USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Royalston > Reflections on Royalston, Worcester County, Massachusetts, U.S.A > Part 22
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" 'We may build more splendid habitations;
Fill our rooms with paintings and sculptures; But we cannot buy with gold the old associations.'
"Though not born in Royalston, I was, to use the New England expression, 'raised' here; and my associations and memories from a very small boy up to this moment are exceedingly pleasant. I believe it is but the simple truth when I say to you that no man living is prouder of the wonderful history of this town than I am. But that will be touched upon by Representative Cross, who, by the way, I hope to see attain even further political honors, now that he has returned to his first and true political love.
"But it is in the Royalston of to-day and the future that I am most interested. I have thought over its problems quite as much as if I lived here, and have come to the conclusion that the brightest hope of the future is to restore this town to its former prestige as a farming community. The product of the soil, to my mind, demands the first consideration, and a system must be evolved by which the farmer may handle that which is produced in such a way as to retain for himself a fair share of the profits of his labor.
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"The wealth of the world comes out of the land, and man must dig for it. Adam was told in the Garden of Eden-Dr. Adams says this quotation is correct- 'In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.' From then until now 'the man with the hoe' has been the man who has added to the wealth of the world. And from that day there seems to have been implanted in every human breast an incli- nation to till the land. And this is well; for there seems to be something in the touch of the sod that gives strength and vigor and character to man.
"It is an established fact that the great industries of the cities are built up and maintained by men who come from the rural sections. A recent canvas of one of the great cities has shown that out of 100 successful men, 85 came from the coun- try. There can be no question that our very civilization depends upon the character and strength of the life developed at the countryside.
"You who live here all the year round know, however, much better than we outsiders, that the beautiful trees in these fields do not derive their strength from their blossoms nor from their fruit; their strength comes from their roots. So with a nation and a town. They are not fed from the top; they are not fed from the conspicuous people down; they are fed from the inconspicuous people up. And those who tap the unexhausted soils and their virgin resources are the best feeders of a pure democracy, and lay the foundation for the highest type of good citizen- ship, such as have been and are now living in the lovely town of Royalston.
"I sincerely trust, my friends, all the good things you did not get in the last 50 years may come to you before the 200th anniversary, and that you all may, with brave spirits and cheery hearts, reach the goal of your highest hopes.
"We certainly have received inspiration from the splendid address of Dr. Adams, the thoughtful prayer of the Rev. Mr. Fairbanks; and we have. a wonder- ful array of speakers here. In common with you all, I deeply regret the absence of Governor Walsh to-day. He intended to come to Royalston, and he would have enjoyed it here, and you would have enjoyed hearing him speak. But we are fortunate in having the Acting Governor and Lieutenant-Governor of the Com- monwealth, Grafton D. Cushing, here. I am going to ask you all to rise when I introduce to you the Honorable Grafton D. Cushing, Acting Governor and Lieu- tenant-Governor of Massachusetts."
Mr. Cushing voiced his gratification in being present at a town gathering; said a town has a particular atmosphere of its own; the people all know each other, and have a sociability which city folks envy; the town meeting is the most democratic form of government; increasing expenditures are needed, for town and state; the problems cannot be solved in a day; but in course of time there will be developed a system of control of expenditures; for they should bear equally on all, and not unequally, as they do in Massachusetts to-day.
Toastmaster Nichols presented Representative Fred W. Cross:
"Since the days of Timothy Richardson, Royalston's first Representative to the great and general court, Royalston has sent splendid men to do her honor under the gilded dome, in both the Senate and the House. Their influence has been les- sened because their service was too short. For the first time in a very long period a man from Royalston has been sent for two consecutive years. He is to give the historical address, and there is no man better qualified. He is a credit to this or any other community; and he has helped to put Royalston on the map, more, per- haps, than any other one man in a decade. He needs no introduction to you here; but it is a peculiar pleasure to me to present my personal and dear friend, your hustling Representative to the Legislature, Fred W. Cross."
Mr. Cross, in opening his address, said:
"I am placed to-day in a very peculiar position. My friend, Mr. Nichols, in his introductory remarks, has said some very pleasant things about me. I only wish that they were all true. For one of his remarks I feel that I must get back at him in some way; and so I am going to tell you how, knowing my rather insurgent proclivities in politics, he said to me the other day: 'Now, Fred, if you could only be a little more of a regular.'
"I say I am placed in a somewhat peculiar position. Within a week after a most excellent outline of Royalston's history has appeared in the Athol Transcript, and when within two days a most eloquent historical sermon has been delivered in yonder church by the Rev. Asher Anderson, and an evening discourse on the town's
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church history has been given by the author of our forthcoming town history, and after the President of the Day in his opening remarks has alluded to some of the most interesting and amusing features in our territorial history, I am expected to give a historical address. But I am going to punish you, just the same.
"Royalston invites you here to-day to assist her in celebrating, not her age, but her youth. While other municipalities boast of their two centuries or two cen- turies and a half of history, we come to tell you that we are only 150 years old ;- but the book of those years has written upon its pages as honorable a record as one might wish to see.
"As the historian delves in the early records of these New England townships, he naturally seeks first for some Indian traditions, some stories of sudden attack, of brave defense, of captivity and of massacre. He looks for some relics of the aboriginal tribes who three centuries ago roamed these hills, fished these streams, and set their cornfields in our fertile valleys. For Indian traditions the historian of Royalston will seek in vain.
"Nearly 70 years before this town was incorporated, King Philip's war had put an end to the power of the Nipmuck tribes of Central Massachusetts, and the Payquage or Pequoig Indians as a body had deserted the valley of Miller's River, even as the Squakeags of Northfield, the Pocumtucks of Deerfield, and the Noro- wottacks of Hadley had left the valley of the Connecticut. True it is that in later years, even as late as 1756-58, marauding parties of red men from Canada appeared in northern Massachusetts, to kill and plunder and destroy; but they usually fol- lowed the regular routes southward along the Connecticut River, or the Hoosac River and the Mohawk Trail, and seldom or never threaded these forest fastnesses where the Poquaigs once roamed and hunted.
"Only once within my recollection has a stone axe head been turned up by the ploughman near the banks of Miller's River in the south village,-a reminder of a race and an age that has long since passed away. Indeed, perhaps we may consider ourselves fortunate that we have no Indian history, for in almost every New Eng- land town that does possess it, it is a story of slaughtered settlers and sacked and smoking homes.
"The origin of Royalston as a territorial unit was peculiar and somewhat amusing. She came into being as the result of a genuine 'closing-out sale.' By the middle of the 18th century most of the territory lying east, south and west of this present township had already been disposed of by grants of the General Court. As early as 1733, Narragansett Number Six, now Templeton, had been granted to certain persons and the heirs of other persons who had done service in King Philip's War. About the same time, Payquage, now Athol, was granted to 60 proprietors, who held their first meeting at Concord, Mass., in June, 1734. In 1735, Ipswich- Canada, now Winchendon, was granted to 60 persons, 52 of whom came from Ipswich in Essex County, hence the early name of the grant. The original Indian name of Warwick, our western neighbor, was Shaomet. It was an English planta- tion prior to 1750, and bore the name of Roxbury-Canada. Phillipston and Orange had not yet come into existence as separate plantations. They were created later out of the territory of the towns already named. Now came the bargain sale."
Here Mr. Cross alluded to the purchase of the original territory of the town at public auction by its "Proprietors," to the four previous grants, and to the "Roy- alston leg;" and to the gradual settlement and development of the town; the story of all of which will be found on pages 39-50 of these Reflections.
He referred to the development of manufacturing in the town, and particularly at South Royalston; all of which has been extensively elaborated in various parts and on numerous pages of these Reflections.
Then he turned to military history,-a subject on which he is more than an expert, having traced the record of nearly every soldier who went to any war from Royalston, and having been made secretary and custodian of the military archives of Massachusetts. He told of the early military companies of the town, and the parts they took in the War for Independence; of the company of Grenadiers, organ- ized about 1810, and kept up for about 40 years, and four members of which, Ben- jamin Brown, Willard Newton, Elmer Newton, and Josiah Wheeler, each in turn became Colonel of the regiment of which their company was a part.
Coming down to the Civil War, Mr. Cross said that Royalston, with a population
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of 1468 in 1860, was credited with a total of 147 enlistments, or 10 per cent. of its entire population; of the 138 separate individual soldiers serving on Royalston's quota, 35, or fully 25 per cent., died for their country. Of these he said:
"Our hearts call the roll of their names as their faces pass before us in the mists of memory. They sprang not from the circles of stilted aristocracy. Not one of them was rich. They were the sons of the town's yeomanry. They came from the farms on these hill-tops and from the workshops in these valleys. They were men of the rank and file. Some came up from lowly homes, performed their allotted service, made the supremest sacrifice that man can make, and laid them down in unknown graves. But by their act they wrote for this town a record that its sons can never forget."
Mr. Cross spoke of four "in the galaxy of distinguished men whom the town has produced,"-two statesmen and two soldiers. Hon. Asahel Peck, a most emi- nent lawyer, member of the Supreme Court of Vermont, and Governor of that state. Hon. Alexander Hamilton Bullock, member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives eight years and Speaker of that body four years; State Senator; Mayor of Worcester; Governor of Massachusetts three years; and otherwise prom- inent and honored. Col. Charles Cummings, physician, editor, Clerk of the House of Representatives of Vermont four years. During his third year in the service of his country in the Civil War he died in Confederate hands; his last command on the field of battle: "Boys, save the colors!" Gen. Lysander Cutler, "Gray-bearded commander" in the Civil War; celebrated for his heroism with "The Iron Brigade."
In closing, Mr. Cross said:
"When we reflect on all that Royalston has contributed to the public welfare, on how much virtue and strength have gone out of her in the sons and daughters whom she has sent forth, is it any wonder that they come back by hundreds on this, her natal day, and that representatives of state and nation come with them to show her respect and to do her reverence."
Following his eloquent, tactful and comprehensive address Mr. Cross was most heartily applauded by the entire audience, and the other distinguished speakers congratulated him in the most complimentary terms. His work was doubly engag- ing to himself and to his audience through the fact of his loyal personal interest in the town of his nativity.
Toastmaster Nichols introduced successively Congressmen Samuel W. McCall, Calvin D. Page and Samuel E. Winslow, who in turn said complimentary things about the town and its people, and about each other, with allusions to state and national affairs. Mr. Winslow was the funniest talker.
Here Toastmaster Nichols, in behalf of a number of friends, presented Presi- dent Adams with a purse of gold, which was gracefully accepted.
President Adams reserved his finest rhetoric for United States Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, and in introducing him, he said:
"At the close of the last session of Congress, about the middle of May, a member of that august body left the city of Washington for his home in Massa- chusetts. His friends were aware of his coming; and when he arrived at a station in his district, near the end of his journey, one hundred thousand men and women, according to a Boston newspaper, irrespective of nationality, representing all shades of political complexion, enthused by the inspiring strains of several brass bands, and rending the air with their multitudinous cheers, thronged the streets of the city of Lynn.
"It was a magnificent ovation, and wholly unprecedented as a 'welcome home' to a returning Senator.
"Who is this man who has attained such a mighty grip on the heart-strings of Massachusetts, and who, on even an ordinary occasion, can raise the temperature of her sluggish blood to the boiling point?
"Statesman, orator, historian, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Rela- tions, adviser of Presidents, in international diplomacy without a peer, when he rises in his place in the upper branch of Congress, Senators sit up and take notice, and when he speaks the 48 states in this broad Union listen. Little Royalston is fairly bursting with pride to-day to have him on her platform; and it is not only with pride, but with exceeding great pleasure, that I now present to you our senior Senator in Congress, the Honorable Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts."
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In opening, Senator Lodge paid attention to the pleasantries of the occasion, and passed in humorous allusions to the other "imported" speakers. He compli- mented Representative Cross on his admirable and eloquent address, and paid a tribute to the democracy of the town, and the patriotism of its people, as shown in the large number who gave their lives in the Revolution and in the Civil War. Then he said:
"In every town in this Commonwealth, if you will go back over its history, you will read the same lesson-a lesson not amiss in these days when there are not lacking those who preach that there is nothing for which it is worth while to sacri- fice treasure or life. I believe that in like hours of danger, the spirit of the coun- try and the great mass of the people is the same to-day as it was in 1776 and in 1861. But there are voices which are crying out that there is nothing for which safety and life should ever be sacrificed.
"Yes, we are, thank God, at peace. I trust and pray that that peace may be preserved. But it will not be preserved by mere words and language. The world to-day, the great world of western civilization, of which we are a part, is in an anguish such as history does not record. I cannot keep from my mind, as I read and listen to the awful news that comes to us day by day, I cannot refrain from thinking of the old medieval hymn which began, if I may quote the old Latin words, 'Hora novissima, tempora pessima sunt, vigilemus.' 'Let us be watch- ful, the world is very evil, the times are waxing late.' That thought must come to every reflecting mind. No man can say what may come out of the whirlpool of destruction which is now engulfing Europe. We must maintain our peace; not a peace at any price of humiliation, but a peace becoming a great and powerful and self-respecting nation.
"Now, how, practically speaking, is that peace to be preserved? In the first place, we must maintain our neutrality. And neutrality brings not only its rights, but its duties. If we are to insist on the rights of neutrals, as we must and ought, we must perform our duty as neutrals. Under color of neutrality, we must not twist it so as to help one side or the other. We must be just to all and do wrong to none. And against any infringement of our rights we must pro- test, and we must make that protest understood with firmness and determination that we mean what we say. Better never say the words than not mean them.
"Therefore, the first thing is to maintain neutrality if we would preserve our peace; protect our peace by justice and righteousness toward all the nations with whom we are now on friendly terms. And in the next place, we must make it clear to all the nations that our peace is not to be lightly invaded; that while we do justice to all and wrong to none, we will not permit or suffer wrong or injustice to be done to us, or to any of our people who have a right to look to the govern- ment which they sustain for protection and support. For the government that does not protect its people will soon cease to have its people protect it. We must make it clear that no nation can wrong or invade us without paying a heavy price therefor. By that I mean that this country should be properly prepared for its own defense.
"Nothing is more idle than this argument,-if you can grace it with such a name,-that armament leads to war. What leads to war is the spirit and intent of the people who control the armament. The armament is but the evidence and the manifestation of the force of the government. *
* The value of armaments depends entirely on the purpose for which they are intended. * *
"I have heard it said, and on the floor of Congress, too, about the springing to arms of eight million Americans. One gentleman said, in the tide of rhetoric, 'Eight million men ready to spring to arms.' No doubt; I trust the patriotism of this country; but eight million men or eight thousand men cannot spring to arms unless they have arms to spring to. I am not going into details; it is easily proved, too easily proved. But that proper preparation for a country like this, which in- tends no conquest, which seeks to wrong no other nation, proper preparation for its own defense is a bulwark of peace and not of war.
"And one other thing that I would say in closing. This is a time to remember that we are Americans, that we are interested in the welfare of the United States, that we are determined to preserve her peace and her neutrality, and that any man who attempts to divide the American people on the line of
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sympathizing with one belligerent or another,-no matter how he sympathizes or what he feels,-is bringing in here and putting above the interests of the United States the interests of other countries. He is bringing into this country race issues; and nothing could be more hostile to our welfare than to introduce the in- terests of foreign nations and race issues among the American people. Let us be simply Americans, without any qualifying adjective prefixed to it. If we are not, if we prefer some other country and prefer the interests of that other country to the interests of the United States, then the place of that man is not here; he be- longs to the country that commands the real allegiance of his heart. And if ever that country needed him, it probably is now.
"Maintain the peace; maintain it by honest and just neutrality; maintain it by seeing that no one can attack you with impunity and that the world shall understand it. Be just to all nations; do wrong to none; remember that you are Americans, simply that, and nothing more; and then you will have peace, and a peace that is worth having."
The Winchendon choir rendered another selection, and responded to an encore; after which the singing of "America," by the audience and the choir, to the music by the band, completed the day's program.
An entertainment of song and elocution by a Boston bureau, arranged for as a part of the celebration, was enjoyed by an audience that filled the town hall in the evening.
With relation to the number of people present on the last day of the celebra- tion, reports varied. A Fitchburg newspaper was furnished with a statement that "more than 5,000 people united with the townspeople" in the celebration. Mr. Cas- well stated that "the events of the day drew more than 3,000 people to the fine old Common." Both statements were undoubtedly very extravagant and far from the truth. Between 500 and 600 sat down to dinner in the tent. Perhaps 100 of these, in round figures, including the officials, speakers, honorary guests and members of the band and choir, left their seats at the table after the dinner and took positions on the platform or elsewhere, to carry out the exercises, thus leaving seats for 100 who did not sit down to the dinner; we must assume that most of the remaining number who sat at the dinner retained their seats for the other exercises. It was reported that 125 automobiles were parked on the Common that afternoon; a fair estimate would be that those autos brought in 500 people, an average of 4 to each. Quite likely many run in after the dinner, to hear the great political speakers; but it is impossible to imagine how 5,000 or even 3,000 people could have been trans- ported to Royalston Common, or what could have been done with them there, so far as relates to giving them the opportunity to hear the speakers in that dinner tent. A seated or ticketed audience can be fairly sized up by the known number of seats occupied or tickets given out; but an out-door standing crowd cannot be counted, or even estimated, with any degree of certainty. So let us take pride in the thought that old Royalston entertained a very large and ultra-respectable crowd, drawn by historic interest in the town and by the dignified speakers, and not the mob and rabble that are drawn by military clatter and funny clap-trap.
Senator Lodge's statements as to what should have been done in that time of stress were so different from what was done, that I wish to place on record here a few facts, for the information of any interested but possibly unenlightened reader.
Theodore Roosevelt, who was elected as Vice-President of the United States in 1900, became President through the death of President William McKinley in 1901, and was re-elected President in 1904. William H. Taft was elected President in 1908. Taft was nominated again on the Republican ticket in 1912; but a new political organization, known as the Progressive party, sprang into existence that year, with Theodore Roosevelt as its candidate for President, and took so many votes that otherwise would have been given for Taft, that the candidate of the Democratic party, Woodrow Wilson, was elected President.
It was during this first term of Woodrow Wilson's service as President, from March 4, 1913, to March 4, 1917, that the "whirlpool of destruction engulfing Europe," mentioned by Senator Lodge in his address, got into strenuous activity;
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and with relation to the position that the United States should take toward the great disturbance, he repeatedly said, in but slightly varying words: "We must maintain our peace;" and to that end "we must maintain our neutrality," And again, he said: "Under cover of neutrality, we must not twist it so as to help one side or the other." And again: "For a country like this, which intends no conquest, which seeks to wrong no other nation, proper preparation for its own defense is a bulwark of peace and not of war."
From the great popularity of Senator Lodge, and all the circumstances of that time, we may say that he voiced the sentiment of the people as a whole; while President Wilson's words and acts had been such that when he was nominated for a second term, in 1916, one of the strongest arguments in favor of his re-election was: "He kept us out of the war." And he was elected to serve a second term.
Then came a change. On April 7, 1917, within 5 weeks after the beginning of President Wilson's second term, the United States declared war on Germany; and it became a popular opinion that President Wilson had put us into the war.
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