The Washington times., 1922-06-14
THOMAS PAINE, GENIUS
THE STORY OF THE FAMOUS KING HATER
Prof. Serviss Wishes He Could Do Justice to
the Subject|Paine's Works Have Aided
Political and Social Liberty.

heading Of Louis XVI. Guizot.
the historian, pictures that scene
when he tells of the anger of the
Jacobins, who refused to listen
to the speech of Paine. the Ameri.
can. till respect for his courage
gained him a hearing"
Paine believed in no blood
thirsty doings. and pointed out
the good policy Of not numbering
the royal family. But he was the
uncompromising foe of monarchy
and defender of free institutions.
and in his Rights of Man" hs
offended the English monarchial
government 50 deeply that they
indicted him for treason Cbeing an
Englishman by BIRTH; and when
they could not lay bands upon him
they outlawed him with every
form of contumely that they
could invent. THE indignant
nobility, feeling the shafts Of hts
unanswerable arguments, wore
Tom Paine shoe nails with the
letters 1T. p" stamped on their
heads). grinding their teeth while
they ground under foot these sym.
bols Of a trampled-on enemy
Paine, having excited the sus-
picion Of the terriorists in Paris
by his efforts in favor of modera.
ton and reason in dealing with
the overthrown royalists, was
thrown into prison and narrowly
escaped the guillotine. and the
representative of the American
Government in France baSVly
failed to interfere in his behalf.
Paine believed that Washington,
then President, and who had, dur
ing and after the American revo-
luton, publicly and repeatedly
acknowledged the country's great
debt Of gratitude to him, was per-
sonally responsible for the neglect
that he now suffered, because Of
a desire to placate the English
government, and smarting under
the sense Of an intolerable wrong,
he wrote outspoken letters TO
Washington. one of them a pub
lication. which turned many Amer
leans relentlessly against the au-
thor.
But, living in an age Of extreme
narrowness Of mind on such sub
jects-an age whose dark retreat.
ing skirts have shadowed SINE Of
US in our youth-Paine damaged
his popularity more by the publ.
cation OF his Age Of Reason"
than by his attacks on Washing
ton. In England they punished
the publisher of Paine's book for
"blasphemy." In America they
punished its author by ignoring
his services in gaining their free
dom. Such are some Of the bsau
ties of human nature. &.
Paine did not return to America
until 1902. He was we'll received
by President jefferson, broCd.
minded and liberal, but his enc.
mics flocked against him, merci.
lessly maligning him, and whe
he died in New York, in 1909. onlv
his old friend, Madame Bonneville.
with two sons, three negroes, who
were grateful to him. and an old
Quaker preacher accompanied his
remains to New Rochelle. wherc
he was buried. What an indict
ment of human ingratitude com.
bined with human bigotry IL
drawn in this description Of that
burial. written by Moncure D.
Conway in his Life of Thomas
Paine"
Madame Bonneville placed her
son. Benjamin-afterwar gen
eral in the American army-at one
end Of the grave, and standing
herself at the other end. Grid as
the earth fell on the coffin: oh.
Mr.. Paine. my son stands here 1s
testimony OF the gratitude OF
America. and I for France,"
In 1919, William Cobbett mad
the body removed to England Tor
burial there-but the bones were
losti