can learn today
no better lesson than that which the
story Of Valley Forge teaches us, but
the comparison is that Of Mt. Everest
Win m0lenlu.
From the day he assumed COM
mand Of the colonial armies to that
day when death claimed him for her
own, Washington never knew a mo-
ment when the country which he
brought into being knew as much of
peace and prosperity as we know to-
day.
Are we afflicted with commercial
and financial ills? How would Wash
ington compare them with Valley
Forge, where men froze, went hungry
and left bloody footprints in the
snow?
No. There are lessons which may
be learned from George Washington
but it is unfair to his memory for US
to make petty comparisons. The
Rock of Gibraltar is hardly to be
compared with q prairie boulder
Even in death. Washington serves
the country for which he risked his
life. his vast possessions and even his
good name. He serves as inspira-
tion, not only today but every day.
The memory Of his deeds makes him
8 vital. living presence In the hearts
o. modern Americans aud In the
-