The Ely miner., 1930-05-09


BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON
! !. ! ! I. |. ! !. ] !. | ! !. .
N~11HE average school history
gives her only brief para
graph and the chances
are that not one American
Ill In ten could tell you who
she was or when she lived
IL or what was her Importance
IL in history. Wherefore 1t
lO} is all the more remarkable
that within recent weeks
there have appeared no less than
three new books, all dealing with the
life of Anne Hutchinson. Who and
what she was is suggested by the
titles of two of them-"Unafraid-
a Life of Anne Hutchinson" written by
Winnifred King Rugg and published
by the Houghton Mifflin company, and
"An American JeZebel-The life of
Anne Hutchinson" which was written
by Helen Augur and published by Bren-
tano's. Where she lived-and the
pride of a New York county in the
fact that she once dwelt there, even
though Massachusetts claimed a great
er part of her career-is indicated by
the fact that the Westchester County
Historical society, in issuing Volume
VII Of it's publications, chose Otto
Hufeland's account Of "Anne Hutchin-
sons Refuge in the Wilderness" as
the leading article for that volume to
which it gave the title Of "Anne
Hutchinson and Other Papers"
Who was Anne Hutchinson? Let
Winnifred King Rugg in the intro
duction to her book "Unafraid' an
swer that question in these words:
Anne Hutchinson has been
called by many names. All the
way from "the New England Jeze-
bel' to "a Prototype of Joan of
Arc" run the epithets whole-heart-
edly applied by enemies or friends.
In between lie such labels as that
proud dame, that Athaliah." "a
notorious Imposter," "a daynger-
Gus Instrument of the Devell
raysed up by Sathan," "a Breeder
of Heresies," "a persuasive advo-
cate of the right of individual
Judgment" "a she-Gamaliel." "a
dear saint servant and of God"
(That last is her husband speak
ing. Poor man. he suffered more
on her account than any one elseD
A character that can be inter-
preted so diversely provokes ex-
animation. Anne Hutchinson par
took in some ways of the spirit
of her time and of her fellow
pioneers in New England, but in
other important ways she stands
out against the background of
primitive Massachusetts. at swords
points with it's leaders, sinewed
with the courage to tell how she
differed. and endowed with the
personality to make what she said
effective. Clearly she was an in
dividual; there was something "in''
her.
AS for Anne Hutchinson's place in
history, this same biographer also
sums it up well in these words:
What Anne Hutchinson stood for
IS another reason for examining Z
her history. She was one of the
founded what was in essence the
first woman's club in America.
The meetings held in her house,
though primarily for religious in
struction, were the forerunners of
hundreds of thousands of meet
ings since her day, wherever wom-
en- convene to improve themselves
h. Il
Hutchinson house, which stood at
what is now the northerly corner
of Washington and School streets,
Boston. was the birthplace of the
women's clubs Of America.
Mrs. Hutchinson has been made
to stand for the principle of free
speech-a principle always glori-
Gus in prospect or retrospect, and
always bothersome. even terrify-
ing, when in action. How much
of her freedom of speech came
from an active, conscious convic-
tion of the right of dissenting
minorities to voice their opinion,
and how much from subconscious
desire for self-eXpression is
question to be discussed later.
The fact remains that she was
participant in the f1ve-hundred-
ye~r-old drama of freedom VS.. au-
thority. She did dissent. and in
sisted upon expressing her dissent,
from the opinion of the majority
of the clergy in New England,
and she was made TO suffer for it.
MARTY. fom is always a good
ticket to immortality.
Anne Hutchinson's character he
err es more understandable when one