USA > West Virginia > Webster County > Moccasin tracks and other imprints > Part 13
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The very atmosphere of these rugged mountains seem congenial to human development, progress and freedom. During slavery days but few of the black race were held in bondage, and the motto of the state, "Mountaineers are always free," is very appropriate.
West Virginia is a child of the great Civil War and many battles were fought on her soil. The state was baptized in the blood of many brave soldiers who up- held the cause of the Union or that of the Confederate States. Thirty thousand men joined the Federal army and seven thousand the Confederate. This was a large proportionate number when compared with the sparse population of the state.
West Virginia has produced many eminent men. Among this great number may be mentioned James Rumsey, of Shepherdstown, who invented the first steamboat in 1784. He is the only American buried in Westminster Abbey where repose England's great men.
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Philip Doddridge, the statesman and orator, was the descendant of an illustrious family of pioneers. He attracted national attention as a member of the Vir- ginia Constitutional Convention of 1829 and as a United States senator from Virginia during the formative pe- riod of our National history.
Archibald Campbell, who said to Roscoe Conkling that he carried his sovereignty under his own hat, has left his imprint on journalism in West Virginia.
Thomas J. Jackson, the hero of Bull Run, and one of the greatest military leaders in the Civil War. was born in central West Virginia.
Alexander Campbell, of Brooke county, was a noted scholar and theologian. He was the founder of the Church of the Disciples and of Bethany College, which is now one of our leading institutions of learning.
Jesse L. Reno, who gave his life for the Union cause at the battle of South Mountain, occupied the highest rank of any Federal officer who fell in battle. This list could be extended to almost every field of human endeavor. Men have gone out from this state into other fields of labor and have made good in their chosen pro- fessions.
The men who erected the territory between the Al- leghany mountains and the Ohio river into a sovereign state have all passed away. The Pierponts, the Willeys, the Boremans, the Van Winkles, the Stephensons, and the Hubbards live in the pages of our state history. A second and a third generation have come upon the stage of action. Much has been accomplished, yet much more remains to be done. The state cannot progress on past achievement, grand though it may be.
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The future welfare depends upon the present genera- tion. The signs of the times indicate many needed reforms. Two of them are a cessation of corrupt prac- tices in public life and an electorate that can neither be bought nor sold. The time is not far distant in the past when men would sell their votes with impunity. But to-day it is the lower classes of society that furnish the purchasable vote, and this class is growing less year by year. Political parties and candidates for office are responsible to a greater degree for this condition of affairs than the voters themselves. As long as bribes are offered there will be bribe takers. There will be conditions in the life of a voter that he thinks mitigates the crime of selling his manhood. This practice is striking at the very fountain head of all popular gov- ernments. It must be eradicated or modern republics will share the fate of ancient ones.
The boys must be taught the sacredness of the ballot. They must be made to understand that while the right of suffrage is one of the greatest privileges accorded a free born American citizen, and that it is not like so much merchandise to be bought and sold on market days. They must be made to understand that while the right to vote is a great privilege it is no less a duty. They must be taught to cast their vote without fear or favor and that the man who sells his vote is an enemy to so- ciety and justly loses his social standing in the com- munity in which he resides.
West Virginia is destined to become at no distant date one of the wealthiest states in the Union. She should also become a leader in education and morality. Our greatest assets are not in coal, oil, gas, lumber and
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other natural resources, but in our boys and girls in whose hands are soon to be placed the future destiny of the state. Let them have the best possible chance to get an education, because education is the safeguard of the commonwealth.
BUSINESS AND CIVIC HONESTY.
An address delivered at Richwood, April 4, 1910, in the. Presbyterian Church, under the auspices of the Zeta Beta Society.
West Virginians, who have gone away from home, have often heard their state referred to as the "Little Mountain State." This appellation is a misnomer be- cause West Virginia is little in nothing that makes a state great. West Virginia is almost one-half the area of all the New England states combined. It ranks third among the states in the production of coal, and it has a sufficient quantity of these black diamonds, if converted into heat, to make perpetual summer in the frigid regions of the North Pole. West Virginia ranks third in the production of petroleum and it has enough of this fluid to oil the machinery of the solar system. West Virginia has timber enough if sawed into boards to fence the universe, and gas in sufficient quantities to supply all the politicians, story tellers and public speak- ers of the world.
Nicholas is often referred to as a backwoods county. With its great wealth of timber and coal, and its graz- ing and agricultural possibilities one is informed by the would-be pessimist that no large cities are located with- in its borders, and that there are no large manufac- tories. We answer this objection by saying that Nich- olas county produces the finest specimen of manhood and womanhood to be found in the world, and if they cannot be produced fast enough to supply the demand, requisition is made on the best people from other parts
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of West Virginia and from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vir- ginia, New York and many other states of the Union.
We say to the pessimist that Nicholas has Richwood, "The Gem of the Mountains," in which is located one of the largest lumber manufacturing plants in the United States; a city that manufactures enough leather to make a pair of shoes for every orphan boy and girl in America; a city that manufactures enough paper to wrap up a Christmas present for every man, woman and child in the state; a city that manufactures enough carriage hubs to carry all the people of West Virginia to a Fourth of July picnic; a city that man- ufactures enough clothes pins to fasten the clothes on every farmer in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Mis- souri during their fiercest cyclones; a city that can boast of the best schools of any city of its size in the state of West Virginia; a city of busy. industrious people that will not be content until Richwood reaches a higher rank among her sister cities. But with all your natural resources; with all your business pros- perity : with all your revolving wheels and spindles, there is something back of all this that demands your careful attention.
In this great commercial and utilitarian age-an age in which competition is strong and active, business and professional men, as well as public officials, are too apt to smother their conscientious scruples in regard to the principles of right and wrong. The paramount question in the consideration of any enterprise in which they are about to engage is, "Will it pay?" If, after a careful consideration, an affirmative answer to the question can be given, the projected business is entered
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into with earnest zeal without any regard to the prin- ciples of honesty and integrity. After its successful termination the possession of gold and silver outweighs the pangs of a guilty conscience. This is the only solace of numberless business men of to-day.
Ever since the human family emerged from a state of savagery it has been but a natural consequence for each individual to crave better things; to desire to possess something of value that would place himself and his dependents above penury and want. It was but natural for Abraham, the founder of the Hebrew na- tion, after he had come into the possession of vast flocks and other valuables, to buy a burial ground where he and his loved ones could rest in peace after life had come to an end. No one can deny this God-given right of acquiring wealth and surrounding one's self and his family with the necessaries, as well as the luxuries of this life. But the manner in which these things are acquired is the business of the officers who execute the laws. In the great race for wealth, honor and position, one should be guided by the teachings of religion and morality, and in the words of the Great Teacher, "All things whatsoever that men should do to you, do ye even so to them," should be the oriflamme around which all public, business and professional men should rally. If a business man takes advantage of the ignorance of a customer as to the value of any article offered for sale, he fails in the fulfillment of business ethics. Does anything of value bring real pleasure and happiness to its possessor who has used unfair means in its acquisi- tion without any regard to moral rectitude and the eth-
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ics of business? This is a question whose answer is so obvious that it need not be given.
It has been said that excessive riches are almost as intolerable as extreme poverty. This, in the main, is not true, but the assertion is based on the fact that riches alone do not bring contentment, pleasure and happiness. It has also been said that few, if any, of the great American millionaires gained their wealth by legitimate business methods. Ill-gotten gains and an easy conscience are incompatible. They, like oil and water, are hostile properties. They will not mix. The conscience is like Banquo's ghost, it will not down. Solomon, the wisest man of Biblical times, said, "Give me neither poverty nor riches." He recognized the burdensome character of these extreme worldly condi- tions. This wise moralist had in mind a middle state
or condition ; a competency, or enough to place one in an independent position. This middle state is the happy medium between the two great extremes. Enough of this world's goods to make one's life pleasant and happy; a sufficiency for recreation, pleasure and char- ity, and enough leisure time for the cultivation of the mind.
Wealth, or riches, is a comparative term. In this strenuous age millionaires only are thought to be rich, while a few years ago men who possessed a few thou- sands of dollars were said to be wealthy. It is not the aggregation of wealth that brings happiness, but the manner in which it is acquired and the way in which it is used.
An old adage, "Honesty is the best policy," is often quoted by ministers. moralists and teachers. One should
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ยท not be honest merely because it is right, but because it is the safest and the surest road to ultimate business success.
The wealthy are too often censured for crooked meth- ods and the small dealers overlooked when they commit a similar offense. The farmer who sells a bushel of corn or a bushel of wheat that does not consist of four full pecks; the grocer who sells a pound of coffee or a pound of sugar that does not consist of sixteen honest ounces ; the dry goods merchant who sells a yard of calico or a yard of silk that is not three feet in length ; the lumber dealer who substitutes an inferior board for a first class one, and the business man who short- changes a customer is just as guilty of wrong doing as the United States Steel Corporation when it placed watered stock on the market, or the Arbuckle Brothers' Sugar Company when it short weighed its consignment of sugar and thereby cheated the United States govern- ment out of millions of dollars in custom duties. It did not in any way mitigate the offense when this com- pany atempted to make restitution by refunding a part of the ill-gotten profits when caught in the nefarious act.
If any one doubts that honesty is not the best busi- ness policy let him visit the Federal prison at Atlanta, Georgia, and interrogate Charles W. Morse, the once great "Ice King" of New England and New York, who entered the great whirl-pool of frenzied finance and lost sight of every principle of right and justice. He strictly adhered to the get-rich-quick idea without any regard to manner or method. As president of the ice trust he forced up the price of ice in the city of New
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York until it was beyond the means of thousands of the suffering poor. He coined into money the suffering of many poor but honest men, women and children. His ships were sailing on every sea; he could have signed his check for millions and it would have been honored by any banker in Wall Street. He was one of the rich men of the nation, and, if there be happi- ness in riches, he was thrice happy ; but a day of reck- oning was at hand; he had sowed the wind and now he must reap the whirlwind; his blood money took wings and flew away; in order to regain his waning for- tune he transgressed the criminal law, and now he languishes upon a felon's bed, dressed in the character- istic garb of a common malefactor, with no one so mean as to do him homage.
If this evidence is not conclusive let the investigator after truth visit the Illinois state prison and inquire for one John R. Walsh, the once noted Chicago banker and financier, who robbed widows and orphans of money deposited in the bank of which he was president. This man at one time lived like a prince in one of the fashionable streets of Chicago, but he was caught in the toils of the law and now he is numbered among the prison population of the country.
Visit the Ohio state prison, at Columbus, and ask Charles Warringer, ex-president of the Big Four Rail- road, if honesty is not the best business policy. He, too, is reaping that which he sowed. These three men alone are not the only sufferers because of their dishonesty in business. A wife and children, yes, perhaps a father and mother are partakers of their shame and degrada- tion. Many others who have been but recently accused
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can not be interrogated. Some did not have the man- hood to face the shame of their own making and wor- ried themselves into untimely graves. Others by their own hand have ushered themselves into that realm from whence none returns. Most assuredly the way of the business transgressor is hard. Clean, business meth- ods, open and above board, should be the watch-word of every young man who enters into any business. Hon- esty is his best asset. Men of wealth will learn to trust him, and he slowly mounts the ladder of success, round by round, gaining steadfast footing as he moves on- ward.
The safe and sane business man has nothing to do with get-rich-quick methods and reckless speculations. These belong to the race track, the monte bank, and the common gambler.
Business and professional men, who are honest and who believe that honesty should be taken into their ev- ery day business affairs, are taking a firm stand in de- fense of their convictions. Clubs and societies through- out the length and breadth of the land are doing a noble work in trying to awaken the public in regard to wrong-doing. The same principles of honesty that should govern the business man should control the ac- tions of all public officials from the lowest grade of municipal officers to the highest in both state and na- tion.
William H. Taft, president of the United States, and Joseph H. Cannon, speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives, are no less amenable to the public will than is your honorable mayor, Samuel C. Dotson, and L. A. Thomas, justice of the peace of Beaver district. The
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time has passed in Nicholas county, and more especially in the town of Richwood, when men, who call them- selves Democrats and Republicans, will vote a party ticket simply because it has been endorsed by party leaders. Clean methods in the administration of mu- nicipal affairs in accordance with the wishes of the best citizens is in harmony with the saying of Lycurgus, the Grecian law-giver, that. "A city built upon a rock and rightly governed is better than all foolish Nineveh." We have heard in the past few years much said about graft, monopoly, trusts, and business and official cor- ruption. These allegations have been proven in open court. Is this because the American people have become more corrupt than formerly ? I cannot entertain for a single moment an affirmative answer to this question. I believe that the percent of honesty among the Ameri- can people of to-day is as great as it was in the younger days of the republic, when Washington, Adams, Jeffer- son, Madison and Monroe were the principal actors in the national drama. It is but an awakening of the dor- mant conscience of the American people. During the younger days of the republic representatives, senators and judges were tried for offenses against the people committed while in office. At that time but few news- papers were in existence and their circulation was very limited. But to-day. with our multiplicity of newspa- pers, wrong-doing is advertised to a greater extent than formerly. A newspaper of accredited ability is to be found in almost every home. These periodicals discuss the official acts of public servants without fear or favor. Even the president is not immune from this criticism. This freedom of the press. rightly used, is the safe-
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guard the republic. The official acts of President Taft concern every man, woman and child in the na- tion, regardless of politics or religion.
The citizens of the United States are the rulers and they decide the policies of the government. They are responsible for the manner in which the laws are exe- cuted. Since my first visit to your city I have heard the theory of municipal government discussed from its various standpoints. There is now a tendency to hold the officers of a city government to a stricter accounta- bility than in former years. The people of Richwood are responsible for the manner in which the town is governed. The legislature of the state has thrown around you every possible safeguard for your protec- tion. Home rule is fully recognized. If you have of- ficers who do not conform to the rules and regulations of the town, the remedy is in your own hands. They can be prosecuted for both misfeasance and malfeasance while in office. They can be replaced at the end of the year by a new set of officials.
I do not think it is right for a physician to keep a patient in bed for an indefinite time, simply for the sake of a fee for professional services. I do not think it is right for a lawyer to accept a fee from both par- ties in a law-suit. While he may think he has the ability to represent both sides in the case he can be true to neither, and moreover, he has done an injustice to a brother attorney whom he has cheated out of a fee. Neither do I think it right for a school teacher to enter into a contract with two sets of trustees for schools that are to begin on the same day, although he
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sees his way out of the difficulty by giving one school to a brother teacher for a pecuniary consideration.
These principles that have been discussed are the basic ones that underlie our business, professional, moral and religious institutions of to-day, and upon them they must either stand or perish.
The outcome of the long struggle between the regular Republicans and the insurgents is an object lesson to the American people. The day of one-man power in popular government has passed. This is a government of the people, and for the people, as was declared by the immortal Lincoln nearly fifty years ago. The over- throw of Speaker Cannon and his autocratic power is an uplift for the entire country.
The people are the rulers and if the majority does not get what they want the fault is not with the rulers, but the voters. Let every patriotic American citizen vote for the best interests of himself and that of his neighbors and the future welfare of the people will be secure. Let men be men, and not barter away their po- litical birthright on election day for a few paltry dol- lars. Let them vote for men tried and true and de- mand of these men an impartial administration of jus- tice between man and man, and many of the abuses that have crept into our city, county, state and national governments will speedily disappear.
Cambonne, a French general, at the disastrous battle of Waterloo said, "The Old Guard dies but it never surrenders." So it is with the upright citizen. He may be out-voted, and in the minority, but he must not for a moment think of surrendering his cherished princi-
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ples, which he believes to be right. It has been said that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Never in the history of the United States has there been a time that demanded greater diligence than the present. There is an apparent conflict between capital and labor and it must be settled and settled right. Patriotism is stronger than politics-yes, it is stronger than dollars and cents. When amidst the seeming breakers of of- ficial graft, corruption and class hatred the grand Old Ship of State that has had in the past for her com- manders such noble men as Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and McKinley, sails grandly into the harbor of safety, she will receive the hearty plaudits of a hundred million American citizens.
AN ORATION DELIVERED AT RICH- WOOD, JULY 4, 1909.
I am greatly pleased to be greeted by such a mag- nificent audience as we assemble to celebrate the Fourth of July in a place where but a few years ago was a pri- meval forest, scarcely touched by the hand of man, and, where less than two score years ago a public speaker would have had for his auditors the stately trees and the wild birds of the forest, and, perhaps, in close prox- imity could be found such wild animals as the bear, the folf, the panther, and the deer. The murmur of the water of Cherry river hastening onward to kiss in friendly greetings the water of the Gauley; the sigh- ing of the wind in the tree tops, and the carol of the birds would have been his only music. The plaintive notes of the whippoorwill would have lulled him to re- pose, if, perchance, he had not been startled by the blood-curdling scream of a panther.
But these primitive conditions have passed away. A city of busy, prosperous, and contented people has come into existence, and the music of nature has been suc- ceeded by the music of brass bands and by the hum of the busy wheels of industry. The Cherry valley is do- ing its full share towards the restoration of normal business conditions.
The rapid development of this locality during the past ten years speaks volumes for American manhood and the dignity of American labor when backed by American capital and guided by American business sa- gacity. Richwood, the gem of the mountains, may she continue to grow and prosper, and in the near future
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may she become the seat of justice of the new county of Armstrong.
Mr. Chairman, this is the natal day of the United States. In Philadelphia, the "City of Brotherly Love," one hundred and thirty-three years ago this nation was born. It was the first time in the history of the world in which a nation was born in a day. Empires, king- doms and principalities each celebrate the birth of roy- alty, the coronation of kings, and their jubilees. But the United States celebrates none of these. The Fourth of July is celebrated not in recognition of the birth of a royal personage, but in the recognition of the birth of a nation recognizing the rights of the common peo- ple. The origin of most other governments is lost in the obscurity of time. But enough is known of the history of the older governments to convince any one that they arose from accident, and were moulded by circumstances without any preconcerted action by their original framers and promoters, and generally without any view of the happiness or the best interests of the governed.
The first government of which we have any account was patriarchal in form-a government in which the father ruled his immediate descendants. This form degenerated into the despotic governments of the Ori- ent of one hundred years ago. The ancient republics were established by the expulsion of tyrants who had usurped authority. Little thought was given to the rights of the people. and the prerogatives of govern- ment were often kept in the hands of the men who succeeded them. During the third and fourth centuries
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of our era the barbarians of the North conquered the provinces of the Roman Empire and in order to protect themselves the military leader was usually proclaimed king.
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