The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-10-10
"AHEALTH TO THEE, TOM MOORE"


The removal Of the vast accumula-
lions of books from the congested Ii
brary of congress to it's new quarters
in the magnificent building recently
completed brings to light the fact that
none Of the works of Tom Moore is
among the volumes, and the further
fact that he was purposely omitted be-
cause of his bitter attacks upon Amer
lea and especially upon President JEFF
ferson: He. was declared persona non
grata and refused a place among the
immortals enshrined on the shelves of
the national library. This generation
will be willing to extend to Moore the
indulgence it has accorded. Dickens,
Oliphant and other. captious critics of
our government, customs and manners.
If any special plea is needed to OBJ
tain remission of his offense, it can
be based upon two grounds, one of
which is the letter Moore wrote in 1916
and to which Senator Hoar has given
publicity. In it Moore says:
'"This life is just long enough to commit
errors in but too short to allow us time to
repair them, and there are few of my errors
l regret more sincerely than the raShness l
was guilty of in publishing those crude and
boyish TRADES against the Americans. My
sentiments, both with respect to the national
and individual character, are much changed
since then, and | should blush, as a lover OF
liberty, if l allowed the hasty prejudice OF
my youth to blind me now to the bright
promise which America affords OF better
and happier order of things than the world
has ever yet witnessed. If you can but con-
tinue to be as good republicans as we Of
Europe seem determined to be good royal
ists the new and old word need soon have
no other distinction than the hemisphere of
freedom and the hemisphere Of slaves"
The other ground of palliation is one
to which Dickens, whom we have for
given, was not entitled. Moore's at
tack was made at a time when the
bitterness on either side that grew out
of the revolution was still fierce. 1t
shows in all the writings of the public
men Of that day on both sides OF the
water. 1t survived on our side for
many years In fact, it exists today
and inspires our jingoists to their
bloodthirsIy diatribes. 1t remains to
be the bugaboo of political party,
conjuring votes with curdling pictures
of English greed, rapacity and selfish
ness. 1t furnished it's quota Of bigotry
to the element of spite that made the
senate of the United States: reject a
treaty that would insure perpetual
peace between these two leading and
greatest nations of the earth. 1t is
rot to be wondered that Moore, with
his poetic temperament, controlled by
his agination,, seeing US through the
mist of INSTRUMENTATION, prejudice and
animosity that then covered both
countries, seeing in Jefferson, as, in
deed, he was portrayed by his enc
mics here, a type of the French anar-
chist who had recently drenched that
country in blood, reinforced by the
antipathy engendered by the embargo
act that crippled international inter
course-it is hardly surprising that
Moore's feelings found expression in
his "crude and boyish trades" For
whatever of injustice he did us, his
letter, now published, is ample atone
ment, and his name should be enrolled
among the poets whose volumes grace
and enrich the shelves of our national
library