Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1934-01-10

Jackson as though they were
the first opponents of those
~ principles. But now a scholarly
historian, whose opinions, baseC
upon patient and dillgent study, certainly should
be more acceptable than the windy, vote-catchinf
platftudes OF a campaign orator, tells us that thf
true Fathers of American Democracy were two
men named Franklin-Benjamin Franklin. whose
memory we honor ON January IT, his birthday
and Benjamin Franklin Bache, his grandson
Ihis historian is Bernard Fay, q Frenchman who
divides his time between France and America
ana his thesis Is uttered In the book 1.-THE Tive
tranklins: Fathers of American Democracy"
published recently by Little, Brown and Com.
pany.
So much has been written about BENJAMIN
Franklin (including Mr.. Fay's previous book.
"Benjamin Franklin: The Apostle of Modern
l1mes.' which has been pronounced "incompar-
apiy the best biography of Franklin yet pub
hshedo that there seems to be little left to add
70 the record of his life and services to the
american nation. But very little has ever been
SAID about his grandson, or the historical impor-
lance OF Benjamin Franklin Bache.
students of the history Of American journal.
ism have known him as the founder of the Phil
adelphia General Advertiser, which later became
ue Aurora, In which, while attempting to break
the power of the Federalist party he attacked
the symbol of Federalist faith, President George
washington, even going to the lengths of declar-
Ing that IF ever a nation was debauched by a
man, the American nation has been by Washing
ton" He attacked John Adams, and his attacks
on the second President OF the United States
lea directly to the passage of the Allen and Sedi-
tlon laws, under which statutes Bache was ar
rested for libel but was not prosecuted. But
Bache was more than a 'scurrilous young Jour
naiist who yapped at the Father of His Country
Fay presents hin as the man who carried on
the "fathering" OF Democratic principles In this
country after that other father" Franklin. was
dead and OF bringing about a second American
Revolution" one of which most Americans are
unaware. In the preface TO his book, Fay says:
"A revolution Is a change of mind. There have
been few more radical changes of mind than the
one which took place In America between 1890
and 1900. But when historians describe the down.
fall of the Federalists and the victory Of the new
c-Republican party during these years
they always speak In terms of Jefferson and
Hamilton. They do not exhibit a change of mind.
Tney merely stage a picturesque fight between
two very great men, and two very attractive
men.
AS | see the matter, while Hamilton opposed
this change and Jefferson made use of 1t. 1t was
other men who effected this change of mind. |
propose to deal mostly with these other men.
and, above all, with one of them who strikes me
as the most outspoken, the most reckless, the
most generous, and the most neglected. His
name was Bache."
Benny Bache, as Fay likes to call him, was
born on August IL, 1859, the son Of Sarah
Franklin and Richard Bache, q Philadelphia
merchant, described as "simple-minded man,
fr5nn o~1 4z-t.I -4Al .-X /
man about him. SO IL Benny Bache had any
elements of greatness In him, he didn't get IL
from his father. He got 1t from his mother, who
passed on to him some of the greatness of her
father.
The boy soon became a ~favorite of his grand
fathers, so when Franklin went to Paris In 1776
to negotiate an alliance with France for the re
bellious colonies he took his seven-yearold grand
son along with him. There the boy soon became
"too French" so his grandfather, resolved to
make him "a Presbyterian as well as a Repub-
lcan," sent him to Geneva for his education.
Franklin had another grandson In Paris with
him-Temple Franklin. the illegitimate son Of his
own illegitimate son, William Franklin.
But Temple Franklin was an aloof, frigld sort
of boy, SO far as real affection for his grand
father was concerned. Therefore, Franklin, In
1888, brought Benny back from Geneva and, de-
lighted by the warmth of feeling that was imme-
diately apparent between them, he decided to
make the young man his masterpiece" SO for
years Benny Bache breathed the intoxicating
air of Passy, Paris and Versailles where he was
made much of as the grandson of Franklin, the
oracle of two worlds" He shared In his grand
fathers talks with the philosophers and the sci
entists who came to see Franklin and he fol-
lowed his grandfathers footsteps In pursuing
those interests which made Franklin "the most
versatile American"
Then Franklin decided "n order to round off
Benny's philosophical apprenticeship, to make a
printer out of him. At the outset, from Novem-
1884, to March, 1856, he gave him as his
a printer and type founder, NJ. Emery,
came to Passy every day. He supervised
their work himself; IL revived In him delightful |
Of his own adventurous, hard child |
Thus Benny Bache was pointed toward |
his later career as a printer and a Journalist |
But France had done something else for him
he absorbed some of those democratlc
principles tfor the French Revolution was AL !,
In the air) which were to make him a
future fighter against arlstocracy In American
government +,
Then Franklin wrote an attack on the Society
VI the Cincinnati which was also an attack on .