Posted on 04/18/2010 9:51:54 PM PDT by I still care
GEORGE Washington racked up a $300,000 fee at the New York Library with two books he borrowed 220 years ago. America's first president never returned the books, on international law and parliamentary debates.
"We're not actively pursuing the overdue fines. But we would be very happy if we were able to get the books back," librarian Mark Bartlett said.
Washington's late fee went unnoticed for almost 150 years.
But in 1934 a dusty ledger was discovered in a rubbish heap in the library's basement, revealing the names of all the people who had borrowed books from the city's oldest library between July 1789 and April 1792.
Washington borrowed on October 5, 1789, the Law of Nations, a treatise on international relations, and Vol. 12 of the Commons Debates, which contained transcripts of debates from Britain's House of Commons.
(Excerpt) Read more at heraldsun.com.au ...
Just more proof how seriously Washington took his responsibilites to educate himself on how this new nation should establish itself.
Can you imagine Obama taking out a book on established international law within his first year? It's obvious he's clueless about it, or he wouldn't have insulted every ally we have.
He’d probably take out Twilight and lie and say it was one of the girls’ when pressed.
Bookman!
btt
It was probably one of his staff that checked out the books using Georges library card, hehe.
he was reading the book on “post America”, something like that.
That looks like the largest book fine ever. Good thing they are not “actively pursuing it” because it would no doubt bankrupt his descendents particularly if the burden fell one to just one person.
Washington may have skated on the library books but there is a cadre of feds still looking for him for removing the tag from his mattress!
ha, while we should be sympathetic to libraries trying to retain books in their collections, there must be an informal statute of limitations on the accumulating fines!! If they are out there somewhere the books would likely be worth huge amounts to collectors now, but assuming they are not in GW’s known estate and library they seem to be lost to history.... anyway, who’s to pay? Take it out of National Park revenues for administering Mt. Vernon?? I think not....
Who knows, maybe this info will spur an interest in any surviving copies of these works and increase their value.... maybe someone will even dig up the NY library copies if they have survived in some collection somewhere....
Just more proof how seriously Washington took his responsibilites to educate himself on how this new nation should establish itself.
De Vattel's - Law of Nations:
Then George Washington knows that Barack Obama is not eligible to be U.S. President, if BHO-I is really his father, as he of course claims.
Even as it racks up late fees, that one also wastes time on FR.
There is no proof it wasn’t returned.
If he hadn’t been posted, I’d have done it. Proud of you for getting Bookman in at post #4!
See my profile page for some REAL presidential crimes.
(In no particular order.)
Hmmm. I did a search for both Washington and library. I’m not quite sure why I didn’t see previous postings.
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