Professor Albert Bushnell Hart Hails Find of Washingtoniana in Old Trunk

In a hasty interview yesterday afternoon shortly before his departure for New York, Albert Bushnell Hart '80, Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, Emeritus, explained to a CRIMSON reporter the nature of his recent startling find of between 1,000 and 2,000 Washington documents in an old hair trunk in the attic of a farm-house near Mt. Vernon.

"Last week I would have stated with certainty that no large collection of letters or other documents were unknown to scholars of Washington's life," said Professor Hart. "This collection of letters and notes was revealed to me only a few days ago, and while the new documents include no letters written by Washington himself as far as I know, the presence of a large number written by his sister, Betty Washington Lewis, makes it very possible that a new light will be thrown on Washington's business transactions and private life." The famous historian settled back in his chair and continued. "You know Washington was the wealthiest man in America in his day. He was a shrewd business man, an analytic bookkeeper, and the most consistent buyer of real estate in the country. During the Revolutionary War, when his brother-in-law. Fielding Lewis, went bankrupt making guns for the Continental Army, Washington stayed prosperous because of the rise in the value of the land he had previously purchased. He kept all his business records and we possess most of them today."

Professor Hart explained that he went to Washington last week to attend a meeting of the United States Commission for the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of George Washington, of which he is one of the seven presidential commissioners. While there he was invited by Henry Woodhouse, a collector of Washington materials, to accompany him to Mt. Vernon where the old trunk was at the home of one of Betty Lewis's descendants. On the way back to Washington Porfessor Hart looked at one of the packages and found in it about 90 memorandums by Washing- ton's sister. Judging from the number of miscellaneous notations, be believes that when he has an opportunity to examine the whole collection, there may be found many additional sources of information about Washington.

Professor Hart told an anecdote of Washington and a neighbor, George Mason, who disagreed over a boundary line. "They finally decided for each to put up a ditch near the disputed line leaving the undecided area between the two: An airport of 3,200 acres is now being laid out near Mt. Vernon and the two ditches run, side by side, across the whole area. The government is trying to obtain 600 acres out of this site for a national public airport."

Professor Hart then launched into an explanation of the Washington bi-centenary celebration in 1932. "The most beautiful boulevard in the world, costing $4,250,000 will be completed by that year. It will extend for 14 miles between Washington and Mt. Vernon, will be 200 feet wide, and," he added with a chuckle, "the appropriation was passed by Congress a few days ago, but the newspapers seem to have overlooked it." Professor Hart explained that he is now engaged in the preparation of a 25-volumes edition of Washingtoniana. This edition will contain photographic copies of every known and available document written by or to Washington, and will necessitate about six years of research by leading scholars and collectors