USA > Colorado > History of the State of Colorado, Volume II > Part 10
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8 II.
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The first line was laid from the present terminus in West Denver to Sixteenth Street, thence to Champa and out to Twenty-Seventh Street. The North Denver branch was finished in 1873 ; the Broadway line in 1874, and in 1876 the Larimer Street road was extended a mile and a quarter to the northward. The Park Avenue line was opened in 1874.
Early in April, 1871, Col. James Archer, with Charles Keep, Sec- retary of the Holly Manufacturing Company of Lockport, New York, appeared before the City Council and explained the details of the com- paratively new system of distributing water in towns and cities for domestic purposes and the extinguishment of fires. They proposed to erect works in this city that would furnish three million gallons of water daily. The Council appointed a committee of three to investigate, to locate hydrants and confer with the Denver Water Company as to the general and specific details of their proposition.
This committee suggested that the number of hydrants required for present use would be about thirty, indicating where they ought to be located. This number the Water Company increased to sixty by the advice of Archer, who argued that they would be needed in the near future. Suffice it to say, that the Water Company gave a contract to Mr. Keep for the machinery, and the city entered into arrangements for the water supply. At the expiration of twenty years it was to have the option to purchase the entire system at its appraised value, or make a new contract. Until that time it was to pay one hundred and fifty dollars per annum for each public hydrant, the same to be used only for the extinguishment of fires. Resident consumers were to be charged the same rates then current in the city of St. Louis. No provision was made for irrigation, and just then this was a matter of great importance, for many lawns had been seeded, shrubbery and trees planted, and a general movement for beautifying the city entered upon. There was no other source of water supply, as the Platte Ditch was not available until 1872. Therefore, a great clamor arose among the people, not alone because of their exclusion from this coveted privilege, but over the terms
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of the contract. The cost became a matter of public criticism and general expostulation. Another of the major objections was to the exclusive right granted the Denver Water Company, because it closed out competition. Superficial analysis of the scheme indicated much larger profits to the projectors than were warranted by the service . rendered and the capital invested. Many arguments were adduced to show that water for all our requirements might be furnished by sinking artesian wells, and by the multiplication of canals. The Council had proceeded too hastily ; it had been hoodwinked or otherwise overcome by the plausible Archer, and so on almost interminably, the whole tenor of the objections illustrating the cautious conservatism of public opinion in matters of public expenditures. While it was constantly hoped and predicted that the village would expand into a great metropolis, the people acted as if they seriously doubted such fruition.
Notwithstanding, Archer lost no time in consummating his plans. The works were planted at the foot of Fifteenth Street near the Platte River. The second week in January, everything being in readiness for the trial of their efficiency, Archer invited to his sumptuously appointed rooms on Larimer Street-then in the Sargent House-the Mayor and City Council, with a liberal sprinkling of capitalists, prominent citizens and representatives of the press, for a little preliminary conviviality. Being one of the most hospitable and generous entertainers living, full of good fellowship, yet always alive to the main point of his business undertakings, wine flowed like the water he proposed to pour out upon the streets, while the finest of Havana cigars were opened to lovers of the fragrant weed. He was a connoisseur in both, never using an ordinary quality of either. He was broadly bountiful in everything except his business contracts, and while in these he adhered rigidly to the interests of the capital he represented for its protection and profit, he was never niggardly nor allowed trifles to stand between him and the ultimate purpose in view. In most respects Col. Archer was a grand figure in our affairs while he lived, and the city owes him much more of credit for the part he took in public improvements than was readily accorded in
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his lifetime. His wonderful energy and force conquered all things, while his royal generosity and genial disposition, and above all his open- handed charity, brought gladness to many hearts and homes.
Finally, his guests adjourned to the works to witness the trial and · inspect the machinery. On Fifteenth Street between Larimer and Wazee, six hydrants were opened, hose attached to each and the ma- chinery being put in motion, water was thrown to the height of some- thing over one hundred feet, as required by the agreement.
The second contract bears date of February 6, 1872. In this the company agrees to furnish the city of Denver water for fire purposes during the two years next succeeding, on the following terms: The Council was given authority to elect whether the hydrants should be single or double, or a part might be single and the others double ; it was to take and pay for at the uniform rate of seventy-five dollars per hydrant, a number equal to one for each block of lots reached by the distributing pipes, for the first fifteen miles laid. The actual cost of putting in the hydrants to be paid by the city, and to be its property after the expiration of the contract.
This agreement was signed by Archer in behalf of the Water Com- pany, and by John Harper, Mayor. The well, or reservoir, was located about two hundred feet from the south bank of the Platte, and originally sunk to a depth of thirteen feet, with a superficial area of seventeen by sixteen feet square. Very soon, however, this source of supply was found to be wholly inadequate to the increased demands of the rapidly growing city, and the reservoir was enlarged. A few years later, as will appear hereafter, an entirely new and colossal plant was erected at a point on the Platte three miles above the city.
At various times during 1871 the subject of manufacturing sugar from beet roots was seriously agitated. At length a public meeting was held and addressed by Mr. H. D. Emery of the Illinois Prairie Farmer, who gave a general history of this important industry from its inception in foreign countries, its development there and upon American soil, and
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showing that in every instance when properly established and directed, highly satisfactory returns were derived.
The matter was brought before the legislature of 1872 and a bill introduced, which provided in effect that the first corporation, company, person or persons who should within the limits of the Territory erect a manufactory and refinery for the purpose of extracting sugar from beets, at a cost of not less than fifty thousand dollars, having a capacity for producing not less than two thousand pounds of sugar per day, and which should manufacture from beets grown within the limits of Col- orado, not less than two hundred barrels of good merchantable sugar, should receive a bounty of ten thousand dollars from the Territorial Treasury.
The Governor, and two Commissioners to be appointed by him, were to investigate such works, pronounce upon the results attained, and if in accordance with the requirements of the law, were to order a warrant for the amount. Unfortunately the bill was defeated by one vote, the opposition having little faith in the enterprise, and being governed by the prevailing demand for economy, destroyed it. Thus to save the paltry sum of ten thousand dollars they unwittingly robbed the State of millions, for had this or some similar well-grounded project looking to the establishment of a sugar manufactory been carried out at that early day, it would have proved of almost immeasurable benefit to the farmers, besides adding materially to the general wealth. There is little room for doubt that under the bounty named in this measure, together with the interest manifested by home capitalists, the prelim- inary work of planting and culture of the proper kind of seeds would have begun in that year, and in time developed a very prominent industry.
In February, 1872, a meeting was held for the organization of a . company, at which Jacob F. L. Schirmer presided, Fred J. Stanton being chosen Secretary. Col. Archer took a deep interest in the proposition and addressed the meeting at length, showing that many analyses of the sugar beets produced in Colorado gave quite extraordinary results.
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While in Europe he had made a thorough examination of beet culture and the manufacture of sugar, and was thoroughly convinced that the soil of this Territory possessed qualities superior to that of any other country for the cultivation of such esculent roots. There were immense tracts of light, dry uplands, which were admirably suited to this purpose. The value of the produce was not in the sugar alone; the beets enriched instead of depleting the soil, preparing it for wheat crops, and leaving a large residue of gluten. All that was needed was an organization to present the opportunity in its proper light. He claimed that success would speedily double the value of land wherever the culture of the root was possible. It was developed by the different speakers that Colorado beets contained a larger per cent. of saccharine matter than those of Germany, where the experiment had attained its most advanced development.
As a result of this meeting, articles of incorporation, signed by Fred Z. Salomon, Joseph E. Bates, Hiram P. Bennet, Martin N. Everett, E. F. Hallack, Wellington G. Sprague, George C. Schleier, Phil. Trounstine, James Archer, Charles W. Perry, L. K. Perrin, H. G. Bond, Henry Crow, J. F. L. Schirmer and Peter Magnes, were filed with the County Recorder. Books were opened, and a committee appointed to solicit subscriptions to the stock of the company, secured thirty thousand five hundred and fifty dollars. An assessment of one per cent. was levied to defray the cost of procuring seeds, and to cover incidental expenses. Beyond this, however, nothing of consequence was accom- plished. The failure of this enterprise was little short of a public calamity. Ten years later, possibly in less time, the Territory might have supplied not only the home demand, but acquired a large export trade. It would have given the ranchmen a market for a new crop that would have been steadily remunerative. We have only to observe what has been accomplished for California by Claus Spreckels within the past few years to discover the value of beet sugar, and also what might have been done had the initial movement begun in 1871-'72 been pushed to right conclusions. Colorado, instead of California, might now be
Orawhitemore
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the chief center of production, and the market whence many States of the Union would be drawing their supplies.
· From the records of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, but more particularly from an address delivered by Grand Master Henry M. Teller to a meeting of that body, held in October, 1871, we gather some interesting details of the early history of the Masonic Order in Colorado. On the 17th of October, 1860, the Grand Lodge of Kansas granted a charter to the brethren of Golden City to form a lodge. June 5th, 1861, the Grand Lodge of Nebraska granted charters to Rocky Mountain lodge of Gold Hill, in Boulder County, and to Summit lodge of Parkville. In the year last mentioned, the Grand Master of Kansas granted a dispensation to the brethren of Nevada, Gilpin County, and in the fall they were given a charter. Prior to the regular organization of lodges, however, the craft met occa- sionally at some suitable place, related their experiences and formulated plans for the future.
On the 2d of August, 1861, the representatives of the three char- tered lodges met in Golden City to consider the expediency of organ- izing the Grand Lodge of Colorado. As a result the Grand Lodge was formed. John M. Chivington was elected Grand Master, Samuel M. Robbins, Deputy Grand Master, and O. A. Whittemore, Grand Secre- tary. After adopting a constitution and by-laws, the Grand Lodge was closed, to meet in Denver December 10th, 1861.
At the communication held on that date all the lodges were repre- sented, when Nevada lodge surrendered the charter it had received from Kansas and took a new one from the Grand Lodge of Colorado. On the 19th of September, 1861, Grand Master Chivington granted a dispensation to the brethren of Central City to open and form a lodge to be known as Chivington lodge, and on the 24th of October granted a dispensation to the brethren in Denver to form a lodge to be known as Denver lodge.
At the communication of December 10th both Chivington and Denver lodges were chartered. Col. Chivington was re-elected Grand
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Master, Andrew Mason, Deputy, and O. A. Whittemore, Grand Secre- tary. At this time the membership of all the subordinate lodges was sixty-two. Ten years later the membership had increased to eleven hundred and twenty-one, and the number of lodges from three to fifteen. The order has continued to advance in like ratio of progression from that time to the present, and through the grand principles inculcated has become one of the strong bulwarks of social order.
It is also interesting to note the primary stages of the growth of Odd-Fellowship. F. J. Stanton, as Past Grand Sire, in an address to the Grand Lodge in 1872, gave a rapid but breezy epitome of its struggles to secure a foothold in the wilderness, from which we condense the following particulars :
Pike's Peak lodge was instituted in 1860, but the incongruous ele- ments composing it soon wrought mischief and effected its dissolution. Its charter was surrendered to the Grand Lodge of Kansas, whence it came, and thus terminated the first attempt at organization. From 1861 to 1864 no lodge existed in Colorado, though the brethren held informal meetings from time to time, so that the fraternal spirit was maintained against the day when it should be needed for a successful movement, that was ultimately brought about by the following incident.
An advertisement was inserted in the Black Hawk " Journal" for a member of the order who held an unexpired withdrawal card from a regularly instituted lodge. This brought a response from Mr. David Ettien, of that place, stating that Herman H. Heiser, a recent addition to the residents of Black Hawk, had such a card. "This," says Stanton, "was the one thing needed, and the last stone in the fabric upon which we reared the present beautiful structure in the Territory, August 13th, 1864. We received a charter, and John H. Jay was authorized by the Grand Sire to institute the new lodge." Dr. Buckingham, Jay and others set to work to build up the fraternity on an enduring basis. Funds were needed for the purchase of regalia, but collecting sub- scriptions was slow and tedious work, for money was by no means plen- tiful. However, some progress was made through unremitting effort,
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until all but sixty-seven dollars had been secured. Where to get this balance they did not know, for the limit appeared to have been reached, when some one suggested that Col. Chivington, then commanding the military division of Colorado, being an Odd-Fellow, might be disposed to lend some assistance. The committee, acting upon the hint, resolved to beard the autocratic lion in his den. They marched slowly up the stairs leading to headquarters, with a good deal of trepidation, spec- ulating the while as to the kind of reception they were likely to meet with.
On entering the august presence of the gigantic commander, hats in hand, and with humble demeanor, Mr. Jay was put forward as spokesman. It was a desperate chance, but one that must be taken ; so with some hesitation and in a tremulous voice he told of their efforts to institute Odd-Fellowship here, the disappointments they had en- countered, and, at last, the difficulty in raising funds wherewith to pur- chase regalia. Chivington quietly asked how much they lacked of com- pleting the fund, and when informed instantly drew a check for the amount, handed it to Mr. Jay, and with earnest wishes for the success of their laudable mission, signified that the interview was ended.
Of course the committee was overjoyed, and thanking the donor profusely, backed out of the door, plunged almost headlong down the stairway, and hastened to the rest of the brethren who were anxiously awaiting the issue.
Thus equipped for present needs, the lodge met. The first abiding place was the old brick addition to the Commonwealth building, on the west side, near the Larimer street bridge. For window curtains gunny sacks that may have rendered service as wrappers for bacon or hams, were used. The lodge room was lighted by candles stuck into the necks of old bottles that may have contained whisky or beer before they were cast aside. Such was the birthplace and such the conditions of primitive Odd-Fellowship in Colorado.
J. H. Vandeventer was the first expounder of the laws of the order. Though beset by numerous trials, the greatest of which was poverty,
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the craftsmen held together and wrought assiduously for its devel- opment. In 1865 Schuyler Colfax, then visiting friends in Denver, instituted the degree of Rebekah, and by his kindly, cheering words infused new life into the struggling organization.
Early in 1872 the leading Republican politicians resurrected the long quiescent State movement, upon the anticipation that a new bill for an enabling act would be presented to Congress. To overcome the objection to the inadequacy of population, it was proposed to enlarge the boundaries by adding a degree from Wyoming on the north, which would take in the more populous section of that Territory. It was argued that even with this acquisition Colorado would not be equal in area to Texas or California, and it would obviate the necessity of main- taining two Territorial governments. The balance of Wyoming was to be disposed of by partitioning it off to the adjoining Territories. It may be stated that neither of the Territories had been consulted as to their desires in the matter, it being taken for granted that Colorado had the power to do as it pleased, and as the others had very little influence at court, resistance would be futile.
The paramount consideration was to get our State admitted, even though we had to pillage the rights and property of our neighbors to accomplish it. Hitherto the popular judgment had been adverse to the precipitate hastening of this vital issue. The chief element of opposition had been among our own citizens, who resisted from good and sufficient reasons. No amount of sophistry or special pleading could disguise the paucity of numbers. But under the inspiration of the new era, the rapid accession of population, the marked advances being made in all directions, the multiplication of railways, the development of industrial activity, the fact that in the mountains 'lay treasures for the building of an imposing State; that the hitherto treeless and verdureless plain was being trans- formed into blossoming farms and gardens, a new impulse was given to the hope that the same rate of growth would soon prepare us for the responsibilities and the burdens of State government, and so inclined the people to take a more fervent interest in the proposition. There
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was no apprehension of a veto should the bill be passed. Chaffee's influence had been increased. The mining interest was in better condition than ever before, through the introduction of smelting works ; immigrants were coming by thousands. Many of the anti-State leaders had been converted. Still, after some months of agitating and scheming there came a pause. Mr. Chaffee did not press his bill, owing probably to his being advised of its futility. Congress was not favorable to the admission of new States with less population than was required for a member of Congress under the new apportionment.
In January, 1872, Mr. Chaffee, since he could not bring in the State, resolved to strengthen his position as delegate. He caused to be intro- duced in the House of Representatives a resolution authorizing the Speaker to increase the number of the Committee on Territories by the appointment of one Territorial Delegate thereto, who should have the same rights and privileges in the committee as any other member. It was referred to the Committee on Rules, which, through its Chairman, Mr. Samuel J. Randall of Pennsylvania, soon after reported it back modified to read that the said delegate in the committee should have the same privileges as in the House.
After a spirited debate, Mr. Chaffee's resolution was adopted under a call for the previous question, when the Speaker at once announced the appointment of Mr. J. B. Chaffee as a member of the Committee on Territories.
His next movement in behalf of admission, contemplated the entire abolition of all the Territorial governments by the admission of such as were prepared for the change, and by the merging of the others into the States adjoining them, thus: The union of Dakota with Nebraska ; the consolidation of Idaho and Montana ; Washington with Oregon ; Utah with Nevada; New Mexico and Arizona, and Wyoming with Colorado. For reasons readily understood, it had to be abandoned.
In May, 1872, he introduced a bill from the committee to which he had been appointed,-and by the way, Mr. Chaffee was the first delegate from a Territory who was allowed that privilege,-to amend the incor-
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poration acts of the Territories so as to give them the right to create railway corporations. This right had been seriously questioned, some of the members insisting that the amendment which prohibited the Territorial legislatures from granting special charters, deprived them of all right to create such corporations. This bill was in reality an amend- ment to the Organic Act of Montana, authorizing the legislative assem- blies of the Territories of the United States by general incorporation acts, to permit persons to associate together as bodies corporate for the construction and operation of railways, wagon roads, ditches, etc., etc. This act passed, and was approved June 10th, 1872.
Not fully content with this, he introduced another bill which pro- vided for a general Territorial railway law under the title of "a bill to provide for the creation and regulation of railroad companies in the Territories of the United States."
This measure was drawn with infinite care, embraced twenty sec- tions, and covered all the details. The method of organizing was much the same as that in existing laws on the subject, but provided that the original certificate of incorporation should be filed with the Secretary of the Interior ; that shares of stock should be one hundred dollars each, and that five dollars per share should be paid down at the time of sub- scription to the same. One section granted the right of way over the public lands two hundred feet in width, together with sufficient land for depots and other purposes, not to exceed forty acres for each ten miles of road.
The general restrictions and provisions of the act incorporating the Union Pacific were made applicable to the Territorial railways, and they were required to make reports annually to the Secretary of the Interior. Work was to be commenced within one year after filing the papers ; at least ten miles of road-bed graded, and the entire road completed within ten years. Another section prohibited the issue of Territorial, county or city bonds to any corporation, or the loaning of its credit in any manner to such corporation. This bill was not passed, and received but slight consideration.
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Mr. Chaffee returned from Washington in July, 1872, and received a cordial welcome from his admiring constituents, who appreciated the value of the service rendered them by his activity and ability. They were rather proud of the important standing he had given to Colorado, in common with all the Territories under the new rule of the House. It was an unprecedented concession, granted no doubt in compliment to Mr. Chaffee, rather than to the Territories, as he numbered among his friends the members who controlled legislation.
The passage of the new mining law was a matter of supreme interest to our people. This lay at the foundation of all progress. Though not elastic enough to cover the complex changes brought about by the discovery of mines in geological formations of which nothing was known at that time, it has endured to the present date with but slight amendment. Among the other useful measures secured was one that provided for a reduction by treaty of the enormous reservation ceded to the Ute Indians in the southwestern part of the Territory; another opened the Fort Collins military reservation to pre-emption and settle- ment and prepared the way for the location of the fine colony afterward settled there. He secured right of way over the public domain for the Denver & Rio Grande railway ; the cession of the old cemetery tract to the city of Denver; the adjustment of the long standing controversy between the government and the settlers as to the titles to town sites located upon mineral lands in the mountains, and many other concessions which effected salutary changes. He also secured the appointment of citizens of the Territories to the Federal offices therein, which materially lessened the objection to the Territorial form of government.
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