USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. IV > Part 20
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MONEY IN THE BANK
S INCE its banking rooms were first opened for business, on November 20, 1819, the stock and trade, as we say, of this savings institution has been money, metal coins and certificates representing values of money. Obviously, in carrying on the business of receiving and safeguarding the savings of the people and returning same with earned interest upon demand, vari- ous forms of negotiable instruments other than metallic and paper currency have passed in both directions over the counters of this public depository during the past one hundred and twenty-five years. However, since the countless transactions involving the acts of depositing and with- drawing funds, which have been con- ducted by this savings bank since its establishment, can be classed as simple exchanges of money, the origin and evolu- tion of a circulating medium of exchange in Rhode Island quite properly becomes a topic (or subject) of particular interest in relation to the long life of this insti- tution.
The need for some form of circulating medium of exchange has been acknowl-
edged since the earliest ages of man. In primeval days, bartering was the basis of commercial intercourse between tribes and individuals, but this gave way in time as exchanges increased. It is inter- esting to note some of the media of ex- change used in early years before the establishment of money systems. Tin was used in ancient Syracuse; iron in Sparta; cattle in Rome and Germany; platinum in Russia; lead in Burma; silk in China; tea in Tartary; logwood in Campeachy; soap in Mexico, etc. It is likewise inter- esting, as well as amusing, now to learn of very practical applications, among our fighting men abroad, of the early systems of using commodities in place of money. For example, it has been reported in the news that cigarettes and chewing gum have proved to be much more acceptable than American coins in exchange for eggs and olives along the shores of the Mediter- ranean; that pocket-knives and other knick-knacks have established exchange values for canoes and even for the services of native laborers in the South Pacific; and that at least during one period of the
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World War II conflict, onions held high purchasing powers in the British Isles.
According to authorities, the oldest coins extant were made about 800 B.C., although legend has it that the Chinese circulated a square bronze coin as early as 1120 B.C. All of these coins were rude and shapeless, and were generally en- graved with representations of animals, deities, nymphs and the like. But, the Greeks issued coins, about 300 B.C., and these were fine specimens of workman- - ship, comparable in boldness and beauty of design to the products of our present- day mints. In the third century, coins stamped with Gothic front faces were issued, and after that period a profusion of coins appeared throughout the civilized world since most self-governing cities began to issue money of their own.
In respect to the very first known me- dium of exchange in these parts, Roger Williams, founder of Providence, had this to report : -
"It is of two kinds - white, which they make of the stem or stock of the peri- winkle, after all the shell is broken off. Of this kind, six of the small beads - which they make with holes to string upon their bracelets - are current, with the English, for a penny. The other kind is a black, inclining to a blue shade, which is made of the shell of a fish, which some of the English call 'hens-poquahock'; and of this description, three are equal to an English penny. One fathom of this stringed money is worth five shillings."
Coins of the countries by which the American colonies were settled comprised the earliest metallic currency of the first settlers. Since the exportation of coins from England was forbidden, and because the colonists had little money to bring with them when they came, and partly because the products of this country did not suffice to pay for the goods imported, therefore making it necessary to export the local stock of precious metals to bal- ance the foreign trade, coins were scarce hereabouts. As a result of these condi- tions, Rhode Island followed the prec- edent of Massachusetts by making Indian money a legal tender.
Black wampum was fashioned from the dark eye of the quahog shell, and white
peage from the thick neck of the peri- winkle shell. Each piece of shell was in the form of a disc or a tube, about an eighth of an inch in diameter, a hole being bored through the center to facilitate its use in strings, or for ornamental embroid- ery. For the purposes of large transac- tions the discs and tubes were strung together, 360 constituting a fathom. Wampum was twice as valuable as peage, the shell of the quahog being scarcer and more difficult to work than that of the periwinkle. The local Narragansett tribes- men were most skillful in the art of fash- ioning this kind of primitive money and it appears in the records that Rhode Is- land and the eastern tip of Long Island were centers of production supplying a territory extending as far west as the country of the Mohawks.
But, the time soon arrived when colonial thought and experience began to be shaped to a somewhat more practically progressive form, as ideas in relation to what should constitute a currency, and the modus operandi for attaining it were seriously entertained. Taking the lead among the New England colonies, Massa- chusetts established its own mint, in 1650, and began melting down coins ac- quired in the West Indies trade, and stamping new coins according to their true weight and value. With the grad- ual circulation of Massachusetts-minted coins, and the appearance of other colonial currency, and with the inevitable increase in importation of English, Portuguese, Spanish and other foreign currency, In- dian money steadily decreased in value in Rhode Island, although some peage con- tinued to be received in local public dues and to be used by individuals for many years. So, during the first decades of history around the headwaters of Narra- gansett Bay, money in circulation in- cluded a wide assortment of coins, and doubtless, many a family strong-box hid- den away in the first homes along "The Towne Street" contained hard-earned treasures of Dutch Ducatoons, Lord Baltimore and Good Samaritan shillings, Carolina half-pennies as well as New England shillings, six pence and three pence, the first silver coins made in America.
THE PROVIDENCE INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS MAINTAINS SAFE DEPOSIT FACILITIES AT THE EMPIRE- ABORN BRANCH, WHERE ALL SIZES OF BOXES ARE AVAILABLE ON THE MAIN BANKING FLOOR.
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Since this is intended as a discussion of money in kind, and not as a review of public and private finance in Rhode Island, there shall be no reference here to the long and involved experience of Rhode Islanders with their financial problems during the first three quarters of the eighteenth century. Suffice it to say, that money values rose and declined with the usual cycles of war and peace, and with the alternating periods of pros- perity and adversity. From the time of the issuance of the first Rhode Island paper money, early in the century, until the establishment of a system of currency by authority of the United States of America, monetary matters constituted leading issues in the political evolution of the Rhode Island colony.
With independence came American cur- rency, sums of which "The Old Stone Bank " safeguarded and put to work for "frugal and industrious persons" only twenty-seven years after the completion of the United States Mint at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On Tuesday, September 11, 1792, six pounds of old copper were pur- chased for the Mint at 1s, 3d, per pound for Federal coinage. Early the following month three presses were put in operation and were first used for striking the half- dismes of which Washington makes men- tion in his annual message to Congress on November 6, 1792, as follows: - "There has also been a small beginning in the coinage of half-dismes; the want of small coins in circulation calling the first atten- tion to them."
The first tellers (or teller) of this savings bank accepted no Double Eagles on open- ing day, for the earliest coinage of this gold piece having a value of twenty dol- lars did not come until 1849. But, Eagles, worth ten dollars, were in circulation then, for the first coinage of these took place in 1795. Half Eagles were authorized to be coined by the Act of April 2, 1792 and it
is quite possible that Half Eagles as well as Quarter Eagles (also authorized by the same act) were included among the very first deposits in this bank. Three dollar and one dollar gold pieces came long after the year 1819, but the first silver dollar was issued from the Mint in the latter part of the year 1794, at the same time when silver half-dollars ap- peared. Quarter dollars came from the Mint in 1796 along with dimes. There were no nickel coins or three cent pieces, and no two cent copper coins in the vault at the close of business on November 20, 1819, but there may have been one cent copper coins for the first of these on record bear the date of 1792.
This, in general, is how a circulating medium of exchange came to be what it was when the Providence Institution for Savings opened its doors for the first time and accepted a total of $1,014.00 in deposits for the first day's business. The character of currency commonly circu- lated in this community passed through a great many changes, as we have observed, during the years preceding the founding of this institution, and there have been many changes in our money since that event. But, the character of this estab- lishment that has long dealt in money has undergone no change. From a modest beginning, the few dollars of a few twenty- seven depositors, this savings bank has since been charged with the primary re- sponsibility of safe-keeping and aggran- dizing hundreds of millions of dollars for hundreds of persons. It faces the uncer- tainties and promises of the future with no thought of change in its original and consistently adhered-to purpose - that of aiding men, women and children in their quest for security through the provision of a safe depository for savings in dollars and cents, or in whatever form a circulat- ing medium of exchange may take within the scope of its public contact.
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₹
LUST
BY ALBERT G. GREENE.
BACON
RATED BY TUGUSTUS HOPPIN
PROVIDENCE SIDNEY STRIDER & BROTHER 1867
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"OLD GRIMES "
"Old Grimes is dead. - That good old man
We never shall see more."
A SK nine out of every ten people where those lines came from and the most you will get is a shrug of the shoulders. Say to eight, "Old Grimes is dead," and they will look at you with that "trying- so-hard-to-think" expression, meanwhile murmuring an interested, "Is that so?" Of course Providence, in part, becomes slowly oriented into its own history by one means or another. Some will already know "Old Grimes," at least those who were devotees of the late Mr. Bertrand K. Hart's excellent Sideshow or on the Athenaeum's mailing list. The former gave "Grimes" a whole column at one time, while the latter, in a bulletin of only a few years back, again revived our famous character. However there will still be the many who do not and should know, and to them we can turn for audience.
Probably the very best start we could make would be to repeat and then con- tinue the lines which have endowed "Old Grimes" with his peculiar immortality. They appeared first in the Providence Gazette of January 16, 1822, which Sidney S. Rider, after long research, discovered with the help of a friend.
"Old Grimes is dead. - That good old man We never shall see more. He used to wear a long black coat All buttoned down before.
His heart was open as the day; His feelings all were true; His hair was some inclined to grey - He wore it in a queue.
Whene'er was heard the voice of pain His breast with pity burned. - The large, round head, upon his cane, From ivory was turned.
Thus, ever prompt at pity's call, He knew no base design. - His eyes were dark, and rather small; His nose was aquiline.
He lived at peace with all mankind, In friendship he was true;
His coat had pocket-holes behind - His pantaloons were blue.
Unharmed - the sin which earth pol- lutes
He passed securely o'er; And never wore a pair of boots For thirty years, or more.
But poor old Grimes is now at rest, Nor fears misfortune's frown. He had a double-breasted vest - The stripes ran up and down.
He modest merit sought to find, And pay it its desert. He had no malice in his mind - No ruffles on his shirt.
His neighbors he did not abuse, Was sociable and gay. He wore large buckles in his shoes, And changed them every day.
His knowledge, hid from public gaze, He did not bring to view -- Nor make a noise town-meeting days, As many people do.
His worldly goods he never threw In trust to fortune's chances; But lived (as all his brothers do) In easy circumstances.
Thus undisturbed by anxious cares, His peaceful moments ran; And everybody said he was A fine old gentleman.
Good people all give cheerful thought To Grimes' memory; As doth his cousin, Ezek Short, Who made this poetry."
The author of this poem was Albert Gorton Greene, who was born in Provi- dence in 1802 and who died here in 1868. He graduated from Brown University in 1820. Shortly after the Dorr War he was United States Senator from Rhode Island. What is of greater importance is that he was the founder of the Harris Collection of
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American Poetry, now the greatest of all such collections and renowned throughout the world. Were he to return to Provi- dence and visit the John Hay Library on College Hill he would find in the Harris Room the full reward of his foresight.
Concerning his famous poem, there has always been much discussion, much error, much throwing of cudgels. Bartlett, in his volume "Familiar Quotations," at- tributed the first verse to Mr. Greene, which, as a matter of fact, happened to be the only stanza the latter did not compose. We would not state this so doggedly had we not the wherewithal to prove the point. The proof is in Mr. Greene's own letter of explanation to the editor of the Manu- facturer's and Farmer's Journal, dated May 16, 1863. No one seemed to pay much attention to it for Sidney S. Rider, who was always arguing the case of "Old Grimes" with all whom he found making misstatements in the matter, reprinted it and reprinted it as conclusive evidence. It follows:
"Dear Sir:
"In compliance with your request, I send you the enclosed copy of 'Old Grimes.' It was first published, I think, in 1823, in one of the Providence papers, for which purpose a copy had been re- quested of me by the editor. In reply to your question respecting the authorship of the stanzas, I answer that the first verse, for aught I know to the contrary, may have been repeated and sung from time immemorial. Whether it formed part of some earlier production now forgotten, or was one of those fragments of verse of which no one can tell the origin or author, I know not. That verse was used as a file leader for the remainder. The piece met with much more attention than it ever deserved, as the whole humor of the thing consists in the whim of describing in the first two lines (sic) of each verse some trait of the character of the individual, and in the two last (sic) some portion of his dress. With respect to the enclosed stanzas, I need only add that, with the exception of the first, every line of them was written by myself.
"Respectfully yours,
"Albert G. Greene."
Rider found there was an English ver- sion of the poem to which he traces Greene's first verse. The former never saw a copy of the full English ballad, but learned that it was thoroughly obscene in content, to the point where its publica- tion in England was listed as a criminal offense.
Greene revised his poem in its later pub- lication, having the particular good sense to drop the last stanza. The other changes were so slight as to be unnecessary of men- tion. The poem appeared in the Rhode Island Book of 1841, and was included among a group of five of Mr. Greene's poems in Griswold's 16th edition of "Poets and Poetry of America," which appeared in 1855. Sidney S. Rider, who needs no qualification here, was the next to publish the poem, bringing it out as the sole con- tent of a slim booklet in 1867. What gave this publication especial significance were the illustrations by Augustus Hoppin, he who was one of the most famous members of the "Auton " family. Those who know his curiously charming sketches will com- pliment Rider's taste. To put out "Old Grimes" with each stanza illustrated by Hoppin was the equivalent of issuing an edition of Dickens with illustrations by Phiz. Rider paid Hoppin $250 for his work, but the latter was surely worth it. Sadly enough, Rider was unfortunate in his choice of a binder, and, although his edition sold 1,000 copies at $1.25 each the first day it went on sale in Boston, on the next all the covers fell off, with the result that Gladding Brothers and Tibbetts, Providence booksellers, were soon offering copies for $.25. It was naturally a bitter pill for Rider to swallow.
In regard to "Old Grimes" himself, somebody was always trying to prove his actual existence and make Greene's poem simple description. Before all onslaughts Sidney Rider stood firm like a Horatio, swinging scathing sarcasm like a sword, giving his final thrust with Greene's own letter of explanation. Dwight Kilbourne of Litchfield, Connecticut, tried to estab- lish "Grimes" as a former colored servant to the students in Litchfield Law School, saying that Greene had encountered the man when a student there himself and had produced "Old Grimes" in response
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to the negro's request for a poem. It took Rider but a few paragraphs in his cele- brated Book Notes to dispose of Mr. Kil- bourne. The former showed that Greene had never gone to Litchfield. Then the Providence Sunday Journal itself in 1901 fell into error several times in publishing the "Grimes" story and suffered Rider's attack. Finally the Boston Sunday Post of November 13, 1910, carried the an- nouncement that Daniel Bartlett had located the grave of "Old Grimes" at Hubbardstown, Massachusetts, and estab- lished him as having been one of four sons of a Grimes family living in Tewksbury. This story was too absurd, and Rider waxed unusually sarcastic.
As poetry, a most important point, the poem undoubtedly will, and should, stand.
It has a touch of the humor of Carroll and Lear and is neatly done. From a purely literary standpoint it is significant inas- much as it is one of the earliest of Ameri- can character poems and, as such, the blood ancestor of the New England char- acter poems soon to be done seriously by Holmes and Whittier and, in this present day, by Edwin Arlington Robinson and others.
That is all our story. That is all we have to say. Who "Old Grimes" really was we do not need to know. We are content to learn that
. undisturbed by anxious cares, His peaceful moments ran; And everybody said he was A fine old gentleman."
"OLD GRIMES IS DEAD."
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HOPE COLLEGE
L IKE its predecessor and near-neighbor, University Hall, Hope College, built in 1823, and regarded as a splendid example of early nineteenth century American architecture, will also escape an untimely demise. For a long, long time anyway, Hope College, familiar to all who pass the University, will not shudder and shake under the attack of crowbars, pickaxes, and sledge hammers, to make way for the streamlined, pueblo-styled brain child of some revolutionary. Rather, this fine old stalwart, beautiful in simple and substan- tial qualities, is going to the doctor. Al- though, at this writing, the exact plans for its reconstruction or renovation have not yet been revealed, this beloved under- graduate home of many, now seen and unseen, is to be preserved, its life extended, and for this, Brown, the community in which the University is located, and the entire State of Rhode Island should be most grateful.
The good news about Hope College should be especially interesting to those who once walked its corridors, slept in its rooms, playfully threw water bags at passers-by on Waterman Street, or, who, from the upper windows on the front campus side, soberly contemplated the haze-blanketed chimneys, smokestacks, and roof tops of the sprawled out city below. Like all old college dormitories, Hope College is filled with memories, mostly pleasant, and doubtless not one youth who ever lived there, left the campus without taking at least one anecdote worth relating. But, rarely do undergrad- uate experiences survive beyond a few periodical class reunions or informal get- togethers; seldom do the records of the not-too-serious side of college life appear on printed pages. However, Hope Col- lege, for one lengthy period at least, had an historian, an able one too, who took the time to put down on paper what took place within its noble walls. Much of what the late Dr. Walter Lee Munro, of the Class of 1879, knew about Hope Col- lege through intimate association and through exhaustive research, has gone
into a small volume which every Rhode Islander would find interesting. The title of what Dr. Munro termed a Chron- icle of Student Life and Activities at Brown University in the latter half of the last century, is "The Old Back Campus at Brown," and among the chapters of this amusing, painstakingly accurate, his- torically invaluable record of the Univer- sity as Dr. Munro knew it, long and well, are we able to find references certainly worth retelling about the college structure that someone thought kindly enough about to give the munificent sum of $100,000 for its preservation and pro- tection.
Speaking of both University Hall and Hope College, President Robinson, in his annual report for 1875, said: "Such dor- mitory accommodations as we have are not only quite insufficient to our wants in extent; they are most discreditably unfit in kind." That remark was made when University Hall, now completely and beautifully restored, was about a century old.
The original open fireplaces had given way to stoves; some of them strictly for heating; others, suitable for both heating and cooking. Each room was supposed to accommodate two students, who slept in a double bed and shared a bureau between them. Each room had two closets, one of which served as a coal and wood bin, and the other as the general catchall for every- thing from clothes to baseball bats.
In those days, there was no running water in Hope, except in the slopbasins in the halls, and these were boarded up and kept locked. All water for bathing pur- poses had to be lugged in from two wells on the campus, and doubtless, the con- tainers used for this purpose might have been assembled into a very curious and varied collection. All hot water had to be heated over the room stoves, and that luxury presented a rather weighty prob- lem during the warmer months of the col- lege term. Shower baths had not yet been thought of, and there were no bath tubs, although some of the students
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owned what Dr. Munro called old-fash- ioned tin "hot-baths." Those who had none either borrowed or went without. At best it was a little disconcerting on a cold January morning to find the water jug empty and face the prospect of going down and climbing several flights of stairs on the round trip to the ice-coated campus well. It was possible on occasion, Satur- day night, for example, to secure hot water, in a quantity limited by the size of the container, by applying at the base- ment door of a building at the other end of the front campus, but, this was a long, long trip on a windy, rainy Saturday night for a top floor resident in North Hope.
Previous to the college year 1876-1877, none of the windows or stairways of Hope College were lighted at night. At that time, a single gas burner of low candle power was installed in each hall. Poor as this illumination might have been, once in a while, an earnest student would be seen with his back against the white- washed wall, preparing for the next day, under the flickering, dancing flame of a feeble gas burner.
Shortly after, fixtures were placed in all of the rooms, but the corporation had nothing to do with the supply of gas. The gas company installed a single meter for the entire building, and the bills were evenly divided among all the students living in the building. According to the recollections of Dr. Munro, the Hope College Gas Light Association was formed,
and a treasurer was elected; a Freshman, of course, upon whom devolved the super- human task of footing the bills whether or not he could collect from the members. In the Fall of '70, a treasurer was elected, but no money was collected; no bills had been paid when the college year of '71 came to an end. When the boys returned to Hope in the Fall, there was no gas in the pipes, and they were told that there would be none until the bill in arrears was paid in full. Suddenly, there was a great demand for kerosene lamps, wicks, and chimneys, and Hope College returned to the older form of lighting until . . . by accident, some exploring student discov- ered two pipes terminating futilely within a foot of each other under the first floor of the structure. Hope College, at that time, had no cellar. With a little ingenuity and a piece of rubber hose, the old abandoned gas supply pipes were joined securely, and the word quickly went around the build- ing that there was gas to burn, and plenty, at no cost. The free illumination lasted until Class Day when a gas company clerk, who happened to attend the Prom- enade Concert, noticed the lavish use of gas and did a little checking up the next day. Workmen with the proper tools soon appeared, and it was many years before the service was restored.
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