Moses Pendergrass

Moses Pendergrass was the subject of a footnote illustrating mistreatment by government bureaucracy, in a Mark Twain article, "Concerning the Jews", in Harper's Magazine, 1898.

According to Twain's account, in 1886 Moses Pendergrass of Libertyville, Missouri put in a bid to work as a mail carrier for a year beginning on 1 July 1887. "He got the postmaster at Knob Lick to write the letter for him, and while Moses intended that his bid should be $400, his scribe carelessly made it $4."

Twain's point, in the article's context of criticising anti-Semitism, was to show that "shabbiness and dishonesty are not the monopoly of any race or creed, but are merely human".

"In the present paper I shall allow myself to use the word Jew as if it stood for both religion and race. It is handy; and, besides, that is what the term means to the general world. In the above letter one notes these points:

1. The Jew is a well-behaved citizen. 2. Can ignorance and fanaticism alone account for his unjust treatment? 3. Can Jews do anything to improve the situation? 4. The Jews have no party; they are non-participants. 5. Will the persecution ever come to an end? 6. What has become of the Golden Rule? "