USA > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania, colonial and federal : a history, 1608-1903, Volume Two > Part 36
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The State made commendable progress in educational work during Hastings's administration. The enforcement of the law making attendance at school compulsory began to show good results, and the act permitting boards of education to establish school libraries opened the way for a more general diffusion of knowledge. Provision was also made to more carefully guard the interests of higher education. By an act of the legislature in 1895, the College and University Council was organized with power to regulate the granting of charters to degree-conferring institutions. Prior to the adoption of the Constitution of 1873, the legislature granted charters of a collegiate nature to many seminaries of a low grade. The result was a great abuse in the privilege of conferring degrees. The College and University Council is endowed with ample authority to correct such abuses, and in the case of chartering a new institution, to require a certain high educational standard. Governor Hastings was very anxious to extend the advantages of secondary education to the rural dis- tricts ; hence his warm advocacy of township high schools. He believed that the agricultural regions were being depopulated chiefly on account of the lack of proper school facilities. In his message of 1897, he spoke eloquently on this subject, as follows : "The township high school is needed in our agricultural com- munities to provide equal opportunities and advantages with those now in existence in the towns. If the population of one town-
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Hastings's and Stone's Administrations
ship, and other conditions should not require a separate high school, two or more townships could unite and jointly share the expense and advantage. Ten acres of ground, partly wooded, a stream of water, a commodious play ground, with facilities for an arboretum, orchard, garden, flowers and park, surrounding suitable buildings fully equipped, and with competent teachers, conducting the scholars who have passed beyond the district school, through a three or four years' high school course, is a consummation which, besides being pleasant to contemplate, is neither impossible nor unnecessarily expensive. The State can make no better use of its revenues than to employ them in this direction. We boast of our great material resources. They were here ages before William Penn became our founder. They were valueless until touched by the hand of man. Man makes the State. Coal and iron, oil and gas, fertile soil and boundless forests are only adjuncts. Mind training should be the chief industry. The intellectual and moral development of the youth of the land is the paramount duty. The same spirit which built the church and brought religious teaching to the home of the poor as well as the rich ought surely to bring to the door of all the opportunity for that education best suited to their needs, capacity and natural adaptation. The township high school will place the farmer's boy on the same basis with the town and city body. The States of Maine, Wisconsin, Michigan and Massachusetts have pointed the way to secondary and higher education worthy of our emulation. The twentieth century system of free education should make it possible for every boy and girl beginning with the common school, to continue through the high school up to the end of the college course. A large number might not avail themselves of the advantages of the college course, but the opportunity should be ever present for the deserving patron of the common and high school. The connecting link between the high school and the college, as a part of a free educational system, has been an accom-
2-33
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Pennsylvania Colonial and Federal
plished fact for several years in at least one of our sister States." Such were Governor Hastings's educational sentiments. The State was far from realizing his ideals; for in many districts, the salaries of the teachers did not equal the annual cost of maintain- ing a pauper in the alms-house. There was, however, an increase in the number of high schools; but very few had as yet been established in the rural districts.
The campaign for Governor in 1898 was attended by many exciting incidents. The candidates were William A. Stone, Re- publican ; George A. Jenks, Democrat ; Silas C. Swallow. Prohi- bitionist ; and J. Mahlon Barnes, Socialist-Labor. Dr. Swallow made an active canvass of the whole State, addressing meetings in the cities and larger towns. At one time in the campaign, considerable anxiety was felt in the Republican ranks; but Mr. Stone was elected by a plurality of over 117,000 votes. Governor Hastings retired from office on January 17, 1899, and devoted himself to the mining interests in which he had been concerned for a number of years. His death on January 9, 1903, came as a shock to his many friends and admirers. A severe attack of pneumonia hastened him off in the midst of a successful career, when apparently many years of usefulness lay before him. He had carved out his own career, starting at the age of fifteen, when he trudged twenty miles through the snows to seek a position as teacher. He rose until he became chief magistrate of the State, and his fellow citizens were always proud of his achievements. Their good will followed him into private life, and people of all parties shared the bereavement at the time of his death.
William Alexis Stone, who succeeded General Hastings as Governor of the Commonwealth, was born in Tioga county in the year 1846. He was educated in the country schools, and at the Mansfield State Normal School. As a boy of seventeen he enlisted in the 187th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was mus- tered out in 1865 with the grade of second lieutenant. In 1870,
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Hastings's and Stone's Administrations
he was admitted to the bar of Tioga county, and practiced law at Wellsboro. In 1887 he removed to Pittsburg, and engaged in the work of his profession. From 1880 to 1886 he was United States District Attorney for the Western District of Pennsyl- vania. Mr. Stone represented his district in Congress from 1891 until 1899, when he became Governor of the State.
The new administration was confronted at the beginning with serious financial difficulties. While the net debt of the State was only $1,025.981.93, a floating debt of three and a half million dollars had accumulated, and this was annually increasing at the rate of five hundred thousand dollars. This condition resulted from the fact that past legislatures had appropriated more money than the estimated revenues. The income of the State treasury was sufficient to pay only the current expenditures, exclusive of the floating indebtedness. The Governor referred to this embar- rassing situation in his inaugural address. He showed that the revenues were not likely to exceed eleven and a half million dol- lars, while the estimated expenditures for the year 1899, were sixteen million dollars. He then presented statistics to the effect that Pennsylvania appropriated larger sums for educational pur- poses than any other State in the Union, the amount in 1898 ex- ceeding sixty-four per cent. of the entire revenue. As a remedy to meet existing difficulties, the Governor suggested that a por- tion of the annual appropriation of five and a half million dollars for the common schools be withheld. In referring to this sub- ject, he said : "As I have before stated, it is far in excess of the amounts appropriated by other States. It is far beyond a due and reasonable proportion of our annual revenues. But the State has entered upon this project, and it might be unwise to reduce this appropriation. I would not like to recommend this except in case of necessity. I would not hesitate to do it if I saw no other way out of the difficulty, for there is one point be- yond which I could not justify myself in going, and that is to
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approve bills which appropriate more money than the State is likely to receive in the coming fiscal year." In the session of 1899, the legislature as usual appropriated $11,000,000 to the public schools for the period of two years, or five and a half million dollars annually. When the appropriation bill reached the Governor for his approval, he reduced the item for public schools to $10,000,000 for two years. In taking this action, he said : "If a large deficit did not already exist in our Treasury on account of these appropriations, and if the anticipated revenues of the State would justify their continuance, I should most cheer- fully give my approval to this section of the General Appropria- tion Bill. I cordially commend the intelligent purpose and patri- otic devotion of our citizens to the common schools of the State, but every honest man must concede that it is impossible for the State to give away more money than it receives, no matter how worthy the purpose for which the money is expended. It is abso- . lutely necessary to reduce the appropriations made by the legisla- ture, and it has seemed to me that, since free text-books have already been provided and paid for out of the general appropria- tions made since 1893, the annual appropriations could be reduced $500,000 a year without doing any injustice to the schools." Within two years, the financial condition of the State had greatly improved, and there was a large cash balance in the treasury. In his message to the legislature in 1901, the Governor, therefore, urged the passage of a bill appropriating the million dollars with- held from the schools. This was accordingly done; hence the educational interests of the State suffered only temporary incon- venience from the reduction two years before.
The peace of the State was seriously disturbed by riots at Shenandoah in the fall of the year 1900. An extensive strike was then in progress in the anthracite coal region, and on Sep- tember 21, two thousand men occupied the streets of Shenandoah, firing revolvers and resisting the civil authorities. Two persons
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Robert Fulton
Artist; inventor; the first to make a commer- cial success of steam navigation, 1807. Repro- duced especially for this work from an engrav- ing by Gilbert Parker, after a painting by Ben- jamin West
Hastings's and Stone's Administrations
were killed and seventeen wounded. The sheriff of Schuylkill county reported these facts to the State government, and request- ed the protection of the National Guard. Governor Stone imme- diately took action, and on the morning of September 22, orders were issued for the movement of the Fourth, Eighth, and Twelfth Regiments, Battery C, and the Governor's Troop to Shenandoah. By noon that day, two thousand troops were at the scene of dis- turbance, thus preventing any further violence. The troubles were all adjusted before October 31, on which date the last of the Guard was withdrawn.
On May 2, 1902, another strike was inaugurated in the an- thracite coal field, beginning as in 1900, with a riot at Shenan- doah. The sheriff of Schuylkill county was not able to control the mob, and called on the Governor for aid. The Eighth and Twelfth Regiments, a portion of the Fourth Regiment, and the Governor's Troop were placed on duty under the command of Brigadier-General Gobin. During the summer the strike spread into Carbon, Lackawanna, Northumberland, Luzerne. Susque- hanna and Columbia counties, thus practically closing all the anthracite mines. As acts of violence became frequent, the sher- iffs of these counties made requests for troops. The Governor then called out the following divisions: August 27, Second Troop, Philadelphia Cavalry; September 23, Thirteenth Regi- ment Infantry; September 24, Ninth Regiment Infantry; Sep- tember 28, Sheridan Troop; and September 29, the remaining eight companies of the Fourth Regiment. It was hoped that, with the presence of this large military force, property could be protected and the mining of coal resumed. But as the disaffected region was so large, not much progress was made in this direc- tion. By this time, cool weather was approaching, and the people feared a coal famine that might extend through the winter. Pub- lic opinion demanded further protection on the part of the State. Governor Stone was, therefore, urged to place the remaining
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divisions of the National Guard on duty, and by October 17, 8,750 troops were in the field, or ninety-two per cent. of the entire Guard. In the meantime serious efforts were made to adjust the differences existing between the operators and the miners. In these negotiations, Hon. George F. Baer, President of the Phila- delphia Coal and Iron Company, and John Mitchell, President of the United Mine Workers of America, became prominent figures in the eyes of the people. President Roosevelt finally persuaded the representatives of the operators and the miners to submit all difference to a commission of arbitration, or commission to in- vestigate all the problems connected with mining, and to make a report thereon which would be binding on both parties. The members of this commission were General John M. Wilson, E. W. Parker, Hon. George Gray, E. E. Clark, Thomas H. Watkins, Bishop J. L. Spalding, and Hon. Carroll D. Wright. The last troops were recalled from duty on November 12, and mining was at once resumed, pending the deliberations of the strike commis- sion. The labors of the commission were arduous, and the final award was not announced until March 21, 1903, the chief points of which are an advance of ten per cent. in wages, and a refusal to recognize the miners' union.
The phenomenal growth of the country was fittingly illus- trated in the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, New York, which was held from May I, to November 1, 1901. Congress appropriated $500,000 toward the enterprise, and the various States responded in a liberal spirit. Pennsylvania, through the legislature, made generous provision for an exhibit, and Governor Stone appointed Hon. Joseph Buffington and Colonel James El- verson as vice-presidents, and Mrs. William McCreery, and Mrs. Charles C. Harrison as members of the Board of Women Man- agers. A pall of sorrow was cast over the whole country on account of the assassination of President Mckinley, while visiting the Exposition on September 6. Governor Stone at once issued
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a proclamation appointing September 8 as a day of prayer for the restoration to health of the President of the United States. Mr. Mckinley died on Septembr 14, and the Governor issued another proclamation, making Thursday, September 19, the day of the President's funeral, a day of mourning and prayer throughout the State. On this occasion all business was suspended, and the people rendered a full measure of reverence in honor of the President, who was so suddenly removed by death.
At the election for Governor in November, 1902, the candi- dates were Judge Samuel W. Pennypacker, Republican, and Hon. Robert E. Pattison, Democrat, each of whom made a tour of the State, addressing meetings in the principal towns. Mr. Penny- packer was elected by a plurality of over 150,000 votes, and was inaugurated on January 20, 1903. The new Governor was born at Phoenixville, Chester county, April 9, 1843. His father, Dr. Isaac A. Pennypacker, was a prominent physician, and for a time held a professorship in the Philadelphia College of Medicine. Judge Pennypacker was educated in private schools and grad- uated from the law department of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1863 he went to the front as a member of the 26th Pennsyl- vania emergency regiment, which met the first onslaught of the enemy at Gettysburg. He was admitted to the bar of Philadel- phia in 1866, and practiced law until 1889, when Governor Bea- ver appointed him to fill a vacancy on the bench of Common Pleas in that city. The next year, he was elected for the full term of ten years, and was re-elected in 1900. Judge Pennypacker is the author of several legal works, and has also written a number of books relating to the early history of Pennsylvania.
The history of Pennsylvania is thus written down to the present time-a record of two hundred and sixty-five years, from the first settlement by the Swedes in 1638. The subject is one of peculiar interest, whether considered from the point of view of a proprietary colony, a centre of revolutionary activity, or a great
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commonwealth of the nineteenth century. Stirring scenes and events crowd the distant past, while on every hand there are enduring monuments of the great founder's wisdom. The richest legacy bequeathed by Penn, however, is his lesson on the nature of good government. He said: "Governments, like clocks, go from the motion men give them, and as governments are made and moved by men, so by them they are ruined, too. Wherefore governments rather depend upon men, than men upon govern- ments. Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad ; if it be ill, they will cure it. But if men be bad, let the government be never so good, they will endeavor to warp and spoil to their turn." These words are just as applicable to-day as they were when written more than two centuries ago; and if wisely followed they will give permanence to our institutions, and secure the welfare of the people for ages to come.
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CHAPTER XXIII
PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL LIST
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Thomas Mifflin, Nov. 3, 17831
Presidents of Continental Congress Arthur St. Clair, Feb. 2, 17871 President James Buchanan, 1857-61 Vice-President George MI. Dallas, 1845-49 Secretaries of State
Timothy Pickering, 1795-18co James Buchanan, 1845-49 Jeremiah S. Black, 1860-61 Secretaries of the Treasury
Albert Gallatin, 1801-14 Samuel D. Ingham, 1829-31
Alexander J. Dallas, 1814-17 William J. Duane, 1833 Richard Rush. 1825-29 Walter Forward, 1841-43 William M. Meredith, 1849-50
Secretaries of War
Timothy Pickering, 1795 James M. Porter, 1843-44
William Wilkins, 1844-45
Simon Cameron, 1861-62 Edwin M. Stanton, 1862-68 J. Donald Cameron, 1876-77 Secretaries of the Navy
William Jones, 1813-14
Adolph E. Borie, 1869
1Date of appointment.
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Pennsylvania Colonial and Federal
Secretary of the Interior T. M. T. McKennan, 1850 Postmasters-General
Timothy Pickering, 1791-95 James Campbell, 1853-57
John Wanamaker, 1889-93 Charles Emory Smith, 1898-1901
Attorneys-General
William Bradford, 1794-95
Edwin M. Stanton, 1860-61
Richard Rush, 1814-17
Wayne MacVeagh, 1881
Henry D. Gilpin, 1840-41
Benjamin H. Brewster, 1881-85
Jeremiah S. Black, 1857-60
Philander C. Knox, 1901. ...
Associate Justices of Supreme Court
James Wilson, 1789-98 Robert C. Grier, 1846-70
Henry Baldwin, 1830-46 William Strong, 1870-80 George Shiras, jr., 1892
Presidents Pro Tem. of the Senate
William Bingham, 1797 James Ross, 1797-99 Andrew Gregg, 1809 Speakers of House of Representatives F. A. Muhlenberg, 1789-91, 1793-95 Galusha A. Grow, 1861-63 Samuel J. Randall, 1876-81
Chief Justice, Court of Claims Joseph Casey, 1863-70
Senators in Congress
William Maclay, 1789-91
Jonathan Roberts, 1814-21
Robert Morris, 1789-95
Walter Lowrie, 1819-25 William Findlay, 1821-27
Albert Gallatin, 1793-94
James Ross, 1794-1803
William Marks, 1825-31
William Bingham, 1795-1801
Isaac D. Barnhard, 1827-31 George M. Dallas, 1831-33
John P. G. Muhlenberg, 1801 George Logan, 1801-7
William Wilkins, 1831-34
Samuel Maclay, 1803-8
Samuel Mckean, 1833-39
Andrew Gregg, 1807-13
James Buchanan, 1834-45
Michael Leib, 1808-14
Abner Leacock, 1813-19
Daniel Sturgeon, 1839-51 Simon Cameron, 1845-49
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First Post Office at Pittsburgh
Reproduced for this work from a canvas in possession of D. F. Henry
Civil List
James Cooper, 1849-55
Simon Cameron, 1867-77
Richard Brodhead, 1851-57
John Scott, 1869-75
William Bigler, 1855-61
William A. Wallace, 1875-81
Simon Cameron, 1857-61
J. Donald Cameron, 1877-97
David Wilmot, 1861-63
John I. Mitchell, 1881-87
Edgar Cowan, 1861-67
Matthew S. Quay, 1887-99
Charles A. Buckalew, 1863-69
Boies Penrose, 1897. ...
Matthew S. Quay, 1901 ....
Representatives in Congress1
Acheson, Ernest F., 54-57
Bard, David, 4-5, 8-13
Adams, Robert, jr., 53-57
Barker, A. A. 39
Acker, E. L., 42
Barlow, Stephenson, 20
Addams, William, 19-20
Barnitz, Charles A., 23
Ahl, John A., 35
Barr, Samuel F., 47-48
Albright, Charles, 43
Bates, Arthur L., 57
Allison, James, 18
Baynes, Thomas M., 45-51
Allison, John, 32-34
Beatty, William, 25-26
Allison, Robert, 22
Beaumont, Andrew, 23-24
Amerman, Lemuel, 52
Beeson, Henry W., 27
Ancona, S. E., 37-39
Beltzhoover, Frank E., 46-47, 52-53
Anderson, William, II, 13-15
Benner, George J., 55
Anderson, Isaac, 8-9
Bibighans, Thomas M., 32-33
Anderson, Samuel, 20
Biddle, Charles J., 37
Anthony, Joseph B., 23-34
Biddle, Richard, 25-26
Armstrong, James, 3
Bidlack, Benjamin A., 27-28
Armstrong, William H., 41
Biery, J. S., 43
Arnold, William C., 54-55
Bingham, Henry H., 46-57
Ash, Michael W., 24
Binney, Horace, 23
Atkinson, Louis E., 48-52
Black, Henry, 26-27
Babbitt, Elijah, 36-37 Bachman, R. K., 46
Blair, Samuel S., 36-37
Bailey, Joseph, 37-38
Blanchard, John, 29-30
Baldwin, Henry, 15-17
Boden, Alexander, 15-16
Banks, John, 22-24
Bound, Franklin, 49-50
Barber, Laird H., 56 Barclay, David, 34
Boude, Thomas, 7
Boyer, B. M., 30-40
1For convenience the names of Represen- tatives are alphabetically arranged, and no attempt is made to give dates of election;
the figures represent the sessions during which incumbents served as members of the House of Representatives.
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Black, James, 28-29
Pennsylvania Colonial and Federal
Boyle, Charles E., 48-49
Chapman, Henry, 35
Bradshaw, Samuel C., 34
Chapman, John, 5 Clark, M. S., 16
Brainard, Samuel M., 48
Clark, William, 33-34
Breck, Samuel, 18
Clay, Joseph, 8-10
Bridges, Samuel A., 30, 33-45
Brodhead, Richard, 28-30
Broom, Jacob, 34
Cochran, A. G., 44
Broomal, John M., 38-40
Codding, James H., 54-55
Brosius, Marriatt, 51-57
Coffroth, A. H., 38-39, 46
Brown, Charles, 27-30
Collins, F. D., 44-45
Brown, Jeremiah, 27-28
Connell, William, 55-57
Brown, John, 17-18
Connelly, Daniel W., 48
Brown, Robert, 6-13
Conrad, Frederick, 8-9
Brown, William W., 48-49
Conrad, John, 13
Brumm, Charles N., 47-50, 54-55
Brunner, David B., 51-52
Cooper, Thomas B., 37
Coulter, Richard, 20-23
Covode, John, 34-37, 40-4I
Craig, Alexander K., 52
Buckalew, Charles R., 50-51
Craig, Samuel A., 51
Crawford, Thomas H., 21-22
Crawford, William, 11, 14
Creely, John V., 42
Burke, Henry, 57
Crouch, Edward, 12-13
Burnside, Thomas, 14
Culbertson, W. C., 51
Butler, Chester, 29-31
Butler, Thomas S., 55-57
Cadwallader, Lambert, I-3
Curtis, Carlton B., 32-33, 42
Cadwallader, John, 34
Dalzell, John, 50-57
Cake, Henry L., 40-41
Danner, Joel B., 31
Calvin, Samuel, 31
Darlington, Edward, 23-25
Campbell, James H., 34, 36-37
Darlington, Isaac, 15
Campbell, Jacob M., 45, 47-49
Darlington, Smedley, 50-51
Campbell, John H., 29
Darlington, William, 14, 16-17
Campbell, Thompson, 32
Darragh, Cornelius, 28-29
Casey, Joseph, 31
Davenport, Samuel A., 55-56
Cessna, John, 41-43
Davenport, Stanley W., 56
Chambers, George, 23-24
Chandler, Joseph R., 31-33
Davidson, James J., 55 Davies, Edward, 25-26
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Cooper, James, 26-27
Buchanan, Andrew, 24-25
Buchanan, James, 17-21
Bucher, John C., 22
Buffington, Joseph, 28-29
Bunnell, Franklin C., 42, 49-50
Burd, George, 22-23
Culver, C. V., 39
Curtin, Andrew G., 47-49
Brady, Jasper E., 30
Clymer, George, I Clymer, Heister, 43-46
JAMES BUCHANAN
Etched for this work by Max Rosenthal From the photograph by Brady mrivania Colonial and Federal
Chapman, Henry, 35
.. , 34
Chapman, John, 5
Clark, M. S., 16
3. 48
Clark, William, 33-34
15
Clay, Joseph, 8-10
-
CĪymer, George, I
hard,
Clymer, Heister, 43-46 Cochran, A. G., 44
, 34
M .. . . 40
Codding, James H., 54-55
rriatt, - -
Coffroth, A. H., 38-39, 46
-leurles,
Connell, William, 55-57
chn. J-
Conrad, Frederick, 8-9
K bert
Conrad, John, 13
Willia . M. , 48-49
Cooper, James, 26-27
Charli , 47-50, 54-55
Cooper, Thomas B., 37
non, An Herv. 24-25
Covode, John, 34-37, 40-41
an, Janes, 17-21
Craig, Alexander K., 52
John C. 22
Crag, Samuel A., 31
wow, Charles R., 50-51
Cra. ford, Thomas H., 21-22
eton, Joseph, 28-29
Crawford, William, 11, 14
04. Franklin C., 42, 49-50
Creely. John V., 42
George, 22-23
Crouch, Edward, 12-13
de, Thucas, 14
Culbertson, W. C., 51
Chester. 19-31
irtin. Andrew G., 47-49
Chor a S., 55-57
Wader Lambert, I 3
Mirtis, Carlton B., 32-33, 42
Muider, 1. 50, 34
ilzell. John, 50-57 1 Tonner. Joel B., 31
Samue' 3I
Darlington, Edward, 23-25
1 Jaro H. 34, 36-37
Islington, Isaac, 15
2. Jarole M., 45, 47-49
Darlington, Smedley, 50-51
John I !. 29
Darlingion, William, 14, 16-17
Thompson, 32
Darragh, Cornelius, 28-29
Toseph, ST
Davenport, Samuel A., 55-56
Tohn, 41-43
Davenport, Stanley W., 56
George, 23-24 Joseph R, 31-33
Davidson, James J., 55
Davies, Edward, 25-26
Collins, F. D., 44-45
Connelly, Daniel W., 48
r. Dava 7. 51-52
Coulter, Richard, 20-23
Henry, 57
Silver, C. V. 39
henry J .. 40-41
Etched by Mas Rosenthal
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