Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.), March 24, 1907
CALL TO FRIENDS OF THOMAS PAINE
The following has been issued by Dr. E. B. Foote, treasurer of the Amalgamated Paine Memorial Societies, and the Blade hopes that its readers will lend all possible aid, both financial and otherwise, to the subject of the call:
Do You Really Love this Man?
This headline is perhaps used overmuch of late, but that may be our excuse for its coming to the front when we are about to ask who are the real friends of Thomas Paine today. Who stands ready to prove his devotion to our first grand old man—the really, truly father of this country—by doing something and paying something to keep his name before the people?
At the last Paine dinner a nice, wide-awake woman, up-to-date in many ways, asked me before the dinner, “Who was Paine, and why dine to his memory?” Then I knew for sure we had neglected to enlighten those whose education about Paine has been neglected through the suppression of common historical facts in our school books, so often referred to by Mr. Wakeman.
We need lectures, meetings, events, tracts and any proper means to make Paine’s history known, and the Paine Historical Association proposes to make this its business. It wants active members everywhere to help do these things, and it wants the real active, busy body-and-pen-pushing friends of Paine to go on its letter-head list of vice-presidents. Will they please speak up, make themselves known, say what they can and will do, and report at once to our new secretary, Mr. James H. Elliott, 3515 Wallace Street, Philadelphia, Pa.? He is an enthusiastic old-time, never-ceasing Paine memorialist, and if he can impart a little of his activity to others there may be something doing—and great things done by the time of the hundredth anniversary of Paine’s death, June, 1909.
Our liberal papers are doing their full share of work along the lines proposed, but what is needed is a plan of work that will reach readers of the daily press and other mediums and widen the circle of those who love Paine and know the reason why.
There may be real friends enough of Paine scattered through this country to make a real live and going Paine Historical Association, and right now we want to find them—and get busy, if there is any fair prospect of success.
If, in fact, he has no friends who would do something to keep him alive, then let us know that.
E. B. FOOTE,
Treasurer