USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I > Part 123
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On June 16 following, at a meeting of the newly constituted Board of Education, John S. Abbott
vered, and on March 18, 1844, Messrs. Farmer, Taylor, and Robb were appointed a "committee to ascertain amount of fines and forfeitures under the penal laws accruing to this board." The committee worked energetically, and from this time small amounts were obtained quite regularly.
In 1859, under the pressure of the daily increasing neessities of the public schools for books of refer- ence, maps, etc., the attention of the Board of
[759
49
760
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Education was especially directed to the subject, and on April 21 a resolution was offered by H. E. Baker "for a committee of three to inquire into the facts relative to the payment into the County Treas- ury of fines from the different Justices' Courts of the county; and whether this board receives its proper share of such fines." Messrs. Baker, Hall, and Cheever were appointed as such committee. On July 9 Mr. Baker presented a report showing that a large sum of money had been diverted from its proper channel, and recommending that a com- mittee be appointed to collect it. Accordingly Edmund Hall and H. E. Baker were appointed to take means to secure the fines accruing in the Police Court.
A suit was instituted, and on July 2, 1860, Mr. Hall reported that the Supreme Court had decided that the amounts in question collected during the previous five years belonged to the library fund of the county, and that about three fifths of the total amount of $17,000 belonged to the city. Under the stimulus of the decision, on motion of Mr. Wilkins, on November 12, 1860, it was directed that " Recitation Room No. 3 be fitted up with a lamp, centre table, chairs, and book shelves for the use of the Board and Teachers, as a library and commit- tee room." This room was in the second story of the old Capitol.
The committee continued their investigation and efforts, and on March 4, 1861, reported that they had made settlement with the county by which the library would receive about $7,000. On May 6 fol- lowing an account was ordered to be kept of receipts for the fund, and on May 18, 1863, it was resolved to provide accommodations for a " district library." On November 5 the library committee presented a detailed plan of the scope and purpose of the pro- posed library. Preparations went forward, and on March 25, 1865, it was formally opened in the first story of the old Capitol, and addresses delivered by C. I. Walker and W. P. Wells. At this time the library was used only for consultation, but on May 2, 1865, it was opened for circulation as well.
In 1867 an additional room in the second story was fitted up, and the same year the library com- mittee concluded that the board was entitled to the fines inflicted at the Central Station Court. On October 26, they made a formal demand for amounts due, but was refused. Suit was brought, and the Supreme Court, on October 20, 1868, decided that these fines also belonged to the county library fund. Another large addition was thus made to the re- sources of the library.
In 1870 a brick addition for library purposes was erected in the rear of the old Capitol ; and on March 20, 1871, it was opened for use. It became evident almost immediately that the new quarters
could accommodate the library for only a short time, and on June 9, 1871, the board petitioned the Common Council to grant them the old City Hall to be fitted up as a Public Library, and on July 18 the council granted the request.
Plans for remodelling were prepared, but the ex- pense, it was found, would be so great that the erec- tion of an entirely new building was deemed a better policy. Public opinion seemed to favor some other site, and finally, on March 13, 1872, the coun- cil gave the board a fifty-year lease of Centre Park. The lease was confirmed by the council sitting as a Land Board on May 21, 1872, and the Board of Education then gave up its right to the old City Hall. Doubts were entertained as to the authority of the council to make the lease, and a suit was instituted to prevent the use of the park as a site for the library building ; but in April, 1873, the Supreme Court decided in favor of the council.
On March 27, 1873, the Legislature authorized the raising of $150,000 to erect a building on ap- proval of the Board of Estimates. In April that board was asked to include in its estimates the sum of $125,000, in installments covering three years ; but declined. In the following year a request for $125,000 to be raised, as provided by the Act, was acceded to. On August 24, 1874. the plans of Brush & Smith for a building were adopted. Bids for construction were invited, but the lowest bid was nearly $30,000 more than the amount appropriated for both building and furniture. The plan was there- fore modified by omitting a large and ornamental tower, and two rooms connected with it, also the stone steps, and floors in the upper galleries.
The corner-stone was laid on May 29, 1875. Addresses were delivered by James W. Romeyn and Duane Doty, and there was also a procession of Knights Templars, Masons, Knights of Pythias, Pelouze and High School Cadets, and city officers. On January 22, 1877, the building was formally dedicated, addresses being delivered by J. T. Lig- gett and several others.
The total cost of the structure was $124,000. Its size is sixty-four by eighty feet. In addition to its floor room, each of the four galleries is calculated to contain twenty alcoves, with space for one hundred and twenty thousand volumes. Originally but one gallery was completed ; of the others, one was fin- ished in 1878, another in 1882, and there is still room for one more.
An addition to the building, fifty by sixty feet and three stories high, will be completed during 1885 at a cost of about $32,000. The rooms in the first story will be fire and damp proof and will be used for a bindery, and for the storage of valuable manuscripts and documents; the second story will be used for reading and study rooms and offices;
761
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
the third story will be devoted to a museum or such other uses as seem desirable.
The receipts from fines for the several years have been :
Year.
Amount.
Year.
Amount.
Year.
Amount.
1842
$63
1 860
$151
1872
$7,039
1844
26
1861
601
1873
10, 15I
1 846
93
1862
331
1874
8,508
1848
178
1863
3,187
1875
6,434
1850
269
1864
4,210
1876
8,815
1851
184
1865
4,561
1877
6,163
1853
206
1866
5,314
1878
6,129
1855
354
1867
2,163
1879
2,908
1856
863
1 868
2,615
1880
3,405
1857
240
1 869
12,962
1884
4,327
1858
170
1870
12,220
1885
10,376
1859
345
1871
5,839
1886
5,550
Under the Act of 1881, providing for a special tax for library purposes, there was received the first year the sum of $15,170, and as the tax is made obligatory, a successful financial future is well assured.
The library is primarily under the control of the Board of Education, and was originally managed by a committee of the board, and all books were selected subject to their approval. By Act of March 31, 1871, the board was authorized to appoint a Board of Commissioners, and transfer the library to their care; the board to consist of six persons, the first members to be chosen for one, two, three, four, five, and six years ; one member to be elected yearly thereafter for the term of six years, the president of the Board of Education to be a member e.r-officio.
No action was taken under this Act, and mean- time ten years passed away, and the funds received from fines so diminished in amount that the man- agement of the library became a burden to the board. They then became willing to share their responsibility, and with their approval, on March II, 1881, an Act embodying substantially the same pro- visions as that of 1871 was passed, with the addi- tional provision that a city tax of one fifth of one mill on each hundred dollars should be yearly levied for the support of the library. Under this Act, on December 27, 1880, the Board of Education ap- pointed the following library commissioners : J. V. Campbell, for six years ; G. V. N. Lothrop, for five years ; A. Chesebrough, for four years ; W. D. Wil- kins, for three years ; H. Kiefer, for two years : and Alexander Lewis, for one year. Their duties began on January 28, 1881. Mr. Wilkins died the last of March, 1881, and was succeeded by L. L. Barbour. Mr. Kiefer resigned in August, 1883, and was suc- ceeded by Magnus Butzel.
In 1885 Herbert Bowen and J. A. Marsh suc- ceeded Messrs. Lothrop and Chesebrough, and in
1887 G. S. Hosmer and R. S. Willis succeeded J. A. Marsh and A. Lewis.
The librarian is elected yearly ; the salary in 1883 was $1,500. Professor Henry Chaney, while prin- cipal of the High School, served also as librarian. After March 20, 1871, he gave his whole time to the library, and continued to serve until April 9, 1878. He possessed rare qualifications for the position, and the institution will always retain evidences of his ability and zeal. Rev. M. Hickey was his successor, and was succeeded April 12, 1880, by H. Gillman. and on August 1, 1885, was followed by H. M. Utley.
Beginning with a librarian and one assistant, the force has gradually increased, until in 1887 there were employed one male assistant, L. B. Gilmore, at $900 a year, and eleven lady assistants, with sal- aries ranging from $350 to $600 each.
When first opened, no person under eighteen might draw books from the library. On September 4, 1871, the rules were amended to permit persons over fifteen to use the library. Under these rules any resident of the city, for whom some approved person becomes security, may draw books upon an agreement being signed by both principal and surety to abide by the rules. Only one book may be drawn at a time. Prior to March 20, 1871, a ledger account was kept with each person drawing books ; since that date persons wishing to draw books fill out a blank slip, furnished by the board, with the name of the book wanted, their own name and residence, and from their library card the page and line of the Record Book where their name will be found. Each person drawing books is furnished with a card with double columns for date of draw- ing and returning, on which, as a book is drawn or returned, the date of the transaction is stamped. Fourteen days is the ordinary limit for which a book is loaned, but on giving notice when it is drawn, or at any time prior to the lapse of the fourteen days, it may be retained for four weeks. If no notice for renewal is given, a fine of two cents per day is col- lected for each day that a book is detained without such renewal.
Works of reference, elaborately illustrated books, and other volumes of special value cannot be taken from the building. If the library card is lost or destroyed, a new one can be obtained by the pay- ment of five cents.
On the evening of June 3, 1877, the library was entered by some petty thief and the Registry of Patrons and slips of books drawn were stolen. No serious loss resulted, but a new Registry of Patrons was required.
The library at first was open only between the hours of 7 and 9 P. M. on Wednesdays and Satur- days. On February 10, 1866, it was decided to open it daily from 4 to 8 P. M. After it was moved
762
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
to the rear of the Capitol, it was kept open from 10 A. M. to 8 P. M., and on Saturdays till 9 P. M. Since November, 1883, it has been open from 9 A. M. to 9 P. M.
In November, 1866, eleven hundred and fifty-four volumes from the library of General Cass were donated to this institution ; and in October, 1871, the old Fire Department Society gave one hundred and twenty-six volumes, the remnant of their library.
After the demise of the Young Men's Society in 1882, the public library received from that organi- zation four thousand and fifty volumes, also a marble bust of Lewis Cass and six oil paintings of ex- presidents of the society.
During 1885 the library became the custodian of the collections of the State Historical Society, and and of the library of the Mechanics' Society. The property of the Scientific Association was placed in charge of the library the same year, and is accom- modated in the second story of the addition built in 1885. It is open to visitors every day from 2 to 5 P. M.
The reading room on the first floor of the addi- tion was opened March 1, 1886.
During the summer of 1881 the library was closed for several weeks, and the books numbered; they were also newly arranged, and an entirely new classification adopted; and in August of the same year, a free reading-room, supplied with the leading periodicals, was opened.
The books under each classification are arranged on the shelves in alphabetical order according to name of the author. Many of the books once belonged to individual libraries, and not a few of them bear the private marks of distinguished own- ers. The autographs of Horace Walpole, William Wilberforce, and Lord Brougham are contained in books which evidently belonged to their private libraries.
Among the rare volumes is a manuscript of vellum with eight full-page and fifteen small illuminated miniatures. The library also possesses the writings of St. Augustine in the form of a veritable "chained book " of the fourteenth century, with the iron fast- enings still attached; various emblems are stamped on the binding. Lord Kingsborough's "Mexican Antiquities". is one of its treasures. The work bankrupted its learned and distinguished author, and in nine immense volumes reproduces in colors, with wonderful minuteness, the relics of an ancient and almost forgotten race.
Three catalogues have been issued; those of 1865 and 1868, with the supplement of 1871, are arranged alphabetically by authors' names, that of 1877 by subjects only.
A catalogue of fiction and juvenile books only was issued in 1886.
The growth in number of volumes, and the use made of them, is indicated in the following table :
Year.
No. of Volumes.
No. of Patrons.
Books Drawn.
1865
8,864
475
4,700
1 866
10,959
1,114
15,000
1867
15,020
1,650
30,000
1868
15,620
2,466
35,000
186
17,586
3,326
40,000
1870
18,717
4,710
40,000
1871
21,161
5,557
45,600
1872
22,115
6,759
98,000
1873
22,882
8,215
115,000
1874
24,176
9,355
145,000
1875
24,903
10,422
148,000
1876
33,604
11,464
148,000
1877
37,703
4,286
1 50,000
1878
39,045
7,791
185,447
1879
40,358
9,947
. 113,585
1880
40,496
11,399
116,932
1881
42,413
12,757
102,610
1882
50,605
13,839
114,960
1883
53,621
15,074
1884
56,668
16,420
126,376
1885
59,653
16,561
I 34,068
1886
70,550
10,678
147,616
The books are grouped under general heads, embracing almost every department of bibliography, including almost all historical, theological, scientific, and philosophical subjects and general literature. The library contains many rare, curious, and ele- gantly illustrated works, with a creditable collection of French and German authors.
184,200
.
PART X. COMMERCIAL.
1
CHAPTER LXXVII.
MERCHANTS AND TRADING .-- CUSTOM-HOUSE AND COLLECTORS .- THE BOARD OF TRADE.
MERCHANTS AND TRADING.
DETROIT was founded as a commercial colony, and her merchants would belie all the facts and tra- ditions of the past if they neglected to foster a com- mercial spirit and stretch out their hands for trade. Those who organized the colony in the wilderness of the lakes, came not because of religious perse- cution, nor in order to live under a government of their choice: money and adventure were the objects they sought. When Cadillac founded the post, he expected to have full control of the trade ; but no sooner had the post been established than merchants and trading companies began their intrigues to possess or destroy it. Before the stockade of Fort Pontchartrain was fairly completed, Louis XIV. and his ministers broke faith with Cadillac by granting to the Company of the Colony of Canada the ex- clusive right to trade at Detroit. That company had sought this right even before the colonists were sent, and on October 31, 1701, under orders from France, a contract was made with them at Quebec which gave them the control they sought.
Cadillac first heard of this contract on July 18, 1702. Thus, within a year, he was deprived of the chief advantage of the post he had himself planned and established. The trade of the country, and especially the furs of this region, were undoubtedly the chief objects of his desire; yet at one blow he was dispossessed of these emoluments, as the terms of the company's charter prevented his trading upon his own account. The company, however, were to complete the fort and keep it in repair, to pay annually, on October I, six thousand livres towards the support of poor settlers, and to bear the chief expenses of the transportation of articles for use of the garrison. In return for his services and efforts, Cadillac was to be maintained by the company, as was also one officer; the rest of the garrison were to be paid by the king.
Doubtless because of his protests and the evident injustice of the arrangement, an agreement was soon made by which he was to have one third of the commerce of the post ; but this was almost im- mediately succeeded by an agreement, lasting from 1702 to 1704, under which he was to have two thousand francs a year and subsistence for himself
and family, with no privilege of trade, -- truly, a beggarly pittance for services that he had rendered and could still perform.
It is doubtful, indeed, if the trading company designed to promote the settlement of Detroit ; on the contrary, there seems to have been at least a half-formed purpose to so manage as that the settle- ment should die through the mismanagement of its trade.
The Montreal merchants were jealous of the post, and sought in every way to destroy it and disperse the colony. They were aided in their endeavors by the Jesuits. In addition to these embarrassments, the resources of the company were so meagre and their plans so chimerical, that the infant colony was nearly strangled by the one that should have been its nurse and protector.
The directors of the company sent out commis- sioners, who charged so exorbitantly for their goods, and paid so little for furs, that the Indians were frequently estranged. At the same time the com- pany was defrauded by these agents, who obtained their appointment through nepotism of the most manifest kind. The company made profits of from four hundred to six hundred per cent on ammuni- tion, and two hundred per cent on beads, vermilion, and other goods, and, having exclusive rights, there was no room for competition or redress.
Cadillac refused to be a party to the frauds, and sought to obtain again the control of the colony. In 1703 he offered ten thousand livres per year for the exclusive right of trade. In a letter dated July 14, 1704, Count Pontchartrain acknowledges the receipt of Cadillac's letter of August 30 and 31, 1703, and says that at the same time he also re- ceived a series of complaints against him made by the directors of the trading company ; that he had presented Cadillac's proposition to the king, and that it had been accepted without any requirement as to the yearly payment; and that the king directed him to write to the directors to deliver up the post to Cadillac on his paying them for the goods which they had at Detroit, and also for the improvements made by them. Pontchartrain directed Cadillac to go to Quebec to arrange for the transfer of the post and to receive further instructions from Vaudreuil
1 765
766
MERCHANTS AND TRADING.
and Beauharnois, the governor and intendant. Pontchartrain also said, "The intention of the king is that you should have full command, and conduct the commerce for your own profit as really as the company did for its profit, the only restriction being that not over fifteen or twenty thousand pounds of beaver skins be shipped yearly, and that no trading canoes are to be sent to Michilimackinac or else- where on the Lakes."
All the business was to be conducted at Detroit, and Cadillac was to have the privilege of attracting as many savages as he could to the post, but was to take care that the privileges of the company outside of Detroit were not interfered with. An inspector of the company was to be allowed to remain at Detroit to see that this last regulation was observed. Vaudreuil was directed to give Cadillac as many soldiers as he asked for, and to pay for their transportation. In accordance with Pontchartrain's directions, Cadillac went to Quebec, and on his arrival there, early in the autumn of 1704, he was arrested at the instance of the directors of the company, who sought in this way to prevent the carrying out of the king's orders. His trial dragged along, and it was nearly two years before he could return to Detroit. The suit was decided in his favor on June 15, 1705, but arrangements were not com- pleted for giving him full control of the colony until June, 1706, and late in August he returned.
It should be noted that the exclusive trading privileges of the company pertained only to the exchanging of imported goods for the furs of the Indians. Whatever the settlers could make or raise themselves, they were at liberty to exchange if per- mits were first obtained from the commandant. For these permits Cadillac charged ten livres per annum, and he also required the citizens to pay for the privilege of carrying on their several avocations. M. Parent complained that he was required to pay six hundred francs, two hogsheads of ale, and agree to shoe all of Cadillac's horses for the privilege of engaging in the business of blacksmithing. After Cadillac relinquished the post, commerce and the culture of the soil decreased for several years. M. Tonty, his successor, refused to renew or to ac- knowledge Cadillac's permits, ill-treated those who had received concessions, and obliged them to pay large additional taxes. He charged five hundred livres in furs or three hundred in specie for a trading permit to go to Montreal. He seemed to care only to secure as much as possible for himself, and his exactions almost ruined the settlement. In consequence of his extortions and the increased prices of the traders, many of the Indians sought to exchange their furs with the English at Albany, then called Orange. This displeased the traders, and they had frequent quarrels with Tonty. There
were then trading here, Messrs. Chesne, Campau, De Marsac, Jean Bineau, Pierre Reaume, Picard, Roubidon, Oliver La Devoute, and De Gaudefroy.
While De Boishebert was commandant he refused to engage in trade himself, but sold permits or com- missions allowing others to trade; from this source alone he obtained funds enough to meet the ex- penses and keep the Indians good-natured by his gifts.
As the years went on, the traders found that not the commandant alone had to be paid, but every official at the post, from chaplain to sergeant; and in 1756 and 1757 the total amount was so exorbi- tant as to almost preclude any profit. The com- mandants were also in the habit of demanding extra supplies of goods for the Indians, and of making out false certificates for the amounts disbursed, and, as a result, the colony became greatly involved.
The last French commandant, Bellestre, was par- ticularly distinguished for official misconduct of the kind indicated. A desire to regulate the trade, settle the price of provisions, and put the colony on a better footing, was one of the chief objects of the visit of Sir William Johnson, who came in the fall of 1761. After his visit all traders were required to procure a license from him or his deputy, Colonel Croghan. With all these precautions, frauds still continued to be practiced, and in the spring of 1766 Colonel Johnson was compelled to appoint a resi- dent Commissioner of Trade to supervise the deal- ings of the merchants and redress grievances between whites and Indians. In matters connected with trade the commissioner possessed almost plen- ary powers. He outranked even the commandant in these matters, and had power to stop all trading, and even to close the stores of traders, if he deemed it necessary. Jehu Hay, the first Commissioner of Trade, continued in office for several years, and finally became Lieutenant-Governor of Detroit. It is not known that he had any successor as commis- sioner. After the appointment of Mr. Hay, there was much more uniformity in the prices and quality of goods offered in exchange for furs; but the character of the traders was not much improved, as is evidenced by the following extract from a letter of Captain Stevenson to Sir William Johnson, dated June 8, 1772, he says :
Two-thirds of the traders will acknowledge that I have been the most indulgent commanding officer they ever had. They are a sad set, for they would cut each others throats for a raccoon skin.
Soon after the English took possession, the town became the great centre of Indian commerce, and the Dutch merchants of the Mohawk frequently came to Detroit for purposes of trade. With one or two portages they reached the lake, and then, in their large open boats, they coasted along the shores
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