A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana : with many portrait-illustrations on steel, engraved expressly for this work, Volume II, Part 13

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1006

USA > Indiana > A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana : with many portrait-illustrations on steel, engraved expressly for this work, Volume II > Part 13

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well proved by his public services, it required but little effort on the part of his friends to secure for him the nomination for clerk of the Supreme Court of Indiana. In 1876 the Democratic State Convention chose him as its candidate for that high and responsible office, and, with the rest of the ticket, which his name did so much to strengthen, he was triumphantly elected. While not attached to any sect or creed, Mr. Schmuck is a be- liever in religion in its broadest and most liberal ac- ceptation. In politics he is a Democrat. He belongs to that class of men who believe that religion is a mat- ter of conscience, and therefore should not be interfered with, and that politics is a matter of principle, in which men may honestly differ. There is nothing intolerant in his nature. His tastes are refined. In manner he is affable, with sympathies that express themselves in kindness to associates, and charities where they are needed. He is appreciative of what is noble in men and grand in nature. Socially, he is a charming com- panion, vivacious, intelligent, and genial. Physically, he is finely proportioned, vigorous in action, with a large and well-formed head and a frank and manly countenance. In his present position he has widely ex- tended his circle of personal as well as political friends. It is not too much to say of him that no man in In- diana enjoys a greater degree of popularity, and, as he is still in the prime of life, we may look for him to receive further honors, although he could well afford to rest on the laurels he has already earned. It is need- less to say his abilities are equal to them.

HIDELER, D. B., Indiana manager of the Equi. table Life Assurance Society of the United States, was born on a farm in Grant County, Indiana, January 15. 1838. His parents were Aaron and Hannah (Jones) Shideler. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, but at an early day lived in Miami County, Ohio, and in 1833 settled in Grant County, In- diana. Mr. Shideler is of German descent on his father's side, and his maternal ancestry claimed the Emerald Isle as their birthplace. Until he attained his majority young Shideler alternated farm work in the summer season with attendance at the country schools in winter. With the exception of the ordinary school training acquired at the district schools in his native county, Mr. Shideler is entirely self-educated, but few men who have enjoyed the advantages of a collegiate course are better informed on general topics than he is. In early life his inclinations were for mechanical pur- suits, and he was apprenticed to learn the blacksmith's trade, at which he continued for five years. In 1864, in partnership with his brother, J. W. Shideler, he began merchandising in the town of Jonesboro. This connec-

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tion continued for five years, when he withdrew from the store. During the last four years of his experience as a merchant, he also devoted some time to local in- surance matters in his town, and, developing a marked adaptability for the business, for which he displayed a rare tact, he determined to devote his entire time to its prosecution. Very soon after the dissolution of partner- ship with his brother, Mr. Shideler located in Muncie, Indiana, where he was appointed to an agency for the New York Life Insurance Company. Here he remained one year, when he removed to the city of Indianapolis and accepted the state superintendency of the Union Central Life Insurance Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio. He held this place until August 1, 1875, when he re- signed to take charge of the Indiana department of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, of New York, a posi- tion he still holds. No man in the state is better known in insurance circles than Mr. Shideler, and his reputation as a man of sterling worth and unimpeach- able integrity is of the highest order. His connection with various orders and societies, in which he has been elected to high official positions, has made his name familiar to people in all parts of the West. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd-fel- lows since September 10, 1863. In May, 1865, he was admitted to the Grand Lodge of Indiana; in Novem- ber, 1872, was elected Grand Warden, and in Novem- ber, 1873, Deputy Grand Master. In the year 1874 he was elected to the position of Grand Master. He was elected representative from Indiana to the Grand Lodge of the United States at Philadelphia in 1876, and at Baltimore in 1877. He has been a mem- ber of the Masonic Fraternity since 1865, having joined the order in Jonesboro, Indiana. He was also a char- ter member of the Welcome Lodge, No. 37 Knights of Pythias, of Muncie, and was admitted to the Grand Lodge in 1874; was elected Grand Prelate in 1876, and July 1, 1877, was appointed Grand Keeper of Records and Seal, and has been continuously re-elected to that position ever since. Mr. Shideler's politics have always been of the Republican stripe, and his Church affilia- tions have been with the Methodists. He has been three times married: September 4, 1856, to Miss Re- becca A. Greer, of Grant County, Indiana; November 2, 1862, to Miss Sarah J. Eviston, of the same county. His last marriage occurred on January, 24, 1878, to Miss Mary L. Moore, daughter of Edward and Lucinda Moore, of Franklin, Indiana. Mr. Shideler's family consists of two sons, J. E. and George A. H. Shideler. The former, who acts as his father's cashier and book- keeper, is considered a young man of high promise, and in business tact and energy bids fair to yet occupy a foremost position among the business men of the state. In personal appearance Mr. Shideler is a gentleman of portly build, of the proportions popularly known as

aldermanic. As a business man of integrity and worth, and a public-spirited citizen, he is universally popular and respected.

HOEMAKER, JOHN CHAPMAN, was born in the county of Perry, Indiana, April 8, 1826, and is therefore fifty-four years of age. He is tall, being six feet in height, of sinewy frame, well propor- tioned and well preserved, bidding fair to maintain his mental and physical vigor until he reaches the allotted age of threescore and ten years. His father, John Shoemaker, was a native of Pennsylvania, and of Ger- man extraction ; and his mother, Sarah (née Chapman), was a native of New York, and of English lineage. Whatever may be said of ancestry, and it must be con- fessed that it exerts a potent influence upon physical and mental organisms, it will be admitted that in seek- ing for the elements of success and in tracing intellectual endowments to their ancestral source, no better blend- ing of blood could be found than of the German and the English people. It is noted for tenacity of purpose, courage, and fortitude, and for indefatigable effort in all the affairs of life, and from no ancestral trees have sprung a greater number of self-made men. Those who have studied the growth and development of self-made men have found incidents in their boyhood life foreshad- owing their future success, and Mr. Shoemaker's juvenile record is not an exception to the rule. When a mere lad, bashful and retiring, an incident occurred which illustrates an element of character always found prom- inently developed in men who have made headway while relying upon themselves. The officers of a Sun- day-school in which young Shoemaker was a pupil offered as a prize to the scholar who should commit to memory and recite the largest number of verses of the New Testament within a specified time a handsome Bible. On the next Sunday a boy who was thought to be a prodigy, and who was expected to bear off the prize, recited four chapters. The village was full of his praise, and all were unanimous that the prize had been won at one bound. This was disheartening to most of the other boys of the school, and all effort to win the Bible ceased. Not so with young Shoemaker; he quietly made up his mind to take that Bible. He did not boast, no one knew of his determination; but he went to work, and when the school again assembled he presented himself for a trial with his competitor. He recited nine chapters of the Bible. He astonished the people, utterly discomfited his rival, and bore off the prize, which he still retains. On another occasion, when only eleven years of age, the boy had been prom- ised to accompany his mother on a visit to relatives residing at a distance in an adjoining state; but from some cause he was left behind. The disappointment

In be showmaken

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was most grievous. The boy's grief was so manifest that his father said to him, "If you will follow your mother by yourself, I will let you go." The proposition was at once accepted. The distance was several hundred miles. A steamboat came along, the boy was placed on board, arriving at the place of debarkment on the river at an early hour in the morning. He learned the direction to the town in the interior, some sixteen miles distant, and by twelve o'clock had joined his mother. Such incidents evince self-reliance, so neces- sary to success, and, when displayed in youth, point to success in future life. The father of the subject of this sketch was a farmer. The son adopted the same vo- cation, and until 1870, when he became a citizen of In- dianapolis, was prominently identified with the agricul- tural interests of his native county and of the state. He devoted much attention to fruit culture, and became justly distinguished as one of the leading pomologists of the West, having planted in his native county one .of the largest fruit farms of the state. On the 13th of October, 1850, he was married to Mahala Stephenson, daughter of Judge John Stephenson, one of the earliest settlers of Perry County, a native Virginian, who first emigrated to Kentucky and later to Indiana, where he was justly regarded as one of the most influential citi- zens of the county. There have been born to Mr. Shoe- maker seven children, four of whom are living. The eldest, Mary Virginia, born November 24, 1851, is the wife of Mr. J. C. Straughan, and resides in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Emma Ann, born October 12, 1855, is the wife of Mr. George C. Pearson, residing in In- dianapolis ; Charles Francis and Jesse Theodore, twins, were born February 25, 1866. They are sprightly lads of fourteen years, and are students of St. Minard Col- lege. During the period of Mr. Shoemaker's school years, Perry County, like many other portions of the state, was sadly deficient in educational facilities, and he enjoyed only such opportunities to obtain an educa- tion as were afforded by the common subscription schools. These were not neglected, and by dint of close application, which induced studious habits, an education was obtained which fully equipped the boy for high positions of public trust in early manhood. In 1847, when Mr. Shoemaker was only twenty-one years of age, he was elected treasurer of Perry County, an office, then as now, which demands not only first- class business habits, but an integrity so sturdy as to be universally recognized by the best citizens of the county. In the capacity of county treasurer Mr. Shoemaker served six years. At the close of his official term as treasurer, 1853, he was elected auditor of the county, serving four years. During his ten years' service as treasurer and auditor he became practically familiar with the entire routine of county business. Being emi- nently practical, a close observer, and a diligent student,

he was able to discover the defects in the statutes relat- ing to county and township affairs, which, at a later day, he was in a position to point out and remedy. Up to 1854 Mr. Shoemaker had been a Whig, but, when the old party disbanded and the fanatical wave of Know- Nothingism swept over the land, he, like thousands of others, became a Democrat, and has continued since that time an influential member of the Democratic party, and his distinguished services to the state as legislator and state auditor have been rendered since the disbandment of the old Whig party. In the year 1858, when Mr. Shoemaker was thirty-two years of age, he was elected state Senator for the district composed of the counties of Perry, Spencer, and Warrick. The nominating convention was held in Rockport, Spencer County, and was attended with some of those in- felicities of deliberation which occasionally appear in the best regulated parties. Hon. David T. Laird, a gentleman prominent at that time, and since, in the political affairs of those sections of the state, was Mr. Shoemaker's opponent, bringing to his aid large capacities as a platform orator, a department of political affairs in which Mr. Shoemaker never made any pre- tensions. The contest was vigorous, but resulted in the success of Mr. Shoemaker, and aside from all partisan or personal considerations, regarding only the welfare of the state, the triumph of Mr. Shoemaker may be re- garded in the light of a public benefaction. As a state Senator, he was able to impress his views upon the statutes of the state in matters of the highest impor- tance, and in this regard it would be difficult to name his peer. Mr. Shoemaker is a thinker rather than an orator-indeed, he makes no pretensions to oratory ; never ornate, he is always utilitarian. He deals with the surface only to find the fundamental right or wrong. Hle disregards fringe, devoting his attention to the fabric ; caring little for the ornamental, he seeks for the substantial ; and these elements of character and habits of thought were never of more service to the state than when brought to bear upon the entire frame-work of legislation relating to township affairs, and the laws ap- pertaining to placing descriptions of land upon tax duplicates ; dispensing with separate columns for the different taxes. Under the old régime, the affairs of townships were managed by a board of three trustees, a secretary and a treasurer. This gave for the entire state about four thousand five hundred township of- ficials. This cumbersome and necessarily complicated machinery, resulting in inefficiency and friction, was, by bills introduced by Mr. Shoemaker, abandoned, and in its stead the affairs of townships were placed under the control of one trustee, who acts as secretary and treas- urer; an army of three thousand five hundred township officials was at once dispensed with, and township busi- ness has not suffered by the change. Indeed, no legis-

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lator of any party would risk his reputation in recom- mending the re-establishment of the old system. In the matter of condensing taxes upon the books of county auditors, the recommendations of Mr. Shoe- maker illustrate his practical views; instead of having columns for each specified tax, requiring large books and immense labor, the whole tax is stated in one column, and then, by a simple arithmetical process, the amount due each separate fund is apportioned. This change has resulted in a saving to the state of thousands of dollars in the items of land assessment books and tax duplicates, and the saving of labor to county auditors in the aggregate can hardly be estimated. Such things illustrate an important element in Mr. Shoemaker's business character-close attention to details, the correc- tion of what appear as small errors, but which in their influence upon public affairs are apt to develop into serious inconveniences, if not flagrant wrongs. It is. not a difficult matter to generalize, but in the serious affairs of life, public or private, the demand for close attention to details is always important; no amount of glitter atones for a lack of close investigation, severe scrutiny, and thorough analysis. Such work always demands unwearying patience, unbending fidel- ity, with capacities to apply the remedy when the defect is found. As a legislator, few men have held seats in the Senate of Indiana who have developed larger re- sources for usefulness than Mr. Shoemaker ; for, though more than two decades of years have passed since he offered the measures remodeling the system of township laws, they remain practically unchanged upon the statute-books of the state. In the year 1868 Mr. Shoe- maker was elected a member of the Lower House of the Legislature, in which body he again brought into prominence the same practical views of legislation that so eminently distinguished him while a member of the Senate. During his term as Senator in 1861, regular and special sessions of the Senate, the excitement pecul- iar to the time reached every legislative body in the land. Party feeling ran high. The great rebellion was taking shape, and hourly growing in its alarming pro- portions. It was a time for testing any man by his acts, his words, and his votes. But Mr. Shoemaker was then equal to the occasion and its demand. Every act and vote was for the preservation of the Union at all hazards, as the records show. In the year 1870 Mr. Shoemaker was nominated and elected Auditor of State, receiving in the nominating convention the solid vote of the delegates of the First and Second Congressional Dis- tricts, in which, as Senator and Representative, he had been specially identified. The office of Auditor of State is one scarcely second in importance to that of Governor; for, in matters pertaining to the fiscal affairs of the state, the statute makes it his duty to "suggest plans for the improvement and management of the public

revenues, funds, and incomes," a duty that was per- formed by Mr. Shoemaker in such a way as to attract wide attention, and give him a position in the front rank of the practical financiers of the country. In this connection, it is proper to remark that when Mr. Shoe- maker entered upon the duties of Auditor of State the Legislature was in session, and adjourned without pass- ing the usual appropriation bills, leaving the Auditor of State to encounter all the embarrassments and re- sponsibilities consequent upon such a serious omission of duty. But Mr. Shoemaker proved himself equal to the task, and demonstrated unusual abilities in meeting the demand upon his office. As a result, none of the public charities of the state, nor any of the general in- terests of Indiana suffered any embarrassments, or were required to abate their efficiency; and the public ex- penditures during his term of office were less than for any similar period during the preceding ten years, when state affairs were in the hands of the Republican party. During his term of office as Auditor of State, the entire . system of state finance was radically changed, and en- tirely new statutes were enacted, which have proved of almost incalculable benefit to the commonwealth, and which may be justly regarded as a monument to his official fidelity and statesmanlike sagacity. He at once comprehended the fact that the interests of the great body of the producing classes had seriously suffered on account of vicious legislation, or no legislation, relating to the revenues of the state, and at once, upon entering upon the discharge of his duties of state Auditor, the whole subject was thoroughly investigated. Every omis- sion and defect was noted, and a remedy suggested. To make the work thorough, Mr. Shoemaker made himself familiar, by personal examination, extended correspondence, and patient study, with the revenue laws of most of the states, and especially the older commonwealths, where the study of finance, and all matters relating to revenue, had received the attention of the best minds of their citizens and officials. As a result, the revenue laws of Indiana underwent an entire revision. The task was one of no ordinary char- acter. To tear down is always easy, to construct is always difficult. The revenue laws of a state are vital. To change them involves responsibilities of the gravest character. To insure success, mental endowments rarely found must be secured; and it is the eulogy of fact and of history to say that Mr. Shoemaker met the re- quirement. Having made himself familiar with all the details of taxation, and with all the resources of the state ; having patiently sought out the imperfections of the old, and knowing the remedy, it was left to him to prepare the revenue laws to take the place of the old, and to inaugurate an entirely new system. This was done in a bill containing three hundred sections, which was adopted by a Legislature having a majority polit-

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ically opposed to Mr. Shoemaker, without changing or | that the Constitution has been neglected, set aside, seeking to change so much as one word. Such a tri- made a dead letter with regard to assessments, and the just comprehension of the fundamental idea upon which Mr. Shoemaker constructed his revision of the revenue laws is so well set forth in this report as to entitle his views to a place in this sketch. He said : umph has rarely, if ever, fallen to the lot of an official, even when his recommendations have sought the ap- proval of a Legislature in which his political friends held power. Nor was this all; but, to make the ap- proval of the Legislature more emphatic than the adop- tion of the measure conveyed, the Committee of Ways and Means of the House, and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, passed resolutions of thanks to Mr. Shoe- maker for preparing the bill. The resolution of the Ways and Means Committee was as follows:

" Resolved, by the Committee of Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, General Assembly of 1872, That the thanks of this Committee be, and they are hereby, tendered to Hon. John C. Shoemaker, Au- ditor of State, for preparing a bill entitled, An Act to Provide a Uniform Assessment of Property, and for the Collection and Return of Taxes Thereon; and that a copy of this resolution be presented to Mr. Shoemaker. " Attest, J. C. BURNETT, " Clerk of Committee."

The foregoing resolution possesses increased value from the fact that General Kimball, then late Repub- lican Treasurer of State, was chairman of the com- mittee, and the Hon. D. C. Branham, one of the ablest Republicans of the state, now deceased, was a member of the committee. A majority of the House and Sen- ate committees were Republicans. The conclusion is, therefore, inevitable that the indorsement of the bill was based alone upon its merits, and that they were such as to overcome all partisan influences. The wis- dom of the action of the Legislature of 1872 may be still further inferred from the fact that, with unimpor- tant modifications, Mr. Shoemaker's bill is still the law of the state. In the year 1872 Mr. Shoemaker issued his second report as Auditor of State. As a state doc- ument, this report is not only a model one, but in many regards it was without an example in the history of the state. It was, in its dealings with matters of supreme importance to the state, a new departure, though Mr. Shoemaker, in preparing it, simply obeyed the law re- lating to his duties. Mr. Shoemaker, not content in showing what had been done, proceeds to demonstrate by facts and figures what ought to have been done ; and in this review of defects and the remedies suggested gives not only prominence but lasting value to the re- port. Mr. Shoemaker quotes the Constitution for the foundation of his whole argument relating to the revis- ion of the revenue laws of the state. The Constitution declares that "the General Assembly shall provide by law for a uniform and equal assessment and taxation, and shall prescribe such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for taxation of all property, both real and personal." The report, in the discussion of the rev- , enue laws of the state, starts out upon the hypothesis

" No system of taxation is just unless equal and uni- form, and this is the spirit of our Constitution, that each citizen shall be made to bear the burden of gov- ernment in proportion to his ability to pay. This just and fair revenue doctrine of our state Constitution has not always been observed with that fidelity to the pub- lic good that justice and sound policy seem to require, and the undue influence of moneyed corporations has done much to demoralize legislation in this particular. It is a fact too notorious to require exemplification, that corporate power has been extending itself in every direction until it is not unsafe to say that a large pro- portion of our revenue legislation has been controlled or guided by its powerful influence. So bold and dan- gerous has become this power, creating legislation, shaping or preventing it, with equal facility, that, in my judgment, the matter should receive the serious at- tention of the Legislature, and whatever means the state has for protection from these encroaching corporate powers can not be too effectually or promptly ap- plied."

After stating the proposition clearly, relating to uni- form and equal rate of assessment and taxation, the report proceeds as follows:

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A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana : with many portrait-illustrations on steel, engraved expressly for this work, Volume II, Part 13

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1006

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1006