Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-05-06
AUTHORS OFTEN HATED.
City Of Salem's Attitude Toward Haw.
thorne Has Many Parallels.

SaFiM Mass. has ainEllIy forgiven
Nathaniel Hawthorn. At the begin
ming of his career as an author Haw-
thorne was employed in the custom
house ut Salem, and made good use of
his experiences and his opportunities for
observing the life and customs in that
quaint city and for working up. for lit
crarN purposes, certain events in it's
his tory. When he wrote THE Scarlet
Letter he saw fit to prefix to it Wal
ter-Scottish introduction in which he
succeeded in describing Salem so ac-
curately as to give lasting offensc to
that community. We say community
rather than citizens, because the hatred
or resentment of Salem has been hand
ed down as a civic tradition. The mu-
nicpality, or what may be called the
corporate soul Of Salem. has preserved
it hatred of Hawthorne as one of it's
most cherished assets.
Tie hatchet, however, is buried, the
calumet is smoked. and the citizens of
Salem of the present generation actu-
ally decide to celebrate their recOncilia-
ton with the great New England author
by erecting monument to him to cost
$4,000.
Salem, has two distinctions-one as
oeing the birthplace of Nathaniel Haw-
thcrne. the other as being the seat OF
the prosecutions Of persons for witch
craft. or course. it has other but minor
distinctions. These two are what give
il its historic rank. Salem is not proud
of the witchcraft tradition. and ha.:
spent very much time and distress in
efforts to eradicate from the minds of
the people the false charge that witches
were burned in that city. We believe
they were subjected to some other terri
BILE death-"to encourage the others
Happily, it has been established. we be
lieve that they were not actually burned
ut the stake.
But herself from Hawthorne SHE
could not free. Hawthorne remain.
as citizen of Salem. He was born
there. he lived there, he wrote his first
notable book there, and, despite his Of
Tending description of his natiave city:
he is really what made Salem famous
Finding that she could not get rid of
him, and has finally come to the point
Of gloating over him, and building him
monuments. We hope that she is also
reading him.
The incident is one Of Il type. 1t i
curious how communities, cities and
countries cherish the hatred of certain
authors Probably the most notable
case is the hatred Germany, at least
official Germany. chcrishes for the
memory of Hcine. The Germans con-
slider iIcnc as unfortunate i'll two re-
spects. He was d Jew. and he was, by
reason Of the recent expansion of the
Napoleonic empire. born a citizen of
France. These two things arc very diff
cult for IL German to forgive. And
We. they are precisely the two things
that made Heine the splendid genius
and Wrist that he was. His Jewish
temperament and the Calls spirit that
lie acquired during his long residence.
n Paris and ill mis- association with the
leading Frenchmen of his day are what
distinguish him from other German
poets, ari what make his verse ogignaf
witty and perfect.
The world remembers the shock with
which it receives the news that tire
prcee,:t Kaiser Of Germany had had the
statue Of IIeine removed from the inn
perial villa of Corfu. Following the
example of the emperor and otticialdom
the German people have. as body, re-