USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Royalston > Reflections on Royalston, Worcester County, Massachusetts, U.S.A > Part 23
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By that act the United States abjured that peace and neutrality which Senator Lodge said must be maintained, and became the ally of the nations fighting against Germany. Undoubtedly there is plenty of constitutional authority for raising and maintaining an army and armament when needed for home defense. But where could a President or any part of our government get authority to call out an army and send it to take part in a quarrel between foreign nations with all of whom the government of the United States of America was on terms of peaceful neutrality, without sanction by the people? And a referendum vote on the matter, which was wanted, was prevented.
War was declared, and the results were stupendous.
An army of several millions of American soldiers was sent to France, to fight against Germany; thousands upon thousands of those soldiers never returned to their native land; and thousands upon thousands of those who returned were crip- pled, diseased, and hopelessly injured.
Previous to the declaration of war the big business interests of the United States had been supplying the belligerents on both sides, toward all of whom we were in a state of peaceful neutrality, with arms, ammunition, foodstuffs, and any- thing and everything that they needed and wanted, and could pay for, at prices which brought tremendous profits to those who could furnish the supplies.
The American people "shared" in these profits in the increased prices which they were compelled to pay for commodities on account of the enormous demand for them "over the water."
A brief filed in Congress showed that 16 of our big corporations which had been supplying the needs of the belligerents had increased their aggregate profits from $75,000,000 in 1914, to $557,000,000 in 1916. On this enormous amount the United States Steel Corporation was credited with a jump of from $23,496,768 in 1914, to $271,531,730 in 1916; and the E. I. DuPont de Nemours Powder Company from $4,831,795 in 1914 to $82,107,693 in 1916. Good "living" profits!
Not only did the "beef barons," the "copper kings," the "steel and oil mag- nates" and the "railroad princes" wring these outrageous profits from the warring peoples and from the people at home, but most of the manufacturers and those in control of both the necessaries and the luxuries of life, joined in the profiteering. It was not necessary to go far from home to learn this fact. Right in the little city of Fitchburg the proprietors of one manufactory producing war materials for the combatants over the water were currently reported to have cleaned up a good million dollars "out of the game" in a comparatively short time; and another one was credited with something similar. And then when war was declared two other concerns built extensive additions to their plants, almost regardless of cost, to en- able them to turn out more and more war materials.
With the mobilization of the United States army came increased and more insistent demands for supplies for military purposes, and to feed and clothe not only the armies of our own country, but the people, and the armies as well, of the allied countries, who were prevented by the war from producing enough for their own needs.
To meet these demands extreme measures were adopted, the most conspicuous and aggravating of which was the "rationing" of food,-especially meats, wheat
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flour and sugar, which were much needed "over there." Meatless days and wheat- less days were enjoined upon the people; substitutes in equal quantities were required to be bought in order to get wheat flour. And as for sugar, it was dealt out in almost infinitesimal quantities, sometimes restricted to a half-pound to a family. Salesmen for wholesale houses usually supplying it, would say "No," when asked if they had it, but "on the side" would confide the information that if the party desiring it was willing to pay spot cash in advance at an exorbitant rate, and "no questions asked," the salesman could see that it was supplied; and the con- sumer paid 25 to 30 cents a pound for an article that before the war had often been sold at 5 cents a pound or 21 pounds for a dollar. The sugar-bowl was banished from the table at hotels and restaurants and sugar was dealt out to those who asked for it at not exceeding one teaspoonful to a cup of drink.
The United States government borrowed from its people and loaned to the governments of the allied countries $11,000,000,000 (eleven billion dollars). This enormous amount of money was never sent to the countries to which it was loaned; it was deposited in banks in this country, and paid out here for the things sent over to the needy warring countries, at such prices and on such terms as the owners here might choose to make. Under such circumstances it could hardly be otherwise than that prices would be exorbitantly high. And of course the people at home were compelled to pay on the same terms as those abroad.
Relating to this profiteering, President Wilson said in an address to the people, July 11, 1917:
"I hear it insisted that more than a just price, more than a price that will sus- tain our industries, must be paid; that it is necessary to pay very liberal and unusual profits, in order to 'stimulate' production; that nothing but pecuniary re- wards will do it-rewards paid in money, not in the mere liberation of the world.
"I take it for granted that those who argue thus do not stop to think what it means. Do they mean that you must be paid, must be bribed, to make your con- tribution, a contribution that costs you neither a drop of blood nor a tear, when the whole world is in travail and men everywhere depend upon and call to you to bring them out of bondage and make the world a fit place to live in again, amidst peace and justice? * * It is inconceivable. Your patriotism is of the same self-deny- ing stuff as the patriotism of the men dead or maimed on the fields of France, or else it is no patriotism at all. Let us never speak, then, of profits and of patriotism in the same sentence, but face facts and meet them."
With so many men taken from productive work for military purposes, there was a great scarcity of "labor," and wages were gradually but quite rapidly in- creased, corresponding somewhat with the increase in the cost of living. This has worked very well, during the years since the war, for those in active life, whose wages, salaries and incomes have been kept up to the war basis; but for those who are out of the remunerated producing class and dependent on accumulations of the pre-war basis, the doubled and perhaps trebled cost of living has in multitudes of cases worked great hardship.
Although freedom of speech and freedom of the press had been acclaimed as guaranteed by the constitution to the people of the United States, the "powers" behind the war movement sought to prevent free expression of opinion by means of an organized propaganda, whereby the pulpit, the press, and all educational insti- tutions were practically forced to join in the demonstrations in favor of participa- tion in the European war. Clergymen, editors, professors in colleges, teachers, all who questioned the expediency of mixing into the war, or expressed objection to war on moral grounds, were branded as unpatriotic, objectionable people, and per- haps as traitors; they were in many cases thrown out of their positions; sometimes personally assaulted; their publications were barred from the mails, and their printing plants were wrecked; while many were thrown into prison.
A mild sample of the workings of the "patriotic" hysteria. The "German Co- operative Grocery Company," incorporated under state laws in 1897, has conducted a store in Fitchburg for many years, with the name of the company on a sign over the door. Some soldier boys, full of patriotic hostility toward everything German, called at the store and notified the manager that the sign must be taken down; the order was disregarded; later, a local newspaper called attention to the neglect, and in an editorial said the sign must come down, while still printing the notices of a
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German church without disapproval; as if a German store must be treasonable and a German church not so. The sign remained without change, and there was a bal- ance of sanity which prevented the starting of a little German war in Fitchburg. This incident, trivial though it may seem, shows how advantage was taken of every means to keep the public mind inflamed and hostile toward Germany,-and in an attitude of approval of the participation of the United States in the war against that country.
When I began these notes on Senator Lodge's address as related to the World War, I wanted to bring in the incident of the sinking of the Lusitania, but had no data at hand. Just now, on the ninth anniversary of that terrible event, a Boston newspaper has printed the following story, from the latest edition of the Encyclo- pedia Britannica:
"On May 7, 1915, Shweiger in U-20 was off the Old Head of Kinsale (south of Ireland) when he sighted a great liner, homeward bound. This was the Lusitania, going only 18 knots, her decks crowded with women and children.
"At 2:15 p. m., he sent two torpedoes into her without warning, and she went down in 20 minutes, with loss of 1198 lives, while Swheiger, 'moved with mixed feelings,' watched the terrific scene.
"A chorus of applause arose in Germany, but the deed can be seen now as an error of the first magnitude, which set on foot the whole train of circumstances which brought America into the war."
As England and Germany were enemies, this story, from an English source, would not be expected to offer any apology for Germany. That those waters would be infested by German submergible submarine torpedo boats was to be ex- pected under the status of war, and the Lusitania should have been kept elsewhere. Whether it was within the rules of the "etiquette" of war for Shweiger to destroy the Lusitania, under the supposition that she might in some way be assisting the enemies of Germany, I will not say.
The point I wish to bring out is that when Senator Lodge delivered his address in Royalston, about three months after this atrocious event, he did not in any way use it as a reason for declaring war on Germany, if he even mentioned it.
There were those who thought that that event sounded the call for the entrance of the United States into the war; but it was not until April 7, 1917, or one year and eleven months after that event of May 7, 1915, that the declaration of war was issued.
From that time the United States was pushed into the war with the greatest possible aggessiveness by those in control, until Nov. 10, 1918, when an armistice was declared, which ended hostilities and led to something like peace. The people of the United States indulged in wild jubilation over the event, such as was never before experienced, in this "land of the free and home of the brave."
Probably there were many, however, who regretted that the war was ended,- the profiteering class, who, while "waving the flag" and shouting patriotism, had accumulated immense wealth at the expense of the combatants and the people in general, and whose plans and investments for still greater accumulations were liable to result in disastrous loss rather than profits. Perhaps if it had not been for the prestige of this class of "patriotic" profiteers the United States would not have entered into the "whirlpool of destruction."
Following the ending of the war, President Woodrow Wilson, mainly if not entirely on his own volition, went away from the country of whose government he was the executive head, into foreign lands, where he worked for the organization of a "League of Nations" to prevent wars and promote peace. Something was accomplished, but probably not all that President Wilson had confidently hoped for. Shortage of space and lack of ability keep me from giving further details on a matter which the interested reader will find much better elucidated elsewhere.
Our Senator Lodge, still representing Massachusetts in Congress, has just now (in May, 1924) introduced a bill, embodying a plan according to his views, for a "League of Nations" to promote international peace.
There is just enough room on the page to drop in the remark that if all pro- fessedly Christian nations, Christian churches and Christian people would legislate and act in harmony with the teachings of the alleged founder of Christianity, as given in the "Sermon on the Mount," wars would be impossible.
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ROYALSTON'S TRUST FUNDS.
The Proprietors of Royalston, in compliance with the requirements of their deal for the territory, set apart 431 acres of land for a settlement for the first ordained minister, 524 acres for the support of the ministry, and 520 acres for a school. Hon. Isaac Royal, by his last will and testament, left 200 acres more for school purposes. These matters are noted on pages 42-44 of these Reflections.
The 431 acres of "minister's land" became the private property of Rev. Joseph Lee, of course, on his settlement as minister. That some of this land was on the easterly side of the Common is shown by the statement in the Caswell book that one of the first two roads, laid out Feb. 8, 1766, by Selectmen John Fry and Timothy Richardson, and accepted by the town March 3, 1766, was laid out 3 rods wide, "beginning at the Common land near the meeting-house, then leading east- erly through the minister's lot by marked trees, so on eastwardly," etc. This was undoubtedly the Winchendon road. The other road laid out at that time began by the Common land and ran "northwards by marked trees through Ebenezer Elliot's land to land of Capt. John Fry, and straight on his land to the west end of his dwelling-house." This, of course, was the Frye hill road.
It is probable that the 524 acres of land for the support of the ministry was early transformed into a fund, but what it amounted to, or whether the First Con- gregational Society has been the sole beneficiary from it, I cannot state.
With relation to the 520 acres set apart by the Proprietors and the 200 acres added by Hon. Isaac Royal, for school purposes, the Memorial states that in 1767 the Town voted "to lease out the school land;" and that in 1769 it was voted "to sell the school land for as much as it will sell for; the principal to be a fund for schools, and the interest to be applied yearly to pay for schooling." This fund, now known as the "Old School Fund," amounts to $1,500, and brings an annual income of $60 to $75.
THE HON. RUFUS BULLOCK FUNDS.
Hon. Rufus Bullock, who died Jan. 10, 1858, left bequests, by provisions in his last will and testament, as follows:
"Thirteenth, I give and bequeath to the First Congregational Society in the Center of the Town of Royalston, being the same with which I now worship, the sum of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000), to be held and applied as follows: The interest of said Five Thousand Dollars shall be forever paid and applied annually or semi-annually for the support of preaching in said Society; and it is my will that a Committee, chosen by said Society, for said purpose, shall act in concur- rence with my Executors in investing said sum; provided, that whenever, if ever, said Society shall fail to support the preaching of the gospel and a regularly set- tled minister of the Congregational denomination for any unreasonable length of time, and provide annually by tax or in some other way a sum not less than Five Hundred Dollars for the support of preaching and the other necessary expenses of public worship in said Society, then the said sum of Five Thousand Dollars shall revert to and be paid over to my children, or to their heirs by right of represen- tation."
"Fourteenth, I give and bequeath to the Baptist Religious Society in the west part of the Town of Royalston, the sum of Twenty-five Hundred Dollars ($2,500), to be kept and applied as a fund, the income of which shall be appropriated annu- ally or semi-annually to the support of Gospel preaching, and public worship in said Society; and it is my will that a Committee, to be chosen by said Society for such purpose, shall act in concurrence with my Executors, in investing said sum; provided, that whenever said Society shall neglect to raise by subscription or otherwise a sum not less than One Hundred and Fifty Dollars per annum for the support of preaching, and public wership, the said sum of Twenty-five Hundred Dollars shall revert to and be paid over to my children or to their heirs by right of representation."
"Fifteenth, I give and bequeath to the Second Congregational Society of Royalston, at South Royalston, so-called, the sum of Twenty-five Hundred Dol- lars ($2,500), to be held as a fund, the income of which shall be appropriated
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annually or semi-annually to the support of Gospel preaching in said Society; and it is my will that a Committee, to be chosen by said Society, for such purpose, shall act in concurrence with my Executors in the investing of said sum; provided, that whenever, if ever, said Society shall fail to support preaching, or to maintain a regularly organized Society at South Royalston, or whenever, if ever, that part of Royalston now known as South Royalston, shall be set off from said Town of Royalston, then, this sum of Twenty-five Hundred Dollars shall revert to and be paid over to my children or their heirs by right of representation."
"Sixteenth, I give and bequeath to the Town of Royalston the sum of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000), to be held and applied as a fund, the income of which shall be appropriated and paid over for the benefit and use of Common Schools in said Town, the said income to be divided among the several School Districts in like manner as the school money raised by the Town shall be divided; and it is my will that a Committee, to be chosen by the Town for such purpose, shall act in concur- rence with my Executors in investing said sum, and that every year a Committee shall be chosen by the Town at a legally called town meeting, who shall have the charge and oversight of such investment and shall report annually to the Town the condition and income of the same; provided, however, that whenever the said Town of Royalston shall neglect to keep, or cause to be kept, in a good state of repair, the new cemetery now being established on the ground recently purchased of C. H. Maxham, that is to say, shall neglect to maintain in good order and con- dition the said ground, fence, gate, and receiving tomb therein, then this sum of Five Thousand Dollars shall revert to and be paid over to my children and their heirs by right of representation."
This "Bullock School Fund" of $5,000 now brings an income of approximately $350 per year.
THE JOHN N. BARTLETT FUND.
The following article appeared in the warrant for the annual town meeting held on March 6, 1899:
"ARTICLE 8. To see if the Town of Royalston will accept a gift from John N. Bartlett on certain conditions, or take any action thereon."
When the article came up for action, as Mr. Bartlett was unable to be present, his nephew and agent, Edward E. Bartlett, presented his proposition, which is. given herewith, according to a copy furnished to me, which I believe to be a true copy of the document presented to and accepted by the Town. In the purported document printed in the Caswell History of Royalston, in keeping with similar mishaps in other parts of that work, several lines are omitted. The following is undoubtedly a true and complete copy:
"Royalston, Mass., March 6, 1899.
"To see if the Town of Royalston will accept from John N. Bartlett a gift of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000), to be held and applied, as a Trust Fund, the income of which shall be appropriated and paid over annually for the benefit and support of the poor in said Town of Royalston, on the following conditions, forever, namely:
"That every year a Committee of four or more, of whom one and only one shall be a member of the Board of Overseers of the Poor, shall be chosen by ballot by the Town at a legally called town meeting, and said Committee shall have the charge of investment and oversight of said Trust Fund; said Overseer of the Poor to be called upon at any and all times by the rest of said Committee for information with regard to the expenditures and legality of said expenditures for the poor; and said Committee shall report annually in detail the investments and condition of the same in print in the Annual Town Report, over their own signatures, and income of the said Trust Fund. Said income shall be applied to the support of the poor as they are now or may be provided for by law under the direction of the Overseers of the Poor. And if any year the income of said Fund shall not be sufficient to meet all the expenses of the poor, the same shall be made up by tax assessed upon the taxpayers of the town as levied by law for that purpose; and if at the end of the annual year the income shall exceed the demand for that purpose, the surplus of that year, if any, shall be added to the principal to be kept intact to the addition of the principal forever for that purpose.
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"The same to be called the John N. Bartlett Fund; and these requirements and conditions shall be recorded on the Town Records for reference and guidance for the Town and Committee and Overseers of the Poor.
"The investment of said Fund shall be made only in United States Securities, or in Bonds of the State of Massachusetts, or Bonds or Notes of Cities or Towns within the State of Massachusetts, or in Savings Banks within the State of Massa- chusetts, and in no case shall said Trust Fund or Interest thereof or any part thereof be invested in real estate or mortgages on real estate.
"The said gift of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000) may be made to the Town within the year A. D. one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine.
"Provided, however, that if at any time the Town should fail to comply with the requirements of said gift as stated above, or should cease to be a town, or should consolidate or annex to any other town, then this Trust Fund shall revert and be paid over to the donor, and if he is not living, to his legitimate heirs by right of representation."
"JOHN N. BARTLETT."
"Witness: EDWARD E. BARTLETT."
The Town voted to accept this Trust Fund of $20,000 on the conditions stated in the document.
Through an article in the warrant for the annual town meeting held March 5, 1900, the donor asked the Town to accept an addition to the requirements and stipulations relating to the Trust Fund, and the Town voted to accept the addition, as follows:
"Should there at any time or times be any loss or losses on the investments of the John N. Bartlett Trust Fund, in the future, from any cause or causes whatever, then the principal sum of Twenty Thousand Dollars, or more, as the sum may be by addition of the surplus, shall be made good from the income of said Trust Fund by the Town, before the Town shall receive any income from said Fund for the benefit and support of the poor."
The following article appeared in the warrant for the annual town meeting held on March 3, 1903:
"ARTICLE 27. To see if the Town of Royalston will accept of an additional gift from John N. Bartlett for the benefit and support of the poor, on the same conditions and requirements and forfeitures as in my original deed of gift of Twenty Thousand Dollars and the subsequent vote of the Town whereby they voted to keep the principal good, if there was any loss or losses."
When the article came up for action, Mr. Bartlett's agent, Edward E. Bartlett, stated that it was the donor's intention to add enough to his previous gift to make the whole amount Twenty-six Thousand Dollars ($26,000), including his original gift of Twenty Thousand Dollars and the surplus of interest on the original gift, amounting to $413.18.
It is probably entirely unnecessary to state that the Town voted to accept the additional gift.
For a number of years the amount'expended for the poor was less than the income from the Fund, so that the principal received generous additions from the unexpended income. Full data is not at hand; but the annual report for the year ending Feb. 1, 1905, shows that the income from the $26,000 was $1,031.95, and that there was an unexpended surplus of $459.36 to be added to the principal. The principal was further increased by additions, until at the end of the year 1911 it amounted to $28,297.04. In 1913 it was carried up to $28,564.66; since which time it has remained stationary, as the expense of the support and care of the poor has been greatly increased by the conditions brought about by the World War, and much more than the income from the Fund has been needed for that purpose.
The income from the Fund, which is invested in 29 Massachusetts savings banks, has increased somewhat, being $1,351.00 in 1921, and $1,337.23 in 1922.
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