USA > West Virginia > Myers' history of West Virginia (1915) Volume II > Part 17
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"'We soon shall return from here, my fellow citizens, to our various vocations, the storms as they come and go will beat upon the walls and all about us. Let us hope, my friends, that the lightning shafts will spare this edifice of today, and may God's blessings be showered upon our State. May faith and peace and good will toward men shed their influence upon the officers who shall occupy its portal and sit beneath the dome of our State, and may the shadow of the centuries gently hover over the work we have done today.
"Hopes for Enjoyment.
"'And now, my friends. I wish to say that this welcome will be felt by us and uttered by me in vain if you fail to realize its sincerity or fail in the relaxing periods of this assembly to enjoy every hour and every minute of your stay with us. And when you go hence we want you to carry the one thought with you, if there is one place in the reign of your activities where the home sense, the sense of friendship, is abiding and sincere, that place is the city of Wheeling, for indeed and in truth you are our welcome guests.
" '] now welcome you in the name of the great Mountain State, West Virginia, in the name of the most progressive city in the State, Wheeling, in the name of every citizen. great and small. I want to say to you that you are now and ever will be our welcome guests.'"
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"Following Mayor Kirk's address, Mr. Davis introduced Governor Hatfield. While introducing him he took advantage of the opportunity to compliment him for the great work he had done since entering office, and stated that the people expected still greater work of him in the future.
"GOV. IL. D. HATFIELD
"When Governor Hatfield advanced to the front of the platform the entire assembly was impressed with his strong personality. Tall. broad shouldered, and with a strong, pleas- ing countenance, he stood before them a typical specimen of manhood of the great Mountain State he represents. Ilis clear, powerful voice was audible from end to end of the grand tand, despite the heavy wind, and time and again his talk was interrupted by the rounds of applause as he brought the audience to a high pitch of excitement by his eloquence.
"He began by reminding his hearers of the great debt they owe to the pioneers who made their present liberty and progress possible by their valiant struggles in behalf of liberty.
"He then brought his talk right down to the State of West Virginia, and told his audience that their first duty was the welfare of their fellowmen. He recited in striking figures the great future that the State had before it and expressed the wish that all the citizens would 'join hands for a greater and more glorious commonwealth.'
"During his talk he gave it to be understood that he was for the great masses of common people and their interests: that he would see that every man got his full rights; also, that he was in favor of woman suffrage. This, he said, would be his guide for the next four years he is governor. He also asked for the co-operation in the furtherance of this duty, re- gardless of party.
".We are assembled here today,' he said, 'to commem- orate the achievements of the fathers of two score and ten years ago. When the savagery of the lash, the barbarism of the classes, and the insanity of secession confronted the civili- zation of our country. the question, 'Will the republic defend herself?' trembled on the lips of the lover of mankind. Only
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those who are alive today and who participated in bringing about the accomplishments of fifty years ago, can really appre- ciate the hardships, the anxiety, the pioneers experienced which made possible the commonwealth that has blossomed like a rose, is unsurpassed by any others in a great many blessings, and commands a position among the States of North America that go to make up the federal Union.
"'No words can adequately express the tribute we pay to the grand men who fostered the inspirations and dreams of a new star to the commonwealths of this Republic, and at a time in our nation's life when wreck and ruin threatened our own national existence from internal strife among the same citizenship, the same kin and kindred, who a few years pre- vious to that, had shouldered their arms to meet a foreign foe. always double and sometimes five times their number. These patriots, subjects then of foreign nations, were willing to give freely their service to make possible a republic of freedom, that was only limited to the citizenship of its domain in the way of equity and liberty by visionary space domed by heaven's blue, and their paths of light lit by the eternal stars.
Enjoy Great State.
"'I thank the fathers of the Revolution for the magnifi- cent victory achieved over a foreign and powerful nation. I thank the fathers again for the great State we enjoy, sur- passed in natural wealth, beauty and glory by no other in the constellation of States.
""I would like to call each patriot's name that partici- pated in the formation of our State, but as that is a phys impossibility, I shall be content with mentioning none, as all should be mentioned and due homage paid to each and every one regardless of his position in life, just so he possessed within his manly bosom the inspiration of the stalwart mountaineer.
"'These men gave us an empire of natural wealth, which commonwealth could be aptly termed the supreme god to discussing the cumulative energy in its crude form, indis- pensible to the toilers and delvers in the workhouse of Vulcan,
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which makes possible the motion of the countless wheels of in dustry that support myriads of people in every vocation of life. "'The rhododendron was adopted as the State's flower. Our creed is to be true to the Stars and Stripes. Our motto is "Mountaineers are always irce". This appropriate symbol was unquestionably the dream of the grand men who assem- bled here fifty years ago and formulated the fabric of this com- monwealth : whose lives were surrounded by nature, so deftly pictured in the budding trees, and the great forests with which they were so favorably blessed ; the winding streamlets, with their interesting cataracts which went rapidly rushing in the direction of the fathomless deep.
"'In their day there was no thought of the confinement of these streams, as is now contemplated, which, as has long since been demonstrated, when properly harnessed. mean un- told volumes of energy, which can be conducted on the slender little lines ; a small part of such force is now used to send the winged messenger to every part of the civilized world. The force that can be generated from these natural water powers within our domain, makes possible the busy hum of industry in every craft and trade.
".The pure air, uncontaminated : the warbling birds, the buzzing bees, the growing grass, and all the beauties of nature-no wonder the grand words which go to make up our State's motto were coined by those noble brains of nature.
"State's Resources.
".What if the fathers could come back and view the years past since their time, and see the wonderful developments in the way of railways, the magnificent coal breakers, with the oil and gas and all of those natural resources found in almost every section of West Virginia, surpassing in quality almost any other State in the Union; the glass factories, tin plate. iron and nail manufactories? I am sure they would be amazed at our accomplishment : but we would be criticized by them, and justly so. for the great waste we are permitting of these great and boundless gifts of nature.
" 'Gentlemen, we are West Virginians. I am for my State
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and its citizenship. The welfare of our fellowmen is our first and most sacred charge. I want to see a more complete exem- plification of equal rights to all men, and that line of demark- ation which defines the right of men toward their neighbors. Those rights must not be abridged, and they shall not if I can prevent it. Human rights must not be sacrificed for property rights. The rights of men are most sacred. The transgres- sion of this principle makes a pitiful picture indeed, if we will follow it from the dark ages down to the present time. The one principle and the basic foundation upon which all super- structure rests in the compilation of this great republic of ours is that principle of human liberty and justice.
"'The pathetic picture to which I have just referred of suffering, envy, misery, torture, scandal, persecution and mis- representation of human acts and human rights, has been the cause of more wars, the sacrifice of more human lives, the filling of our jails and penitentiaries in the hope of the perse- cuted to free themselves from the chains of oppression. These oppressions are due largely and more especially to the acts of those who cherish ambitions for preferment, and are willing to misrepresent the position and character of any one who sup- plants them, and have a ready car for sensations and flash them upon the messenger wires which go to aid, comfort and more fully guarantee the purpose of the designers. Again, we have greed, avarice and the blind, unbridled, merciless, selfish ambition of those who are in search of riches.
"Rather Live in a Hovel.
"'I would rather spend the rest of my life in a hovel. not unlike my past seventeen years as a professional man, giving what assistance I could to the comfort of the poor and to those who have not had the advantages most of us here present have had ; I would rather occupy this position, my fellow citi- zens, than to have at my command all that wealth could pro- cure, and occupy the position in life where I should deny my fellowmen the God-given right which is due the weak and lowly.
"'We have accomplished much in the last fifty years, it is
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true, but let us enter into a new compact as West Virginians and stand for our commonwealth as no other generation of people have done. Let us indicate in a friendhy manner and an economic way what will be mutually beneficial to the citi- zenship of our State and to the owners of our natural wealth. and call a halt to the transportation of these great natural re- sources to other States, where our raw material is now being conducted, there to be converted into energy which propels the numerous wheels of industry of the manufacturers of fin- ished products, some of which are returned to our own State and sold to our own citizens.
""Why not avail ourselves of these advantages and use our influence to bring about a unity of feeling and action, to induce the manufacturer to establish his business in our own commonwealth, which will guarantee to us a greater popu- lation and a wider influence ?
".Let us perpetuate this natural wealth for future genera- tions. Let us say to the manufacturers, we welcome you to our midst with your industries. Let us join hands for a united effort of industry of the finished product class throughout the length and breadth of our State. Why should not this be done? Gentlemen, I am willing to contribute liberally to this cause, and to make any sacrifice necessary for a greater and more glorious commonwealth.
"'Dedicated as she was to liberty and equity, let us not forget the lesson of the fathers. A concerted effort on our part will bring about an awakening, and relieve the unrest and smouldering condition which are both visible and audible in every recess throughout our State.
"Rights are Equal
" 'Every human being, by divine teaching, is our brother ; his rights by law are equal to ours ; the liberty and privileges of all men should be equal. Some of us. I am sorry to admit. have not conceded these principles, or adopted the teachings of the fathers as the basic fabric upon which we should stand towards our fellowman. It must be so in the future, if we are to realize the ambitions and perpetuate the good name that
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was left for us by the fathers of fifty years ago. The rights of all men are equal ; no race or color, no previous condition of servitude can change the rights of men, if the Declaration of Independence, with its adopted amendments, is literally construed and carried out in letter and in spirit.
"'This century is greater than the last. Think of the wonderful developments in science and discoveries. The promises of the future under the principles of our government are indeed encouraging. The avenues of distinction are open to all alike.
"'There is no class of people that should stand more firmly united than the laboring people.
"'It is indeed a glorious privilege to have the opportunity to celebrate the courage, wisdom and accomplishment of the founders of our commonwealth ; to intermingle and inculcate the spirit of brotherly love, and to impress the lesson of "I am my brother's keeper." to join in the glad shouts of a free people.
Throw Off the Yoke.
"'Our ancestors threw off the yoke of oppression of a foreign foe from across the Atlantic, where slavery, degrada- tion, oppression and taxation without representation was the treatment accorded by the oppressors. But our ancestors soon forgot their oppressions and objection to slavery. They began to enslave others who were the representatives of a weaker race of people ; but again there came to the relief of the op- pressed a patriotic son of a secluded section of our nation. with a parentage and surrounding whose history is in keep- ing with the annals of the poor. Lowly and oppressed. his keen sense of perception of right and wrong made his ability. . power and principles arise with such force as has not yet been paralleled by any other American. He appeared in the polit- ical arena when disaster threatened the accomplishments of the fathers like Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison. Jay and others, and placed his hand upon the entangled condi- tion of an almost paralyzed nation, whose dreams of a new confederation were the ambitions of some who were selfish and full of greed.
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" It was Lincoln who stilled the storm after a long. direful struggle between patriots who were always ready to shouldler their arms against a foreign foe. It was his fore sight and almost superhuman strategy that made possible a greater and stronger North American republic. A grand nation, commencing at the Atlantic and going to the Pacific, you will find a continent of happy homes ; 3,000,000 people have increased to 10.000.000.
".Liberty and labor have been the foundation stones upon which all our accomplishments have been achieved. Let us go forward in the great work of the future, imbued with the one principle that all men have equal rights. The man acts well his part who loves his fellowmen the best : who is most willing to help others; who is truest to obligations ; has the best heart, the most feeling, the deepest sympathy, and who freely gives to others the right that he claims for himself. ".Let us join hands for a greater and more glorious com- monwealth, and use as our motto, "Liberty, fraternity and equity," the three grandest words of all. Liberty gives to every man the fruits of his own labor; fraternity, every man of right is my brother ; equity, the rights of all are equal.'"
The Banquet.
An interesting event in connection with the semi-centen- nial was the banquet given on the evening of June 20th. It was a select affair, as a matter of necessity, from the fact that but comparatively few could be accommodated owing to lack of room. The arrangements for the event were made by a committee headed by Hon. George A. Laughlin as chairman ; Ralson E. Byrum, secretary, and E. B. Carney, manager. The large hall was appropriately decorated for the occasion by Florist Langhans and presented a very pleasing appearance. and delightful music was rendered by Meister's orchestra Congressman Howard Sutherland, of Elkins, acted as toast- master.
Following is a partial list of those present :
SPEAKERS' TABLE-State Auditor J. S. Darst : Sena- tor O. S. Marshall: Attorney General A. A. Lilly : Senator
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Julian G. Hearne; Rev. Jacob Brittingham; Judge II. C. Ilervey; Hon. J. W. Dawson; Hon. William P. Hubbard ; Dr. I. C. White, State Geologist ; Hon. Stuart F. Reed, Secre- tary of State: Hon. George M. Shriver, B. & O. R. R. Co .; Ilon. Henry G. Davis; Hon. George A. Laughlin, chairman banquet committee ; Hon. Howard O. Sutherland, toastmas- ter : Governor Henry D. Hatfield ; Hon. John W. Mason ; Hon. William B. Irvine, president Wheeling Board of Trade; Hon. Samuel V. Woods, president State Senate; Mayor H. L. Kirk, of Wheeling: H. C. Ogden; Hon. John W. Davis; B. W. Peterson ; E. W. Oglebay ; H. F. Behrens.
GUESTS-Richard Robertson, H. S. Martin, Dr. E. A. Hildreth, M. L. Brown, J. A. Blum, J. J. Holloway, Joseph Holloway. W. W. Holloway, O. G. Beans, Harry Clayton, Harry C. Hervey, Howard Sutherland, Washington, D. C .; U. B. Williams, Supt. B. & O. R. R. Co. ; George A. Laughlin, Dr. J. M. Callahan, Morgantown ; William P. Hubbard, W. A. B. Dalzell, Moundsville ; Samuel V. Woods, H. W. Gee, Prof. H. M. Shockey, T. S. Riley, John A. Hess, J. W. Dawson, Charleston : W. E. Stone, Scaton Alexander, George W. Woods, W. B. Irvine, A. E. Schmidt. Russell Irvine, George W. Lutz, H. L. Kirk, Mayor; G. O. Nagle, Fred J. Fox, W. H. Colvig, W. S. Brady, Jas. W. Ewing, Alexander Glass, Randolph Stalnaker, F. L. Committee, Elm Grove: O. S. Marshall, New Cumberland ; F. B. Naylor, C. A. Robinson, George Heard, Pittsburgh; A. S. Hare, J. G. Hearne, A. B. Paxton, A. F. Brady, John Coleman, George Baird, David Kraus, Henry N. Hess. J. C. Brady, J. E. Morgan, C. E. Peters, G. E. Lawler, C. N. Ilancher, D. G. Brown, H. E. Dunlay, Peter Bachman, Charles Bachman, Louis Bachman, A. T. Sweeney, William A. Hankey, George E. Stifel, H. S. Sands, W. E. Rownd. S. C. Driehorst, A. T. Hupp, Hal Speidel, R. M. Addleman, C. W. Bates, Arch Wilson, W. P. Wilson, J. B. Taney, Otto Schenk, C. H. Copp, Rev. Jacob Brittingham, Dr. W. S. Fulton, H. M. Russell, J. H. Vance, H. C. Franz- lıcim, Ben S. Baer, Eugene Baer, Elmer Hough, Wellsburg; T. B. Sweeney, John II. Clark, A. G. Martin, Fairmont : F. F. Faris, George Grieg. Baird Mitchell, George E. House, A. W. Paull, Samuel W. Hartman. L. E. Sands, C. W. Jeffers, Robert
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L. Boyd, Dr. J. L. Dickey, C. B. Taylor, B. W. Peterson, S. Bruce Hall, New Martinsville: Frederick Gotlieb. Baltimore: H. G. Bills. Maj. J. G. Pangborn. 11. F. Behrens, Jr., Edgerton Vance, A. F. Ulrich, W. R. Keyser, Edwin W. Speare, Lloyd Encix, H. N. Ogden, Capt. C. M. Leery. U. S. A. (2) ; . 1. C. Whitaker, R. A. Goshorn. Pittsburgh; Dr. S. L. Jepson, Robert Hazlett, F. L. Ferguson. R. E. Byrum, George W. Eckhart, Edward Wagner. W. G. Cramer (State Commis- sion 25).
Short Talk by H. G. Davis.
Flowing oratory followed the more than liberal menu. and all those present spent an enjoyable evening long to be remembered.
The first speaker introduced by the toastmaster was the Hon. Henry G. Davis, who, as president of the Semi-Centen- nial Celebration, had made the opening address during the day. Mr. Davis spoke briefly, but in a happy. reminiscent mood. He paid a graceful compliment to the Wheeling people for the energetic part which they had taken in the consumma- tion of the successful celebration just closed, and on behalf of the State Semi-Centennial Commission he thanked the citizens for their efforts which had contributed so largely in success- fully carrying out the celebration. The speaker also paid his respects to the toastmaster. Mr. Sutherland, and to Mr. Shriver, of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
Governor Hatfield.
Governor Hatfield was next called upon for a speech and responded by delivering a short but eloquent address.
Judge Mason.
Governor Hatfield was followed by ludge Mason, of Fairmont, a member of the State Semi-Centennial Commis- sion, whose remarks were brief and along a humorous vein. He spoke, in part. as follows:
"Wheeling is a great city, and you'll have to admit it.
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Mr. Mayor. I have no respect for men who are continuously knocking their own State, city or county. I'll tell you my creed : I believe this is the best world in God's universe; I believe that this is the best hemisphere of the world ; I believe that America is the best part of this hemisphere; that North America is the best part of America, and that the United States is the best country in North America. I believe that West Virginia is the best State in the United States; I even go farther: I believe that Marion County is the best county in West Virginia; that Fairmont is the best city in Marion County, and that the First ward, where I live, is the best ward in Fairmont."
Among those seated at a special table provided for rail- road officials of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company were: George M. Shriver, second vice-president ; Major J. G. Pahnborn, assistant to President Willard; J. F. Campbell, O. C. Murray and W. E. Lowes, assistants to the president ; Major Randolph Stalnaker, special agent, and U. B. Williams, general manager of the Wheeling Division.
The next speaker introduced by the toastmaster was Mr. George M. Shriver, second vice-president of the B. & O. In his preliminary remarks Mr. Shriver referred to the fact that this year also commemorates the sixtieth anniversary of the entering of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad into Wheeling, and quoted parts of addresses made by prominent railroad officials at a banquet held in Wheeling at that time to cele- brate the important occasion. Mr. Shriver also exhibited the trowel which was used by Charles Carroll of Carrollton in the laying of the first stone of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad July 4, 1828. Mr. Shriver's speech was, in part, as follows :
"I rise with a mingled sense of regret and pleasure ; re- gret that, because of important matters detaining him in the east, our president, Mr. Willard, has been denied the privilege of being with you ; and pleasure, because it has been my good fortune to participate in this most interesting occasion and to enjoy your hospitality, which has been of such warmth and character as to demonstrate the close affiliation of the cities of Wheeling and Baltimore-fostered, we like to believe, by the bands of steel which the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad com-
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pleted between them in 1853; and the current of traffic which then commenced has continued and expanded, and we hope is yet only in its infancy.
"While Wheeling has thus pleasantly engaged one's thoughts, it has not been to the exclusion of the feature of the memorable occasion-the semi-centennial of the great State of West Virginia, great not only in that nature has run riot in her almost unlimited gifts of timber, coal, ore and minerals of every description, but in that her citizens have undertaken the development and utilization of these vast natural gifts in such an intelligent and energetic manner that this State bids fair to be-indeed, is in the van of manufac- turing and commercial enterprise.
"That the State and city are not unmindful of the fact that transportation has and must continue to play an impor- tant part in this development, coincident with the celebration of your State's semi-centennial, you celebrate an important event which occurred here ten years earlier-the entrance of the first train in your city over the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
"Possibly no one factor played a more important part, not only in the upbuilding of the city of Wheeling, but in the very founding of the State, than the control and facility of transportation in this section by navigable rivers as well as railroads, which assured the success of the undertaking of an independent State.
"Wheeling a Center.
"Today Wheeling is near the center of, and a radiating point for, the lines of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad system. which aggregate 5,400 miles; and the company's property investment account is over $512,000.000. Its equipment now consists of 2,358 locomotives, 1,359 passenger cars and over 90.000 freight cars.
"Surrounded as she is with a vast body of excellent fuel- the surface of which is scarcely scratched-Wheeling has already demonstrated that manufacturing sagacity which. with her high commercial integrity, has secured her a notabk position in the country's manufacturing communities, and the
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Baltimore & Ohio takes this occasion to assure you of its earn- est desire to co-operate in every way possible for the continued welfare and advancement of this city and State.
"No less than sixty million dollars have been spent for this purpose in the last three years-a large portion of this sum on the lines and for equipment, particularly for the devel- opment of the traffic from West Virginia, which has been growing in leaps and bounds.
"Large Coal Shipments.
"The coal tonnage alone from this State in the past year via the Baltimore & Ohio lines exceeded twelve million tons.
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