USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928, Volume I > Part 44
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The "Consolidated" was losing in popular favor, its dividends
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were decreasing, its market value dropping, assets in great insti- tutions and little investments of poor people were affected by the year 1905, when the company bought the Hartford trolley system, with pronunciamento from President Mellen that Hartford was to be made the trolley center of Northern Connecticut. The local owners were loth to sell till the price went up to $285 a share. The exceedingly well managed Farmington and Unionville line was taken next. So, likewise and as has been related, most of the trolleys in the state. To avoid all approach to competition, Mr. Mellen was buying "wind and water"-to use the expression used in the Legislature, where more charters sometimes were framed for Mr. Mellen's purchase. This was but a step toward acquiring Rhode Island lines, water routes and railroad connections through to farthest Maine and New Hampshire. The theory was that New England must fight for its own; otherwise the mighty western combines would make a mere back-door of it.
This is here recalled as a forceful illustration of an important feature of the period now under consideration. President Roose- velt was wielding the "big stick;" he was likewise the "trust- buster," and the people gave him two terms and might have given him a third. Under President Taft, Attorney-General Wicker- sham continued and widened the prosecution of monopolies; the Sherman anti-trust law was an approved weapon, and "restraint of trade" was an offense unendurable. For Hartford the effect of industrial combines was visualized by the automobile and bicycle industries, by unsatisfactory trolleys, by loss of river- freight competition or the indifference of it, and by the spectacle of the lobbies over on Capitol Hill. The "Consolidated's" eggs were "unscrambled," as a catch phrase expressed it; assets of institutions shrank dangerously and of individuals disastrously; experience was being had of the transition from the days of small capital well distributed to enormous capital in combines without skill, experience or wisdom in the handling thereof. The passing of a quarter-century has brought a period when, with regulations, knowledge and experience, combines are being encouraged along paths where it can be demonstrated that the natural reduction in overhead cost shall benefit the patron or consumer.
To add to the confusion of those days was the influx of popu- lation, which Hartford realized strongly. Pains have been taken
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in the earlier pages and in the histories of the towns to indicate how immigration was being absorbed and churches and societies were being encouraged. Now the rush prevented concern about elementary principles. Houses undesirable for aspiring occu- pants were abandoned to the newcomers in favor of hastily con- structed dwellings further out but not beyond bicycle distance. (The automobile was still above common reach and below popular favor.) Sanitation, sewers, street-lights, street-grades and like considerations called for large contracts which were to be signed by city authorities elected by the people. This tended to strengthen the then national disposition to manipulate elections, and both the money and the material were at hand for doing it. That Hart- ford stood up against it so well as it did is an item in its history. Nor is the manner in which it faced the financial stress the latter part of the decade to go unrecorded; generous aid of newcomers begot a lasting good-will and encouraged a cooperation which always will be fruitful.
But the population and real estate effects had taken Hartford, in common with other cities, unawares. It could cope with a normal growth, which allowed time for thought. Cities were vieing with each other in physical growth, jealously scanning census returns; size was the desideratum-character, cleanliness, culture, even tradition were, in comparison with size, hardly more than abstractions. Hartford contributed one demonstration of this to the list of demonstrations elsewhere. It was when the need of larger accommodations for the city administration was beginning to press. For nearly thirty years the revered old State House, supplemented by the Halls of Record on Pearl Street, had served the purpose as City Hall. It has to be recalled that, in this swirl of the period, there was a definite and forceful senti- ment for tearing down and rebuilding, or selling the structure for business purposes and buying elsewhere. A special committee of the city government recommended a new building on the old site. A Taxpayers' Protective Association was formed to work for the same purpose. Those who favored selling clashed over new location and figures were compiled to show the "trend of population," with the one thought that the building should be where it would be convenient for the greatest number, a prize in a contest among property-owners. Here again, then, contem- plating the result of the final triumph of tradition, history and
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art, all unpurchasable-in a way that will be told-it is as difficult for Hartford of today to recall that particular feature of the transition stage as it is for the country to recall many not dis- similar features.
If Macauley's statement that real history is of the life and conduct of the people were taken literally, the paragraphs on the railroads and the State House would be eliminated. Had the matter of the State House come to a vote at a special and not a regular meeting, the proportion of freemen voting would have been even less than that at the time the constitution was rejected. People's attention was diverted in new directions; weighty sub- jects must be left to the sober thinkers. For the mass there was more interest in the first automobile test trip, from New York to Boston and return. This was October, 1902. It was exploited in the press for days in advance and the attention of the United States was directed this way. From New Haven to Hartford was the third period. It was open to all cars except electrics. Of the seventy-three which started, all but three arrived here, with records of from one and one-half to two hours. Cars and drivers were covered with dust. Great crowds thronged the streets. The hour and a half allowed for lunch and for the tuning-up of the vehicles gave the crowds an opportunity to look over the machines. While it had to be admitted that the showing was good for such a long distance, doubting Thomases were numerous and the pre- vailing preference was for the horse or the locomotive. Most of the cars made the trip from here to Springfield in two hours.
Much interest attached also to the grand firemen's parade in 1901 in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Chief Henry J. Eaton as a member of the fire department. He was given $500 in gold by the city and a silver service by the department, and he was allowed twenty-four hours off duty, most of which time he spent smoking at headquarters. In a way, he was known inter- nationally, for a picture of him speeding his magnificent gray horse ahead of one of the first steam propellers of the country was exhibited on the still-picture screen in England. He would not admit that he could not scale the loftiest tower or dive into the deepest cellar till 1903, when, at the age of seventy-two, he asked to be relieved and was pensioned. He had joined the department in 1851 and had been chief since 1868.
Less interest attached to the discussion of consolidation of
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school districts. It is still a subject of discussion in 1928, but must be referred to here as one of the questions raised by new con- ditions but not to be taken seriously. Hartford was one of the few towns exempted from the provisions of the statute providing for consolidation. Against the argument of inconvenient boun- dary lines, of inequality and of greater aggregate expense was the argument of advantage of rivalry, of local pride, of dread of political influence and of impairment of excellence of certain districts of long standing.
Voting machines were introduced in 1902. Novelty had no terrors for a community where novelty in government was inaug- urated and where novelty in manufacture was an every-day matter.
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In number of years-yes; but in the appearance of the veterans, when they turned out to honor and to be honored-no, this great transition period was not long after the Civil war. Strangely, and in this instance most fortunately, these men who made history were themselves like history, in that history does not measure periods by calendar years. To be sure, Memorial Day had become a day of sports and recreation for the on-coming multitude, but the decoration of graves, the exercises and parade were features assisted in by thoughtful citizens and carefully maintained. Such citizens included foremost men in every pro- fession, trade and calling. They stood out patriotically against the flood that at times threatened to sweep away traditions.
A notabie echo of the past-the happy results of which had now been so strongly emphasized by the North and South in the Spanish war-was the placing on the Capitol grounds of the "Petersburg Express." This is the huge sea-coast mortar used by the First Connecticut Heavy Artillery at the siege of Peters- burg, Va., in 1864-65. Capt. Frank Miller of Bridgeport, when apprised that the mortar could be had from the Government in the '90s, caused it to be brought to him and permission was given for placing it on the Capitol grounds. The Legislature appro- priated $1,000 and there were subscriptions from members of the regiment, from the Hartford City Guard, and from the family of Governor Bulkeley in memory of Capt. Charles E. Bulkeley. The mortar having been mounted on an appropriate pedestal, it was
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unveiled September 25, 1902, with fitting ceremonies and a parade.
At a later date, the bronze figure of a soldier boy, the gift of Col. Frank W. Cheney of South Manchester and the work of ยท Sculptor Bela Pratt, was unveiled on the west side of the grounds, in memory especially of victims of southern prisons.
Archibald G. Mellwaine of Petersburg, who as a child was living with his family in Petersburg at the time the mortar was doing its destructive work, was president of the Orient Fire In- surance Company which, in the progress of local events, built its attractive new building directly across Trinity Street from the mortar's last and peaceful resting place, and the office of the intensely loyal and popular president looked out upon it. And other southerners, including Confederate veterans, were helping make Hartford what it is today.
Among the most impressive of the rallies of the veterans, and the last of the series of the more important, was in 1904, when the Army of the Potomac held its meeting here, guest of the city, and the ranks of 7,000 veterans in line were swelled by comrades from Grand Army posts all over the state. It recalled Flag Day, Buckingham Day and Farragut Day and all the purely local veteran assemblages, and fearing that it might be the last of these historic events, the city. under Mayor Henney, aided by a large committee and ample subscriptions, gave a hearty welcome. All patriotic and military organizations, with delegations from other cities and towns, participated. Col. Jacob L. Greene was chief marshal and Capt. W. G. Fitch chief of staff. Governor Bulleley, as department commander, led the Connecticut veterans. Gen. Horatio O. King, president of the Society of the Army of the Potomac, paid a glowing tribute to Hartford and its place in American history.
The active soldiery were recovering from the dissipating effects of the Spanish war. The Government had set about to put into use some of the costly lessons it had learned and was bringing the National Guard into better uniformity with itself and with the regular army, as a second line of defense. Under Colonel Schulze, and later under Colonel Hickey, who had returned from the Philippines, and with Col. George M. Cole, returned from Cuban service with the "Immunes," as permanent adjutant- general, the First Regiment was more than retaining its old
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had been formulated, delivered an historical address in introduc- ing the President. Recently secretary of war, the President dwelt upon the importance of the states training their men for coopera- tion and of preserving national tradition.
There is an achievement by Hartford men in relation to the Civil war which will grow in importance as the years go by. In 1904 some young men of literary and artistic taste had the courage to launch a magazine, the Connecticut Quarterly. It was devoted to points of interest in the various towns, items of history, research and genealogy, the text being set off with art sketches and photographic reproductions of exceptional merit. George C. Atwell, Edward B. Eaton, H. C. Buck and . H. Phelps Arms (editor) were in the group. It became the Connecticut Magazine Company, incorporated, with Herbert Randall, photographer, scholar and poet, as president, and Francis Trevelyan Miller editor, and continued till 1908. In 1907 Mr. Eaton. the first president of the company, was instrumental in saving and repro- ducing many of the precious official photographs of the war. Photography was in its infancy commercially in the '60s. Mat- thew B. Brady of New York and Washington obtained consent to use the Scott-Archer collodion process for the first time on a large scale. After years of experimentation this process had given promise of dependability and endurance. Amazingly intrepid and provided only with personal letters from authorities, Brady selected a few companions, some of whom went within the southern lines, and started for the battlefields. His presence was known to very few and those who saw him here and there with his primitive cameras little realized his mission. After the war he found himself swamped with debt. One creditor in New York, the famous dealer Anthony, who had imported the precious chemicals, held 7,000 negatives as security, and a balance of 6,000 were in a Government storehouse in Washington. A proposal to place these with the New York Historical Society fell through. Representations to congressmen had no effect. Driven to it at last, the negatives in Washington were put up at auction and were bid in by Secretary of War Belknap for the Government at $2,840 from moneys accumulated from the provosts marshal at
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standard and made excellent record at the great army maneuvers at Manassas, Va. (1904), and in Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 1903 it responded quickly with the Second Regiment to Gov- ernor Chamberlain's call to suppress rioting by trolley strikers in Waterbury and was on duty there for the better part of a week.
An epoch in the history of the state and of the organized militia was marked by the building of the great arsenal and armory, dedicated November 12, 1909. The only arsenal for the storage of state supplies had been built on Windsor Avenue in 1812. The Elm Street Armory, on the site of the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company's present building, had served as rink, bicycle school, caucus hall, auditorium for Moody and Sankey, and as emporium for fairs; as drill shed it was luxurious for soldiers when it was leased in 1873 (and bought in 1887) for the assemblage of units that had been drilling in private halls. But its condition long had been disreputable and its capacity inadequate. At the same time, the roundhouse property of the railroad company, near the heart of the city and an enlarging relic of the days before Bushnell Park, was ruining the white walls of the Capitol by belching forth black smoke. The railroad company planned to move to East Hartford, the state bought the extensive grounds, once the site of Imlay's "Upper Mills," for an arsenal and armory, engaged the noted architect, Benjamin W. Morris, and put up a stone structure with the largest clear drill floor in the United States and arsenal requirements sufficient for many years to come. There were quarters for the state military and pension departments and for the individual units located in Hartford, and everything to provide comfort for soldiers who were first of all citizens with homes and employment. City Engineer Frederick L. Ford was chairman of the general committee.
Capt. J. H. Kelso Davis was marshal. The column, which consisted of the First Regiment under Colonel Hickey, the Gov- ernor's Foot Guard and Horse Guard and the Putnam Phalanx, marched from the old armory to the arsenal, where Maj. George A. Cornell had prepared the quartermaster's stores for removal, and thence to the armory at Capitol Avenue and Broad Street. President William H. Taft arrived in time for the dedication exercises and for the reception and ball in the evening. Former Governor Henry Roberts, during whose administration the plans
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the end of the war. Gen. James A. Garfield and Gen. Benjamin F. Butler sought to get Congress to appropriate $25,000 for title to all the pictures, but, though the commercial value was esti- mated by Garfield at $150,000, the business element in Congress could not be persuaded till 1875, when it was too late to save Brady's credit. During the delay the negatives in New York had passed into the hands of creditors. In 1882, Bierstadt, the eminent chemist, informed the Government that the plates would soon perish, but the cost of printing from them ($75 a thousand) was more than the Government would pay.
Here entered John C. Taylor, a sergeant in the First Con- necticut Heavy Artillery, prominent in work of the Grand Army of the Republic around Connecticut and secretary many years of the Connecticut Prison Association. By patient endeavor he finally secured exclusive right to the use of the Anthony collection of 7,000. These he generously loaned to the Government that it might make prints to supplement the plates it held. Taylor had had a few prints made from the smaller plates and had mounted them to sell it in a limited way, he having neither the capital nor the inclination to commercialize. In 1906 the Government officially announced that the "invaluable negatives were rapidly disappear- ing" and forbade their being loaned for private purposes. Brady, who had told his full story to Taylor, died penniless in 1899, his work unrecognized except that which he did for individuals in his studio in Washington. Mr. Eaton on learning the facts con- sulted the War Department and found that only the private collection could be utilized for public benefit; he also found on investigation that this latter collection contained duplicates of practically all of the Government's negatives and the 1,000 addi- tional. It happened that Johann Olsen of Hartford was familiar with Brady's early process with wet plate. The negatives at that time were fast depreciating, though some were even better than many of those made today. In 1907 Mr. Eaton had obtained full title to the plates owned by Mr. Taylor, with the understanding that he would present the scenes before the public. He brought them to Hartford, where Mr. Olsen did much to preserve and reproduce the negatives. The pictures of greatest historical value were selected and, accompanied by text written by Mr. Miller, who then was editor of the Journal of American History and of the Connecticut Magazine, they were brought out in a set of albums
45-VOL. 1
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under the title, "The Eaton Photographic History of the Civil War," later expanded by a New York house.
Wise men in the councils of city government early in the period of transition foresaw the need of greater and better school accommodations. The need was first felt in the separate districts and as it was being met new interest was being aroused. It was considered fortunate that in 1897 an extensive addition had been made to the high school, thirteen years after the main building itself had been erected with expectation that it would fulfill all requirement for a long time. Faster than the public could realize, the new pupils in the lower grades were coming on to the doors of the high school. Two things had happened. One was that more people than expected had heard and believed that one of the attractions of Hartford was the quality of its schools, and the other was the avidity with which the newcomers evinced their desire to have their children attend the high school at least for one year. Two things militated. One was that expenses were increasing faster than the town was accustomed to. The other, as seen by conservative men, was that the people who would have to vote the appropriations and that portion of them who had to pay , the taxes had not yet awakened to the changes taking place, while at the same time they were hearing the Rooseveltian cry of ex- travagance and waste in all quarters. It was not until late in the decade, therefore, that a commission could be appointed to arrange for another addition which was built on the Broad Street side of the property and was completed in 1915, at what then seemed like the very large sum of $689,529, much of it for ad- joining residential property that had to be acquired. Architects allowed for another wing when that should become necessary, and it was necessary by 1922. Moreover this original committee had been authorized to look for a site for another high school building at a distance from the center of the city and then for still another -- of which more will be said further on. For some time before and during the building of the 1915 addition, the rooms in the original building were so crowded that part of the pupils attended forenoons and the rest afternoons. The statistics then showed that the building of the addition could have been delayed were it
THOMAS S. WEAVER (1845-1922)
HARTFORD PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL
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not for the large number of pupils who came for only their first year, and also that children of parents who could afford it were, in many instances, being sent to private schools, not alone on account of the congestion but because the attention of instructors had to be devoted chiefly to those who had no educational back- ground and assistance at home. Names spelled in a fashion un- familiar to older families were appearing on rolls of honor and on the entering lists for the colleges.
A remarkable figure appeared in the educational field when Thomas Snell Weaver was elected superintendent of schools in 1900. He succeeded Judge Herbert S. Bullard, whose law prac- tice and then his position as judge of the City Court took all his time. Mr. Weaver was a newspaper man of wide experience- at that time on the staff of the Courant-and with a thorough knowledge of civic affairs. It was felt that he could give aid to the Board of School Visitors and that he would be persona grata to the several districts. Though well on in life, he started then upon a career which was to continue for twenty-two years, or until his death, and was to win for him the esteem and affection of all sections and factions of the city. The son of a teacher and writer, he was born in Willimantic in 1845. Following a child- hood inclination, he learned the printer's trade at the age of fourteen on the Willimantic Journal, of which his father was editor. His talent for newspaper work had been developed in Worcester, New Haven and Boston when he came here in 1883 as editorial writer on the Post, where he continued for nine years. After a short period in his home town again, he joined the Courant force. As superintendent he at once established systems and made his work so intensely personal, especially for the night schools, that no one was considered to succeed him till death sud- denly claimed him in 1922.
One of the special innovations was the establishment of an outdoor school in 1910. For the purpose the beautiful old home of Lydia Huntley Sigourney, the poet, was taken. Its grounds curtailed by the encroachment of business, it still stood on the slope of old Asylum Hill, reached by Hurlburt Street, which ran through the old lawn between it and the Park River, the rest of which lawn was occupied by beef-packing establishments and the great railroad embankment. Capt. John K. Williams, of the Twenty-second Connecticut in the Civil war, a druggist by call-
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ing but always concerning himself for the welfare of school chil- dren, set up a special kind of tents on what was still a considerable lawn and devised "sitting-out" bags for the youngsters. Popu- larity soon followed the experiment. The facilities were taxed to their utmost when the new outdoor school building was opened on Stonington Street in 1921. The First (or Brown) District's kindergarten school, built on Talcott Street in 1889, and the first of its kind in the state, also received much of Mr. Weaver's atten- tion, together with others of the same class which were being established in all the districts.
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