The Penn's Grove record., 1906-04-13
The Penn's Grove Record
FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1906
BIRTHDAY of THOS. JEFFERSON
The Father of Democracy.

The Father of Democracy.
April 18th, to-day is the 163d birth
day anniversary of Thomas Jefferson,
the writer of the Declaration of indie
pendence and the father of democratic
government in America. The date of
his birth is not generally known, and
rarely observed, except by some demo-
cratic organizations.
He would not let his birthday be
known and pledged the members of his
family to keep the date a secret, be-
cause in his opinion it was incOmpati-
BILE with the spirit of democracy and
savored too much of royal customs to
pay this kind of tribute to any man. 1t
was thus that he was strongly disposed
to condemn Washington's Birthday as
a national event. To him it seemed
that the honors and the veneration for
the great birthday of the Republic it.
self-that is, the Fourth of July
should not be transferred to any indi-
yidual or shared with any individual.
When he was at the height of his pOpu-
larity his admirers were anxious to
make him an exception, as Washington
had been. But he refused to acquiesce.
Every year, both Washington and
Lincoln are lauded as demi-gOds to
school children who are never taught
the declaration of independence nor the
principals promulgated by the father of
manhood government, in contrast with
the Washington-Hamilton principles
requiring the ownership of property to
vote and to hold office. While not
abating a title from W~ashington's self
sacrifices and unsel6sh devotion to his
country, yet Jefferson's counsel and
political philosophy has been the great
est star by which the ship OF state has
been guided for over one hundred years.
Washington's influence was throughhis
personality and soon ceased after his
death: You never hear quoted any
saying he ever uttered, nor any princi-
pie he ever advocated.
The divine rights of man-life, liber-
ty and pursuits of happiness-which
Jefferson wrote in the declaration of
independence are continually quoted
and will never die.
Lincoln's political philosophy in fav-
or of the black man is but repetitions
of Jefferson's principals promulgated
for the freedom of the white man. In
all Lincoln's appeals he quoted Jeffer-
son and the platform on which he was
first elected contained extensive quota
lions from the Declaration of indie
pendence and also declared for "the
maintenance inviolate of the rights
of the States to control it's domestic
institutions"
The emancipation of the black man
and granting him the right to vote is
annually praised while the emancipation
Of the poor white man and giving him
the privilege to vote and hold office
goes unmentioned.
Eradicate the political philosophy of
Abraham Lincoln from our government
and you have free white men, but a
black slave. Eradicate the philosophy
of Thomas Jefferson and you not only
have a black slave, but a poor white
slave who can neither vote, nor hold
office, nor have a free education.
When Jefferson returned from France
he found New York under the spell of
Hamilton drifting towards monarchy
or rather toward the idea that the rul-
ing classes should be made up from the
rich and the ex-Revolutionary officers.
He made a declaration for the ''plain
people" and was denounced as a
~''howling fanatic" The plain people
won when Jefferson was elected Presi-
dent and the royal customs and o IS
TUNES of Washington and Adams in
the White House were abolished never
to return.
He was the greatest philosopher that
ever sat in the Presidential chair and
his writings are more quoted than any
other statesman this country ever pro-
duced. He was the first advocate and
the leader in the cause giving the poor
white man the right to vote and to
hold office, and the poor white boy and
girl the right to a free education, from
public taxation on the wealth of the
country-a free education not only in
the elementary schools, but in district
college and higher universities.
Surely such an advocate of human
rights and free public education is as
much worthy of n days recognition
in the public schools as Washington or
Lincoln.
Congressman Loudenslager is the