[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15688-15689]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          200th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

  (Mr. GEKAS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, it occurred to me that while we are waiting 
to proceed with today's agenda that here in 1999 it is the 200th year, 
the 200th anniversary, and it should not be a happy anniversary, but it 
is an anniversary of the death of George Washington.
  After the constitutional convention of 1787, of course the father of 
our country took over the presidency in 1789. He served 8 stalwart 
years, during which time he established the United States presidency 
for what it is, an individual who will chart the course of the country 
without ever attaining the role of king or of tyrant or of anything but 
a citizen politician who would guide the ship of State, along with the 
two other branches of government.
  George Washington established that for all time. When he retired he 
went back to Mt. Vernon and there, guess

[[Page 15689]]

what? He engaged in making sure that the firefighting equipment for the 
entire area was intact. He pruned trees, checked the crops, made sure 
that the river flow was adequate for the purposes of transportation, 
river transportation. Did a hundred different things as an owner of 
property, as a farmer.
  He reestablished himself as a member of the community because he 
attended several meetings with fellow farmers just to make sure that 
the local ordinances and local safety measures and police and 
firefighting people were set to do their duties. The kinds of things 
that we know are necessary in today's communities, that is what George 
Washington, the father of our country, did in his retirement.
  Later on this year when we get closer to the anniversary of his 
death, I plan to take a special order to again review the life of 
George Washington, this being the 200th anniversary of his death in 
1799, and to recall that what we are here today is largely the product 
of his steady hand in war and in peace.
  When we call him the father of our country, that is not a euphemism. 
That is a reality that we must all take into consideration as we review 
the history of our country.

                          ____________________