The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1889-09-14
From the st. Louis Republic

From the st. LOUIS ephOl
A descendant of John Alden, "of
good old Puritan Stock" who is a
democrat, the son and grandson OF
democrats, protests against the edito-
rial on the Puritan which appeared IN
the Republic in connection with the
unwilling OF the Plymouth monument.
He CONSTITUTES it as a narrow and illiber.
al sectional attack on New England,
and so resents il, but he misapprehends
because he has not kept in mind the
essential difference between Puritan
and yankee" GLOW can you ex-
pect any self-respecting Yankee demo-
crat to tie his faith to sou if you cater
TO the hatred of the Yankee by such
unjust articles?" he asks In reply we
nave only to say that it he a find in
,ur columns anything catering tn pre-
judice against the Yankee, we are
ready to apologize for it, for we fully
recognize his extensive usefulness and
IRE always ready to do anything in
reason for its further extension.
70 the Puritan, however, we have
10 apologies to make, and no quarter
to give. Wherever he exists, it is as
ne enemy of individual liberty, civil
and religious. lie can never be a demo
crat, because he is essentially a theo-
:rat; essentially a believer in divine
light, through which he claims title to
impose on others his opinions in poll.
tics and religion. Birth in New Eng
land does not make a Puritan. Puri-
tanism is a mental and moral disease,
20 which no New Englander is neces-
sarily subject. If he contracts it, it is
through his W fault. Benjamin
Franklin, tor instance, was a yankee
in warp and wool, but in every instinct
Ut his nature he was an enemy OF the
Puritan. John Adams was both yam
kee and Puritan. Samuel Adams was
a most admirably yankee with no puri
,auiSm in him. So, too, were Daniel
Webster, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and a
long list OF Others which might be ex-
ended from the present day back to
he time when Roger Williams founded
he yankee state of Rhode Island as a
protest against ~puritanism.
During that whole time yankees have
been doing their share TO make this
| country great and free. Time and
again they have revolted against puri
tanism in New England itself, and il
our descendant of John Alden will
examine the records about the time his
grandfather was voting the democratic
ticket under Jefferson, he will find tina
the puritan form Of government was 50
| modified by democracy then that purI'
ianism was supplanted in New England
ny a very large degree of civil and
religious liberty. There is now an at
tempt at Il puritan renaissance. In
Massachusetts, the eidolaters who sci
I'D the puritan idol the other day are
attempting to force state control of pri
vate schools TO prevent a particular
denomination of Christians from enjoy.
,ng religious liberty. A law has been
passed to that end in Massachusetts.
but there are yankees enough there OF
The Franklin and Samuel Adams type
to defeat its purpose. Such yankees
are friends of ours. We admire them
and help them as we can, but if we
could wipe the puritan out of existence
abolish him outright and utterly by
making him tolerant, liberal, generous
broad-minded and withal conscious 81
his own moral and mental distortion
we would do it pitilessiy and with nc
other thought than that OF doing Goo
service. But, as John Locke said, i
is very difficult to tolerate intolerance,