USA > Connecticut > Connecticut yesterday and today : 1635-1935 : celebrating three hundred years of progress in the Constitution state > Part 10
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FREDERICK F. SMALL
J. HENRY RORABACK SAMUEL M. STONE
JOHN H. BUCK
FREDERICK N. BELDING FRED B. SEYMOUR
FRANK D. LAYTON
ROBBINS B. STOECKEL LEON P. BROADHURST
HARRY A. SMITH President 1915-1928
FRANK D. LAYTON President from 1923
1857
MARK HOWARD President 1871-1887
ROSSIA INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA - HARTFORD
HIS Company, an ex- clusively Fire and Marine Reinsurance Company, found its inception in the year 1903 when the Rossia Insurance Company of St. Petersburg, Russia, estab- lished its United States Branch under the management of Carl F. Sturhahn.
The Company acquired Amer- ican naturalization when it was chartered as the Rossia Insurance Company of America by the . State of Connecticut on April 13, 1915, at which time Mr. Stur- hahn became its first President.
The new American company succeeded to the business former- ly transacted by the Russian com- pany and since that time it has continued to be ably led by Mr. Sturhahn, until today it is known, not only in the United States and Canada, but also in Europe as one of the leading reinsurance com- panies of the world. Beyond a doubt Mr. Sturhahn is one of the ablest reinsurance executives in this or any country.
He was born January 25, 1871, at Hanover, Germany, and after graduation from college in 1889 entered the insurance business in Hamburg. From there he went to London and thence to the United States with the Munich Reinsurance Company, and in 1903 he became the United States Manager of the Rossia.
Eventually the Rossia trans- ferred its United States Office from New York to Hartford
CARL F. STURHAHN President
where it was the first insurance company to follow the present trend towards the western part of the City, and at the corner of Broad Street and Farmington Avenue it built its Home Office which has continued to be an ob ject of admiration because of its beautiful interior.
Externally its architecture is of almost classical purity which char- acterized the latter years of Louis XV and the entire reign of Louis XVI.
Unity of design makes the interior a finished composition un- surpassed in convenience of ar- rangement and academic planning. It has a beautiful glass dome that is almost without parallel in this country.
This building is also the head- quarters of other companies which devote their activities entirely to reinsurance, i. e., The Metropoli- tan Fire Reassurance Company of New York and The First Re- insurance Company of Hartford, the latter a Casualty Reinsurance Company.
The Rossia was carly tried in the fire of San Francisco of 1906 and has since experienced other conflagrations, but through all has established a high reputation for reliability and fair dealing.
The Rossia confines its business to Reinsurance by way of treaties and in this respect has for more than 31 years rendered valuable service to Direct Writing Com- panies with which it exclusively deals.
[86].
CHARTERED BY STATE OF CONNECTICUT
1915
OFFICERS C. F. STURHAHN, President
B. N. CARVALHO, Ist Vice-President C. A. RICH, Vice-President G. E. JONES, Vice-President
W. H. FORD, Vice-President
W. J. LANGLER, Vice-President
F. E. AMIDON, Treasurer
T. B. MCDERMOTT, Secretary W. R. FALKIN, Secretary S. H. CARPEN, Secretary
FULLER F. BARNES LEON P. BROADHURST B. N. CARVALHO W. H. FORD CHARLES WELLES GROSS
DIRECTORS
CHARLES W. HIGLEY
RODNEY HITT
G. C. HOUSE
ALFRED F. JAMES
GEORGE E. JONES
A. G. MEYER
HAROLD C. RICHARD CHARLES S. SARGENT
VICTOR W. SINCERE
C. F. STURHAHN
CHARLES B. WIGGIN
Home Office of the Rossia Insurance Company of America in Hartford
1871
1635
CONNECTICUT'S BACKGROUND FOR INDUSTRY
1935
Connecticut today, a notable example of twentieth century ur- ban civilization.
ONNECTICUT, in the tercentenary year of its founding, is the home of over a million and a half people, living within an area of less than 5,000 square miles. Ranking forty-sixth in area, it ranks twenty-ninth in popu- lation, sixteenth in total wealth and eleventh in per capita wealth. With the exception of some water power from its swift-running streams, it has no natural resources to draw upon for its support. Of the million and a half people, there are but eighty thousand engaged in agriculture. The remainder of the citizens receive their wealth from the great industrial and financial institutions that are found throughout the State. The State, in the total value of its manufactured products, easily holds its position of twelfth in the nation: standing first in the production of brass, typewriters, hardware, ammunition, and clocks; ranking second in the production of small tools, and plated ware; and standing fourth in textiles. The capital city, Hartford, is the admitted insurance center of America, and the banks and other financial in- stitutions of the State are among the oldest and strongest in the country. Connecti- cut is today a great industrial and financial center, a notable example of twentieth Century urban civilization.
Foundations of twen- tieth century to be found in Colonial Period.
To best understand the history of the various institutions of the State, it is im- portant to understand the foundations upon which they were built, the physical circumstances and the character of the people. Different as the picture of Connecti- cut today is from that of colonial Connecticut, it was in the days as a colony that Connecticut laid those foundations which were to permit her to continue a leader in the nation in the face of great natural disadvantages. When the first settlers came to Connecticut in the third decade of the seventeenth century, they brought with them a different civilization than the modern one of specialization and con- centration. They were "countrymen" who had been born and bred in the tradi- tions of the soil, and it was for this reason that the early settlements were in those parts of Connecticut where there were fertile, level lands. It was there that a live- lihood might be gained from agriculture alone. The land, together with the abundance of wild life and the virgin forests were sufficient to give them the com- forts and the minor luxuries to which they had been accustomed. The few neces- sities which they could not produce they attained through exportation of their surplus products and through the household crafts of the period.
The problems of the first settler, religion and government.
Though the first settlers brought little of the present economic system with them, as they trudged through the wilderness, they did bring with them the realiza- tion of certain governmental problems, which, when they were solved, were to provide a large part of the necessary foundation for the future greatness of Connecticut. Hitherto they had been dissatisfied with the rule under which they lived; in England they chafed under the Crown; when they arrived in America, they chafed under the Church Fathers. They moved on to Connecticut from Massachusetts that they might be freer to solve this problem in their own way. How seriously they considered the problem is reflected by the drawing up of the world's first written constitution but four years after their arrival. The great concern that they had for the Church is seen in the immense power given to it in the early state. The whole story of the Colonial Period is full of the long struggle to find the proper relation between Church and State, and the battle to win a free government. It is only with the end of the Colonial Period that a solution was found, but with the drawing up a new constitution at the be- ginning of the nineteenth century we find established a free, well-functioning government divorced from the Church. Herein is the greatest contribution to mod- ern Connecticut by the colonists.
1635
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PROBLEMS
1935
In the century and a half as a Colony, the pioneers made a second great con- tribution to Connecticut's later development as an industrial center. During that period, through their zealousness in settlement and cultivation, they had spread the settlements to every corner of the Colony, and all of the land available for agriculture was taken up, in 1790, by the quarter of a million inhabitants. This number, even at that time, represented over-population in a rural civilization, and made it imperative that a change in economy take place if Connecticut was to main- tain her importance. Fortunately, by this time, other factors had conspired to point the way to an even greater Connecticut. The factors were three: shipping, ship- building, and the development of the household crafts into embryonic manufactories.
While, as we have said, the large majority of the colonists contented themselves with agriculture as a means of livelihood, there was a necessity of exchanging the surplus of their produce for those needs which the land would not yield. Conse- quently, we find almost immediately after the first settlements had been made a shipping trade growing up. As early as 1647 a ship of one hundred tons was con- structed at New Haven and loaded with all the surplus wealth of the Colony in an effort to recoup the financial losses sustained in settlement. Though this first venture ended disastrously (the ship was never heard from after setting sail in January ), the Colony and shipping both survived to prosper. A century later, in 1753, there were eight recognized ports, New Haven and New London being the leaders. From the first the greater part of the shipping was of a coastwise nature, largely with the West Indies, with some calls being made at the southern colonies. In the early days the exports were entirely agricultural products and lum- ber, but at the zenith of Connecticut's shipping career ( 1782-1820) we find tinware and clocks added to the cargoes. The development of shipping was rapid, apparently, for in 170 New Haven was said to have over two hundred sail engaged in the trade. Perhaps the great profits to be derived from investment were most respon- sible for the results. While the voyage of the "Neptune", in 1799, is at a late date, and may well represent the peak, rather than the normal, its result may serve as an example. The voyage lasted three years, during which time the ship completely circumnavigated the globe; she returned, after many hardships, to pay to her owners a profit of $240,000. Besides those ships engaged in the coastwise and overseas trade, there was another important shipping interest in the New London whaling fleets, which were only surpassed by those of New Bedford. Connecticut derived two important results from her shipping career before its close in 1820. First a large surplus capital was made available; and second, the training in busi- ness and commerce which enabled her to put it to good use.
Coincident with the growth of the shipping trade of the young Colony, there was the development of shipbuilding, Connecticut's first great industry. The first venture in this field we have already noted in the abortive attempt of the New Haven Colony to recoup its losses; but like shipping, shipbuilding lived to survive this disaster and to become an carly source of wealth and prominence. As early as 1662, John Winthrop, Jr., read a paper before the Royal Society, at London, on the advantages of the Colonies as a shipbuilding center. The protected harbors of the Sound and the abundant supply of suitable wood quickly made Connecticut a leader in this field. For the first half century, the vessels constructed were for the most part small, but as skill and facilities increased, larger ships were built, and in 1723 "Jeffrey's Great Ship" of seven hundred ton was launched at New London. By 1750, shipbuilding had become a great industry, and British mer- chants were beginning to purchase Connecticut-built vessels. Thus capital as well as sagacity in investing were further acquired by the Colonials.
Rapid settlement and cultivation of Connec- tout's lands.
Shipping, during Colo- nial Period, contrib- utes to Connecticut's wealth.
Shipbuilding becomes Connecticut's first great industry.
A half-million dollars antall; in Nex Eng- land Rum.
Before we consider the household crafts and the important part which they play in the formation of Connecticut's self, it is well to mention in passing the other great industry of the Colonial Period, the distillation of rum. Whether this grew out of the West Indian trade, or whether it was the prime mover in causing the profitable commerce with them would be difficult to decide. In any event, it was a source of income for many of the colonists. We mention it apart from the shipping and household crafts, since it seems to have borne but little relation to later events. Unlike the shipbuilding, it was not a specialized business, but was rather merely an additional source of revenue to the farmers, and was carried on by them as individuals. The fact that this business had become worth a half mil- lion dollars annually, by 1800, is its sole importance, although it did contribute materially to the growing capital of the colonists.
Household crafts pro- vide basis for early manu factories.
While Connecticut's wealth and greatness during the Colonial Period derived from its agriculture, shipping, and its two large industries of shipbuilding and distilling, there was beneath the surface a movement of far greater significance to us today. In passing we have spoken of the household crafts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In that period they were largely of minor importance economically, being a makeshift in the face of necessity; for at that time it was difficult to secure replacements of tools, utensils and clothing, due both to lack of ready money and the extreme difficulties of transportation. Consequently, when a shortage arose it was a necessity for the pioneer man to learn to be his own smith and mechanic and for the housewives to become spinners and weavers. Most of the early settlers had already received training in these varied crafts before coming to their new homes; this is particularly true of the women and the cloth industry in the home. In any event, a new aspect of this traditional practice soon asserted itself in Connecticut. Among those engaged in the various crafts, there were naturally some who, attaining a greater proficiency than others, began specializing in that one craft and supplying all of the local demand. It was in this way that the first one-man manufactories grew up. Though there are no records previous to 1700, we are reasonably sure that there was some degree of this specialization before that date, for soon after the beginning of the eighteenth century we find the General Assembly granting monopolies to certain individuals in various sections. Before the century closed this movement had grown to a point where legislative assistance was no longer necessary. In their influence upon the next century, the chief men among these craftsmen were: Pattison of Berlin, who had already made Connecticut famous for its tinware; Joseph Hopkins, who was engaged in the manufacture of silver, pewter and brass buttons and knee buckles at Waterbury; and Eli Terry of Plymouth, who was hawking his clocks about the countryside. In the eastern portion of the State and in Hartford County, the first textiles mills were struggling for a foothold, though as late as 1810 two-thirds of the cloth was produced by the housewives. By the end of the Colonial Period this undercurrent was just beginning to form a mainstream of its own.
Metal trades center in Connecticut in eight- eenth century.
Along with the gradual development of housecrafts from a dependent posi- tion to an independent one, was the development of the mines within the Colony with the resultant forges and iron works. While the mines are of little value in themselves today and were not of much influence in causing the industrial surge of the nineteenth century, they were important in early centering the metal trades in Connecticut. Chief among the mines were: the Simsbury copper mine, discovered in 1707; the iron mines in Salisbury, discovered in 1732; and the spathic ore de- posits at Roxbury. In spite of drastic restrictions imposed by the English Parlia- ment to discourage the development of metal works in the Colony, Connecticut had, by 1800, fifty bloomery forges, three slitting mills, an anchor, and a screw works
1935
1635 NINETEENTH CENTURY PROBLEMS
in Litchfield County alone. In addition, this County was the largest producer of nails in the United States with the exception of Plymouth and Bristol Counties in Massachusetts. Such were the beginnings of industry in Connecticut.
Before considering the actual nineteenth century development of industry, it is well to first recapitulate the foundation for this movement provided by the Colonial Period. The colonists had provided a hitherto unknown freedom in Church and State; they had carried the settlement of the State to a point where a new economy was a necessity to care for any increase in population in the small area of Connecticut. These were the most important contributions of the first ceń- tury and a half of the State. Through their shipping and shipbuilding they had accumulated surplus capital and through the same means they had acquired wis- dom in managing it. They had brought their household crafts to a point where they might be the basis of a new economy, and already they had become famous for their tinware, clocks and metal trades. Beyond these physical advantages which were left as an advantage, the colonists stamped their personality upon the new generation and throughout the struggle to rebuild the State along new lines, it stood the new generation in good stead. The "Old Yankee" had been known for his honesty, his thriftiness, his ingenuity, and his business acumen; the "New Yankee" here followed in the footsteps of his forefathers.
Though the stage would now seem to have been set for a rapid and natural development of Connecticut along the lines of urban, industrial economy, there were still many factors to prevent it. Transportation was still far from being even adequate, there was a dearth of skilled labor and also of "cheap" labor, the early manufacturers could neither obtain machinery from England nor gain access to the methods of production in use there, the central government was still unsettled and made little effort to encourage and protect home industry, and the use of steam was still largely a mystery to the manufacturers. Any one of these conditions, if they had continued to exist, would have blocked the future growth. It is to the credit of the Connecticut manufacturer that they were overcome and very largely through his efforts alone.
At the end of the eighteenth century, the roads, so-called, were little better than trails and a horseman with a light burden could do little more than ten miles a day. Within ten years this situation had completely changed, for through the formation of turnpike companies more than seven hundred and fifty miles of roads had been completed in 1810. Here the accumulated capital was useful, for the first roads were constructed at a cost varying from $1,000 to $14,000 a mile. Following the building of the roads came the construction of the canals con- necting many of the important inland points with the natural waterways. Most of this work was completed by the end of the third decade. The fourth and fifth decades witnessed the construction of the railways, and at a time when great portions of the United States were suffering from lack of good transporta- tion, Connecticut was able to move her products easily and quickly.
When the industrial period was beginning in Connecticut, the only great in- dustrial nation in the world was England. They had already discarded their agriculture in favor of manufacturing and were anxious to retain their carly lead in this field. It was only there that skilled workmen were to be found, and Par- liament had passed stringent laws forbiding the emigration of any skilled labor. Without men who were familiar with their trade the further development of manufacturing in Connecticut was at a standstill. Here the ingenuity of the pi- oneer was of advantage, for his sons acted in a very practical way to relieve this
Connecticut in 1800.
The problems of the nineteenth century.
Development of trans- portation.
Labor problems of the early manufacturers.
191;
enough workmen and families out of the country to provide a start in building such a class of their own. Under their guidance a class of skilled labor grew up in this State that marked the State at the close of the century as a leader in this respect. As a result of this class many new industries have been attracted to Connecticut as a home, which have not had an indigenous growth here. When the great industrial projects had advanced beyond the "craftsman" stage and the great inetal and textile mills had begun to develop, a second problem arose, the need of "cheap" man power. This was not a problem that required chicanery in its solution. The tre- mendous population growth of the century made such a class always at hand after 1850.
Mechanical problems of the carly manufac- turers.
At the same time that England forbid the emigration of workmen, she also forbid the exportation of new machinery and zealously guarded knowledge of their methods of manufacture. While this problem was partially solved by the work- men who had been smuggled into this country, the large part of the credit for elim- inating this difficulty belongs to the inventive genius of the "Yankee". When they were unable to get machinery and methods they independently developed their own and in many cases thereby they outstripped their European rivals. The most impor- tant contribution in this phase of the industrialization was by Eli Whitney, who evolved a method which was to give Connecticut an early lead in manufacturing in the United States. Until the time of Eli Whitney each workman had made a complete. article; that is, if they were employed in making guns they not only made the muzzle, but every other part of the mechanism as well and did all of the assem- bling. Whitney, immediately after the Revolution had taken large contracts to furnish arms to the government; consequently he found it necessary to devise some means of producing them in large quantities. This he did by standardizing each part of the product to the end that a single workman could be employed in making a single part, the various finished parts being assembled by other workers. The principle was revolutionary; in totality, it is the "factory system" as differen- tiated from the "craftsman system". The adoption of this method of production by the Connecticut manufacturers was one of the greatest factors in the successful transformation of the State from a rural to an industrial economy. Many further examples of the Connecticut inventive genius are inscribed on the patent records of the nation-in a large majority of years, since the founding of the United States, Connecticut men have taken out the largest number of patents.
The protective tariff.
When Connecticut manufacturing was first getting a foothold in the State, the central government of the Nation was still in a pitifully weak condition. For as much as three decades this proved to be a great detriment to the growth of indus- try. After the War for Independence, English manufacturers, in an effort to retain the Colonial market for their products, flooded the country with goods at prices so cheap that home industry found it almost impossible to sell in competition. The English were able to do this since their manufactories were established and they had surplus capital to spend in acquiring markets through this "cutthroat" method. While there had been a protective tariff under the first administration, it did not remain adequate and it was not until after the close of Jefferson's administration that protection was properly understood or practiced. Without it the attempts at industrialization would have been abortive for generations to come.
The last factor that prevented immediate industrialization after the Colonial Period was lack of power. This was a need that was not really satisfactorily met until nearly the middle of the nineteenth century when steam came to be under- stood and properly utilized. Previous to that time, lack of real knowledge pre- vented it from being a good answer to the problem.
Power.
192] >
1635
"WE REPRESENT A MANUFACTURING STATE"
1935
When these various difficulties had been overcome or had ceased to exist, Connecticut rapidly advanced in developing an urban, industrial civilization. The cities became more and more demarcated from the surrounding countryside; and many portions of the State which had been backward under the rural economy, arose as great centers of industry. Notable among these was Bridgeport. The old household crafts all became great industries, continuing to develop in the locali- ties where the first specialists had plied their crafts. They are today the basis of Connecticut's manufacturing prominence; the metal trades, clock manufacture, tex- tiles, hardware and arms. After these earliest manufactories had grown to be great institutions, new products began to be manufactured within the State, some having. their origin here, as with plated ware, and some coming from outside the State, as with typewriters, these last enterprises being attracted by the advantageous conditions to manufacture. This in brief is the background upon which Connecticut industry is built.
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