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Show Some Thoughts For To-Day. N-IXE out of ten persons who pick up a paper this morning will be reminded in some way that today-is today-is the twenty-second of February, and a state holiday. Some paragraph may appear telling about a proposed celebration cele-bration in honor of Washington. One will read it; the other nine will skip it. No better proof is needed of the decay of American colonial hero worship. If any love for early, traditions remain in the American heart, the flame is kept alive by our children. Fortunately they cannot comprehend, like their elders, el-ders, a republic reaching out and obtaining ob-taining by conquest an empire spreading spread-ing over two hemispheres. The children chil-dren are charmed by the story of the War for Independence; their sympathies sympa-thies go out to the suffering patriots at Valley Forge; their young blood leaps over the affair at Trenton and the surrender sur-render of the Hessians. From Lexington Lexing-ton to Y'orktown our children repeat the history of Washington, as we learned it long ago and loved it long ago. Now the Funstons and the Bells take his place in the American heart. Washington is good enough for children only. Today, in spots throughout the Union, j a militia company may turn out, or the Daughters of the American Revo-I Revo-I hit ion may drink tea. By mere coin-! coin-! eidenee, Blanche Walsh is in Salt Lake, and among her repertoire is the i play of "Janice Meredith," a drama founded on a revolutionary novel in which Washington appears. To attend at-tend the matinee today may discharge a lofty patriotic duty, in the minds of some patrons; but the chances are that half who attend go to see Blanche Walsh and will be surprised at the fuage apparition of Washington. In other places some orator with the courage of conviction will admonish his listeners to remain steadfast to the principles won at Yorktown and incorporated incor-porated into the federal government by the fathers. The verdict of half who listen will be that the orator is an anti-imperialist anti-imperialist and his language calculated to keep alive rebellion against armed authority in the Philippines. Iconoclasts have already begun to destroy the innocent traditions which made the character of the great Washington Wash-ington a lovely one for the nursery an example of morality, of truth, of honor. Some comparisons favor Benedict Bene-dict Arnold as a general. John Adams is quoted as writing' down the "Father of His Country" a blockhead in statesmanship. All agree that - if he lived in this day he would , be a fellow of no consequence. con-sequence. And so would he be. were it not for our children. God bless our American children. They are the sap of the tree of freedom. free-dom. Their sires are the withered branches of decayed liberty, fit only for the lire of imperialism. |