The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-08-02

Justice has never been done to
New England The very name has
strange charm for all who love what
is best in England. The English ideal
Is essentially domestic. In the Eng
lish heart the beautiful word home
Is indelibly imprinted. The Pilgrims.
who left their own country to seek
q home in what was then the Ameri-
can wilderness, did not forget "the
old country" even though there they
had suffered persecution on account
Of their strong religious convictions.
They. too, were domestic, and so
their first thought, after they had
satisfied their consciences by thank
ing God for delivering them from a
possible death on the ocean, was to
build for themselves homes.
The very title Of that charming
book of Nathaniel Hawthorne in
which he describes his Impressions
of England-"Our Own Home
shows that. severe though some Of
his criticism of English manners may
be. he recognized in the English soil
the nest in which his ancestors had
cused of injustice to England, as
suredly some English writer's on
America have been unjust towards
their cousins on this side of the At
lantic For example, Cecil Chester
ton, who died nobly in the battle for
freedom against German despotism,
has spoken of the New England colo
nists as if they were persons who
should have been confined in a mad.
house.
1t is true that the good and earnest
men who founded Massachusetts did
not learn liberation from their own
English experiences. But is not this
one of the unhappy tendencies OF
human nature? The prosecuted.
when they have been emancipated
and in a position to exercise the
golden virtues of charity and for
bearance, become themselves perse-
cutors in their turn.
We cannot judge different age
from ours by our mature standards.
That fanaticism was characteristic
of most of the New Englanders can
not be denied. But they were honest
fanatics. Let us not forget that were
1t not for New England. American
democracy might have degenerated
into anarchy. The Boston town
meeting was the very incarnation of
public spirit and freedom of opinion.
But individuality was sternly and
sometimes cruelty curbed by the iron
control of cherished institutions.
The first leaders Of the English
settlers were men Of intense faith
and profound piety. They firmly be-
lieved in a Providence that shapes
mans ends. Vane, who was after
wards executed in Charles IFS reign
New England. He saw in himself
year Apostle Eliot taught
religion and civilization to the In,
dams, and John Wise, the son of q
was able by his industry
and ability to enter Harvard and to
take the degree of master Of arts.
Wise was indeed no ordinary indi-
vidual He became an eloquent
and also took keen in
terest in public affairs. When Sir
Andres, after the fashion of
Charles l, tried to enforce payment
Of money by the people against the
will of-what was to them the sub
stitute for a parliament-the general
assembly, this courageous clergyman
and he and five others
were imprisoned for their interpid
conduct Wise demanded the priv
ege of "habeas corpus" but the
Judges, who were miserable time
servers, held that the provisions Of /
magma charta did not apply to the !
American colonies. He was fined /
fifty pounds and suspended from the |;
ministry. The fine was paid by the !.
ownsfolk of Ipswich.
When Cotton Mather urged that |