Vermont, the Green mountain state (Volume 4) online

gennes, George T. Jarvis of Rutland and Lynn M. Hays
of Essex Junction.

The week of July 4, 1909, was determined upon for
the historic celebrations. Preliminary exercises were
held at S wanton and at Vergennes on Saturday, July 3.
At Swanton the celebration with religious exercises at
7 :45 a. m., was attended by Governor Prouty and other
prominent citizens. An historical address was delivered
by Rev. D. J. O'Sullivan of St. Albans. A granite
marker was unveiled on the bank of the Missisquoi
River, below Swanton, where, it is said, the Jesuit mis-
sionaries, as early as the year 1700, erected a church.
Monsignor Cloarec, administrator of the Roman
Catholic Diocese, and Rev. Father Aubin took part in
the dedication, the latter unveiling the monument, while
the former blessed and dedicated it. The dedication
was followed by a river parade. Twenty Caughnawaga
Indians in canoes, led the way, followed by the Swanton



406 HISTORY OF VERMONT

Canoe Club and a fleet of forty water boats. Later there
was a street parade, in which the Indians participated.
There were numerous artistic floats, some historical,
others industrial, which interested the many spectators.

The speaking was conducted from the band stand in
the park. D. G. Furman presided and introduced Gov-
ernor Prouty, who spoke briefly. The principal address
was delivered by Congressman Frank Plumley of North-
field. The last speaker was F. W. Swanton of Wash-
ington, D. C, a descendant of Capt. William Swanton,
after whom the town was named.

The Vergennes celebration on July 3 was opened in
ancient form when four mounted heralds gave a bugle
salute to dawn. High mass was celebrated in St. Peter's
Roman Catholic Church. The sermon was preached by
Rev. J. A. Lynch of Pitts ford. During the forenoon
Algonquin Indians from Upper Canada gave some of the
native dances of their tribe. At noon the torpedo boat
Manley, the smallest in the American Navy, and two
revenue cutters, the Plattsburg and the Burlington,
arrived, coming up the Otter Creek from Lake Cham-
plain. In the afternoon there was a parade of historical
and industrial floats. Two arches decorated with flags
spanned the streets and at night they were brilliantly
illuminated. Rev. L. A. Vezina presided at the public
exercises. Among the prominent Vermonters present
were Lieutenant Governor Mead, Congressman Foster
and Ex-Governor Stewart. Prof. David M. Mannes of
the Damrosch Orchestra of New York led a chorus of
two hundred voices. Commissioner Frank L. Fish in-
troduced the principal speaker, Hon. John Barrett,



BEGINNING OF A NEW CENTURY 407

Director of the International Bureau of American
Republics and a native of Vermont. William H. Bliss
of Middlebury read an original poem and Kipling's
"Recessional" was sung by the chorus. Brief speeches
were made by Congressman Foster and Ex-Governor
Stewart.

A banquet was held at the City Hall in the evening,
Frank L. Fish acting as toastmaster. The speakers
included Thomas Mack of Vergennes, Lieutenant Gov-
ernor Mead, President John M. Thomas of Middlebury
College, Congressman D. J. Foster, Ex-Gov. John W.
Stewart, Hon. John Barrett, Hon. Charles H. Darling
of Burlington, Father Vezina, Frank K. Goss of Mont-
pelier, Commissioner Horace W. Bailey, H. H.
Branchaud and Samuel B. Botsford of Buffalo, N. Y.

On Sunday, July 4, special religious services were held
at Isle La Motte and Burlington. Governor Prouty,
Senator Henry W. Hill of Buffalo and other prominent
men attended the Isle La Motte exercises. There were
pilgrimages from Canada and northern New York.
Pontifical high mass was celebrated by Monsignor Roy,
Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec. A welcome was extended
by Rev. Father A. Prevel, Superior General of the
Fathers of St. Edmund. Addresses were delivered by
Monsignor Roy, Rev. F. Lecoq, Superior of the Sulpi-
cians in Canada, Rev. D. J. O'Sullivan of St. Albans and
Rev. Father Loiseau, S. J., of St. Mary's College,
Montreal.

At Burlington a special vesper service was held at
the grand stand at the foot of College Street which was
attended by five thousand people. Among the dis-



408 HISTORY OF VERMONT

tinguished clergymen present were Rt. Rev. James A.
Burke, Bishop of Albany, Rt. Rev. Z. Racicot, Auxiliary
Bishop of Montreal, Rt. Rev. Mgr. J. J. Walsh of Troy,
N. Y., Rt. Rev. Mgr. John Riley of Schenectady, N. Y.,
and Rt. Rev. J. M. Cloarec of Burlington. Special
music was rendered by the combined choirs of St.
Joseph's Church and St. Mary's Cathedral. Addresses
were delivered by Rev. W. J. O'Sullivan of Montpelier
and Rev. T. M. Aubin of Swanton.

At a union service held Sunday evening at the First
(Congregational) Church, addresses were delivered by
Rev. S. M. Crothers of Cambridge, Mass., and Rev.
G. Glenn Atkins of Detroit, Mich.

Exercises were held in Burlington on Monday, Tues-
day, Wednesday and Thursday. On Monday forenoon
Bishop A. C. A. Hall of the Episcopal Church offered
prayer and Governor Prouty welcomed the visitors.
Addresses were delivered by Bishop Hall, Rev. Dr.
G. Glenn Atkins and Congressman Foster. A military
and civic parade followed, Lieut. Col. W. D. Beach,
commanding officer at Fort Ethan Allen, acting as Chief
Marshal. Tuesday was observed as French Day. The
speakers were Mayor James E. Burke, Aime Amyot of
St. Hyacinthe, Que., President General of the Union
of St. Joseph, Rev. Theodore Barry of St. Hyacinthe,
Que., Dr. G. A. Boucher of Brockton, Mass., and Hon.
Adelard Caron of Woonsocket, R. I. A parade of
French societies followed. Wednesday was Patriotic
and Fraternal Society Day. There was a parade in the
morning, which included a display of artistic floats.



BECxINNING OF A NEW CENTURY 409

The principal features of the early part of Tercen-
tenary Week were held in New York State. On Mon-
day, July 5, there was a celebration at Crown Point.
The speakers included Governor Hughes, Hon. Seth
Low of New York and Judge Albert C. Barnes of
Chicago. A poem written for the occasion was read by
Clinton Scollard, the author.

The celebration of Tuesday, July 6, was held at Ticon-
deroga. President Taft, Ambassador Jusserand of
France and Ambassador Bryce of Great Britain came by
special train. The speakers were Governor Hughes of
New York, Governor Prouty of Vermont, Hamilton
Wright Mabie of New York, Vice Admiral Uriu of
Japan and President Taft. A ballad, entitled "Ticon-
deroga," was read by the author, Percy Mackaye.

A great crowd was assembled at Plattsburg on Wed-
nesday, July 7. The speakers were Governor Hughes,
Governor Prouty, Senator Elihu Root of New York and
President Taft. A poem, written for the occasion, was
read by the author, Daniel L. Cady of New York.

The celebration in Burlington on Thursday was prob-
ably the greatest ever held in Vermont. The attendance
was estimated from forty thousand to sixty thousand
persons. It was the largest assemblage ever gathered
in the commonwealth and on no other occasion, prob-
ably, were so many distinguished visitors brought to-
gether in this State. The steamer Ticonderoga arrived
about eleven o'clock in the forenoon, bringing President
Taft and many distinguished guests. Governor Prouty,
his staff, the Vermont Tercentenary Commission and a
local reception committee met the party and a brief recep-



410 HISTORY OF VERMONT

tion was held in the parlors of the Lake Champlain
Yacht Club. Automobiles conveyed the guests to a
stand in City Hall Park, where the public exercises were
held. The park and the surrounding streets were
packed with thousands of people standing shoulder to
shoulder.

Prayer was offered by Bishop Hall. Governor Prouty
welcomed the visitors on behalf of Vermont, and Mayor
Burke for the city of Burlington. Governor Prouty
presided. Speeches were made by Governor Hughes,
Ambassador Jusserand of France, Ambassador James
Bryce of Great Britain, who was the principal orator of
the day, Hon. Rodolphe Lemieux, Postmaster General
of Canada, and President Taft. In his speech Ambas-
sador Bryce said : "You men of northern Vermont and
northern New Hampshire, living among its rocks and
mountains in a region which may be called the Switzer-
land of America — you are the people here who have had
hearts full of the love of freedom which exists in moun-
tain peoples, and who have the indomitable spirit and the
unconquerable will which we always associate with the
lake and mountain lands of the Alps and of Scotland.
You have shown it in the great men that you have given
to the United States, and in the hardy pioneers and set-
tlers which you have sent forth from northern New Eng-
land to settle in northern New York, and all across the
continent as far as the ranges of the Rocky Mountains.

"And then your country is unequalled in the beauty
and variety of the scenery with which Providence has
blessed you. No other part of eastern America can
compare for the varied charms of a wild and romantic



BEGINNING OF A NEW CENTURY 411

nature with the States that lie around Lake Champlain
and the White Mountains."

President Taft, in his introductory remarks, said:
"It is true as Governor Prouty said that I had a sum-
mons to Washington yesterday, and that I disobeyed that
summons, because I did not wish to miss the honor of
being present on this occasion to testify to the pride I
have in showing three generations of my ancestors as
Vermont men. I am proud of it because it means that
they lived among a people of rugged honesty, with the
spirit of true liberty, with faith in God, and with ability
to help themselves."

Bliss Carman, the well known author, read a poem he
had written for the occasion, entitled "The Champlain
Country."

Following the public exercises President Taft and
Governors Prouty and Hughes reviewed a military and
civic parade. Brig. Gen. Stephen P. Jocelyn, U. S. A.,
was Chief Marshal. The organizations participating
included veterans of the Civil War, United States Infan-
try from Plattsburg, N. Y., United States Cavalry from
Fort Ethan Allen, the Governor General's Foot Guards,
from Ottawa, Canada, the Vermont National Guard, the
Knights Templar of Vermont, and a body of Algonquin
Indians. After the review Governor Prouty gave a
luncheon at the Ethan Allen Club in honor of President
Taft. At the same time a luncheon was served at the
University of Vermont Gymnasium in honor of the
New York Tercentenary Commission and members of
the New York Legislature.



412 HISTORY OF VERMONT

In the afternoon an Indian pageant was given on the
water front of Lake Champlain, representing the story
of Hiawatha, and Champlain's battle with the Iroquois.
The stage was an improvised floating island and real
Indians from Canada enacted the various scenes pre-
sented.

The headquarters of the President were at the home of
Ex-Gov. U. A. Woodbury. Henry Holt entertained
Ambassador Bryce, and Ambassador Jusserand was the
guest of Hon. C. H. Darling. Other prominent guests
were entertained at Grassmount, formerly the home of
Gov. C. P. Van Ness, but now used as a dormitory for
young women by the University of Vermont.

In the evening a notable banquet was held in the Uni-
versity of Vermont Gymnasium. The hall was decor-
ated with the flags of the United States, England and
France and with banners bearing the fleur-de-lis of
France. A great assemblage gathered in this spacious
hall, representing all parts of the State. Governor
Prouty presided. President Taft, in his speech, said in
part : "If I were to describe the Vermonter in one word
I would say he was a safe man, safe for himself, safe
for his family, safe for his State and safe for the Nation.
His experience was not unlike and his standing in our
community is not unlike that of the canny Scot in Great
Britain." President Taft was obliged to leave early in
order to catch a train. Other speakers were Ambassa-
dor Jusserand, Ambassador Bryce, Postmaster General
Lemieux and Governor Hughes. Mr. Bryce, referring
to the President's speech, said: "He wished to honor
V^ermont as she deserved to be honored; he was good



BEGINNING OF A NEW CENTURY 413

enough to select for comparison with Vermont my own
mother country of Scotland. I welcome the compari-
son; we are glad to be compared with a State which in
the robust figure of her sons and in her love of liberty
is one of the States of the American Union to which my
country might most gladly be compared." The speech
of Governor Hughes was a model of wit, eloquence and
wisdom.

A celebration was held on Friday, at Isle La Motte.
Solemn high mass was celebrated at the shrine of St.
Anne by Bishop Burke of the Roman Catholic Diocese
of Albany, N. Y., and a sermon was preached by Rev.
P. J. Barrett of Burlington. After the religious serv-
ices, luncheon was served. Governor Prouty presided
at the public exercises in the afternoon. Prayer was
offered by President John M. Thomas of Middlebury
College and speeches were made by Senator Henry W.
Hill of Buffalo, N. Y., Lieutenant d'Azy, representing
France, Governor Hughes and Justice Wendell P. Staf-
ford of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.
Justice Stafford's speech was one of rare beauty and
eloquence and was very favorably received. A poem,
written for the occasion, was read by Prof. John Erskine
of Columbia University. Three other well known
authors, Richard Watson Gilder, Bliss Carman and
Percy Mackaye, were present.

Later in the afternoon a tablet erected by the patriotic
societies of Vermont women was dedicated. This
bronze tablet, mounted on a boulder, bore the following
inscription :



414 HISTORY OF VERMONT

"In Honor of the First White Men who Fortified this
Island in 1666. In Memory of the Sacrifices and Valor
of Colonel Seth Warner and Captain Remember Baker,
Green Mountain Boys and Patriots, and to Commemo-
rate the Campaign of General Montgomery who
Encamped near this spot with 1200 Men in 1777.

This tablet is Erected by the

Patriotic Societies of Vermont Women.

1909."

Mrs. Edward Curtis Smith of St. Albans presided.
The St. Albans Glee Club of two hundred voices sang
"To Thee, O Country." Mrs. F. Stewart Stranahan
of St. Albans, State Regent of the Vermont Society of
Colonial Dames, delivered an address of welcome. The
presentation to the State was made by Mrs. Clayton N.
North of Shoreham, State Regent of the Daughters of
the American Revolution. The monument was unveiled
by two children, Dorothea Smith of St. Albans, daughter
of Ex-Gov. Edward C. Smith, and Harry Hill of Isle
La Motte. Governor Prouty accepted the monument on
behalf of the State and President John M. Thomas de-
livered a brief dedicatory address. Mrs. E. S. Parker
of St. Johns, Que., a great grand daughter of Col. Seth
Warner, was an honored guest on this occasion.

Burlington's last event of the week was held on Satur-
day, when a bronze tablet in memory of the soldiers of
the War of 1812, affixed to the wall of the Old College
building, was dedicated. Gen. T. S. Peck of Burlington
presided. Mrs. C. F. R. Jenne of Brattleboro, in behalf
of the Daughters of 1812, of which she was State presi-



BEGINXIXG OF A NEW CENTURY 415

dent, presented the tablet. It was accepted by President
Buckham for the University and by Governor Prouty
for the State. Addresses were delivered by Mrs. Gerry
Siade, national president of the Daughters of 1812, and
by Gen. O. O. Howard. The celebration was a great
success and its events were chronicled by the news-
papers of the entire country.

The Vermont and the New York Tercentenary Com-
missions united in erecting at Crown Point, on the site
of a part of Fort Frederic, a beautiful memorial light-
house, approached by a flight of stone steps, the tower
rising one hundred and one feet above the level of Lake
Champlain. The architects were Dillon, McLellan and
Beadel of New York. On the front of the monument
is a group of statuary representing Samuel Champlain,
a French soldier and an Indian, the work of Carl
Augustus Heber of New York. The dedication took
place July 5, 1912. Speeches were made by Gov. John
A. Dix of New York, Adjt. Gen. Lee S. Tillotson of
Vermont, Commissioner H. Wallace Knapp of Mooers,
N. v., President John M. Thomas of Middlebury, Vt.,
Hon. William Cary Sanger, former Assistant Secretary
of War, Count de Peretti de la Rocca of France and
Mayor Robert Roberts of Burlington, Vt.

Previous to the formal dedication, on May 2, 1912, a
distinguished party of Frenchmen and Americans
visited Crown Point for the presentation of a replica of
a bust, "La France," the work of Rodin, the famous
French sculptor, which is now a part of the Champlain
memorial. The speakers included Gov. John A. Mead
of Vermont, Lieut. Gov. Thomas F. Conway of New



416 HISTORY OF VERMONT

York, M. Gabriel Hanotaux, the distinguished French
statesman, and Louis C. Lafontaine of Champlain,
N. Y.

In the fall of 1909 tablets were dedicated marking a
portion of the old Military Road from Charlestown,
N. H. (Number Four), to Crown Point, N. Y. A
marker erected in Cavendish on the site of the Twenty-
Mile encampment was dedicated on August 26, 1909.
Historical addresses were delivered by A. S. Burbank
of Proctorsville and Gilbert A. Davis of Windsor. Re-
marks were made by Ex-Gov. Fletcher D. Proctor, Allen
M. Fletcher of Cavendish and William Smith of Spring-
field. On September 17, 1909, a tablet was dedicated at
Springfield, Vt., marking the site of a ferry and block-
house at the eastern end of the road. Justus Dartt of
Springfield delivered the historical address.

In the spring elections of 1910, twenty-nine towns and
cities voted to license the sale of liquor.

Congressman David J. Foster was appointed chair-
man of the important Foreign Affairs Committee of the
House of Representatives in March, 1910, to succeed
Congressman James B. Perkins of New York, deceased.
As Mr. Foster had been active in securing a modifica-
tion of the House rules which deprived the presiding
officer of some of his power, there was some doubt in
regard to his promotion, but Speaker Cannon showed no
animosity against the Vermont member, and gave him
the chairmanship to which he was entitled.

One of the important events of the year 1910 was
the trial of the so-called Sugar Trust cases in United
States Court in New York, involving what were alleged



BEGINNING OF A NEW CENTURY 417

to be extensive frauds against the Government. For
many years it has been customary for the Judge of the
United States Court for the District of Vermont to hear
some cases in New York City and Judge Martin was
called upon to preside in the cases involving the Sugar
Trust. James L. Martin had been appointed to a posi-
tion upon the United States bench upon the retirement
of Judge Hoyt H. Wheeler, in 1906. Mr. Martin was
born in Landgrove, September 13, 1846. He studied
in the common schools and at Londonderry and Marlow
(N. H.) Academies, paying his expenses by securing
work on farms and in factories. He studied law in the
office of Hoyt H. Wheeler and at the Albany (N. Y.)
Law School, from which he graduated in 1869. He
practiced law at Londonderry until 1882, when he re-
moved to Brattleboro. In 1874 he was chosen to repre-
sent Londonderry in the Legislature, and served in that
capacity for ten years, during the last three terms of this
period being Speaker of the House. He represented
Brattleboro in the same body in 1892. From 1874 to
1876 he served as State's Attorney for Windham county.
He was State Commissioner of Taxes from 1888 to
1890 and from 1892 to 1894. He was appointed United
States District Attorney in 1898 and was reappointed
in 1902 and in 1906.

The New York Mail characterized the Sugar cases as
"the greatest 'graft' prosecution of a generation," and
said of Judge Martin : ''He wasn't known outside of his
circuit when he came to New York. To-day when he
speaks the world of lawyers listens. Sixty-four years
old, kindly and democratic and genuine, no man within



418 HISTORY OF VERMONT

recent years has left such an imprint upon the cynical
and brilliant bar of New York as he. He attained
honor in the first hearing of the Sugar cases. Then
he demonstrated that he knew the law and was prompt in
its upholding. But few outside of the immediate circle
in constant attendance upon the hearing had recognized
it. Then he charged the jury and the exposition of the
law bearing upon criminal conspiracy will be quoted for
a generation to come. * >!< * When he concluded
every lawyer on both sides went forward to the bench
to congratulate him upon the most masterly exposition
of law in their recollection." Ordinarily many excep-
tions to the Judge's charge are noted, but not a single
exception was taken to this charge. The trial was long,
famous lawyers were engaged in it, and it attracted
national attention. All the defendants with one excep-
tion were found gtiilty, and all these convictions were
sustained in the higher court to which the cases were
appealed.

Lieut. Gov. John A. Mead of Rutland was a candidate
for the Republican nomination for Governor in 1910,
being the last Civil War veteran to seek the office. Olin
Merrill of Enosburg Falls, considered as a possible can-
didate, declined on account of ill health, and rather late
in the campaign Frederick G. Fleetwood of Morrisville
and James K. Batchelder of Arlington entered the con-
test. John A. Mead was nominated on the second ballot,
the vote being as follows : Mead, 344 ; Fleetwood, 262 ;
Batchelder, 60; Charles W. Gates of Franklin, 11.
Leighton P. Slack of St. Johns'bury was nominated for



BEGINNING OF A NEW CENTURY 419

Lieutenant Governor over G. F. Leland of Springfield
and E. W. Gibson of Brattleboro.

Charles D. Watson of St. Albans was the nominee of
the Democratic party for Governor. The vote in the
September election was as follows: Mead (Rep.),
35,263; Watson (Dem.), 17,425; Edwin R. Towle
(Pro.), 1,044; Chester E. Ordway (Soc), 1,055; scat-
tering, 151. Mead's majority was 15,588.

John A. Mead was born in Fair Haven, April 20,
1841. He was a great grandson of Col. James Mead,
the pioneer settler of Rutland, and a leader among the
early inhabitants of the Otter Creek valley. He was
educated in the public schools of Rutland, at Franklin
Academy, Malone, N. Y., and at Middlebury College,
graduating in 1864. During his senior year he enlisted
in the Twelfth Vermont Volunteers and served nine
months in the Union army. He returned in time to
graduate with his class. Entering the College of Phy-
sicians and Surgeons in New York City, he graduated
in 1868. For several years he was house physician in
the King's County Hospital at Flatbush, L. I. Return-
ing to Rutland, he began the practice of medicine and
was very successful. He was also active in business
affairs, and in 1888 he reorganized the Howe Scale Com-
pany and became its president, a position which he held
until his death. The growth of this business under his
direction was remarkable, and it became one of the
largest manufacturing establishments of its kind in the
United States. At various times he served as director
and cashier of the National Bank of Rutland; director
and treasurer of the Rutland Railroad; and president of



420 HISTORY OF VERMONT

the Baxter National Bank. Doctor Mead was Rut-
land's first Mayor. He was one of Rutland county's
Senators in 1892 and was a Commissioner to the World's
Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. He repre-
sented Rutland City in the Legislature in 1906 and was
Lieutenant Governor in 1908. In 1912 he was a dele-
gate-at-large to the Republican National Convention.
His benefactions were many. He gave the beautiful
Mead Chapel to Middlebury College, and a Community
House to Rutland. He died at his home in Rutland, Jan-
uary 12, 1920, in his seventy-ninth year.

The Legislature organized by electing Frank E. Howe
of Bennington as Speaker.

In his retiring message Governor Prouty approved
the use of the parole system in penal institutions and
called attention to the benefits derived from the Lake
Champlain Tercentenary celebration. In this connec-
tion it is only just to say that Governor Prouty repre-
sented the State with great credit during these important
anniversary exercises. He announced that he had ap-
pointed as a committee to propose amendments to the
State Constitution, F. C. Partridge of Proctor, Frank L.
Greene of St. Albans, Allen M. Fletcher of Cavendish,
Willis N. Cady of Middlebury and Matthew G. Leary of
Burlington. Commissioners appointed to propose a re-
vision of the banking laws were Fred A. Howland of