The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1866-05-17
From the Chicago Times.
Puritan SvvtndRers Among the
Freedmen

we apEeuu III
"a few evenings since, when the people
were invited TO bring forward their offer
ings, one sister brought along ten dollars
in gold. 1t had been CLEANED from her
scanty income By the self denial Of years,
for the purpose of paying the expenses
which would be required to give her a de-
cent burial. when death should relieve her
from the tolls and burdens of her earthly
pilgrimage.
I'VE have now laying upon our desk be
fore US l6 silver quarters, which have been
brought Ill by poor woman, who before
had paid dollar IN Cor the church. all she
had except this little pile Of silver, which
vas the savings Of years, laid by for time
uf need TO afford her medicine and aid in
the hour of sickness and pain"
We challenge the records of Borrioboola
Cha to produce anything which approach
es in strength and significance this little
picture produced by the Reverend Web
ster. The missionary proclivities devel
oped in the Serious Family" are tame
compared TO what is thus revealed in the
Vermont Christian Messenger; and Am.
inidad Sleek becomes insignificant when
standing by the side of Webster.
The shamelessness of this Puritan apostle
Webster is not the least remarkable fea.
ture of this affair. He fails to see that the
only light in which he can be regarded in
view II his own statement is that Of an I'm
principled thief. He takes the ten dollars
which poor ignorant negress has been
saving for years IN order to bury herself
He appropriates Is silver quarters which
another poor colorcd woman had nearly
all her life been saving to buy herself medi
cines and necessaries in case of sickness
The 10 dollars in gold and the Is silver
quarters are taken possession Of by Mr.
Webster; and then the results Of this con.
fidence operation are published in a Puri-
tan newspaper as creditable performance
We think it discreditable even as 9
specimen of Yankee dishonesty. The
Puritans who burnt witches. hanged Qua
kers, banished Babtsts and enslaved In
dams and negroes. had some traits Of mas
terly meanness. But they are excelled by
their descendant Webster. They were
not SO shameless as 10 publish their iniqui
ties. Their descendant Webster gloriou:
in the fact that he swindled two poor, old
ignorant negro-women of their hard earn.
Jugs for years. The Boston people who
contracted with man TO fill their quota
! and who cheated him cut of his pay on Z
technical point, were sharp aud. contempt
ible. Webster. who got 10 dollars in col
b r.. 1
silver quarters from another colOred wO-
man in her dotage, was perhaps not quite
as sharp, but he was good deal more con-
temptibie
This revelation OF the labors of ore p :
ritan among the freedmen is probably
piicable to the labors Of a majority Of al
the Puritans now laboring in the south fol
the negroes. What Webster is doing ID
Charleston IS being done everywhere else
by other Wcbsters in ether cities They
are bartering with mbeci!e old black wo.
men the doctrines of Puritanism for the
silver contents Of old stockings. Toothless
old wena hes, who,~with instructive care
for the future, have, during halra cen
fury, scraped together enough to give
themselves burial, are giving up then
earnings in exchange for the transcep
dental notions Of theological Yankee swind
lers
The type Of the puritan varies in detail
but not in outline. Butler was thief
but a whole sale one lie took gold by
the thousand Neal Dow was another thief
but he toe was wholesale thief lie
stole pianos, pictures and furniture by the
quantity, and shipped them home by the
cargo. Webster is no less thief: but he
is in the retail department He takes sill
yer quarters and small change Of all de
nominations from negresses too weak tC
resist. and too ignorant to understand his
operations. Al New England is engaged
| III similar work It's manufactures rot
the people under the guiso of protection
and its fishermen under the shape of boun
| ty The worst den of thieves on earth lies
Just east OF the Green mountains. When
one Of these brigands is not crying ''stand
and deliver to a corporation or state, he
is down south engaged in filching quarter.
from idiotic old black women.
In view Of the operations Of Webster
we are not astonished to see the following
in the Charleston (S. c. Leader, paper
published in the interests Of the freedmen
1t has reference wholly to the Puritan,:
"Colored people Of the south, listen t.
our advice-listen to tue dictates Of com
mon sense. Beware Of false teachers, whc
come to you in the clothing Of sheep, blu
inwardly are rayenous wolves. These
men have no desire to see you on amicabl,
terms with your white neighbors. They
come to widen the breach already existing
and to make capital out of the dssension
in our midst The moment good under
standing exists between you and th'
whites, that moment Their occupation Il
gone :; but if these spectators in ruin at
tain their aims, we tremblc for your race
Cultivate peace with all men, and especial
" with those with whom your lot is cast
rather than with those who are here to>day
and tomorrow may be far on the bill
low. ,"
- -
TO boys in New York recently stole