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Show An Original Great American IN GALLING up great names in this month in which so many illustrious Americans were born, one Instinctively calls in review the names of men who have been potential forces in our country from the first. Among them one name stands out close to the head of the list. He was not born in February, but came very near it, on the 29th of January. Because he would not subscribe to any of the creeds of his day he has been discounted for almost six score years, but he surely was a master spirit among men.We refer to Thomas Paine. He was among the first to cry out for a declaration of independence and outlined what that declaration should contain. In 1775 he urged the creation of a navy and gave reasons which were unanswerable why the people on this side of the Atlantic should build ships. He pointed ouc that all the materials for shipbuilding ship-building were here in abundance, while other nations na-tions had to imrort most of theirs, and declared de-clared that if we were to accumulate more ships than were needed, other nations would be glad to purchase them "and by that means replace re-place our paper money with gold and silver." He advised the giving of premiums to merchants, to build and employ in their service ships mounted mount-ed with twenty, thirty, forty or fifty guns, and declared that most of Great Britain's fleet was worthless, that our country with a fifth of her ships could beat her at sea, for we would have but one coast to defend while she had provinces everywhere, ev-erywhere, and then would have to come across a stormy 3,000 miles to attack us. But he was greatest in urging independence. Here is one extract from his pen in 1775: 'When William the Conqueror subdued England, he gave them law at the point of tne sworu, md, until we consent that the seat of government In America be legally and authoritatively occupied we shall be in danger of having it filled by some fortunate ruffian who may treat us in the samo manner, and then, where will be our freedom; where our property? ,, As to religion, I hold' it to'be the indispen-sible indispen-sible duty of all governments to protect all con-sciencious con-sciencious professors t eof, and I know no othtsr business which government hath to do therewith." there-with." Just in the above we see the germs of all that materialized in the creation of our government. The next year he joined the army, declaring that the" people were strong enough to achieve their Independence, that were they stronger, there would be danger of tholi( splitting up Into BBBHbSbBBbbbbhbbI separate governments, whereas a united whole was the only safe plan. Wherever we And his words in referring to the country and 'any of its i needs, they not only ring trtfe) but they are filled ' with a rare wisdom which offfen takes on the form of prophecy. , Moreover, many of the thoughts he gave expression ex-pression to crystalized in the minds of the people peo-ple and are cardinal principles of the Republic today. J Surely there were giants in those days. |