"He is as straight as an Indian, measuring six feet two inches in his stockings, and weighing one hundred and seventy-five pounds. His head is well shaped, though not large, and is gracefully poised on a superb neck, with a large, and straight rather than prominent nose; blue-gray penetrating eyes, which are widely separated and overhung by heavy brows. A pleasing, benevolent, though commanding countenance, dark-brown hair, features regular and placid, with all the muscles under control, with a large mouth, generally firmly closed."
"He is as straight as an Indian, measuring six feet two inches in his stockings, and weighing one hundred and seventy-five pounds. His head is well shaped, though not large, and is gracefully poised on a superb neck, with a large, and straight rather than prominent nose; blue-gray penetrating eyes, which are widely separated and overhung by heavy brows. A pleasing, benevolent, though commanding countenance, dark-brown hair, features regular and placid, with all the muscles under control, with a large mouth, generally firmly closed."
Houdon's bust accords with this description.
To the man of all men for whom his manly heart felt most tenderness, to Lafayette, it is that he wrote the beautiful letter of February 1, 1784, unaware that his rest was only temporary, and that he was to become the first President of the country he had given life to:
"At length, my dear marquis, I am become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, and under the shadow of my own vine and my own fig-tree, free from the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life, I am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments of which the soldier who is ever in pursuit of fame, the statesman whose watchful days and sleepless nights are spent in devising schemes to promote the welfare of his own, perhaps the ruin of other countries, as if the globe was insufficient for us all ... can have very little conception. I have not only retired from all public employments, but I am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk of private life with heart-felt satisfaction. Envious of none, I am determined to be pleased with all; and this, my dear friend, being the order for my march, I will move gently down the stream of life until I sleep with my fathers."
"At length, my dear marquis, I am become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, and under the shadow of my own vine and my own fig-tree, free from the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life, I am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments of which the soldier who is ever in pursuit of fame, the statesman whose watchful days and sleepless nights are spent in devising schemes to promote the welfare of his own, perhaps the ruin of other countries, as if the globe was insufficient for us all ... can have very little conception. I have not only retired from all public employments, but I am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk of private life with heart-felt satisfaction. Envious of none, I am determined to be pleased with all; and this, my dear friend, being the order for my march, I will move gently down the stream of life until I sleep with my fathers."
J. J. Jusserand
Among these men whose union in purpose and action made the strength and stability of the republic, Washington was first, not only in the largeness of his nature, the loftiness of his desires, and the vigor of his will, but also in that representative quality which makes a man able to stand as the true hero of a great people. He had an instinctive power to divine, amid the confusions of rival interests and the cries of factional strife, the new aims and hopes, the vital needs and aspirations, which were the common inspiration of the people's cause and the creative forces of the American nation. The power to understand this, the faith to believe in it, and the unselfish courage to live for it, was the central factor of Washington's life, the heart and fountain of his splendid Americanism.
Henry van Dyke
"How did George Washington look?" asked Nell;"What was he like? Won't you please to tell?"Thus I answered: "A courtly man,Wearing his honors as heroes can.Erect and tall, with his six feet two;Knee-breeches, buckles, frills and queue;Powdered brown hair; blue eyes, far apart;Strong-limbed and fearless, with gentle heart;Gracious in manner toward every one—Such, my Nellie, was Washington."
"How did George Washington look?" asked Nell;"What was he like? Won't you please to tell?"Thus I answered: "A courtly man,Wearing his honors as heroes can.Erect and tall, with his six feet two;Knee-breeches, buckles, frills and queue;Powdered brown hair; blue eyes, far apart;Strong-limbed and fearless, with gentle heart;Gracious in manner toward every one—Such, my Nellie, was Washington."
Washington one day came across a small band of soldiers working very hard at raising some military works, under command of a pompous little officer, who was issuing his orders in a peremptory style indeed.
Washington, seeing the very arduous task of the men, dismounted from his horse, lent a helping hand, perspiring freely, till the weight at which they were working was raised.
Then, turning to the officer, he inquired why he, too, had not helped, and received the indignant reply: "Don't you know I'm the corporal?"
"Ah, well," said Washington, "next time your men are raising so heavy a weight, send for your commander-in-chief." And he strode off, leaving the corporal dumbfounded.
An American sailor landing in England shortly after the close of the War of the Revolution took a first-class seat in a stage coach, but was told to get out, as such seats were reserved for gentlemen. "I am a gentleman," said the sailor. "Who made gentlemen out of fellows like you?" asked the coach guard. "George Washington," said the sailor; and he kept his seat.
No nobler figure ever stood in the forefront of a nation's life. Washington was grave and courteous in address; his manners were simple and unpretending, his silence and the serene calmness of his temper spoke of a perfect self-mastery; but there was little in his outer bearing to reveal the grandeur of soul which lifts his figure, with all the simple majesty of an ancient statue, out of the smaller passions, the meaner impulses of the world around him. What recommended him for command was simply his weight among his fellow landowners of Virginia, and the experience of war which he had gained by service in border contests with the French and the Indians, as well as in Braddock's luckless expedition against Fort Duquesne. It was only as the weary fight went on that the colonists learned little by little the greatness of their leader, his clear judgment, his heroic endurance, his silence under difficulties, his calmness in the hour of danger or defeat, the patience with which he waited, the quickness and hardness with which he struck, the lofty and serene sense of duty that never swerved from its task through resentment or jealousy, that never through war or peace felt the touch of a meaner ambition, that knew no aim save that of guarding the freedom of his fellow countrymen, and no personal longing save that of returning to his own fireside when their freedom was secured. It was almost unconsciously that men learned to cling to Washington with a trust and faith such as few other men have won, and to regard him with a reverence which still hushes us in presence of his memory. Even America hardly recognized his real greatness till death set its seal on "the man first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his fellow countrymen."
J. R. Green
Washington is the mightiest name on earth, long since mightiest in the cause of civil liberty, still mightiest in moral reformation. On that name a eulogy is expected. It cannot be. To add brightness to the sun or glory to the name of Washington is alike impossible. Let none attempt it. In solemn awe pronounce the name, and in its naked, deathless splendor leave it shining on.
Abraham Lincoln
LIFE OF WASHINGTON[E]
[E]Reprinted by permission from "The Book of Holidays," by J. W. McSpadden. Copyright 1917 by Thomas Y. Crowell Company.
[E]Reprinted by permission from "The Book of Holidays," by J. W. McSpadden. Copyright 1917 by Thomas Y. Crowell Company.
The story of George Washington's life has been often told, but it is worth repeating. It was an active, busy life from his earliest days, beginning as it did away back in Colonial times when the country was wild and unsettled. Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1732. There is no reliable record of his early education, but it has been supposed that the first school he ever attended was a little old field school kept by one of his father's tenants, named Hobby, who was both sexton and schoolmaster. Even at this early age George was fond of playing at war. He used to divide his playmates into parties and armies. One of them was called the French and the other American. A big boy named William Bustle commanded the French, and George commanded the Americans. Every day, with cornstalks for muskets and gourds for drums, the two armies would turn out and march and fight.
George was not remarkable as a scholar, but he had a liking for mathematics. He was of a more serious turn of mind than most boys of his age. His last two years at school were devoted to engineering, geometry, trigonometry, and surveying, and at sixteen years of age he was appointed a public surveyor. His new employment brought him a handsome salary, and well it might; for it took him into the perils and hardships of the wilderness, often meeting savage chieftains, or fording swollen streams, climbing rugged mountains, breasting furious storms, wading through snowdrifts, sleeping in the open air, and living upon the coarse food of hunters and of Indians. But everywhere he gained the admiration of the backwoodsmen and the Indians by his manly bearing and his wonderful endurance.
In the year 1751 the frontiers of the colony of Virginia were constantly being attacked by the French and the Indians, so it was decided to divide the colony into military districts under a major; and when he was but nineteen, George Washington received one of these appointments. Two years later he was sent to the French, who were becoming threatening, to find out their intentions and to warn them against invading Virginian territory. This important mission made it necessary for him to journey six hundred miles through the wilderness; but he carried out his instructions successfully, and traveled the whole distance without an escort....
In 1755 George Washington served under the British officer, General Braddock, showing great bravery under fire at the battle of Monongahela, against the French and Indians, which would probably not have been lost if the general had taken Washington's advice.
In 1759 Washington married a widow named Martha Custis, with two children, John and Martha Parke Custis. He was a great favorite with the two youngsters, and used to order toys, dolls, and gingerbreads forthem from London. Mrs. Custis had a large estate and so had Washington, and the management cf them took up all of his time.
When the disputes between England and the American colonies were at their height, in 1774, he became a member of the First Continental Congress, and the following year was chosen by that body Commander-in-Chief of the Continental army. For this position his training and his surveying experiences had thoroughly fitted him. He took command of the troops at Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 3, 1775; but it was a poor army that he found under him. It was in want of arms, ammunition, and general equipment. Washington, however, kept it together with patience and skill during the trying years of the Revolution. The war lasted six years and ended with the surrender of the British commander, Cornwallis, at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. During all this time Washington had had to contend with the greatest difficulties. The troops were poorly paid or equipped; often there were disputes among the officers, and Congress did not know the army's needs; but the General always kept the confidence of his men until victory was assured....
In 1783 Washington bade farewell to his army, and for the next six years lived the simple life of a country gentleman on his estate at Mount Vernon, attending to the affairs of his homestead and property.
In 1789 he was again called from private life, to become first president of the United States. Congress was sitting at New York, for which city he started, in April. He disliked fuss and ceremony, but the people could not be restrained from showing their love and admiration. His progress through New Jersey was amid constant cheering, ringing of bells, and the booming of cannon. At Elizabethtown he embarked on a splendid barge, followed by other barges and boats, making a long water procession up the Bay of New York, the ships in the harbor being decorated with colors, and firing salutes as it passed. The inauguration took place on April 30, 1789, at the old City Hall, in Wall Street, Broad Street being crowded with thousands of people as far as the eye could reach. In 1793, he was re-elected for a second term of four years, after which he bade farewell to the people and retired into private life. On the 12th of December, 1799, he caught a severe cold in making the round of his plantations and died two days later, in his sixty-eighth year. In number of years he had not lived a long life, but how much was crowded into it!
Most of the portraits of Washington show him as a serious-looking gentleman in a wig, and the earliest biographies of him would lead us to believe that he was always on his dignity. But our first president was, in fact, a very genial man, with a hearty laugh, who enjoyed going to the theater, was fond of fox-hunting and was a thorough sportsman, and, as he himself admitted, had a hot temper. Towards young people and children he was always very gracious and kind....
Like Lincoln, Washington was very athletic. Both of our two great presidents were tall men: Washington was six feet two inches; Lincoln was six feet four. When he first visited the Natural Bridge, in Virginia, Washington threw a stone to the top, a distance of about twohundred feet, and, climbing the rocks, carved his name far above all others....
In all the positions which he was called upon to fill, in his remarkable life, whether as host at his home, as surveyor, as general, or as president, Washington showed the same desire to give the best that was in him for his people, his country, and for humanity at large. He endeared himself to the lowly and he gained the admiration of the great. He was never influenced by mean motives, and those who were under him loved him. Thus it was that among Americans he came to be regarded as "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen;" and when his death became known on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the armies of Napoleon in France, and the fleet of Great Britain, his former enemy, did homage to his memory.
Washington's birthday was celebrated even during his lifetime, and he had the satisfaction of receiving the congratulations of his fellow-citizens many times upon the return of this day, frequently being a guest at banquets given in honor of the occasion. In fact, after the Revolution, Washington's birthday practically took the place of the birthday of the various crowned heads of Great Britain, which had always been celebrated with enthusiasm during colonial times. When independence was established, all these royal birthdays were cast aside, and the birthday of Washington naturally became one of the most widely celebrated of American holidays....
Let us not forget what we owe to Washington, or make him merely a name—an excuse for a holiday. Let us remember him as a real, flesh and blood man—one of the greatest known to history.
He gave us a nation to make it immortal;He laid down for Freedom the sword that he drew;And his faith leads us on through the uplifting portalOf the glories of peace and our destinies new.
He gave us a nation to make it immortal;He laid down for Freedom the sword that he drew;And his faith leads us on through the uplifting portalOf the glories of peace and our destinies new.
J. Walker McSpadden
SELECTIONS FROM THE RULES OF CIVILITY
(Copied by Washington at the age of fourteen from an old translation of a French book of 1595.)
Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another, though he were your enemy.
When you see a crime punished you may be inwardly pleased; but always show pity to the suffering offender.
Superfluous compliments and all affectation of ceremony are to be avoided; yet, where due, they are not to be neglected.
When a man does all he can, though it succeed not well, blame not him that did it.
Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the disparagement of any.
In your apparel be modest, and endeavor to accommodate Nature, rather than to procure admiration; keep to the fashion of your equals.
Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company.
Speak not injurious words neither in jest nor in earnest; scoff at none, although they give occasion.
Gaze not at the marks or blemishes of others, and ask not how they came. What you may speak in secret to your friend, deliver not before others.
Nothing but harmony, honest industry, and frugality are necessary to make us a great people. First impressions are generally the most lasting. It is therefore absolutely necessary, if you mean to make any figure upon the stage, that you should take the first steps right.
There is a destiny which has the control of our actions not to be resisted by the strongest efforts of Human Nature.
Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distresses of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse; remembering always the widow's mite, but that it is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all, however, are worthy the inquiry, or the deserving may suffer.
I consider storms and victory under the direction of a wise Providence, who no doubt directs them for the best purposes, and to bring round the greatest degree of happiness to the greatest number.
Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a person's mind, than on the externals in the world.
To constitute a dispute there must be two parties. To understand it well, both parties and all the circumstances must be fully heard; and to accommodate differences, temper and mutual forbearance are requisite.
Idleness is disreputable under any circumstances; productive of no good, even when unaccompanied by vicious habits.
It is not uncommon in prosperous gales to forget that adverse winds blow.
Economy in all things is as commendable in the manager, as it is beneficial and desirable to the employer.
It is unfortunate when men cannot or will not see danger at a distance; or seeing it, are undetermined in the means which are necessary to avert or keep it afar off.
Every man who is in the vigor of life ought to serve his country in whatever line it requires, and he is fit for.
Rise early, that by habit it may become familiar, agreeable, healthy, and profitable. It may, for a while, be irksome to do this, but that will wear off; and the practice will produce a rich harvest forever thereafter, whether in public or in private walks of life.
SAID BY WASHINGTON
To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.
There is a rank due to the United States among nations which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness.
The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.
The very idea of the power and right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government.
If there was the same propensity in mankind for investigating the motives, as there is for censuring the conduct, of public characters, it would be found that the censure so freely bestowed is oftentimes unmerited and uncharitable.
Where is the man to be found who wishes to remain indebted for the defense of his own person and property to the exertions, the bravery, and the blood of others, without making one generous effort to repay the debt of honor and gratitude?
There is no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity.
Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake.
The name American must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism.
To the efficacy and permanency of your union a government for the whole is indispensable.
Every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest should be indignantly frowned upon.
Let us impart all the blessings we possess, or ask for ourselves, to the whole family of mankind.
Let us erect a standard to which the wise and honest may repair.
'Tis substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.
It is incumbent upon every person of every description to contribute to his country's welfare.
It would be repugnant to the vital principles of our government virtually to exclude from public trusts, talents and virtue, unless accompanied by wealth.
Give such encouragements to our own navigation as will render our commerce less dependent on foreign bottoms.
I have never made an appointment from a desire to serve a friend or relative.
Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, conscience.
WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL TO THE ARMY
(Dated at Rocky Hill, near Princeton, New Jersey, November 2, 1783)
It is universally acknowledged that the enlarged prospects of happiness, opened by the confirmation of our independence and sovereignty, almost exceed the power of description. And shall not the brave men who have contributed so essentially to these inestimable acquisitions, retiring victorious from the field of war to the field of agriculture, participate in all the blessings which have been obtained? In such a republic, who will exclude them from the rights of citizens and the fruits of their labor?
To those hardy soldiers who are actuated by the spirit of adventure, the fisheries will afford ample and profitable employment; and the extensive and fertile regions of the West will yield a most happy asylum to those who, fond of domestic enjoyment, are seeking personal independence.
Little is now wanting to enable the soldier to change the military character into that of a citizen but that steady and decent behavior which has distinguished not only the army under this immediate command, but the different detachments and separate armies through the course of the war. To the various branches of the army the General takes this last and solemn opportunity of professing his inviolable attachment and friendship. He can only again offer in their behalf his recommendations to their grateful country and his prayers to the God of armies. May ample justice be done them here, and may favors, both here and hereafter, attend those who, under the divine auspices, have secured innumerable blessings for others!
With these wishes and this benediction the commander-in-chief is about to retire from service. The curtain of separation will soon be drawn, and the military scene to him will be closed forever!
WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS
(To the People of the United States—September 17, 1796)
Friends and Fellow-Citizens:
The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive Government of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who is to be clothed with that important trust it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made....
Statue of Washington at West PointPresented to the United States Military Academy by a Veteran of the Civil WarCopyright by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.
In looking forward to the moment which is intended to terminate the career of my public life my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred upon me; still more for the steadfast confidence with which it has supported me, and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, by services faithful and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits have resulted to our country from these services, let it always be remembered to your praise, and as an instructive example in our annals, that under circumstances in which the passions, agitated in every direction, were liable to mislead, amidst appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of fortune often discouraging, in situations in which not unfrequently want of success has countenanced the spirit of criticism, the constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans by which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free Constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will acquire for them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection and adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it.
Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments, which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all important to the permanency of your felicity as a People.
Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.
The unity of government, which constitutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it, accustoming yourself to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation withjealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can, in any event, be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.
For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name 'American,' which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.
But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those which apply more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the union of the whole....
To the efficacy and permanency of your union a government for the whole is indispensable. No alliances, however strict, between the parts can be an adequate substitute; they must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions which all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay by the adoption of a constitution of government better calculated than your former for an intimate union and for the efficacious management of your common concerns. This government, the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers uniting security with energy and containing within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government.
All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give an artificial and extraordinary force: to put in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphsof different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels, and modified by mutual interests....
Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular opposition to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however specious the pretext. One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the constitution, alterations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of government as of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion; and remember, especially, that, for the efficient management of your common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprise of faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property....
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle....
Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.
As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible, avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulationof debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your representatives, but it is necessary that the public opinion should cooperate....
Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence.
TRIBUTES
The life of our Washington cannot suffer by a comparison with those of other countries who have been most celebrated and exalted by fame. The attributes and decorations of royalty could have only served to eclipse the majesty of those virtues which made him, from being a modest citizen, a more resplendent luminary.
Malice could never blast his honor, and envy made him a single exception to her universal rule. For himself he had lived enough to life and to glory. For his fellow-citizens, if their prayers could have been answered, he would have been immortal. His example is complete, and it will teach wisdom and virtue to magistrates, citizens, and men, not only in the present age, but in future generations, as long as our history shall be read.
John Adams
Washington stands alone and unapproachable like a snow peak rising above its fellows into the clear air of morning, with a dignity, constancy, and purity which have made him the ideal type of civic virtue to succeeding generations.
James Bryce
First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of private life, pious, just, humane, temperate, and sincere, uniform, dignified, and commanding, his example was as edifying to all around him, as were the effects of that example lasting.
Henry Lee
Others of our great men have been appreciated—many admired by all. But him we love. Him we all love. About and around him we call up no dissentient and discordant and dissatisfied elements, no sectional prejudice nor bias, no party, no creed, no dogma of politics. None of these shall assail him. When the storm of battle blows darkest and rages highest, the memory of Washington shall nerve every American arm andcheer every American heart. It shall relume that Promethean fire, that sublime flame of patriotism, that devoted love of country, which his words have commended, which his example has consecrated.
Rufus Choate
Let a man fasten himself to some great idea, some large truth, some noble cause, even in the affairs of this world, and it will send him forward with energy, with steadfastness, with confidence. This is what Emerson meant when he said: "Hitch your wagon to a star." These are the potent, the commanding, the enduring men—in our own history, men like Washington and Lincoln. They may fail, they may be defeated, they may perish; but onward moves the cause, and their souls go marching on with it, for they are part of it, they have believed in it.
Henry van Dyke
Brave without temerity, laborious without ambition, generous without prodigality, noble without pride, virtuous without severity—Washington seems always to have confined himself within those limits where the virtues, by clothing themselves in more lively but more changeable and doubtful colors, may be mistaken for faults. Inspiring respect, he inspires confidence, and his smile is always the smile of benevolence.
Marquis Chastelleux
Great without pomp, without ambition brave,Proud, not to conquer fellow-men, but save;Friend to the weak, a foe to none but thoseWho plan their greatness on their brethren's woes;Aw'd by no titles—undefil'd by lust—Free without faction—obstinately just;Warm'd by religion's sacred, genuine ray,That points to future bliss the unerring way;Yet ne'er control'd by superstition's laws,That worst of tyrants in the noblest cause.
Great without pomp, without ambition brave,Proud, not to conquer fellow-men, but save;Friend to the weak, a foe to none but thoseWho plan their greatness on their brethren's woes;Aw'd by no titles—undefil'd by lust—Free without faction—obstinately just;Warm'd by religion's sacred, genuine ray,That points to future bliss the unerring way;Yet ne'er control'd by superstition's laws,That worst of tyrants in the noblest cause.
From a London Newspaper
BIBLIOGRAPHY
See Bibliographyat end of monograph.
ARBOR DAY
Second Friday in April
TREES
I think that I shall never seeA poem lovely as a tree;A tree whose hungry mouth is prestAgainst the earth's sweet flowing breast;A tree that looks at God all dayAnd lifts her leafy arms to pray;A tree that may in summer wearA nest of robins in her hair;Upon whose bosom snow has lain,Who intimately lives with rain.Poems are made by fools like me,But only God can make a tree.
I think that I shall never seeA poem lovely as a tree;
A tree whose hungry mouth is prestAgainst the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all dayAnd lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wearA nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain,Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,But only God can make a tree.
Joyce Kilmer
ARBOR DAY
FOREWORD IN PAMPHLET ON ARBOR DAY ISSUED IN 1913
The following are the provisions of the statutes of the State concerning the observance of Arbor Day:
The day in each year known as Arbor Day shall be suitably observed in the public schools. The Commissioner of Education shall from time to time prepare and issue to schools such circulars of information, advice and instruction with reference to the day as he may deem necessary.For the purpose of encouraging the planting of shade and forest trees, the second Friday of April in each year is hereby designated as a day for the general observance of such purpose, and to be known as Arbor Day.On said day appropriate exercises shall be introduced in all the schools of the State, and it shall be the duty of the several county and city superintendents to prepare a program of exercises for that day in all the schools under their respective jurisdiction.
The day in each year known as Arbor Day shall be suitably observed in the public schools. The Commissioner of Education shall from time to time prepare and issue to schools such circulars of information, advice and instruction with reference to the day as he may deem necessary.
For the purpose of encouraging the planting of shade and forest trees, the second Friday of April in each year is hereby designated as a day for the general observance of such purpose, and to be known as Arbor Day.
On said day appropriate exercises shall be introduced in all the schools of the State, and it shall be the duty of the several county and city superintendents to prepare a program of exercises for that day in all the schools under their respective jurisdiction.
You will notice that Arbor Day now occurs on the second Friday of April, the Legislature of 1912 having changed the date.
It is believed that Arbor Day may not only be devoted to the consideration of the value of trees and forests, including, of course, the planting of trees and shrubs, but that it may also be used to direct attention to birds and their protection, to the importance of the school garden, and to other related matters. The conservation of some of our natural resources might well be considered as the broad theme of the day, the main emphasis, however, being placed on trees.
Much of the contents of this pamphlet will afford suggestive material for the use of teachers at any appropriate time. The general information given may be of help to many teachers throughout the spring months. The discussions of the various subjects presented may afford valuable reading material in the grammar schools.
The main purpose of the pamphlet is to give an impetus to the movement for a greater interest in our natural resources, and the movement for a greater appreciation of the opportunities offered by rural or semi-rural life. It is hoped that the suggestions made are such as may appeal to the interests of children.
It is hoped that Arbor Day may be a profitable one to the pupils in the schools. It is further hoped that the influence of the contents of the pamphlet may not be confined to any one day, but may be extended to many days of the school year.
Calvin N. KendallCommissioner of Education
LETTER ISSUED TO SCHOOL OFFICIALS IN 1919
Arbor Day will occur this year on Friday, April 11. An announcement concerning it may be found in the March number of the Education Bulletin.
It has been happily suggested by Secretary Houston of the Department of Agriculture at Washington that the day be observed in part this year by planting trees upon our roadways, in our yards, and in our pleasure places, each tree being named for a soldier who has fallen in the late War. Such trees would be appropriate memorials to these soldiers.
I suggest that this particular year there be wide-spread planting of trees dedicated to those whose lives have been sacrificed in the War. The planting of the trees should be marked with some appropriate exercises and these exercises should take on more than a school significance. The whole community should be invited by the school to take part.
I trust there may be a generous response on the part of the schools of New Jersey to this idea.
Calvin N. KendallCommissioner of Education
TREES AND FORESTS
ALFRED GASKILL, STATE FORESTER
Save What We Have, Let Planting Come After
When the farmers of Nebraska, led by J. Sterling Morton, established Arbor Day in 1872, they sought the threefold blessing that trees always give—shade from the summer sun, shelter from winter winds, and wood. These men found the broad prairies of the Middle West practically treeless and they soon discovered that unless nature's fault was remedied the homes they hoped to make could be neither pleasant, nor secure, nor successful.
In New Jersey, as in all parts of the East, conditions were and are different. The whole state was originally unbroken forest, and the task of the pioneers was to make room for fields and settlements. Nearly half our area (46 per cent) is still forest, though the greater part has been reduced to a woefully poor condition. Thus ifourfestival is to serveourneeds, we will celebrate Arbor Day in such, a way that we shall learn to improve the forests we have rather than seek to make more; to protect and care for the trees we have as well as to plant more; to get rid of false impressions and broaden our understanding of the relations between tree life and human society.
New Jersey cannot spare more land for forests. She now has upwards of two million acres, and if we apply the rule that a state with 30 per cent of her area in forests is well off, we shall reduce the total to about a million and a half acres. But this will adjust itself; our present concern is to stop the waste of our forest resources and bring them to serve one of the most highly organized communities in the nation.
With respect to trees, as distinguished from forests, this intensive life and concentrated population make it imperative that cities and towns be provided with parks and as much street shade as possible. Thus there are two ample fields for study and work, the one dealing with trees and their social bearings, the other with forests and their economic relations.
The art of caring fortreesis called arboriculture, and one who devotes himself to it an arborist. The art of producing and developing tree communities, orforests, is silviculture or forestry.
HOW TREES LIVE AND GROW
The intimate study of trees is full of interest. The sap, consisting of raw food material gathered by the root hairs from the soil, courses upward, through the newer wood cells of trunk and branch, to the leaves; there, under the action of sunlight, it is assimilated with carbon dioxide, and, so prepared as tree food, passes downward through the newer bark. Thus, the process never entirely suspended, even in winter, but varying in vigor with the seasons, the tree grows in stature by producing new shoots each year. No part of a tree that has concluded a season's growth is ever elongated, but remains fixed, and length is added to its terminal by the development of new buds. This is why a branch always remains at the height at which it started. On account of this fact the age of a tree or branch may be determined by counting back from the terminal one year for each section of development. On most deciduous trees this is hard to follow for more than a few years, but on the evergreens, which produce their branches in whorls, it is easy. On the other hand, diameter growth may continue indefinitely and is exhibited on any cross-section in a series of annualrings. A count of these rings will give the age of the tree at that point.
Other interesting things to know are the means by which trees support themselves upright, even in severe storms; how they support the weight of heavy branches; and how the various species differ in the form, color, texture of their bark. Then the flowers and fruits. Few people know that the early spring awakening of the silver maple is marked by the appearance of its flowers weeks before the leaves come out, or that pines and oaks have flowers at all. And so with the fruits: willows produce catkins; chestnuts, burs; elms, samaras; spruce, cones.
KNOWING THE TREES
And then one who is fond of trees will not be satisfied until he can recognize and name at least the commoner kinds. This is field work for many seasons, for the variations as well as the fixed characters must be observed, and there are at least a hundred species to be found in New Jersey. The student will soon want a handbook like Collins and Preston's "Key to Trees," but without that he will distinguish the two great groups—evergreen and deciduous. The evergreens are also called conifers because the fruit of most of them is a cone. Almost all are ornamental but none is suitable for the street. Their wood is commonly called soft, though that of many species is quite hard, and forms the great bulk of coarse lumber used for building, etc.
Deciduous trees are so called because their leaves fall at the beginning of winter. There are many more kinds or species of these than of evergreens and their forms and characters are more varied. A few have recognized values as shade trees; many more are interesting or attractive in the park or on the lawn; others are never found outside the forest. By way of contrast with that of the conifers, the wood of deciduous trees is called hard, though many kinds are quite soft, and the trees themselves hardwoods. Hardwood lumber is often very beautiful, and is used for many purposes besides furniture, but the world could better get along without it than without soft woods.
SHADE TREES
One is attracted to a noble oak, a graceful hemlock, a beautifully colored maple, and wants to live with it and its kind. This desire deserves to be satisfied, and can be satisfied by encouraging the planting of trees where they will reduce the glare and heat of city streets;on lawns and in parks they are more at home and can be treated so that the beauty of individuals and the values of groups or masses can be brought out. Especially should they find place upon every school ground so that the attention of the children may be constantly drawn to these hungry, thirsty, breakable, burnable, beautiful friends of man.
The kinds of trees that may be planted upon a city street are few, for the life is so hard that only the hardiest can stand it. If we name Norway Maple, Ginkgo, Sycamore, White Elm, Red Oak, the list of the best is exhausted. Others may often be planted where conditions are favorable, and for lawns and parks the list of availables is almost endless, but in any case the wisest course is to avoid novelties and get some one who is experienced to do the planting.
But more important than to plant a tree is to protect and develop one already in the right place. This applies especially to trees beside country roads. A newly planted tree has a precarious hold on life for several years, whereas an old one has survived many dangers. Let, therefore, the care of the trees that are found in place be the first concern. Guard them from all that may increase their infirmities, keep in check the insects that seek to destroy them, have their wounds attended to and their branches pruned where necessary. This is work for one who knows how, not for the butcher who "tops" a tree "to make it grow"; or for the "tree doctor" who uses cement without knowing whether it will do good or do harm. Reputable men can be found to do any work of this kind. Under wise direction there should be no hesitation about cutting down a tree that is in the way. In many places houses and streets are too much shaded.
The fundamental idea to be grasped is that every tree is an organism; in one view an individual, in another a community. We must satisfy at least its strongest requirements or it cannot live. To the extent that all are satisfied is the tree healthy and vigorous.
FORESTS
As with trees so with the tree communities called forests. Our duty in New Jersey is to improve the forests we have rather than to concern ourselves about getting more. Of course, waste land may be redeemed by planting with trees, but where there is a remnant of the old forest, nature can be trusted to bring another if she is given a fair chance. The forest secured in this way may not yield so much lumber as one that was planted, and it will not satisfy a forester, but it will answer our most immediate needs, and can be secured more quickly than any other.
And again, as with trees, let no one fear to have a forest cut off when its time comes. Forest trees were made for use and if they are not used as they mature, nature will get rid of them by decay. That this must be so will appear when one observes that in any piece of native woods room is made for young trees by the fall of old ones that have lived their term.
WHY FORESTS ARE GOOD
Nature clothed most of the habitable earth with forests of one kind or another and evidently meant that they should serve mankind. This they do by furnishing wood for shelter and for warmth (seven-eighths of the people of the world still use wood for fuel), by providing grateful shade in summer and protection from cold winds in winter, by preventing the soil on steep hillsides from being lost by erosion, by regulating the flow of streams. The contention that forests cause rainfall, or materially influence the climate of a country, is not established. The weight of evidence indicates that forests thrive in proportion to the rainfall rather than that the rain falls in proportion to the extent of forests. And in respect to stream flow we must distinguish between a mountainous or hilly country and a country that is flat; and whether the rain commonly falls in brief, heavy storms or in frequent gentle showers. For instance, we can say with assurance that in North Jersey a forested watershed will discharge a purer, more regular stream than one that is unforested, while in South Jersey the influence of the forest upon the streams is negligible.
THE FORESTS OF NEW JERSEY
As the climate of New Jersey is much the same in all parts, the character of our forests is determined chiefly by soil conditions. Fortunately we have a great diversity, and between the northern and southern sections, strong contrasts. The line separating these sections is nowhere sharply defined but is commonly assumed to run more or less irregularly from Long Branch to Salem.
The forests of North Jersey, supported by soils of considerable fertility, are almost universally of the mixed hardwood type common to the greater part of the central United States east of the Mississippi River. That is, they are composed of a variety of deciduous trees in which are many oaks, chestnut, beech, several maples, ashes, hickories, elms, birches, etc. As exceptions or variants to the type are swampy areas in which black spruce and hemlock are dominant, and sterile mountain crests bearing the pitch pine and scrub oak of the poorestSouth Jersey sands. This kind of forest, in which each species occupies the position to which it is best adapted, and from which therefore all competitors are excluded, is considered by ecologists the most highly developed vegetable society.
And about and among these forests is the most fully developed human society—villages, towns and cities.
Practically all these forests have been several times cut over and many times burned. Individual trees about settlements are often noble and imposing, and occasional groves of fine trees are found, but the forest is only a reminder of what it was—and a promise of what it may be.
In South Jersey the contrast with North Jersey is emphasized in every way. Instead of hills and valleys the land is level or gently rolling. Near the Delaware and at numerous points in the interior are fertile soils and thriving communities, but much of the territory is characterized by sand and forests of pine, with an undergrowth of scrub oak, often covering hundreds of thousands of acres. This condition justifies the common name of the region "The Pines," though variations in soil frequently give rise to considerable areas of tree oaks, and swamps of white cedar border many of the streams.
On the sandy land profitable agriculture is full of uncertainties; but forestry is not, for there the pitch pine, though burned almost to extinction by the fires that for years swept annually across the level reaches, persists and wherever given a few years' immunity from fire, sends up its arms of living green. Here is the great forest area of the state; one of those tracts fitted by nature to maintain trees of a single kind, or single class. These "pure" forests, so called in contrast to the mixed forests of richer regions, are found in the southern states, in the far North and in the Rocky Mountains. They are easily developed, easily logged, and always will be, as they now are, the chief source of the world's lumber supply.
FIRE
The key to the forest problem in New Jersey, as in every state, is the control of fire. A few years ago it was an undenied fact that more forest was destroyed by fire every year than by the ax. Burning the forest to make plow-land was justifiable when trees were an encumbrance, but the practice got us into bad habits. From being a servant, fire became a master. Without fires, we in New Jersey can and will have all the forest we need; with fires, that which is bad becomes worse.
The lesson for Arbor Day, and for every day, therefore, is to urge and require that no forest shall be burned. It is good fun to sit about a camp-fire, yet the danger that the fire will escape and do harm is great. Even a surface-fire that apparently burns only dry leaves, and is often set for that purpose, will kill the young trees that are just starting on the struggle for life. Fortunately New Jersey is getting her fires under control. Firewardens are located wherever there are forests; their duty is to prevent fires by every means possible, and if a fire is started they must summon men to put it out. The forests are already responding to this protection and proving their ability to take care of themselves when relieved of the frightful handicap that has been upon them for generations.
PRACTICAL FORESTRY
Though fire control will make a forest where conditions are favorable as here, the skill of a forester is needed to make it a good and a productive forest. Here is applied a knowledge that is more intimate than that which serves to recognize a tree or to provide for its physical well-being. The successful forester must be a practical scientist in many departments; must have executive ability and be a capable business man. All who cannot meet these requirements should be discouraged from seeking to make forestry their profession.
PARKS
Every urban community needs parks where those who live in close quarters can find fresh air. And a state with many cities must make it possible for the people to get into the open—not for an hour only, but for days and weeks. New Jersey can do this in the woodlands that are so near to most of the large cities. It is not always necessary that the state take title to the land; few owners object to reasonable use and almost all would gladly remove every restriction if they were assured that the privilege would not be abused.
The timber forests of continental Europe are universally used as great public parks. Good roads make all parts accessible and the tourists are so accustomed to behave themselves that no serious harm is done. We can have ample parks of this kind at no more cost than assuring the owners' material interests.
STATE AID
The state of New Jersey is prepared to help its citizens in any interest connected with the soil. The State Forester, Trenton, will advise individuals or communities regarding the care of shade trees and the planting or management of forests. The Agricultural Experiment Station, New Brunswick, and the Department of Agriculture, Trenton, will afford similar assistance upon any subject connected with farms, orchards or gardens. Anyone who wants to know about any of these subjects has the right to ask questions and to seek advice.
ARBOR DAY MAY BE OBSERVED BY PLANTING A HAMILTON GROVE
CHARLES A. PHILHOWER, SUPERVISING PRINCIPAL, WESTFIELD
The following fitting observance of Arbor Day, commemorating an historic incident in the life of Alexander Hamilton, was conducted in Mindowaskin Park, Westfield, April 12, 1918. The program took its origin from the following narrative: