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The Alamance gleaner 1 VOL. LIII. ~ - GRAHAM, IN, C., THURSDAY FEBRUARY 17, 1927. . , N0 2 Man ?* Superman? M mm*?*. ^ ^ : By ELMO SCOTT WATSON ? HAT will the final ver Wdlct of history on George Washington be: Man or Superman? If we are to believe KbXSSeJ the' early day blogra phers of the Father of His Country,,It will be Superman, a Paragon of all the virtues, who was not only first In war, first In peace ?ad first In the hearts of his coun trymen but first In faultless living. Such Is the model which Parson teems. who Invented the cherry tree stMr\ ? tablished, and it has been in Kstrinusly copied by many later biog raphers. especially those who write "or school histories. W we are to believe a later gen eration of historians, It will be Man, " man of his times with the habits j "f a man of his times, including its faults as .veil a*virtues?in short, George tViishlngtao^he human being. For . ore than* a centyry George hashln on has bafled tyie historians In the effort to present the "real fiashlt ,n." Forty years ago one them j-rof. John Bach McMaster, Pointed it the dilficnlties wliicli con front il; biographer of Washington "hen lie mid: "Gener i Washington Is known to ?s "ml resident Washington. But jeorgc ishington is an unknown man Wl.oa at last he Is set before 88 us ' e lived we shall read less W the rry tree and more of the "nn. Nt ght surely that is heroic "11 be uiltted, but side by side *"h ?).;,( |g hero|c w||| appear much . ' mmonplace. We shall be def commander repaying . **' wi'h marvelous celerity, heal-j e hi -elisions of his officers and 'ie passions of his mutinous Ps Hut we shall also hear his 81 ! -" liim in the terrible out 1 ? i -Sion to which Mr. Jeffer . hae jegj an)j onfc- 0f* which Mr. h,i< 'scribed. * mid^f ' ' see hlm <f'n8'nK ,0 be n> ' h services by congress, yet trno^""1"' fmm the family of the thus,,. the shilling that was due. ' , ^vT18'1 hnow of him as the cold and ''I,? character with whom no d,*. 100:1 tv*r ventured to live on j iwL*11'1 familiar terms. We shall the bonnr him for being not I feateat of generals, not the most j saintly of his race, but a man with many human frailties and much com mon sense, who rose in the fullness of time to be the political deliverer of our country." Those words, written nearly half a century ago, long before any effort | had been made to dispel the myths which had grown up around Wash ington, are strangely prophetic of the events of the past year which have brought up again the question of the real Washington and focused public attention upon It more sharply than It has ever been focused before. Out standing among those events was the criticism which met the attempt by one 'of America's best-known novel ists to wrljte the sort of Washington biography, of which McMaster speaks. The novelist was Rupert Hughes and his biography was "George Washing ton, the Human Reing and the Hero," published by William Morrow & Com pany of New York. In fact, looking back upon the year Just past It Is curious to note how many times the two names "Rupert Hughes" and "George Washington" have appeared In the news dispatches together. It began in January when Hughes made a speech ut a banquet of the Sons of the American Revolu tion in Washington, D. C? in which he was described as having pictured Washington as a "profane. Irreligious and pleasure-loving man." Although it was afterword learned that he had been misquoted, the mischief was done as soon as the story went out. Immediately he was attacked and defended all over the world. Sermons vtere delivered on Ids speech, his name was heard in congress and put in the Congressional Record, sena tors denounced him and he received clippings of newspaper comment on his speech In almost every language. French. German, Dutch, Spanish and Italian. Interest In the controversy was re vived in September when the Hughes book appeared. Even though It did not arouse such a storm as did his speech. It. too. was met with divided opinion, both censure and praise. Re viewers?for the most part historians themselves?were far from unanimous in their verdicts. Where one praised the biographer for bis painstaking care In minute documenting of his I statements and refraining from mak ing a statement without backing It up with authority, another criticized him for "fatal Uloglc and false romance of the movies." A Harvard professor, Albert Bushnell Hart, announced that he had found 297 errors of fact In the book. Another reviewer declared that "Mr. Hughes walks on all the eggs without breaking a single one. Even the most rabid biographical fun damentalist will And little to com plain about In this book." So there you are! The case of Ru pert Hughes, the biographer, Is proof anew of the statement made by one writer that George Washington Is an "elusive" person, for although "for forty years, from early manhood until the time of his death, he was In creasingly In the public eye, the real man, high on his pedestal of official and personal reserve, has been hard to come at." A part of this Is no doubt due to the early biographers, such as Parson Weems, who began building up the myths about him, and the In creasing years only served to give them an Increasing tlrmness of fixity In the popular mind. Hughes has well expressed It when he wrote, "No other man In history has suffered so much from malfeas ance in office by historians. Nearly all of Washington's biographers haTe felt it their duty not only to correct his writings, but to blue-pencil, prettify and falsify his character. In their frantic zeal for denaturing this big, blundering.'bewildered giant they have done a further Injustice to. all his contemporaries, of whom they have made either dwarfs or acolytes, and of his sincere adversaries demons of malice and envy. It Is poor patri otism, ridiculous Idolatry and rank dishonesty to rob the host of other stragglers for liberty and.progress of their Jnst deserts and to perpetuate old slandei^ against his enemies at home and abroad In order to turn Washington Into a god. As a god, Washington was a woeful flgmre; as a man he was tremendous." No wonder then that "the real Washington" Is yet to be delineated. One type of mind would make him a Superman; another a Man. Rut the final verdict of history probably will decide that he was a bit of both and ; the picture which It will draw of hint will be somewhere In between the two extremes. 'r' SENT BY RURAL * DELIVERY Br EMMA W. BROSS (Copyright, by W. O. Chapman.) THE good-looking bat modest post man on Rural Route 21, Dis trict K, experienced a token of interest and a flutter of expecta tion as he neared the half-tubular zinc receptacle labeled "Adam Foster." . Beyond, at the end of a. leafy-roofed arcade two hundred feet long, was the substantial, lnvltlng-looklng old farm house. It held three daughters and two sons. In one of them young Worth Merrill was especially Interested. A shy, blushing, fluttering young cren ture, the morning previous she had flitted down the shady lane to the side of the mall cart, light and graceful as some fairy. He had handed her some letters ad dressed to flier father and a couple of magazines. She had smiled upon him In a way that set his nerves tingling. In her embarrassment she had dropped letters and bundles. Their heads had bumped together as they stooped mutually to recover (hem. Then both had juiIM? ? , "Could you?would you?that Is, I must get a small package to Nellie Blake?you know??the next farm house." "Surely," assented Merrill eagerly. "I can't go there and I can't wait to have It mailed." "As a private Individual I am at your service," bowed Merrill. "Oh, thank you!" and Pearl Foster handed hltn a neat parcel, smiled be wltchingly and flitted away like a frightened fawn. The Blake home was the last farm house on Merrill's route. He delivered the puckage- to Miss Blake and went on Ills way, dreaming fondly of the lovely girl who had broken the Ice of a mutual acquaintance. Merrill looked eagerly for his chtirming ideal the next day,, but It was raining, so she did not come down to the mail box at the road. The next afternoon was fulr, but the farm path leading up to the house was muddy. From the porch, however. Pearl made urgent gestures, apparently directing the attention of Merrill to a package on top of the letter box. Merrill saw that It exactly re sembled the one he had delivered to Miss Blake two days previous. It felt soft and fluffy and he decided It was some article of feminine adornment, a lace collar, an embroidered handker chief, or the like. Merrill had heard that the elder abater of Miss Blake was about to be married. This new parcel, he theorized, might be a con tribution to a prospective linen shower. At all events he took It up, waved It at Pearl to Indicate that he tinder stood, and his pulse heightened as she vigorously bobbed her pretty head and smiled radiantly. At the last delivery point Merrill had picked a spray of forget-me-nots. He released the tiny thing of beauty from his buttonhole and placed It be tween two letters directed to Pearl. Then he went on his way. The next afternoon he sighted Pearl again on the porch.' He hoped she would come to the road In person for the mall. Merrill even waved the let ters Intended for the house Invitingly. But coy Pearl betrayed an Inexplica ble shyness. She made a gesture and half hUl behind a post On top bf the mall box was a fine bouquet ofred roses. "Ah, another errand to Miss Blake7" soliloquized Merrill, taking up the pretty flowers. He raised them to In hale their delicate perfume. Then his heart beat fast. Was It fancy? Could It be reality? Pearl had wafted him a light kiss with a lighter cooing laugh, and had flown Into the house as If hiding some conscious guilt In a breach of decorum. ? Mlsa Blake stared strangely at Mer I rill as he'handed her the bouquet. - She looked at him as If misunder standing. Then she smiled quietly, but she took the flowers and thanked him. By this time Merrill was head over heels in love with Pearl. His heart fluttered as he hoped that she was In terested In him. But the next morn ing she did not even appear on the porch. The second morning she passed across the lawn, her chin high In the air. She actually turned her back upon him. The third morning there was a sheet of paper across the mail box. It bore one word: ( I "Stupid!"' Merrill went his way, pondering, i When his route was finished he dropped the reins of the old horse, sat back in the gig listlessly and saw life and all Its hopes and motives drop Into a sea of despairing gloom. "What does It mean?" he murmured dejectedly. " 'Stupid'?surely ! It was i meant for me, but why? why?" j The horse, left guldelesz, had strayed I from the road Into a thicket. In his present Joyless mood Merrill allowed him to graxe. His day's labors were over and he was In a frame of mind where solitude was s boon. Suddenly, however, Merrill was startled by the echo of a vivid scream. "That Is a woman's voice!" he decid ed, and leaped from the gig and dashed through the underbrush In the direc tion from which the cry had sounded. He came to an abrupt halt where a path Intersected the wlldwood. Miss Blalte stood rigid with fear, confronted by a brawny tramp, who, cudgel In hand, menaced her. "Out with your purse and off with your Jewelry, my pretty 1" ordered the man, and then he went sprawling at a well-directed blow from the strong list of Merrill and made off baffled, as Merrill eaught the half-fainting girl in his arms. Miss Blake was hysterical with grat itude, but In a few moments had some what' regained her composure. "I had Just left Pearl?that is. Miss Foster." she explained, "when that horrid man came along." "Then perhaps that fellow hus started after her?began Merrill In au anxious tone. "Oh, she Is surely home by this time," Interrupted Miss Blake. Then she paused. There seemed to he some thing on her mind. She finally placed a pleading hand on his own. "You have been so good to me," she spoke falteringly, "I think I should tell you something about ? about Peart. "Anything about Miss Foster^ will be of Infinite Importance to me," as sured Merrill ardently. "But?but It 4s a breach of confi dence, perhaps." She hesitated. Then she burst out "It was about those flowers." | "Oh, the roses Miss Foster sent you." - ? "She did not mean them for me. "Indeed?" questioned Merrill puz zled. "No. They were Intended for? you." ? "For me? Oh, I understand now. cried Merrill In a quick, comprehen sive gasp. "Why, I never dreamed of such a thing!" "Your forget-me-nots?* "I fancied she would scarcely notice them." , ? "Was It hot a floral message? Inti mated Miss Blnke archly. "And the roses were?" "A reply. In the language of flow erg?you should feel honored." "And 'Stupid.' Indeed, was I!" ex claimed Merrill, Joyously. "Poor Pearl!" continued MI'S Blake. "Shd had been searching the woods for some gruesome plant that would express her heartbreak." "She need not, If the assurance that I read her good will aright at last and am eager to tell her how happy she has made me!" orated Merrill In a riotous fervor of delight. "Suppose?suppose you come over to our house tonight,?" gently sug gested Miss Blake. "Suppose I dor submitted Merrill hopefully. "Pearl will be there. You can tell her all about your modest mistake." Which Merrill did. In a quiet corner of the pretty garden, amid sleeping roses, ani| the chiming crickets, and the sweet white moonlight and?love! Great Railway Tunnela Notable railway tunnel* of the world are the Slmplon in the Alp*, connecting Italy and Switzer land, length 12 mll?*; Mount St. Cotliard, connecting Italy and ?wltzer land O'/i miles; Mount Cenl*. alao In the Alp*, connecting France and Italy, 8 tulle*; Arlbcrg, In An*trla, 0 mile*; the Connaught, on the line of the Canadian Pacific railway, timler Mount Macdonald, of the Selkirk range of the Rocky mountain*. In Brltlxh Columbia, D mile* In length, with two railway track*; the !loo*ur Mountain tunnel. In western Massa l chuaettx, 4% mile*; the St. Clnlr tun nel, carrying the line* of the Cana dian National railway* under the St. flair river, between Sarnla, Ont., and I'ort Huron, Mich., 2 mile*. In the Modern Way A pretty girl wan courted by a man of great weulth and a fellow of amull mean*. The former *howered Iter with all varieties of costly gift* and feted her In aumptuou* fashion. The Impecuni ous one gave her only hla devotion, for It was ull he had to give. Still, devo tion I* a beautiful thing, even In these modern time*. So *ho fell In love with the poor fel low. Rut she married the rich one. Andrew Jackton't Politico Andrew Jacks'* I* popularly sup posed to have aturted the modern Democratic party. It wa* to a large extent the successor of the Jeffer sonlan*. But (lid Hickory himself did not apply the name "Democratic" to hi* followers. During hi* Presidency and after hi* retirement to the Her mitage. In ull hi* correspondence he called himself a Republican and spoke of hi* party a* the Republican party.? Pathfinder Magazine. Nicaragua ? '? T Street Scene In Managua. (Prepared by tha National Olographic Society. Washington. D. C.) Nicaragua, scene of activity by American marines. Is the largest of the Central Ameri can republics; many acclaim It the most beautiful. It has vaat-for ests of precious woods, untold re | sources of valuable minerals and soil ! so fertile that It has been said, "If j you tickle the ground with a hoe it j smiles back with a yam." There Is a darker side?few regions nf 118 slae anywhere In the world have j been so beset by revolutions and vol | canlc eruptions. After a century of almost perpetual civil war Nicaragua t settled down to comparative peace a | few years ago and begun to reap the I dividends in progress toward prosper ity. Modern science can ameliorate I the disasters frbm valeanoes by ap j proximate predictions of.their explo | slons, while It also has taught the Nfclrnguans that the eruptions of tln^ past were blessings in disguise, be | cause they fertilised the land to a j marvelous degree. The country Is about the area of New York state and Its total popula ' tlon Is only u little larger than that i of Buffalo. It has two mountain I ridges which Inclose the "Great Lakes of Central America," Lakes Nicaragua ! and Managua. A glance at a Central American I map tellsithe story of Nicaragua's backwardness In bygone years. Costa Rica, to the south, and Honduras, to I the north, are accessible from the At lantic ocean; all of Nicaragua's Im portant cities are on the Pacific side of her coastal mountains. To the east of the mountains He her lukes, and she presents to the Caribbean a very unprepossessing "back- yard," with the world's worst real estate desig nation. the Mosquito coast. Pacific Frontaga Halpa Her. Today, with Los Angeles, San Fran cisco and Seattle to tap her markets, Nicaragua's Pacific frontage Is a blegs I Ing. But yesterday, when the Atlan tic ports of North America and Eu rope were doing the world's shipping, she was severely handicapped. Curiously, too, her Mosquito coast I was appropriately named by error. | The api>ellatlon was not Intended for the insect, which abounds there, but Is a corruption of the name of the ! 0,000 Indians, the Missklts, who sur I vive there. The country** northernmost Carlb- I f>ean headland. Cape Gracias a Dlos, | Is a headline of geography. Columbus I explored the Central American coast ' on his lust voyage and, cruising east from ('ape Honduras, was compelled to take shelter from a storm at a point where the coast abruptly turns to the south. He named the cape "Thanks I to God" and took possession of the | country for Spain. That was In 1502. A century before I the Mayflower touched at Plymouth ; rock the Spaniards were established along the lake region in far western | Nicaragua, despite the unwelcome vol I canlc outbursts. Es|>ecially vigorous was the explosion of Masaya, In 1522 ' The most sensational single eruption. I however, occurred within a century from our day?when Cosegulna blew | off Its head In 1835. For days a black pall obscured the sun. dust blanketed ? the fields an*l forests, animals died bv , the thousands from thirst and hunger Tradition says that It was Into the crater of the above-mentioned Masaya that Frjlir P.las of Castile lowered a bucket In 1534 In the hope of drawing \ up molten gold. When he touched the j lava the bucket melted and the good ffiar wrote home: "One cannot behold I the volcano without fear, admiration. and repentance of his sins; for It can i be surpassed only by eternal fire." At ' the foot of Mount Mnsaya Is a lnke of that name, and near the lake Is the little town of Masaya. Route of Proposed Canal. Whether a Nlcaraguan canal will be built Is a question which only the future can answer; Iwt It has been so continuously discussed and its pos sible site so thoroughly surveyed that' the term "Nlcaraguan canal route*' Is easily described. Interest has been reawakened In this route by the re cent trouble In Nicaragua. The Panama canal. If one leaves Its lock* and small artificial lake oat of consideration, may be considered the American Suez; for It Is relatively short and direct.. The Nicaragua route?again Ignoring locks?must be compared with the Turkish straits; It Is relatively long, and has in Its course a great natural Inland sea, from which narrow shlpways are pro jected. A N'lcaraguaa canal would he less a man-made affair than the Panama canul, where at every turn nature had to be thwarted and subdued by en gineers. At Panama ships now move every foot of the (nterocean way through great ditches that were dug. locks that *;ere built, or a lake that wus created by men. The Chagres river was turned aside to make a lake, and even Its bed was discarded. If a Nicaragua!! canul were built accord ing to existing plans, -It would entail much excavation ami lock building, but work that nature has already done would be utilized to a marked degree. From the Atlantic end a canal would have to t>e excavated, largely through lowlands, for some 50 miles, for the lower reaches of the San Juan river are clogged with sand brought down from the uplands of Costa Itlca. Locks would then raise the waterway to the 106-foot level of the lake. Ships would be transferred Into the San Juan river, dammed at this point, and would move up Its slack water for ap proximately 45 miles to Lake Nica ragua. Lake Nicaragua Is Large. This Inke Js a really large body of water. It la 100 miles long and 45 wide at the broadest point, and Is the most extensive body of fresh wa ter in North America south of Lake Michigan. For 70 miles ships would use the waters of Lake Nicaragua. Then would come the descent -to the Pacific through a canal and locks cov ering the dozen miles or more of nar row isthmus that divides the lake from the ocean. The rlvef and lake portion of the -+oute above the dam. however, would not all be in readiness for use with out the expenditure of labor. Of the 45 miles of river 28 would require Im provement, while a channel would | have to be dredged through a score of miles of the lake near the river out let where slit has accumulated. The Pacific side of the canal would present relatively few difficulties. The narrow divide at the point crossed by the canal route rises only 44 feet above the lake level. Altogether the canal route, from deep water to sleep water, would be about 180 miles long The passage of ships would require more than 24 hours as against 12 or lesa at Panama. Such a canal could be reached, on the other hand, more quickly from ports of the I'nite-J States. One other contrast exists between the Panama canal and the Nicaraguan route. The former traverses a coun try of relatively little potential wealth. A canal through Nicaragua would doubtless he a strong factor In the development of that country, open ing up Its vast forests of hoth hard and soft woods and tapping Its coffee and cacao plantations and Its mines Lake Nicaragua is already an impor tant Inland waterway, and near Its hanks are some of the chief cities of tin- republic. Knew What He Wanted While a mother was looking for Itooks for herself at the Shelby street branch library, her two small sons en tertained themselves at the chlldren't table looking at picture books. They were especially Interested la a book containing pictures of dogs. The older boy stroked the collie's pic lure over and over, while the younger one looked on. . ? Where the mother had her books ? charged at the desk she beckoned to the boys. The rtder one obeyed, bat the little fellow protested, saying; "Please, mother. I want to spread the dog."?Indlangpolis Newa. ret tee Still Noticeable We have enough science In hand ta abolish poverty.?Aftsrt Edward W%> gam. /iijsQHH
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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Feb. 17, 1927, edition 1
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