USA > Indiana > Monroe County > Bloomington > Historic treasures: true tales of deeds with interesting data in the life of Bloomington, Indiana University and Monroe County--written in simple language and about real people, with other important things and illustrations > Part 35
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The charge has been many times made that Indiana has been indif- ferent to her history to the point of culpability. There has been, so to speak, no official recognition of the
value of documents, and even state and local records of importance have been discarded as junk, to the grief and wrath of those of the latter day who are historically minded. Sev-
enty years ago Samuel Merrill told us of laws, records and other papers relating to the business of the terri- tory that were not to be found in the office of the secretary of state, and added that twenty-seven years before that some clerk in the state's service at Corydon "complained of being troubled with useless papers," in con- sequence of which a legislative com- mittee was appointed to pass upon and burn such papers. Soon after, a citizen desired a paper of importance and when he found that it had been consigned to the bonfire he "de- nounced the committee as being no more fit for their business than hogs for a parlor."
Instances of Loss of Material.
In the Indianapolis Daily Journal for May 4, 1857, we find two inter- esting instances of loss cited. The first, taken from the Vincennes Ga- zette reads:
It is surprising how little attention has been bestowed upon the docu- ments, papers, records, etc., pertain- ing to the early history of Indiana and the Northwestern territory. It is doubtful whether there is a complete copy of the records of the territorial legislature now in existence. One in- stance will suffice to show what little importance has been attached to such documents by those who should have preserved them. Shortly after the removal of the capital of the state to Indianapolis all the records, papers, etc., pertaining to the early history of the territory, which had been col- lected in Vincennes as the capital, were packed in two large dry goods boxes and stored away in an old frame building which was liable to be de- stroyed by fire at any time. The secretary of state was notified of their condition and requested to take charge of them. That officer never made any reply to the letter inform- ing him of the facts. As a conse- quence no one knows or can tell what became of most of these papers and documents. It is known that many of them were messages, communications, etc., in the handwriting of General Harrison, and military orders, and in- formation respecting the movements of the Indians, Americans, etc., of an invaluable character, to the historian. But these have all been lost or de- stroyed, with possibly a few excep- tions, which may have been made by the Historical Society of Vincennes.
The Journal adds this:
When the old building on the Gov- ernor's Circle in this city was re- moved there was a large number of old papers of an official character, bearing date prior to the formation of Indiana territory into a state. They were thrown on to the ground and scattered to the four winds. A few were saved by several persons who had curiosity enough to cull from the heap those of the most interesting character. They should all have been saved and kept among the historical archieves of the state.
Valuable Papers Sold as Waste.
When the material in the old State- house had to be shifted to make way for the erection of the present one,
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quantities of papers of unknown values were, it has been affirmed, sold by the janitors as waste; and so instances of stupidity are cited all along the line. In many, perhaps the majority, of our county seats to the present day there is little attempt to find what is of historical value hidden away in corners of the courthouses. It is a notorious fact among those interested that historical societies from other states have repeatedly carried from under our noses source material that they appreciated while we did not. In brief, so far as public interest in such things is concerned, the average citizen of Indiana might appropriately be pictured with a question mark arising from his cere- bration works, after the style so pop- ular with cartoonists, and the ques- tion mark might be interpreted as, "History ? What for? What is it all about ?"
"However, the purpose of this. ar- ticle is not to croak but to sound an optimistic note. If the signs of the times are fairly read there is much to be noted indicating that historical sentiment in the Hoosier state is on the up grade, and that the day is, perhaps, not far off when the average citizen will not ask "What is it all about ?" but will feel a reverential pride in his state's past that he has not hitherto known, and will realize that an evaluation of the experi- ences of the past and a consideration of them in proper proporition to the unfolding and experimental present is a distinct sociological asset.
Perhaps a compact survey of our present status along this line and our past growth in this direction will be timely just now.
The First Historical Society.
The pioneers of Indiana, as of all new counties, were, with rare ex- ceptions, makers and not writers or preservers of history, but neverthe- less we had at a very early day a thinking few who discerned the his- torical value in things and made an organized attempt to foster that sen- timent. This organization was the Historical Society of Vincennes, re- ferred to in the above quotation from the Vincennes Gazette. With one ex- ception all existing histories and even the contempororay files of the Vin- cennes Western Sun are quite silent as to the origin of this society, but Hubbard M. Smith, in his "Historical Sketches of Old Vincennes," has this to say:
In the year 1808 there was organ- ized the Vincennes Historical and An- tiquarian Society, following the or- ganization of the Vincennes Univer- sity, and. it was originally intended to be an adjunct to the latter institu- tion. This society flourished for some years, during which time many valuable books and paleontological specimens were accumulated. But just as the university was preparing to build up a flourishing institution the newly-fledged state of Indiana presumed that she owned everything in sight and proceeded to confiscate the university property. * * *
This unjust and unprecedented pro-
cedure not only paralyzed the school, but gave a death blow to the His- torical and Antiquarian Society, as it was to rise or fall with the university. It had accumulated many rare books and specimens of value, but from this time forward it eked out a sickly ex- istence, and finally gave up the ghost, and much of its property was lost, Many years afterward a few persons of a younger generation bought up all the shares of stock that were in ex- istence, and for a small consideration, conveyed the remaining assets of the society to the resusciated university which owns the library and antiqua- rian specimens.
Whether this society and the Vin- cennes library of that period were one and the same, or to what extent it accumulated unpublished material, as well as books, has not been dis- closed by the present writer's re- searches. The well-known brief his- tory of Vincennes by Judge Law was, according to its title page, originally read before the "Vincennes Historical and Antiquarian Society," in 1839.
The Indiana Historical Society.
In the Indiana Journal for Decem- ber 8, 1830, appeared this inconspicu- ous "card," in the advertising col- umns:
The members of the general assem- bly, the judges of the supreme and circuit courts, the Rev. clergy, gentle- men of the bar, physicians and citi- zens generally are requested to meet at the court house on Saturday even- ing next at 6 o'clock, for the pur- pose of taking into consideration the expediency of establishing and or- ganizing an historical society for the state of Indiana.
The response to this call was "a large and respectable meeting" of members of the legislature and citi- zens, and thus was launched the In- diana Historical Society, and organ- ization that has had the vitality to continue to the present day, though it has had its long and frequent periods. of hibernation. Its roster of membership through the years has shown the names of many prominent and public-spirited men, and this has given dignity and prestige to the so- ciety. Its avowed excuse for being, as with most historical societies, was the collection and preservation of historical material and "the promo- tion of useful knowledge touching the natural, civil and political history of the state." In carrying out these aims it has always been handicapped by the fact that it had no home of its own but in its local habitation has been shifted from pillar to post; which was, to say the least, inimical to the gathering and keeping of books and documents. In spite of that it once possessed a quite respect- able library, which has now been placed in the keeping of the State Library.
When the creation by the legisla- ture of 1913 of a department of his- tory and archieves in connection with the State Library the theoretical bur- den of "collecting and preserving" was removed from the old historical society, the new department assum-
ing that function. The tangible pro- duct of the Historical Society is a collection of published monographs, now aggregating six good-sized vol- umes. The larger proporition of these are of unquestioned value and some have been discovered and rescued from utter oblivion through the agency of the society.
Department of History and Archives.
The department of history and ar- chieves above referred to came into existence by a law of 1913, as an ad- dition to or expansion of the State Library. Its function is, "the care and custody of official archives which came into the possession of the State Library; the collection of material bearing upon the history of the state and of the territory included therein; the diffusion of knowledge in refer- ence to the history of the state, and the encouragement of historical work and research." Also, "the examina- tin and classification of documents and records not of present-day use to their respective departments." It is obvious that this law-created and popularly equipped institution, unless under positive maladministration, must be a long step toward the thing desired-the conservation of the state's historical material. It meant, first of all, that the business should be attended to by salaried persons especially trained for the work, where- as heretofore it had devolved upon a faithful few whose necessarily lim- ited efforts were given without money and without price. The department of history has amply justified its ex- istence, and what it has added to our ยท archieves, and what encouragement given to historical research is fruit- ful material for another story.
The Historical Commission.
The Indiana historical commission, created by an act approved March 8, 1915, covers a field not included in the scope of the department of his- tory. It is under the control of a nonsalaried commission of nine mem- bers, one of whom is the Governor of the state. The directors of the de- partment of history and of the his- torical survey of Indiana University are designated by law and the remain- ing six, appointed by the Governor, are chosen with reference to their historical interests. The Indiana His- torical Society is represented on the membership. The commission is au- thorized to employ such assistants as may be necessary to carry out its duties, and this has meant the main- tenance of an office with a director, an assistant director and stenographic assistance.
The first work of the commission was the promoting of the centennial celebration throughout Indiana in 1916, these including pageants and local and state demonstrations of va- rious kinds. The result of this work was a quickening all along the line such as Indiana had never before ex- perienced, and to it may be attributed the dawning of the historical sense that seems to be growing at the pres- ent time. Another function was the collecting, editing and publishing of documentary and other materials re-
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lating to the history of Indiana in pursuance of which several volumes have been issued.
World War Records. ~
Our entrance into the world war en- tailed a new work on the commission, which has been its chief charge since the close of the war. This is the col- lecting and arranging of records as nearly complete as possible of Indi- ana's part in the war-records not only of soldiers but also of all the civilian activities which the popula- tion at home carried on, and which was such a distinctive feature of this war. The result is the accumulation of a vast mass of material for the archieves and for the future war his- torian, and also the publication of several county war histories encour- aged by the commission. Publications drawn from the collected material are contemplated, one of these being al- ready issued. This is the "Gold Star Honor Roll," a work of considerable magnitude containing the portraits and sketches of all those from In- diana, both soldiers and nurses, who died in service. This memorial is the first of its kind in the United States.
Other duties of the commission are, "to co-operate with local and county historical societies and other organi- zations interested in Indiana history," and also with "patriotic and local his- torical organizations in marking his- torical sites and spots throughout the state. It has been instrumental in the establishment of county historical societies and in the stimulation of local interest in many places. Among its other activities it has been pro- moting historical and archaeological surveys by counties and it has had hold of the executive end of the an- nual history conference.
There are other agencies at work in the interest of Indiana history and that are making for the development of a "historical consiousness," such as the historical survey of Indiana University, the Society of Indiana Pioneers, the patriotic societies and other organizations, not forgetting the annual history conferences, three of which have been held and which represent the first effort at co-ordi- nation. The purpose here is not to dwell upon the scope of work of any of these, but to present an approxi- mate survey of the field that will serve to show where we are histori- cally and to point the way to certain conclusions. By it we find that, in the face of all the hard things that have been said about the bovine in- difference of the typical Hoosier on matters historical, there are a num- ber of living springs bursting forth and as many rivulets are trickling their various ways. Will the lay of the land direct them all to a common channel where they will merge? One of the things needful at the present time is a clearly defined policy for every agency at work, co-ordination and a vision to perceive what forces are active and whither they are all tending.
(NOTE-The above article, by George S. Cottman, was published in The Indianapolis News, Jan. 7, 1922.)
GOSPORT ACTOR WINS SUCCESS IN ROLE OF "ABRAHAM LINCOLN"
One of the headline attractions on the B. F. Keith "big time" circuit bill for 1922 is Frederick Burton, in "Ab- raham Lincoln," a dramatized incident in the life of the great emanciupator. Mr. Burton has attracted national in- terest in his study of Lincoln, his make-up being startlingly like the most familiar of the Lincoln pictures. In the program Mr. Burton is de- scribed as "Indiana's greatest actor," which, of course, discloses the actor as Hoosier-born.
Now, down in Gosport the old- timers still think the stage spoiled a . good store keeper. Some twenty years ago Fred Burton was the John Wanamaker of Gosport. He had a good store and was going along toward comfortable success when one day a member of the Knights of Pyth- ias lodge suggested to Fred that he
take one of the leading roles in the play, "Daymon and Pythias," for the benefit of the lodge. Prior to this oc- casion young Frederick had played in Christmas cantatas and the like. He had displayed some histrionic talent in these affairs, but he was not torn from the mercantile world until this "Damon and Pythias" enterprise in- vaded his Gosportian career. He set the old town aglow with his interpre- tation of Damon. His fame spread throughout the surrounding country; in fact, spread as far north as Craw- fordsville. Some good Pythian up there invited Fred to play Damon in a Crawfordsville production of the heroic drama. Good-by Gosport! Good- by, store!
That Crawfordsville triumph did it. From that time on the stage simply itched for the talents of Fredrick Bur-
Telescope in Kirkwood Observa tory, Indiana University.
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Historic Treasures, Compiled by Forest M. "Pop" Hall
ton, thespian devotee. Indianapolis and got .a job playing small parts in the old Grand Stock Company, in which Lavinia Shannon was the leading lady. Then he blos- somed forth into road companies, with varying success. There were times when ham sandwiches did not grow on Frederick's ham tree, but he stuck to the footlights.
Then came the main chance. George Ade needed a good "Rube" character in his play, "The College Widow." Frederick Burton answered the call and was assigned to play the role of Bub Hicks, the hick. From that mo- ment Frederick Burton's success no longer was in doubt. He stepped into the national theatrical limelight as one of the best of character come- dians. His quaint performance was hailed everywhere as a masterpiece. He went to England with the comedy. Next he scored a success as Mr. Stub- bins, the no-account husband of Miss Hazy, in "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch." He has scored hits in numer- ous other productions, but always wished a chance to try something ser- ious. And in Abraham Lincoln he found it. Critics everywhere have praised his splendid portrayal of that masterful figure in history, and book- ings are certain for at least two years ahead, with a possible run in London. Englishmen like Lincolnian adapta- tions, and that is why Mr. Burton and his company probably will go abroad. -The Indianapolis News.
THE REPORTER AND THE BIBLE
In a speech at Wabash, Ind., at a union service of Wabash churches held on the night of December 19, 1921, Al- bert J. Bevridge, formerly United States senator from Indiana, discussed the Bible as good reading and re- ferred especially to examples of art of reporting that it contains. The ad- 'dress, which was under the auspices of the Teachers club, contained the following:
"More than three hundred years passed from the time Gutenburg, of Mainz, invented printing, until the be- ginning of modern journalism. As we now understand that tremendously influential profession, it is the growth of scarcely more than half a century; yet it has drawn to itself perhaps the brightest minds and, speaking by and large, the most sensitive consci- ences of the day.
The Heart of Journalism.
"The basis of this extraordinary intellectual development of what is called civilization is the collecting and reporting of news. The task of the reporter and correspondent is the throbbing heart of the 20th century journalism.
"The art of reporting requires keen intelectuality, incessant energy, and above all, high and stern moral stead- fastness. The ethical is necessary in journalism more than in any other phase of modern life. The reason is obvious; the people necessarily must depend upon the record of facts as presented in the daily press. If these facts are not set forth in proper pro- portion, the people have no just or
He came to solid foundation for sound and accu- rate judgement.
"The reporter who willfully mis- states facts is a public enemy; and the same is true, of course, in a much greater degree of the managing edi- tor who, for any consideration what- ever, knowingly misleads the public. The art of reporting, then demands on the part of the reporter, a study of the best models. As a reader of the public press, I should say that the essentials of reporting are accu- racy, vividness, brevity and through all the pure and undefiled spirit of truthfullness.
Well-Nigh Perfect Models.
"Among the innumerable examples of the amazing interest and useful- ness of the Bible, none perhaps are more astonishing than the well-nigh perfect models it contains of the art of newspaper reporting. In a conver- sation with one of the foremost edi- tors of America, and I think of the world, on the exhaustless subject of the Bible as literature, this great journalist declared that the essentials of reporting are better exemplified in many biblical accounts than any- where else that he had ever been able to find.
"It would, of course, require a ser- ies of long and formal lectures to deal adequately with this one subject; and in a discursive talk, such as this, I can only refer to one of a great number of examples of reportorial art which the Bible contains. For instance take the ninth chapter of II Kings* it is very brief, yet it embodies a complete account of Jehu's annoint- ing, his whirlwind descent on Jezrul; the killing of the kings of Isreal and Judah, and the awful fate of Jezbel. Every detail of many tragic events is fully covered. Not a word is wasted, although each particular is stated fully, picturesquely and entertain- ingly. The mind is not left unsatis- fied at a single point; no gap in nar- rative of facts remains to be filled up by the reader's imagination.
Refers to Story of Jehu.
"I can think of no better exercise for a reporter than to attempt to rewrite the story of Jehu as presented
in the ninth chapter of II Kings, and get the whole thing in the same space. Take for example the description of the death of Jezebel; this tragedy is recounted with theatrical picturesque- ness; yet the entire story is told in 218 words. Jezebel's dramatic action when from her window, she reproached Jehu; her death by being cast down from her chamber into the street; the burial of what remained of her, which the biblical reporter informs us 'were no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands,' and finally Elijah's prophecy that dogs should eat her flesh 'and her car- cass should be dung upon the face of the field'-all this is set forth in ten short sentences nothwithstanding that minute particulars are given by the writer.
"There are men in the newspaper profession who, as an exercise in both clearness and condensation, have taken these verses, 30 to 37, inclusive, of the ninth chapter of II Kings, and by rewriting, tried, in their own words, to state the facts within the same space; and after many attempts have failed to accomplish the feat.
"Just as in so-called 'poems of pas- sion,' Swinburne and Byron are hec- tic and disgusting when contrasted with the song of Solomon; just as the finest oratory in the world is prolix and clumsy when contrasted with Paul's speech to the Athenians on Mars Hill (unless we except Lincoln's Gettysburg speech); just as the creed of the modern optimist is thin and un- certain contrasted with the noble con- fidence expressed in the psalms of David; just as the modern philosopher is dull contrasted with that most phil- osophical conversation of all time set down in the book of Job; just as, by innumerable such tests, the purely lit- erary aspects of the Bible surpass in strength and beauty anything to be found in all other literature-just so, the best reporting of the most accom- plished professional writers of the present day does not approach the perfection of biblical accounts in brev- ity, accuracy, attractiveness of state- ment and other essentials of the re- porter's noble art."-The Indianapolis News.
GO TO THE COLLEGES FOR EXECUTIVES-DEAN RAWLES ADDRESSES PUBLIC UTILITY MEN
Business men of the United States are providing at their own expense training each year for from 2,500 to 3,000 college graduates in business courses at a cost of from $2,500,000 to $3,800,000. These figures were presented by Dean W. A. Rawles of the school of commerce and finance of Indiana University, before the an- nual convention of the Indiana Pub- lic Utility association at Indiana Uni- versity, Jan. 14, 1922, as proof of the willingness of business men to co-operate in a most cordial way with educational institutions.
The program included a luncheon, address by Edgar Plessing, member of the Indiana public service com- mission, and addresses by Dean Raw-
les; on "Utilities and the Public," by Arthur W. Bray of Anderson, pres- ident of the Union Traction company of Indiana; on "Problems Confront- ing Indiana Utilities," by Frank E. Bohn, general manager of the Home Telephone and Telegraph company of Fort Wayne; on "Customer Owner- ship of Utilities," by Fred A. Byran of South Bend, president of the Indi- ana & Michigan Electric company, and on "The Utility Load as an Indi- cation of Industrial Conditions," by Howard A. Dill of the Richmond Wa- ter Works company.
"Probably never before have busi- ness men been so deeply interested in the study of economics and fi- nance," said Dean Rawles. "Some of
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