USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > History of Cuyahoga County soldiers' and sailors' monument. Scenes and incidents from its inception to its completion.--Description of the memorial structure, and roll of honor > Part 16
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" There were not less than 2,000 people on the Square when Dr. L. B. Tuckerman called them to order last evening. The Doctor briefly announced the object of the meeting, and asked that a chairman be appointed. Thomas G. Fitzsimmons was selected without delay, and he made a capable presiding officer. Edmund G. Vail was the first man introduced to the assemblage. He said the old Soldiers were being 'played for chumps by the dozen men who were trying to run the Soldiers' Monument.' 'Why don't some of these champions, with marks on their faces that they got in slaughter- houses and not on the battle-field, devote some of their energies to getting pensions for deserving living old Soldiers, instead of putting up a Monument to dead ones where the people don't want it?' demanded Mr.
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Vail. 'We don't want to have any ill feeling with the South to-day,' he continued. 'The war has been over for twenty-seven years.'
"'Well, we don't want any condemnation of the old Soldiers. Don't give us any more of that sort of talk,' shouted one of his auditors, and the words were greeted with a ringing cheer.
"'I'm not condemning the old Soldiers,' replied Mr. Vail. My father and brother were good Soldiers-bet- ter Soldiers than these inen who have so mnich to say about the war now. The men who are doing most of the talking in favor of the old Soldiers are the men who fought with their mouths thirty years ago. I don't want you to pull down the fence. [Cries of 'pull it down.'] The Commissioners put it up; let them pay for taking it down. Anyone who advocates pulling down the fence is an Anarchist.'
"'Who's he calling an Anarchist ?' demanded a man, who, if appearance counts for anything, was certainly entitled to the appellation. As he asked the question, the man elbowed his way toward the rostrinn and shook his fist at Vail. The question was repeated in louder tones. The man's friends hustled him back to the edge of the crowd. Mr. Vail continued his speech, but ever and anon could be heard the inquiry, 'Who's an An- archist ?'
"The next speaker was William Heisley, Esq., who began by saying that he was opposed to moving Perry's Monument. He did not see much use for building a Soldiers' Monument anywhere. 'If the men who were building it must have their names recorded, let them place it where the people want it,' he continued. There were several shouts of 'Where do the people want it?' 'I don't care where they want it. They cer- tainly don't want it on the Square,' was the answer. 'I don't question the legal right of the Commission to
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place the Monument in the Square,' continued the ora- tor, 'but it's mighty bad taste in them to go against the wishes of the citizens. One thing is certain, they had no right to place that fence there, and it can be demol- ished by any man, and they can't punish him for it, either.' This statement was enthusiastically received. ' The City authorities ought to remove the fence,' the speaker went on, and he continued in the same strain, berating the Mayor and General Meyer for what he termed dereliction of duty. 'If General Meyer had told the Mayor the fence had no right there, as lie ought to have told him, it would have been taken down in short order,' was his concluding utterance.
"It happened that General Meyer was listening to Mr. Heisley's speech, and when that ancient Democrat retired the Director of Law stepped upon the rostrum and forced his way through the crowd toward the front of the stand. 'I am surprised to hear such utterances from my old friend Heisley,' said General Meyer. 'He knows, and you know, that for sixteen months I have been using every means that could lawfully be used to prevent the removal of Perry's montuient, and yet I heard him say that if I told the Mayor that fence should come down, it would be taken down at once. Judge Sherwood has issued an injunction restraining any offi- cer or employe of the City, or any citizen, from inter- fering with the fence. That being the case, what is the duty of the Mayor and other officers of the City? Is it not our duty to set an example of respect to the Court and wait until time shall bring about a remedy for the wrong we complain of? He who counsels violence or urges that a single chip of that fence be removed while the injunction of the Court is in force is a public enemy. [Applause.] I believe the fence has no right there, and I would rather lose iny right arin than see Perry's statue taken down, but I, with all other citizens, must abide
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by the decree of the Court. Do not, by reason of bad advice, forget your duty as American citizens. Do not tarnish the honor of this fair city by saying to the world that Cleveland knows no law and respects no authority. These Commissioners who have been maligned here to-night are honorable, patriotic American citizens. Do not, I beg of you, cast a shur or reflection on the honor and courage and patriotismn of a single one of them. They are wrong in their action. Protest against that wrong. Protest that they must not go on with the. work. They will hear your voice and respect your wishes.' [Applause.]
"F. E. Dellenbaugh, Esq., followed General Meyer in an earnest speech, counseling respect for the Court's injunction. 'The voice of the law is higher than the voice of the people as long as the law remains on the statute books,' he said. 'Do not resort to violence, but let time cure this evil. The law that authorized the placing of this Monument in the Square can be re- pealed, if need be.'
"Dr. R. A. Vance reached the rostrum at this point in the proceedings. He made an eloquent speech in behalf of law and order. 'Wait until the Legislature meets, and seek redress from the body that made the law and rendered it possible for the present state of affairs to exist,' he concluded.
" The following resolution was handed to the Chair- man, who read it as soon as Dr. Vance retired :
"Resolved, We, as citizens of Cleveland, in mass meeting assem- bled, most earnestly protest against the removal of Perry's monu- ment from its place on the Square, for any purpose whatsoever.
" The resolution was adopted with a shout that was heard a mile away. Colonel Van Tassel then inoved that the Monument Commissioners be requested to resign, 'so that a new Commission can be appointed who would carry out the wishes of the people.' There
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was another shout of approval when the motion was put. The noes were called for, and a considerable number of people responded. 'You're not in it,' said the Chairman. 'The motion is adopted.' An individ- ual, with one eye in mourning, who was under the influ- ence of liquor, here wanted to know if the Chairman 'was a goin' to appoint a detail to pull down the fence.' Some of the kindred spirits in the audience applauded the questioner, but no notice was taken of him by the majority of the people. Peter Witt was on the rostrum. He told the Chairman he would like to say a few words, and was accordingly introduced. He made the most incendiary speech of the evening. 'General Meyer and Mr. Dellenbaugh have been telling you to obey the law,' he began, 'but I say we've had too much law already. It's nothing but law, law, law. If it hadn't been for so inuch law, the fence wouldn't be there. The people have a right to decide where the Monument should go, and not a score of blacklegs, like the Monument Com- mission. Most of you are afraid to say what you really think about this matter, but I'm not afraid to speak inty mind. I'm not an office-seeker, or a pap-sucker either, and I speak as my heart directs. The old Soldiers that people make so much fuss about only did what you or I would do to-morrow if our services were needed. They did nothing more nor less than their duty as Amer- ican citizens. As long as the people are willing to pay pensions to the old Soldiers, the people should have the say as to where any monuments that they may be given in addition to the pensions should go.' The Chairman and others on the rostrum called Witt to order, and he retired. Some of the crowd were not satisfied, however, and, like Oliver Twist, called for 'more.' Dr. Tucker- man said a few soothing words and urged that there be no disorder. 'Let us wait the motion of the Courts,' he added, 'and if the Courts don't move we can move the
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Legislature. The Commission can be legislated out of office if they don't do the will of the people.' The Doctor concluded by making a motion that there be a grand celebration of Perry's victory next Saturday night in the Square, and that Perry be decorated if he should still stand, and if he was down by that time the pieces could be decorated. There were several shouts of 'How are we going to get in?' and these were greeted with laughter.
" 'That's not the motion,' said the Chairman. 'The motion only contemplates a mass meeting and the decoration of the statue.' The man with the discol- ored eye said he knew a way to get inside the fence. Nobody contradicted him. The motion for a celebra- tion was carried unanimously. It was then moved that the Commission be requested to open the gates of the fence next Saturday night so that the statue can be decorated. That motion also prevailed.
"Dr. Elroy M. Avery, who was standing near the rostrum, was called on to speak. He said a few words in condemnation of Witt's utterances. 'I have no sym- pathy with men who refer to the Monument Commis- sioners as blacklegs,' he said, 'and such language should not be tolerated by this audience. I don't blame you for wanting to pull down the fence, but I do blame you if you try to pull it down. If Almighty God, in his wrath and indignation, should strike the fence with lightning and it should be burned up, I for one would fold my hands and say, 'Thy will be done,' but we can't interfere if God doesn't. Let General Meyer take care of our interests. He and the other authori- ties of the City will do all they can do legally to pre- serve our rights.'
" David Rankin made a short speech in which Peo- ple's party doctrines bobbed to the surface. He said if the people had exhibited as much anxiety in regard to
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the street car monopolies as they were showing in re- gard to Perry's monument, they might have owned all the street car lines in the city long ago. The meeting was declared adjourned, and five minutes later the Square was empty of all save the usual number of loungers."
That was a cheerful gathering ! It forcibly illus- trated what an unbridled mob would have done, unless restrained by men of courage and discretion.
To show how public sentiment was working, we re- produce an editorial from the Leader of September 4th : " The meeting of the Monument Commission and the Citizens' Committee yesterday was characterized by a friendly spirit and disposition on both sides to arrive at an amicable settlement of the differences on the site question. General Barnett, in behalf of the Commis- sion, asked the Committee what mistake, if any, had been made, and to propose a remedy for it. Both sides of the controversy were set forth clearly and forcibly. It remains to be seen whether the impression made upon the members of the Commission will lead them to change their plans. The matter ought to be settled without any further hard words. The Monument Com- mission is composed of well known and reputable citizens, all of whom served in the Union Armies. Thus far they have done nothing that the law did not au- thorize them to do. They are engaged in a patriotic work, and well deserve the gratitude of our people. There should be no difference of opinion among Cleve- landers concerning their efforts to erect a fitting ine- morial to the men who went forth from this county to battle for the Union. What they have done has been done for nothing, without expectation of any reward other than the satisfaction of having aided in appro- priately commemorating the valor and patriotism of the men who went with them to the front. They are,
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therefore, entitled to the most respectful consideration of the people of Cleveland.
" Members of the Monument Commission have stated that if their present plans are carried out they will, if thought advisable, leave the Perry statue in the same section of the Square where it now stands. This ' should put an end to all the sentimental talk about removing the statue of the Commodore. Its location has been changed once and it would show no lack of respect to the hero to move it a few feet fromn where it now stands. Members of the Commission also offer to refund to the county every cent of money thus far expended on the Memorial, to restore the Square to its former condition, and to sell the Monument to some other city. This proposition should not be entertained for a moment. It sounds like bluff, but no man who knows the history and character of General Elwell will accuse him of bluffing. The Monument must be erected in this city. It will be an ornament to the city, an at- traction to the people living within a hundred miles of Cleveland, an effective lesson in history, and an inspi- ration of patriotism to future generations. The adjust- ment of the controversy should be left entirely in the hands of the Committee and the Commission and the City officials, and any intemperate talk on the subject will not mend matters in the least. We feel confident that the matter can and will be amicably adjusted within a few days. The contending parties have almost reached an agreement already. When Mayor Rose and Directors Herrick and Gardner met the Monument Commission last week, it was proposed on the part of the City that the site should be changed to the north- east corner of the Square. Yesterday, Colonel R. C. Parsons made the same suggestion. Now, let the Com- mission accept this. If the Board of Control will agree to this proposition, the Leader believes the Commis-
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CAPT. W.J.WAMURC. 2320.VY1 MEDNEV. GAR
CAPTAIN W. J. WOODWARD.
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sioners will meet them. The Council should then rescind the resolution directing the law officer of the City to institute the suit against the Commission, and the controversy would be settled by slight concessions on each side."
The following heartfelt communication from Commis- sioner Elwell was contributed to the Leader of Septem- ber 5th :
" To the Editor of the Leader :
" Witnessing, as I did, at the Board of Trade meeting, the strong and intense feeling of opposition by those present, calling them- selves the people, and the business men of the City, to the location of the Monument on the Square, most of whom have never taken enough interest in the work to visit us, or make a suggestion for or against work or site or anything else, I felt completely discouraged and wished myself at an end of the enterprise, and I amn frank to say I have no heart for further work.
" When I heard the pathetic and earnest, and, I may say, tearful words of General Leggett, every word of which represented tlie feelings of the Commission, pleading for a candid investigation of our work and for peace, fall to the ground amid derisive laughter, I thought we must give up. Here was an old Soldier bearing five wounds and some lead in his body, having had shot under him four horses, standing as it were on one leg, defending the action of the Commission and begging for peace without effect, unless we gave up our site. He said the Commission believed that they had the great mass of the people of the county behind them and were doing their work as the people wanted it done, and as every Soldiers' organiza- tion in the county had directed it to be done ; and as the county representatives in three Legislatures, the County Commissioners and the City Councils had unanimously approved the site, and said go ahead and erect the Monument without delay. That all these thirteen years the Board of Trade had not made a suggestion with regard to site or anything else. He said that the Commission had tried for three years to find a site elsewhere and failed ; that the Square was not quite satisfactory to Captain Scofield and some of the Commission, but they could do no better and took it, and have made all their plans to correspond with that site. He said no mem- ber of the Commission had received, or would receive, directly or indirectly, a cent for what they had done, not even Captain Scofield, who had given seven years almost entirely to the work. That the tax had been spread over fifteen years that it might not be burden-
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some to the people. That the man who paid one hundred dollars taxes only paid one-half cent every six months. That artists, the best to be had in Rome, Paris and New York, had been hired by the day, and that no fancy prices had been paid. He had just returned from Europe, and there was nothing that would compare with this work for originality, grandeur and beauty. It was designed by a Soldier who had seen what he had brought out in bronze. Captain Scofield had followed Sherman from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and had been one hundred and nineteen consecutive days under fire, besides being in many other battles. He had put what he had seen into bronze ; forty heroic figures in action. He said after the peo- ple had seen the work completed twenty-four hours they would glory in the work as the finest adornment in this or any other city. He pleaded for peace and wanted 10 contention. All this kind of talk of General Leggett made no impression upon the Board of Trade meeting whatever. It gave to him a patient hearing, but howled down Captain Scofield, whom General Leggett asked to show his plans for the Monument. The assault upon the action of the Commission in selecting a site continued long and loud. After the meeting I heard Mr. Dellenbaugh, who spoke two or three times in the meeting, and said it would be better to have a railroad there than a Monument, say that fence must come down.
" General Leggett pleaded for peace. We are all tired of this bitter feeling over a work of this kind, and it must stop. If the Monument is erected, it will leave a sting and bitterness behind, when nothing should remain but joy and beauty. Old friends and neighbors are being alienated, and all satisfaction to the Commis- sion in pursuing the work is destroyed. I have no angry words of denunciation for anybody, though I am sure the City government, in suddenly reversing the action of its three predecessors-Farley, Babcock and Gardner-as soon as it came into power, and the Board of Trade in wholly neglecting this great work for the adornment and patriotism of the City, in which the Board pretends to be par- ticularly interested, to the last minute, have not treated the Com- . missioners fairly.
"I see but one way out of this trouble and wrangle among old friends and neighbors. The site cannot be changed. There is 110 other available. The Commission has done the best it could, hon- estly and patiently. Its work is not satisfactory. The Commission believes that it has done the right thing, and that the people ap- prove the work as done, and that it has not done an illegal act in all these years of toil and anxiety-the Courts say this.
" After consulting with my associates, I am prepared to say that the Commissioners are ready and able to pay back to the county every dollar the Monument has cost, and take it off the hands of the
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county, and put the Square in its original condition. The statuary is wanted elsewhere.
" General Leggett pleaded for peace. So do we all. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.' Let us have peace. We are getting old; our time is short. The Com- missioners hoped to see this Monument completed. It has become as the apple of the eye. But there is little hope of that, except in bitterness between friends and neighbors. In the words of Cleve- land's poet-statesman, who has told the story in matchless language of the greatest American :
" We meet and greet iu closing ranks, In time's declining sun, When the bugles of God shall sound recall, And the battle of life is won.
J. J. ELWELL."
The clouds are breaking. A new proposition is made to the Commission. The City officials, like Satan upon the mountain, were very prolific in promises. They would give the Commission almost any place for a site (at the same time having no place really to give), pro- viding the Commission would fall down and worship them. We were not, however, worshiping self-consti- tuted gods just at that time, hence their proposition was let into one ear of the Commission, and out the other. But we met and talked it over, as is shown in the annexed article from the Leader of September 7th :
"A meeting which may result in a happy solution of the vexed Monument site question was held in the office of Captain Levi T. Scofield, on Tuesday morning. It was a joint meeting of the committees appointed by the Board of Trade and the Monument Commission to decide upon a suitable location for the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. Those present were: J. H. Mc- Bride, Hon. George H. Ely, M. A. Hanna, Colonel R. C. Parsons and S. M. Strong, of the Board of Trade, and General James Barnett, General M. D. Leggett, Captain Levi F. Bauder, Major W. J. Gleason and Captain Levi T. Scofield, of the Monument Commission. General
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James Barnett presided. The meeting was called for the purpose of familiarizing the members of the joint committee with the various sites which have been pre- pared for the Monument. There was a general inter- change of opinion, and the result was that the members of the committee got closer together than ever before. Some of the members of the Commission said they were perfectly willing to abandon the Public Square if a site equally suitable could be decided upon. Hon. Geo. H. Ely made an earnest plea in favor of placing the Monu- ment overlooking the lake front. He referred especially to the site bounded by Erie, Lake and Summit Streets, if it could be obtained. Mr. Ely said that the United States Government would eventually transfer all the Marine Hospital service of the lakes to Cleveland, and that undoubtedly adequate buildings would be erected. This, with the Lakeside Hospital building, would add inuch to the beauty of the lake front. There was more talk along the same line, and then Captain Bauder of- fered the following resolution, which was supported by Mr. J. H. McBride :
" We agree that the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Mon- ument is a beautiful and appropriate structure for the purpose, and should be erected at the earliest practical day, on the best possible site.
"We agree that the Monument should not be built at all unless it shall be worthy of and receive the commendation of the people.
" We agree that if the Monument be not built upon the Public Square, that we recommend the site bounded by Erie, Lake and Summit Streets, if obtainable.
" This proposition met with general favor and it was unanimously adopted.
"Captain Bauder was congratulated on what ap- peared to all the answer of the question which has caused so much comment of late. After the meeting, he said : ' The problem has now been reduced down to just two points. The Monument will be erected on the
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Public Square, or on the site suggested by the resolu- tion. I am sure that the latter location, if it can be ob- tained, will be satisfactory to all concerned. I have all along looked for a peaceable settlement of the matter, and I feel confident that the meeting to-day will do much to secure it. What we want more than anything else in matters of this kind is calın, quiet reasoning.'
" During the session of the Board of Control, in the City Hall, shortly afterward, Hon. R. C. Parsons and Mr. J. H. McBride entered the room and had a brief consultation with Director Meyer. A few minutes later the Director of Law addressed the Board. He said he had been informed by Colonel Parsons that the Monu- ment Commission had intimated that they would accept a site at the southwest corner of Erie and Summit Streets as the location for the Monument. The land and buildings could be appropriated at a cost not ex- ceeding $120,000, Director Meyer said. 'The question is,' he continued, 'whether, for the purpose of saving the southeast section of the Square, the City will under- take to expend $120,000 for the purchase of another site. If the Council decides to proceed in the latter di- rection, the first steps will be to provide for the sub- mission of the question to a vote of the electors. It will require a majority vote of the electors of the city -not merely of the votes cast-before the appropriation can be made. If there is any way of saving the south- east section of the Square, that way should be taken, but I for one am entirely opposed to making any prop- osition while the Commission persist in going on with the work.'
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