Rededication of the Paine monument and assignment of its custody to the city of New Rochelle; a record of the exercises and report of the speeches delivered at the monument, on Saturday, October 14th

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OF THE

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:: THOMAS PAINE MEMORIAL :: C

REDEDICATION j

OF THE

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And assignment of its custody to the

CITY OF NEW ROCHELLE

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1737 1809

THOMAS PAINE, A. M.

A Record of the Exercises and Report of the

Speeches Delivered at the Monument

on Saturday, October 14th

1905

SCULPTOR
Born Aug. 25, 1824, Died Aug. 14, 1908

REDEDICATION OF THE

PAINE MONUMENT

AND ASSIGNMENT OF ITS CUSTODY TO

THE CITY OF NEW ROCHELLE

THOMAS PAINE, A. M.
1737—1809

A RECORD OF THE EXERCISES AND REPORT
OF THE SPEECHES DELIVERED AT THE
MONUMENT, ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER UTH

COMPILED BY JAMES B. ELLIOTT, SECRETARY OF THE PAINE
MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION, PHILADELPHIA, PA., 1909

Monument Erected 1839

Thomas Paine's Patriotism Rewarded by
the State of New York

TITLE OF ACT : "An Act for the speedy sale of the confiscated and
forfeited estates within this State and for other purposes therein
mentioned." Passed May 12, 1784.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That it shall and
may be lawful to and for the said commissioners of forfeitures for the
southern district, and he is hereby authorized and required in consider-
ation for the eminent services rendered to the United States in the
progress of the late war by Thomas Paine, Esquire, and as a testimony
of the sense which the people of this State entertain of his distin-
guished merit to grant and release in due form of law unto the said
Thomas Paine, and to his heirs and assigns forever in fee simple, all
that certain farm or plantation situate in the township of New
Rochelle in the County of Westchester, formerly belonging to and
usually called the farm of Captain Bailey, deceased, and afterward
called Devoe's lower farm, containing by estimation about three
hundred acres, and which became forfeited, and is now vested in the
people of this State by the conviction of Frederick Devoe.

Laws of New York, Seventh Session (1784), Chap. 64, Sec. XXXI.

Credit is due for a copy of this Act to James F. Morton, Jr., Atty. at Law, No. 309
Broadway, N. Y.

2

Introductory

The distinguished author and soldier, whose ik
ment we here re-dedicate, had his literary birth in
Philadelphia, where the first effective pamphlet of the
Revolution was written and published. Our hero enlisted
in Philadelphia as a private in the "Flying Camp/' and

was later made Aide de
Camp to General Greene,
then at Fort Lee on the
Hudson. It was discovered
that his pen was more use-
ful even than his sword,
and at Newark, under the
most unfavorable circum-
stances, he wrote the first
number of his immortal
"Crisis." Thereafter, his
energies, time and talents
were used, both at home
and abroad, in the interests
of the struggling Colonies.
Upon his return to Amer-
ica, from France, after a
short residence in Borden-

town, N. J., his declining years were spent between his
farm at New Rochelle and New York City. Amongst his
friends were such distinguished men of the day as Joel
Barlow, Judge Hittell, Thomas Addis Emmitt, Mr. Mor-
ton, Dr. Manley, Mr. Pelton and J. Wesley Jarvis, artist,
with whom he lived in 1807.

His literary work was highly praised during his life,
time, and he was on terms of intimate friendship with
Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Mon-
roe with Vice-President Gerry. His works were read and

3

.JAMES B. ELLIOTT

M342009

admired by Jackson and Lincoln, and his talents as a
philosopher and inventor were recognized by Franklin,
Priestley, Rittenhouse, Rush, Cooper, Robert Morris,
Fitch and Fulton.

The memory of no other hero, with the exception of
Robert Morris or Blair McCleneghan, has been so much
neglected by the Federal Government as has that of
Thomas Paine; these three, Paine, Robert Morris and
McCleneghan, helped save the country from financial ruin
at its most critical period.

The acceptance of this monument by the progressive
city of New Rochelle is a vindication of Paine's character
and reputation which has been brought about by the
steadfast devotion of his friends. His honor is now re-
stored on two continents ; his name is now given the place
which his services entitle it to. These results have been
brought about by Dr. Moncure D. Conway, his biographer,
and by Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, his able defender; the
liberal press, leading historians and statesmen, sculptors
and artists — all have contributed something to assist the
work of the Paine Associations. His friends at a distance
have helped with sympathy and money, local authorities
with official co-operation and music, the school children
with their singing, the militia and Grand Army with their
presence, the Artillery with a salute in his honor, the
Chaplain of the Sons of the Revolution with the benedic-
tion, and Providence with delightful weather — all work-
ing in harmony for good.

Moncure D. Conway began writing his "Life of Paine"
upon the table used by Paine — on which he wrote his
"Rights of Man ;" and his last work on Paine was written
in Paris and finished in the house occupied by Paine
during the French Revolution, and from which he wit-
nessed the destruction of the Bastille, the key of which
he presented to President Washington in Philadelphia.

Having placed in Independence Hall the original edi-
tions of Paine's pamphlets to keep in touch with his
spirit, we conclude with this introduction : in the house
which Paine occupied in New Rochelle and with the aid
of a candle light in a candle-stick once used by Paine,*

4

which candle-stick was a gift to me from Capt. G. W.
Lloyd and which I in turn present to the Paine Museum.
It is hoped that the work done by our Associations will
stimulate the residents of other cities where Paine's
work was conspicuous or effective in good results to erect
similar testimonials to his worth.

"Thus 'mid the wrecks of thrones shall live

Unmarred, undimmed, our hero's fame,
And years succeeding years shall give
Increase of honors to his name."

A

REDEDICATION OF THE PAINE MONUMENT

Saturday, October 14, 1905,2.45 P. M.

OVERTURE Fort Slocum Band

LIBERTY TREE Public School Children

Prof. Geo. H. Foss, Director

ADDRESS Dr. E. B. Foote, Jr., Chairman

PAINE, THE AUTHOR HERO .... Theodore Schroeder, Esq.
Brooklyn Philosophical Association.

SELECTION Fort Slocum Band

HAIL COLUMBIA School Children

ADDRESS Prof. T. B. Wakeman

STAR SPANGLED BANNER School Children

NATIONAL AIRS Fort Slocum Band

OFFICIAL ACCEPTANCE Hon. Henry S. Clark

Salute of 13 guns by Second Battery, N. G., S. N. Y.
Brevet-Major Wilson

COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS.

HON. HENRY S. CLARK Mayor

HON. CARL T. KUCHLER, HON. CHAS. W. HILLDRIG,
HON. GERARD H. BLUME, HON. WM. J. KOCH,
HON. ALBERT E. DAVIS, HON. FREDERICK A. STEELE,
HON. HERMAN KALLENBERG, HON. JOSEPH WALTER,

Common Council, City of New Rochelle.
E. B. FOOTE, JR., M.D., Treasurer Bronze Bust Committee

CAPT. GEORGE LLOYD Paine Historical Association

WILSON MCDONALD (Sculptor) . .Manhattan Liberal Club
JAMES B. ELLIOTT, Secretary Paine Memorial Association
R. E. LOWE Brooklyn Philosophical Association

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS.

NATIONAL GUARD General Frederick D. Grant

DETACHMENT OF SECOND BATTERY, N. G., S. N. Y.

Brevet-Major Wilson

MINUTEMEN Major E. T. Paull, Commanding

FLANDREAU POST, G. A. R.
NORMAN CROSBY POST, Spanish War Veterans
SONS OF AMERICAN REVOLUTION,

Edward Hagaman Hall, Chairman
WOMAN'S AUXILIARY of the G. A. R.

6

Opening Address by the Chairman
Dr. E. B. Foote, Jr.

Ladies and Gentlemen : Others will tell you to-day of
the life and works of Thomas Paine. I am here to give
you the last chapter in his story. Paine died at No. 59
Grove Street, in New York City, on the morning of June
8th, 1809, and the funeral was held a few days later.

His body was brought up
from New York and
buried somewhere within
fifty feet of this monu-
ment. There it lay for
several years and there
was nothing to indicate
its presence but a head-
stone inscribed "Thomas
Paine" and the dates of
his birth and death. Wil-
liam Cobbett, an English-
man, raised the bones of
Paine and took them
back to England with
him. At that time Cob-
bett thought he could ef-
fect a revolution in the
DR. E. B. FOOTE government of England

with the bones of Paine, and that men would get together
and erect a great monument to Paine, but from Mr. Cob-
bett's large idea only small results came. The fact is,
that nothing was accomplished by the project, and the
bones knocked about England for many years until now,
no one, Mr. Conway says, knows where they are.

In 1833 a man named Tilley, who was the tailor of Mr.
Cobbett, took opportunity of seeing the bones of Paine
in London and secured a small portion of his hair and
brain. That piece of brain was handed down until Mr.
Conway got hold of it in London. This relic of Paine is
here in this small box. Now, this portion of the remains
of Paine is all that we have left and it will be placed

within this monument; then we can say the remains of
Paine, all that we have, are to be found here. You have
all heard the song "John Brown's body lies mouldering
in the grave, but his soul goes marching on" ; and so with
Paine ; his bones may be scattered about the earth, but
his soul goes marching on.

President Andrew Jackson said, "Thomas Paine needs
no monument made by hands ; he has erected a monu-
ment in the hearts of all men who love liberty." But
Gilbert Vail and Paine's friends got together a subscrip-
tion of about one thousand dollars and erected this stone

in 1839, a few feet south
of where it now stands.
When they brought this
monument from Tucka-
hoe they were not able
to place it right over the
grave on account of the
grave being located on
private property, and so
the monument was plac-
ed at the entrance to this
lane which leads up to
the house on the hill
where Paine at one time
lived. The ownership of
the land on which the
monument stood was in
dispute for forty years
CAPTAIN LLOYD and no particular atten-

tion was given to it except by Captain Lloyd and occa-
sional visitors.

In 1881 New York friends of Paine repaired and pol-
ished it up, and in 1899 the handsome bronze bust, made
by Wilson McDonald, was unveiled. Within a year or
two a spirit of improvement has come across the people
of New Rochelle and they have improved North street,
as you see, all the way to this spot. They have taken the
monument in and put it up here as a thing of beauty and

9

a joy forever. New Rochelle has carried out a noble
piece of work, after it was neglected for many years. But
so were the bones of Paul Jones neglected for many years.
The bones of Paul Jones have been brought to this coun-
try and buried with due ceremony, and now we can say
also that the memory of Thomas Paine has received the
best attention that the city of New Rochelle can bestow,
and the monument has been placed so it will stand for
many a year.

This is a great day for New Rochelle, for Thomas
Paine, for the country, and for us. As a result of this
celebration, the history of Paine will be looked up by
those unfamiliar with it, and his services to the country
will be more and more appreciated.

It may be that the committee who has had this affair
in charge will think best to offer some prizes for the
children of New Rochelle to write essays on "The Paine
Monument ; Why It Should Be Cherished and Preserved."

I will read a letter which Mr. Moncure D. Conway has
sent from Paris:

Hotel de Strasbourg, Rue de Richelieu,
Paris, Sept. 22, 1905.

A greeting to those who assemble around the monu-
ment of Paine, October 14, ought no doubt to be brief,
for it may be cold or wet weather. In any case I hope
that wise managers will use their discretion about this
missive of mine, and read as little of it as they find fit
for the occasion. My regret at inability to be among you
personally is softened by the altruistic reflection that
though you can skip a letter it is not so easy to abridge
a speaker, — especially one fresh from scenes and events
that vividly recall the memory of that wonder of his time
and of ours, Thomas Paine. I often pass the houses and
the places associated with Paine in Paris, — that where he
retreated when the Revolution grew murderous, and
wrote the first part of the "Age of Reason'' beneath the

10

suspended blade of the guillotine ; the hotel where he was
arrested; the Luxembourg palace where he was impris-
oned ; the house where Monroe and his wife carried him
from prison and nursed him back into life, and where
he wrote the second part of the "Age of Reason;" the
house where it was published by the widow Gorsas, whose

MONCURE D. CONWAY

husband had been guillotined; the home of the Bonne-
villes where he resided after the Monroes left, and during
the five years preceding his departure for America. The
house where the widow published Paine's "Age of Rea-
son" is only two or three doors from me; it is a govern-

11

ment bureau of tobacco, superintended by an enterpris-
ing woman, who sells me honest cigars. When I told her
and her husband the history of their house they were
amazed ; though fairly intelligent people they had never
heard of either Paine or Gorsas. For Paine, although
interesting to French historians and students, cannot
possibly be a figure of popular importance in a country
which knows nothing of the Protestant dogmas, infalli-
bility of the Pope, authority of the church, ceremonial
usages, are here in discussion, but infallibility of the
Bible, depravity, atonement, Sabbath, are of no interest.
When my history of Paine was being done into French,
my translator, Felix Rabbe, — an ex-priest who had be-
come rationalist and married, — advised me against quota-
tions of Paine's arguments against Protestant dogmas, as
being without point or interest in France. There is thus
no Paine question here, and historians are able to look at
his public services and his writings just as everybody did
before the "Age of Reason" appeared, and when New
York presented him with the farm at New Rochelle. And
the estimate of him is very high. Louis Blanc in his His-
tory of the Revolution, Robinet in his work on Danton,
and others have recognized his courage and power; and
the great Taine himself, who in his work on the Revolu-
tion finds so few to praise, prints a letter of Paine to
Danton which he declares to be unique for its practical
good sense.

But the average French revolutionist of Paine's time
could not comprehend his ideal, — a peaceful revolution.
Danton said to him, "Monsieur Paine, revolutions are
not made with rose-water." But Paine insisted on the
forces of sunshine which gently supplant winter with
spring. As the lute is drowned by the drum Paine's pen
was unable to compete with that of Camille Desmoulins,
whose statue I saw unveiled to-day in the Palais Royal
garden. Camille was a brilliant young genius, and it was
he who summoned the people to destroy the Bastile, and to
take up arms. When the trial of the king took place, he
and Paine were both in the Convention, where Paine made
his plea for the king's life, — a speech unparalleled for ar-
gument and art and eloquence. It nearly carried the ma-

12

jority, but Camilla declared the king's death necessary for
the honor of the Convention. A year later Paine and
Camille were fellow-prisoners in the Luxembourg. Their
last parting was when Camille Desmoulins was carried off
to be decapitated by the same guillotine to which he had
helped to send the king. When he arrived at the block
he shouted: "People! poor People! they deceive you! they
are killing your friends! Who led you to the Bastile?
Who gave you your cocarde? I am Camille Desmoulins!"
The bronze figure unveiled to-day (anniversary of the
proclamation of the Republic) represents the young leader
climbing on a chair to make his appeal (1789) to the
thousands on that same spot. "To arms ! To arms !" The
face and form are noble, but I would like it better had
Camille been shown beside the guillotine.

It was a memorable scene to-day. In front of the
bronze figure decorated officials sat in boxes of purple
velvet fringed with gold, and the orators in full dress, —
colonial minister wore white kid gloves, — the elegant
ladies, all admitted by ticket, would have elicited
from the bronze man, had he come to life, "Down
with those aristocrats !" It was all a ceremony in the
cult of the Revolution, which never ends. Paine warned
those victims, about to kill Louis Sixteenth, that if they
once began shedding blood there was no knowing where
they would stop. He lived to see that method passing
into the hands of a military despot — an emperor a thou-
sandfold more oppressive than the slain king, — and
France chained by that militarism which endangers its
liberty to this day.

The American Revolution gave to the word "revolu-
tion" its connotation of violence and bloodshed. Paine
was never a revolutionist in this modern sense. He did
his best to persuade the American statesmen not to take
up arms on a mere point of taxation, and to secure their
independence by peaceful evolution; and when the col-
lision at Lexington made peace impossible he raised the
struggle to the aim of entire independence as the only
means of preventing war between the countries from be-
coming chronic. He did the same in France ; he tried to
persuade the republicans that if they obtained a republic

13

in substance it made no difference whether they called its
ornamental head president or king. He was, he declared,
personally opposed to both presidency and royalty, but if
the one-man power was withdrawn people ought not to
sacrifice human lives on an abstraction. Paine was one of
the few men since Jesus who knew that they who take to
the sword perish by the sword, in one way or another;
a truth of which poor Japan is just now a salient exam-
ple. A few years ago it defeated China and only suc-
ceeded in quadrupling the taxes of its own people. And
now having defeated Russia it finds itself pauperized, a
hundred thousand men laid low, and on its hands some
sterile tracts of land and a port of which it can only be
the janitor for other powers. Russia, comparatively
unharmed, has happily lost its military prestige which
drew on it so much hatred, and is now the better off for
its defeat. When will the world learn that the sword has
two edges, the sharpest being for the conqueror? Thomas
Paine, who had witnessed the terrible recoils of violence,
anticipated by more than a century all these recent move-
ments for international peace and arbitration. And in
fact no brain ever lived who more completely incarnated
the principles of justice, liberty, peace, and humanity
than that of which I send you a little remnant to be en-
shrined in his monument.

Remembered by France

DEAR DOCTOR FOOTE: —

Finding it impossible for me to be able to assist at the
ceremony in honor of Thomas Paine, I must ask you to
accept this wreath, which is a feeble but very sincere tes-
timony of respect for his memory ; for it seems to me that
the homage which is rendered to him would not be com-
plete if France, for whom he did so much, was not rep-
resented.

14

To all who work with so much courage and persever-
ance in order to replace superstition by justice and truth,

ADELINA LEFORT

I send the assurance of my respect and of my sincere and
profound sympathy.

In thanking you for your kindness, I remain,

Yours,

15

Address by Theodore Schroeder, Esq.

Secretary Paine Historical Association

Almost a century ago, Thomas Paine died, and was
buried near this spot. He is beyond the reach of either
calumny or praise. We cannot honor him now, we can
only honor ourselves by showing our understanding and
appreciation of him.

Paine was the first
American publicly to
suggest that the war of
the Colonists should be
one for independence in-
stead of merely for re-
dress and reconciliation.
He anticipated the De-
claration of Independ-
ence, by writing of the
"Free and Independent
States of America," and
was the first to pen the
words, "United States of
America."

During the days of the
revolution, it was the
opinion of many that the
THEODORE SCHROEDER pen of Paine had con-

tributed more to its success than the generalship of
Washington. Paine's "Common Sense" first demon-
strated the necessity of separation and independence.
And the fire of this independence he now kept alive with
the fuel of his mighty brain. Before the battle of Tren-
ton, the half-clad and half-starved soldiers were called
together to hear read Paine's "Crisis," which burst upon
them thus: "These are the times that try men's souls.
The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this
crisis shrink from the service of his country."

The pamphlet was read by every corporal's guard and
in and out of the army produced more than the intended

16

effect. The enthusiasm it inspired was the chief element
in the success at the battle of Trenton.

The convention of New York, reduced by fear and de-
sertion to nine members, was recalled and reanimated.
Militiamen, tired of war and straggling from the army,
returned.

Subsequently, as Secretary of the Pennsylvania As-
sembly, he started a subscription with his entire salary,
which resulted in the raising of a relief fund of half a
million dollars, and thus again he saved the revolution
from disaster. Though himself penniless, he gave to
America the copyright of all his books at a time when
they were selling by the thousands. He again saved the
revolution from failure, by securing the timely aid of
France.

Later, we find him an adviser in the French Revolu-
tion, which he so vigorously defended in his "Rights of
Man." This defense of liberty made him so popular that,
though not a citizen of France, by unanimous vote of
three communes, he was elected as a member of the
French Assembly.

Here he performed the grandest act of his noble life
when, at the risk of his own life, he protested against
the execution of the dethroned monarch. For this he
was imprisoned, and escaped death almost miraculously.
It was in hourly expectation of arrest and death that
he wrote his "Age of Reason," which was an attack upon
the then prevalent superstition. This was the book which
destroyed his popularity among people who still believed,
even in America, in boring holes through the tongues of
persons who denied the Trinity.

Paine defended the liberties of man against the usurped
power of crowned ruffians. For this, he was denounced
as "brutal." He defended the rights of conscience against
the bloody bigotry of his time. This made him "vulgar
and low."

When royalty could not answer Paine's arguments in
the "Rights of Man," he was threatened with death, and
outlawed from the country he was offering freedom.
Paine's sympathy for mankind had made kings his foes,
his mercy cost him his liberty, his generosity kept him

17

in poverty, his charity made him enemies, and by intel-
lectual honesty he lost his friends. Federalist judges of
election, for whose liberty he had fought, denied him the
right to vote, because he was a citizen of France; im-
prisoned in France because he was not a citizen of
France; maligned because he was brave; shunned be-
cause he was honest ; hated by those to whom he had de-
voted his whole existence; denied a burial place in the
soil he helped make free by the church which first taught
him the lesson of humanity; thus ended the life of
Thomas Paine.

The world is growing better, more just and more hos-
pitable. The narrow intolerance which once threatened
to erase Paine's name from the pages of history is pass-
ing away. Gradually we are coming to know that a
kingly crown or priest's robe never rested upon a nobler
man than the one who had the greatness and the good-
ness to say: "The world is my country; to do good my
religion."

Address by Edward Hagaman Hall

Secretary of the Sons of the
American Revolution

Mr. Mayor, Mr. Chairman and Ladies and Gentlemen:
It was only about 30 seconds ago that I received this very
kind invitation to step out of the ranks of the Washing-
ton Continental Guard to address you, so that however
well I may be uniformed, armed and equipped as a silent

18

participant in these in-
teresting and significant
ceremonies, I am cap-
tured by surprise with
an inadequate supply of
oratorical ammunition.

But what American
citizen, who has the
faintest realization of
the important part which
Thomas Paine took in
the struggle which
brought our Nation into
being, could fail to catch
a magnetic thrill in the
presence of that frag-
ment of the great brain,
whose vibrations once
EDWARD H. HALL set the people aquiver

with a new realization of human rights. What American
tongue cannot find even a few halting words to express
on this occasion and at this place the sense of indebted-
ness that we owe to the companion of Washington and
the author of Common Sense, the Crisis, and the Rights
of Man.

I welcome, too, the opportunity to stand up here and
show you the counterpart of the uniform in which Wash-
ington and the Continental Army fought for the princi-
ples which Thomas Paine demonstrated in his writings.
Happily the people of this patriotic city of New Rochelle,
under whose auspices these exercises are being conducted
to-day, do not need to be told what the Continental uni-
form was ; but there are people who, if the heroes whose
blood was the seed of this Nation could rise from their
graves, would not be able to tell whether they were Amer-
ican, British or Hessians. I had an extraordinary illus-
tration of this fact only about a week ago. I had gone in
this uniform to Tappan, in Rockland County, N. Y., and
stood beside the monument marking the place where
Major John Andre, the British spy, was executed and
buried. As I stood contemplating the spot, and recalling

19

the extraordinary fortitude and resolution of Washington
and his officers at the critical period of Arnold's treason,
a lady came out from the nearest house, and, greeting me,
inquired:

"May I ask you, sir, if you are an officer of the British
army?"

I informed her that I was not; and I concluded that
people need to be educated not only as to the aspects of
the Revolutionary war, but as to the uniforms common
in those days as well.

Although wearing a military uniform and willing to
fight, if need be, for my country, I am not a fighting man.
I respect profoundly the moral struggle of the men who,
like the members of the Continental Army 125 years ago,
and like these members of the United States Army drawn
up before this monument to-day, are willing to offer their
lives for their country, but I believe that no principle of
right was ever settled by killing one's fellowmen. God
endowed Man above his fellow creatures with a mind by
which he can perceive the difference between right and
wrong, and I believe that it is in the exercise of those
faculties which distinguish us from the beasts of the field
and not by the use of physical force common to the brutes
that we are to establish right and justice on the face of
tile earth.

I hope the time will come, when it will not be neces-
sary for us to maintain an array of fighting men. We
are here to-day to celebrate the career of a man who
fought not with the sword, but who made thrones tremble
by the might of the pen. God speed the day when we will
dispense with armies and navies and live by the princi-
ples laid down by Thomas Paine.

Remarks by Major E. T. Paull

I find myself somewhat in the position of an old darkey
down in Virginia, in which State I was born and raised,

20

who was accused of stealing a mule. The justice on this
occasion knew the darkey, and told him to come up to his
desk and tell him about the circumstances of the case.

He told him not to pay
any attention to the law-
yers and court officers
that were present, but to
tell him the actual facts
in the case, why it was
he was accused of steal-
ing a mule. The old
darkey replied, "Well,
Judge, Til just tell you
how that was; I was go-
ing along down the road,
in the pine hills, whar I
lives, and as I was goin'
along, I happened to see
a rope layin' in the mid-
dle of de road; I picked
up de rope, and went on
home wid it, and sho's
MAJOR E. T. PAULL you born Judge, I diden't

no' dere was any mule 'tached to the rope." My position
as far as a speech is somewhat similar to the old darkey's
plea. I came to New Rochelle, with the understanding
that I would command the detachment of Minute Men
on this occasion, but I did not know that there was to
be any speech attached to it.

As to what I thought of New Rochelle, I thought after
taking the walk that we had done, it was a city of magnifi-
cent distances, and in this respect outrivalled New York
City. However, as we marched through the principal
thoroughfares of the famed city of New Rochelle, proba-
bly as much so on account of the Paine Monument as any-
thing else, I was prepared to add my testimony to what
I had heard of the city's beautiful location and hand-
some homes.

21

Address by Thaddeus B. Wakeman, Esq.

You have already heard the outline of the story of
Paine's life, and if you would know the history of your
country, read the life of Thomas Paine. My subject is
the work of Paine. All patriots are learning to love and
delight in honoring Paine. The reason is this : He was

the originator of the
great principles for hu-
man progress that arose
during the revolution,
both in America and Eu-
rope. We should like to
honor him for what he
wrote and said and did
to secure the welfare and
independence of our
country, and of the im-
mense benefit of our mod-
ern life to the whole
world.

In considering the ser-
vices rendered by Paine
we must remember that
their scene was in Arrteri-
T. B. WAKEMAN ca, then in England, then

in France, then to the rising generations ever on.

All of these countrys are represented in their expres-
sions of gratitude here to-day.

America has spoken by Artillery in the hands of the
Sons of the Revolution. France has spoken through
Madame Adelina Le Fort, from whom has come the beau-
tiful wreath that now adorns the monument, and a pre-
sentation letter, if possible, still more beautiful and ap-
propriate.

England, to whom the world is indebted for Paine, is
well represented by her sons, always present to honor
the one those influence and writings have finally reformed
their native land through Parliaments and without war
or revolution. The rising generation is represented by

22

the school children of the City of New Rochelle, whose
songs are a delight enough to recall the Spirit of Dr.
Moncure D. Conway, the first President of our Incor-
porated Association, whose admirable Life and Writings
of Paine have secured the immortality of his work and
usefulness.

In the light of these works the great services and
achievements of Paine may be described as five great
victories, three already won, and two being still fought
out on the battle-field of time : to wit :

(1) He was the first to suggest and did much to
achieve American independence. (2) The next thing he
suggested, and did much to achieve, was a democratic re-
public. (3) The next thing he suggested, and which has
been achieved, is the federal union of the United States,
and the adoption of the federal Constitution. (4) And
now what remains on the battlefield of time is this. He
was the first to name, and so make a reality of the religion
of humanity, the brotherhood of mankind. (5) This will
be the outgrowth of the principle of the brotherhood of
mankind, and is to be the republic of mankind and of the
world; — that federated republic of mankind and of the
world, making war and conquest hereafter absolutely im-
possible.

The American constitution, the religion of humanity,
the brotherhood of man — those are the three things that
bind us together into one people, and the republic of man-
kind will make us one with all the world. 'The world is
my country," said Paine, and that made all the people of
the world his brothers. Remember those five things and
you have the substance of the history of mankind for the
last one hundred years, and those points were given us
by Thomas Paine more than by any other man whatso-
ever. They are, in fact, the real foundation of the future
welfare and glory of our race!

When independence was first suggested, why was it
not taken up by the American colonies? It was because
they had no government to put in the place of the govern-
ment of George III. Wipe out the king, they said, and
you will bring chaos. Independence was possible because
he took the ground that the American people could stand

23

with God-nature as their only king, and that they could
make their own democratic republic, which would be of
the people, for the people and by the people. That was
what made independence possible, for in 1776 that idea
spread through our country like wildfire. After "Common
Sense" was read throughout the country, Washington
himself said it "is sound in its reasoning," and thereafter
Washington owed his work for independence to this writ-
ing of Thomas Paine directly, and he regarded Paine as
his political father. Paine was the creator of this gov-
ernment by the fact that he first put into the hearts of the
people the idea of the democratic republic and the spirit
of independence : and one thing more, and that was the
union of the States and of the people in one great con-
tinental government. He was the first of Democrats and
Federalists united.

On the 18th of October, 1775, Paine published in the
Pennsylvania Magazine what he called "A Serious
Thought;" in that he argued for independence and con-
tinental legislation. That was the first intimation of our
glorious union ; "continental legislation was the thing" !
He argued that we must become a united people and a na-
tion. He said what was to be accomplished by throwing
off what prevented any such union — the allegiance to the
British king and any other government on earth. So far,
those three things — independence, the republic, and the
federal union — have been won. This country is to-day,
through recent events, teaching all the rest of the world
a great lesson in progress and peace; and that lesson is
made possible by the fact that those three battles inaugu-
rated by Paine have been practically won.

There are two more victories, as I said, yet to be won.
In those we are extremely interested, not only because of
our own welfare, but for the welfare of all the rest of
the world. I mean our realization of future brotherhood
through the Religion of Humanity. Mr. Schroeder has
already told you that one of the grandest things ever done
was when Thomas Paine refused to vote for the death of
the king, but said destroy monarchy. That was beautiful
and tragic. Kill the monarch — but save the Man!

Then, there is that passage in No. 7 of the Crisis in

24

which for the first time the British king and all of his
supporters were cited before "the religon of humanity"
as monsters and not human beings. Think of this man
Paine taking such a stand and proclaiming the British
king and all of his ministers as monsters before the
world! That sentiment was taken up in France, and it
became the inspiration of the great philosopher
Auguste Comte. Those words have blessed every re-
ligion. Milton says the Philosophy of Socrates has
flowed down and watered the roots of all "the schools."
Now, my friends, the religion of humanity has done the
same thing. Who started that religion of humanity?
Who indicted kings before it? Nobody but Thomas
Paine! Nobody else had the knowledge and nobody else
had the courage to do it. Those three magic words first
spoken by Paine, will work on and on for ever!

When real war for independence came up, Paine
shouldered his musket, but Washington said, "Paine, your
pen is worth more than your musket," and Paine became
what can be called the adviser of the soldiers, and his
writings were read by their camp fires, as Mr. Schroeder
has told you, throughout the army, and by Washington's
order.

My time draws to a close but I want to again impress
upon you to remember the five points about which I have
been speaking. In them the genius and quality of Paine
rose to the very highest point, and to honor him, as we
are doing to-day may well be considered by us as the
worthiest — the greatest act of our lives. When we are
asked who of all men first sketched the future and held
aloft its program, truthful history replies: The Author-
Hero to whom this monument was erected and is this
day re-dedicated ! Therefore, the two chief centers by
which the lovers of liberty, humanity and progress will
love to linger and gather inspiration in America, will
henceforth be the Mausoleum of Washington by the Po-
tomac, and this Monument of Paine by his old home in
your lovely city of New Rochelle.

25

Address by Mayor Henry S. Clark

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : I have the
honor to act in behalf of my associates of the Common
Council and the People of the City of New Rochelle, as
spokesman on this occasion for the acceptance of this

HENRY S. CLARK

27

historical memorial by the City. This memorial should
serve and will remain an object lesson inculcating not only
patriotism, but the fundamental idea which appeared
only in Paine's writings — political equality for all men.
He ranks with Samuel Adams as a patriot, who taught to
the British subjects that they have rights as citizens
greater than those conferred upon them by the British
crown. Paine brought about an awakening that im-
pressed upon the people those two great ideas — political
equality and the power by popular suffrage to carry on a
government by which all men were equal under the law.
And the lesson which he taught then is a lesson \vhich
should not be forgotten now. May this memorial ever
serve to keep fresh in the minds of this oncoming genera-
tion the patriotism and the love of liberty of Thomas
Paine and of the men of his times.

And now, Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, in be-
half of my associates of the Common Council, the repre-
sentatives of the people of New Rochelle, we accept this
splendid memorial and pledge ourselves to ever protect
and preserve it, trusting it will ever be an inspiration,
to self-sacrificing citizenship.

28

Benediction by the Chaplain of

Sons of American Revolution.

Rector of St. James Episcopal Church

New York City.

29

DEATH MASK

By J. W. JARVIS

In New York Historical Society

30

Burial of Thomas Paine

"The grand people of America were not there ; but be-
side the negroes stood the Quaker preacher and the
French Catholic woman, Madame Bonneville placed her
son Benjamin — afterwards General in the United States
Army — a*t one end of the grave, and standing herself at
the other end, cried, as the earth fell on the coffin : "Oh,
Mr. Paine, my son stands here as testimony of the grati-
tude of America and I for France."

Life of Thomas Paine, by Moncure Daniel Conway.

KEY OF BASTILE

At Mount Vernon, Va.
Washington's Homestead

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University of California

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