USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Gloucester > The book of the three hundredth anniversary observance of the foundation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony at Cape Ann in 1623 and the fiftieth year of the incorporation of Gloucester as a city > Part 18
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"For 300 years the men of the sea have gone from this port out of our harbor, through the different courses of the ocean, and have done business on the banks bringing back cargoes so that our city may be prosperous. They have been men who have worked day in and day out. Some one said to me today that because of the inclement weather we should postpone these exercises, and I said, "No" because the men in whose honor the exercises are held, conducted their business despite the weather. They went in January and May and December, and came back in summer weather and their boats came in winter weather covered with
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sleet and ice. It made no difference to them; they saw the job and they did it. And so today although the skies are somewhat in- clement, we hold these services in their memory. The committee has thought it wise to select this spot, the most prominent place, perhaps, in our city, for the erection of our memorial. Today we only dedicate the site. It may be a year and a half before the splendid memorial which will be erected, will be placed on this spot, and now in behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which is contributing to the erection of this memorial, the citizens of Gloucester, and committee on permanent memorial, I solemnly dedicate this place for the erection of a permanent memorial to last through the ages, for all the fishermen of Gloucester, the dead and the living.
"I have a little additional duty to perform. It may seem small, but it seems very important to some of us. It is the awarding of the prizes to the scholars of our schools, those who wrote historical exercises. History to the people of Gloucester is very sacred. As I have said before this is the beginning of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Why shouldn't we point with pride to Gloucester ? It was Gloucester men who rowed Washington across the Dela- ware; Gloucester men who were at the seige of Louisburg; Gloucester men in the War of 1812; Gloucester men of 1865; Gloucester men at Santiago in 1898; 1800 men from Gloucester in 1917.
"The Committee found1 it very difficult to select the winners of the prizes, and I may say that every one in Gloucester is an embryo historian. History is taught from the time the child can go to school, and it is taught even after he graduates. The winners of the prizes are the following, and if these winners are present I wish they would come forward and I will present the prizes of the Committee."
High School-Senior-Elinor Richardson, 350 Essex Avenue, "Gloucester's Appeal to the Artist"; Junior-Doris M. Burnham, 9 Bickford Street, "A Famous Gloucester House"; Sophomore-Louise Tarr, Rockport, "Stage Fort Park"; Freshman-Margaret E. Sweet, Bond's Hill, "How Thatcher's Island was Named."
Grammar Grades-Grade Five-Marion F. Steele, Ellery Street, Riggs school, "Dogtown Common"; Grade Six-William J. Crawley, Jr., Summit Street, Babson school, "The Spirit of Gloucester"; Grade Seven-Elizabeth W. Foster, Washington square, Collins school, "An Indian Girl's Account of the Settlement of Cape Ann"; Grade Eight- Esther Burnham, Grove Street, Maplewood school, "Gloucester's Part
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in the Civil War"; Grade Nine-Joseph Honnors, Wheeler Street, Riggs school, "A Trip to the Banks."
The anniversary memorial ode, written by a Gloucester born woman, now resident of California was read by Mr. Reuben Brooks. It was one of the principal contributions to the Ter- centenary, original in conception and virile in expression breath- ing with understanding the spirit, traditions and aspirations of this ancient fishing town.
ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL ODE TO GLOUCESTER By Helen Corliss Babson July 1923.
Helen Corliss Babson is the daughter of Fitz J. and Carrie A. (Burnham) Babson, grand daughter of Captain Fitz J. Babson, graduate of the Gloucester high school and Vassar college, now vice principal of the Jefferson high school of Los Angeles, Calif.
Hail, Mother City, like a jewel set In platinum of granite, 'gainst the blue Of ocean as a velvet foil that makes Thy beauty clearer, while the roll and fret Of constant motion ever marks anew Thy sure stability ! From other shores where alien current breaks, Yet never fairer than thy beaches foam, From plain and prairie, mountain, hill, and dale Thy children turn today their faces home, And over years and distance send thee Hail !
They bear thee honor for thy sturdy past ; Since first men sought thy harbor's resting place, And stood upon thy shore and knew it good, How many a valiant son his net has cast And crowded canvas for the homeward race Nor ever counted cost of storms that brood Across the pathless deep.
With godlike fortitude that still would scorn To take the name of courage-dauntless, free, From ice held Arctic to the distant Horn Thy schooners knew the salt of every sea.
And where is skill the equal of thy sons' Who tell the stars as students con their books,
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To whom the secrets of the tides are known, The channels where the warm sea current runs, And how the promise of the heaven looks When gales their fury on the sea have blown, And breaking, die.
Who read the story of the singing sheet, And if the crafty fish their wisdom spurn Will follow, follow, where the schools retreat E'en if they follow, never to return.
Thy dead! Through thee a tribute to thy dead ! Those gallant, gallant souls who drew their love Of biliow and of spume from thine own veins And answered, though the chart of duty led So far from warning bell and sheltering cove That oftimes, in some unmarked green sea lanes Far, far below
The scaly hoards they strove to find, they rest. Yet when thy daughters fragrant garlands heap Borne outward on the broad Atlantic's breast Our thoughts and blossoms find them where they sleep.
So stand, Oh Mother City, on thy hills Sea circled and sea scented ! Stand and gaze Across that sea where still thy living sail, And where, till Time its prophecy fulfills, Thy other children sleep. The newer days Have tried to woo thee, yet without avail, From thy one purpose.
To wheel and power, market-place and mill Thy sister cities turn and turn again ; Still to the seaward set thy face and will, Thy strength, thou knowest, lies in ships and men!
Mr. Stoddart, continuing, said :
The next speaker is well known to our citizens having been a resident for a number of years, but of late years has removed to a sister city. He hasn't lost his kind interest which he has always taken in the welfare of Gloucester. A survivor of the Civil War, a great benefactor of our city, at this time it gives me great pleasure to present Col. Edward H. Haskell.
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CARLETON H. PARSONS, Esq. Chairman Permanent Memorial Committee
LEONARD CRASKE Sculptor Permanent Memorial Senator JOHN A STODDART Representative of the Commonwealth Charge of Dedication of Corner Stone, Permanent Memorial
MISS HELEN CORLISS BABSON Memorial Odist
COL. EDWARD H. HASKELL Orator, Memorial Exercises
in
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Colonel Haskell said :
"It is a special honor you have conferred on me, in asking me to speak for the veterans of the several wars, who are represented here this morning, in voicing our appreciation of the high purpose and patriotic response which this city has always made to the call of country, to come to her aid, in every hour of her need.
From the days when the clarion call to duty from the Minute Men of Bunker Hill summoned the young patriots of Gloucester to service, under the leadership of Capt. Nathaniel Warner and Capt. John Rowe, who marched their commands to Bunker Hill on that memorable night of June 16, 1776, and who threw them- selves, with patriotic fervor, into the battle the following morning, until the close of the Revolutionary war, Gloucester responded, again and again, to every call, until she had contributed six com- panies, out of a population of only 4900 people, and when we recall that 329 of these volunteers paid the full measure of their devotion to their country with their lives, we can realize at what a price we secured our freedom, and laid the foundation of our great Republic, as we must also realize the great sacrifices and loss which their deaths brought to the wives and mothers and fatherless, who were left as a patriotic legacy to those who were "keeping the home fires burning."
And what a glorious chapter was added to her history during the war of 1812 with Great Britain, which, as you will recall, was largely a war upon the sea, in which the seamanship of our naval forces, and the excellence of their gunnery proved so superior to the British Navy that they were compelled to withdraw, long before the Treaty of Peace was arranged.
In a very interesting address before the Massachusetts Club, in honor of Governor Long, who had just been appointed by President Mckinley as secretary of the navy, Senator Hoar made this remarkable statement; "That the King of England was so enraged at the failure of the British navy to destroy our small naval fleet, that he ordered a commission of inquiry to ascertain the reasons for such defeat, at which it was shown that *out of 19 engagements our own naval fleet won 15 victories, and which the commission reported was due to the superior seaman- ship and superior gun fire, on a rolling sea, and this modest naval fleet was manned largely by Gloucester and Massachusetts fishermen." A great tribute to those who had no special training in gunnery practice.
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And what shall I say of the War for the Preservation of the Union, from the call of Abraham Lincoln, to the close of the Re- bellion, when this patriotic town literally poured the best that she had of her choice sons into the service of their country, until 1581 of her sons had volunteered for service in the Army and in the Navy.
Our memories go back to those memorable days, when, under Allen and Center and Cook and Cunningham and Babson, and other commanders, our Gloucester boys rushed to the front, shout- ing, "We are coming Father Abraham, 300,000 more !"
What a glorious record of patriotic service !
And we thank God today for the great results secured at Appomattox, which gave us a re-united country, pledged to the fulfillment of those high ideals, of a Government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and which, with the lamented Lincoln, we pray "may never perish from the Earth."
And when, in the insolence of an inflated pride, later on, the Government of Spain challenged our country to a measure of arms, in the interest of the subjugated peoples of Cuba and the Philippines, how nobly we responded to the altruistic call for help, to free these peoples from the domination of the monarchical in- fluences, which had held them in bondage for centuries.
And again, in more recent years, when, in the Providence of God, we were again called upon to meet a great crisis in the history of the world, when it seemed as if all the high ideals for which we had sacrificed so much in the past were doomed to de- struction in the great World War, how gloriously America re- sponded to the call for further service, and sacrifice, until the whole world stood amazed at the spectacle of four million Ameri- can soldiers on the field of action, or in their several training camps, mobilized to preserve these same ideals of Democracy, for which our forefathers had fought and died, and to perpetuate these ideals among the Allied Nations, many of whom, for the first time, had come to realize the prospective blessings of civil and religious liberty, in a Government founded on the consent of the governed.
And what shall I say of the greater sacrifices and the endless sorrow brought home to the mothers and the wives, who through all these Wars have suffered an unspeakable anguish as their dead have been brought home to them, or laid away, with military honors, in a far away land.
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Mr. Chairman, our honored city is about to erect a perma- nent memorial to the civic virtues and patriotic services of her sons, who, through all these years, on land and on sea, have con- tributed to her welfare, and to her glorious history, and have made her a household word throughout the world.
May I make a suggestion, as one of her sons, which I am sure will meet a response from all who are present :
That, on this Memorial monument, there shall be placed a tablet, as a tribute to the patriotic wives and mothers, who, through all these years, have made the greater sacrifices to their country, whose hearts have been wrung by the greater suffering which we can hardly realize and appreciate.
Let us salute the women of Gloucester, who contributed so much, as patriots, to the honor and glory of our country.
I ask it in the name of these Veterans of the War for the Preservation of the Union. I ask it in the name of these Veterans of the Spanish American War, and I ask it in the name of the Veterans of the American Legion, who, in the Providence of God, are permitted to join in these exercises, and to pay their tribute to their Comrades, who have passed on to the Eternal Camping Ground on the Infinite Shore.
Veterans of the several wars, I salute you, all honor to you for the service you rendered your country, in her hour of peril, and
All honor to the women of the past, who have also con- tributed so much to the Glory of our Republic."
Representative John Thomas was the next speaker paying a deserved tribute to the sailor fishermen.
The exercises were closed with the benediction by Rev. Alfred J. MacDonald of St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church :
"O God, whose power is manifested by the sea, whose immensity is suggested by it, grant that we may ever acknowledge our depend- ence upon Thee, and as in the life of our sturdy fishermen who have gone forth from this port for over 300 years, to suggest our re- ligious life, grant that we may in this service give to Thee an example of the sturdy qualities that they have manifested as they sailed forth to conquer the ocean and gain their livelihood. As they were far from home, and their thoughts turned to land and to their homes, so may we during this life turn our minds and hearts toward our true home which is heaven, and as the compass was their guide, so may Thy Ten Commandments and Thy love be a guide to us in our journey through this life towards our true home, heaven. May Thy law be the guide of our life as individuals and to us as a community that we may be ever pleasing to Thee and merit Thy assistance.
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O God, we thank Thee for the blessings that Thou hast brought on the settlement at Gloucester for 300 years. We thank Thee, for the vast material and spiritual good that Thou hast bestowed upon our people. We thank Thee that those who first came here with the op- portunity of Thy service, and that after a few years we find repre- sentatives of Thy Gospel, preaching Thy law. May this community at Gloucester, always acknowledge its dependence upon Thee. Let our gratitude and our faith be in heaven, and may we ever merit Thy bless- ing and Thy assistance. Amen."
The chairman of this most important committee, which so adequately performed its duties, was Carleton H. Parsons, Esq.
THE MAYOR'S LUNCHEON
One of the delightful functions of the celebration-the more so from its very informality-was the Mayor's luncheon given at city hall. To this were bidden more than 500, a buffet lunch being served while an orchestra rendered music. Many in the assemblage encountered old friends and the resultant pleasure and interchange of reminiscences heightened measurably the enjoy- ment of the occasion. Through it all Mayor MacInnis circulated from group to group extending the courtesy and hospitality of the city.
From the oratorical standpoint it ranked as one of the major events, including Senators Lodge and Capper, Lieut-Gov. Fuller and Congressman A. Piatt Andrew as the principal speakers. The hall was packed by an assemblage eager to hear the message brought by these distinguished statesmen. Mayor MacInnis called the gathering to order with the following remarks :
"Ladies and gentlemen, guests of the city of Gloucester: I just want to add my word of welcome as Mayor, and to say how happy I am that you are with us today on this historic occasion. We feel honored with your presence, and hope that you will find the occasion to be all that you expected it to be. It is most gracious of you all to come, some of you from long distances, to be with us today. We shall feel it for a long time to be a tribute to the city and all that it stands for after these 300 years of existence. We have a great many guests here today from all sections of the country, and it seemed fitting that some should say just a few words even on this very informal occasion. As the Governor said in his proclamation, '300 years ago, a company of fishermen and farmers came from Dorches- ter, England, settled in these parts and established the first per- manent business of fishing in this commonwealth' which has been conducted here ever since, and is the oldest industry in the nation."
We have today as an especial guest of honor, the Lieut-Gover- nor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and I want to say in
SPEAKERS AT MAYOR'S LUNCHEON HON. HENRY CABOT LODGE
HON. ARTHUR CAPPER Senator from Kansas COL. A. PIATT ANDREW Chairman Reception of Guests and Illumination Committee
GOV. CHANNING H. COX
Lieutenant-Governor ALVAN T. FULLER
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behalf of the people of Gloucester how happy we are to have him with us and I take personal pride in introducing his Honor, the Lieu- tenant-Governor of Massachusetts, Alvan T. Fuller.
Lieutenant-Governor Fuller's address was as follows :
"Three hundred years have passed in the recorded history of the settlement of the city of Gloucester, County of Essex, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The pioneers who came to its shores in those early days brought with them the stern essentials of a simple life,-a belief in God, lib- erty and justice. No lure of conquest or material gain urged them hither or quickened the footsteps of their progress. The desire for fame and fortune, though resident in the hearts of most men, found little place in the scheme of their lives. It is well that the foundation of the world's greatest Republic was laid on such simple lines. They little realized that they were destined to be the pioneers of a new epoch in the world's history, founders of a new government that has surpassed anything else ever attempted in national life and achievement in behalf of its citizenry.
The city of Gloucester proudly celebrates today its own tercen- tenary; the three hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the three hundredth anniversary of the first permanent business of fishing, an industry which has made its name and fame known with increasing greatness in the passing years. Its emblem for nearly a century and a half has been suspended in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a reminder to suc- ceeding generations of the courage and fortitude of the men who go down to the sea in ships, and that out of this honorable industry have come the men who, with John Paul Jones, drove before them in victorious battle the enemy fleet manned by the hitherto invincible heroes of the old world.
From this record lessons of value may be drawn that will hold the citizens of our Commonwealth true to the elemental virtues of its past, and point amid the complexities of a modern civilization the clear highway to civic virtue and progressive human endeavor.
If that be accomplished, splendid indeed will be the progress of this ancient city and the Commonwealth of which she is a part."
The mayor voiced the sentiments of the entire city in intro- ducing the succeeding speaker-foremost statesman, scholar and historian-as follows :
"Through all these 300 years, Gloucester has had the splendid as- sistance of the Representatives of the Commonwealth in Congress. Ours has been and is an industry which has international aspects, and questions of moment continually arise, delicate questions, which must be handled very carefully, and the fishing industry of Gloucester owes a lasting tribute of gratitude to Senators and Representatives in Congress, who have done so much to further the industry and make affairs pleasant with competitors in adjoining countries. Dur- ing the three centuries no city in this Commonwealth, or any other
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Commonwealth, has ever had a more loyal friend than the next speaker. His presence with us today is a benediction, his service has been, and is and will be a glorious service, lasting as it has lo, these many years, and we hope it will extend a great many years in the future. I have the great privilege to introduce as the representa- tive of the government of the United States of America, the senior senator, from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge."
Senator Lodge on arising to respond was accorded a splendid demonstration which lasted several minutes. His feeling tribute to the departed president and his plea for support of his successor fell on responsive auditors :
ADDRESS OF SENATOR LODGE
To any American it is always an honor to be asked to speak to his fellow Americans as a representative of the United States. To do justice to that great subject no man can be completely adequate, but the consciousness of inadequacy does not dull the keen sense of the honor which such an opportunity must always bring. Here in Gloucester is one of the famous starting points whence the long march destined to end in the conquest of a continent began. Here, just here, a little band of hard-working, hard-fighting, God-fearing English Puritans seized with strong hands this bit of coast on the Atlantic's edge. Here they fished and traded and endured all the hardships of the untamed wilderness. Hence they moved along the coast and settled where cities now stand, but they never let go their hold. When the forerunners of the great Puritan emigration arrived, they found the "Old Planters," as we like to call them, were there before them. Here then, of all places, here where some of the seed from which came a mighty people was first sown, must the thought of the United States come home with a peculiar force and vividness, for the men and women to whom we owe this Anniversary were our ancestors who entered into and possessed the land where such won- derful things have been wrought during three centuries which seem to us have passed like a watch in the night.
When we speak at this moment of the United States, a great sorrow rises before us and dims our eyes. Within this month now drawing to a close, within less than one short month, President Harding has died, suddenly after a brief illness, and has been car- ried to the tomb, accompanied by the unfeigned grief of a mourning nation. This is not the place nor is it yet the time to speak of his public services or to discuss his policies. He did some great work, achieved important successes of deep moment to his country and to the world both at home and abroad. Death and time will bring the perspective necessary to righteous judgment, and there is no fear that history, present and to come, will not give the credit and render that justice to which he is fully entitled and which was not accorded to him in proper measure during his lifetime. He came at a period when the world was staggering under the shock of the World War.
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Everything was shaken, even in the United States, finance and poli- tics, manners, morals and even daily habits of life. There was wide- spread restlessness and discontent, and those who strove hardest to serve the people and who rendered great service, like President Harding, did not in the passing hour receive their due and well-earned reward. The voice of political enmity is already stilled; the snarling criticism of those who take not only all knowledge but all righteous- ness for their province is hushed, and we must remember that history will do justice and in calmness set all things even. But even now it is not too soon to say that I have never seen a man in high office, beset as our President was by endless clamor and faced by countless questions, great and small, who met all difficulties in a spirit so purely disinterested as President Harding. However he decided a question or replied to a request, he never thought of himself; no personal ambition ever swayed him. He thought only of what his duty was and what he believed to be for the best interests of the American people whom he loved. This I know well from close ob- servation, but the people instinctively felt it and had faith in his purity of motive and in his indifference to his own fortunes when his public duty came to him for performance.
The feeling that most oppressed me when the news of his death was flashed in the night, for in sorrow as in joy human nature asserts itself, was the loss of a friend of whom I had become very fond and whose death would leave a gap in my daily life never to be filled. President Harding was a most lovable man. He inspired af- fection in all who approached him, and the more one was with him the stronger became the sense of personal affection. He was, in the beautiful words of Bassanio:
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