USA > Michigan > Genesee County > History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 81
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"Then came Michigan's own high dignitaries in state and nation, Sen-
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ator Alger, Mr. Justice Brown, of the United States supreme court, the Michigan supreme court in a body, other federal and state judges, and other state and local officials, completing the first division of the procession.
"The second division was Masonic, and attracted attention by the accu- rate execution by the Knights Templar of the elaborate evolutions laid down in their manual.
"It was not yet time for the old Flint part of the procession, yet the next division was more significant of the heroic in the early days of the city than any other, for it was the Grand Army division. Here they come, the band playing as gaily as for any of the divisions that have gone before, but somehow it is not gaiety that comes to the mind and heart as this divi- sion comes up the street. See the flags as they come along, faded and torn, with here and there a round hole in their faded stripes. How tenderly they are carried! And then see the men that follow them, in their Grand Army blue. Here is one with an empty sleeve, there another who goes with a crutch, and many a one who must needs use a cane. They are not so very old, say sixty-five on an average, but how long ago it seems from the time when they went forth, when the city was just beginning to be. To most of the spectators their work is a matter of history, not of memory, and it seems like having men step out of a book to see them marching along. Even to a few who can remember those stirring times of '61, the memory seems like that of a bygone era. And how hard it is to realize that these men were hardly more than boys when they went forth. To us they have been elderly, gray-bearded men for many a day. Is it possible that, when they did those things, they were really not so old as our National Guard boys? How strange it all seems! They pass, and the city is better for having seen them.
"Then come more fraternal orders, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Knights of Columbus, Knights of the Maccabees, Woodmen, Gleaners, Grangers, and finally the Order of Eagles, making up the fourth division.
. "In contrast to the military display which had preceded them, but of no less interest to the spectator, came the last two divisions of the procession devoted to Old Flint and to New Flint. As leader of the Old Flint division came a weather-beaten and dilapidated old stage coach in which James K. Polk rode to Washington for his inauguration, now drawn by four horses and with its top occupied by pigs and chickens. It was older than the city, but yet more elegant than many a public vehicle that drew settlers hither in search of homes. Behind the coach came a band of real Indians. On ordi- nary days they are much like other good citizens, but today they are gor-
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geous and terrible in buckskin and feathers like their fathers of old. Fol- lowing them came a load of logs, illustrating Flint's earliest industry, and after that a float containing a log-cabin, with a raccoon on its roof and skins of various animals hanging on its walls. In front of the cabin door sat the housewife, spinning industriously and at the same time rocking a cradle of old-time make. By her side stood the husband, with his cradle (for grain) over his shoulder. Many another suggestion of old days fol- lowed, including the doctor in his old-fashioned gig, and the old fire depart- ment under the veteran Chief James Williams, all togged out after the old fashion and pulling the hand pump that used to break the backs of enthu- siastic young fire laddies.
"Finally there came that division which represented all that for which the rest of the celebration had been prepared, namely, New Flint. It was represented by its mercantile industries, its vehicle industries, and by an orna- mental section consisting of a floral parade. Following the band, the mail- carriers, in Uncle Sam's blue and gray uniform, led the mercantile section, and after them came floats of all sorts representing the varied industries of Saginaw street, and with the present fire department, brought up the rear in imposing style. Then came the representation of the city's chief indus- try-vehicles. Following its own band, came the brigade of vehicle work- ers of the city, all in white uniforms, and then, after another band, six allegorical floats, on which much care and ingenuity had been lavished. On the first appeared a large globe, to which was attached a wheel, and as the wheel was turned by the goddess of fortune the globe revolved, an indica- tion of the part which the vehicle industry plays in making the world go round. Seated on the floor, among boxes, kegs, etc., were figures symbol- ical of art, industry and commerce. The next five represented the progress which has been made in the form of vehicles, beginning with a jungle scene, with a man reclining in a hammock suspended from a pole carried on the shoulders of two stalwart negroes. A second showed an Egyptian woman under a canopy on a camel's back, surrounded by Arabs. A third showed an Indian squaw with a papoose, riding on a travois, or Indian drag, made of two poles hitched to a pony's sides, across which a board was fixed on which the squaw was seated. Still a fourth showed the two- wheeled ox cart of Old Mexico drawn by oxen, while the latest and finest output of the vehicle factories formed an appropriate climax. To tell of the beauties of the floral display requires both more space and daintier words than is at the writer's disposal. Let the reader with the bare facts
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at his disposal, of ladies on horseback, floats and gorgeously trimmed car- riages and automobiles, supply the vision to his own imagination.
"So ended the first day's procession, but by no means all its celebra- tion. Of this it was but the beginning. The parade was followed imme- diately by the laying of the corner stone of the Federal building. The exer- cises were begun with prayer, followed by the laying of the stone by the grand lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Michigan, after which the Hon. D. D. Aitkin, mayor of the city, delivered the following address of welcome :
"Mr. President : On behalf of the city of Flint, which I officially represent at these exercises, I wish to extend to the illustrious visitors who honor us with their pres- ence, acknowledgment of the city's appreciation.
"The laying of the corner stone of this edifice, which is to be dedicated to govern- mental uses, is an evidence that Flint, as a government family, has assumed such proportions that it is entitled to a building in which to carry out its business relations with the government. I say family, Mr. President, because it seems to me that this great republic is made up of thousands of municipal families, both large and small, covering all the territory over which waves the Stars and Stripes.
"The great cities are municipalities, with their own municipal governments. The sparsely settled township is a municipality and, in its crude and undeveloped condi- tion, carries on in its own way the scheme of government; they all separately owe allegiance to, form a part of and, as a whole, constitute this republic of ours. While some of our associated municipalities outnumber us in population a thousandfold, and for wealth, the comparison would be still less favorable, yet, for devotion to one an- other, patriotism and love of country, we claim to be the peer of any.
"Fifty years ago, while yet small, with no knowledge of municipal government, we felt others would have greater respect and we, ourselves, could accomplish greater things if we were a city, and we became incorporated and took on the dignity of the name, although our numbers were few. From that day to this the improvements and increase in population have constantly gone forward and there has never been a time when we could not say there has been a material improvement in the year last passed, and today, honored by the presence of some of our country's most distinguished sons, laying the corner stone of this building to be erected, and dedicating the two beauti- ful buildings, one to education and the other to justice, is certainly sufficient reason for rejoicing and congratulations among the people of Flint, and it is with no small de- gree of pride that I again extend to you their thanks for your presence here today."
"Mayor Aitkin was followed by the Hon. Fred M. Warner, governor of Michigan, who also delivered an appropriate address of welcome to the distinguished guests from near and far.
"The Hon. Charles W. Fairbanks, Vice-President of the United States, was then introduced and spoke as follows:
"Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen of Michigan:
"We are assembled to perform an interesting function-a ceremony which denotes the growth and progress of a great people. We are taking a distinct step in advance.
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Old facilities and old methods are inadequate for present and future needs. Provision must be made by the government to meet in good manner the increasing requirements of the people, who are going forward with a will and with tremendous momentum to develop and expand their opportunities to the very utmost.
"The growth of the city of Flint and the state of Michigan has been great. Both city and state have increased with remarkable rapidity. It has not been many years since the spot whereon we stand was in the midst of a vast virgin forest. It was not long ago that the hardy pioneers entered the wilderness to lay the foundation of the present advanced civilization which we behold. We cannot contemplate present con- ditions without recalling the fact that this community, like many others in the United States, was most fortunate in the high quality of its early settlers. No country upon this earth was ever more blessed than our own by the splendid men and women who went into the forest to carve out their destiny. They had deep love for the home and abiding devotion to the state. They thirsted themselves for knowledge and were a God-fearing people. They endured privation without a murmur. They met hardship without complaint. They had unlimited confidence in their future. We witness today the ample fruition of their efforts and their hopes-the achievement in large measure of their exalted purpose. As we contrast the present with the past, we may well believe that they builded better than they knew.
"The cornerstone of this community was well set. It was laid in faith in the church; faith in the state; faith in the school house and faith in the fireside; and the faith of the fathers is the faith of the children.
"The building which will rise here is to be dedicated to a high use-the service of the people. There is no department of our government which comes so intimately and so constantly into contact with them as the postoffice department. In fact, the vast majority of our countrymen have no physical evidence of the existence of any other department of our national government. They are daily and hourly brought into touch with this great department. The word 'great' is not misapplied. It is used advis- edly, for there is no postal service in any country which approaches it in magnitude, and there is no other department of the government possesses such vast machinery and transacts so large a volume of the people's business.
When the postoffice here was established, three-quarters of a century ago, under the name of Flint River, there were ten thousand six hundred postoffices in the United States, and the gross annual expenditures of the postoffice department were two mil- lion nine hundred thousand dollars. Last year there were seventy-one thousand post- offices. The gross expenditure of the department was one hundred and fifty-two mil- lions of dollars. In 1834 there was a profit to the government in the service of eighty thousand dollars, while there was a loss last year of over eight millions of dollars. There were twenty-five million miles of mail service performed in the former year and five hundred and five millions of miles in the latter.
"We gain from this brief exhibit some conception of our rapid and vast national development, for the postal system has merely expanded in response to our national growth. It has merely kept pace with our commercial, social and national needs.
"It is impossible to exaggerate the beneficence of this great branch of our govern- mental service. It has been a most potent factor in our social and national upbuild- Ing. It is an indispensable instrument of trade and commerce. Paralyze it for even a brief time and the great business world would be seriously embarrassed.
"It has always been the helpful handmaiden of education. It promotes the wide dissemination of literature. It delivers the press within large areas free, and where it is not carried free, it is delivered at a low cost, with unfailing regularity and amazing punctuality. Through the instrumentality of the postoffice department, the
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press reaches the uttermost parts of the republic and people residing in the most widely separated sections in our country readily communicate with each other. The Ameri- can people are essentially a reading people. They live in the vital present and must have the latest information from all parts of the world and at the earliest possible moment. The postal system enables them to keep abreast of rapidly transpiring events at home and abroad. The system is not sectional in its operation, for it performs its functions with impartiality in all neighborhoods and all portions of the country.
"The present high state of the postal system has not been achieved at a single bound. It is the fruit of years of study, of earnest, patient effort. It is in the full- est degree of evolution. From the days of Benjamin Franklin until now the effort has been to suit the postal service to the expanding needs of the people. We have passed from the saddle-bags to the railway postoffice. We have developed in the cities from the postoffice where the people went to receive their mail to the free delivery system which carries it to their doors. We have developed from the postoffice at the country crossroads to the rural free delivery, which brings the mail daily to the farmers' gates. "There is, perhaps, no branch of the service which has been more rapid in its development and more beneficent in its operation than rural free delivery. Eight years ago it was in its incipiency. There were many who had no faith in it and who doubted its efficacy. Fortunately, there were those who were optimistic enough to believe that the service could be successfully established and who well appreciated the needs of the great agricultural communities of the United States. It has rapidly passed from the experimental stage and become a permanent feature, far-reaching in its effects
"Eight years ago, there were, all told, forty-four routes. The annual appropriation was forty thousand dollars, less than fifteen thousand of which was expended. Last year there were more than twenty-four thousand routes, covering more than five hundred and seventy-nine thousand miles, involving an expenditure of more than twelve millions of dollars. The appropriation by the last Congress for the support and extension of the rural free delivery service for the coming year amounts to twenty millions of dollars.
"The rural free delivery service has not been and is not self-supporting, and it will not become self-sustaining for years to come; yet the service is so beneficent in its larger results that it will be maintained and extended regardless of this fact. It has, by no means, reached the limit of its development. It will continue to expand and in good time will be extended to every neighborhood where it is feasible. It will, no doubt, in years to come, become self-supporting. In measuring its effects we cannot regard it purely from the pecuniary standpoint. The people do not stop to consult the ledger when they make provision for their moral or intellectual welfare. We must view the service as we consider all governmental measures and policies-from the standpoint of the ends accomplished. In a very marked degree it removes the isolation of the farm and brings agricultural communities into close touch with trade centers.
"The postal department is the only great department which is essentially devoted to promoting knowledge among the people. It is, indeed, a vital agent in the general cause of education. The American people believe in an educated citizenship. They firmly believe that it is the predicate of our highest and best development, and that it is, in the final analysis, the source of the strength, the safety and the permanence of our institutions. There is nothing in which we more justly pride ourselves, as a people, than in the fact that we have promoted the cause of education; that we have freely and without regard to cost, supported the schools, and have maintained those agencies and facilities which tend to educate the great masses of our countrymen.
"The money order system which has been incorporated as one of the functions of the postoffice department, enables the government to transfer small sums among the
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people. The system has been in operation for about forty years and it has grown rapidly. The amount of money orders issued the first year amounted to near four millions of dollars. Last year the aggregate was about three hundred and eighty millions of dollars. There were issued in the last year foreign money orders to the amount of more than forty-two millions of dollars. When we consider the fact that the aggregate of domestic and foreign money orders is composed of comparatively small sums, we can gain some conception of the widespread benefit of the system.
"It is a pleasure to us all to be present and associate ourselves with this most important step in giving practical effect to the will of Congress and the wish of this community. The building which will be erected here in due course, will stand for many years to come. The seasons will come and go, administrations will rise and fall, but it will continue to be an efficient instrument in building up the social and commercial interests of this community, destined to greatness yet unattained.
"We lay this cornerstone at an interesting period in our national history ; at a time when we are at peace with the world and when there is harmony within our border, and when our countrymen are engaged as never before in the pursuit of their gainful occupations. We observe no signs of danger about us. Everywhere there is a most abundant assurance of increasing strength and expanding power in all of the ways which make for a higher and better people. There are neither social nor economic disorders which will not find their sure antidote in the essential soundness and patriotism of the great body politic and the incorruptible virtue of the great masses of the best republic the world has ever known.
"Permit me to congratulate you on your golden jubilee. Fate has scattered many who claim this as home to other states and other communities. They have attained success and honors elsewhere, but this community possesses for them a peculiar interest and they return today with affection and gratitude. The home of our youth is home in a very essential sense always.
"Marvelous changes have come in fifty years and greater changes still await you in fifty years to come, if you but use well your opportunities and stand for those high ideals which have so prospered you in the past.
"I most heartily congratulate you upon the celebration of the completion of the half century of your growth as a municipality. You have just reason for pride in what you have so well accomplished. The name of Flint is widely celebrated. It stands for progress, for high commercial honor, for law and order, for education and good morals. Here the home is exalted above all else.
"You celebrate an important event under happy auspices. You have invited to share -
with you in your felicitations those whom the hand of fate has scattered among other states and other communities. They return to the old rooftree with true filial affection and rejoice with you in what you have so splendidly achieved. May the half century upon which you enter with such promise, fulfill in full measure the prophecy of today.
"The Vice-President was followed by the Hon. Samuel W. Smith, rep- resentative of the sixth congressional district. who had rendered the most valuable assistance to the city in securing an appropriation for the building and who extended his congratulations in a felicitious address which was cordially and heartily applauded.
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"The exercises at the Federal building were followed in the afternoon by a battalion parade and exhibition drill at the fair grounds, which drew out a large and enthusiastic company of spectators.
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"The elements of the parade were the two battalions of infantry, the Detroit Naval Reserve and the Detroit and Flint commanderies of Knights Templar. After the march to the fair grounds there was a battalion parade by the First Battalion of the First Infantry, an artillery drill by the Naval Reserves and an exhibition drill of their graceful and intricate evolutions by Detroit Commandery No. I, Knights Templar. No attempt can be made to describe all the marchings and counter-marchings, except to say that the Naval Brigade found its work to include more elements of warfare than had been expected, as, owing to recent rains, parts of the fair grounds were little better than pools of water, so that hauling cannon about by hand was anything but easy or tidy work and not so very different from landing on a muddy shore.
"After the drill came an inspection of Company A, of the Third In- fantry, the march back to the fair grounds, and a concert at the park by the First United States Infantry Band from Fort Wayne.
"Meanwhile, another set of military exercises, less showy, but not less memorable, was taking place in front of the new court house, namely, the dedication of the memorial tablets to the soldiers and sailors of Genesee county in the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. The tablets were, of course, in the entrance hall and corridors of the court house, but in order to make room for the great crowd the exercises were held on the lawn in front.
"Escorted by the fife and drum corps, the veterans marched from the Grand Army hall to the court house, and there, after music and bugle call and the 'assembly' by prominent Grand Army men, introductory remarks were made by M. C. Barney, chairman of the committee in charge of the work. A few words from his remarks are given here to help set forth the proud right that these men have that their names should be emblazoned in our hall of justice :
"This grand old Genesee county gave practically all her boys and men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five to help make the grand total of 2,556,563 that went to the front and saved this nation. Michigan gave 90,747, which was a greater number than was subject to draft, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five; of this number, 14,753 were killed in action.
"Very many Genesee county soldier boys are in unknown graves all over the South- land and their names will never be known, except as they appear on these walls. We are glad today that we can say to the people who lost friends on those bloody battle- fields, and to the friends of those who lost their health on Cuban soil, that their names shall be placed on these walls, on that beautiful Tennessee marble, from southern battlefields.
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. "Mayor Aitkin then spoke words of welcome of more than usual feel- ing and appropriateness, and was followed by Capt. E. M. Allen, of Port- land, Michigan, the memorial orator. A portion of his address follows:
"We meet today to indulge a chapter of the unwritten history of the Civil War, to count some of the unnumbered blessings wrought for us, and to pay a passing tribute to those men who made blessings possible. I am very proud of Michigan, which has honored me by adoption; proud not only for the splendid civilization which is hers today, but especially proud of her patriotic devotion to the general government in the hour of common peril. In a night of extreme danger, General Kearney said, 'Put a Michigan regiment on guard,' and while the silent stars looked down in admiration, and the night wept dews of pity, the sleepless sons of Michigan kept watch and guard while the army slept, to dream of home and friends around the fireside.
"More than ninety per cent of the men of military age in Michigan were at the front. No portion of this commonwealth was more patriotic than this splendid county of Genesee. The record shows that ninety-three per cent of her men of military age left home, with all its endearments, to maintain the honor of our flag, many, alas! to find on distant battlefields a soldier's burial. Can we today realize what this percentage meant to the people of your city forty years ago. Let me give you an object lesson. There are perhaps one hundred men in this audience between the ages of eighteen and forty-five. The same rule applied today would take ninety-three of these and march them away keeping step to the music of the Union. Twenty boys in your high school over eighteen years old. Call eighteen of them out, put them in the livery of their country, and stand them up to brave the shot and shell of an implacable foe. Think of this, my young friends, and try to realize what it cost to be patriotic in those heroic years.
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