Show Hailed I as First Military Genius Genius' Historians seem to have acknowledged that nothing new can be sal said on Washington's Washington's Wash Wash- ington's character statesmanship or patriotism NothIng Nothing Noth Noth- ing old can be said saidon on ou th these se subjects with much chance of ot being better phrased than Byrons Byron's Byrons Byrons Byron's By By- rons ron's I Immortal m mort a I summary of ot him The first the last the tho best The Tho of ot the tho West Nest Whom envy dared not hate or Kipling's more moie detailed presentment presentment present present- ment in If But in spite of ot Till all that has been written on the man few students have taken Washington's full measure as a n soldier ler and fewer still realize how far he prefigured the sd- sd scIentific and Industrial age In which we weare weare weare are living today The average n person thinks of ot a great general as ns one who commands a great arm army It would be possible to get farther from the truth than that but not without prolonged effort TherIs There Ther Is a point at nt which the mere size atan of at an army taxes the genius of ot its commander com com- commander mander but that point was not reach reached ell until the Twentieth century Judged by the real test that of ot achievement ement in proportion to means and obstacles Washington Is one of lf the four or five fi greatest commanders pro produced by the speaking English race probably the greatest Greatly Handicapped Consider his difficulties o o begin with he was serving a n revolutionary committee not a n real government and was not backed by any of ot the governmental go powers which supported European commanders The congress of ot that day could coul l not levy taxes ta-es could not enforce conscrIption could not pay Its men or provide le t The men were enlisted for or varying terms al almost almost al al- most always for short terms The officers officers officers cers had little training The different colonies were unaccustomed to act to to- gether Tl There ere was only the beginning of ot a n national feeling and national consciousness and the lie British whatever whatever whatever what what- ever their weaknesses had splendidly disciplined troops and und held the sea Yet In the face of obstacles like these Washington I kept ept an nn army together together to to- gether and made headway against the enemy until he lie could deal the finishIng finishIng finish finish- Ing lag blow at Yorktown The fhe sl skill with which lie ile nailed Clinton to New NewYork NewYork York while the Continental army was making Its mile march to eaten catch Cornwallis at ut Yorktown is fully equal to that by which Napoleon caught General Mack Macle asleep at nt Ulm Dim No Errors Mar Record On one point of ot military genius indeed in deed Wa Washington is superior even to the Corsican Caesar who In else ranks at ot the head bead of ot the martial martin world No man can cnn put his fingers fingerson on an point In Washington's any campaigns campaigns cam cam- and say Here thIs man made madea le lea a serious mistake The soundness of ot othis his judgment was almost uncanny Perhaps this Judgment was due In some measure to the scientific quality of ot his mind l. l His approach to science was more practical than that of at Franklin but equally zealous WashIngton Washington Wash Wash- ington conducted experIment after experiment experiment experiment ex ex- In drainage crop rotation different methods of fertilizing Ills His notes on these matters are worthy of ot attention from agricultural colleges today He berated Virginias Virginia's dependence dependence depend depend- ence on tobacco as ns bitterly as as more than a century later statesmen lashed the dependence of the he Gulf GuU states on i cotton Always seeking better belter and more economical methods of production al always always nl- nl ways trying to utilize by products by-products al always always nl- nl ways ready for a flyer In land hand which was the Eighteenth century substitute for Industrial promotion Washington was startlingly modern in many aspects aspects aspects as as- of his mind Where this modernism mod modernism mod falls fails It might pay us to get bet closer to the Washingtonian viewpoint even at nt the cost of at being somewhat old fashioned |