George Washington,
Westerner i
Washington as a Colonial Militia, Officer
( Fmon 7W pfr?*TV*t WrPkAtt)
? Washington at Brcvddock's Defeat
Washington Raising -the British Flag, Fort Vuqutsne (1758) rnonk n^rnm erJ-K cmn?
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
Map by John C. Fitxpatrick, author of "Gtorg*
Waahington, Colonial Travalar," courteay tho
Bobba-Mcrrill company, publishers.
^ HEN you saw the title of thla
M ? I article did you And yourself say
? I log; "George Washington a West
Mm I erner? Why, I thought he was
WU born In Virginia, lived most of his
life there and died there. And
III Virginia certainly Is an Eastern
You're quite right, for he waa
But the point Is ? and lt'? one
which few Americana, perhaps,
realize ? that some of the most
important eventa In Waahlngton's career took
place In the West, that he wa* one of the most
"Western-minded'' men of his day and that he
retained bis interest In the West to tbe end of
Ms life.
Washington's first experience In "the West"
came when he was sixteen years old. In 1748
Lord Fslrfax engaged the young Virginian to
?id George W. Fairfax, his scent. In making sur
veys in the Shenandoah Valley beyond tbe Blue
llldge mountains. This trip lasted a month and
brought him for the first time Into contsct with
tbe red men who were to resist so savagely the
westward push of the white men.
Fire years later Waahington set out upon an
other Journey farther west which was more
frsugbt with danger and much more Important
historically. Tbe Ohio company, formed In 1748
by a London merchant and several prominent
men In Virginia, bad obtained a grant of 100,000
acre* on tbe Ohio river. But when tbe company
attempted to make good Ita claim to these lands,
tbe French, who were determined to dominate
the Interior of North America, broke up their
trading posts and carried their traders away to
Cansda as prisoners. Moreover, Marquis Du
quesne, the new governor-general of Canada, or
dered forts built In tbe Ohio country to hold It
for the French. By 1753 they had established
posts st Preeque Isle (the present Erie, Pa.) and
Le Boeuf (near Waterford, Pa.) and an outpost
st Venango (at the Junction of French creek
and the Allegheny).
Late In the year Governor Dinwiddle of Vir
ginia sent Waahington to warn the French off
of tbe Unda claimed by the English. -Waahing
ton engaged Christopher Gist, who bad surveyed
tbe Ohio company'a lands in 1730, as his guide
and four others as "servitors " Later they were
Joined by a party of friendly Indians who ac
companied them to Venango.
~ The expedition, made In the dead of winter,
was a perilous as well ss a futile one Both tbe
French commanders at Venango and Le Boeuf
were firm in their refusal to quit their posts
nntll ordered to do so by tbe governor of Can
ada. So Washington started back to report to
Dinwiddle.
Dnrlng this trip Waahington visited for the
Brat time "tbe Forka of the Ohio" and record
ed In his Journal: "I spent some time In view
ing the Rivera, and the Land In the Fork ; which
I think extremely well el mated for a Fort."
Washington could not have realized at the
time bow important to his future career this ~
?pot was to be. For within ? year Captain
Treat with a party of backwoodsmen waa build
ing a fort at thla "extremely well situated"
place and ^Taahlnrton, ss a lieutenant-colonel of
Virginia militia, was marching with a small
force of raw troopa. under orders from Governor
Dinwiddle, to garrison It. When he reached
Will* Creek (Bow Cumberland. Vld ) be learned
that tbe French had swooped down, driven
Treat's maa away and were themselves building
Feet Doqaeaiuuhere. ? ^ _ .
Waahington pushed o*. and ? party of French
ander JamodHXe tamb but fMm Ttoqueane "to
npal force ?Uh force.- ' 'CM U*f 28. 1784. la
what is now Fayette county, Pennsylvania, "the
two tiny forces met ; the volleys they exchanged
opened the war that was to be waged until 17C3.
on the battle fields of Europe, the plains of In
dia, and around the Islands of the sea, as well
as In the woods of the Xew World."
Thus George Washington's first fight on the.
frontier made him an International figure. For
Jumonvllle was killed In the encounter ("assas
sinated," the French declared), and after that
the great conflict was Inevitable. Washington
fell back to the Great Meadows where he built
a crude breastwork which he named Fort Neces
sity. There he was attacked by Coulnn de VII
llers, Jumonvllle's brother, and all day long his
troops "weary, half-starved, soaked to the skin
by the constant rain, and depleted by the mus
ketry fire from the heights which commanded
them, fought off their assailants." That night
Washington was forced to capitulate.
A year later Washington again rode West, this
time as nn aide to Gen. Edward Braddock's fine
British army which was certain to capture Fort
Duquesne from the French. Then came the
fatal July 9 on the Monongahela and a few days
later Washington was writing to his brother,
Augustine: "By the all powerful dispensations
of Providence, I have been protected beyond
human probability and expectation; for I had
four bullets through my coat, and two horse*
shot under me. yet escaped unhurt, although
death was leveling m.v companions on every
side of me."
The next two years found Washington, now a
colonel and commander-in-chief of all the mili
tias In Virginia, guarding her frontier against
the Indians who, encouraged by Braddock's de
feat, repeatedly attacked the outlying settle
Washington's Mission bothm Ohio
4 mm i*r Fmmm w <-0"WU
meets. Moist of this time was (pent at Fort
Cumberland and Fort Ix>udoun (Winchester)
with occaalonal trip* to Williamsburg. to Alex
andria and to Mount Vernon and longer jour
neys to Philadelphia. New York and Boston.
Bat at last In the fall of 1T38 be art oat for
the Went again. This time he was In command
of Virginia troops accompanying (be expedition
of Geo. John Forbea agalnat Fort Duqneene
and on November 28 be wrote to Governor
Fauquier:
"Fort Duqueane. or the ground rather en
which It stood, was poaseeaed by hla majesty's
troops on the "J6th Instant."
Victory, at last ! So the career of George
Washington aa a frontier lighter ended. In Jan
nary, 1706. be married tbe Widow Cuatla and
prepared to aettle down at Mount Vernon aa a
Virginia gentleuan farmer. Bnt hla experience
during tbe French and Indian war had given
him an Intimate knowledge of tbe land across
tbe moentalna and be realised tally Its future
Importance and tbe opportunities which It would
afford for a land apeculator.
In 1751, twhen Governor Dinwiddle Issued a
proclamation giving 200,000 acres of western
land to men who had served In the war, Wash
ington, as a major, received 15,000 acres on the
Ohio although he did not succeed In linving it
surveyed and patented until seven years later.
By the Iloyal Proclamation of 17G3, at the close
of the French and Indian war, he received 5,000
acres more In his own right and from other of
ficers and men who held their claims lightly be
purchased 2,500 acres more.
In 1770, acting as agent and attorney to locate
the western lands granted to officers of the First
Virginia regiment by Governor Dinwiddle,
Washington, himself. Journeyed to Fort I'itt
(the former Fort Duquesne). There he held con
ferences with George Croghan, Indian agent, and
with the chiefs of the Sir Nations and then, ac
companied by Doctor Cralk, his physician-friend,
and three servants, started down the Ohio by
boat This expedition, which took him down to
the mouth of the Kanawha river and up that
stream for a considerable distance, was for
pleasure as well as business and his diary is full
of references to the bunting which he enjoyed
In that region.
In addition to looking after the land Interests
of his brother officers he was also Inspecting the
lands which William Crawford had marked out
for him, for Lund Washington and for bis own
brothers, Samuel and John Crawford^ Washing
ton was especially concerned with establishing
his title to these lands.
One of the results of this Journey is seen In
an advertisement, signed by Washington, which ;
appeared in the Maryland Journal and Balti
more Advertiser for August 22, 1773, and which
offered for sale 20,000 acres of land on the
Great Kanawha and the Ohio rivers. In this
advertisement Washington states that "If the
scheme for establishing a new government on
the Ohio, In the manner talked of should ever
be effected, these must be among the most val
uable lands."
Eventually a new government was estab
lished there ? but not the one, perhaps, which >
Washington had In mind. Soon after the struggle
for liberty began, Washington's mind was oc
cupied with a greater problem than that of his
western lands and It kept his mind occupied for
the next seven or eight years.
At the close of the Revolution Washington
owned land in what Is now New Tork. Pennsyl
vania. Maryland, Virginia. West Virginia. Ohio
and Kentucky, even as far west as Louisville.
Besides owning all this land, Washington was j
also interested in developing routes of commuBt
catlon and travel between the East and the
West because he knew that the West could not
be developed rapidly without them.
In 1784 he set out on another Journey to the
West "to obtain Information of the nearest and
best communication between the Eastern and
Western waters." This Information he secured
by traveling on horseback across ten monntain
ranges and covering a distance of 6S4 miles in
34 days. Cpon his return he wrote: "I am well
pleased with my Journey, as It has been the
means of my obtaining a knowledge of facts ?
coming at the temper and disposition of the
Western Inhabitants, and making reflections
thereon which otherwise must have been as wild,
incoherent, or perhaps as foreign from the truth
as the Inconsistency of the reports which I had
received even from those to whom most credit
seemed due, generally were."
One result of his Journey wss the founding of
the Potomac company. Incorporated in 178.1 by
the leglslstures of both Msryland and Virginia
for constructing a canal to connect the James
and Potomac rivers with the Ohio. A part of
the canal was dug but it was never carried to
completion. Washington was given 50 shsres In
the Potomac company and be left these In his
will to the founding of a university to be estab
lished In the District of Columbia.
When Washington died be owned more than
50,000 acres of land, valued at nearly half a
million dollars. The greater part of this wss
in the West, or, at least, what was regarded as
-the W?tt" at that tlaae. They Included 27.486
acres In Virginia, 23341 on the Great Kanawha
river, 9,744 on the Ohio liver, 5,000 on Rough
creek la Kentucky, 3.061 on the Little Miami
river in Ohio, 1.118 In Maryland. 1.000 on the Mo
hawk river in New Tork. and last, but not least
234 la Pennsylvania. Not least because these
234 aerea Included the Great Meadows, where a
young frontier fighter bad built Fort Necessity
and embarked upon the military career (even
though It was with a defeat) that made the
name of George Washington forever famous:
? Wcitcra NmMMt
Washington
Digest
National Topics Interpreted
By WILLIAM BRUCKART
NATION m>5 BLOO wash NG' N s c
Washington.? If ever there were a
ilme other than when the nation waa
at war when money
Money dominated the iltna
Dominatet tion at Washington,
It assuredly ll now.
One can go where he chooses about
the government departments, to the
White Honse or to Capitol Hill and
the subject under discussion Is or soon
will be money.
A year or so ago, we heard a great
deal about money. We beard of It In
connection with an appropriation of
M .880,000,000 ? the greatest alngle
peace-time voting of money In our his
tory. And, likewise, we heard money
discussed when the President used his
power to devaluate the dollar In Its
relation to gold.
Now, however, the subject of money
Is discussed In a slightly different vein.
The question that Is paramount Is how
can the government get the money It
needs. In other words, we are now
getting around to the question of tax
ation, and it Is a question that neither
the President nor his lieutenants In
congress like to face. It Is an election
year and a tax Increase In election year
Is not what the politicians would call
smoothing the highway of a campaign.
Passage of the legislation providing
Immediate payment of the veterans'
bonus brought conditions to a head.
The President vetoed the bonus bill
and congress promptly overrode that
veto. So the President promptly told
congress that something had to be done
about It ; that the only funds the treas
ury could muster would be by borrow
ing and that since congress bad yield
ed to the vocal minority represented by
the greatest lobby ever to populate the
Capitol. It thereby captured for Itself
a problem of raising the money.
Of course, the President must as
sume some responsibility even though
he vetoed the bonus for the reason that
some of the fuuds which must be
raised will go to pay the crop control
beneQts or bonus resulting from In
validation of the processing taxes and
the Agricultural Adjustment act The
President, as well as the political lead
ers In congress, want to continue that
payment and they also want t(j pay
farmers on commitments previously
made because they regard them as
moral obligation under the AAA con
tracts, Yet the country Is likely to
think In terms of the bonus for the
war veterans and pay little attention
to the smaller amount scheduled to go
to the farmers and. Indeed, the vet
erans' bonus is almost six times that
which the administration desires to pay
to the farmers.
There was In this situation a devel
opment to which I believe attention
?should be called.
"It's Up Through many year*
to Henry" Congress has been
en easy spender.
Through the same years it has avoided
at every turn laying taxes to offset the
money it voted out of the treasury.
Under the Roosevelt administration the
peak of easy spending has been reached
and congress has gone along with a
vociferous "aye" on every spending
proposal sent to the Capitol from the
White House. The congressional atti
tude to which I have referred came np
Id bulk at the time of the bonus
vote. Every time a bonus opponent In
quired where the government would
get the money to pay the two and one
half billion to the veterans, the answer
from the bonus supporters was, in ef
fect, ""it's up to Henry."
I can recall a familiar slogan, cur
rent when I was a boy, that was us^d
always when some one desired to shift
responsbllity ? to pass the bnck. It
was "let George do It" In the bonus
controversy. Senator Bankhead. Demo
crat of Alabama, was the flrst member
of congress whom I heard say "It's np
to Henry." He meant that the job of
raising the money belonged to Henry
Morgenthau, secretary of the treasury,
bat Senator Bankhead spoke more than
his own feelings when he "made the
statement He put Into words a
thought which permeated the minds of
? vast majority of unthinking repre
sentatives and senators.
Perhaps I should not say anthlnking
because those men were. In truth,
thinking very deeply. Their thoughts.
Instead of turning to song in the
spring, were turning to votes in No
vember. Thnt was the reason for pas
sage of the boons. Senators and rep
resentatives seeking re-election were
afraid to go Into the battle for nom
ination and re-election this summer
and have war veterans drag out the
skeleton of a vote In opposition to Im
mediate payment of the bonus.
It will be a long time before those
who voted for the bonus can live It
down. A keen political maneuver has
something In It that calls for admira
tion bnt an obvious political maneuver
sorb as was the passage of the boons
did not give any reason for com
mendation except, perhaps, the Just Id
cation that If the Roosevelt adminis
tration was committed to paaslng oat
hundreds of millions of dollars on boon
doggling and other more or less nseless
projects, then the war veterana were
entitled to be paid aow the sums which
tongress promised them would be paid
in 1!M7. That really la a powerful ar
gument but If Roosevelt supporters
make that argument they are at the
.
game time damning the New Deal
spending policies, so I fancy that snch
an argument will be rarely advanced.
? ? ?
It Is entirely probable that there will
be no tax bill this year unless the
President's letter to
May Be No Speaker Byrns polnt
Tax Bill Ing out the necessity
for raising revenue
causes an unheard of number of sena
tors and representatives to do a flip
flop. Mo imagination is required to
see that a representative or senator Is
In a tough spot when he goes back
home asking the suffrage of his con
stituents and must tell them at the
same time th#t he added to the tax
burden which they must pay.
Well, If that be true, how Is "Henry"
going to get the money? It will have
to be borrowed and it will have to be
borrowed on government bonds which
add np into an increasing government
deficit It means that Instead of a deficit
of around three billions In the next fis
cal year, the treasury will be con
fronted with a deficit of more than five
billions and the public debt, in the
meantime, will have been correspond
ingly Increased. It 'means, in addition,
that the banks of the country will have
to pile more government bonds on top
of the government bonds they have
thus far absorbed In financing a policy
of spending our way out of the depres
sion.
"'The tragedy of the situation in con
gress that brought about Senator
Bankhead's remark of "it's up to Hen
ry" is that It indicates that congress
has been looking upon the treasury as
a source of revenue. It is not and it
never has been. Government is non
productive. It can get funds only by
taxation, by taking them away from
the people ? or by borrowing and If It
borrows it has to pay back. In either
event, new taxation must come and If
congress doesn't have the nerve to pass
tax legislation in this session, it must
lay taxes in the next session.
? ? ?
The newspapers throughout the coun
try have been full of reports concern
ing the early start of
Campaign the political cam
Starts Early paign. The A] Smith
speech, coming from
the man who made it, brought about
a sudden expansion In the polit
ical fire. It really opened up the fight
and henceforth we are due to be sur
feited with this claim or that, this
charge and that denial or counter
charge, as the various leaders marshal
their forces.
Thus far, In addition to President
Roosevelt's Jackson day speech to the
$50-a-plate diners and Mr. Smith's Lib
erty league dinner outburst, we have
had active campaigning by former
President Hoover, by Governor Tal
madge of Georgia, by Senator Borah,
the Idaho Republican; by Governor
Landon, the Kansas Republican, and
by Senator Robinson of Arkansas, the
Democratic leader in the senate, who
spoke In reply to Mr. Smith. Others
are in the offing for the Republican
and Democratic national committees
are engaging radio times In a big way.
As speeches and statements Increase
In number, and as fanfare grows loud
er, I find myself getting a bit callous
to them alL I have been wondering
whether the American people hare lost
their sense of humor completely, be
cause the situation really h?? a humor
ous side. Unless the people's sense
of bumor lias been dreadfully seared,
It seems to me the.v ought to be highly
amused over ridiculous statements
now being made on one side of the
fence or on the other. Take, for in
stance, Mr. Roosevelt's handwritten
bonus veto message. It presented
something a bit unusual because In my
time In Washington It had happened
only once before that a President ve
toed a bill with a handwritten mes
sage to congress. Of course. It was
Intended to be dramatic ? and It was.
But the point is this: A year ago
when congress passed the bonus the
President made a personal appearance
In the halls of congress and read his
own veto message. He made his vigor
ous flgbt and be rallied his supporters
in line to sustain bis veto. There has
been so much talk around Washington
since the handwritten message went
to congress that the President really
was not vigorously opposing p: ;sage
of the bill over his veto that I am com
ing to believe that was true. I-, other
words, he thought that Immedi.-'e pay
ment of the bonus was wrong but he
had a weather eye out for thi? forth
coming campaign and the votes the
bonus might bring.
Then consider the activity of Sena
tor Borah. I believe the Idaho sena
tor is too smart to feel that he can
be the Republican nominee against Mr.
Roosevelt, but he la going through all
manner of gyrations Just the same. He
has purposes and objectives In mind,
obviously, but they are not the Repub
lican Presidential nomination as be
leads his various audiences to Infer.
It is to be recalled that Senator Borah
has not at any time actually said be
waa a candidate. We have also the
circumstance of Senator Robinson re
plying to A1 Smith over the same radio
and through substantially the same
number of broadcasting stations.
C Wwtcra Ktvaptpar Union.
CROCHET AS PRETTY
AS IT IS PRACTICAL*
PATTERN Ulf
Lovely, lac; richness lie* In thl*
choice peacock filet crochet chair
back set that anyone can make ? both
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protect your furniture. Tou'U find
the large filet mesh goes very quick
ly. And you can also use the deslga
for scarf ends.
Pattern 1119 comes to you with
detailed directions and charts for
making the set shown; an Illustra
tion of it and of the stitches needed ;
material requirements.
Send 15 cents In stamps or coins
(coins preferred) to The Sewing Cir
cle, Needlecraft Dept., 82 Eighth
Ave., New York, N. Y.
Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescription males
weak women strong. No alcohol. Sold
by druggists in tablets or liquid.? Adv.
A Worthier Life
No man Is wholly bad, and In all
lives- some moments come when the
vision presents itself of a worthier
' and happier life which might be
lived. What Is needed Is courage to
make the start, for, while life lasts,
it is never too late. ? E. C. Burke.
t '( TU*K MADE ) ft
If \ ME A NEW / I
OLD MOTHER HUBBARD
MSFUED0M
? ail WHAT HE DM HELL FUMES!
NO ALKALIES FOR
ACID INDIGESTION
WILLIONS have found they do not need to
AVA- drench their stomachs with stronc, caustic
alkalies Phyiidans have said this habit often
brings further indigestion. So much more
safe and sensible to simpfr carry a rail of Turns
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Tuma contain a wonderful antacid which neu
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as candy and only 10c at any drag stove.
FORTH ITU /AMY
Indicated as an Alterative in
the Treatment of
RHEUMATIC FEVER, GOUT,
itiUIMRM
WUUeUDWiakm
Md.
No Need to Suffer
"Morning Sickness"
"Morning sickness** ? is caused by an
acid condition. To avoid it, acid must be
offset by alkalis ? such as magnesia.
Why Physicians Recommend
Milnesia Wafers
These mint-flavored, candy-like wafers are
pure milk of magnesia in solid fcrm ?
the most pleasant way to take it. Each
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acidity in the mouth and throughout the
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cause gas. headaches, bloated feelings and
? dozen other discomforts.
Milnesia Wafers come in bottles of 20 and
48, at 35c and 60c respectively, and in
convenient tins for your handbag contain
ing 12 at 20c. Each wafer is approximately
one aduh dose of milk of magnesia. All
good drug stores sell and recommqpd them.
physicians or dentists if roqueJTS^uide
on professional lettsbMd. UK Hi<s?i.
tas, 4401 1M Lot, mm Chy, N. Y.
35c a 60<