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Show CACHE AMERICAN, LOGAN. UTAH TRUE GHOST STORIES By Famous People By ELMO SCOTT WATSON E ERY one knows, George Washington was a man who lmd two birthdat s. He was born on February 11, 1732, but Eng- Cop right by Public Ledger. Inc. W NU Service. By MADAME SCHUMANN-HE1NHE. SCHUMANN HEINES iVi great spint will not be daunted, Just as her great voice still rings forth strong and clear. At the age of seenty, she is again f lands adoption of the Gregorian calendar m IT.'. 2 changed the anniversary of his birth from February 11 to February 22, the date on which we now honor meeting the caprices and demands of a daily song engagement before Ins memory. Considering the fact that Washingtons birthday is one of only seven days in the year observed in all states and territories of the Union, an honor accorded to no other Ameiican, it is noteworthy that Washington himself paid little attention to the anniversary perhaps even less than the average person does to his own. At least, that is the impression one gets from his diaries, journals, account books and other manuscript records, and they shed little light on the question of whether Washington regarded February 11 or February 22 as his birthday. True, in a letter dated .May 2, 1792, answering a request from Sir Isaac Heard, Garter King of Arms in London, for the genealogical record of the Washington family, he wrote that he was born February 11th. (old style) 1732. But presumably he did not consider the anniversary, whether the eleventh or the twenty-seconof enough importance to mention it specifically in any of the records which he kept. If he regarded February 22 as his blitliday after the calendar change in 1752, then an event which occurred on February 21, 1754 must have been something of a birthday present" for him. Returning to Williamsburg, the capital of Virginia, after his perilous journey into the West to warn the French off of English lands, it must have pleased the young Virginian to learn that the previous day the house of burResolved That the gesses had Treasurer be directed to pay out of the public Monies In his Hands the sum of Fifteen Pounds to Major George Washington to testify our Approbation of his Proceedings in his Journey to the Ohio. There is no special record in connection with the date until fifteen years later, although his birthday in 1759 must have been a happy one. For he had Just been manried to Martha Parke Cus-tl- s and during the months of February and March of that year he was honeymooning with his bride In Williamsburg. There he was enjoying the dances and other social activities (routs, Washington calls them) of the colonial capital before going to Mount Vernon to take up his career as master of that plantation and as a prosperous Virginia gentleman. The entries in his diary for February 22 in both the years 1709 and 1770 are curiously alike. Both record the fact that he Went to Court (at Alexandria) and returnd Home (Mount Vernon) at Night" For February 22, 1775, the entry reads "Went with Mrs. Washington to Mr. Dlgges and Dind," but if this was a birthday dinner In honor of the man who was so soon to be elected commander in chief of the Continental army, the brief entry in the diary gives no hint of the fact The next six years were to be the most event ful in Washingtons life. He would repeatedly taste the bitterness of defeat and utter discouragement lightened only by occasuccess and vicsional moments of tory before Yorktown should bring the ultimate triumph to his efforts in behalf of his country. No doubt some of those moments of bright hope and black despair came to him on his birthday, but if so, there is no record of his commenting upon them in connection with the anniversary. What was perhaps the first Washingtons Birthday celebration In our history a meager one, albeit took place during that time. John C. Fitzpatrick in his George Washington Himself A Common-SensBiography Written From His Manuscripts" (published in 1933 by the company) tells of It as follows: "The army knew that he liked music and this knowledge carried Procters artillery band (it was nothing but a drum and fife corps) tramping through the ice and snow of that dreary winter In 1778, in Valley Forge, to serenade their General on his birthday. It was a gesture of affection which brought the ragged musicians some of the very few silver coins left in the purse of Chief." the Commander-IThree years later there was another celebra tlon by his comrades in arms, only this time it was Inspired by a foreigner, Count Rochambeau the Frenchmaa He was in the habit of honoring the birthday of his king, and, as a graceful gesture toward his allied commander, ordered a parade of the French troops and the firing of a salute on February 22. How deeply Washington, harassed by the difficulties and discouragements which immediately preceded the victory at York town, appreciated this courtesy may be seen from the letter he wrote Rochambeau from New Windsor: The flattering distinction paid to the anni is an honor for which versary of my birth-daI dare not attempt to express my gratitude. I confide in your Excellencys sensibility to interpret my feelings for this, and for the obliging manner in which you are pleased to announce it.' Ills great task ended at the close of the Revolution, Washington resigned his commission and retired to Mount Vernon, hoping to spend the rest of his days as a Virginia planter. Characteristic of his simplicity and love for the soil is this entry in bis diary during 1785: "Tuesday, February 22d. Removed two pretty large and full grown Lilacs to the No. Garden gate, one on each side, taking up as much dirt with the I also reroots as could well be obtained. moved from the Woods and old fields several young Trees of the Sassafras, Dogwood and Redbud to the shrubbery on the No. side of the grass twenty-sevent- e Bobbs-Merri- the. public. Tell you a ghost story? she replied lu her deep, resonant voice. Ach, I will tell you why ll n y ... spends Christmas Schumann-lleln- k Eve alone. Site rose cold walls room were ness of her plot" Thus the hero of the Revolution cele brated his birthday planting trees But even more prosaic was his celebration of his first birthday as President of the United States. Says his diary for Monday, February 22d. (1790) Set seriously about removing my furniture to my new home Two of the gentlemen of the family had their beds taken there and would sleep there tonight This "new home was the first Executive Mansion, the McCombs house on Broadway, Just below Trinity church, in New York city, and the mind of the first Presi ident of the United States on that historic birth day was occupied, not with the affairs of state, but with the homely details of placing and arranging furniture. However, there was evidently a reception of some sort in his honor at that time for he records, somewhat naively, on February 23 : Few or no visitors at the Levee from the idea of my being on the move. Although Washington was loath to encourage any celebration of his birthday, since it might smack of homage to royalty, his people were eager to honor him on that occasion. Especially was this true after the seat of government was moved from New York city to Philadelphia. In 1795 a ceremonious function was held in the Capital in honor of the Presidents birthday and the following year an even more elaborate one was given. Fitzpatrick says of it: The church-bell- s rang, the light horse, artillery and light Infantry seized the opportunity to turn out in full strength, to show off their new uniforms, and artillery salutes were fired. Congress, the state officials, the clergy and others visited the President to pay their respects and In the evening the Assembly gave a ball, which the President and Mrs. Washington attended, which was, Dunlaps Advertiser reported, the most brilliant display of beauty, perhaps, ever exhibited in this city? But the socialites of the nations Capital were not the only ones who celebrated Washingtons birthday at that time. Out on what was then the Western frontier there was another celebration, of a somewhat different sort but nonetheless sincere. In the library of the United States Military academy at West Point are preserved the orderly books of Gen. Anthony Wayne, kept dur ing his campaign against the Indians In 1792-9and of his successor, Gen. James Wilkinson. In them appears this entry during the year 1796: Dead Quarters Greenville (Ohio) February 21 Tomorrow being the Anniversary of the Birth of George Washington, the Illustrious President of the United States; The Auspicious Day will be Distinguished by a display of the Hag from the Citadel at Sun rise and a federal salute from the Park at 12 o'clock All Fatigues are to cease The troops will draw an Extra Gill of Whiskey, and The Officers off Duty are Requested to Dine at Head Quarters. No doubt the soldiers, enjoying both the fact that "All Fatigues are to cease" and that they would "draw an Extra Gill of Whiskey, were quite willing to wish their commander in chief many happy returns of the day"! Soon after the Revolution closed and even be fore Washington became President, his Virginia friends Instituted one celebration of his birthday which lasted for many years. This was the Birthnlght Ball, first held in Alexandria and to her feet. The bare, of her theater dressing flooded with the rich- warm personality. Eight years ago this Christmas Eve I was in Chicago. When I returned to my hotel room, overlooking the lake, night had come. The room was dark. I sat by the window. From my chair I could look out over Michigan avenue Into a In the paik I saw park beyond. a great Christmas tree. It wns beautiful, a giant evergreen, a hundred feet or more. Out of the night it brought me memories of other days when my children were young. "As I looked at It, I began to pray, and I cried. I prayed to God to take care of my children who could not be with me tills night I prayed to him to do just one thing for me this night To let me see, once again, the faces of my two boys who were gone, of my little Hans who died in my arms; of my dear, sweet August, who served as an officer on a submarine for Germany during the war and whose submarine went down and never was heard from. If he would only let me see those two dear boys once again. As I prayed there came a cold wind against my cheek. Just as though some one had opened an outside door. Quick, I wiped away my tears because I thought some one was coming into the room. I looked up. Before me were the faces of my boys, my Hans and my August I I stood up. I opened my arms to them. I screamed for Joy and the faces went away. Call this the Imagination of a poor old woman, If you will, but I saw my boysl I saw my sweet boysl "Every year now I will not go ont on Christmas Eve. I will not allow anyone to come near .my room. I wait, I pray, I hope for Not the return of those faces. siDce that day, eight years ago, have I seen them. I know, knows, that they will come again. h heart-breakin- g Mussolini Makes Farm Lands Out of Marshes By GLENN HUNTER Tlln6 7tavtjUiorvgAa Actor. OJUt ii TT attended by the hero ot the Revolution whose diary betrays his great fondness for routs and who never failed to attend one of these functions until almost the end of bis days. Washingtons last birthday, in 1799, was marked by the marriage of his beloved adopted daughter, Nellie Custis, who requested him to wear the splendid new uniform of General of the Armies of the United States, an othce that bad been created for him the previous year. Instead, the general presented her with the magnificent white plumes from the uniform and appeared at the wedding clad in the uniform in which he had won his greatest fame the old Continental buff and blue. Beneath his arm was a faded cocked hat w ith a simple ribbon cockade, a reminder of those stirring days when he was waging his fight for the liberties of his country. Just as simple and unassuming as this gesture was his comment in his diary for this, his last birthday. He merely wrote : "The Revd Mr Davis and Mr Geo Calvert came to dinner and Miss Custis was married adt Candle light to Mr Lawrence Lewis." Credit for the nation-widobservance of Washingtons birthday as a day of commemoration after his death is due more, perhaps, to a Boston woman than to any other individual. She was Mrs. Harrison Gray Otis, who also bad a part in preserving historic Mount Vernon as a national shrine. Born in Boston in 1796 Eliza Henderson even before her marriage Into the famous family of Otises, had wealth and social position. A widow at thirty with five children, she took them abroad to educate them. Returning after nine years in Europe with her patriotism and pride of country stronger than ever, she decided to commemorate Washingtons birthday by a public reception in her mansion at 41 Mount Vernon street in the Massachusetts capital In those and the days the gulf between the socially-elec- t common people" was wider than it is today and, although her society friends had regarded her as "daring" and eccentric before this, they wrere much scandalized at the idea of her throweven for such ing open her home to a purpose ns honoring the Father of His Country. But she did It and she treated the common folk who came with the same gracious courtesy accorded to her society friends, most of whom came more out of curiosity than through any approval of her idea. But the first reception, held on February 22, 1842, was such a success and won so much commendation from all who attended that she continued them each year from that time on to her death In 1876. In the meantime, largely due to her influence, governors of the commonwealth began holding informal receptions on Washingtons birthday, functions occupied although these second place to Mrs. Otis reception, In the estimation of the citizens of Boston. It was het influence also that resulted In February 22 be coming a legal holiday in Massachusetts. Othel states followed its lead until now the anniversary is thus observed in every state in the Union. e Bord-man- semi-ottici- by Waiters Newspaper U Iliya. a heavy heart that I had to go to the theater every day to play a part, while my young brother lay desperately 111, WAS with related Glenn Hunter, famous portrayer of Juvenile roles. At one part of the play the whole cast, with the exception of This myself, was on the stage. wait always occurred during a matI inee, a few minutes before 4. dreaded this wait I did not want to be alone. Mary Bolands dressing room was nearest the telephone. I went into this dressing room hoping the phone would ring with a good message for me. "The theater, off stage, in the dressing rooms, was strangeiv quiet, except for the ticking of my watch. I took my watch out of my pocket It was exactly 4 o'clock. I put it away. Then clearly, distinctly, came four slow, long knocks at my door. A pause separated each one. Quickand ly, I Jumped to my feet There was no opened the door. one In sight. I searched the dim corridor and could find no one. Shivers ran up and down my back. I asked the electricians and the stage hands if they bad seen anyone going to or from the dressing room. They had not The cue came for my entrance on the stage. Again I entered Into my part When I returned my brother dead. home I found I asked mother what time he died. "Four oclock, she said. 'ht jr muf"-- - ii nf--- - One of the pet projects of Premier Mussolini Is the development of that section of Llttoria which was made into farmlands after being reclaimed from the Pontine marshes During a tour of the province he showed his skill in agricultural arts by sowing corn seed on some newly turned soil Young Men Framed U. S. Constitution Average Age of Delegates 44 Years, 9 Months. Milwaukee. Many of those who played prominent parts in framing the Constitution of the United States were mere youngsters. The average age of the delegates was only forty-fou- r years and nine months and would have been lower but for the presence of that sage, Benjamin Franklin. Fifty-fiv- e delegates attended, but the birth date of one is not known ; only seven were more than sixty and only thirteen more than fifty. InSix were less than thirty-onof cluding one whippersnapper twenty-six- . The formulatton of the Constitution was in large measure the work of the youngsters" among the delegates, writes a correspondent of the Milwaukee Journal. Their brilliance was a commentary upon the Intelligence of the American people of that age, their Intellectual ability upon the efficacy of the American system of education and their political genius upon the profound thought expended on the Issues which agitated the nation during and after the Revolution. Patrick Henry Balks. New Hampshire wanted to be represented, but its pocketbook was flat and Its delegates late. George Washington attended the convention against the advice of some of his friends, who did not want him Involved In a failure. Patrick Henry refused to have anything to do with the convention. The entire delega Once more an attempt Is being made to do away with the Tombs. Should the plans for a skyscraper criminal combination Jail and courts building go through, the most famous prison in the country would disappear. Gray, sinister, suilen, with a Bridge of Sighs connecting it with the red brick Criminal Courts building, the Tombs has been condemned repeatedly. Built at a time when the city had a population of but 2,500,000, the prison, because of overcrowding, has been held to be a school for crime. Also, it has been held a menace to health of prisoners. Thai however, did not give the prison its name. Away back In 1835, John L. Stevens came home from Egypt and published a book about his travels. On the cover was the picture of an Egyptian tomb. That inspired the architecture of the prison, which was opened in 1838. It also gave It a name that was passed on to Its successor. Clean, Oil Lock Troublesome interior doors, locks can be removed easily for cleaning Originally, the site of the Tombs and oiling. The screw on the stem was a body of fresh water known of one door knob should be loosened as Collects William IV of pond. unand the knob pulled off or came very near losing his Englnnd screwed. The other knob and the life there when he was the duke of rod can then be drawn out. The As a yonng naval offClarence. lock Is released by the loosening of icer he visited New York and went two screws, and the mechanism exskating on the pond along with the posed by removing a loose plate to bloods of the city. The Ice broke be found on one side and secured by and the duke sank. Jnllan C. a single screw. a prominent citizen, fished him out and saved him to become Plan Building Enlargement king. Some time later in 1S08 Piles sunk for the newer build- It was decided to fill In the pond, ings of the University of London in but not because of the ducal ducking. London are planned so that any InThe country was suffering from ternal alterations to meet requirea depression and idle workmen ments for years to come can be marched to the city hall with a made without touching the outer The petition In plea for Jobs. shell. boots was heeded and filling the new prison pond made work. If tion chosen by Maryland refused to accept its appointments and new representatives had to be chosen. Eight delegates who accepted their appointments never showed up at all Others visiting or absented themselves for days during sessions and never did more than eleven states have voting delegations present at the same time. The average attendance was about thire ty of the delegates accredited. On May 14, the date scheduled for the opening of the convention, delegation quorums were present only from Virginia and Pennsylvania. It was eleven days later before the convention could start. When the convention finally opened, the younger new dealers quickly showed that they were to play a leading, not a following, role in the deliberations. The first plan for a constitution was submitted by Gov. Edmund Randolph of Virginia, who was thirty-fouIt Is now known as the "Virginia plan and contained many of the points finally adopted. Madison to the Fora. The next plan came surprisingly from Charles Pinckney, of South Carolina. At first the delegates, overcome by the youth's audacity, would have no dealings with it, but when the con' vention was finished they admitted It was the Constitution in embryo. A third plan, the New Jersey plan, was submitted by William but had little Paterson, forty-tweffect on the conventions result w hlppersnapper' Still another emerged to become the father of fifty-fiv- r. d is built, the money will come from PWA funds. In the old days, all the hangings were at the Tombs. Owners of nearby buildings that commanded a view of the courtyard reaped quite a harvest by charging $5 for a place at a window. The prison had but 148 cells, and as the city grew, conditions approached those of the old Bridewell. Nothing was done until 1894 when Mayor Strong, a reform candidate, was elected. The present structure was completed in 1903. Behind it, however, are two old cell blocks that were built In 1885. The Tombs has housed many notable prisoners and R. DOUGLAS STUART Mr. Stuart succeeds George H. Mead as chairman of the industrial advisory board pf the KRA. the Constitution, the leading light of the group half brain trusters and half horse traders that compiled the document He was James Madison, of Virginia, then thirty-siand a student of political science, the peer of any this country has produced. As proof of the prominent parts the younger men played, the convention chose them for four of the five members of the committee on revision which completed the final wording to the Constitution in accordance with resolutions adopted in the sessions. The committee members were Madison, Alexander Hamilton, thirty, of New York; Rnfus of Massachusetts; King, thirty-two- , Gouverneur Morris, thirty five, of Pennsylvania, and William Samuel Johnson, sixty, of Connecticut The esteem In which the delegates were held Is shown by the honors which they later received. Two, Washington and Madison, became Presidents; one, Gerry, of gerrymandering fame, a Vice President Ten were senators and eight representatives in the First congress. Five were placed on the Supreme court, two chief justices. King became an attorney general and secretary of state; Hamilton was secretary ot the treasury. Six delegates served terms as governors and four were appointed minister to foreign countries. j x Returns Alone to Keep i His Honeymoon Pledge Neosho, Mo. An old man walked Into the hotel here and registered. The hotel clerk talked to him and found that, fifty years ago, he and his bride spent their honeymoon there, vowing to return to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. Although the wife had died, her husband returned on the date and filled his room with flowers. He did not give his name. there have been some sensational e capes. In November, 1926, three desperate prisoners attempted a break in which they killed the warden. Two of the prisoners, their attempt having failed, shot themselves and the third was killed by officers. As was the case In the time of hangings, all nearby windows were filled with spectator So far as is known, no fees were collected, however. Another famons structure slated to go. If the new prison and courts plan Is accomplished, Is the old county courthouse in City Hall park, a gray stone structure familiarly known as the Tweed courthouse. It was built during the regime of Boss Tweed and put a tidy sum Into the pockets of the ring. The original cost was estimated at $250,000, but by the time It was completed it cost the taxpayers $12,000,000. One plasterer was paid $138,187 for two days work, the total bill for plastering having been $2,870,000. One carpenter was "paid $360,000, and enough of the most expensive carpet in New York was bought to cover City Hall park three times. There were also cuspidors at $175 each. Removal of the old Tweed courthouse, once used for the county courts and now for the municipal courts, would further the restoration of City Hall park to its original dimensions, and would carry out the plan of the municipal center In Foley square to the north. The old Municipal Courts building was torn down some time ago and In time the old post office building. Just south of the park, will also go. And none will regret the passing of that landmark. C, Bell Syndicate. WN'U Service. |