USA > Indiana > Grant County > Centennial history of Grant County, Indiana, 1812 to 1912 : compiled from records of the Grant county historical society, archives of the county, data of personal interviews, and other authentic sources of local information > Part 12
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A man must be a resident of Indiana six months, of Grant county sixty days and of any voting precinct thirty days before he is eligible to citizenship-the franchise. When the women become voters matty existing conditions will be changed. but till then -----. The sheriff, po- lice, marshals and constables represent the strong arm of the law, and in emergencies the force may be increased by drafting citizens into the service. An officer of the law is justified in defending himself, and bystanders must accede to his request if the circumstances render additional force a necessity. A patrolman may serve in citizen's clothes if thereby suspicion may be allayed and culprits brought to justice. All prisoners are committed to the county jail and are released or recommitted after appearing before the circuit judge or the mayor of the city. While Grant county makes no effort toward collecting a rogue's gallery, many noted criminals have been taken by officials of the city and county. The marshals of the different towns contribute to the galaxy of criminals-always vigilant in law enforcement.
When Marion was incorporated under city charter, May 7, 1889. A. J. Lemmox became chief of police and in turn the place has been filled by George Marsh, Carl Lewis, J. B. White, Lindsay Addington and Mr. White again before the present police chief, B. O. Phillips. Prior to that time the town trustees as in other towns of the county, had charge of the town government and when the peace and safety of the county seat was looked after by a marshal, a number of citizens distinguished themselves and in reverse order some of them were: 1 .. A. VonBehren, J. L. Fort, John Morehead. Davidson Cul- bertson, William Fitzgerald, Foster Hite-but it would require a vast amount of time and patience to run the records in all the towns, and in the mad rush of business people seem to have forgotten such things. The Goddess of Justice which has stood guardian of the peace ever since the Grant county court house was built, suffered the loss of an arm in the 1913 Easter storm, and future tranquillity is not assured, Tol. I-6
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but "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," and later historians may record the results.
VHL. MANUFACTURING-TRANSPORTATION
If there are two community interests that depend upon each other. it must be the factory and the carrier system, and since one local outhu siast declares that God located Indiana right in the center of things Grant county is fortunate. It is said there is more capital invested in manufacturing throughout the county than in any other line, and all points are well served by railway facilities. The money invested in property and paid for labor represents a big percent of capital, and the transportation companies have long recognized the different shipping stations, and to accommodate the populace has been the ambition of all.
A quarter of a century ago the watchword of the local enthusiast was natural gas- the commodity distributed county wide, and old residents have not forgotten the enthusiasm created when a new industry was ast ing a place by the municipal fireside the same spirit rife in all the county towns. Whenever a plug hat came to town a gas well was turned on. There was a glad hand and a word of welcome, and all set Hled down to build up a center of thrift -the entire community being in the center of things -geographically and politically and everybody inclined To make the most of it. There was lavish expenditure of na ture's pentup forces-gas was allowed to be shipped away. although there were many wiseaeres who said let Indianapolis and Chicago come to tirant county if they wanted to enjoy her products. There was fabulous growth in population, and those who have lived through the era of progress still have confidence in the future of the community In time there have been many changes, and there are some who re member when Marion was in the center of heavily timbered country although coal, gas, off and electricity have all been used as fuel and this is the age in which to "toneh the button" is the treessaly thing.
When one commodity disappears another is supplied. and there seems to be an abundant supply in the store house of the universe. linhana occupies third rank among the states of the Union as a man- ufacturing center and Grant does not take second place in the list of " counties. Marion and surrounding towns all have superior advantages and the future as a manufacturing center is full of promise. While the county is not located on an ineshaustible coal bed, there is no het ter location for the finished product anywhere in the United States It has the splendid geographical location and excellent shipping facili ties so essential to the growth of any community. It is close to the great market centers, a feature always considered by capitalists when looking for safe investments. Through its Connuereial club only a few years ago Marion raised $100,000 as a factory fund, and the effort has been duplicated in all the towns on less colossal seale. Additions have been made to permanent institutions and new ones have been added and growth has been apparent.
Any city must have more than fuel to offer-must have factory sites and shipping facilities, and af Grant county is in position to court investigation. Factories and mills are not operated withont la bor and skilled laborers must have modern accommodations to induce them to take up their residence in any locality. When the toil of the day is completed. home is the objective point and many of the worl. ing men of Grant county live in comfortable homes of their own, and
HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY
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RAILROAD PASSENGER STATIONS IN MARION
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY
when there are extensive pay rolls in factories the money is spent in the local trade centers. The county has as much to offer in the way of residence and factory sites as any community in Indiana and added to its geographical location-the center of population in the United States having been near by in the last three census reports, there is no reason why "Greater" cannot be applied to every center in the county -- Greater Marion extended to all the boundaries. The distance to Indianapolis and other centers is great enough that Grant county business interests do not suffer on account of such competition, and local merchants are always abreast of the times-anticipate the wants of their customers.
There is great variety in the output of Grant county factories, and skilled labor has long been enlisted in the manufacturing plants. Just as Indiana is the first state in the Union in diversified crops, Grant county leads in its variety of manufactured prodnets. It is said that Grant county products encircle the globe, and that people who go away come back again, and it must be there is a spirit of loyalty to home industries. People who have invested their money and have made Grant county their home have been satisfied from the beginning -never lived where they liked it so well, and they have been received into so cirty, and have never felt themselves at a loss for amusement. They could not all have been born here, and people have been quick to for- give them and forget their misfortune, and make them feel at home in their new environment. Skilled laborers usually seek wives of cul- ture and refinement, and they usually come from attractive surround- ings, and it has always been the watchword-make them feel at home in Grant county. The inducements to happy homelife are nowhere surpassed, the street railway accommodations are unexcelled, and a five cent fare with transfer privilege enables them to reach any point the factories are in easy access, and it is possible to live hear by or a long distance from the place of employment.
These industrial eenters will all be enumerated in the biographical section of this Centennial History, but a little study of pay rolls would convince the most skeptical that Grant county is not without resources, and as a manufacturing venter it is to the front. The network of steam and electric railways that intersect the county is a source of pride to all of its people, and although the citizens of Marion would have welcomed a union railway station all hope was abandoned when in 1895 the Pennsylvania station was built, and all the roads now maintain separate stations-four very handsome structures, and other lowns are equally well treated. With the converging railway and frae- tion lines centering in Marion, its commercial boundaries are greatly extended, and "Greater Marion" includes many outside places when it comes to reckoning its business relations. A commercial map of Marion would not coincide with the political map of Grant county, the seat of government not being centrally located, and contiguous ter- ritory north and east contribute much to its commercial interests.
In the matter of railway stations one citizen said: "All the ram- shackles are gone --- have disappeared, and Grant county people are so used to up to date service that they have forgotten them, " and visitors who always get their first impression of the community at the railway station are favorably impressed at the beginning. Some of the roads' have imbibed the civie spirit. and are doing many things to beautify their station property. It is to the interest of the companies that the citizens of any given community prosper, and they are contributing to that prosperity when they present a beautiful appearance to the stranger who visits the town. Among public utilities transportation is one of the foremost considerations. The twentieth century is an era
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY
of high pressure, and the placid view that maintained some few de- cades gone by when the business of the world was conducted along lines at once dignified and marked with slowness that may at once be denominated conservatism, is no longer applicable to the rush of pres- ent day activities. Changes come about and events succeed one an- other in lightning like rapidity, and in nothing is progress more ap- parent than in methods of transportation.
Grant county is well served in the way of shipping facilities, and "ear shortage" is seldom a local condition. Merchants and manufac- turers alike commend the dispatch with which their business is handled by the different competing systems. All of the roads offer main line facilities to passengers and shippers alike, and the county offers un- paralleled facilities to the manufacturer. wholesaler or jobber who must handle either raw materials or manufactured articles. All of the roads maintain freight offices in addition to their splendid passen- ger service, and consignments are sent and received from all parts of the world. While there is a variety of climate in Indiana, many Grant
END OF MIMION STREET RAILWAY LINE IN 1891
county people with money at their command go and come at pleasure. some of them saying it costs but little more to winter in Florida or Cal- ifornia than to buy heavy underwear and remain at home, but a mild winter causes all tourists to wish they had remained "by the stuff." Factories and railways are ahke conservative in giving out data as to the volume of business transacted annually, but the passenger and freight business every year runs into money rapidly. Approximate figures ouly are obtainable, corporation business and private affairs being of greatest concern to those conducting them.
When natural gas was discovered in 1887 the volume of business increased rapidly and one new road has been built since that time, and while the traction lines compete for local business, they bring people from so many points who prefer taking the trains in the larger con- ters. They have educated the people in travel until there are more long distance passengers than when the steam cars were the only means of reaching other points. The Pennsylvania System ran the first train through the county in 1868, and unique in its history the Marion sta- tion is the halfway point between Chicago and Columbus-the station sign showing 157.3 miles to be the exact distance in either direction.
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The Big Four was the second road built across the county, and it has been in more direct competition with the traction lines, and while its business between Wabash and Anderson may not be large its increased long distance travel more than compensates the loss, and cheap trans- portation has developed the inclination for travel which benefits all the roads. The Narrow Gauge served its day and the Clover Leaf cable along in the eighties, and close to the end of the century the C. & O. was placed on the map of the county, four roads passing through the county seat while a fifth road serves the southern half of the county, and traetion lines penetrate in all directions.
The railroad freight and ticket agents see the world without iray eling far themselves, all sorts of people making up the world of travel. and it is worth while to turn aside and listen to a story. The tourist was of the Fatherland type had distinctive whiskers and unmistak- able brogue. The German was apparent in all of his actions. He ap- proached the ticket window: " What time the train goes nort'?" being told that it went at 1:56. In a little while he tapped again : "What time next train goes nort'?" and was told that it went at 8:11, when both tourist and agent setiled down again. When he inquired again, he was told the next train north would be the next morning at 9:40, and then he asked: " What the fare be?" and when asked to what point he wished to go, he said: "Fairmount." When foreigners are congregating about the station they ask a great many questions, finally paying their money, and leaving the community. The Pennsylvania line has a double track through the county, and when the (. & O. was putting in concrete in 1912, it provided for two tracks if neces- sary.
Under existing conditions people may go and come at any hour in the day, and distance is annihilated in Grant county, The interur- ban lines bring the people to a common center, and every hour in the day the populace of the surrounding country is landed on the public square in Marion, and people wonder how they lived without the mod- ern transportation facilities. Stage coach stories are like a page From the history of some other country, and yet there was a stage and the United States mail used to be carried on horseback across the country. Travel is no longer a bugbear, and nowadays people call up by tele- phone and their friends know in advance that they are enroute. The splendid transportation service soon brings absent friends, and the home folk answer the call on shortest notice. The interurban system of travel has been the greatest boon in modern history. While elec- tricity has been utilized in many ways, more people are benefited by it as applied to propelling cars than in any other way- five cents takes a man home.
While it was the discovery of natural gas in 1887 that really placed Grant county on the industrial map of Indiana, when it failed the industries of the community did not collapse, and electricity and pro- dnver gas-coal being shipped into the territory,-have been overbal- aneed by the proximity of the finished article to the markets of the world. The industries of the county are not of transient type-local capital operating them, and many supplies are consumed in the home market. The " Made in Marion" exhibit early in 1912 awakened many to the variety of local products, and parts of the exhibit could have been duplicated in other towns, and with the $75 000 weekly payroll in Marion factories largely duplicated, the Grant con to laboring man is above want after one hundred years in local history There have been few labor disturbances in local factories, the relations between capi- tal and labor being harmonious as compared with many other manu- facturing centers. What was once an agrienltural community wholly
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has been transformed within a generation and those who hark back to trading post days in Marion are not so few they may be counted on the lingers. To them the growth of the community has had the touch of magie in it.
IX. FINANCE WEALTH OF GRANT COUNTY
There have been great changes in the economic life of Grant county in its first one hundred years of history. While the emphasis was once placed on agriculture, it has shifted largely to a commercial basis, and while land values are subject to change and are fluctuating, about one- third of the thirty million dollars accredited as the wealth of the county is now centered in other than rural investments. While all once depended upon rural prosperity, eivie conditions demand consideration. There was a natural wealth of timber when the settlers came, but cleared land was worth more to them until markets were established, butt with the coming of the Pennsylvania railway conditions changed and A. C. Kidd, of New York, represented by his brother, William Kidd, soon had walnut lumber piled at every siding, and from that day the settlers realized the value of the timber- small fortunes having been tied up in the inside finish of many pioneer homesteads.
Grant county has always been rich m natural resources, and now that conservation has become the watchword, its people can accommo- date themselves to circumstances. Rapid wealth with corresponding inequalities in its distribution has followed the change. When riches lake wings they usually exceed the speed limits and, all uninvited, pov- erty has found its way into economic conditions. Absolute freedom from poverty brings about a boastful sort of patriotism which is not well pleasing in the sight of God or man, and too many people come to look upon their advantages as theirs by personal rights, while they were simply fortunate in point of inheritance. Every one should strive to treat Dame Fortune so that her smiles will not degenerate into a horse laugh. When the timber wealth was exhausted, soil fertility was the next prodigality, and while some have improved their opportunity, others have buried their talents. It is said that God's blessings do one of two things, they either make people kroner in his service or dull their moral sensibilities. When first things become first things there will be a different estimate placed on money. Today the basis of eredit in business relations is not so much money as character. Different per- sous have widely different standards, and while one man would rather leave a erib of com than a library to his posterity, others, like Mary of old, have chosen the better part, and money is not the only incentive.
While character or citizenship is wealth, it has no exchange value in the open market. No matter how much one's own experience may cosi him, he must foot the bills himself. The physically strong, well developed young man whose head and hands are educated by the stern schoolmaster of necessity is fortimate, compared with the profligate son of a rich father who must beg when thrown upon his own resources, and when the husband and father has a good job -- the family is rich in its independent character. "Who steals my purse steals trash." said the bard of Avon, and yet a bank account does give a man the necessary confidence in himself, restores equilibrium and promotes tranquility - a sort of a minor chord in the music. A bank deposit when a man can look the whole world in the face is a subdued force in his nature, and it is all right to work for money. While Few under- stand the currency bill, many know what to do with the paper dollar.
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Every man is a law unto himself, and if he carries the key to his own door he is the owner of a castle. There are unsearchable riches as long as one is exempt from suspicion, and Joseph finally escaped the prison in Potiphar's house because he had character-self-respect. although many Grant county folks are still in bondage in the worst forms of servitude. There are prisoners of sin who do not assert them selves, and wealth does not release thet.
Speaking of finance, the mind reverts to money -bank accounts Wealth may consist of many things, houses, lands, stocks-the word has different interpretations. The ability to do a day's work is the capital of some, and idle money is never an advantage. Since every man is the architect of his own fortune he amust be a financier, and soule- times he looks far enough into the future to allow his wife to manipulate the business- to regulate the economy of the family. It is conceded that women are the financial agents, and any one who would have ends mret must use judgment in business matters. Every man wants his money's worth or he don't want a cent. and yet some have most indefi- nite standards. Abe Martin says: "What we want in this country is an elastic enrreney that will stretch from one Saturday till another, and that is as much as some ever study finance. The grocer and the butcher always sing: "A charge to keep I have." on Sunday, but they go to the theater on Monday to see if those who owe them are still in town, and reasonably expect to get their money. While money burns some men's pockets, and the Fellow who finds a dollar seldom works any more until he spends it, in seeking a wife the average Grant county young man does not object if she has a farm or bank account - can love such a girl equally as well as one steeped in poverty, and if the love of money is the root of all evil, some are not conscientions about it.
It is unwise and unjust to judge a man by the clothes he wears, although it is a woman's privilege to dress as well as she can. Some people from whom better things might be expected hold that the man who dresses with exceeding elegance and display is lacking in brain development, and there are not many fashion plates in the business world. Some writers are capitalists, use I's indiscriminately, and yet there is truth in the old saw: " "Fis not in titles nor in rank. 'Tis not in wealth like London's bank, If happiness have not her seat and center in the breast, We may be wise, or rich, or great, But never call be blest," and rich men are not always on Easy street - are not exempt from worry. "They were happier then than now," is said of the pio- neers who had few comforts, few of the commodities purchased with wealth. The political economist quote Karl Mark, saying : " Labor produces wealth," that under the system capital controls all oppor- tunities while every man has inalienable rights, that labor makes capital operative and pays the cost of operation -- pays everything, and sum. ming it all up the solution is efficiency.
The financial situation is not wholly controlled by the hand that rocks the cradle, but the woman must be competent as well as the man or it is a one-sided struggle. The more efficient the man the greater his ability in the battle of bread, and the greater his confidence in himself, the greater the confidence of others in him -- and thus self- assurance is incontrovertible capital. While bragadocia may not always win, others are apt to place about the same estimate on a man that he has upon himself, and the man who thinks he can usually wins. There are men in Grant county whose capital stock has been their own deter- mination, and these men have accumulated competencies. The increase of wealth in the whole country, in Indiana, in Grant county, is unpar- alleled in history in its rapidity.
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Just as local citizenship begins its second century, the evidence of prosperity is everywhere present, and it is easy to say : "Let well enough alone," and yet this is an age of material progress and advance- ment. The people of Grant county support current benevolencies in a generous way, and congratulate the times upon their benefactions. They have been a loyal citizenry when demands have been made upon them, and beyond question this has been a favored country. Self- absorption and self-flattery in a patriotism that has neither vision nor conscience, has been the danger, and local citizenry should profit by the experience of older nations-the earth is the Lord's, but there are evils all about, and the man who is settled on a competency. is well fixed financially, too often shuts his eyes to conditions about him- the growing oppression among his own people, and "if evil days are to come as a result of conditions we might control, dare we Hatter our- selves that it will not be in our time -are we not the keepers of those who come after us? Are we inclined to take things easy, and not get excited over matters which are in the distance ?"
There is such a thing as being morally nearsighted as well as morally farsighted, and some are so afflicted with moral astigmatism as to be morally color blind when the pocket book is under considera- tion, and rertifying glasses made of common sense and reason are a necessity. While some men are blind to their own moral obligations, and it requires courage to welcome the evil day and it is human to seek to postpone it, with advanced civilization have come changed condi tions, and things that were once the luxuries of life have now become its necessities, and the raising of the standard of living means dollars and cents to any community. If it means raising the standard of offi- vieney this higher standard-this increased cost of living --- may become a blessing no matter how complete the disguise. It is urged that these advantages that come with increased wealth, these twentieth century adjunets to higher living --- bath tubs, electric lights, steam heat and quick transportation-are not so much intended to make life casier as to render it more effective, to make citizens stronger and better able to do things.
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