USA > Vermont > Caledonia County > St Johnsbury > The town of St. Johnsbury, Vt. ; a review of one hundred twenty-five years to the anniversary pageant 1912 > Part 35
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47
F
R
F
R
F
R
F
R
F
R
110
97
103
100
104
103
103
99
103
118
102
99
102
100
105
102
102
117
104
116
102
101
103
100
103
104
104
119
105
117
106
99
104
101
104
100
103
118
104
119
101
101
103
104
105
103
100
118
105
117
Twenty-sixth ballot
104
120
Similar defeat in the general election overtook most of those who had supported the prohibitory measure the year pre- ceding; the act itself however was not repealed. On his return from Montpelier, a private citizen, Erastus Fairbanks was greeted by a salute of 31 guns : "the powder used was procured, and the gun itself was worked, altogether by men who were opposed to him in politics." The town had given him 427 votes as against 152 for Robinson.
In 1860 he was again nominated at the convention held in Rutland and on election day received 34,185 votes, there being 11,793 for John G. Saxe the democratic nominee. This town registered 456 votes for him, 73 for Saxe.
428
TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY
No one could have guessed what exacting responsibilities were soon to fall upon the Executive. To meet the situation precipitated by the assault on Fort Sumter required at the head of the state as well as of the nation a man of decision, sagacity and force. The Governor promptly met the emergency with resoluteness and high patriotic spirit. The fact that war would entail great loss of property held by the scale firm in the South- ern states had not a moment's consideration, the honor of the flag must be defended at whatever cost. On the same day that President Lincoln called for troops the Legislature was summon- ed to Montpelier by a proclamation, a copy of which is given on page 274, and the business of war was taken hold of with deep and solemn determination.
"It was in his new position as Commander in Chief," says one who shared with him the burdens of that stressful time, "that I again found the Governor master of the work he had to do. The responsibility was his ; with a prayerful desire to be guided aright, his foresight and energy at once appeared when raising the first regiment sent out from Vermont.
The extra session of the Legislature which met eight days after the firing upon Fort Sumter, had the good sense to place at his entire disposal a million of dollars, putting no check upon the use of it, only as his judg- ment might deem prudent and best. Our people, unused to large public expenditure, it is true, kept a jealous eye upon all his acts, but never, to their praise, with a thought of any dereliction of duty or misuse of power on the part of the Executive.
Their confidence was justified, and looking back on the expenditures of his successors during the years in which we were engaged in war, none will bear closer scrutiny. To those acquainted with his good judgment, strict integrity, his high sense of impartial right, his systematic business habits and comprehensive mind, early and continuously trained to grasp business matters on a large scale, the result is no surprise."
On retiring from his official duties at the end of the year the Governor requested the appointment of a special com- mittee to examine and audit his accounts. This action was taken and the Legislature in view of the report rendered adopted the following :-
"Whereas, in consequence of the war in which the country has been en- gaged-new, arduous, and peculiar duties have devolved upon the Executive,
429
IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE
involving great responsibilities and calling forth great administrative ability, therefore
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Vermont-
That the thanks of the two Houses be presented to Erastus Fairbanks, late Governor, for his most laborious, efficient, and praise-worthy efforts to raise, equip and uniform the six regiments of volunteers that have been sent forward from this state to the seat of war.
Resolved, That we, as representatives of the people, do appreciate the difficulties which beset the course of the Executive in the trying emer- gencies incidental to the inauguration of a militia system and a war policy among a people pre-eminently peaceful-and we feel doubly gratified for the judgment which decided without wavering the path of duty, and the courage which pursued it to success."
It was not courage chiefly, but a profound sense of provi- dential guidance that animated Erastus Fairbanks. He believed that God had appointed him to a solemn responsibility ; inspired with this conviction he dedicated his energies under God to the ser- vice of the state. The salary to which he was entitled was not touched, it still remains in the State Treasury. The exactions of the public service at that critical, strenuous time were a heavy strain upon his vitality. Three years later he died at the age of seventy-two years.
HORACE FAIRBANKS-son of Erastus, was elected Governor in 1876 for the biennial term. While riding across the state on business relating to the Lake road and to the University of Ver- mont, a telegram from Montpelier was handed him which said :- "You are to be Governor of Vermont in spite of yourself." The phrasing of this message is explained by the fact that Mr. Fair- banks had distinctly declined to be a candidate, and had refused to allow the use of his name as such. Notwithstanding this, when the nominating convention at Montpelier found itself un- able by ballot to agree upon either one of the three candidates before it-the name of Horace Fairbanks was introduced and the nomination was at once accorded him by acclamation without a dissenting voice. Impressed by the spontaneity and stress of such a call to the public service, he could not conscientiously re-
430
TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY
treat from it, and in replying to it he said : "The unanimity of the convention supplemented by the solicitations of many friends has overborne my own judgment and wishes and leads me to ac- cept the nomination."
The election, like the nomination, was decisive. Being both centennial and presidential year, every effort was made to reduce the republican vote ; but the Governor was elected by a majority of 23,721. The sentiment of this town was recorded in the 826 votes given him, which was more than the total vote of any pre- vious election in the history of the town. Citizens of St. Johns- bury and neighboring towns to the number of 3000 took uninvited possession of the Pinehurst grounds on the evening thereafter, for congratulatory jubilations, with swarms of torch-lights and patriotic noise from the cornet band and the guns on Reservoir Hill. Rev. D. E. Miller was spokesman for the party, and in the concluding words of the reply every one recognized the note of sincerity-"I assume the position devolved on me with the great- est diffidence and I ask your forbearance, your counsel and your prayers."
This natural diffidence added to his lack of legislative ex- perience led some to query how far he would prove equal to the new official duties. "His father, the first war governor of Ver- mont, served in eventful times and left a brilliant record-would the son maintain the prestige gained by the father?" Gratifying assurance as to this began to appear in his inaugural, which as re- ported, attracted wide attention both in the state and abroad for its plain and vigorous handling of matters needing reformed and advanced methods, notably the management of prisons and jails. He urged the state to encourage arbitration in place of the too frequent resort to jury trial ; advocated reform in matters of tax- ation; gave special attention to educational methods, recommend- ing uniformity of text books, consolidation of the smaller schools and the employment of a higher grade of teachers. The prison system of the state was sharply arraigned, declared to be a failure, radically wrong in principle, requiring immediate and en- tire revision. "In short, the state should put forth its most active and earnest endeavors to reclaim the convict from a life of
431
IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE
crime to a life of virtue, and the State Prison should no longer be an institution for the reformation as well as the punishment of offenders with the reformation all left out."
This message was received with universal commendation throughout the state, approved as clear in expression, broad and statesmanlike in its views. The Springfield Republican remarked editorially-"Gov. Fairbanks' message is unexpectedly remark- able for its sharp and intelligent criticism of state administra- tion." The conclusion of one of the New York dailies was that "in selecting him for her chief magistrate, Vermont chose better than she knew, and her renowned scale maker will prove a model governor."
This prediction was not wide of the mark. Many of the Governor's urgent recommendations were promptly and favorably acted on by the General Assembly, and all of them have since that date been incorporated into the legislative acts of the State. The popular judgment at the end of the biennial term-aside from some dissent over a case of executive reprieve-was, that the ad- ministration had been wise, progressive, judicious and practical. "The ability and scope of his state papers, the desire to be iden- tified with the people, his efforts to inaugurate reforms and im- provements, have served to make Horace Fairbanks one of the most popular executives the State has had in many years."
It is also to be remembered that he brought to the public service a personality of singular attractiveness. There was the in- variable touch of refinement and a spirit of quiet but large generosity in all his contact with life. The firmness with which he held his matured convictions was graced with sincere courtesy and con- sideration for the opinions of others. He retired from the official duties to which he had been called assured of the high regard and good will of all; ten years later, 1888, he died in New York City.
TWO SECRETARIES
Worthy of mention as related to the preceeding paragraphs are the names of two men who won appreciative recognition as Secretaries of Civil and Military Affairs.
432
TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY
GEORGE A. MERRILL-was Superintendent of the Passumpsic Railroad when called to official duties by Gov. Erastus Fairbanks during his second term in 1852. His remarkable aptitude and versatility in affairs made him an invaluable assistant in organiz- ing the military system at the outbreak of the Civil War. Few men, if any, ever lived in this town whose gifts of adaptation were so marked and varied. His lithe and elastic figure seemed formed to fit every situation with easy, prompt and graceful action-whether mounted as chief-marshal born to command, or moving in the social circle with vivacity and courtliness, or fluent- ly addressing an audience on any theme whatever, or doing ex- pert, quick and accurate work at the desk, or dashing off spicy communications for the press, or rendering practical service in the church and neighborhood. One visible mark of his originality is still an architectural feature of Eastern Avenue-the brick octa- gon a novelty in its day, which he planted on the knoll for his residence.
ANDREW E. RANKIN-Secretary to Gov. Horace Fairbanks, was a man of fine accomplishments. To his ability as an educa- tor the town was indebted for the successful inauguration of our Union School system in 1858. He acquired high standing in business and at the bar ; for the twenty-four years preceding his death in 1888, he was Clerk of the Caledonia County Court. His appointment by the Governor was universally commended, and in this position his cultivated tastes were peculiarly agreeable to his chief. Mr. Rankin was a finished scholar and always deeply in- terested in educational matters. He was for some years Secre- tary of the State Board of Education, and in 1883 was appointed delegate from Vermont to the Interstate Educational Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. President Grant tendered him the posi- tion of American Consul to Messina, Sicily, which however he de- clined. Mrs. Rankin was a daughter of Judge Poland.
To the Athenaeum, of which he was one of the original Trustees, Mr. Rankin gave important services for seventeen years. Among other things of practical interest was the series of Athenæum Questions, 140 in number, which he put out in 1885, relating to history, art and literature. These were designed to
433
IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE
stimulate the habit of library research; they awakened keen in- terest and active work among the books for several months, and the publication of the answers opened a mine of literary informa- tion.
Mr. Rankin's early death was deeply lamented; it was "like the falling of a strong and beautifully carved pillar in the portico of a temple ;" he was a man of serious mind and ripe culture, quiet and courteous, sensitive, "always a gentleman and a gentleman to all men."
TWO CHIEF JUSTICES TWO SENATORS
LUKE P. POLAND-born in Westfield, 1815, was admitted to the bar at the age of 21, took his seat on the supreme bench at the age of 33, to which position he was returned by the viva-voce vote of seventeen successive elections in the General Assembly. From 1860 he was Chief Justice till his appointment in 1865 as United States Senator succeeding Judge Collamer.
The Judge used to say that he was educated in a saw-mill; after three years' course in that institution he exchanged boards enough to secure five months at Jericho Academy which complet- ed his academic curriculum; thereafter his education was advanced thro a perpetual course in the university of men and affairs. He was nearly forty years a resident of St. Johnsbury, one of the most prominent and distinguished citizens of the town. His death in 1887 brought out generous acknowledgements of his public service, excerpts from which are here given :-
"Judge Poland was one of the most marked characters that Vermont ever produced. In every position whether as citizen, lawyer, judge, legisla- tor, congressman or senator, he earned and preserved an honorable reputa- tion and displayed conspicuous ability always reflecting honor upon his native State."
"He was one of Vermont's most distinguished sons, whose career was one of large and varied trusts fulfilled with great ability, industry and fidelity. As a lawyer, jurist, state and national legislator, financier, and friend of education Judge Poland was truly and justly eminent."
"During the ten years of his Congressional life no other member of either house of Congress was so intimately identified with so many import-
434
TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY
ant measures. His eminent intellectual ability and particularly his innate love of justice, developed and strengthened by long judicial service, en- abled him to rise above all partisan considerations and to decide each ques- tion entirely on its merits."
With these qualifications he was well fitted for the delicate task of investigating the Credit Mobilier transactions, which was committed to his leadership; the unanimous report of the com- mittee was sustained, tho it involved the retirement of some prominent men of his own party from public life. He also led the Congressional investigation of the doings of the Ku-Klux- Klan, the findings of which filled 13 large printed volumes and resulted in ridding the country of that infamous band. Judge Poland's most important achievement while in Congress was the revision and consolidation of the Laws of the United States, done in pursuance of an act introduced by him in the Senate of the 39th Congress. The magnitude and character of that undertak- ing is well stated in an address given at Philadelphia in 1875 by Hon. Loren Blodgett.
CODIFICATION OF THE STATUTES
"Having originated the whole work while a member of the Senate in 1866 and followed it as chief director in all subsequent proceedings in both Houses of Congress for seven years, Judge Poland consummated what all regarded as a great work which no other member of either branch could claim. No test so severe, both as to familiarity with the ordinary construc- tion of the statutes, and as to legal discrimination in regard to the intrinsic incompatibility of acts which had successively overlapped each other for nearly a century, has at any time been applied to a committee in Congress during an active session. Indeed under no circumstances and at no time has a like effort been made. The energy and determination of the dis- tinguished chairman were always conspicuous, and the work was accepted by Congress in June 1874, without amendments. In reviewing this revision or codification it is impossible not to accord it a rank quite distinct from, if not higher than, any previous work of the kind known to history."
Judge Poland's public service at Washington included two years in the Senate and eight in the House .. He was a man of mark on the floor of either house, both by reason of his intel- lectual stature, his weighty speech and his dignified port to which the buff waistcoat and brass buttoned coat of colonial times added
435
IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE
a touch of agreeable distinction. He was framed and equipped for a public career, which in point of fact he both enjoyed and adorned.
JONATHAN Ross-left the ancestral farm in Waterford and came over to enter St. Johnsbury Academy in 1844. Notwith- standing the opinion expressed that "'twas a pity to spoil a good farmer for to make a poor lawyer," he continued his course thro Dartmouth College and subsequent legal studies till in 1856 he was back in St. Johnsbury beginning his career as a lawyer, poor in nothing but purse. His lack of native brilliancy was more than made up by a robust honesty of the Abram Lincoln type, by sincerity of Christian principle and diligent attention to details which very soon commanded public confidence and patronage. Important trusts were committed to him in the town and in the State. He ranked high at Montpelier both as representative and senator. In 1870 he was on the Supreme bench ; in 1890 he was made Chief Justice ; in 1899 he was appointed for the unexpired term to succeed Justin S. Morrill in the United States Senate.
It will be noted as a coincidence that these successive ad- vancements duplicated the course of his fellow townsman Judge Poland. Not often does the same town have two men so unlike in native endowment, style and personality who win high honor in public careers so nearly identical. The two are not to be compared as to which was superior. Each excelled in a way of his own; both carried their parts with distinction. When Poland entered the Senate in the prime of his alert and vigorous man- hood at the age of fifty, no one doubted that he would make his mark. Ross, less widely known, took his seat as Senator in his 74th year and no one expected any thing remarkable from himn. A surprise was coming.
Within forty-eight hours after his appointment, wholly unex- pected, he had all outstanding items of court business closed up and was on his way to Washington. He reached the Senate chamber in time to participate in the action that ratified the treaty with Spain. Inasmuch as this was carried by a majority of one vote only, that deciding vote may now be said to have arrived
436
TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY
from St. Johnsbury, Vt., just in time to secure the ratification of peace with Spain by the Senate. Immediately new and delicate problems were thrust upon Congress relating to the impending re- sponsibility for Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands. To these questions Senator Ross gave close attention and study involving exhaustive research, historical and legal. On the 23d of January, 1900, he introduced a series of resolutions on the Relations of the United States to its Island dependencies-asserting for substance that the provisions of the Constitution itself unaided by an Act of Congress are inadequate for suitable sovereignty over these outlying dependencies ; that therefore our duty to them demands the creation of a department of administration and the passage of a law to make appointments thereto unpolitical. This proposi- tion he supported with remarks, not oratory, and did not immedi- ately catch the ear of the Senate. Presently some began to dis- cover that he was master of his theme. Senator Pettus of Ala- bama rose to say, "this is an important question and it is a great lawyer who is speaking ; we should give him our attention." Five years later a similar estimate from the legal point of view appeared in THE GREEN BAG :-
"This effort made a sensation throughout the country and marked Judge Ross as a man of national fame, and beyond question it shaped the. policy of the nation with reference to our Island Possessions. President Mckinley characterized it as the most enlightening treatment of the subject he had yet seen, and stated that it led him to a complete change of mind as to national policy in regard to the annexation of territory."
Struck by a railroad train near the East Village, Feb. 21, 1905, Judge Ross and his wife met the sudden death that startled and saddened the whole community. State officers came to join with his townspeople in the funeral service at the South church of which he was the senior deacon and for more than fifty years teacher of a class in the Sunday School. In his public service as also in private life he was strenuous for righteousness and justice, with a deep sense of responsibility to God and responsibility for men.
"Judge Jonathan Ross was a representative New Englander, one of the best his State has produced within the last century, retaining much of the
437
IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE
conservatism as well as sturdiness of the old school of citizens; interested in all good service whether political, religious, educational, or social ; an example of what may be accomplished through the genius of hard work and uprightness of character."
Boston Transcript
TWO EDUCATORS
"It is to be remarked that the Teacher as truly as the Judge or the Governor is a public servant, with functions judicial and executive of su- preme importance to the State."
JAMES K. COLBY-In their careful search for the right man to carry out their ideals of education the founders of St. Johns- bury Academy were providentially led to a most felicitous choice. Mr. Colby, with little previous experience, opened the school in 1842, and except for a short interval presided over it for 23 years. He quietly created an institution that gave distinction and honor to the town. The suspicion that he was a man of more than ordinary mark probably never entered his mind, he was thinking of what he could do for the young minds around him. A discriminating writer remarked that while he passed an unevent- ful life in the beautiful village to whose prosperity and attractive- ness he contributed so much, he yet possessed a thoroughness of intellectual training, a solidity of judgment, a self-control and ad- ministrative ability sufficient for the headship of a college or the chief magistracy of a state.
Principal Colby founded his school on a well defined plan : certain things were as corner stones-exact scholarship, good manners, character building, the fear of God. The supreme object was to train boys and girls to become intelligent self- respecting citizens ; whatever was most important for community life must be already in force among these young people ; first of all respect for authority and strict fidelity to duty. Insisting that order was heaven's first law and fundamental in good society the Master demanded and secured it in his little kingdom. His com- manding figure and quiet tones inspired respectful attention ; his words were few, deliberate and weighty, if additional emphasis became necessary there was a smooth ferule in the drawer whose
438
TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY
merits were well understood. Usually however to "hold a fretful realm in awe," the sound of his approaching footstep or the sig- nificant tap of his pencil sufficed-"the tap of that pencil, how well I remember it; more potent it was in his schoolroom than that of Cæsar's finger in the Roman Senate." Exactness and mastery of every detail was the rule to which he rigidly held himself as well as others. That explained the omission of the Bible exercise one Saturday morning ; sickness had interferred with his "suitable preparation." Indifference and careless work merited sore dis- pleasure ; every painstaking endeavor was encouraged, usually by some hint that would set the mind on the track of working out its problem. The entire plan and procedure of the day was to awaken unrecognized abilities, to stimulate good impulses, to root deeply in the mind a sense of responsibility. One who was easily a non-conformist in opinion affirmed that for real eminence as an instructor, for firmness of discipline judiciously tempered with mildness, for the quality of guide, philosopher and friend to youth, Mr. Colby in his generation was without a peer.
He was also an educator unofficially in the larger life of the community ; shaping public opinion and inspiring a sense of mutual obligation among men. He had the weight of influence that rests on a well-balanced mind, clear judgment and strong convictions modestly insisted on. Universally respected and re- vered as a leading citizen his name added dignity to the town. In the South Church of which he was one of the founders and pil- lars it stands in lettering of the language that he loved and taught :-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.