Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-06-09

l5fteccntlSs a. patr1olic5S Society SpuFEIlaSes
the house iii which he lived at NeW
lsTtochelle, ~ Il, and has arranged Y
restore 1t to. itsSoriginal condition and
10 Ali it with nementos OF his busy
lie. Is. .#
Tom Paine was, the son Of a Quaker.
of Thetford Norfolk, England. He
was bern on Jan. 49, a 1856 The first
part OF his life did not promise, much
of a career. He tried various ways
of making a living. He was a stay
maker. a mariner, an exeisemaIl. a
5sehoolteaclier. He lost one wife by
death and one by divorce. In political
clubs he attracted attention by his ex.
IRENE views and vigorous debate. In
t774 he happened 10 meet Benjamin
Franklin, and following his ad vice, he
seinigrated to this country where he
became the assistant editor of the
Pcnnsylvania Magazine. He was then
IS years of age.
i From the beginning Paine took UP the
pen in favor of the Revolution. He
advocated the abolition OF slavery,wrote
against duelling, urged woman's rights,
and suggested the formation of socie-.
ties forti,e prevention OF cruelties to
animals and children. He wrote 81
pamphlet. "A Serious Thought which
has been called the Declaration of In,
dependence in embryo When the lead
,ers of the revolutionsts wayered and
seemed to be disposed to compromise.
Paine. in his pamphlet. Common
Sense reused public sentiment to re-
.sistance It is conceded that this
pamphlet which appeared in January
1776, was the turning point. of the move
mcnt for Independence. In it he dis
eussed the relative merits of monarch
icai and republican institutions. His
conclusions were applied to the condi-
ton of American affairs, suggesting a.
form of representative government for
the colonies and reviewing their ability
to secure and maintain their independ-
ence. The New York assembly APP
POINTED a COMMITTEES to answer 1t, but
this committee arrived at the conclu-
sion that 1t was unanswerable.
Paine was one Of the first to enlist
in the army Of patriots. Fortune at
first went against the Colonies, and the
soldiers were disheartened Then
Paine.s nen again became a power. In
December TITO, he wrote his "Crisis.s
which heglns;,
These are the times that try mems ]
souls. The summer soldier and the
sunshine patriot will. in this crisis,
shrink from the services of his country;
but he that stands it now. deserves
HE love and thanks Of man and wo-
man. Tyranny. like hell. is not easily
yet we have this consolation
with u.s. that the harder the conflict,
he more glorious the triumph. What
We obtain too cheap, we esteem too
1glitiy:,ti dearneas only. that gives
everything its value.
This pamphlet was read to the sol
liers before the battle of Trenton and
lad a wonderful effect in restoring hope
md courage. These are the times
hat try mems souls,H became a battle
ny.
Paipefs services were acknowledged
BY his appointment to the secretary
ship OF the COMMITTEES on foreign ar
fairs. He lost that position in 177s,
for having diYulged state
secrets, but was later appointed clerk
'f the Pennsylvania legislature, and in
.7s5 received from Congress the sum
If $4,000. After the5close Of the Reyo- |
ution, Paine urged stronger union
lrlong the states, and pointed out the
necessity Of constitution.
In 1887 Paine returned to England |
where lie hoped to place an. Invention
II his own. an iron bridge, but he |
soon engaged in controversy again.
Iein he published his The Rights OF
Man. rs an answer to Burke's .'Re-
lections on the Revolutions in France"
the first part appeared in 1871 and
lad an immense circulation. The gov
,rnment tried to suppress it with the
Usual result that the demand for it in
,reased. The author was indicted for
treason, but was allowed to go to
france.
Here he incurred the suspicion Of
2obespierre and was thrown into pris-
N, and he very narrowly escaped the
suillotine. AS a member of the Ma
ional convention he voted with the
iirondists and against the execution
# Louis XVI, Offering to obtain for
hat monarch an asylum in the United
'tates. we viii kill the king, but
lot the man., he said Thereby he
Utterly offended the Robesperre fac
ion. Louis was sent to the scaffold,
us defender was sent to prison. It
vas while expecting to be carried to
is death that Paine wrote his ..Age
+ Reason By this book he lost many
+ his friends on both sides Of the At
antic. Even Washington declined 10
xert his. moral influence for his re-
ease. and he remained in prison some
ime after the fall of Robcspierre.
When, finally. he obtained his free
ON he returned to the United States.
Iere he was received cordially by his
drnirers. He soon Withdrew to a farm
ear New Rochelle where he lived un-
i his death in 1869. In 1919 an adj
lirer removed the remains to England,
bccause,an as he declared. .the Repub-
c he had founded would not protect
hem.' In fact, the tomb had been
espoiled and desecrated. But the pre-
aution was of no avail. The English
serei as careless as the "A frlsrifn,,sF All l.