The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1932-02-20
After Two Hundred Years
Washington Extolled as Great and Wise Man
Are Our Public Officials To-day
His Equals?
CATHOLIC TRANSCRIPT

The church keeps the anniver-
sary Of the death of her heroes; the
state the anniversary of their birth.
The church leaves no time for
lapse; the state accepts the phil
osophy that to err Is human, to
forgive and forget, devine.
On February %, the church
keeps the feast Of the chair Of st
Peter of Antioch; the state, the
birth of Washington at Westmore-
land, county, Virginia. From Vir-
ginia to Syria, from Washington,
the capital, to Antiach, 1.-The crown
of the east" What st Peter is to
the Catholic church, that Is George
Washington to the United States.
Nineteen hundred years ago An
tioch, "the beautiful was called
"the crown of the east" Today the
glory of Antioch has passed. Nine
teen hundred years from now will
the glory of Washington have
pessed? The greatest states of an
| tiquity have fallen: VIII our coun-
try follow them?
We are not confirmed in glory.
Have we Washington today? If
we have, he is hidden, he Is not in
public life. Without Washington
can we follow the lines marked
out by his wisdom? 1t is ours to
cultivate Washington, every Wash
ington that heaven vouchsafes, and
to put away the pigmies that plot
for places made illustrous by the
great men and the wise.
First among our great wise
men was Washington. He was a
world figure and the world has not
failed to pay tribute. Lecky, in his
England IN the Eighteenth Century
extols Washington in these words:
"In civil, as in military life he
was pre-eminent among his con-
temporaries for the clearness and
soundness of his judgment, for his
perfect moderation and self-con-
troll, for the quiet dignity and the
indomitable firmness with which
he pursued every path which he
had deliberately chosen. OF all the
great men in history he was the
most invariably judicious, and
there is scarcely q rash word or
action or judgment recorded of
him. Those who knew him well,
noticed that he had keen suscepti-
bilities and strong passions; but his
power of self-command never failed
him, and no act of his publiv life
can be traced to personal caprice,
ambition or resentment. In the de-
spondency of long continued fail
ure, in the elation of sudden sue
cess, at times when his soldiers
were deserving by hundreds, and
when malignant plots were formed
against his reputation, amid the
constant quarrels, rivalries. and
jealousies of his subordinates, In
the dark hour of national ingrati-
tude, and in the midst Of the most
universal and Intoxicating fiattery,
he was always the same calm, wise,
Just, and single-minded man, pur-
suing the course which he be-
lieved to be right, without fear or
favor or fanatfcism, equally free
| from the passions that spring from
interest, and the passions that
spring from imagination. He never
acted on the impulse of an alb
sorbing or matchmaking enthusi-
asm, and he valued very highly
fortune, position, and reputation;
but at the command Of duty he was
ready to risk and sacrifice them all.
He was in the highest sense of the
words gentleman and a man, OF
honor, and he carried into public
life the severest STANDARD Of private
| morals. 1t was at first the constant
dread Of large sections of the
American people that IL the old
\ government was overthrown. they
would fall into the hands of mill
| tayy adventures, and undergo the
yoke Of military despotism.. 1t was
mainly the transparent integrity OF