Vermont, the Green mountain state (Volume 4) online

and the average value per farm, $3,125. There were
in this State, 89,969 horses, 231,419 milch cows, 21,249
working oxen and 142,620 other cattle, 92,083 swine,
333,947 sheep, 789,278 chickens, 72,164 turkeys, 10,838
geese and 13,047 ducks. Vermont produced 90,712,-
230 gallons of milk, 23,314,063 pounds of butter, 609,886
pounds of cheese, 4,515,130 dozens of eggs, 379,096
pounds of honey and 2,118,883 pounds of wool.

Crop production was as follows: Barley, 420,761
bu. ; buckwheat, 271,216 bu. ; corn, 1,700,688 bu. ; oats,
3,316,141 bu. ; rye, 43,256 bu. ; wheat, 164,720 bu. ; pota-
toes, 2,474,971 bu. ; dry beans, 31,880 bu. ; hay, 1,205,953
tons; tobacco, 70,518 lbs. ; hops, 51,705 lbs. ; maple sugar,
14,123,921 lbs.; maple syrup, 218,252 gals.; apple trees
in bearing, 1,728,096; apples, 1,213,405 bu. ; pears,
16,101 bu. ; plums, 746 bu. ; peaches, 80 bu.

Windsor county had the largest number of farms,
the largest area of improved land, and led in the pro-
duction of corn and apples. Rutland county had the
largest amount of farm property and led in the produc-
tion of potatoes. Franklin county reported the largest
value of farm products, the most neat cattle, the largest
milk and butter production and was first in the pro-
duction of hay. Chittenden county led in cheese produc-
tion and in bushels of rye. Orleans county led in maple
sugar, wheat and barley. Addison county ranked first
in the production of oats, and Windham county in maple
syrup.



191! HISTORY OF VERMONT

X'erniont was far in the lead of the amount of maple
sugar produced, and its ratio of milch cows to popula-
tion, 69.6 to every hundred of population, was much
the highest of any State. In Franklin county there
were 107.7 milch cows to every hundred of population.
X'ermont headed the list of States in full blooded sheep,
half bloods or upwards, with a percentage of 91.01.
Only in Vermont and Iowa was there a production of
two hundred gallons of milk or upward for each inhabit-
ant, and in only eleven States was there a production of
one hundred gallons or upward per capita. There were
one hundred and tw^enty-three cheese, butter and con-
densed milk factories in the State and Vermont ranked
seventeenth in pounds of butter made.

The total value of Vermont manufactures in 1890 was
$38,340,066. The value of some of the more important
manufactured products follows : Lumber and other mill
products, $6,843,817; flouring and grist mill products,
$2,890,174; woolen goods, $2,723,683; paper, $2,289,-
901 ; planing mill products, sash, doors and blinds,
$1,868,760; marble and stone work, $1,656,637; cheese,
butter and condensed milk produced in factories,
S 1, 602,64 1 ; monuments and tombstones, $1,492,384;
foundry and machine shop products, $1,199,067; hosiery
and knit goods, $1,105,958; cotton goods, $914,685;
musical instruments (organs, etc.), $794,346; agricul-
tural implements, $593,648; leather, tanned and curried,
$592,0^^3; boot and shoe establishments, $529,486;
chairs, $347,880; carriages and wagons, $345,709; rail-
road car and repair shops, $311,546; wood, turned and
carved. .S280,272 ; toys and games, $148,180; furniture



VERMONT STATESMEN 193

and cabinet making, $145,346; other furniture, $183,842;
timber products, $114,857; woodenware, $82,195. There
were 3,031 employees in Vermont manufacturing estab-
lishments in 1890, and the capital invested was
$32,763,291. There were twenty-nine woolen mills,
employing 1,541 wage earners, with an invested capital
of $3,304,382. There were six cotton mills, containing
71,591 spindles. There were twenty-one pulp and paper
mills, employing 1,216 hands, with an invested capital
of $3,151,911. There were in the State 736 establish-
ments manufacturing lumber and other mill products;
217 flouring and grist mills; 96 manufactories of monu-
ments and tombstones; 61 foundries and machine shops;
yZ carriage and wagon factories; 55 newspapers and
periodicals; 46 establishments engaged in marble and
stone work. Lumber was by far the biggest industry
and the most important mills were at Burlington. In
the stone industry, Vermont ranked second in capital
invested, $11,779,703; fourth in number of employees,
5,192; fifth in value of product, $3,789,709; fifth in
wages paid, $2,147,055; seventh in number of quarries,
167.

Marble was obtained from twelve States, but Vermont
produced more than all the others, or 62 per cent. There
were 22 firms, 2,716 employees and a product valued
at $2,169,560. The State ranked ninth in granite pro-
duction, with a product valued at $581,870. In 1880
the State ranked thirteenth, with an output worth
$59,675. Vermont ranked second in slate production,
with 61 quarries and a total product valued at $842,013.



194 HISTORY OF VERMONT

The State ranked eighteenth in limestone production,
with 16 quarries and a product valued at $165,066.

In the State, 75.47 per cent of the power used was
developed by water, the horse-power used being 98,554,
compared with 63,314 in 1880 and 51,322 in 1870.



CARROLL S. PAGE

Born in Westfield, Conn., January lo, 1843. He engaged in
business in Hyde Park and became the leading American
dealer in green calf skins. He is also interested in banking.
He served in both branches of the Legislature, was Savings
Bank Examiner from 1884 to 1888 and for eighteen years
was a member of the Republican State Committee. He was
elected Governor in 1890 and United States Senator in 1908
to succeed Redfield Proctor. He has been active in matters
relating to vocational education and is now (1921) Chairman
of the Naval Affairs Committee.



^H


^'^^M


^^^M


'^"^^^^^^1

^^^^^^^H


^^^^^^^^^B^^^^^^^k


^^^^H


^M




^H


^^^^^^^^I^B '' ' ^ i' ' ^^^^^^^1


H






Chapter XXXVI
THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR PERIOD



THE year 1891 is a notable date in Vermont history
for at least two reasons. It marked the com-
pletion of the first century of Statehood in the
American Union, the anniversary being celebrated in a
manner worthy of the occasion ; and during this year one
of the greatest of American statesmen, George F.
Edmunds, having completed a quarter of a century, in
the United States Senate, during which time he had
served the State of Vermont and the Nation with con-
spicuous ability, voluntarily withdrew from public life.
Before another decade was completed, his famous col-
league. Senator Justin S. Morrill, had died, the War
with Spain had developed new problems, and had com-
pelled the adoption of new policies.

The celebration of the centennial of Vermont's admis-
sion to the Union centered about the dedication of the
Bennington Battle Monument, on the one hundred and
fourteenth anniversary of that memorable engagement.
The stone work of the monument was completed in 1889
and in 1890 a legislative act provided for a combined
dedication and centennial celebration, to which the Gov-
ernor was directed to invite in the name of the State of
Vermont, the National Government and the States of
New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Governor,
Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, State
Treasurer and Secretary of State were constituted a
committee of arrangements. The Legislatures of New
Hampshire and Massachusetts accepted Vermont's invi-
tation, the former appropriating three thousand, five
hundred dollars and the latter two thousand, seven hun-
dred dollars for necessary expenses. Bennington



198 HISTORY OF VERMONT

appointed a citizens' committee of fifty, of which John
V. Carney was president, which cooperated with the
State committee. Elaborate preparations were made
for the centennial celebration. Committees were organ-
ized and to each was assigned its definite task. The an-
nual muster of the Vermont militia was held in connec-
tion with the celebration, beginning on August 14.

The village was elaborately decorated with flags and
bunting. At the entrance to the grounds of the Sol-
diers' Home an arch was erected, the pillars of which
were 8 by 16 feet in size and the outside length of the
span was 56 feet. This arch was covered with ever-
greens. On the south front, over the keystone, was the
word "Welcome" in white immortelles. On the north
front, wrought in the same manner, appeared the dates
1777 and 1891, between which was the motto, "Molly
Stark was not widowed." Above this inscription was a
flag made of cut flowers. A triumphal arch was built
at the intersection of Main, North and South streets,
75 feet long, 18 feet wide and 60 feet high. It was
constructed of wood and painted to resemble cut stone.
The turreted top of the arch was occupied by one hun-
dred and seventy-five young women and children, all
dressed in white, who sang patriotic songs as the grand
procession passed. A lower balcony was occupied by
thirteen young women, who represented the Thirteen
States which first composed the Union. Surmounting
the arch, in a lofty turret, on a golden throne. Miss
Lillian B. Adams of Bennington imj)ersonaled the God-
dess of Liberty. On this arch appeared the following
mottoes: "1777— You See the Red Coats, They Are



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR PERIOD 199

Ours or Molly Stark Sleeps a Widow To-night."
"Peace Hath Her Victories, no Less Renowned Than
War — 1891." During the week of the celebration this
arch was illuminated each night with three hundred
electric lights.

President Benjamin Harrison, Secretary of War Red-
field Proctor, and party arrived at North Bennington on
a special train on the evening of August 18. Gen. J. G.
McCullough entertained in his spacious home President
Harrison and his son, Russell B. Harrison, Secretary
Proctor, Attorney General and Mrs. W. H. H. Miller,
Governor Page, Senator Morrill, Hon. and Mrs. Edward
J. Phelps and son. President John King of the Erie Rail-
road, Col. W. Seward Webb and others. Among the
distinguished guests of Frederick B. Jennings were Gen.
and Mrs. Russell A. Alger, Judge and Mrs. W. G.
Veazey, Col. and Mrs. Aldace F. Walker, Col. and Mrs.
B. B. Smalley, Ex-Gov. John W. Stewart, Ex-Governor
Rice of Massachusetts and Gen. A. S. Webb of New
York.

August 19 was a beautiful midsummer day, and it
is probable that thirty thousand people were assembled
at historic Bennington for this notable occasion. The
procession which moved from the Soldiers' Home
grounds at ten o'clock included eighty-eight military and
civil organizations, twelve bands, six drum corps and
one hundred and eight carriages. Gen. William L.
Greenleaf, commander of the State militia, was the chief
marshal and approximately four thousand, five hundred
men were in line. President Harrison and the dis-
tinguished guests occupied carriages. In addition to the



200 HISTORY OF VERMONT

Vermont National Guard, the Grand Army of the
Republic and fraternal organizations, there were in line
cadets from the United States MiHtary Academy at
West Point, a delegation from the Vermont Veteran
Association of Boston, the Putnam Phalanx of Hart-
ford, Conn., and the Amoskeag Veterans of Manches-
ter, N. H. Fuller's Battery drew the two brass cannon,
captured from the British at Bennington, and usually
kept on the portico of the State House at Montpelier.
As the President's carriage passed under the central
arch, the children showered it with roses, and the chorus
sang "America."

A grandstand seating one thousand persons had been
erected just south of the Battle Monument, and the
decorations included twenty-eight flags of the pre-Revo-
lutionary and Revolutionary period. Judge Wheelock
G. Veazey of Rutland was president of the day. Rev.
Charles Parkhurst, D, D., of Boston, editor of Zion's
Herald, and a native Vermonter, officiated as chaplain.
Governor Page welcomed to Vermont the guests of the
occasion and Ex-Governor Prescott of New Hampshire,
on behalf of the Bennington Battle Monument Associa-
tion, transferred the monument to the State, which was
accepted by Governor Page. A Vermont Centennial
Ode, composed for the occasion by Dr. Emmett B.
Daley, and set to music by Prof. Rudolph O. Goldsmith,
was rendered by a selected choir.

The orator of the day was Hon. Edward J. Phelps,
and no better choice could have been made. His physi-
cal presence was commanding, his voice was impressive
and his message was expressed in noble and eloquent



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR PERIOD 201

sentences, well suited to this historic occasion. In intro-
ducing his subject, he said: ''If battles were to be
accounted great in proportion to the numbers engaged,
Bennington would be but small. In comparison with
Marathon and Waterloo and Gettysburg, it was in that
view only an affair of outposts. But it is not numbers
alone that give importance to battlefields. The fame of
Thermopylae would not have survived had the Greeks
been a great army instead of three hundred. It is the
cause that is fought for, the heroism and self sacrifice
displayed, and the consequences which follow, moral and
piolitical as well as military, that give significance to con-
flicts of arms. Judged by these standards, Benning-
ton may well be reckoned among the memorable battles
of the world."

In his peroration Mr. Phelps said of the monument:
"Not for us nor for our time is it henceforth raised on
high. Long before it shall cease to be reckoned as
young, we and our children will have disappeared from
the scene. It is our messenger to posterity. Here it
shall wait for them, while the successive generations
shall be born and die. Here it shall wait for them,
through the evenings and the mornings that shall be all
the days that are to come. Crowned with the snows
of countless winters; beautiful in the sunlight and the
shadows of unnumbered summers; companion of the
mountains which look down upon it, whose height it
emulates, whose strength it typifies, whose history it de-
clares. * * * Gazing forward, in the light of the
after-glow of the dying century, we discern with the
eye of faith and of hope, what this sentinel pile shall



202 HISTORY OF VERMONT

look out upon, in the days that are before it. It will
look out upon Vermont: on whose valleys and hillsides
the seed time and the harvest shall never fail ; a land to
which its people shall cling with an affection not felt
for the surface of the physical earth, by any but those
who are born among the hills, hallowed to them as to us
by its noble traditions, sacred for the dead who rest in
its bosom. The beautiful name which the mountains
have given it will abide upon the land forever, Vermont,
always Vermont !"

After appropriate music President Harrison was in-
troduced. He alluded to the unique history of Vermont,
saying: "The other Colonies staked their lives, their
fortunes and honor upon the struggle for independence,
with the assurance that if, by their valor and sacrifice,
independence was achieved, all these were assured. The
inhabitants of the New Hampshire Grants alone fought
with their fellow countrymen of the Colonies for liberty,
for political independence, unknowing whether, when it
was achieved, the property, the homes upon which they
dwelt, would be assured by the success of the confed-
erate Colonies. They could not know — they had the
gravest reason to fear — that when the authority of the
Confederation of States had been established, this very
Government to whose supremacy Vermont had so nobly
contributed, might lend its authority to the establishment
of the claims of New York upon their homes ; and yet, in
all the story, though security of property would un-
doubtedly have been pledged by the royal representative,
Vermont took a conspicuous, unselfish and glorious part
in the independence of the United Colonies, trusting to



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR PERIOD 203

the justice of her cause for the ultimate security of the
homes of her people.

"She has kept the faith unfalteringly from Benning-
ton to this day. She has added, in war and peace, many
illustrious names to our roll of military heroes and of
great statesmen. Her representation in the National
Congress, as it has been known to me, has been con-
spicuous for its influence, for the position it has assumed
in committee, and in debate, and, so far as I can recall,
has been without personal reproach. We have occa-
sionally come to Vermont with a call that did not orig-
inate with her people, and those have been answered
with the same pure, high public consecration to public
duty as has been the case with those who have been
chosen by your suffrages to represent the State, and I
found when the difficult task of arranging a Cabinet
was devolved upon me that I could not get along without
a Vermont stick in it."

Following the dedicatory exercises, a banquet was
served in large tents on the Soldiers' Home grounds.
The list of after dinner speakers included President Har-
rison, Gov. William E. Russell of Massachusetts, Gov.
Hiram A. Tuttle of New Hampshire, Maj. Gen. Oliver
O. Howard, U. S. A., Gen. Russell A. Alger of Michigan
(whose wife was a native of Vermont), Secretary Red-
field Proctor, Attorney General W. H. H. Miller, Gen.
Alexander S. Webb, president of the College of the City
of New York, Gen. J. G. McCullough, Ex-Gov. Alex-
ander H. Rice of Massachusetts, Col. Albert Clarke of
Boston, Hon. E. B. Sherman of Chicago, Maj. Charles



204 HISTORY OF VERMONT

H. Bartlett of Manchester, N. H., and Edward S. Bar-
rett of Concord, Mass.

In the evening there was an elaborate display of fire-
works, said to have been the best ever seen in Vermont.

The monument stands on the site of the storehouse
which the British troops sought to capture on that
August day in 1777. A stairway leads to a lookout
room near the top of the monument. From this height
the outlook is far reaching and beautiful. •

On June 23, 1897, monuments were dedicated at Ben-
nington, marking the sites of the Catamount Tavern, the
patriot and Hessian burial place, and General Stark's
camp ground.

President Harrison had promised to make a tour of
Vermont, but as he had an engagement at Saratoga,
N. Y., he proceeded directly to that place from Benning-
ton. On Monday, August 24, 1891, Vice President
E. C. Smith of the Central Vermont Railroad went to
Saratoga with a special train, which included two pri-
vate cars. Adjt. Gen. T. S. Peck and Col. M. J. Horton
of the Governor's staflF met the special train at White-
hall, N. Y., and welcomed the visitors to Vermont. Sec-
retary Proctor accompanied the President. The first
stop was made at Fair Haven, one of the most important
towns in the slate district. In his remarks the Presi-
dent said : "When you found the stones too thick to make
agriculture profitable, you compelled the rocks to yield
you a subsistence, and the great slate and marble indus-
tries have become the centers of wealthy and prosperous
communities."



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR PERIOD 205

At Castleton there was a large audience, including the
pupils of the Normal School. There was no demonstra-
tion at Rutland, as the President was scheduled to visit
that place later in the week. General Harrison made a
happy little speech at Brandon. The gift of a bouquet
of golden rod reminded him that "in the plant, so widely
distributed, slightly diversified in its characteristics but
spreading over nearly our whole country, we have a type
of the diversity and yet the oneness of our people."

There was a great crowd at Middlebury, where Ex-
Governor Stewart introduced the President. In his re-
marks President Harrison said: "Vermont has for
many years been familiar to me and has been placed high
in my esteem by the acquaintance I have formed at
Washington with the representatives your State has sent
there." After complimenting Ex-Governor Stewart, he
continued : "I am glad to be here at the site of this in-
stitution of learning (Middlebury College) which is soon
to complete its hundred years of modest and yet efficient
service in training the minds of your young men for use-
fulness in life. These home institutions * * * can-
not be too highly esteemed and honored by you because,
my countrymen, kings may rule over an ignorant people
and by their iron control hold them in subjection, and
in the quietness of tyranny; but a free land rests upon
the intelligence of its people, and has no other safety
than in well grounded education and thorough moral
training."

At Vergennes the President said: "It was a most
wholesome lesson that the whole country learned again
in the gallant charges and stubborn resistance of the



206 HISTORY OF VERMONT

Vermont Brigade, that the old New England spirit still
lived."

Burlington was gaily decorated for the Presidential
visit. The party was met at the railway station at
12:45 p. m. by Senator Edmunds and Mayor Seneca
Haselton. Accompanied by prominent citizens in car-
riages, the President was driven through the city streets
up the hill to the buildings of the University of Vermont,
and the Billings Library was visited. The President
was the guest of Senator Edmunds at lunch, and later
was driven to City Hall Park, where he spoke to a great
throng of people. He was introduced by Mayor Hasel-
ton and in the course of his speech he said : "I am glad
to see here at his own home the respect and honor in
which George F. Edmunds is deservedly held by the
people of Vermont. Having for six years witnessed the
value of his services as a legislator in the Senate of the
United States, I share with you the regret that this
country is no longer to enjoy those services, though it is
a source of gratification to you, as it is to me, to know
that in his love and loyalty to the State he has so highly
honored, in his love and loyalty to the Union of States,
there will be no call for his wise counsel and help that
will not find a ready response from the walks of life
which he has chosen to resume."

After the speech the President was driven to the wharf
and boarded Col. W. Seward Webb's yacht, the Blfrida.
After a sail around the northern part of Lake Cham-
plain the Presidential party was taken to Maquam, on
the Swanton shore, where the special train used by the
party was awaiting the guests of honor, and they were



SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR PERIOD 207

taken to St. Albans, arriving there at 7:10 p. m. The
party was driven to the spacious home of Ex-Gov.
J. Gregory Smith, where many distinguished guests had
been entertained. After dinner the President was
escorted to the Welden House and spoke from a balcony
to an assemblage estimated at twelve thousand persons.
The whole village was brilliantly illuminated and two
thousand lanterns gave a gala appearance to Taylor
Park. Col. E. C. Smith introduced the President, who
made a brief but eloquent speech. The President was
entertained that night at the home of Ex-Governor
Smith. Before the trip was resumed the next morn-
ing, August 26, the St. Albans creamery was visited.
This plant at one time was said to be the largest of its
kind in the world.

A brief stop was made by the Presidential special at
Richmond and another at Waterbury, where Governor
Page, Ex-Governor Dillingham and Congressman
Grout joined the party. Fully ten thousand people
awaited the President's arrival at Montpelier, and
salutes were fired as the special train reached the State
capital. The President was escorted to the State House,
where a special session of the Legislature had been con-
vened, and he addressed a joint assembly. In his speech,
he said : "Surely there are no people on the earth where
the springs of government are higher than here. The
impulses of our people are drawn from the springs that
lie high in the hills of duty and loyalty. * * * I am
glad, gentlemen, to congratulate you that the State of
Vermont from its earliest beginning, from those incep-
tions, inspirations for liberty which developed into your



208 HISTORY OF VERMONT

Constitution in 1777, down through all the story of trial
and development, down through all the story of the
struggles which have beset you and the vicissitudes which
have beset the country of which you are an honored
part; that through all of these the State of Vermont and
her sons in the councils of the Nation, and on the blood-
stained battlefields of the great war, have borne them-
selves worthily." A reception was given in the Execu-
tive Chamber following the dissolution of the joint
assembly.

About noon the President appeared outside the State
House and was presented to the assembled crowd. In
this, his second Montpelier speech, he said: "I wish for
you and your gallant State, and for all your people in all
their sweet, God-fearing homes, a continuance of that