By JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN EORGE WASHINGTON was the Father of His Country. And don't you forget it ! If you do, you will feel lonesome. For the American people haven't forgotten It and are not forgetting it. On the contrary the American people are getting to think more and more of George Washington with every succeeding year. They are trying to got a clearer mental vision of George. For a time George 'was too great and good and perfect to be true. Now the people are trying to visualize George as a regular fellow. For example, William Koscoe Thayer has just brought out "George Washington," Intended to be the definite one-volume biography of Washington. Mr. Thayer's purpose as expressed in his preface has been to give a sketch of George Washington's life and acts, which should disclose "the human residue" which he felt sure must persist in Wash ington's character. "No other great man in his tory," lie says, "has had to live down sueli a mass of absurdities and deliberate false inventions," in cluding the picture of an imaginary Father of His Country amusing himself with a fictitious cherry tree and hatchet. In short, the author has writ ten his book to help those who complain that they cannot find a llesh and blood man in the George Washington of historians. He expresses t lie con fident hope that those who read this biography will no longer consider George Washington the most illusive of historic personages. Here's the way "Campion" in t he Chicago Trib une's "Line o* Type or Two" puts it : "O Clio! Muse of buried time, What trick is this you play. Who sing to us in prose or rhyme The hero born today? MYour blazing torch athwart the gloom Lights up our noble dead, Your record snatches from the tomb The lives our heroes led. "Ycu show us Jackson, crude and bold, Impetuous, quick to fight, Sworn foe of caste and graft and gold ? 41 ' ;?:&V ' ^tils P " \ v 1 u s ; v .?> v v >" f. ^ am iv& A v s' v 4 ;$$? - c $ ? /tv*Vg i.-yJrt?V AR77i7JR Z)AW30?rAND7t&r //. :v# W 0 OLSi si ft r 50^-TT \ % e worth from $75,000 to $100,000 and Is pronounced the finest Stuart in America at the present time. It has been in the Washington and Lee university for many years, but until Mr. Daw son's discovery, its true value was unknown. Rec ords fall to show where the picture came from. The panel measures 25 by 30 Inches. Congress has passed a Joint resolution as fol lows : "Whereas, by n joint resolution of the senate and : house of representatives, approved March 4, 1844, the sword of George Washington and the staff of Benjamin Franklin were accepted in the name of the nation as gifts from Samuel T. Washington and deposited for safe-keeping in the Department of State; and "Whereas, by a Joint resolution of the senatft and house of representatives, approved February 28, 18o;>, the sword of Andrew Jackson was ac cepted in the name of the nation as a gift from the family of Gen. Robert Armstrong and depos ited for safe-keeping in the Department of State; and "Whereas it is represented by the secretary of state that he has no appropriate place for the ex hibition of these relics: Therefore be it "Resolved, etc., That the secretary of state be, and lie Is hereby, authorized to transfer the said relics to the custody of the secretary of the Smith sonian institution for safe-keeping and exhibition in the National museum." The resolution accepting (he Washington sword and Franklin staff was passed by both houses on the same day. The proceedings In the house were especially Impressive, many senators and diplo mats being present. The speech of presentation was delivered by Representative George W. Sum mers of Virginia. The part of his address refer ring to the Washington sword contains the follow ing interesting information concerning the weapon carried so long by the Father of His Country: Mr. Summers ? Mr. Speaker, I rise for the pur pose of discharging an office not connected with the ordinary business of a legislative assembly. Yet, in asking permission to interrupt, for a mo ment, the regular order of parliamentary proceed ings, I cannot doubt that the proposition which I have to submit will prove as gratifying as It may be unusual. Mr. Samuel T. Washington, a citizen of Kana wha county, In the commonwealth of Virginia, and one of my constituents, has honored me with the commission of presenting, in his name and on hip behalf, to the congress of the United States, and through that body to the people of the United States, two most Interesting and valuable relics connected with the past history of our country and with men whose achievements, both In the field and In the cabinet, best illustrate and adorn our annals. One Is the sword worn by George Washington, first as a colonel in the colonial service of Virginia in Forbes' campaign against the French and Indi ans, and afterwards during the whole period of the War of Independence as commander In chief of the American army. It Is a plain cutleau, or hanger, with a green hjlr and silver guard. On the upper ward of the scab bard is engraven "J. Bailey; Flshklll." It Is ac companied by a buckskin belt, which Is secured by a silver buckle and clasp, whereon are engraven the letters "G. W." and the figures "1757." These are all of the plainest workmanship, but substan tial and In keeping with the man and with the times to which they belonged. The history of this sword is perfectly authentic, and leaves no shadow of doubt as to Its Identity. The last will and testament of George Washing ton, bearing date on the ninth day of February, 1700, contains, among a great variety of bequests, the following clause: "To each of my nephews. William Augustine Washington, George Lewis,' George Steploe Washington, Bushrod Washington, and Samuel Washington, I give one of the swords or cutleaux of which I mayk die possessed ; and they are to choose in the order they are named. These swords are accompanied with an injunction not to unsheathe them for the purpose of shedding blood, except It be for self-defense or In defense of their country and its rights; and, In the latter case, to keep them unsheathed and prefer felling \jrth them in their hands to the relinquishment thereof." In the distribution of the swords, hereby devised, among the five nephews therein enumerated, the one now presented fell to the lot of Samuel Wash ington, the devisee last nnmed in the clause of the will which I have Just read. This gentleman, who died a few years since, in the county of Kanawha, and who was the father of Samuel T. Washington, the donor, I knew well. I have oft?n seen this sword in his possession, and received from him the following account of the manner in which it became his property, in the division made among the devisees: He said that he knew it td have been the side arm of General Washington diiring the Revolution ary war ? not that used on bccasions of parade and review, but the constant service sword of the grent chief ? that he had himself seen General Washington wear this Identical sword? he pre sumed for the last time ? when, in 1794, he reviewed the Virginia and Maryland forces, then concentrat ed at Cumberland, under the command of Gen. Lee, and destined to co-operate with tHe Pennsyl vania and New Jersey troops, then assembled at Bedford, In suppressing what has been called "the whisky insurrection." General Washington was at that time president of the United States, and, as such, was commander In chief of the army. It is known that It was his intention to lead the array In person on that Oc casion. had he found It necessary; and he went to Bedford and Cumberland prepared for that event. The condition of things did not require It, and he returned to his civil duties at Philadelphia. Mr. Samuel Washington held the commission of n captain at that time himself, and served In that campaign. lie wes anxious to obtain this particular swofd, and preferred It to all others, among which was the ornamented and costly present from the great Frederick. j At the time of the division among the nephews, without intimating what his preference was, he jocosely remarked, "that, inasmuch as he was the only one of them who had participated in military service, they ought to permit him to take choice.'* This suggestion wus met in thi same spirit In which it was made; and the -choice being awarded him, he chose this, the plainest and intrinsically the least valuable of any, simply' because it was "the battle sword." I am also in possession of the most satisfactory evidence, furnished by Col. George Washington of Georgetown, the nearest male relative of General Washington now living, as to the Identity of this sword. His Information was derived from his father, William Augustine Washington, the devisee first n ?y.ied in the clause of the will which I have read, 1'rom Ids uncle the late Judge Bushrod Wash ington, of the Supreme court, and MaJ. Lawrence Lewis, the acting executor of General Washing ton's will; all of whom concurred in the statement that the true service sword was that selected by Capt. Samuel Washington. , MANY PROOFS OF ACTIVE BUSINESS > ?OADING OF REVENUE FREIGHT SET NEW RECORDS FOR THE SEASON. SECURITIES SHOW STRENGTH Optimism Continues tb be the Domi nating Factor in Financial Markets. New York. ? Oprimism over the do mestic situation continued to be the dominating factor in the financial markets of the past week. Securities showed much strength and the pre vailing impression in Wall street was that the upward movement largely re flected the reports on increased in dustrial activity and the satisfactory annual financial 'returns which are now being published. Meanwsile there was a tendency to feel less anxiety over the foreign sit uation, which distinct satisfaction was expressed over the encouraging prog ress made in coming to an agreement I with Great Britain in the matter of funding that country's debt to the United States. Many proofs of active bsuiness are available. For one thing loadings of revenue freight by the railroads con tinue to set new records for this sea son of the year. In the week ended January 27th, some 871,000 cars of freight were loaded, this figure ex ceeding the total for the same keek a year ago by 131,000 cars and that in the comparable week of 1920 by 68,000 cars. The gains are distributed, fur thermore, among the various classes of traffic, thus emphasizing the gen oral character of the improvement. Foreign Commerce of U. S. Increases. Washington- -The foreign commerce of the United States increased more than 4,000,000 tons in 1922 as com pared wtih 1921, but the tonnage car ried in American ships decreased from 49 per cent of the total in 1921 to 47*4 per cent In 1922, while in the overseas general cargo trade, less i than one-third of the tonnage was car* j ned under the American flag, ac* I cording to a survey made public by j the shipping board. I The percentage given as the totals for the two years, it is explained, "reach their present proportions be cause they include our enormous traf j fic in bulk petroleum", and "our trade with nearby countries, which is prac tically coastwise" in both of which American ships predominate. "That we make any showing in the overseas commerce at all/' continues the report, "is due almost entirely to the fact that the shipping board main tains in world service a number of vessels at public expense. For 1922 privately owned American vessels car ried 7.76 per cent of our overseas ton nage." Americans Seek Tobacco Control. New York. ? American financiers are negotiating with the French gov ernment for a monopoly on the man ufacture and distribution of tobacco in France, the Evening Mail asserts. The deal was reported to involve $300,000,000 of which $25,000,000 would be paid upon conclusion of the agreement. James B. Duke, George J. Whalen and Thomas Fortune Ryan were said to be the men interested. Reports of negotiations for a French tobacco monopoly have been circulat ed from time to time fcr two years, but always have been met with der.inls. 7 . "Fruit" Turns Out to be Liquor. New York. ? Federal agents seized 350 crates of Florida "oranges" des tined for Boston, in the Bronx freight yards of the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad. The "fruU" proved to be bottled whiskey with a prohibition value of $30,000. The liquor cases were hidden by crates of genuine fiuit. State enforcement officers said the/ had been tipped when the shipment left Florida to be re-routed here for Boston. Bandit is Shot and Killed. Santiago, P. I. ? Ronquello, the not ed bandit who has been sought for killing Junde Andres Borromeo last month, was shot and killed by a pla toon of constabulary who sunourded a house in Cavite province, where Ron quello was# hiding. I Twenty-five of the constabulary sur rounded the house and began firing from all sides. Nearly 1000 shots were fired. Finally one of the constables crawl ed under the house and fired up through the floor, killing Ronquillo. Fishing Sloop Was Lost. Edgartown, Mass. ? Wreckage wash ed ashore on Naushon Island, in Vine yard sound, and. found by a searching pafty proved that the fishing sloop Natalie, missing for several weeks, was lost with all hands aboard. Fisher folk here were of the opinion that the* Natalie was rammed by a larger ship in the sound. The Natalie left Newport for Edgartown on Jan uary 24. The men believed lost are Skipper Patrick Kelley, and the crew of three men, all of Edgartown. CONDENSED NEWS M THE OLD NORTH sij{ short notes of inters CAROLINIANS Greensboro. ? At the r? , . ;.r , ing of the Greensboro i. Paul Schenck, of thi- . u dorsed for the position - ? r erng* of the Rotyy dist: , ? ,.I; ing North and South Ca: Chapel Hill. ? Closing r,.^ tion Cor correspondent:. dents of the University ot North J olina has been set for A; r . 1, 1U1 announced by officials oi ^.j sion division. Charlotte? The Tax li. J poration held a meetim; j. r J unanimously opposed bond either railroad or boat in.. - a hundred were present m : ing from every section o: try. I Wilson. ? On account o: v, spell of bad weather r. : .? county roads almost that date for closing th? bacco market has bee n< ; the Wilson Tobacco Board from February 9 to Friday, r > . 16. Rocky Mount. ? Mein> Fourth District Medical S posed of five or six count ,.: immediate section of tin be the guests of the Na Medical Society at a in hel dhere February 13, a< < - : announcement made by Ik Kinlaw. High^ Point. ? The High r . Plan company sent applicat:- ? department of state in Hal. -:l :? change in its charter, all . n company to increase its capi a . Sanford. ? Day by day th> ! receipts of Sanford are cli;. ward, according to Post ma Gilliam, and in every oth? r ford is growing bigger a: l The receipts in January v. - cent larger than those oi 1922. The Sanford postofii ited with $9.36 per capita ury savings certificates during the past year, while tral average for the state i> cents per capita. Wadesbcro. ? The Baptists city are contemplating th" a new church edifice, the pres. : ing being entirely inadequat needs of the congregation, structure will combine artist with commodious utility, it known when the new church k; . will be erected. Roxboro^-Roxboro held a n ? recently in the interest of a i> ind loan association. There a ' vited for the occasion the f i > speakers: Gen. B. S. Royster. V John Hester and Tom Harris. Oxford, and Major L. P. McLend een brought into the county. ' provisions, such as chickens. ? < ? butter, have found a ready mar Whiteville. ? Erastus Huggins was charged with the murder < ' ter Dudley, plead guilty to mu: : the second degree and was imni? ly sentenced to the state penit? : ?' for twenty years. Huggins' s >a Walton Creech, held in connect >? the murder, were exonerated ' Jury. Ayden. ? Rev. R. I. Corbett has - up his pastorate at Snow HH1 an cepted a call to the Wintervilb* tist Church. He will in the futur vide his time between Ayden ami tervllle, preaching here two S :: evenings and the same in Wf: ville. Asheville? Definite assuram ? the proposed Asheville Club f< ; men will soon be under const: : was given during the regular m? of the City Federation of W?> Clubs, at which the president. Charles A. Webb, presided. Wilmington. ? A memorial taid Miss Amy Bradley, the found Tileston School, Was unveiled school auditorium. Charles C ' bourn delivered the address of