ger rose from the productive earth; he
saw the South with its smoking chimneys, its deserted hearthstones, its
maimed and wounded trudging with bowed heads and bent forms back to
their homes, there to want and to waste and to struggle and to build up
again; he saw the North recover itself from the awful shock of arms and
start anew to unite the arteries of commerce that had been cut by the
cruel sword of war. And with this gentle hand, and as a last act of his
sacrificial life, he dashed the awful cup of brother's blood from the
lustful lip of war and shattered the cannons' roar into nameless notes
of song.

Then turn to the vision of Washington leaving a plantation of peace and
plenty to suffer on the blood-stained battle-field, surrendering the
dominion over the princely domain of a Virginia gentleman to accept the
privations of an unequal war--the vision of patriotism over against the
vision of greed.

Oh, my friends, we must live so that the spirit of these men shall
settle all about our lives and deeds; so that the patriotism of their
service shall burn as a fire in the hearts of all who shall follow them.
The Constitution which came from one, the universal liberty which came
from the other, must be set in our hearts as institutions in the blood
of our race, so that this Government shall not perish until every drop
of that blood has been shed in its defense; and we shall behold the flag
of our country as the beautiful emblem of their unselfish lives, whose
red ran out of a soldier's heart, whose white was bleached by a nation's
tears, whose stars were hung there to sing together until the eternal
morning when all the world shall be free.

FOOTNOTE:

[7] Extract from an address on the occasion of the celebration of
Washington's Birthday by the Ellicott Club of Buffalo, New York,
February 22, 1906.

CHARACTERISTICS OF WASHINGTON[8]

BY WILLIAM McKINLEY

Fellow Citizens:--There is a peculiar and tender sentiment connected
with this memorial. It expresses not only the gratitude and reverence of
the living, but is a testimonial of affection and homage from the dead.

The comrades of Washington projected this monument. Their love inspired
it. Their contributions helped to build it. Past and present share in
its completion, and future generations will profit by its lessons. To
participate in the dedication of such a monument is a rare and precious
privilege. Every monument to Washington is a tribute to p