USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Canton > Celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Canton, Connecticut, July 15, 16, 17, and 18, 1906 > Part 4
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The time is at hand when the strong law of our common humanity demands a better level for all men. Your skilled workmen have enabled you to place your manufactured goods on the counter side by side with those of any other nation and not fear comparison. You have reason to be proud of your industrial achievements. It may be said, however,
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your town is perhaps more widely known as the centre of a great industry. Your manufactured goods are sent to al- most every part of the world, telling the story of your thrift and the ability and honesty of your skilled workmen. As we listen to the story of your business activities we are re- minded of the strong men who projected these enterprises, and to whom you owe a debt of gratitude. Within a few years comparatively, this great centre has sprung up until you are counted among the leaders in handicraft. This cen- tre of activity is now the palpitating heart of many happy homes all about you. Not only have your products gone into every part of our own country and into almost every other known country, adding to the wealth of the world, but in this prosperous village, and in these beautiful valleys, and among these hills are scores and hundreds of comforta- ble homes and happy families, drawing daily sustenance from . this industry. It may be true that the officers and stockhold- ers of this company have received a good return for their money investment, but it is also true that the men who have invested their labor have been well and faithfully rewarded. I venture to say that words of discontent among the em- ployees are seldom heard in the outside world. Such is the loyalty to the common brotherhood of man among employers and employees that no threatening word goes out to mar the peace of this community.
It would seem from the absence of "labor troubles," that so often injure society, that you had an unwritten law among you, "that no man should speak ill of the Collins Company." This contented and prosperous condition can only happen where two things are true, - fair-minded, just, and considerate men at the head supplying the capital and planning the success, and honest and industrious men per- forming the labor and receiving just recompense. But it
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must be remembered in our estimate of men and their business, that time is an important factor. We are yet a young nation comparatively, scarcely passed the experimental stage.
We have had to train and educate our citizens and men of genius. In our early years we had no need of artists and architects. We were born amid poverty and hard but wholesome necessities. We were busy feeding mouths. We are just feeling the thrill of our new world. Every intelli- gent man is thinking and planning along broader lines for himself and his family. It is a good time to live and grow one's own bones.
Work is good, but drudgery destroys soul and body. In our early years the men of this country had no time to rest, no time for self-improvement. Life was simply rising up, going to work, eating, sleeping, and rising again. We have passed that period. The cemetery is preferable to a life of drudgery and chains. We want the laboring man in this country to have time and strength to read good books, to look at pictures, and to be able to go out into God's fields and drink in some sweet thoughts about our common Creator. I am not able to judge of the merits of the eight-hour law, but I should like to see a law compelling all men to work at least eight hours. The thousands of young men who are pampered and purposeless, who live in hotels and clubs, and who have great difficulty in killing time, what a boon to them, - a law compelling eight hours of labor.
The time is at hand when the strong law of our common humanity demands a better level for all men. Your skilled workmen have enabled you to place your manufactured goods on the counter side by side with those of any other nation and not fear comparison. You have reason to be proud of your industrial achievements. It may be said, however,
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that the manhood of your men has counted for your success. Wise and efficient leaders, industrious and capable citizens have given their energies and their lives that you might see this glad day. It is the character of your men that has given prominence to your town. The most prizeful thing among your assets is your strong men and women. No achievements of your citizens, no honors won in any field of competition can be put over against wise and true man- hood and womanhood. We recall some of the men who have been prominent in your history, whose words have had weight in the councils of the town, the church, and the State, - sturdy men in whose veins flowed the blood of the staunch old Puritans -men of courage and great industry, who were not afraid of hard work in building foundations. We may point with pride to our New England founders. To their high standard of truth and honor we owe our proud position among the nations of the world.
'Tis true our early fathers were serious minded and gave themselves to the task of building a republic that should be the sheltering place for all those who were down-trodden and oppressed by other nations. They had been wronged by a pleasure-loving class. They had smarted under the arrogant and cruel treatment of a class living in ease and luxury at the expense of the great working class. Conse- quently in New England we have a great dislike to those customs that create jealousies and discontent. We fairly hate snobbery and the display of wealth that now and then appears among our idle degenerates. This feeling is deep within our souls. The true American only smiles at the foolish attempts to engraft upon our free and unconventional life, the habits and ideals of other countries. We are quite capable of maintaining our own standard of whatever is proper and elevating.
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We have no special love for titles. What few we have create no great enthusiasm, and seldom add anything to an honored name. In our plain, sturdy New England fathers we have as royal and grand men as ever wore titles and feathers in the Old World. We can buy dukes and earls and petered-out royalty by the car loads for the weaker members of our families. We put our rulers and magistrates against the rulers and magistrates of the world. Our king, the honored President of these United States, Theo- dore Roosevelt, is the product of American principles and ideals. In his simple habits and straightforward old-fash- ioned courageous honesty and sterling manhood, we match him with the foremost leaders of the world. He is engaged in a mighty struggle to bring back to our civilization the old and tried principles of justice and honor among men, and to instill into the minds of our young men the high ideals of. citizenship. In the rapid progress and development of our country, in the rush and excitement of great gains, we have become indifferent to methods, and our president is calling us back to those principles that have made and preserved us a nation. This high standard of patriotism and loyalty gave to our State such men as Hooker, Trumbull, Buckingham, Hawley, Platt, and many others whose names are on our lips. It is true the character of our population is changing. We are no longer the thoroughbred yankees. Our speech is seldom characterized by the "yankee twang." We are a new race, but under the old governing ideas. The great tide of emigration that has been breaking upon our shores has affected every little hamlet and town. Along with our hon- ored names of Phelps and Pettibone and Barber and Case and Humphrey, we find written, Ericsons and Einsteins, Zimmermans and Zabriskies, the Hoolys and the Doolys.
Some countries seem to be good countries to move away
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from; one other country, at least, a good country to move into. The emigrants are among us, and the question is everywhere asked, what are we going to do about it? They are here to stay. The important question is, how to make them peaceable and happy and law-abiding citizens under our free government. We give them the right of suffrage and open the doors of all our institutions to them. Many are fearful of the outcome, but we must have confidence in the genius of our Republic. History is simply repeating it- self. Natural law is working out the divine purpose in bring- ing the races of the world together, and breaking down barriers and distinctions. This is a good country for the experiment. Where a thing is worn out and used up it had better be burned up and give way to something better. The old must be supplanted by the new, not because it is new, but because every age has its own mission in the progress and evolution of things, and hence must have its own adapta- tions and environments. Let us welcome the strangers that knock at our doors, and trust in our ability to teach them the principles of our government. By our attitude we shall make them loyal citizens or force them into the ranks that threaten the peace and good order of society. We cannot bring good will by conventions and resolutions, or by any sudden, convulsive way. It must be by a slow and methodi- cal process. The force that moves this world upward is not by statute, but by persuasion.
State and restate our reasons. Do not expect a miracle in transforming these elements. Believe in cause and effect. Be persistent and patient. Noise will not drive away dark- ness, but light will. We must not be pessimistic in dealing with our present social conditions. We may have some seri- ous struggles and long nights of watching, but far away be- yond the midnight we see the coming dawn and hear the
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morning heralds still singing "hail mighty day." Let us be patient and hopeful and wait for two or three generations for the experiment. The true prophets of Israel are on our side. The most encouraging sign is that these new Ameri- cans are settling the question themselves, peaceably and in- telligently, by taking up the duties of citizenship. Their children are being educated in our schools and churches, and so prepared for the duties that belong to intelligent men and women. Some one has recently said " that the rising scale of foreign population is on a better level than the falling scale of the native population." If the old New England stock is not willing to sacrifice as it used to, and if the New England boy is not as ambitious as his grandfather, thank God that he is sending us those who are willing to sacrifice and anxious to rise. The new American boy is sending out a challenge today to the old stock, to rise up and take the field. If our young men and boys are not willing to culti- vate the fields about them, then these new American boys will soon be the advanced line in our industries, and also in our honors and rewards. Young men who will not endure the perils and hardships of battle must not expect the glories and prizes of victory. We have no fear of disaster from this new generation that is springing up around us. Better the new stock, with fresh, strong ambitious life, than the old stock, self-satisfied, but weak and inefficient and unable to cope with the problems of the new times.
No matter about the forms of religion. The religion that makes the best men, the best citizens, the best patriots, is the religion we want. We want for the work of this world not more saints, but more men. We are climbing back over the ages of history and trying to get near the heart of the Galilean Master. We want ideals ; but more the mas- ter of ideals. We want the throbbing heart of love to mold
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and fashion the varied elements of our social life into one uniform body of believers in the simple truths of our com- mon Lord.
If we stand together as a people -the old elements blending peacefully with the new - we shall move on with marvelous efficiency and success in the next century.
The principles of our national life must be untiringly taught. The promises of our government must be made ef- fective and our hospitality parallel to the demands upon our bounty and generosity.
You must welcome these strangers not only to your shops and farms, to your toils and burdens, but to your family and institutional life. You must welcome them not only to your ditches and sewers, but to your civil and social principles. And so will you shape the new republic on the old lines, and yet have room for the infusion of new blood. This tide of new life which is constantly increasing cannot be turned aside. Better that we step into the current and give force and direc- tion. Better to mingle with these strangers and make them happy citizens than leave them to the influences of jealousy and envy, and so become threatening elements in our body politic.
We must answer this question ourselves. "What shall be done with the foreigners?" If we bring them to our towns merely to bear our burdens and do our hard work, and trust to the strong arm of the law to restrain them, to keep them from offending our polite society, then we shall have coming up in our midst a generation of discontented people, full of jealousy and envy and hatred; but if we open our doors to them in the name of a common brotherhood, and establish in all our towns and villages centers of good in- fluence, homelike institutions, neighborhood houses, where these homesick and discouraged people may meet and find
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warm welcome and Christian hearts, the result will be different.
In the one case we separate our population and divide into classes and create bitterness; in the other we unify the elements, consolidate the forces, and make sedition and riot impossible. It depends upon the men and women of this town what the condition of things will be in the next genera- tion. All things move by the established laws of the uni- verse, and these laws are not partial. They are not for the benefit of the wise and strong alone. Things that ought to be must be - that is the faith of every man. The Creator must care for his creation. It is impossible to believe in the ultimate failure of the human race. The seasons come and go in regular order. The corn tassels, the ears ripen, and wheat is abundant. The supply is never short of the de- mand. We shall not fail in our hospitality. Our rivers run to the ocean, where they put aside their names and dis- tinctions, and unite in one solid wave that moves on with irresistible force to break upon some unknown shore. So may the different bodies in our social and political life be united and, putting aside their distinct nationalities, move on in one solid wave of patriotism and devotion to the high ideals of our common country. We shake hands in a common pur- pose, to make this the best country under the sun. Faith in ourselves is a mighty re-enforcement. Things that are right must win.
Perhaps I may be allowed to call your attention to the duty of perpetuating your religious institutions in some form that shall be suited to the new times. I shall not hesitate before this audience to speak in behalf of education and re- ligion. This town has been noted for its efficient schools and well-supported churches, and no doubt this fact itself has been the means of drawing to your community many
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strong men and women. Tear down your churches and schools and your best people will move out of town, while the rest will sink to low levels. Education and religion must go hand in hand if we are to have an enduring government. Our hope is in Christian ideals. We are known as a Chris- tian country. This is a Christian town. The men who made this town were Christian men, and kept alive the wor- ship of God." They may have had some ideas that do not exactly fit into our modern notions of religion, but evidently they did not lack in those qualities that were needed to build a new world. It must count for something that we have al- ways had in our magistrates and rulers men interested in the moral and spiritual uplift of the Commonwealth.
I do not forget, Mr. Chairman, that Simsbury was so in- terested in your success that she gave one of her best sons, who should be your teacher and spiritual guide for more than a quarter of a century. To such men as the Rev. Charles McLean you owe a great debt. He was a loyal citizen and a faithful servant of the people.
It is easy to disparage the old divines and discredit their work, but I feel compelled to ask for them a fair share of credit in making this country and this good town what they are today. We roll under our tongues like a sweet morsel the charge of dogmatism and bigotry against the early New England divines, but let us not forget that they were grand men for their day and work. They laid good foundations. They were serious minded because they had serious business on hand. No man is frivolous when he is weighted down with tremendous interests. But sir, say what we please about the old Puritan divines and the old churches that have crowned many a hilltop, every true son of New England looks back with reverence and delight upon the old church and the old family minister, and says, with the Psalmist, " I
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had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." Indeed, sir, I think it may in fairness be said that the old ministers of these towns strengthened our convictions that no government among men can be established and maintained without a foundation in religion. There is an underlying faith in all men that God rules the world. As we study history we shall find that the Christian church has been the rallying center for new ideals and new impulses. Closely identified with the growth and progress of our State we find the names of Hooker and Haines, Beecher, Bushnell, Porter, Dwight, and Bacon.
Jean Paul, standing in the Cathedral of Wittenberg, said, the story of the German language and literature is the story of Martin Luther's pulpit. Our attention is called to the fact that Webster and Choate alike affirmed that our town meetings and our representative government go back to that little pulpit in the Swiss city of Geneva. The old di- vines may have had a "hard theology," but their pulpit state- ments were models of strength. They built on strong foundations and buttressed their superstructures in the strong word of God. Very often they shaped the speech and litera- ture of the whole community. In England the sermons of the great preachers were the standards of perfection in Eng- lish writing. Lord Chatham, who was considered one of the most graceful and eloquent orators, attributed his suc- cess as a speaker to the fact that he had committed to memory the sermons of a famous divine.
May I not say without fear of contradiction that the early preachers of New England have been great factors in leading our country to its present prosperity.
They were among the leaders in matters of education. They often prepared young men for the various professions. Daniel Webster was prepared for his great life work by a
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country pastor, and many other men who have distinguished themselves in the various professions received their education and mental habits from the same source. Where will you find the world over men of greater intellectual grasp than you find in our Bacons and Beechers and Bushnells? They were great men because they were great thinkers. They never discussed petty themes. Great minds must have great subjects to interest them. Great orators and preachers never grovel in the dust.
Perhaps, as it is often said, their themes were too high and their standard too rigid, but that habit of strong, posi- tive statement gave them prominence and leadership among their own people. They did not fritter away their time and dawdle in sermonettes. They were admired for their strength and beloved for their manly virtues. Their strong mental habits begat strong, independent men.
Is it not largely true that the early struggles of New England were religious struggles and the voice of the pulpit holding up the life of Jesus, the Christ, as the remedy for all bitterness and struggle had a mighty power in solving the problems that threatened the peace of the people.
A famous lawyer and statesman said in a celebrated argument: "Where have the life-giving waters of civiliza- tion ever sprung up save in the track of the Christian min- istry?" In that same famous argument, Webster said, after giving credit to scholars and lawyers and statesmen: "But I contend that no literary efforts, no adjudication, no constitu- tional discussions, nothing that has ever been done or said in favor of the great interests of universal man has done this country more credit at home and abroad than our body of clergymen."
Whatever there may be said about the pulpit of today and whatever we may predict about the pulpit of the future,
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its past history is written - written in your enduring insti- tutions, in your schools and churches and notably in the char- acter of your men, and in the great plans and movements of the age for bettering the condition of mankind. The pulpit has made many strong, stalwart, thinking men, who have come to the front and stood for what is right in their profes- sions and activities. Our greatest statesmen are our strongest defenders of the church.
It was the fire of the pulpit that kindled the enthusiasm of patriotism in men during our early and late wars. Henry Ward Beecher pleading the cause of the slave in Plymouth pulpit did more probably to break the chains of American slavery than any other single man. Thousands caught the inspiration of his burning words and hastened to defend the cause of liberty.
The church stands for all that is good among us and it is our duty to teach the incoming generations to honor the house of God.
Others may predict great success for you in business and social and political life, but let me prophesy a great harvest of manly men for the next century. You will not forget what churches and schools have been to you during the last century. Your strong men will be found in your churches, and interested in your schools and in every philanthropic en- terprise. The world is forever changing, but some things will endure. The grade of citizenship is upward. The best day in your history is yet to come. The millennium is on- ward, and not rearward. Our Canaan is always beyond the next mountain. It is a good time to live and grow-an age of opportunity to earnest men and women.
To live in these days is an education in itself. There are false prophets everywhere, but the world spins on and the flanges hold and the times are better. We have better
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laws, better citizens, better homes. Our country is not only greater and richer, but grander in every way.
Civilization moves not by the acts of Congress, but by the moral force of your men and women. We bid you God- speed in your homes, in your business, in your schools and churches. The old town sends warm greetings to you, her fair daughter, with best wishes for your future. She en- treats you to keep alive those virtues and graces that have made you strong and prosperous. The old mother town is getting older and growing towards cap and spectacles, but as yet she is in good health and growing handsomer and better every day. She has fair women and brave men in her ser- vice and they will not allow her interests to fail. She has some good things yet to give away, some daughters, and her fair Rachels are waiting for your dreaming Jacobs, her flocks and herds are gathered at the well in Padan-aram, while her blushing maidens sing the enchanting songs of pastoral love.
Together mother and daughter will move on with friendly interests, mutually helpful, dreading nothing and hoping for the best. May prosperity attend you another century and peace abide in your midst.
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SCHOOLHOUSES IN CANTON.
I. CANTON CENTER. 3.
2. NORTH CANTON.
COLLINSVILLE.
SUFFRAGE.
5. RIVER DISTRICT.
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A PROPHECY
[By a vote of the General Committee of the Canton Centennial Celebration Mrs. Elizabeth J. Warren was requested to write this Prophecy to be printed with the Cen- tennial Addresses. ]
Many years after my departure from my Earth home, I revisited it, approaching by way of Hartford and the Farmington Valley.
Hartford, aroused early in the twentieth century by a strong desire for civic and esthetic improvement, had become a noble city. Our mother towns of Windsor and Simsbury, in fact the entire valleys of the Connecticut and the Farming- ton, were full of beautiful homes and of fine buildings used for the good of the whole community. Historic houses and memorials abounded. There was not a saloon, a tobacco- barn, or a bill-board to be seen. Roads and means of travel had improved almost beyond belief, for, after many experi- ments, electricity had become understood. Dairies had mul- tiplied and orchards filled the country-side with fragrant bloom in the springtime, and yielded a wealth of fruit in summer and autumn.
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