THE SEMLWEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
GEORGE
fiiowno
TROVBLD
The father of our country as wia
in personal letters what heavy
burdens he had to carry during
the war for independence
U -irx.
KCAUSti Ocorgo Washington be
lieved sincerely In the Inborn In
alienable right of men born on UiIb
soli, or transferred lo It, spiritual
ly ns well ns physically, to the
fruits of freedom nnd Independ
ence! ; because lie believed Mint Mils
nntlon was to bo held by them
freo of nil oppression, whether In
the form of unjust tnxntlon or nny
other Infringement of the Interests,
welfnro nnd principles of the inhabitants, ho re
ceives today tho homngo of the millions who enjoy
the heritage of tho freo America for which ho
fought and which ho helped establish. This, accord
ing to an artlclo lu tho New York Herald, which
goes on to say:
In this ho was at ono with other grent men bred
In tho now, freo spirit nnd atmosphere of tho
colonics. Ho did not seek to set himself over them,
but to work with them, contributing as his part In
tho strugglo his military genius nnd experiencp
nnd his carefully trained executive ability. His
Ideal was the common good. For Mint ho gnvo his
tlmo and strength unstintedly, risked his nil nnd
withdrew only when government wus so well es
tablished that It would not suffer from his retire
ment. Throughout his career tho one rowitrd ho sought
was Mint ho might partnkc, "In tho midst of my
follow citizens, tho benign Influenco of good laws
under a freo government, tho over favorite object
of my heart."
Washington, although possessing wealth and po
sition, nlthough observant of forms und ceremonies,
was I u tho best sense n democrat, a man who
sought tho samo privileges nnd opportunities for
evcrynno of his fellow citizens which he enjoyed
nnd who devoted 1Mb gifts nnd energies to that end.
That they might have thorn ho not only expended
freely his energies of mind nnd body, but ho con
stantly exhorted his fellow countrymen to prepare
themselves for tho high destiny Mint ho foresaw for
this country, first, by raising nnd equipping nn nde
quato nrmy, n task that frequently hung leaden on
Ids hands, nnd, second, by properly safeguarding
their rights nftcr they had been won.
George Washington received less education In
school than most lads of poor parentage do today.
Ho left school before ho was sixteen years old, nnd
oxcept In mathematics, In which ho had advanced
through geomotry nnd trlgonomotry, his education
did not extend beyond Mint which boys usually get
In tho grammar grades of tho public schools. What
ho studied ha know, howover, as his carefully kept
notebooks nttest. Ho manifested n special aptitude
for survoylng nnd for mllltnry nffalrs. This tasto
lod to his having n royal middy's warrant, ob
tained for him when ho was fourteen years old,
nnd only becauso of his mother's reluctnnco to
hnvo him go to England ho wns spared to light for
tho colonics Instead of becoming nn ofllccr In his
majesty's service.
lTo had been out of school only n few months
when ho got his first job ns n surveyor. It was, n
good ono, too, for Lord Fairfax, having noted tho
lnd's mental equipment nnd his Intrepidity, gave
him a commission to survoy his wild ncrc3 In tho
Shenandoah valley. So well did Washington ac
complish tho arduous tnsk Mint ho was mndo a pub
lic surveyor. Almost coincident with his entrnnco
upon n prlvirto career young Washington Identified
himself with public Interests. Fond of athletics
nnd sports as woll ns of military nffalrs, ho Joined
tho locnl militia und when nineteen years old wnB
mndo n major.
When ho wns still In his twenties ho won his first
colonelcy In his gallant but disastrous first cam
paign against tho French. It was Micro that ho
first tasted tho bitter fruits of unproparcdness.
When Washington went to Philadelphia ub n
member of tho Second Continental congress he
woro his provincial uniform, nn Instructive expres
sion of his feeling In regard to tho crisis Mint was
ito come In Its way a fulfillment of prophecy
for during tho session ho wus put at tho head of
tho Irregular nrmy nenr Boston. Ho found Mint
nirmy not only without discipline and equipment,
liut without powder. Mon who had enlisted only
for a few months ran away. Washington ardently
iippcnlcd to tho Continental nnd Provincial con
"grosses to provide for longer enlistments and nn
udequnto system of rocrultment.
Consorvntlvo und nrlstocrnt ns ho wns clnsscd,
Washington now favored tho rndlcnls, who sought
to break with tho homo government nnd sot up
their own. "I hnvo never entertained tho Iden of
nn accommodation," ho said, "alnco I heard of tho
measures which were adopted In consequenco of
tho Bunkpr Hill fight."
Ills stanch attitude wns maintained In tho midst
of disheartening experiences, not only with the
enemy In tho field, but w.lth troublemakers In his
own camp. "I know tho unhuppy predicament in
which I stand," ho wroto 5 "I know that much Is ex
pected of mo; I know that, without men, without
CANTRILL, PLAIN FARMER
nrms, without ammunition, without anything lit for
tho accommodation of a soldier, little Is to bo
dons; and, what Is mortifying, I know Mint I can
not stand Justified to tho world without exposing
my own weakness nnd Injuring tho cause by de
claring my wants. My situation has been such that
I hnvo had to uso art to conceal it oven from my
ofllccrs."
Jealousies hampered him so sorely that ho stern
ly procluimed: "Tho general most earnestly en
treat tho ofllccrs and soldiers to coiiHldor conse
quences; that wo can no wny nsslst our enemies
more Mum by making divisions among ourselves;
that Mio honor und success of tho nrmy nnd the
bafcty of our blooding country depend upon liar
many nnd good ngreement with each other; that
tho provinces tiro nil united t6 opposo tho com
mon enemy and all distinctions in tho namo of
America. To ujuku this nniia
honorable nnd to preserve the
liberty of our country ought to
bo our only emulation, nnd he
will bo tho best soldier and thf
best pntrlot who contribute!
most to this glorious work, what
over his station or from what
ever part of tho country ho may
come. Let nil distinction of na
tions, countries and provinces
thereof bo lost In tho generous
contest who shall bchavo with
tho most courugo toward tho enemy nnd tho most
kindness nnd good humor to each oMicr.
"If nny bo so lost to virtue nnd lovo of country as
to continue In such prnctlco nftcr this order they
will be severely punished and discharged from tho
service In disgrace."
After the disastrous bnttlo of Long Island Well
ington "once more took tho liberty of mentioning to
congress that no dependence could bo put In mllltin
or other troops Minn thoso enlisted nnd embodied
for a longer period than our regulations have
heretofore prescribed.
"Our liberties must of necessity bo greatly haz
arded, If not entirely lost, If their defenso Is left to
uny but n pcrmnnent standing nrmy. I menu ono
to cxlBt during war. Men who have been free and
subjected to no control cunnot bo reduced to order
In an Instant. . . .
"Thcro Is no situation on earth less enviable or
more distressing," continues Washington, "than
that person who Is nt tho hend of troops regardless
of order nnd dlscipllno and unprovided with almost
ovcry necessity. Tho dlfilcultles that hnvo sur
rounded mo since I hnvo been In tho service have
kept ray mind constantly upon the stretch; the
wounds which my feelings ns nn ofllccr havo re
ceived by n thousand things Mint hnvo happened
contrary to my expectations nnd wishes; tho ef
fect of my own conduct nnd present nppenranco of
things so little pleasing to myself ns to render It a
matter of no surprlso to mo If I stnnd cnpltnlly cen
sured by congress , . . Induce n thorough con
viction In my mind Mint it will be Impossible, unless
Micro Is n thorough change In our military system,
for mo to conduct rantters to glvo satisfaction to
tho public, which Is all tho recompense I aim nt or
ovor wish for."
This unhappy stato of things was almost wholly
duo to tho feeling manifested In scvernl sections of
the country, persisted In to tho hampering of
Washington's campaign nnd to the detriment of tho
cause. Congress wns llnnlly provnlled upon by
Washington's representations nnd tho tardily
dawning consciousness Mint war wns enovitnble
und that, being so, unproparcdness meant calamity.
On December 20, 1770, ho wroto to tho president
of congress: "Short enlistments nnd n mistaken de
pendence upon our mllltin hnvo been the origin of
all our misfortune nnd tho great accumulation of
our debt. ... I beg leavo to glvo It ns my
humble opinion Mint clghty-clght battalions nro by
no means equal to the opposition you nro to mnko,
nnd that not a moment's tlmo Is to bo lost In rais
ing n greater number, not less, in my opinion
nnd that of my ofllccrs, than ono hundred nnd ten.
... In my judgment Mils Is not n tlmo to stnnd
upon oxponso; pur funds nro not tho only object of
consideration. ... It muy bo thought Mint I
mn going a good deal out of my lino of duty to
udvlso thus frooly. A character to lose, an estate
to fortcll, tho Inestlmnblo blessings of liberty nt
stake and n life devoted must bo my excuse."
Fur from holding himself nloof nnd wanting to
keep nil power In his own hnnds, Washington wel
comed co-operntlon.
After ho hnd been Invested with tho dictatorial
powers necessitated by tho emergency of public nf
fulrs, tho Council of Safety of Now York1 apolo
gized for certain mensures they had taken In re
gard to Now York troops which wero Inter discov
ered to havo been nn Infrlngment of his nuMiorlty.
Washington replied: "I should bo unhnppy In tho
belief Mint nny part of my Icttor to you could be
construed Into tho slightest hint that you wish to
tnterfcro In tho mllltnry line. Heaven knows that
I greatly want tho nld of every good man, nnd that
thero uro not such cnvlnblo pleasures attending my
situation us to make mo too Jenlous of Its preroga
tives. Rather than complain of your efforts In tho
military way, you deserve the thanks of us nil, and
I feel myself happy In Hits opportunity of return
ing you mlno In the greatest truth and sincerity."
At Vnlley Forgo, where Washington's troops wero
almost naked, had few blankets nnd scanty food,
ho was moved to resentment ngnlnst "tho gentle
men, without knowing whether tho nrmy wns real
ly going Into winter quartern or not, roprobntlng
tho measure afe much ns If they thought tlo sol
diers wero made of slocks it ml stones und equally
Insensible of frost and snow, und, moreover, ns If
they conceived It easily practlcablo for nn Inferior
army under tho disadvantages I havo described
ours to bo to coutine a superior one, In nil respecte
well appointed, within tho Lty of Philadelphia and
to cover from depredation und waste tho states of
Pennsylvania and New Jersey. ... I can us-
"I'm no lawyer, nnd I'm no orntor.
I'm Just a plain farmer from Ken
tucky, but here's what I think."
In this wlso Jnmcs Campbell Cant
rlll, congrcssmnn from the Seventh
district of Kentucky, began a speech
Mint produced one of the most sen
sational climaxes that have been
staged In congress for a long time.
Congressman Cantrlll, long, lean,
nnd lanky, Is n Democratic member of
the rules committee of the house. But,
unlike tho other Democrntlc members
of that body, ho did not vote for tho
mnjorlty report recommending that
tho "leuk" on tho president's note bo
Indefinitely put out of the way.
What ho said was sufficient to dis
rupt the Democratic majority com
pletely nnd to stampede Mie entlro
house Into -overthrowing tho majority
report of tho committee.
It s truo that Mr. Cantrlll Is no
lawyer, but he was brought up In the
atmosphere of the law. His father, James E. Cantrlll, was the judge who
sat In tho trial of Caleb Powers. Most of his forefathers were lawyers.
Ho halls from tho richest blue-grass section of Kentucky, and Is a real
farmer. Ten years ago ho was one of tho chief orgunlzers of the tobacco
growers of his state, and figured prominently In tho exploits of the so-called
"night riders." v
Fnrmer Cantrlll has a mind quick to grasp the cssentlnls of any situation
and a logic, however roughly spoken, that Is usually Invincible.
He is n fighter through nnd through, nnd doesn't know the first sensnr
tlon of fear. He showed Mint when ho defied the leaders of his party nnd
forced them to accept his views.
WISCONSIN'S PRIZE GIRL
sure these genti-.men Mint It Is n much easier and
less distressing thing to draw up remonstrances In
n comfortable room by a good fireside Minn to oc
cupy a cold, bleak hill npd sleep under frost nnd
snow without clothes or blankets. However, al
though they seem to have little feeling for the
naked and distressed soldiers, I feel supera
bundantly for them, nnd from my soul I pity those
miseries which it Is neither In my power to relieve
nor prevent."
Wnshlncton made nerslstcnt efforts to get n
guaranty of half pay for his ofllpers after tho war,
himself having no personal Interest In the meas
ure; ho had declared from tho first that ho would
never profit by It to tho amount of n single penny.
Ho deprecated constnntly tho Jenlousy of tho mlll
tnry pnrt of tho government by the civil depart
ment. "If wo would pursuo a right system of policy,"
ho wroto to n member of congress, "In my opinion,
thero would be none of these distinctions. We
should nil, congress and army, bo considered ns one
people, embnrked In ono cause, In ono Interest,
nctlng on tho snme prlnclplo nnd to the same end."
"That I have not been nblo to make bows to the
tusto of poor Colonel B. (wlio, by tho wny, I bellevo
never saw ono of them) Is to bo regretted," he
wroto In u letter to David Stuart, "especially us
upon these occasions they wero lndlscrlmlnntely be-
stowed, nnd tho best I wns muster or. womu h
not hnvo been better to throw tho veil of charity
over them, ascribing their stiffness to tho effects of
ngo or to tho unsklllfulncss of my teacher rather
than to prldo nnd dignity of ofllco, which, God
knows, has no charms for mo? For I certainly
suy I hnd rather bo nt Mount Vernon with a friend
or two about mo than to bo attended at tho seat
of government by the ofllccrs of stntc and the rep
resentntlves of every power In Europe."
Wnshlngton explained Mint ho hnd reception
hours ovcry Tuesday from threo to four o'clock,
when gentlemen came and went, chatted with each
other and acted ns they pleased.
"At their first entrnnco thoy snluto me, and I
them nnd tnlk with as many ns I can. What pomp
there Is In nil this I nm unnblo to discover. Per
haps It consists In not sitting. To this two rensons
aro offered : It Is unusual ; a moro substantial ono,
I havo no room lnrgo enough to contnln n third of
tho chnlrs which would be sufllclent to admit It. If
It Is supposed that ostcntntlon or tho fnshlon of
courts could give rise to this custom I will boldly
nfllrm Mint no supposition wns ever more erroneouc,
for if I wero to glvo Indulgence to my Inclinations
every moment Mint I could withdraw from tho fa
Mguo of my station would bo spent In retirement.
That It Is not procecdssfroni tho senso I entertnln
of tho propriety of giving to everyone as free ac
cess ns consists with that respect which Is duo
to tho chair of government, nnd that respect I
conceive Is neither to bo ncqulred nor preserved
but by observing n Just medium between much
state, and too grent famlllnrlty."
In 1703 Washington. In his second term, us presl
dent, wroto to congress that while ho sought peace
and urged n fnlthful dlschnrgo of every duty to
ward others, ho recommended prompt measures
not only for defense, but for lnforclng Just claims.
"Thero Is a rank duo tho United States among
other nations which will bo withheld, If not abso
lutely lost, by tho reputntlon of wenkness. If wo
desire to nvold Insult wo must bo nblo to repel It;
If wo deslro to secure pence, ono of tho most pow
erful Instruments of our prosperity. It must be
known that wo are nt nil times ready for war," ho
wroto.
' As ho wished to avoid war, so ho also wishes to
nvold alliances which might Jeopardize tho peace
of tho nntlon.
"Against tho Insidious wiles of foreign Influenco
tho Jealousy of n freo people ought to bo constantly
awake," he said warnlngly.
"The grent rulo of conduct for us In regard to
foreign nations Is In extending our commercial re
lations to hnvo ns little political connection ns
possible. . . .
"If wo remain one pcoplo under nn efllclent gov
ernment, tho period Is not fur off when wo may
deny material Injury from externnl nnnoynnco;
when wo mny take such an attltudo as will cause
tho neutrality wo may at any tlmo bo resolved upon
to bo scrupulously respected ; when belligerents, un
der the Impossibility of making acquisitions upon
us, will not lightly hnznrd tho giving us provocu
tlon ; when wo mny chooso penco or war, ns our In
terests, guided by Justice, shnll counsel "
Wisconsin, ono of tho most pro
gressive of 'the states, has come for
ward tho last few years with more
new ldeus regarding government nnd
agriculture than nlmost nny other
stntc. To bo a prize winner In nny
of these lines In Wisconsin you have
to get up In tho morning nnd keep
going nil day.
The champion fnrmer girl of the
stnte, so adjudged nt the stnte fair, Is
Miss Helen M. Hatch of Lake Geneva,
and tho list of her accomplishments
sounds like the list of accomplish
ments of that most desirable of mor
tals, a good housewife.
These are some of tho things she
had to do to win tho championship:
She had to mnko her own enp and
npron; sho hnd to name 20 different
kinds of cloth ; sho had to put up one
can of carrots nnd one can of peaches ;
she had to bake a lonf of bread; she
had to make a tin of baking-powder
biscuit, the sort you used to eat at teatlme with honey when you went visit
ing with your mother. She had to prove she can darn und patch. She had
to make garments for herself out of whole cloth nnd make them well.
Miss Hatch also won tho prize as "Miss Agriculture" In the big parade at
the fair, In which she wore a costume of alfalfa, trimmed with goldcnrod.
MAN WITH PERFECT BRAIN
Thomas J. Abernethy, now half
through his senior year at Harvard,
has learned that he Is mcntnlly per
fect. The expert who tested his mental
ity nnd gnve him 100 per cent wns no
less an nuMiorlty Minn the Into Prof.
Hugo Munsterberg, who made the test
last spring nnd unnounced the result
only a few dnys before his deuth.
It surprised Thomns J. Abernethy,
'17, who wa3 adjudged perfect, as
much as It surprised anyone. Tho col
lege records shpw that ho has been
only nn nvcrnge student. Ho says
himself, "I have just about broken
even on grades."
If Abernethy has not taken ad
vantage of his natural endowments
In college, ho will stnrt on tho more
serious phase of life awaro of his ex
traordinary mentnl equipment, or
aware at least that his mentality was
lnhoiod Al" hv one of tho world's
greatest psychologists. Abernethy specialized In romance languages, having
hnd the Idea originally tliat lie nilglit go into Dusmess in aoum Auieritu. aa
now plnnB to enter the canning business with his father In his home town,
West Pembroke, Me.
"5""' jPM
LYAUTEY, MILITARY GENIUS
The now French minister of wnr
is described by Stephen jLnusnnne,
formerly editor of Lo Matin, Paris, as
follows : "As for General Lyuutey, the
now minister of wnr, In nil France Mie
premier could not hnvo found nnother
man so splendidly qualified to handlo
tho big problems of tho wnr office.
He Is a genius at organization, and I
do not think I exnggerate when I nay
ho Is perhaps tho greatest organ! ecr
that tho Frepch nrmy has ever known.
"For the last five years, General
Lyautey has been governor of Moroc
co, and In these flvo years ho brought
tho Moroccans from a stnte approach
ing savagery to quasl-clvlllzatlon. Ho
Is n grent master of efficiency, nnd
combines all tho qualities of u great
general with thoso of u grent business
man.
"General Lyautey is a natlvo of
Lorraine. Ho had a little homo not
far from Nuncy, and when the Ger
mans niado one of their raids upon that city In the early days of the war
General Lynutoy's homo was among tho first to bo looted and subsequently
destroyed, no Is between sixty nnd sixty-five years of ago and Is a member
of tho Academy and tho one member who has yet to make his presentation
speech to his colleagues.