History of Chicago. From the earliest period to the present time, Part 171

Author: Andreas, Alfred Theodore
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 1340

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" The historian for the Sunday Times had the pleas- ure of an interview with Dr. Boone during the past week, in which the ex-Mayor took occasion to remark that his actions at that tine were considerably misunder- stood, and were still misunderstood, as he had never taken occasion to correct false impressions. The Doctor then stated what has been mentioned, that he believed the temperance law was again to become a fact and what he did he did conscientiously, as he believed, for the good of the whole community, and not on fanatical grounds.

l" What he did do was, as soon as he was inducted into the office of Mayor, to recommend to the Council that the license fee be raised from $50 per annum, to the rate of $300 per annum, but that no license be issued for a longer period than three months. This he believed to be a wise measure of precantion, since it would root out all the lower class of dives, and leave the business in the hands of the better class of saloon- keepers, who, when the temperance law should go into force, could be rationally dealt with. But the saloon element failed to see this measure by the same candle that Mayor Boone saw it. They regarded the ordinance in the light of oppression and nothing else, and banded together to defeat its object. The city government at this time was completely in the hands of the Native American party, and the Mayor and the Council had no · fear of defeat, the more so as the adage. 'to the victor belongs the spoils,' had been so sytematically carried

out that every man of the eighty or ninety patrolmen on the force was a native American.

'" As soon as the ordinance was passed resistance was agitated. The Nord Seite was in a state of fer- ment. It was argued, and not without some show of truth, that the boasted equal rights guaranteed by the constitution was a cheat and a fraud, and that if for- eigners did not then and there die in the last ditch in behalf of their liberties, there would soon be instituted for the white alien a system of slavery as abject as the negro's servitude on the Southern plantation.'

" One need not go over the whole ground to know what was said at that time. The imaginative orator was there, as he is everywhere, and if he failed in his duty it was not for want of a fruitful theme. But he he did not fail, and he fired the Teuton heart to-a point where it was literally self-consuming, and other hearts - la Beecher-such as beat in Irish and Scandina- vian bosoms ached in earnest sympathy, though the demonstrations that ensued were principally of Teutonic origin.

!" At the period that this stringent and almost pro- hibitory license ordinance was sought to be enforced. there was also among the municipal regulations a Sun- day law, and this dead letter was sought to have the breath of life blown into it at the same time! Accord- ingly the persecution was of a two-fold character, and the Teuton's cup of bitterness literally overflowed. He determined to rebel. He. did rebel. But the revolt was short-lived. Clubs proved trumps.

" Mavor Boone had been running the municipal machine but a few weeks when in the neighborhood of two hundred saloon-keepers were arrested, and some of them ' jugged,' and others held to bail for trial on the charge, either for selling liquor without a license or for viola- tion of the Sunday ordinance. When the saloon inter- est was attacked, the victims made common cause, and one attorney represented the entire batch. . Between this attorney and the City Attorney it was agreed to try a sample case, and let the rest take the course set by that precedent. This case was called on the 21st of April. Squire Henry 1 .. Rucker-a street was named in his honor-was the Police Magistrate of that period, and his court-room was in the court-house proper. About Io o'clock, a few moments after the case had been called up for trial, at remendous commotion ensued in and about the court-house. The saloon interest had massed itself in a solid body on the North Side, espe- cially the two hundred under bonds, and having secured a fife and drum, they proceeded to make a forced march on the court-house. With a tremendous racket they entered the sacred precincts of justice. The fife screeched, the drum rattled, beery throats uttered gut- teral and unintelligible oaths, and there was the deuce to pay generally. This mob was bent on intimidation. Having, as they supposed, exercised a certain amount of ' moral ' influence on the court, the mob gathered in force at the intersection of Randolph and Clark streets, and literally obstructed both thoroughfares opposite the Sherman House. C. P. Bradley was Chief of Police at that time, and Darius Knights, now at the head of the sewage department of the city, was the Marshal. Both were men of force and not to be trifled with. Luther Nichols-who came with General Scott in 1832, has been a resident of Chicago ever since, and is now the oklest continuous resident in the city- was the captain of police. When the mob had com- pletely blocked the before-mentioned thoroughfares. ( ap- tam Nichols hurried to Mayor Boone for orders. . What

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HISTORY OF CHICAGO.

shall I do?' queried he. 'Clear the streets and dis- perse the mob,' was Mayor Boone's answer, and the order was obeyed without any serious consequences. Several who made efforts at resistance were arrested. All this happened in the forenoon. The mob having . dispersed, quiet reigned 'down town.' but it was one of those calms that precede a storm. Both sides were getting ready for a desperate struggle. While the saloon interest on the North Side were marshaling its forces, for the declared object of rescuing the prisoners in the hands of the officers, Mayor Boone was energeti- cally strengthening his position by swearing into service an extra force of one hundred and fifty policemen, thus placing an effective force of nearly two hundred and fifty men at his command. '

" About three o'clock the mob was sufficiently organ- ized to proceed, and accordingly made its way along North Clark Street to the bridge. A part got across, but a considerable portion was cut off by a strategic movement on the part of the bridge-tender. It appears that the rioters became somewhat separated, one part preceded the other a short distance, and as soon as the first batch was across, the tender swung his bridge to an open.

l" Then a curious parley ensued. The Teutons raved and swore, and threatened to shoot, while the bridge-tender yelled back that he was acting under orders from the Mayor, and that he could not accom- modate his fellow-citizens with a passage until the mayoral order was countermanded. The Mayor was communicated with, and finally word was sent to turn the bridge. Then the mob swarmed across, only to meet a solid phalanx of police. The reason Mayor Boone consented to the turning of the bridge was that he felt confident that his arrangements were equal to any emergency, and so they proved.

"" Without much ado the mob and the peelers came into collision. The leaders of the mob cried, 'Pick out the stars!' 'Shoot the police !' Immediately a brisk fire was opened, and for a short time things were ex- ceedingly lively round about the Sherman House. Quite a number of rioters were seriously wounded, but so far as can be definitely ascertained, only one was killed, though a few days later there were several mys- terious funerals on the North Side, and it was generally believed that the rioters gave certain victims secret burial, the regulation with reference to permits not being quite as strict then as now.'

" A stalwart. Teuton leveled a double-barreled shot- gun at Officer Hunt, and blew off his left arm. The action was observed by Sheriff Andrews, who directed a young man named Frazer, standing by his side. to return the fire. He did so, and brought down his man. So far as known this was the single fatality of the day. Subsequently those in sympathy with the rioters had Frazer arrested, but the Sheriff put a quietus on that effort by averring that the shot was fired at his express order. Officer Hunt is still a member of the police force. He is at present detailed for special duty in connection with the Comptroller's office, and attends to show-licenses and other matters of that sort. At Mayor Boone's suggestion the City Council voted him the song sum of $3,000, and he still, after a lapse of twenty- two years, has that amount on interest, with Dr. Boone as his financial agent.

( " The riot was ostensibly set on foot to release cer- tain compatriots from jail. But it turned out to have a contrary effect, and instead of releasing any it added sixty to the number already . jugged.' The event of the day created intense excitement throughout the

city, and as an aid to the police the military were called out, the said military consisting of an Irish company known as Montgomery Guards-relics of which were maintained up to quite a late period; an American com- pany known as the Chicago Light Gnards, a dragoon company, and a battery of two guns under command of the then prominent banker. R. K. Swift.| The latter is said to have cut rather a bad figure during the trouble. He responded with his two guns, but was at a loss what to do. Mayor Boone requested him to protect the court- house with his artillery, but the financial shootist claimed that it could not be done, since he could at the most protect but two sides at the same time. His honor, therefore, drew for him a little diagram, demonstrating that by placing one gun at the corner of La Salle and Washington streets, and the other at the corner of Ran- dolph and Clark, he would be able to command all the approaches to the square. As soon as Swift became aware that the thing was practicable, he washed his hands of the whole affair, and left the guns in charge of his lieutenant, who was really an able officer, and would have thoroughly demonstrated the practicability of the Mayor's views, had the mob given him an opportunity. But the mob kept quiet thereafter. The one dose, well and quickly applied, was all-sufficient. Bad blood was rampant in those days, and street broils were exceed- ingly common. But Mayor Boone, being a man of nerve and decision, took the riotous bull by the horns, the moment he made his appearance, and knocked the brute insensible at the first blow.

" It was fortunate for Chicago at that trying period that the government was in excellent hands. For putting down a mob few could compare with C. P. Bradley and Darius Knights, men of the stanchest nerve.

Following are personal sketches of the mayors who served the city up to 1858, from the inauguration of city government in 1837 :

WILLIAM B. OGDEN .- It has been the good fortune of Chicago to have possessed from the beginning a large number of public spirited citizens, and it is to them in greater measure than is often accorded, that the pros- perity of the city is due. . Early perceiving its great natural advantages, they supplemented those with the splendid enterprises and works that have made Chicago what it is. In the history of the progress and develop- ment of the city, the names of these honored citizens must always hold a foremost place, and chief among them stands the name of William B. Ogden. For nearly half a century, his time, his thought, his wise foresight and his prudent counsel were all given, and cheerfully given, to the building up and development of the great city, which he early saw would be the gateway and exchange of the Northwest. The mere enumeration of the great works and enterprises in which he was engaged. the most of which his mind conceived and his hand executed is enough to daze the ordinary mind. He ad- vocated and helped to construct the Illinois & Mich- igan Canal. He built the first railroad that entered the city. He projected and constructed thousands of miles of that railway system which pours into the lap of Chi- cago the wealth and commerce of more than ten State -. He possessed in a wonderful degree the American char- at teristics of hopefulness and self-reliance. Coming to Chicago when still a young man, while as yet the Indian paddled his canoe on Lake Michigan, or chased the deer over the prairies, and the nightly howling of wolves disturbed the repose of Chicago's first settlers, his pre- scient mind took in the future development of the great Northwest. When he first stood upon the shore of

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Lake Michigan, there were scarce five thousand persons between that shore and the l'acific, and he lived to see it teeming with a population of ten million souls, He was a born leader of men. It has been said of General Jackson, that if he was thrown with a number of men and any emergency should arise requiring a commander that all would instinctively turn to him and obey him. Mr. Ogden possessed the same characteristic and was regarded in the same way. He was the first Mayor of Chicago ;* the first president of Rush Medical College; the president of the Chicago & Galena Union Railroad; of the National Pacific Railroad Convention held in Philadelphia in 1850; of the Illinois & Wisconsin Rail- road Company; of the Buffalo & Mississippi Railroad Company; of the Chicago Branch of the State Bank of Illinois; of the board of sewerage commissioners of the city of Chicago; of the board of trustees of the Uni- versity of Chicago; and he was the first president of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. Nor was he a mere figure-head in these great enterprises, but to all of them he contributed his time, his thought, his active exertion and his money. He foresaw the vast importance and

73. Ogden

value of the reaping machine to the Western prairies; and was early engaged in introducing it into extensive use throughout the West. He became interested with Mr. McCormick in the first large factory for their manu- facture, and it was at Mr. Ogden's suggestion that the reaper was sent to England in 1851, which took the prize at the London Exhibition. Ile was a man of commanding presence, and cast in a mold of generous

. For sketch of Buckner S. Morris, second Mayor of Chicago, see " Bench and Bar."

nobility. All whom he met accorded him at once their respect and confidence. In his commerce with man- kind, whether with the high or the humble, he was always a courteous gentleman. He was the contem- porary of, and lived on terms of intimacy with, some of the greatest men our country has produced, and though his life was mainly devoted to business, in comprehen- sive grasp of mind, in nobility of character, in all that goes to make the perfect citizen and the useful man, he was the peer of all. He was born on the 15th of June, 1805, in the town of Walton, Delaware Co., N. Y. His grandfather had been an officer in the Revolutionary War, and belonged to the Ogden family of Eastern New Jersey. Some time after the war he removed with a small colony of other officers and their families to the wild and picturesque region of Delaware County. Here a settlement was formed in the unbroken forest, and though the homes were rude, they were characterized by culture and a genuine hospitality. Amid such sur- roundings William was born and the first years of his life passed. He was born a pioneer, and he possessed the spirit of adventure and enterprise that belongs to the pioneer. Fond of athletic sports, he early became an adept with the rifle, and his boyhood was spent in learning the mysteries of wood-craft. Nor did he lose his natural taste for books and intellectual pursuits. His father's means warranted him in looking forward to one of the liberal professions for his career in life, and having chosen the law, he commenced his academic

studies. But his hopes were rudely shattered by the sudden ill-health and subsequent death of his father, and when little more than sixteen years of age he found himself the mainstay and support of his mother and his. younger brother and sisters. From this responsibility he did not shrink, and though the chosen avenue of life was closed to him, he knew that others would open to the faithful, honest and industrious worker. In the busy working-day world he did not intend to be a drone. The first years of his business life were moderately suc- cessful, but did not satisfy his ambition, and he began to cast about for other fields of labor, where the reward would be more in proportion to the enterprise. In the meantime, however, he did not cease to take an active interest in the public affairs of his native country, and in 1834 his fellow-citizens elected him to the Legislature of New York. The most notable thing in his legislative career was his advocacy of the New York & Erie Rail- road, then lately projected, and which was seeking State aid in its construction. Though he was not thirty years of age, he made a wise and prophetic speech, urging upon the Legislature the importance of timely aid to the great enterprise. Though the measure did not pass at that session the following year the aid was granted. Bur he still desired a wider theater for his operations and ambition, and in 1835 he removed to Chicago as the representative of a number of Eastern capitalists who, associated under the name of the American Land Com- pany, were making large investments in Chicago town lots, and other Western lands. Here he established a loan and trust agency, and commenced those vast operations and enterprises which resulted in making a small city a great one. His success was not unbroken. and the financial depression of 1837 found him impre- pared for the storm, mainly through his attempt to carry others. But he bravely struggled through, and after several years of unwearying exertion, he came out with untarnished name and credit. Those were indeed days of depression, discouragement aud gloom. The vision of the future greatness seemed to depart from Chicago forever, and the luekless holders of corner lots loathed

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the very sight of their possessions, and could not even give their lots away. Men subsequently became millionaires, because they could not sell their land at at any price during those days of desolation and de- spair. But if many lost faith, Ogden did not, and throughout all those trying years from 1837 to 1843 maintained a bold and courageous front. On the incor- poration of the city in 1837 Ogden was elect Mayor, over John H. Kinzie, the Whig candidate. In all mat- ters of public improvement he was untiring and zealous, and where it was possible always sought to place such improvements on a solid and enduring basis. Many street improvements he made at his own or the expense of those associated with him in his town property.

But the several years following 1837 were years of trouble. The prosperity of Chicago received a check, as did that of Illinois and the whole country. Business was prostrated. But worse than that; the State had embarked its credit in a vast system of internal im- provement. too costly for the time. The canal was abandoned, work on the railroad ceased; the State could pay no longer and was bankrupt. The debtors were in a vast majority and it was hard to pay debts, much harder to pay taxes. Then went up the coward and despairing cry of " Repudiation "-" Let us have stay laws, relief laws, anything to save us from our bitter enemies, the creditors!" Throughout the city and throughout the State only the wild and senseless clamor of repudiation was heard. In the city a meeting was called by frightened debtors and some dema- gogues, to take measures looking to the repudiation of the city debt. Inflammatory speeches greatly excited and made desperate many of the crowd, and everything looked as if dishonor would crown the city's brow. In the midst of the excitement Mr. Ogden stepped forward to address the crowd. The sentiment in favor of repu- diation appeared to be overwhelming, and it seemed like madness to endeavor to stay the whirlwind of des- . peration that was determined to sweep all before it. But he was equal to the great occasion. In a few well- chosen sentences he exhorted the citizens not to commit the folly of proclaiming their own dishonor. He be- sought those who were embarrassed to bear up against adverse circumstances with the courage of men, remem- bering that no misfortune was so great as personal dis- honor. That it were better to conceal misfortune than to proclaim it: that many a fortress had been saved by the courage of its inmates in concealing their weakness. " Above all things, do not tarnish the honor of our infant city." His eloquence prevailed, and to him, more than to any other one man is due the fact that the city's credit was saved. Nay more than that : the example of that time became a guide and a tradi- tion, and to it we owe that high sense of honor and financial integrity which has preserved the city's good name and fame against the schemes of all subsequent repudiators. Mr. Ogden's influence in this respect was felt throughout the State, and the honor of Illinois as well as of Chicago was saved. There can be no brighter page in any man's history than that which contains such a story as this. But this was not the only occasion when Mr. Ogden's power as an orator changed the temper of an angry and excited crowd. It was when he was building one of his Wisconsin railroads, He and others had obtained large stock subscriptions from the farmers and villagers along the line. Hard times came on, the road was not completed, but the subscriptions had all been paid. The people began to think they had been swindled, and Mr. Ogden was denounced as the chief offender. Threats against his life were made if he

should ever show himself in the country again. He heard of these threats, and against the counsel of his friends he called a public meeting and announced that he would address the people. A crowd of excited men gathered together, ready for almost any act of violence. He was received with hisses and groans, and at first could hardly be heard, but he appealed to their sense of fair play so effectively that at last they began to listen. Clearly and cogently he related the facts; spoke of hi- own losses and sacrifices; how unavoidably the work had been delayed. Then he showed what would be the effect of the completed road: how it would bring a mar- ket to every farmer's door, and would treble the value of every farm, and that if they would be patient a little longer all would be well. After he had finished a com- mittee was appointed to wait on him, not to lynch him, but to say : " Mr. Ogden, we are authorized by the farmers and the stockholders along the road, to say, if you wish it, we will double our subscriptions." Another display of his oratory was exhibited on a more pleasing occasion. In 1839 Oliver Newberry built a magnificent steamboat, and called it the Illinois. It was a Chicago steamer, and the citizens of Chicago determined to pre- sent it with a splendid flag worthy of such a vessel, and Mr. Ogden was selected to make the presentation speech. It was a beautiful day in summer, and the whole city turned out en masse to witness the spectacle. General Scott was present on the occasion. Standing on the deck of the steamer, General Scott by his side. and the commander of the vessel, Captain Blake. and the owner, Mr. Newberry, in front of him, Mr. Ogden commenced by speaking of the "splendid specimen of naval architecture" on which he stood, and of his pleasure in being the organ of presenting the appropriate gift to the steamer bearing the name of our State. He spoke of the wonderful advance our country was mak- ing, of the enlarged means of communication between the East and the West, binding together the Hudson. the Great Lakes and the Mississippi. He spoke of the prairie fires as the " Pillar of fire by night " lighting the path of Empire on its Western way. He paid a glow- ing tribute to the memory of Robert Fulton, but for whose genius the lake and the prairie around it would have still remained in the solitude of nature. Then turning to Captain Blake and unfurling the silken banner, he said : "We present to you our country's flag. To you it is no stranger; under a most valiant chief [bowing to General Scott] whom a grateful people have not forgot to praise, bravely and honorably have you defended it in war. Stand by it in peace. Stand by it forever." To recount the labors of Mr. Ogden in con- nection with the railroads of the Northwest would be to write a volume. He was called the " Railway King of the West." East, West and South he pressed his rail- road enterprises, and it was his desire to bring every farm in the Northwest within reach of a road. It was in April, 1849, that the first locomotive started west from Chicago. It drew a train ten miles from the city. It was the earnest of Chicago's greatness, That road was built by William B. Ogden. The panic of IN5; found Mr. Ogden heavily obligated as endorser for ti Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Railroad Company. but he weathered the storm successfully, without las. and without assistance from the hosts of friends who tendered him almost unlimited means during these try. ing times. It was at this time that a Scotch nobleman sent him the following note :

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History of Chicago. From the earliest period to the present time, Part 171

Author: Andreas, Alfred Theodore Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas Number of Pages: 1340

Author: Andreas, Alfred Theodore
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 1340