THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



185 



mittee on Appropriations, points out, an 

 increase in the appropriations made by 

 succeeding Congresses is a necessity due to 

 the demands of the increasing population. 

 This is true in a measure, but economy is 

 not one of the virtues of Congress, and 

 while Mr. Cannon used his - influence to 

 check the increase, there is no doubt but 

 what many of the appropriations might 

 have been cut down or done away with 

 entirely; that providing for the payment 

 of old French spoliation claims, among 

 them. Mr. Cannon states that the in- 

 crease was due to the larger appropria- 

 tions for pensions, the postoffice depart- 

 ment, and the navy, for the construction 

 of needed public buildings, taking the 

 census, paying claims, improving the 

 great waterways, and for the Paris ex- 

 position. The passage of the Loud bill 

 would have materially reduced the post- 

 office department expenses and there are 

 other money-saving measures which might 

 have been adopted. The attention of Con- 

 gress was so taken up with the war that 

 their lack of economy is more excusable 

 than it would otherwise be. The Chicago 

 Tribune, speaking editorially on this sub- 

 ject says: "For extravagant appropriations 

 of this kind by the last Congress and by 

 preceding Congresses there is no party re- 

 sponsibility. The popularity-seeking mem- 

 bers of both the great political organiza- 

 tions unite in voting for lax pension legis- 

 lation and in supporting riyer and harbor 

 and public buildings jobs for the benefit 

 of their districts, or, rather, for their own 

 benefit, for they hope thereby to secure 

 their re-nomination and re-election. There 

 is no politics in the 'pork barrel.' ' 



Schley's promotion, which places him 

 ninth on the list of Rear .Admirals, oc- 

 casioned general satisfaction in Congress. 



None of the armored ships for the navy 

 will be even contracted for this year, 

 owing to the restrictions in the price of 

 plate. 



Beyond voting a million dollars to be 

 expended by the president in investigat- 

 ing the two proposed canal routes, nothing 

 was done regarding the Nicaragua canal 

 bill. 



It was with genuine regret that the 

 members of Congress, irrespective of par- 



A 



Human 

 Hero 



ty, bade farewell to "sockless" Jerry 

 Simpson, whose retirement to private life 

 robs them of their chief fun-maker. 



In one of our exchanges we re- 

 cently came across an article 

 entitled "Leave Our Heroes 

 Human'' in which a protest was made 

 against the practice of suppressing all 

 accounts of the follies and faults of our 

 great men and dwelling only on their vir- 

 tues. This praiseworthy effort of the 

 biographer to give us faultless heroes in 

 the men who have made history is on the 

 plan of "speak only good of the dead." 

 It is this tendency that has caused us to 

 regard the "father of our country" as a 

 conceited prig, and to wonder how so 

 faultless a being could gain the love and 

 admiration of his companions, "Biog- 

 raphy," says the writer, "is not written for 

 children, but for everybody, and when 

 adults read biography they read it to 

 learn of what matter of stuff were made 

 the heroes described." They want the 

 hero to stand "revealed as he was a man, 

 with the same faults and foibles possessed 

 by mortals cast from the same clay but in 

 a more common mould." 



Perhaps it was this same feeling which 

 actuated the writer who gives us, in the 

 Saturday Evening Post (Feb. 25) "The Un- 

 familiar George Washington." From it 

 we learn with relief that the great George, 

 so intimately connected in our mind with 

 the cherry tree episode, was not quite per- 

 fect. It is darkly hinted, in fact, that on 

 one occasion he did lie not to his father 

 but to his mother. When a boy of about 

 thirteen, so runs the unauthentic legend, 

 George was sent by his mother one even- 

 ing to bring in the cow from the pasture 

 and milk her. The cow was brought in 

 but, not being fond of milking, George 

 omitted that part of the task. Just as he 

 was sinking into dreamland his mother 

 asked if he had milked the cow. And the 

 cherry-tree hero answered "yes," proving 

 that he not only could tell a lie but that 

 when he did it was a very bad one. The 

 hatchet story is said to be a mere fiction, 

 invented by the first biographer who de- 

 sired it "to point a moral and adorn a 

 tale." 



"General Washington is known to us 



