History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 14

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 944

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On the 30th of June, 1892, Mr. Mason was married in Greeley to Miss Mary E. Darling, a daughter of Willard and Abbie S. Darling, who were among the early colonists of Colorado. Her father was employed in connection with the agricultural development of Greeley and in time became one of the representative and successful farmers of Weld county. His wife was a very energetic woman, assisting him greatly, and in church affairs she took a very active and helpful part, being a consistent and earnest member of the Methodist church. To Mr. and Mrs. Darling were born two sons and two daughters and the sons became engaged in farming and won a substantial measure of prosperity. To Mr. and Mrs. Mason have been born four daughters, Alice, Laura, Luthera and Harriet. Alice graduated from the Colorado College, at Colorado Springs; Laura graduated from

HISTORY OF COLORADO

the Agricultural College in 1918; and the two younger sisters are high school pupils. Mr. Mason and his family are active and consistent members of the Baptist church. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party but he has never sought or desired office as a reward for party fealty. He is a member of the Farmers Club and is interested in everything that has to do with the agricultural development and the general progress and prosperity of his community. He has served as president of the school board and president of the board of trustees of the Baptist church of Greeley, the cause of education finding in him a stalwart champion, for he believes that education is the bulwark of the nation. He has therefore given his children excellent advantages in that direction. His daughter Alice was a particularly earnest student and is now a successful teacher of languages, having been engaged in that connection in different parts of the state. Mr. Mason and his family are noted for their generosity in charitable and benevolent work and they are people of genuine worth, occupying an enviable position in those social circles where intelligence and true worth are received as the passports into good society.

ROBERT WALTER SPEER.

Robert Walter Speer was a man of vision and the vision crystallized in Denver's civic greatness. The great and beautiful city of today, with its broad thoroughfares, its magnificent boulevard and park systems, its splendid playgrounds, its great municipal auditorium, is the monument to his labors. He was a dreamer of dreams but the dreams took form in practical effort that placed Denver in many respects in a point of leader- ship among the great cities on the American continent. It was his absorbing passion to make it a city for all the people-a city of high physical, mental and moral attainments, and while many of his plans came to a tangible realization, he was engaged in the devel- opment of still other projects for Denver's improvement at the time of his death on May 14, 1918, but most of all in an effort to make Denver one hundred per cent in its efficiency in connection with the world war. A modern philosopher has said: "Not the good that comes to us, but the good that comes to the world through us, is the measure of our success." And judged by this standard, few men have attained the success of Robert W. Speer, who was known through the United States as the foremost municipal executive in America. For thirty years he was connected with the public life of Denver as an officer-years in which he closely studied every problem of the city, and when he came to be the head of the city government, his theories and his plans were not ill advised but were the outcome of sound judgment, broad experience and keen insight.

A native of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, Robert W. Speer was born on the 1st of December, 1855, a son of George W. Speer, who won distinction for gallantry while serving as an officer in the Union army during the Civil war. His mother, who bore the maiden name of Jane Ann Brewster, belonged to one of the leading families of the com- munity. After completing a public school education Robert W. Speer continued his studies in the Dickinson Seminary at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and although this ended his school training, he remained throughout his life a close student of men, meas- ures, problems and affairs and came to be regarded as a man of most scholarly attain- ments when judged by the breadth of his knowledge. It was not the learning that one gains merely from books but the learning that qualifies the individual for every duty as it comes successively to him. He was ever recognized as a man of most courageous spirit and early gave manifestation of this characteristic. When quite young, or about the time he attained his majority, he leaped into a lake and saved from drowning the lady who afterwards became his wife. At this time his health failed and he came west, seeking a drier climate. So greatly had his health been undermined that when he reached Colorado he was too ill to walk. He courageously took up the fight for life, just as in later years he took up the fight for principles which led to civic betterment and civic greatness. The outdoor life of the cattleman on the ranch restored his health, and when he felt it safe to take up indoor occupation again, he secured a clerkship in the carpet department of the Daniels & Fisher Stores Company, where he was paid a salary of eight dollars per week. In the meantime his love of the west grew and in 1882 he returned to Pennsylvania, where he wedded Miss Kate A. Thrush, of Lewiston, that state, whose life he had previously saved, and they entered upon an ideal married relation that covered thirty-six years. With his bride Mr. Speer returned to Denver. He had previously given up his position as clerk to enter the real estate business and, his ability becoming recognized by his fellow townsmen, he was elected to the office of city clerk two years prior to his marriage. This constituted his

ROBERT W. SPEER

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initial step in Denver's public life and for thirty years he remained a most active and influential factor in municipal affairs.

In 1885 Mr. Speer was appointed by President Grover Cleveland to the position of postmaster of Denver and in 1891 Governor Routt appointed him president of the Denver fire and police board. From Governor Adams he received appointment to the position of president of the board of public works and became thereby ex officio member of the fire and police board. He was also appointed to the same position by Governor Thomas and so continued to serve until 1904. All through this period of office holding Mr. Speer was a diligent student of municipal government. He searched out the best principles utilized in the government of larger cities, read every authority upon municipal problems and when he was called to the mayoralty in 1904, he entered upon the duties of his position with high ideas and ideals, many of which were regarded as revolutionary but which through his practical efforts became tangible assets in the city's development and upbuilding. He was an indefatigable worker and he eagerly grasped his first real oppor- tunity to carry out his vision. For two consecutive terms he continued as Denver's mayor and transformed a straggly and somewhat unsightly western town into a city beautiful. Utility, sanitation, comfort and beauty all figured as dominant features in his plans. His labors resulted in the building of the Twentieth street viaduct and he was the first to suggest construction of the Colfax-Larimer viaduct. His efforts led to the paving and graveling of many of Denver's streets and his initiative brought about the building of extensive sanitary and storm sewer systems. He established the boule- vard and parkway systems and he felt that not only utility but beauty must be consid- ered and that the city's development should be upon a plan that would produce a har- monious whole. He therefore created and planned the civic center, regarded as one of the most beautiful and inspiring works of man. He carried forward a system of tree culture that won the plaudits of artists and horticulturists throughout the world. An unsightly dumping ground was transformed into beautiful sunken gardens and Cherry Creek, which for years had remained an unsolved problem of other city heads, was curbed by him through the building of a great retaining wall, along one side of which was con- structed a beautiful driveway that the city fathers named in his honor. Beauty entered into his plan for city lighting and unsightly telephone and telegraph poles were placed in alleys. He opposed the construction of buildings more than twelve stories in height because such would obstruct a view of the mountains; and to Denver's parks he turned his attention, establishing new parks and boulevards, from which he discarded the signs "keep off the grass." He also opened many playgrounds, especially in the more congested districts, that the children might have opportunity for healthful fun. He was also instru- mental in establishing the museum at City park, one of the finest and most complete in the world, and also in establishing the public bathhouses. His initiative resulted in the building of the Welcome arch and one of the public improvements in which he personally took greatest delight was the Auditorium, which will ever stand as a monument to his public spirit. "His greatest pleasure," said the Denver Times, "was had when the big building was thrown open free to the public for some great concert or other entertainment. Then, always, Mayor Speer, his expansive and genial smile spreading over his face and his eyes aglow with the joy he could not conceal had he tried, was to be found hastening here and there about the entrances, seeing that none was turned away." Free Sunday afternoon concerts were inaugurated at the Auditorium, held through the winter season, with summer concerts in the parks during the summer, and one of his chief delights was the fact that he persuaded Madame Schumann-Heink to give a free concert in the building, singing to fourteen thousand persons who otherwise could not have afforded to hear her. His orders on such occasions were that the boxes were to be reserved for the old and the feeble, the crippled and the ill, and he personally saw to it that such orders were carried out and that such guests were made comfortable. The story is told of him that on the occasion of the holding of a municipal Christmas tree and celebration at the Auditorium in 1916 the place had already become filled with a crowd of happy children and that the mayor surreptitiously slipped several through the entrances after the doors had been closed. Fearing for the safety of the little ones, the fire chief complained of this, where- upon the mayor acquiesced, promising not to open the doors again, but it is said that a few moments later a friend of his found him on the outside distributing dollars to thirty or more disappointed youngsters whom he had called into the alley for the purpose, instructing them to "spend it all for candy." With the building of the Auditorium he felt, too, that a great pipe organ should be installed and ere he had completed his second term in office he had seen fifty thousand dollars set aside for that purpose, but after his retirement from the mayoralty the money was used in other ways. For four years he was out of office and then at the demand of his fellow townsmen was recalled to the posi- tion, and still with the determination to have that organ for Denver, he personally raised

HISTORY OF COLORADO

more than thirty thousand dollars toward its purchase, after which the Rotary Club took up the work and raised the rest of the money needed, the city paying only for the installa- tion of the organ. He built Inspiration Point in order that citizens might study nature in a three-hundred-mile view of the Rockies. He encouraged land and water sports and proposed Mount Evans as a national park so the worker might enjoy Sunday outings. He also looked to the most practical phases of life and established a bureau whereby coal was furnished at cost when fuel prices soared and brought hardships to the consumer. It was Mr. Speer who originated the phrase "Give while you live," inducing many of Denver's wealthy men to bestow gifts upon the city that have resulted greatly in civic betterment.

With the outbreak of the world war Mr. Speer recognized how closely his city should cooperate with the national government and put forth every effort to that end. He it was who originated the plan of paying the premium on a thousand dollars insurance for every boy who enlisted and it was his constant aim and purpose to have the city do its full duty in every respect in relation to the war. It was therefore in keeping with his views and purpose that when he passed away Mrs. Speer requested that no flowers be sent but that the money be given instead to the Red Cross. It was after a brief illness that Mr. Speer passed away. Almost to his last hour he was planning and working for the city. Civic improvements were not his sole achievement, however. He systematized the municipal business of Denver and brought the city's government to the highest state of efficiency. It is seldom that such absolute recognition of one's worth comes to the individual as did to Mr. Speer. In 1912, after two terms' service as mayor, he retired from the office without asking reelection and went abroad. While in Europe he closely studied every form of municipal government, but during his absence com- mission government in Denver had become a chaotic thing and it was a universal feeling that a mistake had been made. The business men, the political leaders and in fact the whole city felt that desirable conditions could be restored only by one man and that was Robert W. Speer. It was therefore with the support of both parties that he was returned to the office in 1916. When he felt that he would have to accede to the public demand for reelection he undertook to draw up the present city charter, embodying all that he believed best of the many kinds of government he had studied. This resulted in giving Denver a charter that allows the mayor or city manager greater power than is had by the chief executive in any other city, but at the same time checks his public acts and makes him responsible for the work of every city department. In choosing his coworkers Mr. Speer did not regard party lines. The members of his cab- inet were chosen two from the democratic ranks and two from the republican ranks. With his return to office he again took up the plans for the civic center which he had formulated in his second term and it was then that he said: "What finer use could wealthy citizens of Denver make of their money than to spend it making Denver more beautiful, in erecting monuments to themselves that will be of benefit and bring joy and light into the lives of others?" And with this thought in mind he at once approached numerous philanthropic and wealthy citizens, many of whom he found eager to cooperate with him, with the result that Denver secured statues and art works worth hundred and hundreds of thousands.

It is said that Mr. Speer was an authority upon the laws of the city and the state and that he could quote many legal decisions upon any point that came up for debate. It was his custom to spend an hour or more each evening at his home reading books on municipal affairs or studying the city and state statutes. He was as mayor a strict dis- ciplinarian with his assistants and held the head of a department more closely to his tasks than any subordinate because of the fact that more responsibility devolved upon him. Though a strict disciplinarian, he was also most genial and it was his wish that every member of his cabinet would speak freely upon any subject under discussion, desiring that each should express his individual thought. Speaking of his personal char- acteristics, one who knew him well said: "Mr. Speer never forgot a friend, and I prefer to remember him as that kind of a man. His was a personal magnetism seldom seen in this world. In the words of Shakespeare, 'he grappled his friends to him with hoops of steel,' and where you found a friend of his you found a man who would die for him. If he was your friend he'd go to the utmost limit for you, and the more you met with adversity, the more you were attacked, the more you were condemned, the more trouble you were in, the tighter he clung to you and the harder he worked to help you. He was a leader of men. It was this loyalty and steadfastness that made him a leader. There never has been a man in Colorado who held his party in so firm a grip, and never a man who succeeded in drawing the two great parties together for the common good of the city."

In an editorial the Rocky Mountain News said: "This community has suffered an irreparable loss in the death of Mayor Robert W. Speer. He made service to the city his life

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work. Denver's present commanding place with the outer world is due to his incessant labors for its upbuilding. He was childless. What he might have given to a family he gave to Denver. No other interest, outside of his devotion to his wife, was permitted to interfere with his life work-in truth his absorption in Denver's civic affairs for many years crowded out business and money making and political preferment. Money he cared nothing for so long as it left him free to work out his plans. Time and again he refused offers of high place away from here so that he might be free to live and work for the city that gave him a longer life than he was led to expect when a young man, for he, too, was one of the number that came here to seek health. Mayor Speer was known throughout the United States as the foremost municipal executive in America. He was a student of municipal affairs and was also a man of exceptional executive ability. Besides, he had a magnetic, persuasive personality, initiative and unlimited courage. Those who came to meet him in public affairs and in politics learned to love him as well as to admire him and were bound to him by chains of steel. * * * Mayor Speer's place in Denver and Colorado is not to be filled today or tomorrow. He towered above his contemporaries. He died as he lived, thinking of his city and planning to the last moment to make Denver count in the great national undertaking."

The Denver Times said: "Two qualities were outstanding in Mayor Speer-modesty and faithfulness to his friends. As he came more and more into the limelight as an authority on municipal affairs, he bent more humbly to his work. The things that had been done were not worth talking about-it was the bigger things just ahead that occupied his attention. All the detail of city management, in addition to the broad planning which occupied most of his hours, could not have been attended to if Mayor Speer had not had the faculty of picking the right men for his assistants. When once a man had won his confidence, and had proved himself to Mayor Speer's own sat- isfaction, all the outside criticism in the world could not make the mayor abandon that friend. He saw the good in men from all walks of life. His appointees stepped into office in overalls and in broadcloth. But first they had to convince this shrewd judge of human nature that they were animated, like himself, with an honest desire to serve the people. 'Service' in fact was the Speer motto. He never grew so absorbed in his work that he drifted far from the everyday folk for whom his most ambi- tious plans were made. Mayor Speer could have done for any other city what he has done for Denver. There is no municipality in the country that would not have been the better for his directing influence. It is fortunate for Denver that, in its hour of need, it found such a man to lay the foundations for future progress. On the things that Mayor Speer has built, and along the plans that he has laid out, Denver cannot help but advance. The people of this city will never be content with a man who does not measure up in some degree at least to the Speer ideals. In the power of his example, as well as in the wonderful things he built for us in a material way, Mayor Robert W. Speer will live on in Denver."

No more fitting epitaph could be written of Robert W. Speer than the words of one of his lifetime friends, "Denver is and always will be his monument."

COLONEL DAVID CHILD DODGE.

The close of a most useful, active and honorable career came on the 19th of July, 1918, when Colonel David C. Dodge passed from this life. He had been one of the builders of Denver; one of the promoters of Colorado's development and greatness. For many years he had figured most prominently in connection with railroad con- struction throughout the west and his labors were far-reaching and most beneficial in their results. The attainment of wealth was not the end and aim of his work. He was actuated by a patriotic purpose of doing the best that he possibly could for the state and for the great western empire and he was continually striving to promote Colorado's welfare along many lines. His title was a complimentary one. His friends, recognizing his ability for leadership and the qualities that placed him above the great majority of his fellows, called him Colonel. He remained an active factor in the world's work to the last, although he had passed the eightieth milestone on life's journey. His keen mentality was undimmed and to the end he gave out of the rich stores of his wisdom and experience for the benefit of others. He had for years figured prominently in connection with railway building, with agricultural interests and with other business projects in Denver and the west. His interests long kept him a central figure on the stage of activity in Colorado's capital, where he was numbered among her most honored residents.

COLONEL DAVID C. DODGE

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Colonel Dodge was born in Shirley, Massachusetts, November 17, 1837, and was a descendant in the eighth generation of the first American settler of the name. Two brothers, Richard and William Dodge, came from England and settled in Salem, Massachusetts, about 1638. From them are descended almost all the Dodges in America, David C. Dodge among the rest. His parents were Levy and Susanna Ann (Woolley) Dodge, both natives of New England, their entire lives having been passed near Ayer, in the Old Bay state. The mother was a descendant of Joshua Bentley, one of the two American patriots who rowed Paul Revere across the Charles river on the mem- orable night when he made his famous ride in 1775 and "spread the alarm through every Middlesex village and farm" that the countryfolk might be up and to arms. His great-uncle was Dr. William Bentley, a noted scholar and linguist and a minister of the Unitarian faith at Salem, Massachusetts. His father was for many years actively engaged in farming. In the family were six children, Colonel Dodge being the youngest and last survivor.

Colonel Dodge was a little lad of but three summers when he became a pupil in a country school taught by his oldest sister. Later he specialized in mathematics and physics as a student in the Lawrence Academy at Groton, Massachusetts. Although his textbooks were put aside when he was but fifteen years of age he had already acquired a thorough knowledge of algebra, trigonometry, theoretical surveying and other advanced branches of mathematics that proved of great worth to him in his later career as a railroad builder. In 1853, when a youth of fifteen years and three months, he left home and made his way westward to central Illinois. Here he remained until 1856, during which period he was employed in the engineering depart- ment of the Fox River Valley Railroad at Elgin, Illinois, and also was connected with the Wisconsin Central Railroad. In March, 1856, he removed to Clinton, Iowa, where he became connected with the Chicago, Iowa & Nebraska Railroad in the position of general freight and passenger agent and also acted as paymaster for the road from 1857 until 1862. In January, 1864, he was sent to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and spent several months in the commissary department of the Union army during the Civil war. From June until October, 1864, he was in the quartermaster's department at Memphis, and there narrowly escaped being taken prisoner when the house in which he was quartered, was raided by the Confederate General Forrest's cavalry. During his connection with the army, he was brought into close personal contact with General Thomas and the acquaintance thus founded, ripened into a warm personal friend- ship and mutual regard. Returning to Iowa in October, 1864, he became general agent for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, at Nevada, Iowa, which town was at that time, the western terminus of the road. Later, upon the completion of the road to Council Bluffs, and the extension of the Union Pacific Railroad to North Platte, Nebraska, he was made general agent for the Northwestern lines, with headquarters in Denver, arriving in that city in June, 1865. He occupied that position until 1870, when he resigned and accepted a similar appointment with the Kansas Pacific Railway Company, which had completed its line to Denver, in August of that year.

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History of Colorado; Volume II, Part 14

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke Number of Pages: 944

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 944