Evening star. [volume], February 22, 1936, Page B-2, Image 12

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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NOTABLE WRITERS SURVEY THE PLIGHT OF LIBERALISM •
■ ■■ — .■■■■■ A ■ - - - - __ . _
OGDEN MILLS SURVEYS TIMES
Pleads for Restoration of Prosperity Through Conventional
and Constitutional Methods—Kent Looks Ahead and
Sees National Conservatism Active in Election.
By Alary-Carter Roberts.
LIBERALISM FIGHTS ON. By
Ogden L. Mills. New York: The
Macmillan Co.
IN THIS book the former Secretary
of the Treasury sets forth his
political creed, declaring himself
unequivocally in favor of the tra
ditional liberalism of our institutions
as opposed to what he feels is the
present threat of bureaucracy. Not
to allow these currently widely-used
terms to become generalities, he de
fines pretty clearly what he means by
them, and why it is that he feels
that the present administration is, in
actuality, no matter what its inten
tions may be, opposing the liberal
Inheritance of the American people.
Taking the administration’s own
claim that it aims to establish recov
ery and the attendant condition of
adequate employment opportunities,
Mr. Mills utters a flat denial. In the
six years since the stock market crash,
he says, our economic organism, by its
own workings, has undergone a dras
tic readjustment, and now would be
able to start functioning on a scale
that would keep the country "near
the industrial peak for many years to
come" were it not that governmental
Interference impedes it.
“The trouble is,” he says, “that,
whereas economic uncertainties have
vanished, political uncertainties cast
an ever-lengthening shadow. What
stands between the American people
and prosperity today is their Govern
ment.”
r or tne Denent oi tne reader wno
Is no economist, he explains why he
feels that the claim that “economic
uncertainties have vanished” is jus
tified. There exists, he says, “a six
year accumulated demand of enor
mous proportions for all manner of
poods, principally capital and durable
goods, and an ample supply of capital
is available at low rates of interest;
while the country over enterprising
American business men stand ready
and eager to answer the call of op
portunity. There is work enough
waiting to be done to put millions at
work on constructive enterprises at
normal American wages."
He continues; “The wheels of in
dustry would soon be turning ... if,
instead of trying to remake us the
Government would be content to
make as well; if, instead of attempt
ing to impose a new’ system which
will not work, it would permit the one
we know will, to do so; and if, instead
of pursuing all sorts of foreign “isms.”
it would but turn to a tried and proved
American-ism.”
WITHOUT GREASE. By Frank R.
Kent. New York. William Mor
row Co.
I ui biiid wwn tauo ji a
blueprint for America’s most vital
presidential election.” It is a sharp
shooting epigrammatical attack on
what the present administration has
been doing and a weighing of chances
as to what, in its turn, the electorate
will do next November. The shrewd
thrusts that it makes against current
governmental policies will undoubt
edly amuse those who feel little sym
pathy with President Roosevelt’s ad
ministration.
A good idea of Mr. Kent’s style is
to be had from his impressionistic
word picture of the political situation
as it was about June 1, 1934. ‘‘At
that time,” he says, . a great,
new. enormously expanded and en
larged Federal machine, bursting with
new gadgets, inventions and devices
and jammed with professors, politi
cians, theorists, welfare workers, re
formers, seers, third-rate economists,
backward students, boy wonders, pub
licity experts, religious mystics, musi
cal financiers, financial horticulturists,
army flag wavers and plain propa
gandists, was tearing down the road
at top speed, everybody shouting with
the always smiling leader, ‘We are on
our way.’ It was a thrilling spectacle.
Nothing like it had been seen before.”
Dealing in a similar manner with
the numbers of New Deal personages
and programs, Mr. Kent sums up
W'hat has been done (or promised)
and concludes, unlike many writers
on this topic, not that we are faced
with revolution of either a Fascist or
Communist variety, but that our pro
found national conservatism will lead
us back to our habitual political
modes. Whether you agree or not you
will find the book entertaining—and
very few of the recent works of this
kind have been that, no matter how
meritorious otherwise.
RAW MATERIALS, POPULATION
PRESSURE AND WAR. By Sir
Norman Angell. New York: World
Peace Foundation.
'J'HIS is another book which gives
1 reasons why we should have no
more wars. While to a merely intelli
gent observer it is sometimes puzzling
that reasons should need to be given,
the spokesmen of the pacifists un
doubtedly consider that the apologia
of facts must be put forward for their
case. So Sir Norman here tells us
all over again how it is that the pro
duction oi raw materials, the transfer
of territory, the need for markets and
such like other things are all bound
up in the question of why we fight.
If you have not read it in any of the
other books, you might just as well
read it here.
AMERICAN POINTS OP VIEW. A
Reader’s Guide. Edited by William
H. Cordell and Kathryn Coe Cor
dell. Garden City: Doubleday, Do
ran & Co.
'T'HIS is a collection of essays written
by 36 leading literary personages.
The selections have already been pub
lished in magazine or other form,
appearing between June, 1934, and
September, 1935. The volume is the
second of its type brought out by
the present editors, their purpose be
ing, they tell us, to illustrate the uses
of the modern essay.'
For work included in the present
book prizes were offered and were
awarded as follows: First prize to
Ernest Hemingway for "Notes on the
.Next War,” published in Esquire for
September, 1935; second price to Na
thaniel PeSer for “Why Liberalism Is
Bankrupt,” published in Harper’s for
August, 1934; third prize divided be
tween Joseph Wood Krutch for “Was
Europe a Success?” a series published
in tiie Nation in August and Septem
ber, 1934, and Meridel Le Sueur for ‘I
Was Marching,” published in the New
Masses for September 19, 1934.
The level of the book, as a whole, is
• routine and familiar. One feels that
one has described it^hen one has
BOOKS RECEIVED.
Non-Fiction.
Your Income Tax: How to Keep It
Down. By Hugh Satterlee and
I. Herman Sher. New York: Si
mon and Schuster.
Concerning Knowledge. 2 Volumes.
By Hugh W. Sandford. New York:
G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
A Handbook for Amateur Actors. By
Van H. Cartmell. Garden City:
Doubleday, Doran & Company.
The Centrality of Christ. By Wil
liam Temple, Archbishop of York.
New York: Morehouse Publishing
Co.
Fiction.
YOUNG WIFE. By Wallace Irwin.
New York: D. Appleton-Century
Co.
Girl Wanted! By Josephine Daskam
Bacon. New York: D. Appleton
Century Co.
Beth and Ernestine Graper. By
Elizabeth Corbett. New York: D.
Appleton-Century Co.
Flower of the Gods. By Achmed
Abdullah and Anthony Abbot.
New’ York: Green Circle Books.
written that it does seem to be a
worthy enterprise.
LAND*WITHOUT SHADE. By Hans
Hellritz. Translated from the
German by Kenneth Kirkncss.
New York: Robert M. McBride
& Co.
\S THE world become narrower
the market for books about im
probable places grows correspondingly
wider, or so it would seem to one who
looks over a great many volumes of
all sorts and conditions.
For,not only is there an increase
in books of travel, as they are called,
but within that group there is a
noticeable secondary growth in works
that treat of back country districts,
and among £\en these there is a
marked fondness on the part of read
ers for such volumes as purport to be
written about ‘'forbidden” lands; so
that in ever-swelling numbers our
enterprising writing men and women
scurry off to Tibet, or the country of
the head hunters (wherever it may
be) or to particularly nasty sections
of the Arctic Circle, or to the Straits
Settlements or to Arabia.
Arrived, by the simple device of
keeping track of the number of miles
they move and seeing to it that they
have a couple of narrow squeaks, and
are threatened by a native chieftain
or two, they usually turn out quite a
respectably marketable product.
Writing skill is by no means neces
sary, nor is the capacity to become
imbued with the genius of the coun
try visited. The number of miles is
of first importance, and after that
just some “native customs” and you
have a book to make the eyes of pub
lishers glow with justifiable anticipa
tion of neat profits.
So we have here a book about
Arabia, Arabia in its “forbidden”
aspect, Arabia of that district where
“no white men are permitted to
visit.” It is not uninteresting and
the pictures are really grand.
or in THIS HILLS, by Lord Dunsany.
New York: G. P. Putnams Sons.
JN THIS full-length novel. Lord Dun
sany (may the saints send him
happiness!) gravely tells the tale of
how Mickey Connor, aged 18, alarmed
because the three old women of Cra
nogue had started cursing (and no one
knows where a curse may fall) fled
into the hills and placed himself at
the head of an army of eight friends
and started a private war. And a
pleasant, unreasonable tale it is, too,
and one that you should be reading.
As to what Mickey’s war was about,
he explained it himself to a girl whom
he met in an orchard as follows:
“ T hear you have a great army now,’
were her first words to him.
“ ‘I have,’ he said, for it was not for
him to undo the work that rumor had
done for him.
“ ‘Where have you them?’ she asked.
“ ‘Up in the hills,’ he said.
“ ‘What are your politics?’ she asked.
" ‘Just against the government,’ an
swered Mickey.
“ ‘Which government?’ asked Alan
nah, for the English had only been
gone a year.
“ ‘Any government,’ said Mickey.
‘Sure, what’s the use of them? No
man can be free when there's a gov
ernment over him.’
“ 'He cannot.’ said Alannah. ‘But
who are you fighting against?’
“ ‘Sure, no one yet,’ replied Mickey.
‘But I got a very wicked letter from
Patsy Heffeman.’
“ ‘Oh. don’t go to war with Patsy,’
she said.
“ ‘Why not?’ he asked.
“ ‘He’s terrible wicked,’ she said.
“ ‘So am I,’ said Mickey.”
And so he went to war with Patsy
Heffernan. And so this story, which
might have been a mere stringing to
gether of exaggerations, becomes, by
the genius of this rare writing man,
a delicate and moving parable of high
endeavors and constancy and courage,
a tale which falls outside realities, but
which, by the perfection of its propor
tions, throws a light on realities that
shows them to us in significance far
exceeding any they possess when wear
ily looked at from their own sad levels.
There have been some truly fine vol
umes of statistics put out in the past
few weeks, but the reviewer perversely
recommends “Up in the Hills.”
DOCTOR MORATH. By Max Rene
Hesse. Translated from the Ger
man by Edward Cranfcshaw. Bos
ton: Houghton Mifflin Co.
'Y'HIS is a novel with a hospital set
ting, further made (for the
American reader) a work of scene by
the circumstance that the hospital is
in Buenos Aires. When the book was
published abroad the New York Times
wrote of it:
“Social scenes of great charm al
ternate with philosophic conversa
tions of cultured men with hospital
experiences and expert descriptions of
operations, and with scenes from mar
ital life that lay bare the most hidden
secrets of passion.”
Despite the exquisite phrasing and
subtle analysis of this critical obser
vation, the present reviewer holds that
social scenes even of great charm and
philosophic conversations even of cul
tured men, together with descriptions
>f operations and the laying bare of
the secrets of passion do not neces
sarily make a novel. In just the same
fashion, she holds that the participle
“hidden” is not co rable, as used
in the August Times’ review, according
to the laws of syntax, or, if you prefer,
plain old grammar.
Still, the book is not anywhere near
so terrible as the Times description
w%uld make you think. It is con
cerned with the life of a surgeon of—
yes, high ideals. It is somewhere
throbbingly Teutonic, but to be throb
bingly anything a work clearly has to
be alive. One can say that this novel
has that quality which, on the stage,
is called “good theater.” It is, anyway,
above the level of routine contempo
rary Action.
IN THE SECOND YEAR. By Storm
Jameson. New York: The Mac
millan Co.
TPHIS, alas, is another one of those
essays of what lies ahead, of the
type which has been yielding writing
men and women such pleasant profits
ever since Mr. Wells took up his lit
erary corner on the “future” market
and made so handsome a killing
thereby. Our own fair lad, Sinclair
Lewis, has recently written a book
describing how horrid it will be in
America when the dictators take us
over in years to come. And now Storm
Jameson does virtually the same thing
for England. She does not do it badly,
but, of course, she does do it. If you
like that sort of book, there seems to be
no reason in the world why you should
not like this one. But you will have
to like the sort first—that is certain.
THE SURROUNDED. By D’Arcy
.McNickle. New York: Dodd Mead
& Co.
'T'HE recent slow but sure encroach
ment of the American Indian on
the pages of sentimental fiction has
: caused reviewers to wonder hopefully
whether they might not look for a
I corresponding decrease in Negro novels
! of the popular consumption type. For,
while .there would seem to be little or
nothing to choose between in the
D ARCY McNICKLE,
tchose early life on the Flathead Indian Reservation provides the !
background for his richly imaginative story of a young half
caste in “The Surrounded,” just published by Dodd, Mead & Co. '
From the jacket design of “Doctor Morath,’’ by Max Rene Hesse; Houghton, Mifflin Co.
------> ______ •>
! two types of books, the Negro novel
is getting thin just from use.
But the hope, even if realized, seems
likely to prove barren, for the burning- ;
browed literary boys who set up as j
interpreters of the long-suffering red j
man have to date no more to offer :
and that is of a less meaty quality, j
The utmost they have demonstrated !
yet is that to be an Indian is to be
unhappy and, in some mysterious
but very lofty sense, superior to every
body else. It makes slightly atten- )
uated fare.
The present novelffollows along this j
pattern. For the technically minded ,
the information is offered that the
tribe and hero are Flatheads, the
latter a half-breed, or, as the pub
lisher terms him, a “half-caste." For
the less expert reader, however, it is
to be feared that one fiction Indian
will seem very like another, or even,
in the words of Sancho Panza, “often
times a good deal worse.”
WINCHESTER HOUSE. By Anne
Green. New York: E. P. Dutton
& Co.
'T'HIS is an extremely clever book
about New York, taking in the
brownstone front life and also that
of the village. Its cleverness lies in
its writing, rather than its content,
but that ought not to trouble the
reader who likes the neat, smart and
not too plausible, well-served. For
that sort of thing, one can recom
mend it.
LAND OF THE PILGRIMS’ PRIDE.
By Robert Paterson. New York:
Napier & Noyes.
'T'HIS is another political novel, hav
ing for its real theme an exam
ination of the recent trends of gov
ernmental affairs. For that reason,
as belonging to a rapidly grouped class
of books, it is mentioned here. It is
written amateurishly and with a lack
of taste which prevents its observa
tions from being impressive, even
when they express opinions which
seem justified.
PERFECT SPECIMEN. By Samuel
Hopkins Adams. New York: Live
right Publishing Corp.
A NOTHER of Mr. Adam’s adroit
and innocent tales, this time
about a young man brought up to
be a “perfect specimen” of manhood
and a young woman who undertook
to undo him. It will amuse you, in
all probability.
THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA,’ 1250
1453. By Edward P. Cheyney.
New York: Harper & Bros.
'T'HE series of works planned by Har
per & Bros, to cover the history
of Europe from 1250 until modem
time receives its introduction in the
present volume. That is to say, the
present volume is No. 1 of the series,
although other volumes have already
appeared. There are to be 20 in all,
each by an author deemed to be
an authority in his field. The whole
series will be called "The Rise of
Modern Europe."
The present volume is in the na
ture of a survey covering the period
of transition from the medieval to
the modem era. It treats of the
expansion of trade, the rise of towns,
the development of business tech
niques, the alliances between kings
and burghers, the growth of repre
sentative institutions, the rise of the
lower classes, the gradual weakening
of the influence^ of religion and.
finally, of the emergence of na
tionalism.
The author is professor-emeritus of
history at the University of Penn
sylvania. --
AMERICAN CHAMBER OF HOR
RORS. By Ruth De Forest Lamb.
New York: Farrar & Rinehart.
'J'HE author of this book has been
chief educational officer of the
United States Food and Drug Admin-1
istration, and her work is an account
of the efforts of that body to control
and end the selling to the public of
harmful and unclean products. She
covers a wide range of merchandise
of this type—butter, cosmetics, fruits
covered with the residue of poison
spray, medicines and sub-standard
goods generally. Her work is not
misnamed either.
While the reader is compelled to
decide that she has chosen the most
shocking cases for her demonstra
tions. he must still feel that the
present state of the law is in great
need of tightening. The book makes
plain beyond a doubt that there are
loopholes which permit the wide
spread sale of products that are no
better than poisons. It is a horrify
ing, but still a fascinating, record.
THE PATH TO PROSPERITY. By
Gilbert M. Tucker. New York:
G. P. Putnam's Sons.
yyE have here a book on what is
worng with America, why the
depression and what price New Deal.
To deal briefly but honestly with it—
Its argument seems to be that our
pesent society is founded on privilege
and injustice, and that until we “do
away” with these horrid wrongs, at
tempts at palliative measures will fall
short of serving. An excellent thought,
really, and one that nobody would
dream of contradicting.
APACHE AGENT. The story of
John P. Clum. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Co.
rJ,HIS is a straightforward account
of the cleaning up of the last of
the renegade Apache Indians, given
individuality by being written from
the point of view of the man who
was Apache agent at the time, John
P. Clum. Army officers, civilians,
Innocent bystanders and would-be
romantic novelists have already writ
ten the tale. Another book on the
subject can surely harm nobody. And
this one is pretty good.
LEARN TO SKI! By Hermann
Bautzmann. New York: The Mac
millan Co.
QNE S own reaction to the impas- I
sioned title of this work would
be to inquire categorically, “Why?"
However, for those who require no
inswer to the question, the following
information is vouchsafed:
The book purports to be a com
plete manual of skiing. Its author
is eminent in the ski-world, and the
pages contain many diagrams. These
latter are particularly interesting,
ihbwing, as they do, a young man
with an extremely firm chin, per
performing such maneuvers as the
inow plow with bow-legs, the snow
plow with knock knees, the herring
pone and the gelaendesprung. One
;rugts the reader follows.
The final chapter is called “The
Waxing of Skis," and one had inno
:ently imaged that it had some
STORM JAMESON,
Author of “In the Second
Year’’ (Macmillan),
thing to do with the increasing pop
ularity of this agile sport. How
ever, it turns out that, quite other
wise, this is a discussion of the
comparative merits of rubbing the
gentle skis with salt herring, rind of
smoked bacon, beeswax, lard, tar, fat
or resin. Well—live and learn.
THE KITCHENETTE COOK BOOK.
By Ruth Taylor. New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons.
A LOOSE-LEAF cook book designed
^ for the guidance of ‘‘the woman
whose activities, business or other
wise, do not enable her to spend much
time in housekeeping.” It seems to
be full of very good ideas and lots
of information of a useful nature on
varieties of foodstuffs.
THE PHANTOM OF FORTY-SEC
OND STREET. By Milton Raison
and Jack Harvey. New York: The
Macaulay Co.
'j'HIS is a bizarre mystery oi uie
costume variety. A murder is
committed by a man dressed in the
garb of Napoleon and assuming, over
his victim, the well-known Napoleonic,
pose. While the police are still waking
up, a second crime is committed by a
figure wearing a toga of the style af
fected by the Empero Nero. And then
a third by Capt. Kidd in sea boots,
earrings and otherwise full regalia.
All this in or about Manhattan.
It is one of those mysteries where
all the characters talk in the tough
oblique dialect which, as every one
knows, is the accepted language of the
native New Yorker. It is solved at
last by the “cynical young dramatic
editor” of one of the dailies. Why
has that jouranlist-detective become
cynical, one wonders? He has, of
course. He never shows his face in
any thriller nowadays without a bored
sneer twisting his mobile sensitive
lips. It makes one a little wistful for
the days when he was the youngest
reporter and solved the mysteries
that Center street despaired of with
an air of eager boyish igenuousness
and a simple sest for good, clean fun.
But he has grown up since then.
Eheu fugaces--1 He is an editor
now. ^
CHILDREN OF MOUNT VERNON
Washington's Diary Shows that Despite Fact He Was Child
less He Played Part of Father to Many Nieces, Nephews t
And Other Fortunate Youngsters.
By Edna J. Roberts.
(i \ K Y HOME," wrote George
l\j1 Washington, “may be
/ V 1 compared to a well-re
T * sorted tavern,” referring
in his diary to his life at Mount
Vernon on the Potomac River. This
entry in the diary had reference, be
yond doubt, to the numerous chil
dren of his immediate family, many
of whom spent their entire youth
on the estate. This same diary stands
as a record of their lives, and
sentences taken at random from the
yellowed pages weave themselves into
a picture of the days at Mount Vernon
when “all the world was young and
every lass a queen.”
Turning its pages is like looking
through an old family album, from
which quaint little faces peer, faces
framed in plaited curls and frilled
collars. Today the stone floor of the
great piazza of the mansion is well
worn from the patter of their feet,
and all about remain evidences of
their life there, silent memorials of
an era of charm and grace. Beneath
this roof echoed the childish laughter
of those who grew to maturity and
made American tradition with their
intellect and courage. Some of them
bequeathed to coming generations a
proud heritage. The ghosts of Ameri
can history walk through the silent
halls of the old house, and it Is with
a deep reverence that one opens doors
of the past to look into their private
lives.
were not the only youngsters who
played an Important part in the home
from which Washington marched to
war, and to which he returned to find
peace and contentment. Some idea
of the vast number who were closely
associated with him may be realized
m reading his last will in which he
made bequests to 41 relatives.
While Washington lived at Mount
Vernon it was a child’s kingdom. He
observed a "children’s hour.” as he
called it, each evening as the candles
were lighted. It was a time entirely
devoted to their interests and needs,
and the writing of letters to those
who were absent from his fireside.
Known as a man of few words,
Jefferson says of him. "he wrote more
readily than he spoke, in an easy,
correct style,” and his letters are clear
evidence of the great influence he
put forth in molding and forming the
young lives about him.
AT THE time of Washington’s
marriage to the widow Custis,
her children, Martha and John, were
4 and 6 years old. Soon after the
marriage the old ledger contained
such entries as,
“10 shillings worth of toys;
six little books for children be
ginning to read; for Master Cus
tis, I light duffel coat with silver
frogs; 1 piece of black ribbon; 1
pair of handsome silver shoe and
knee buckles; for Miss Custis, 4
years old, 1 pair of silver sleeve
buttons with stones; 2 caps and
2 tuckers if fashionable.”
Later there was an invoice of goods
from London which called for,
"a forte piano; ‘The Wayworn
Traveler,’ a song for Miss Custis."
There were items such as a,
"locket bot—in Phila., a Hatt.,
Children's books, whirligigs,
sashes.”
•••vnaj v*«a*%*w UllifA) Utdl Ulg 11UJ
cargo sailed up the broad Potomac
River and anchored at the wharf
which linked Mount Vernon with the
ports of Europe.
Many a romance was kindled in the
old mansion, for the young ladies of
the family were brought to Mount
Vernon to meet distinguished guests
and proivided with husbands through
these associations. The first marriage
there was that of Washington’s
nephew and Mrs. Washington’s niece,
recorded in the diary as “after the
candles were lighted George Augustine
Washington and Prances Bassett were
married by Mr. Grayson.”
As foster father to the children of
his brother, Samuel Washington lav
ished his affection upon them. One of
the most interesting of these children
was Harriot Spending seven years
at the estate on a "visit,” she gained
the reputation of “wanting to be
dressed up all the time.” When she
arrived she had “no disposition to be
careful of her cloaths, having her best
things always in use.” Her uncle had
hopes that he might change some of
her characteristics, and his letters to
her were filled with kindly advice and
admonitions as to choice of friends
and manner of behavior. “She is
young," he wrote, “and with good ad
vice may yet make a fine woman.”
T_TARRIOT might in this day be
11 termed a gold-digger, for she
wrote to her benefactor often after
leaving his roof in such terms as—
“How shall I apologize to my dear
and Honor’d for intruding on his
goodness so soon again, but being
sensible for your kindness to me,
which I shall ever remember with
the most heartfelt gratitude, in
duce me to make known my wants.
I have not had a pair of stays since
I came here: if you could let me
have % pair I should be very much
oblige} to you, and also a hat and a
few other articles. I hope my dear
Uncle will not think me extrava
gant, for really I take as much
care of my cloaths as I possibly
can.”
Out of the depths of an old trunk
recently discovered have come letters,
bills and receipts. Redolent with
camphor and age, they yield intimate
details of expenditures of the Wash
ington family. The trunk once be
longed to Betty Lewis, only sister of
George Washington. Her children
played an important part in the ex
ecutive life of President Washington.
One of her boys was appointed to his
own “Life Guard.” Howell Lewis was
offered a secretaryship at Mount Ver
non, which position carried a salary
of $300 a year. The other brother, j
Lawrence, served at the time of the '
President's retirement, at which time !
Washington offered him a home.
Lawrence Lewis accepted the offer and
later married Eleanor Custis.
The “French boy,” although not of
the family, held-an exalted place in
it. The Marquis de Lafayette, who
came as a young nobleman of 19 to
America, was always referred to in j
the most affectionate terms. From j
his very first visit he won a place in !
Washington’s heart and he would !
travel great distances to meet the!
“French boy” and escort him to Mount
Vernon. The experiences of war |
brought them closer together and :
formed a life-long alliance.
4a (Vib 4b... bf iibbbmn.4
boy, who dreamed that Gen. Wash
ington gave him a certain piece of
land. The sequel to that dream is
told in Washington’s will. Historians
believe beyond doubt that the dream
er was none other than Bushrod,
favorite nephew, and son of John \
Augustine Washington. The estate j
of Mount Vernon was bequeathed to
him, including all of his uncle's pa
pers and the library, the conveyance
of the deed to the property being ;
made for the “consideration of natural j
affection.” Bushrod was his uncle’s j
traveling companion on the eventful ■
western trip of 1784. He was given
legal training by Judge James Wil
son in Philadelphia, becoming an
eminent jurist and associate justice
of the United States Supreme Court j
from 1798 to 1829. He fully repaid
all of his uncle’s kindness and in
later life assisted him in ail his
legal affairs.
TN THE Spring of 1781, the great
river flowing by the very door
step of the estate had brought Brit- j
ish boats filled with troops. Young
Lund Washington, a nephew who had ;
been left in charge of the place at that [
time, sighted their approach. Lund
was fearful of the enemy and wel
comed the officers with extreme cour
tesy. Refreshments were served them
as a diplomatic gesture to safeguard
from any contemplated damage to
the estate. However, on receiving
word of this happening, Gen. Wash
ington immediately wrote his
nephew:
“It would have been a less pain
ful circumstance to me to have I
heard that, in consequence of your !
non-compliance with their request,
they had burnt my house and laid
the plantation in ruin. You ought I
to have considered yourself as my
representative.”
Nevertheless Mount Vernon was left
unharmed by this bit of disapproved
strategy.
Another favorite niece was Fanny,
wife of George Augustine. She and
her husband took charge of the es
tate during Washington’s presidency.
Her aunt, Mrs. Washington, show
ered them with gifts from Philadel
phia, the “seat of government” at
that time. Never was a mission so
important that time could not be
found to purchase gifts for the “chil
dren,” as they were called even after
reaching manhood and womanhood.
The Custis children, Jack and <
Martha (Patsey) lived at Mount Ver
non in their babyhood. The tragedy
of Patsey’s death left Jack the sole
recipient of his mother’s affection.
She was unhappy when he was away,
and he grew up somewhat pampered,
and with a greater liking for dogs,
horses and guns than for study and
work. Out of his many boyhood flirta
tions a serious affair developed with
Nellie Calvert, and he married her
just before the war. Sufferings from
exposure during this service resulted
in his death, and two of his four chil
dren were taken by the Washingtons
in their early childhood. They were
George Washington Parke and Eleanor
Parke Custis.
♦ 1 n -u 11 j
was furnished by tutors who held a
prominent place in the family. Many
names which now stand out in history
may be found among those who acted
as tutors for these children Noah
Webster once applied for the position,
and Tobias Lear held it for many
years. Lear became Washington's
private secretary and married into
the family. He was at Washington's
bedside when he died, and it is from
his pen the last words of the great
man have been passed on to posterity.
Gideon Snow was Nellie Custis’ first
tutor, and they continued a lifelong
friendship. Her musical education
was under the supervision of her
grandmother, who proved to be a
severe disciplinarian, requiring four
and five hours' practice each day and t
many raps on the knuckles if the
granddaughter showed any careless
ness.
'J'ODAY Nellie's bed room under the
sloping roof is furnished with her
high bed. reached by carpeted steps,
a chest of drawers with brass handles *
and a large stool. The brass handles
arp designed in the form of lions,
the same design worked on the cover
af the stool by the young lady. Below’
in the music room, which seems as
much Nellie's room as the little bed
room, stands the imported “forte
piano.’’ untouched and as silent as
the nearby music box and rosewood
Bute. Over the piano hangs a pastel
}f the lovely little lady. Her wedding
iav, which was also George Wash
ington’s birthday anniversary, was
:he event of the year, and the well
mown painting of the bride descend
mg the winding stairway gives some ^
idea of the beauty and grace of the
young belle of the Washington house
hold.
Washington died childless, but his
life had been filled with childish
laughter and tears, for he had carried
all the responsibilities of a natural
father in the care of his 20 or more
nieces and nephews, and they re
mained close to his heart even in their
mature years.
Mount Vernon s Tenant \
(Continued From First Page.)
the ancient kitchen, butler’s house,
smoke house, laundry and coach house
and other outbuildings. And inside
the mansion itself such a host of
relics that even to catalogue them
would require columns of space.
But deserving of detailed mention
is a room which perhaps may be
termed the most historic of any in
the country, the chamber in which
Washington died. Here is the bed
stead upon which Washington
breathed his last on December 14.
1799. Here also are his bureau, wash
stand, mirror, shaving stand and an
armchair which belonged to his
mother.
Sharing interest with this room is a
tiny one on the third floor which Mrs.
Washington occupied after the death
of her husband. In keeping with the
custom of the time, she closed his
room after his death, and took this
one, under the roof, from which she
could see Washington’s tomb.
The vault she could see is now
known as the old tomb, and all bodies
were removed from it in 1831. Wash
ington himself had stipulated that
this be done because of the danger of
landslides at that point.
Abotfe the doorway of the hallowed
new tomb, cut into the stone, is the
simple legend:
Within this Enclosure Rest the Re
mains of Genl. George Washington.”
To this place, and especially during
the many years of Col. Dodge’s ad
ministration, have come the great and
the humble of this and all other
lands under the sun.
Presidents, kings, emperors here
iitivc uutuvcicu uvioie uie nvu nim
ble sarcophagi which inclose the
bodies of George and Martha ^Wash
ington. Here all ranks are leveled as
potentates join ordinary citizens in
rendering tribute to the man whose
courage, fortitude and genius brought
a new Nation into being.
Everywhere on the estate are evi
dences of Washington’s abiding love
for Mount Vemon. One finds with
delight original boxwood hedges,
sturdy trees which he set out as sap
lings, fields over which he rode, even
the coach in which he made his jour
neys, the very china, knives and forks
with which he ate, and the glasses in
which he responded to the toasts in
which he invariably was the central
figure.
AS ONE wanders about the place, or
sits on the portico facing the
broad Potomac, one visualizes easily
the scenes enacted here a century and
a half ago. There return again to
visit with the great man at Washing
ton such figures as Lafayette, Jeffer
son and a host of others whose names
are written indelibly in the annals of
the country. One relives the days of
open-handed Virginia hospitality; sees
again the glow of candles in .their
beautifully wrought sconces; hears
again the tinkle of glass, the echo
of laughter, the resonant voice of
Washington discussing affairs of the
There comes, too, the vision of an
event which took place at Mount Ver
non on Washington's last birthday, in
1799. gladdening the few remaining
j months of his life. The scene is the ,
marriage of his beloved stepdaughter,
j Nellie Custis, to Lawrence Lewis after
an idyllic romance.
And if but a brief visit to Mount
Vernon so stirs the imagination, what
a host of memories will be awakened
this week for Col. Dodge, who has be
hind him 51 years of intimate asso
ciation with this treasured spot!
While Americans here and through
out the world celebrate Washington's
birthday on Friday, it is at Mount
j Vernon that the most poignant of an
i niversary dramas will be enacted.
For Harrison Howell Dodge the
i panorama of his own life and that of
Mount Vernon inevitably will appear *
j to merge, and in the quiet of their
mutual offices Gen. Washington and
he together will pore over the well
worn account books which tell the
day-by-day story of the ancient estate.
One knows that Gen. Washington
will find that at Mount Vernon the
faith has been kept.
Bank of Congress
(Continued From First Page.)
the members let their salaries accu
mulate. While they are not permitted
to deposit outside money—money that v
may be sent to them from home, for
instance—they can leave their salaries
at the sergeant at arms’ office and t
check against this money.
To provide them proper checking
facilities, old Uncle Sam even goes so
far as to have the check books made at , 4
the Bureau of Engraving and Printing,
and there is no finer sample of check
book in all the land than these, the
books carried by the Representatives.
The books are encased in smooth, soft,
yellow leather—a: sort of calfskin ef
fect, with a silky-satin finish that
feels to the fingers like the fur on a
cat’s back. And the paper itself is of
the finest. Also the engraving. The
design carries the mace—token of the
sargeant at arms office—and a front
view of the United States Capitol
Building.
There, then, you have an idea of
what goes on in the way of a banking t
business down under the dome of the
Capitol. This bank does a regular
banking business, too, even to making
loans. So if you ever run out of funds
down on Capitol Hill and know a Rep
resentative who trusts you, here is a
good chance to get a helping hand
from Uncle Sam.
RHAITQ BOUGHT
DUUISjJ and sold
We pay the highest prices fer 'l
good books, old prints, autographs.
BARGAIN BOOK SHOP
808 9th St. N.W. Dl. 5007
.. '