Show DOUBT CAST UPON HISTORIC LEGEND washington elm story held mere tradition A bulletin of the arnold arboretum carte casts doubt the legend that the si j called Wasti washington lwon elm which un til 1020 mood on cambridge corn coin mon cast its hade shade upon george washington hen on july 8 3 1775 ho took over from gen artena Arteria lt ward the command of the colonial forces but especially it declares that the numerous cutting s have been distributed as direct descendants ants of the tree are of dubious ancestry the tradition about the tree unfortunately tuna tely reste rests upon no trustworthy indisputable eil evidence dence and it lias has been discredited el because a called the diary of dorothy dud ley published in 1875 which pur ported to give the testimony of an e eyewitness eye ye witness to the event proved to be a literary forgery fur gery when the tree fell in 1 1020 10 it was estimated that in 1775 the tree was only sixty two years old end and less than 28 inches in diameter and therefore was wag not so conspicuous as to be singled out as the bach background ground of the historic it scene the fact Is that noody body who took part art in the ceremony appreciated its significance the ei ex change of co commands comi ands was ejected with the utmost simplicity I 1 with no prophetic a sense ense of its importance in eyes eye 9 of posterity all that can be affirmed positively ely ot of the tho washing ton elm Is that it stood at or near the he spot where washington washing ton became the he military leader of the army of the ReNo revolution lution it may or may not have been the identical tree in these matters ho however never we can not cot altogether reject a tradition handed d down own from sire to sun son ed ward everett hale among many oth ers accepted the story of the wash ington elm as and his big belief in it 10 went back to 1830 10 or beyond lie ile probably bad it from his big parents or with whom hom it was to doubt a treasured anecdote for edward everetts great uncle nathan hale the revolution ary cry patriot was stationed with his regiment at cambridge in september 1775 within three months of the time that washington assumed command it Is not at all unlikely then that this ardent young soldier was vas one of the sponsors for the story told it to members of his family as a fact dur ing the few brief months that remained to him of life boston tran script |