USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts of today; a memorial of the state, historical and biographical, issued for the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78
M. L"
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01101 0672
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/massachusettsoft00toom 0
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY
A MEMORIAL OF THE STATE
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL
ISSUED FOR THE
WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION
1
AT CHICAGO
3SN3
QUIETEM
PET
TATE
LIBER
PLACIDAM
SUB
PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF DANIEL P. TOOMEY
EDITED BY THOMAS C. QUINN
BOSTON COLUMBIA PUBLISHING COMPANY 611 WASHINGTON STREET
1892
COPYRIGHT. COLUMBIA PUBLISHING COMPANY. 1892.
ALFRED MUDGE & SON, PRINTERS, BOSTON.
1507844
1
Massachusetts.
DARK was the shore that cloudcd on the sight Of those grim mariners in the frail ship named After the frailest blossoms of the May : Rough was the welcome offered, that first night, By rock-born waves that noisily proclaimed Their joy of liberty in Plymouth's bay; But ah! how bright and soft and glorious rose the day !
O Mother State, thy word was nobly kept, Thy pledge of freedom to thy sons- and all ! Of modern lands thou wert the first to say :
" No man shall own another." Thus there leapt, Ere thou wert loosed from England's heavy thrall, Out of thine eyes the Future's guiding ray, The star that cannot fall, that gems the brow of day.
While yet in leading-strings thou didst this deed Immortal, -- wiping slavery from thy code. A few years later thou wert first to shake All kings in their "divineness," and to lead Thy sister States to Glory, by the road Of Lexington to Boston, and to wake The souls that will not rest till every chain shall break.
O Massachusetts, Mother fond and fair, Not merely of thy glories are we proud, In many a quiet home that hides from sight
Are purity of purpose and a rare, Unselfish loveliness, whene'er a cloud O'ershadows life - and thus we have the right To say: "Where thou dost reign, reigns Duty with Delight."
Strong Mother, how we love thee ; how our pride Heightens, with every year, beholding thee ! Thy glorious sons and daughters who have gone
Into the sunrise on the other side, Have left, in passing o'er the mystic sea, More light of inspiration than e'er shone On poet's dream before, - and their great work goes on !
Yea, Queen of States, thy diadem of deeds Forever onward throws its diamond rays. 'Gainst every wrong now posing as a right Phillips still thunders and O'Reilly pleads And the money-changers in a dark amaze Shrink from the coming Christ with just affright, While Freedom standeth by with eyes of wariner light.
HENRY AUSTIN.
(5)
INTRODUCTION.
HE aim of this work has been to make a book which in the best sense should be representative of Massachusetts in the Anniversary Year, 1892, -a book great enough to comprise all the diversified interests of the Commonwealth, and broad enough to ignore no honorable factor in its life. The story of the State might be made a description of the surface conditions, mechanical, commercial and political, now existing, with illustrations of brick and mortar ; but back of these conditions are the men who make them, -the brains and characters of which they are but the contemporary monuments. Therefore, the publishers have chosen to represent "Massachusetts of To-day" by the men of to-day, by those sons of the State, ʻ by birth or adoption, who in their lives, their works, or their influence, must be considered by him who would examine and know the fabric of this Commonwealth.
It would have been impossible to achieve the result desired without friendly co-operation and generous support on all sides, and the publishers may say, with feelings of utmost pride and pleasure, that the public-spirited men of this State, as one man, have joined hands patriotically in this enterprise, which it is felt will redound to the good name of Massachusetts. It may be said by critics, and said justly, that not all of the men of Massachusetts meriting recognition are in this book. So prolific is the Commonwealth in living men of real worth and commendable achievement that no book could contain adequate mention of all, but in "Massachusetts of To-day" not only men but interests are considered, and there is no interest of importance, we feel sure, which has not a representative in this volume, and there is no man in these pages who is not, in the truest sense, representative of some one of those interests. To the States of the Union and to the nations of Christendom, Massachusetts pledges this book as a token of her undiminished zeal and ability in the furtherance of the arts of civilization and the happiness of the human race.
(7)
MRS ALICE FREEMAN PALMER
MISS. AHHA L. DAWES
·GEN. FRANCIS.A.WALKER. CHAIRMAN.
G
EDWARD BURNETT
E -C. HOVEY SECRETARY
MASSACHUSETTS BOARD OF WORLD'S FAIR MANAGERS
MASSACHUSETTS AT THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.
T "HE progress which a community makes is perhaps evidenced in no better or more satisfactory manner than by a periodical comparison of its material prosperity as well as of the mental and moral improvement of its people. The bringing together of such comparisons by all the nations of the world serves to indicate the advances which have been made in civilization and the general progress which is making in the development of races. It is this which forms the underlying principle of all international expositions.
It would, of course, be idle to deny that personal gain and a desire to open up new markets for articles of merchandise, serve in a very large degree as stimulants to the individual exhibitor. This admission, while, perhaps, a seeming contradiction of the preceding statement, is, in fact, but a confirmation of its very truth ; for, mingled with the business aspect of what might be called the commercial side of these exhibits will be found that pride of national or State prosperity which in very many cases is the sole inducement to the exhibitor to expend his money and take upon himself additional burdens.
Again, were it not either for this commercial desire to extend one's business or for local pride, there could never be such gatherings of the product of men's brains and hands, and these great opportunities of studying the story of the earth's progress would be lost to mankind. For it is on such occasions that the careful student is enabled, through an intelligent comparison of each exposition with its predecessor, to clearly mark every milestone in the advance which the world as a whole is making, and to acquaint himself with the development of any especial com- munity or given industry. To a degree, this bringing together of the handiwork and brainwork of the nations of the globe serves the same purposes as do the statistics of our census bureau, which, while enabling us to look back and study the nature of our development, also serve to give us a new point of departure from which we must still earnestly strive to advance. Hence, it is the bounden duty of each nation as well as of those many individual parts which go to make up the whole, to aid in every possible way in making an international exposition a pro- nounced success.
It cannot be gainsaid that an interest has been awakened in The World's Columbian Exposition such as has never before been equalled, or even approached. The grand result of such an interest will surely be the bringing together of a collection of exhibits which to the student must assuredly prove a storehouse of knowledge, and give to him who conscientiously makes use of his opportunities the groundwork of a liberal education. Even with the visitors, drawn thither only by idle curiosity, such results must make for good, for they may be confidently depended upon to show the progress which is constantly going forward in everything which ennobles mankind and contributes to the happiness and prosperity of the earth's inhabitants.
The title of this chapter is, indeed, as important as it could be made interesting. "Massachusetts at the Exposition " is a subject fraught with difficulties and embarrassments. To tabulate a statement of the many exhibits which have gone forward from her manufacturers and from her schools, from her scientists and from her inventors, would be an easy task, but to put on paper that influence which, having its origin within the borders of the State, has permeated every nook and corner of this nation, would be wellnigh impossible of accomplishment.
Evidences of that enterprise, of that integrity, and of that conservatism, qualities which seem to be almost indi- genous to the soil of New England, are seen on every hand as one journeys through the country, and what perhaps is as interesting a fact as any other, is that nowhere is full credit denied to the spirit of New England, - that spirit which is generally and thankfully acknowledged as having had a very marked influence upon the nation's history.
" Massachusetts at the Exposition." So great is the subject, so important and prominent is the place which
(9)
10
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO. D.IY.
the State will surely occupy in the Exposition, that it is indeed difficult to determine where one should take up the story of her participation in this greatest and most successful of all international expositions. It was during the early summer of i891 that the Massachusetts Legislature, for the first time, gave consideration to the subject of the State's representation in the Exposition, intended to be commemorative of the landing of Columbus. True to her traditions, the representatives of her people, with one voice, decided that such action must be taken as should result in placing the Commonwealth before the world in a manner befitting her position in the great sisterhood of States, and in keeping with her past history and acknowledged prominence. By the passage of a bill providing for the appointment of a commission of five members, two of whom should be women, and by an appropriation of seventy five thousand dollars for the purpose, as reads the bill, "of exhibiting the resources, products, and general
MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING AT THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.
(After the old John Hancock House.)
development of the Commonwealth," Massachusetts gave her endorsement to the enterprise, and held out to her sister State of Illinois that helping hand which has ever been as ready and as prompt as has been the response from the Western State whenever an appeal has been made to her from the East. The State appropriation was by the succeeding Legislature increased to a total of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Immediately upon their nomination by the Governor, followed by their confirmation by the Executive Council, the Massachusetts Board of World's Fair Managers organized and at once prepared to carry out the duties of their office. As they are perhaps but little understood by the general public, it will no doubt be wiser that these duties should at the outset be at least referred to, even at the risk of proving somewhat technical. If it were pos- sible to divide them into classes, they might perhaps not unnaturally fall into three divisions. First, advisory ;
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
secondly, promotive ; and thirdly, executive. The advisory duties occupy, very properly, the first place, because the very word suggests a study of, and a familiarity with, the details of the subject in hand ; and it surely would not be possible to assume the duties of the second class until one should have become sufficiently acquainted with those of the "advisory" class as to enable him to answer the many inquiries of the intending exhibitor. Not until these were well in hand would it be time to attempt to " promote " the enter- prise among those who, from want of opportunity, must, to a large degree, be help- less and uninformed. Indeed, it was for the very purposes of promotion and advice that the Board was appointed. The third class of duties, and in some respects the most important, are those which are here styled "executive." By this is meant all those duties having to do with the carrying to a successful conclusion of the wishes of the Board's clients, the individual exhibitors.
During the first few months after the organization of the Board, its work was somewhat hampered by a decision previously made that applications for space should go direct to Chicago from the exhibitor. At the suggestion of the Massachusetts Board, whose members felt that they were appointed to act as a medium between the exhibitors and the Exposition officials, a meeting of repre- sentatives of State Boards was called to convene in Chicago in the early days of December, 1891. After considerable debate and largely by reason of an eloquent, aggressive, yet dignified speech, made by the then chairman of the Massachusetts State Board of Managers, it was determined that, to a very great degree, State Boards should have jurisdiction over the exhibits going from their respective States, and that they should, at regular intervals, be put into possession of complete lists of all applications. In no other way would it have been possible for State Boards to properly attend to their duties.
Soon after the organization of the Board, its executive committee, con- sisting of its chairman and its secretary, went to Chicago to make the acquaint-
THE FRANKLIN STATUE. (City Hall Grounds, Bos'on.)
ance of the officials of the two Boards having the general supervision of the Exposition. It should be here explained that these two Boards consist of the National Commissioners appointed by the President of the United States, and entitled " The World's Columbian Commission," and the local Board, which, -representing the company chartered under the laws of Illinois, is entitled, " The World's Columbian Expo- sition."
The latter is the body which agreed to raise ten millions of dollars with which to erect the buildings, while the former, which is sometimes styled the National Commission, has for its duties the insistence that the Exposition shall be carried out in strict accord- ance with the terms of the contract, and in such a manner as to reflect the greatest credit and the highest degree of dignity upon the nation. The value to the State of this first visit cannot well be overestimated. for acquaintances were at that time formed which have been of inestimable advantage to the Board, and of THE GARRISON STATUE. (Commonwealth Avenue, Boston.) very material assistance to its members in the prose- cution of their work. The very many details incident to the prosecution of the advisory and promotive work done in the office of the State managers need not at this time be considered. If the results of their labors have proved satisfactory to the State, no one would find any interest in the methods used to bring those results about. There is, however, one feature of the executive branch of their duties which is deserving of notice, the more especially as it refers to work done by the Massa-
1)
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
chusetts Board, the benefit from which has been by no means confined to any single Commonwealth ; work whose intheuce has extended over the whole country, and even across the water.
No statement of the work accomplished by the Massachusetts Board of Managers would be complete which did not take notice of that very important and successful effort for the erection of a separate building for the
department of liberal arts, a department in every exposition in which the Commonwealth is always expected to stand preemi- nent. For some unexplained reason, those having charge of the first planning of the exposition included under one roof the three departments of manufactures, liberal arts, and ethnology, notwithstanding the fact that each of the other great buildings was given over in the first instance to the exhibit of some special industry. The chief of each of these departments has known, from the start, the exact number of square feet available for the exhibits under his charge. In the largest building, however, where were to be installed the contributions in the departments of manufactures, liberal arts, and ethnology, were OLD SCHOOLHOUSE. (On the Milldam, Boston.) also to be placed all those other exhibits which would not find natural lodgment within any of the separate buildings assigned to special industries, the result being that they formed what may well be termed an " olla podrida " of exhibits, the department of manufactures being a sort of dumping ground for everything. This necessarily resulted in a great congestion of space in this building. There had been set aside originally, for liberal arts and ethnology, areas of four hundred thousand square feet, and one hundred and sixty thousand square feet, respectively ; areas by no means too large either for the importance of the subjects or for the exhibits which would be collected. It very soon appearing that more space must be found for manufactures, it was decided to reduce the allotment of floor area for liberal arts by one hundred thousand square feet. Those interested in liberal arts, under the lead of the Massachusetts State Board, vigorously protested against any such action, taking occasion at that time to criticise that management which, when arranging for an exposition, failed to dignify the department of liberal arts with a building of its own. The protest, however, failed of success then, but the remonstrants rested confident in the assurance that no further reduction of space would be permitted in this department. Very much to their surprise and indignation, however, the further demands for space from foreign countries were granted by increased inroads upon the domains of lib- eral arts. It was the good fortune of the Massachu- setts commission to be represented in Chicago at that time by two of its members.
A request for a hearing before the executive committee being granted, the two members appeared in remonstrance demanding that liberal arts should be given the maximum amount of floor area originally allotted to that department, and that Prof. Putnam of the department of ethnology should be given back the one hundred thousand square feet of which he had been robbed. Fortified as they were with letters and telegrams from the manufacturing interests of sixteen States as well as with expressions of protest from rep- resentative men in the field of liberal arts, the appeal MODERN SCHOOLHOUSE. (Roxbury High School.) of the Massachusetts Board clearly indicated that this was by no means a local issue, but an earnest expression of the sentiments of the people. The result of it all was that the Council of Administration decided to erect a special educational building at a cost of $120,000. The importance of this victory is enhanced when one considers that in the history of all expositions, that of 1893 will be the first which will have raised education, that centre around which the wheel of all true progress must revolve, to the dignity of a separate building.
13
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
In importance, liberal arts will have for the first time been placed side by side with fine arts, and received far too tardy recognition as a most important factor in the great scheme of civilization. The full significance of the words "liberal arts " is not appreciated by everybody. To realize exactly what would necessarily follow had this great and important department been permitted to continue to give place to the material interests of the world, one must know that there is included therein not only education per se, but also those very many subdepartments having education for their basis and life-giving impulse. Among these are medicine and surgery, engineering and constructive architecture, hygiene and sanitation, literature and journalism, banking and finance, music and the drama.
Massachusetts is neither an agricultural nor yet a mining State. She has no great natural resources to ex- hibit to the world. She is distinctively the home of manufacturing and of liberal arts, in each of which great depart- ments she would be expected to exhibit to advantage to herself and to testify to the thrift and intelligence of her people. With these facts in mind, the injury to the interests that will surely follow the cutting down of space in these departments, must at once become apparent. Liberal arts include the great department of sociology to whose problems Massachusetts and her intelligent, public-spirited citizens have been giving their best thought and study.
Some of the best results from investigation into the important questions of hygiene and sanitation have been the work of Massachusetts scientists. The work of our hospitals, of our prisons, of our reformatories, and of our charities, is certainly worthy of every inch of room which can be creditably filled, so that the world may see what is being done for the general care and amelioration of the masses. No true Massachusetts man would wish to ignore or belittle the material resources of a country, inasmuch as his State furnishes, and will surely continue to furnish, so much to any exhibit of the manufacturing interests. The great cotton and woollen factories of the State may always be depended upon to furnish their full quota to the display of the products of the many looms and spindles which are unceasingly singing their song of toil throughout the States of the Union. In Chicago, in 1893, the Bay State will furnish one quarter of the total number of exhibits of the manufactures of cotton, and over one third of all the textile fabrics having wool for their principal staple. In the department of machinery, that great department in which the inventive genius of a people has its full measure of opportunity, Massachusetts will now, as always, hold a conspicuous place.
The very many labor-saving devices, having for their object the procuring of the greatest amount of product at the least possible cost, must stand to a great degree as a measure of the progress which a people is making in mechanical skill and in intelligent investigation. " Necessity is," as goes the saying, "the mother of invention." The truth of this maxim Massachusetts will be able to attest to in the variety and perfection of the machinery exhibited by the proprietors of her many factories.
To repeat, Massachusetts is not in any sense either an agricultural or yet a mining State. Nevertheless, in each of the buildings devoted to exhibits of these natural resources of the country, the Bay State will be fitly repre- sented. There is located in Amherst an experiment station, which is on the grounds belonging to the State Agri- cultural College. This has for its mission the treatment, scientifically, of trees, plants, roots, and soils, so as to ascertain what is needed to make the former more healthy and the latter more productive.
The contribution of the State to the department of agriculture will, in part, at least, be given over to an exhibit of the work done in this experiment station, and of the good results attained by the use of the scientific formula worked out by its professors. In the Mines and Mining Building an exhibit of the mineralogy and petrog- raphy of the State will be brought together, which will surely be as handsome and as complete as it must prove to be interesting. It is confidently hoped that not less than one thousand specimens will be procured, the desire of the board being to install as complete and as accurate a collection as possible of what the State affords in these two departments. The State managers have the very commendable ambition that this, the first complete collection ever made, may be preserved and given an abiding place within the State House, where it may remain as a scientific collection belonging to the State.
When it became necessary to decide on some design for a State building, the Massachusetts Board of Man- agers, in sending invitations to the various architects, suggested that some one of the many historic buildings within the State might well serve as a model to represent the old Bay State in Chicago. The spirit of the old John Han- cock house is seen and felt when one looks upon the building finally decided upon. It breathes of the Revolution. and its very walls seem to echo back the patriotic words of those loyal men who, a century since, held within their grasp the destiny and fortune of the good old State. As one looks upon it, or as one walks through its many
1 |
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO DAY.
rooms, he will not find it necessary to ask, " What State erected this building?" I will surely be a source of pride and pleasure to every son and daughter of New England who, during the summer of 1893, will journey from the furthermost corners of the country to visit the World's Columbian Exposition.
Nor will they be obliged to hang their heads in shame at the position which the State will occupy in every department, be it in liberal arts of in horticulture, in fine arts or in machinery, in agriculture or in manufactures. The Commonwealth, in all of these, will continue, as in the past, to do full credit to herself, and to the intelli- gence, taste, and business abilities of her people.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.