APPENDIX D



       THE HAYES MEMORIAL LIBRARY - SOLDIERS' ME-



            MORIAL TABLET - CELEBRATION OF



                   HAYES CENTENARY



        Dedication of Hayes Memorial May 30, 1916



                 BY LUCY ELLIOT KEELER



  Memorials of our great statesmen have been of various forms

and sources of creation. Mount Vernon was rescued by a private

society which controls its view by the public. "The Hermitage,"

Jackson's hame near Nashville, and Lincoln's modest home in

Springfield are in charge of local societies. The Grant, Gar-

field, and McKinley monuments were erected by appeals to a

generous public. The Hayes Memorial is unique. The beautiful

grove, with President Hayes's books and collections, was given

to the State for the free use of the public. The only conditions

were that the historic Sandusky-Scioto Trail from Lake Erie to

the Ohio River, running a half mile through the grove, should

be preserved as a park drive; that the trees and shrubs should be

marked with their common and scientific names; that the state

park and the monument should be kept suitably enclosed; and

that a fire-proof building be erected to house the treasures of the

home. The homestead is separately endowed by Colonel and Mrs.

Hayes for the Hayes family occupant, and so as to preserve the

house as a typical American home of its period.

  Spiegel Grove, a twenty-five acre grove of native forest trees,

was given to the State, for the use of the Ohio State Archaeologi-

cal and Historical Society, by Colonel Webb C. Hayes, together

with the library and collections of his father, as a memorial to

his parents. In the language of the circular of the Archaeological

and Historical Society, issued in 1898, five years after the death

                         (298)









             DEDICATION OF HAYES MEMORIAL          299



of its former president, "this offer of the family is unusual for

its liberality and most worthy of commendation for the filial

desire it expresses to perpetuate the memorial to loved and hon-

ored parents."

  The years of planning and erecting this building were cheered

by filial remembrance and a sure faith in its final accomplish-

ment. Every memorial should in some way be a reflection and

interpretation of the facts, beliefs, character, and deeds which

made up the life of the person commemorated. The Hayes Me-

morial possesses in marked degree this beauty of association as

well as an absolute beauty.  Here, to keep vivid the memory of

the President and Mrs. Hayes, are gathered all the objects that

devoted family and friends could bring to illuminate the past,

not only of their private lives and poignant personalities, but of

the epoch, rich in history, in which they lived.

  The invitation to the ceremonies attending the formal open-

ing of the Hayes Memorial Building to the public was widely

distributed. Special invitations were sent to former State Sen-

ator T. A. Dean of Fremont, and former Governor Judson Har-

mon, who were so active in securing the provision for the erec-

tion of the fire-proof building required under the terms of the

gift; and to President Wilson, Secretary of State Lansing, Sec-

retary of War Baker, and Senators Pomerene and Harding by

the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society. The fol-

lowing order of exercises was issued:



                     MORNING PROGRAM

8:00 A. M.  The Memorial Building will be thrown open at 8

            o'clock A. M., for the exclusive use of the school

            children and teachers of the Public Schools, headed

            by the Light Guard Band, and of St. Ann's and St.

            Joseph's Parochial Schools, headed by the Wood-

            man Band, on their way to the cemeteries to dec-

            orate the graves of the soldiers. Firing squad and

            special committee from the G. A. R. will be con-

            veyed by autos to Spiegel Grove State Park, St.

            Joseph and Calvary and Oakwood cemeteries.

            Members of the G. A. R. and Woman's Relief

            Corps to Oakwood by Trolley Car, returning to

            Spiegel Grove by autos.









300          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



9:30 A. M.  Croghan Lodge and the Uniform Rank and other

              members of the I. O. O. F. will leave their head-

              quarters, Front and State streets, headed by

               Woodman Band and march to Spiegel Grove.

10:00 A. M.  Music by Light Guard Band.

              Meeting called to order by John M. Sherman, Esq.,

              and presentation of his Excellency, the Honorable

              Frank B. Willis, Governor of Ohio.

              Exercises Eugene Rawson Post, G. A. R.

              Assembly called to order by Comrade Jas. A. Gill-

              mor, Commander of Eugene Rawson  Post, G.

              A. R.

              Address by the Rev. A. C. Shuman, of Tiffin.

              Dedication of Eugene Rawson Post Memorial

              Window in the Hayes Memorial.

11:00 A. M.  Exercises Croghan Lodge, I. O. O. F.

              Assembly called to order by G. L. Roach, Noble

              Grand.

              Prayer by W. D. Pearce, Vice-Grand.

              Address by Meade G. Thraves, Esq., Historian

              Croghan Lodge.

              Address by Ivor Hughes, Esq., Past Grand Master.

              Benediction by J. E. Courtney, Chaplain.

                AFTERNOON PROGRAM, 2 P. M.

  Meeting called to order by Prof. G. Frederick Wright, Presi-

dent of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society.

  Invocation by the Rev. C. J. Roberts, pastor of the First Metho-

dist Church of Fremont.

  Song by the Col. George Croghan Chapter, Daughters of Amer-

ican Revolution, and the Fremont Church Choirs, led by Prof.

Alfred Arthur, Leader 23rd Regiment Band, accompanied by

the Woodman Band.

  Welcome by His Honor, George Kinney, Mayor of Fremont.

  Address by Charles Richard Williams. of Princeton, N. J.,

biographer of Rutherford B. Hayes.

  Song by the Col. George Croghan Chapter, Daughters of the

American Revolution and Fremont Church Choirs, led by Prof.

Alfred Arthur, Leader 23rd Ohio Regiment, accompanied by the

Woodman Band.

  Remarks by the Honorable Newton D. Baker, Secretary of

War, representing the President of the United States.

  Remarks by the Honorable Frank B. Willis, Governor of

Ohio.

  Remarks by United States Senator, Atlee Pomerene.









             DEDICATION OF HAYES MEMORIAL          301



  Remarks by United States Senator, Warren G. Harding.

  Remarks by the Honorable Arthur W. Overmyer, Congress-

man from the 13th Ohio District.

  Remarks by Lieutenant-General S. B. M. Young, U. S. A.,

Commander-in-Chief of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion,

of which Rutherford B. Hayes was Commander-in-Chief at the

time of his death, represented by Captain Alexis Cope.

  Remarks by Hon. James E. Campbell, former Governor of

Ohio, Trustee Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society.

  Remarks by Capt. Elias R. Monfort, Commander-in-Chief of

the Grand Army of the Republic, represented by Past Depart-

ment Commander, Gen. J. Kent Hamilton.

  Twenty-third Ohio Regiment Association of which Ruther-

ford B. Hayes was President from its organization after the

Antietam Campaign in 1862 until his death, represented by Cap-

tain John S. Ellen, President.

  Eugene Rawson Post, G. A. R., of which Rutherford B. Hayes

became a member May 11 , 1881, represented by James A. Gillmor,

Commander.

  Sandusky County Bar Association of which Rutherford B.

Hayes became a member in 1845, at Lower Sandusky, now Fre-

mont, represented by Basil Meek, Esq., President.

  Croghan Lodge, I. O. O. F., of which Rutherford B. Hayes

became a member 17th of September, 1849, at Lower Sandusky,

now Fremont, Ohio, represented by Meade G. Thraves, Esq.

  Birchard Library Association, of which Rutherford B. Hayes

was President from its organization in 1873 until his death, rep-

resented by Charles Thompson, President.

  Sandusky County Pioneer and Historical Society, of which

Rutherford B. Hayes became a member at its organization, 6th

of June, 1874, represented by I. H. Burgoon, President.

  Benediction by Rev. E. M. O'Hare, rector of St. Ann's Catholic

Church.

  At the Hayes residence, the hosts, Colonel and Mrs. Webb

C. Hayes assisted by Mr. and Mrs. Birchard A. Hayes of Toledo,

Mr. and Mrs. Scott R. Hayes of New York, Mrs. Fanny Hayes

Smith of Washington, and a nephew, William P. Hayes of Ashe-

ville, N. C., received their distinguished guests. First in the day

came the children from the public and parochial schools, some

two thousand strong, marching in order and each carrying a flag,

a moving and inspiring sight.

  Not far from the residence, on the beautiful knoll to the south,









302          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



stands the monument in the base of which repose the remains

of the President and Mrs. Hayes, and this spot was one of the

points of pilgrimage throughout the day. After the death of

Mrs. Hayes in 1889, President Hayes devoted much thought to

the design of a simple monument. This was constructed of

Dummerston (Vermont) granite, from the quarries located on

the ancestral farm to which his parents, Rutherford Hayes

of Brattleboro and Sophia Birchard of Fayetteville, moved upon

their marriage in 1812 and which they occupied until their mi-

gration to Delaware, Ohio, in 1817 where they lived ever after-

ward and where the future President was born, October 4, 1822.

The monument was erected in Oakwood Cemetery, but in April,

1915 the bodies of the President and Mrs. Hayes and the monu-

ment were transferred to Spiegel Grove. Beautiful evergreen

trees and shrubs screen the knoll which is further enclosed with

a tall iron fence. The gate was opened on Memorial Day, and

the Fremont school-children strewed a profusion of beautiful

flowers upon the base of the monument. Following an annual

custom, a beautiful wreath of white lilies was placed there by

representatives of the Twenty-third O. V. V. I., General Hayes's

old regiment. Flags intermingled their colors with the floral

tributes.

  Led by Commander Gillmor and Post Adjutant B. F. Evans,

Eugene Rawson Post marched to the Hayes Memorial Building

and there dedicated the Eugene Rawson Post window.

  Promptly at 10:15 the Toledo and Fremont Cantons, I. O. 0.

F., and subordinate lodge members and Rebekahs formed in line

in Front Street.

  Headed by the Woodman Band, escorted by the Maccabees'

rifle company, followed by the Patriarchs Militant, uniformed

rank of the Odd Fellows, and the banner bearers of Croghan and

McPherson local lodges, the subordinate lodges and Rebekah

lodges, they proceeded to Spiegel Grove where exercises were

carried out by the Odd Fellows in dedication of their memorial

window in the Hayes Memorial Library and Museum.

  The formal dedication of the Memorial Building by the Arch-

aeological and Historical Society took place in the afternoon.

The speakers' stand was placed on the lawn in front of the resi-









             PRESIDENT WRIGHT'S ADDRESS          303



dence. A large throng of people filled the seats on the lawn and

the ample porch. The Rev. Dr. George Frederick Wright, Presi-

dent of the Society, presided, and spoke as follows:-

My Fellow Citizens:

  The dedication here today of the Hayes Memorial Library and

Museum, erected in the Spiegel Grove State Park, will serve to

perpetuate the memory of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, whose

services were preeminently valuable in the Union army during

the War for the Union; in Congress, as Representative from his

State; in the office of Governor of Ohio (to which he was elected

three times) ; and as the nineteenth President of the United

States. An additional interest in this occasion is given by the

coincidence that Spiegel Grove, which by dedication becomes the

property of the State, to be preserved as a park perpetuating the

memory of President Hayes, also in some degree perpetuates the

name of William Henry Harrison, the first Ohio President.

  Through these grounds may still be traced the trail over which

General Harrison led his army in 1813 to the decisive victories

on land which preceded and followed that of Perry on Lake Erie;

while an impressive gateway to the grove does due honor to this

distinguished citizen of the State and to his brave and noble army.

  The event which we now celebrate in the completion of this

beautiful building and in setting it apart with its invaluable

library and its marvellous collection of historical relics, together

with the opening of Spiegel Grove as a public park, may well

arouse the patriotism of the whole nation. Long before the army

of 1813 passed through these grounds, the aboriginal inhabitants

of America had been in the habit of threading their way under

its majestic trees on the trail leading from the Great Lakes to

the Ohio River. Almost in sight of where we now stand, also, is

the monument to Major Croghan and his gallant band who, a

short time before Perry's victory, defended Fort Stephenson

against an overwhelming force of British and Indians, and com-

pelled General Procter to withdraw, thus saving Ohio from in-

vasion.

  It is an interesting coincidence that this centre of historic

interest was in early life chosen as his residence by Rutherford









304           RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



Birchard Hayes, who by his preeminent qualities, both military

and civil, rose to the highest position which a citizen of the

United States may hope to attain. Of the deeds of this most dis-

tinguished citizen of Fremont the orator of the day will speak.

It remains for me only to give a brief history of Spiegel Grove

and the building which we now dedicate.

  When about the middle of the last century Spiegel Grove

was chosen for the Hayes family residence, it was completely

covered with a primeval forest. A space in the centre, sufficient

to let in sunlight and to afford a beautiful and spacious lawn,

was cleared, and the future home erected upon it. In later years

additions were made until it assumed its present stately propor-

tions. The original grove consists of about twenty-five acres,

all within the two square miles of the old Indian Free City,

deeded to the United States in 1786 by treaty, and now known as

Fremont. Through the generosity, filial devotion, and public spirit

of a son, Colonel Webb C. Hayes, who had come into possession

of the property, the whole tract was offered to the State as a

public park in memory of his parents. His deed simply required

its maintenance as a state park and:

  "That the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society

should secure the erection upon that part of Spiegel Grove here-

tofore conveyed to the State of Ohio for a state park, a suitable

fire-proof building, on the site reserved opposite the Jefferson

Street entrance, for the purpose of preserving and forever keep-

ing in Spiegel Grove all papers, books, and manuscripts left by

the said Rutherford B. Hayes;  .  .  .  which building shall be

in the form of a branch reference library and museum of the

Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society; and the con-

struction and decoration of the said building shall be in the na-

ture of a memorial also to the soldiers, sailors, and pioneers of

Sandusky County; and suitable memorial tablets, busts, and dec-

orations indicative of the historical events and patriotic citizen-

ship of Sandusky County shall be placed in and on said building,

and said building shall forever remain open to the public under

proper rules and regulations to be hereafter made by said

society."



  The Legislature of Ohio generously appropriated fifty thousand

dollars. Of this, forty thousand was used toward the building









             PRESIDENT WRIGHT'S ADDRESS          305



and ten thousand dollars for paving the streets surrounding

Spiegel Grove. Impressive entrances to the grounds, through

gateways bordered with massive walls of granite boulders, were

constructed by Colonel Hayes. Two of these gateways are be-

tween immense cannon erected on end and inscribed, in the one

case, to the memory of the French and British explorers, and

the soldiers of the War of 1812 who passed over the Harrison

Trail; and, in the other, to the soldiers of Sandusky County

who served in the War with Mexico and the War for the Un-

ion. The bodies of President and Mrs. Hayes were trans-

ferred to the beautiful knoll in the grove, together with the

modest monument  which  President  Hayes  before  his death

had erected, in Oakwood Cemetery, of Vermont granite, from

the quarries near his father's birthplace.  Colonel Hayes has

expended in increasing the attractions of the grove and the

buildings in it, together with its endowment, about one hundred

thousand dollars in cash. This with adjoining real estate and the

value of the Hayes Memorial Library represents by fair valua-

tion a quarter of a million dollars, which becomes the property

of the State, entrusted to the care of the Ohio State Archaeologi-

cal and Historical Society.

  As pilgrims come to this sacred spot from far and near they

cannot fail to be impressed with the importance of the historical

events which are here commemorated, and with the debt which

we owe to the heroic men who did so much here both to obtain

and to preserve the liberties of our country.  With Major

Croghan in the nearby Fort Stephenson Park they will, in imagi-

nation, await the psychological moment when the order comes

to let loose the charge from "Old Betsy" that was to destroy the

British forces that were making their final assault. With eager

steps they will march with General  Harrison and his army,

through the southern gateway, along the old Indian trail, as he

hastens from his headquarters at Fort Seneca to embark, at the

portage of Port Clinton, upon Perry's victorious ships, to be

landed in Canada for the triumphant victory of the Thames.

Through the western gateway, they will be thrilled by the thought

of the heroes that from this county fell in the Mexican War and

in the War for the Union, and by the memory of General Mc-

   20









306          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



Pherson, the highest in rank and command to fall upon the field

of battle in the War for the Union.  At the grave of President

Hayes and in this memorial building a flood of memories will

come as they recall his gallantry on the field of battle, his wise

administration of the government of his native State, and of the

transcendent service which he rendered in the face of violent

opposition and abuse as President of the United States to restore

that loyalty and good feeling which we now witness in such full

degree between the warring sections of fifty years ago.  All these

are monuments to remind us of the extreme and unselfish devo-

tion of private interests to the public good which are shown only

by soldiers and statesmen of the highest rank.  Here may we

come in increasing numbers to devote ourselves anew to the

service of our country and our common humanity.

  President Wright then introduced the Rev. C. J. Roberts, pas-

tor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, of Fremont, who

delivered the invocation.

  This was followed by the singing of "The Star-Spangled Ban-

ner" by the Colonel George Croghan Chapter, D. A. R., and the

Fremont Church Choirs led by Professor Alfred Arthur, leader of

the Twenty-third Regiment Band; accompanied by the Wood-

man Band.

  After the music President Wright introduced the Hon. George

Kinney, Mayor of Fremont, who welcomed the assembly in these

words:

  Mr. President and Ladies and Gentlemen of the Ohio State

Archaeological and Historical Society, through and by whose

grand achievements and devotion to duty we are able to dedicate

this magnificent memorial, this historic mansion,  this match-

less grove, this place of beauty, to the sacred memory of Ruther-

ford B. Hayes, I bid you welcome.

  To all you aged soldiers of the War for the Union who were

his allies in war and his comrades in peace, who come here to

evidence your love and devotion to your old commander, I bid

you welcome.

  To all you honorable gentlemen, representatives of this great

Nation and State, who honor us by your presence in this dedi-









             SPEECH OF WELCOME          307



catory service to the memory of one of the noblest of America's

great men, I bid you welcome.

  To all other organizations and associations, and especially the

Odd Fellows, of which he was an active and devoted member for

fifty years--some of you have known him all these years, yet

none knew him but to love, and none named him but to praise,

-and any and all of you who come to express your love, re-

spect, and admiration for your townsman and your friend, I bid

you welcome.

  The building we dedicate here today has not been erected as a

temporary expedient, but will stand as a monument for all time

to the glory of this society, this State, and the distinguished dead.

It will serve as a perpetual reminder to your children's children

of the many kind acts done, the many kind words spoken by this

noble man and still more noble woman, whose ashes lie at rest

in this consecrated ground.

  It will arouse inspirations and aspirations and create ideals for

the young they can never forget.  May its influence go with them

through life and when aged and gray, may they be truthfully

able to say:

           "Still o'er these scenes my memory wakes

             And fondly broods with miser care;

           Time the impression stronger makes

            As streams their channels deeper wear."



  We are not unmindful of the jewels placed in our keeping

this day. By erecting this memorial building of the everlasting

rock, and placing such priceless treasures therein of books and

parchments, you have made this a city of refuge for future

scholars, a Mecca for future ages, for which we are indeed

deeply grateful.

  History is always tardy to do justice to the great. It is too

soon for his eulogy, too soon for his history; but a future age

will render the honor and glory to him which has been unjustly

withheld by this.

  Possessed of the wisdom of the present  and  the  past,  he

knew how to become great without ceasing to be virtuous.  Fame

should be earnest in her joy, and proud of such a son. He fought,









308          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



but not for love of strife; he struck but to defend; he never

became estranged from any man before he sought to be his friend.

   He stood the firm, the wise, the patriot sage; he cherished

his neighbor, he loved his country, and revered his God.

   When time shall have come, and come it will, that the his-

torians will have recatalogued the galaxy of America's greatest

men, you will find written at the poll, or very near the poll, the

fair fame and sacred name of R. B. Hayes.

   Once again I bid you all a solemn and cordial welcome, and

ask each and every one of you to register here on this consecrated

spot a solemn vow to preserve this nation forever and forever to

the American--peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must, but for

America, America forever and forever.

   Dr. Charles Richard Williams, of Princeton, biographer of

Rutherford B. Hayes, then delivered the following address:

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:

   We  are met today to signalize the formal dedication of the

Hayes Memorial Building. There has been no occasion like this

in all the history of our beloved country. It is made possible by

the gracious cooperation of filial affection and worthy public

appreciation, for which I recall no parallel in our annals. By

deed of gift, a few years ago, Colonel Webb C. Hayes conveyed

to the State, for the benefit of the Archaeological and Historical

Society, this beautiful historic grove, through which ran the

famous Indian trail by which William Henry Harrison marched

his forces to Lake Erie, and whose ancient oaks had sheltered

savage wigwams and been lighted by the bivouac fires of hardy

frontier soldiers of 1812. The gift was on condition that the

society should procure the erection of a suitable fire-proof build-

ing for the permanent preservation of the books and papers and

personal belongings of President and Mrs. Hayes. Of course the

society, of which Mr. Hayes was long president, and which has

done so much to gather, to investigate, and to preserve records

and documents and objects of historical and archaeological sig-

nificance, was rejoiced to accept the gift and to undertake the

trust. And the State, through legislature and governor--both,

as it happened, Democratic at the time- was not slow to mani-









             ADDRESS OF DR. WILLIAMS          309



fest its appreciation of the gift and to do its share to make the

gift secure, rightly esteeming its patriotic purpose and its large

and permanent worth. To Senator T. A. Dean, of Fremont, for

his effective presentation of the cause before the legislature, we

should not fail, on this day of rejoicing, to give special credit and

praise. He saw clearly, he spoke persuasively - for the honor of

Ohio's greatest President, for the dignity and glory of the State.

   So, as I said a moment ago, in dedicating this beautiful structure

of Ohio stone and enduring bronze, built to commemorate the life

and public services of Ohio's preeminent citizen, we are celebrat-

ing today the finished result of the gracious cooperation of filial

affection and worthy  public appreciation.      Through  the long

future, this fair grove, with its immemorial trees and trees of

sentimental appeal, rich in its associations with



                        "old, unhappy, far-off things

                     And battles long ago,"



embowering the spacious mansion, still redolent of the unclouded

domestic felicity of which it was the centre, and surcharged with

memories of gracious and abounding hospitality, of numberless

patriotic gatherings in which great and famous men had part, of

peaceful communing of its master with good books and devoted

friends, of self-sacrificing benevolent activities, will remain, un-

desecrated by vandal industry, uncontaminated by commercial

exploitation. Under the protecting aegis of the society and the

State, Spiegel Grove--haunt and habitation of good spirits -

will abide in perpetuity, a grateful source of pleasure and recre-

ation to this community; a shrine for patriotic visitors from afar,

who shall have formed true judgment of the noble part in our

history enacted, through long and strenuous years, by the man

whose home this was. Here men of remote generations shall see

the very surroundings, the very house with its familiar furnish-

ings and objects of use and ornament, in which abode, with his

gracious and beloved consort, the President, whose wisdom of

administration brought the Civil War epoch of our national life

to a just and happy conclusion. And in this memorial building

they shall see the books he used and loved, the manuscripts that









310          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



record his thoughts, and articles innumerable of utility or taste

which give some hint of his varied interests and of his manifold

activities.

  Here, too, in close association, they shall behold intimate

memorials of that rare and beautiful woman whose influence and

inspiration were felt in all that he thought and did; whose char-

acter and life are a perpetual honor and example of American

womanhood.     Hither students of American history will resort

for study and investigation, and here they shall find treasures

of private and personal information to reward their search, and

to clarify their conclusions touching the measures and the men

of a momentous period.

  There is special propriety in conducting this service on this

particular day.  It is the day set apart for recalling the deeds

and honoring the memory of the men who served and saved the

country when civil war threatened its destruction. Among those

men, conspicuous for his gallantry and for his devotion to the

country's cause, was the man whose high worth this building

recognizes and commemorates.  Well acquainted as most of us

here are with the facts of his life, we shall do well for a little

while to ponder his career and to seek from his example to draw

some inspiration to lofty thought and civic virtue. Of course,

no extended survey of his many-sided life is possible, even if it

were desirable, on an occasion like this. It is sufficient for my

purpose to touch upon his distinctive qualities and achievements,

and to note the principles that governed his thought and conduct.

  Rutherford Birchard Hayes was born at Delaware, Ohio, Octo-

ber 4, 1822. He was of pure New England parentage, of English

and Scotch descent. His American ancestors were sturdy pioneers;

honest, wholesome, industrious, God-fearing folk, doing faithfully

their duty to family and state; and when the War for Independ-

ence came, leaping whole-heartedly to the support of the American

cause. The best part of his heritage from his clean-living New

England forebears was a sound physical constitution, a clear and

active mind, a tradition of conscientious rectitude of conduct,

and a scrupulous sense of duty. What better endowment could

one desire for a lad, provided he have the environment and op-

portunity to develop his powers, and provided he have the will









             ADDRESS OF DR. WILLIAMS          311



to make the most of himself? And all this young Hayes had.

There was nothing in the least precocious or out of the usual in

his boyhood and youth. He was fond of sports; he was fond of

the open-air life and adventures with rod and gun which normal

lads of the country enjoy. But with all this he was conscientiously

industrious in his pursuit of knowledge; and in his college years,

boy as he still was, he began to be conscious of his latent abilities

and to seek by rigid self-examination and appraisal of defects to

follow  the  Socratic  injunction,  "Know  thyself."     This  self-

scrutiny, this weighing of his own powers in comparison with

others, did not result in egotism or self-conceit; it only made him

see more clearly his own limitations and spurred him to greater

effort for intellectual growth and attainment. And with this, too,

his character was strengthening into self-mastery and self-

reliance, and he was coming to distinct, clear-minded conclusions

on fundamental questions of life and conduct; on what were

the just aims of ambition; on what constituted true success in

human endeavor.

  "As far back as memory can carry me," he wrote at nine-

teen, just entering his senior year at Kenyon, "the desire of fame

was uppermost in my thoughts, but I never desired other than

honorable distinction. The reputation which I desire is not that

momentary eminence which is gained without merit and lost with-

out regret. Give me the popularity which runs after, not that

which is sought for. Let me triumph as a man or not at all.

Defeat without disgrace can be borne, but laurels which are not

deserved sit like a crown of thorns on the head of their possessor.

It is, indeed, far better to deserve honors without having them,

than to have them without deserving them."

  In these brief sentences of youthful meditation and aspira-

tion we have not only a noble confession of faith, a noble resolu-

tion of soul integrity, but also a luminous prophecy of the attitude

toward public honors and distinctions that during his long life

should characterize  their author.     For  never, throughout his

career, did Mr. Hayes seek any public office, or ask for any pro-

motion, or endeavor to gain any distinction or honor in any one

of the many social or philanthropic organizations of which he

was a member. Offices, honors, promotions, distinctions sought









312          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



him out and were pressed upon him. Often they were accepted

with extreme reluctance, but once accepted, the duties they in-

volved were performed with conscientious assiduity. Surely, if

ever a man did, he had the realization of his boyhood's wish.

He won "honorable distinction."      He enjoyed "the popularity

which runs after, not that which is sought for." He, indeed,

attained "triumph as a man."

  In all the years of his law practice, whatever the demands of

his professional engagements or the encroachments on his time

and energy of social life and of his increasing participation in

political effort and civic enterprises, he adhered steadfastly to his

projects for self-discipline and self-culture, and sought ever to

enlarge the sphere of his knowledge. He was always reading

good books; not only books that should amplify his range of

information concerning history and jurisprudence and the prin-

ciples of liberty and government, but the great books of pure

literature which should quicken his imagination, elevate his

thought, fortify and ennoble his character, and give his spirit

fuller and clearer vision.  Here is the rule of reading that he laid

down for himself in this period; and who could frame a better?

  "In general literature, read Burke, Shakespeare, and the stand-

ard authors constantly, and always have on hand some book of

worth not before perused. Avoid occasional reading of a light

character. Read always as if I were to repeat it the day after-

ward."

  So, unconsciously, he was schooling his mind and character

for the larger duties, the vast responsibilities, which, beyond his

wildest dreams of ambition, the future had in store for him.

  Being what he was, there could be no doubt how he would

feel and what he would do when Rebellion raised its angry crest

against our Federal Union. In his diary, intended for no eye but

his own, he wrote with calm deliberation: "I would prefer to go

into the war if I knew I was to die or be killed in the course of it,

than to live through and after it without taking any part in it."

There spoke the pure soul of the man. Looking before and after,

discerning the country's need and peril, laying aside all personal

regard, listening only to the voice of patriotic duty, without hesi-

tation or doubt or fear of consequences, he formed his high re-









             ADDRESS OF DR. WILLIAMS          313



solve, he chose with unfaltering purpose "on whose party he

should stand." And into the war he went, and for four years gave

heart and soul to its bloody business, doing with all his mind and

might every task assigned him, heedless of personal peril and too

busy with the work in hand to give a thought to questions of rank

or promotion. He was glad to shed his blood that the good cause

might prosper. Friends in Cincinnati might nominate him for

Congress, if they thought his name would strengthen the Union

ticket, while the tide of war was at flood in the Shenandoah

Valley. But when they asked him to seek a furlough and come

home to make speeches, that was quite another thing. Instantly,

with something like indignation at the thought, he wrote: "Your

suggestion about getting a furlough to take the stump was certain-

ly made without reflection. An officer fit for duty who at this

crisis would abandon his post to electioneer for a seat in Congress

ought to be scalped. You may feel perfectly sure I shall do no

such thing." Let the election go as it might; his duty was with

the colors on "the perilous edge of battle."

  It was a crisis in the Republican situation in Ohio in 1875

that forced Mr. Hayes from retirement, much against his will,

and gave him the unprecedented honor of a third nomination for

governor. He had served with credit in Congress during the

stormy early days of reconstruction. He had been governor two

terms-abundant in achievements of permanent value to the com-

monwealth. Then, refusing to be elected senator by disloyalty to

John Sherman, he had retired to Spiegel Grove, intending never

again to take a leading part in political life. In 1873 the Demo-

crats had elected William Allen governor by an insignificant

plurality. In 1874 they had swept the State in the congressional

elections. In 1875 the Republicans, almost despairing of their

chances, were yet determined to spare no effort to regain the

State. All eyes turned with one accord toward Mr. Hayes, who

in his previous campaigns had defeated Ohio's ablest Democratic

champions, Allen G. Thurman and George H. Pendleton; and,

despite his persistent refusal to be a candidate before the nomi-

nating convention, the convention would hear of no other man.

Under the circumstances, he had perforce to yield his personal

preference and accept the nomination.









314          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



  The dominating issue of the campaign was sound money versus

Greenbackism--the latter making strong and insinuating appeal

to the unthinking masses, suffering from the severe depression

which followed the financial crash of 1873. The contest in Ohio

was watched with close and anxious attention by the entire nation.

Mr. Hayes fought the good fight for sound money, up and down

the State, with a vigor and convincing power which compelled vic-

tory. This brilliant success made him at once a national figure;

and it was this great achievement more than anything else which

caused his party to recognize his fitness for the Presidency, and

which in 1876 procured for him the nomination.

  I can only allude to the troublous and tumultuous times which

followed the election.  Through all those bitter months of angry

controversy and threatening partisan recrimination, Mr. Hayes

preserved unruffled poise and dignity, desirous only that right

and justice should prevail, whatever his own fate might be. When

the long and rancorous dispute was ended and his title to the

Presidency was declared indefeasible, he entered the White House

with one sole purpose -to serve the interests of the whole coun-

try to the limit of his ability and his opportunity.  In his in-

augural address he gave voice to the principle which should con-

trol his conduct in a sentence which at once became a maxim

of political wisdom: "He serves his party best who serves his

country best."

  The  judgment of posterity, I believe, will pronounce  Mr.

Hayes's Administration one of the cleanest, sanest, most efficient

administrations in our history.  No breath of scandal ever sullied

its fair fame.  In all its relations, domestic and foreign, honesty,

efficiency, and sound decisions, coupled with dignity and courtesy,

prevailed.  And  Mr. Hayes  has to his enduring  credit three

achievements of vast and far-reaching consequence. First: He

settled for all time the dangerous and perplexing Southern ques-

tion on a sound and rational basis.  Whatever the past sins of

the Southern States, the National Government, Mr. Hayes saw,

could not go on treating those States differently from other States.

That seems too obvious to mention now. It was epoch-making in

1877. Second: Mr. Hayes, always a defender of sound money,

restored specie payments. He did this, to be sure, under a law









             ADDRESS OF DR. WILLIAMS          315



passed before he became President, but he had to accomplish his

purpose in defiance of a hostile Congress and in, the face both of

wide-spread disbelief in its feasibility and doubt of its wisdom,

which only high courage and steadfast determination could have

surmounted. The national credit was established on a firmer basis

than ever and returning prosperity smiled beneficently upon the

land. And, third, he made the first sincere and serious effort to

bring about genuine civil service reform. He did not do all he

had hoped to do in this respect. But in the face of incredible

obloquy and opposition he took the first courageous step which

made possible and soon compelled the adoption of his principles.

  In all these great accomplishments he had the active and per-

sistent hostility of powerful influences in his own party. But he

was undismayed, serene in the conviction that he was right, and

he won in spite of all opposition. The event, he felt confident,

would approve the wisdom of his policies and bring the doubters

and antagonists to confusion. And his judgment was altogether

sound.  As I have said elsewhere:  "When Mr. Hayes entered

upon his term the country was still depressed and suffering from

the effects of the severe financial panic of 1873; and his party

was discredited, riven by internal dissensions, and on the verge

of collapse. When he left the White House, bounding prosperity

made glad the hearts of the people, and his party was once more

triumphant, confident, aggressive. The wonder is that with a

hostile Congress, and with his own party disunited in its support

of all the great policies to which he was committed by his letter

of acceptance and his inaugural address, and which he determin-

edly pursued- the wonder is that he could accomplish as much

as he did. His Administration proved and illustrated his own

wise maxim that 'he serves his party best who serves his country

best.' In the face of the protests, the denunciation, and the ma-

lignant enmity of men who had long been leaders of his party, he

serenely maintained his course, firmly convinced in his own mind

that the policies he was enforcing, instead of wrecking his party,

as his detractors angrily prophesied, would bring new strength

and new courage to the Republican cause. And the result proved

that he was far wiser than his critics."









316          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



   Mr. Hayes returned gladly to Spiegel Grove when his term as

President expired, but not to a life of dignified leisure only.

During the twelve years that still remained to him, he devoted

all his thought and energy, freely and without reward, to the

furtherance of worthy benevolent causes - to the interests of the

old soldiers, to education in the South and in the universities

of Ohio, to the advocacy of manual training in the public schools,

to the amelioration of the condition of the freedmen, and to the

great cause of prison reform.  In all these fields of effort he was

a leader and not a follower; always an advocate of policies a

little in advance of current popular opinion; just as when Gov-

ernor and President he urged in his messages upon Legislature

and Congress measures of reform and proposals for new legisla-

tion which only after his time men gained wisdom to appreciate

and to adopt. Detractors and malignant critics might scoff and

sneer and seek to belittle his achievements or to deride his pro-

posals, but their silly clamor never provoked him to explanation

or defense; never disturbed his equanimity; never embittered his

thought. He was willing to let his actions justify themselves,

willing to trust the calm judgment of the future to approve the

wisdom and the righteousness of his conduct.

  The controlling principle of his life was simplicity itself. It

was, under all conditions and in all circumstances, to do what he

believed to be right.  The motto of the Scotch family of Hayes

from which he traced his descent, was the single Latin word

Recte. That is the adverb form of the word that means straight

or right.  In all his conduct, public and private, Mr. Hayes ex-

emplified that motto. He was "straight" in thought and action;

he moved in right lines; his dealings were void of indirection

or equivocation.

  Mr. Hayes believed intensely but intelligently in America, in

its polity, in its future, in its exalted mission under Divine favor,

for the world - for humanity. His was not a blind, unreasoning

patriotism. His convictions were based on wide knowledge of

history, on prolonged pondering of governmental systems, on

thorough understanding of the common people--their modes of

thought, their beliefs, their aspirations. He knew









             ADDRESS OF DR. WILLIAMS          317



               "In what a forge and what a heat

                Were shaped the anchors"

of our Ship of State; and he believed sincerely that

               "Humanity with all its fears,

                With all its hopes of future years,

                Was hanging breathless on her fate."

And yet he was fully conscious of the faults and defects and

dangers of our system, of the constant vigilance necessary to pre-

serve "the jewel of liberty in the house of freedom," of the

perils arising from the prodigious concentration of wealth in a

few hands and from the clash of contending interests and jealous-

ies of class, of the new duties that new occasions were continually

teaching. But he never lost faith in the Republic, never doubted

the essential soundness of the people, never despaired that right

causes would in the end prevail, if men that saw the right

worked on steadily, hopefully, patiently.

  In his young manhood, in a letter to his betrothed, he gave

striking expression of his fine spirit of optimism, which increas-

ing years and experience could never quench nor qualify: "When

I see the immeasurable changes which a century or two have

produced," he wrote, "it gives me heart to throw my little efforts

in favor of the good projects of the age, however slow their

apparent progress. Nothing great is accomplished in a day, but

gradually the strong hours conquer all obstacles." Take heart,

take heart, O ye of little faith--even ye who through the lurid

clouds of the mad and frightful war now devastating Europe

seem to hear infernal angels croaking the doom of civilization.

For, be assured, "Our sins cannot push the Lord's right hand

from under"; be assured that, in God's good time, "gradually

the strong hours shall conquer all obstacles."

  One quality further of Mr. Hayes I must note and empha-

size, and that was his love for Fremont, his appreciation of the

respect and confidence of her people that he enjoyed, his pride

in her growth and prosperity, his interest in all that contributed to

her welfare. Here only was his real home, and whenever he was

absent from it he longed for the day of his return.        He was

deeply touched by the public reception given him here by friends









318          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



and neighbors of all parties after his nomination for the Presi-

dency. As his term was nearing its close, he looked forward,

with eager anticipation, "to the freedom, independence, and safety

of the obscure and happy home in the pleasant grove at Fremont."

When, at Cleveland, the sudden attack which was to prove fatal

came upon him and he was urged to delay his journey home, he

declared: "I would rather die at Spiegel Grove than to live

anywhere else." His regard for Fremont was not confined to

mere sentiment. No project for its betterment but had his sym-

pathy, his counsel, his assistance. It is due to his activity and

to his generosity that the city has its public parks and its library.

And whatever fame or fortune Fremont may attain, to the coun-

try and the world at large it will always be chiefly notable be-

cause it was here that Rutherford B. Hayes had his home.

  It will be a perpetual benediction to the people of State and

Nation that Ohio has erected and will maintain this beautiful

building to commemorate  the fame  and achievements of her

great citizen. The future, in my judgment, will increase his fame,

will come to a clearer and fuller understanding, and so to a just

appreciation of the greatness and value of his achievements. His

character and worth shine more resplendent with every fresh con-

templation of his career. I can only repeat, by way of perora-

tion, what I have already said elsewhere, and what my added

reflection reaffirms and enforces:

  "He may not have possessed transcendent intellectual gifts,

nor the brilliancy and imaginative power displayed by great

orators, but he had, in equipoise and under complete control, all

the solid qualities of character and mind which fit a man to win

the confidence of his fellows and mark him for their chosen

leader. These were a clear and penetrating intelligence, impreg-

nable to the assaults of sophistry; a judgment, cautious and de-

liberate in action, but when once formed not to be shaken from

its conviction; a will that did not waver; sincerity and honesty

of mind and act; absolute veracity and candor in speech and

conduct; faithfulness in discharging every obligation imposed on

him or assumed by him; constant and unquestioning obedience

to the commands of duty; a conscience void of offense; a patriot-

ism that rose above party, that was founded on intense faith in









             ADDRESS OF DR. WILLIAMS          319



the American constitution and an abiding belief in the high mis-

sion, under Providence, of America in the world, and that was

ready to give his life for his country's welfare; an understanding

of the common people--the great masses of his fellow country-

men - and full sympathy with their needs and aspirations; un-

selfish interest in all wise endeavors for the public good.  And

with all this he was

                  "Rich in having common-sense

                   And, as the greatest only are,

                   In his simplicity, sublime."

   Surely, we shall be dull indeed of apprehension if we catch

no inspiration from his ardor for humanity; if we feel no impulse

to emulate the virtues which made his service to the world so

great. I, at least, think of him always as of

 "One who never turned his back but marched breast forward,

    Never doubted clouds would break,

  Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph,

    Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, sleep to wake."



  After a song, the Hon. Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War,

representing the President of the United States, was presented

and spoke in part as follows:

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:

  Before leaving Washington last night, I was charged by the

President of the United States to convey to you his greetings,

and to say that it is a matter of sincere regret to him that he is

not able to be here on this significant occasion. He would have

paid a tribute, not only to the great office in which President

Hayes preceded him, but as he is a scholar himself he would have

borne a scholar's testimony to the eminent service rendered in

that office by Rutherford B. Hayes.

  We  have been richly favored here today in the address just

closed. Dr. Williams, whose biography of President Hayes is

and always will be a standard work dealing with that subject, has

detailed for us the life of this President from the days of his

childhood through the testing years of the Civil War, and into

that serene and mellow age of retirement in which the people of









320          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



Fremont best knew the ex-President. Little, therefore, remains

to be added to the tribute which Dr. Williams has paid, but I

can perhaps be permitted to recall two incidents in my own life

which associated his personality and political fortunes with my

own thinking.

  The first of these was in 1876, when I was between four

and five years old, living in Martinsburg, West  Virginia, and

though of very tender age, still an extremely ardent political

partisan. It was the day of party flag-poles, and the custom

throughout the countryside and in all the villages was that the

rival parties should erect great poles, and on the top of them

place their party emblem. In the public square of my native

village, there were erected two such poles, one for Tilden, sur-

mounted by a broom, and one for Hayes, surmounted by a glisten-

ing globe. As I was a very earnest Democrat, and was quite sure

in all the philosophy of my four years of life that that party repre-

sented the truest traditions of the Republic, I naturally was very

zealous for the pole surmounted by the broom, and I discovered

that when I walked on one side of the square the Democratic

pole seemed the taller, while when I walked on the other side

of the square, the one below the globe seemed the higher.  I,

therefore, contracted at that early age the habit of walking around

the northwest side of the square whenever my journeys took me

through that place, and to this day when I visit Martinsburg,

and want to cross the square, I follow the same practice, although

the poles have long since been taken down and the broom and

the globe disappeared from every memory but mine.

  Later, in 1890, I was a student at Johns Hopkins University

when Mr. Hayes, then ex-President, came there to make an ad-

dress before the historical seminary of which I was a member.

More recent political activities of other men had obscured all

my recollections of the period from 1876 to 1880 and I went to

hear Mr. Hayes with little else in my mind except the childish

recollection of the rivalry of the party poles, but after his ad-

dress, I asked myself: Who is this simple and scholarly gentleman,

so wise and patriotic and generous? How does it come that I

do not know more of his service to his country? And I im-

mediately read his biography, and consulted those American his-









             SECRETARY BAKER'S SPEECH          321



tories which covered the period of his service as a soldier and

as a statesman, only to discover that from his earliest youth he

had adopted and lived up to high standards of honor and patriot-

ism, that the idea of service to his country was always the

dominant idea, that he constantly put behind him advantage and

self-seeking and sought only the place of danger or responsi-

bility, trusting always that if he did his best for his country,

his own fortunes could well be permitted to take care of them-

selves.  The struggles of the period before the War between the

States and during that terrible conflict developed high capacities,

and yet this Ohio soldier emerged from the crowd, became a

marked man and conspicuous public servant, rose from the sol-

dier's camp to the governor's chair and then to the Presidency,

the greatest office in our great Republic, and then, after he had

fully performed all that could be asked of a citizen, he retired,

unspoiled, simple as he was brave, continuing out of office, as a

sage philosopher and adviser to his country, the patriotic services

he had performed while a trusted and responsible executive. He

engaged in no acrimonious disputes. He assaulted none of his

successors nor their policies, he remembered no personal ani-

mosities, and cherished no envy of those who were still in the

active stages of their lives.  But, in the midst of a family life,

sweet and pure, surrounded by a family which could not help

becoming serviceable to its country, reared in such an atmosphere,

he continued to be scholarly and patriotic, and when he died he

left a life, unspoiled and untainted, a reputation too large for this

beautiful city of Fremont, as large and wide as the nation which

he served.

  The important thing, however, for us who are here today

is the example for our own lives which lies in this life which is

under review and discussion. Our words can add little to the his-

toric place which he has achieved in our country's annals; but

whether or not his life will achieve the highest good of which it

is capable depends upon whether you and I, and others who may

be now the citizens of the United States, who bear its burdens

and its responsibilities, whose quality determines the quality of

our present day institutions, imitate his virtue and follow his

example.









322          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



   The times have greatly changed since the Presidency of Mr.

Hayes.  Great as our country then seemed, it is now incomparably

greater; its territory has been increased, its population has grown

enormously; its influence as a world power is now like the in-

fluence of Great Britain, in that it follows the rising sun around

the globe. In the meantime, the industrial processes by which the

life of the community is sustained are made more intricate. We

have emerged from a rural civilization into a machine age.  Our

commerce and our industry are much more intense.  The con-

gestion of our population in great cities and manufacturing places

presents new problems.  The challenge of this day is as great as

the challenge of his day, and the need for patriots and wise men

is as great now as when President Hayes made his contribution

of service to our country. The question we must ask, therefore,

is, are we doing as he did ? Are we offering ourselves for Amer-

ica as he offered himself ? Are we addressing ourselves to the

solution of the problems of our day as he buckled on his sword

or took up the statesman's pen for the solution of the problems

which his day presented?  I shall not make any answer to these

questions.  Each of us knows by searching his own mind how

far he is worthy to be in any such comparison.  Each of us knows

whether he spends the larger part of his life fretting about little

things, or whether he really passes them by and gives his mind to

the large issues of welfare and happiness for his country and his

fellow countrymen.  Each of us knows whether he is more inter-

ested by the hurried daily chronicle of small events which the

newspapers present or by serious study of history and politics, in

order to equip himself really to be a servant of the Republic.

  But, I can, Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, at least be

grateful with you that this splendid memorial has been erected

here in Fremont, and that this grove is hereafter to be consecrated

ground, that the memory of the great service of President Hayes

and that this beautiful life will be perpetuated here, so that for

all time to come as the youth of this city see this place they will

have impressed upon their imagination and their memory the life

of the man who from youth to advanced years really served his

fellow men; and such a memory will undoubtedly be an inspira-

tion to them to take a high view of the calling of citizenship and









             SENATOR POMERENE'S SPEECH          323



to prepare themselves by study and thought to render such serv-

ice as is within their capacity and opportunity.

  United States Senator Pomerene spoke as follows:

  I am glad to have the opportunity to come to the beautiful

city of Fremont to pay a tribute of love and respect to the mem-

ory of President and Mrs. Hayes. They had such fine ideals,

they were truly Christian in every thought and action.        The

world is the better for their having lived.  President Hayes

was a good lawyer, a brave soldier, a faithful Congressman, an

efficient Governor, and a distinguished and capable President, but,

he was more, he was a good man. Mrs. Hayes was a Christian

wife and mother. Both were devoted to their friends and espe-

cially to those here in Fremont who knew them so long and well.

  I want to congratulate the people of Fremont that they have

in their midst Colonel and Mrs. Webb C. Hayes, who have done

so much to preserve the works and memories of their father and

mother.

  This home with its fond memories will be an object lesson

to the boys and girls of this county and this State. They will have

before them as an object lesson the lives of a man and woman,

than whom, this State has produced none better or purer.

  As I look over the history of President Hayes, I feel that of

all his qualities, and there were many of them, his predominating

characteristic was his intense love for things American; and as

I think of Mrs. Hayes, I could hold her before the world as the

ideal wife and mother.

  Fremont is a beautiful city of beautiful homes. No finer peo-

ple are found than reside within her limits, and they have honored

themselves by the opportunity they have taken to preserve Spiegel

Grove.

  And I would be doing violence to my feelings if I did not add

a word of appreciation for Senator Dean, who gave his able and

enthusiastic support to the legislation necessary to secure Spiegel

Grove for the public.

  The following letters came from President Wilson, who had

hoped to be present; but who was unable to leave Washington

because of the exigencies of the World War.









324          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



                SEA GIRT, NEW JERSEY, September 21, 1912.

  MY DEAR MR. HAYES:-  It is with genuine regret that I find

that the National Campaign Committee has made engagements for

me on October 4, which renders it impossible for me to accept

the extremely interesting invitation  so cordially  conveyed  by

your letter of September 17.

  The whole character of the occasion attracts me very deeply.

I should like to be present to pay my respects to the memory of

your admirable father.  In the circumstances, I can only thank

you very warmly for having thought of me and express my

sincere regret that the engagements of the campaign render it

impossible for me to come.

                 Cordially and sincerely yours,

                                      WOODROW  WILSON.

  MR. WEBB C. HAYES,

    Spiegel Grove,

       Fremont, Ohio.

                          WASHINGTON December 13, 1915.

  MY DEAR SENATOR:--I am sincerely obliged to you for your

reminder about the invitation so kindly conveyed to me by your-

self, Representative Overmyer, and Colonel Hayes.  As I ex-

plained at the time you were kind enough to call, it does not seem

possible for me to determine the matter now, but you may be

sure that I will keep it in mind, though I would be very much

obliged if I might be reminded of it a little later.

                 Cordially and sincerely yours,

                                      WOODROW  WILSON.

   HON. ATLEE POMERENE,

     UNITED STATES SENATE.



                               WASHINGTON, May  10, 1916.

   MY DEAR MR. HAYES :--It is with genuine disappointment and

 regret that I find it will be impossible for me to be away from

Washington on the thirtieth of May, the day you have appro-

priately chosen for the dedicatory exercises of the Hayes Me-

morial Library; but I find that disappointments of this sort are

coming thick and fast now, because it is so absolutely necessary









             LETTERS FROM PRESIDENT WILSON          325



for me to stick close to my duties here in these times of uncer-

tainty.

   I know that you will understand and honor the scruple which

makes this decision necessary.  May I not express my hope for

the very best sort of success for the interesting exercises to

which you are looking forward!

                 Cordially and sincerely yours,

                                        WOODROW WILSON.

  MR. WEBB C. HAYES,

     Spiegel Grove,

       Fremont, Ohio.



                          SHADOW LAWN, November 6, 1916.

  MY DEAR MR. HAYES :-- It was gracious of you to send me the

little book containing the account of the dedication of the Hayes

Memorial Library and Museum  at Spiegel Grove in May last.

I shall value it as the record of a very interesting ceremony and

of a very well-deserved tribute to your honored father. I wish

I might have been present in person to express my interest and

appreciation.

                 Cordially and sincerely yours,

                                        WOODROW WILSON.

  MR. WEBB C. HAYES,

    Spiegel Grove,

      Fremont, Ohio.



  The  following telegram  from  Senator Warren  G. Harding

was  received;  and  also the following  letters from  the Hon.

Robert Lansing, Secretary of State; the Hon. A. D. White, who

was appointed Minister to Germany  by President Hayes; the

Hon. John W. Foster, who served as Minister to Mexico during

the Hayes Administration, in those troublous times with Diaz

in Mexico, to which the strained relations with Huerta found by

President Wilson in 1913 form an almost exact parallel; and the

Hon. Nathan Goff, the only  surviving member of the Hayes

Administration, in which for a few months he served as Secretary

of the Navy.









326          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



                          WASHINGTON, D. C., May 29, 1916.

  COLONEL WEBB C. HAYES,

     Fremont, Ohio.

   Let me emphasize my genuine regret that I am not to add my

tribute to the memory of President Hayes at Tuesday's dedication

of the Memorial. The combined gentleness and dignity and cour-

age and strength made manifest in the splendid career of Presi-

dent Hayes builded a loving memorial in the hearts of his coun-

trymen, which I trust the Spiegel Grove Memorial fittingly typi-

fies. It is good to dedicate the Memorial on this day of reverent

tribute to the Union defenders, so many of whom he brilliantly

led. It is also good to consecrate ourselves anew to the preserva-

tion of the great heritage he and they bequeathed to us.

                                           W. G. HARDING.



                               WASHINGTON, May 24, 1916.

  MY DEAR MR. HAYES:--I received the formal invitation from

the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society to attend

the dedication of the Hayes Memorial Library and Museum in

Spiegel Grove, on Decoration Day, May 30. Mrs. Lansing and

I both deeply regret our inability to attend the dedication; and if

we had found it possible to do so, we would have been especially

gratified to be your guests on that occasion.

  With our appreciation and thanks for your attractive invitation,

and our regret that we are unable to avail ourselves of it, I am,

                     Very sincerely yours,

                                         ROBERT LANSING.

  WEBB C. HAYES, ESQ.,

     Fremont, Ohio.



        CORNELL UNIVERSITY, ITHACA, N. Y., May 20, 1916.

  MY DEAR MR. HAYES: - Referring to your letter of May 18,

it is a matter of real sorrow with me that I have felt obliged to

decline the kind invitation to the opening  of the Hayes Memor-

ial and Museum.  I can think of nothing which I would be more

glad to attend in the way of a celebration of any sort than this

tribute to your honored father, and that feeling is increased by









             ANDREW D. WHITE'S TRIBUTE          327



the fact that a few weeks ago I read his biography and was

greatly impressed by it. My opinion regarding him was already

very high, for I have regarded him ever since I came to know

him as one of the best and most able men I have ever met,

one of the best prepared for the highest public duties and who

was faithful in the highest degree in his discharge of them. This

feeling was strengthened at various times when I heard him

deliver addresses at Lake Mohonk,  Cleveland, and elsewhere,

and when I read his biography, I became convinced that no nobler

and better fitted man had ever held the Presidency.

  There is one saying of his that ought to be inscribed in letters

of gold: The last entry made in his diary before leaving for the

war, dated May 15, 1861: "Judge Matthews and I have agreed

to go into the service for the war, if possible into the same regi-

ment. I spoke my feelings to him which he said were also his, that

this was a just and necessary war, and that it demanded the whole

power of the country.  That I would prefer to go into it if I knew

I was to die or be killed in the course of it, than to live through

and after it without taking any part in it."

  But, also, I am nearing my eighty-fourth birthday and am more

and more obliged to be careful, and on the date you name I have

already an engagement with a doctor which has with difficulty

been put off once. I should indeed feel it a duty to be present

were the circumstances otherwise and were my health stronger,

for among all men whom I have met, President Hayes was one of

those who most impressed me by the evident sincerity and nobility

of his character and by all the qualities which made him a great

and true man. A recent reading of his biography has also greatly

impressed me as showing the development of the characteristics

which led so directly to the high place which he deservedly holds

in the annals of our country.  I feel that as time goes on his

fellow citizens of all parties will recognize more and more his

great qualities and that these will emerge from the cloud of

calumny which beset him in such wise that his name and fame

will be ever more and more honored by the American people. I

hope that some day not distant it will be possible for me to make

a pilgrimage of duty to this well-deserved tribute to your father,

and thank you in person for your kind invitation.









328          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



  With all good wishes that the commemoration to which you in-

vite me shall be worthy of the man to whom it is given, I remain,

                      Yours faithfully,

                                     ANDREW D. WHITE.

  WEBB C. HAYES, ESQ.,

    Spiegel Grove,

      Fremont, Ohio,

                          WASHINGTON, D.C. May 22, 1916.

  MY DEAR SIR:--I am in receipt of your letter of the 18th

and the card, inviting me to attend the dedication of the Me-

morial Library and Museum in your father's old home on

May 30.

  I should be greatly pleased to unite with his many friends and

admirers in honoring your father's memory in the permanent form

indicated; but of late my health has not been good and I am not

able to travel without serious inconvenience and I could not make

the journey without considerable risk.

  I have always regarded your father as one of our most useful

public men, of clean life and unblemished personality, and have

always been proud of having served under him in an Administra-

tion which was an honor to our country. It is with sincere regret

that I will not be able to render this further mark of my respect

and friendship by attending the memorial services on the 30th

instant.

                                Very truly,

                                          JOHN W. FOSTER.

  P. S. - I am sending a photograph as requested. I greatly en-

joyed reading Williams's excellent biography of your father.

  WEBB C. HAYES, ESQ.,

     Fremont, Ohio.



                CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA, June 1, 1916.

   MY DEAR MR. HAYES: - I have been quite unwell lately which

will account for my failure to write you in reply to your kind

favor of the 18th ult. As I did not receive your invitation to be

with you at Spiegel Grove on the 30th ult., until after that day

was in the past, you will readily understand why you did not









             MR. OVERMYER'S SPEECH          329



hear from me, and also why I was not with you on the occasion

that would have afforded me great pleasure to have been a par-

ticipant in.

  I very much regret this and trust that you will understand my

seeming indifference, which I beg to assure you was not intended.

  With kindest regards,        Most truly yours,

                                              NATHAN GOFF.



  Congressman A. W. Overmyer, of the Thirteenth Ohio Dis-

trict, who came from Washington expressly to take part in the

dedicatory exercises, then delivered the following address:

Mr. Chairman, and Fellow Citizens:

  Fortunate indeed are all of us who have been permitted to

witness this ceremony today. The occasion, the place, the day,

the assemblage, all have been appropriate.

  The occasion is appropriate, for we meet  to  dedicate  this

splendid memorial, erected by the great commonwealth of Ohio,

to one of its most illustrious sons. The place is appropriate for

here are the hallowed scenes amid which Hayes spent so much

of his mature life as was not devoted to the public service of

his country.

  The day is appropriate for on this Memorial Day there is no

more fitting service that could have been performed than to meet

here and recount the deeds and review the life work of one of

America's bravest soldiers and one of her most loyal defenders,

a soldier who had the courage to fight and the ability to lead

others in fighting.

  The assemblage is appropriate and such as eminently befits

the occasion, for the President is represented here by a member

of his cabinet, an Ohio man; the Senate and House of Repre-

sentatives are represented here, and representatives of the civil

and military authority of the State, the county, and the city; and

the people, to whom he ever turned a listening ear, the people

are here, in masses such as seldom before assembled within the

shadows of Spiegel Grove. They are here to bring their own

heartfelt testimony to the occasion; they are here representing

all shades of religious and political belief, all ages and condi-









330          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



tions of life. All are here as Americans and come to this historic

and sacred spot to fraternize with each other in a fresh act of

homage to the memory of Rutherford B. Hayes.

  Many who are here in this audience knew President Hayes

and his devoted wife while they were living; knew them as

neighbors, as friends, as members of the same church. To such

this must be a wonderful day.

  I shall always cherish the memory that, as a young boy, I

heard President Hayes deliver an address at a Croghan Day cele-

bration from the old band-stand in the county park before the

court-house. I can see him now as I saw him then, a noble-

looking man with a kindly face, snow-white beard and hair, but

with the vigor of young manhood in his heart.

  I do not know what phase of the life of Rutherford B. Hayes

appeals to the people the most; but after having read the splendid

biography of President Hayes written by the orator of the day,

Doctor Williams, I will say without hesitation that the impression

I shall hereafter always carry of him will not be his military

service, valiant and glorious as that was, nor his services as Gov-

ernor and President, valuable and statesmanlike as they were,

but it will be of Rutherford B. Hayes as a man, a superb, un-

selfish, warm and Christian-hearted man whose pure heart went

out in sympathy to all mankind and was wholly incapable of a

selfish or unworthy thought.

  As a husband, as a father, as a citizen and neighbor and friend,

Rutherford B. Hayes has left to future generations his richest

heritage.  Never seeking public honors, he had them thrust upon

him; yearning, as he continually did for the peace and comfort

of a quiet home life, he was called again and again to perform

high public service, to assume the highest positions of responsi-

bility and trust. This is the stamp of true greatness. Washing-

ton had the same modesty and so did Lincoln; and in the love of

his fellow man, in patriotism, in purity of heart and unselfish-

ness, Hayes was as great as either of them.

  I feel honored in having been permitted to be present at these

ceremonies. Through the ages this beautiful memorial will stand

as the testimonial of a grateful people to the life and services of

a truly beloved man. To this building and the beautiful grove









             CAPTAIN COPE FOR LOYAL LEGION          331



surrounding it will come generations of American citizens, our

children, grandchildren, and their descendants, and draw in-

spiration to a life of unselfishness and honor as they become

more and more familiar with the life and character of Ruther-

ford Birchard Hayes-that crowned and glorious life.

  Captain Alexis Cope, representing the Military Order of the

Loyal Legion, and also an associate of General Hayes on the

Board of Trustees of the Ohio State University, spoke as follows:

President Wright, Members of the Board of Trustees of the

    Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society, Ladies and

    Gentlemen:

  It was only yesterday that I received a telegram from Colonel

Webb C. Hayes informing me that I would be expected to speak

for the Loyal Legion on this occasion; so what I shall say has

come to me in the few moments of reflection I have had since

then, and shall be brief. Indeed the eloquent and scholarly ad-

dress we have just heard from the lips of his distinguished bio-

grapher, Mr. Williams, has left his followers on the program

little to say. All the high and shining points of President Hayes's

great career have been touched by a master hand. I congratu-

late him on his noble address. I also congratulate him on his

biography of President Hayes, in which he has given to the

world in simple and most attractive style the true story of his

life and public services.

  I share the regret that every one present must feel that General

Young, who was to speak for the Loyal Legion, is not here. If

he were present, he could speak for it more fittingly than I can,

for he is its present  commander-in-chief, and besides being a

good soldier, is an eloquent speaker.

  President Hayes was a charter member of the Ohio Com-

mandery of the Loyal Legion, was elected its first commander,

and was reelected four times in succession, serving from 1883

to 1887 inclusive. I recall with gratification and pride that when

I presented myself as a candidate for membership in the order,

it was President Hayes who administered the obligation.          He

was commander-in-chief of the national commandery at the time

of his death.









332          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



  The fundamental principles of this organization are:

  "FIRST:  A  firm  belief and trust in Almighty God, exalting

Him, under whose beneficent guidance the sovereignty and in-

tegrity of the Union have been maintained, the honor of the flag

vindicated, and the blessings of liberty secured, established, and

enlarged.

  "SECOND:  True allegiance to the United States of America,

based upon paramount respect for, and fidelity to the National

Constitution and laws, manifested by discountenancing whatever

may tend to weaken loyalty, incite to insurrection, treason, or re-

bellion, or impair in any manner the efficiency and permanency

of our free institutions."

  Its objects are:

  "To cherish the memories and associations of the war waged

in defense  of  the  unity  and  indivisibility of  the  republic;

strengthen the ties of fraternal fellowship and sympathy formed

by companions in arms; advance tile best interests of the sol-

diers and sailors of the United States, especially of those asso-

ciated as Companions of the Order, and extend all possible re-

lief to their widows and children; foster the cultivation of mili-

tary and naval science; enforce unqualified  allegiance to the

General Government; protect the rights and liberties of American

citizenship, and maintain national honor, union, and independ-

ence."

  President Hayes was loyal to these principles and labored

faithfully for these objects.  When he died, a committee of the

Ohio Commandery, of which William McKinley  was chairman,

said of him: "The country has lost one of its great statesmen

and one of its most noble defenders.  His old army comrades

have lost a brave commander, an honorable associate, and a wise

counsellor; the Loyal Legion one of its most devoted and be-

loved Companions."

  When President Hayes first became Governor of Ohio in 1868,

he found that in 1862, Congress had passed an act making large

grants of land, or land-scrip, to the several States for the endow-

ment and maintenance of a college in each State for the primary

purpose of teaching the branches of learning related to agricul-

ture and the mechanic arts and military tactics without exclud-









             MR. HAYES AND STATE UNIVERSITY          333



ing other branches of a liberal education.  The Legislature had ac-

cepted the grant to Ohio of six hundred and thirty thousand

acres of  land-scrip, and  it had been  improvidently sold at a

lamentable  sacrifice, realizing only about  three  hundred  and

forty thousand dollars.  Owing to local jealousies and the oppo-

sition of the numerous existing colleges, nothing had been done

towards creating and locating a college to be endowed by the

grant.  A strong sentiment favored the division  of the  fund

among several existing colleges, but Governor Hayes gave his

voice in favor of one college, centrally located, which should re-

ceive the entire grant, and he aided in clearing the way for such

an institution.

  The necessary legislation was provided by the act of March

20, 1870, during his second administration as  governor, and

under this act the institution now known as the Ohio State Uni-

versity was organized and located.  He appointed its first board

of trustees, which held its first meeting in his office and was

wisely guided by him in its deliberations. He favored its lo-

cation at Columbus, and largely through his influence it acquired

the large tract of valuable land which is now its spacious campus.

In 1887, after having been governor and President, on the  re-

quest of the university authorities, he accepted a place on its

board of trustees.

  At that time the institution  had  made  slow  progress.  It

had encountered violent opposition from  the other colleges of

the State, and from the agricultural classes, and such opposition

still to a large extent prevailed. The Legislature had refused to

make adequate appropriations  for its support, and for needed

buildings, and it had an enrollment of only about three hundred

students.  President Hayes at once took an active part in quiet-

ing the opposition to the institution. He was by nature a har-

monizer, and  largely  through  his  influence  the  agricultural

classes were won to its support and the opposition of the other

colleges to a large extent removed.     He attended  regularly the

meetings of the trustees, appeared before committees of the Leg-

islattire in advocacy of needed appropriations for buildings and

equipment, and for an annual state levy sufficient for its main-

tenance and to meet its growing needs.  These  were all pro-









334          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



vided during his nearly six years of service as trustee, and largely

through his influence. He saw the enrollment rise from three

hundred to over eight hundred students, and was assured that

its future was secure. Could he have lived to this day he would

have seen an enrollment of nearly five thousand students, and a

graduating class of nine hundred students which next week will

receive their degrees; and the university which he labored to

establish and so wisely and faithfully served taking rank among

the foremost educational institutions of the land.

  President Hayes was an advocate of industrial education and

it was mainly through his influence that a department of manual

training was instituted at the university. On the invitation of

the Legislature he made an address on this subject to the two

houses in joint session, which was so convincing that funds were

provided for a building for manual training at the university

which bears the name "Hayes Hall." He saw this building

completed and properly equipped and was eagerly seeking for

a proper person to take charge of the work, when he was stricken

with the illness which resulted in his death. He attended meet-

ings of the board of trustees, of which he was then president,

January 11 and 12, 1893, and in the afternoon of the 12th

left for Cleveland to see a gentleman who had been recom-

mended as a suitable person to take charge of the department

which was to begin its work in Hayes Hall. It was while return-

ing to his home from this, his last public service, that he was

fatally stricken.

  It was during his service as trustee of the University that

I first came to really know President Hayes. I had often met

him in his political campaigns, and during most of the period

from November, 1876 to March 2, 1877, as occupant of a minor

office in the capitol at Columbus, I had seen him almost daily.

I had marked with increasing admiration and respect his re-

markable self-poise during the great and bitter conflict over his

election as President.   I was one of the great crowd which

followed him to the railroad station on his way to Washington

to be inaugurated as President,-or to congratulate his com-

petitor, if the Electoral Commission should decide in his favor, -









             MR. HAYES AND STATE UNIVERSITY          335



and I heard the wonderfully eloquent and impressive speech he

made from the end of the train before it moved out.

   But as secretary of the board of trustees of the university

I was thrown into closer relations with him, and he soon honored

me with his friendship and confidence. He grew constantly in

my estimation. There were no defects in his character, no weak-

ness, no loss of that noble dignity, which "gives the world assur-

ance of a man."  At the same time he was gentle, simple in

manner, approachable and kindly to every one. One of his asso-

ciates on the university board described him as "unassuming in

manners, polite, studious, scholarly, accomplished, and made all

who knew him his friends."

     "His was no mountain peak of mind,

        Thrusting to thin air o'er our cloudy bars,-

      A sea-mark now, now lost in vapors blind;

      Broad prairie rather, genial, level-lined,

      Fruitful, and friendly for all humankind,

       But also nigh to heaven and loved of loftiest stars."



  Mr. President Wright and you, honorable trustees of the Ohio

Archaeological and Historical Society, for the Loyal Legion,

and for the Ohio State University, (for which I have assumed to

speak), I congratulate you and our friend Colonel Webb Hayes

on the consummation of your labors, whereby this beautiful

Spiegel Grove and the stately mansion where President Hayes

lived and died, have been dedicated to the public, and have be-

come the property of the State. I also congratulate you on the

completion of the noble museum in which are stored the relics

of our beloved President.  I also congratulate Colonel Hayes

on his generous endowment, which assures that the whole shall

be properly cared for forever.

  It needs no prophetic vision to foresee that year after year

the people of Ohio and of the Nation will come in increasing

numbers, as to a shrine, to pay their tribute of reverence and

affection for "the simple great one gone" and his beloved wife,

who  sleep side by side under yonder monument.  From this

shrine will constantly go forth an inspiring influence which will

help towards preserving our faith in our free institutions and our









336          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



love for our dear country, which makes such a career as that of

President Hayes possible.

  Former Governor James E. Campbell spoke as follows:

My Fellow Citizens:

  It is with great pleasure that I render my tribute to this beau-

tiful Memorial and to the great character whose memory it so

fittingly preserves.  I shall speak to-day briefly of Rutherford

B. Hayes as Governor of Ohio.         His administration was one

full of glory and beneficence to the State. His faithful service

left monuments to his statesmanship that will live as long as

Ohio.  They were deeds, not of military nor of political glory,

but for the elevation of humanity. It was through his influence

as governor that the Geological Survey was revived and placed

in the substantial position it now holds as one of the most use-

ful branches of the State's service.

  To him can be credited the establishment of the Soldiers'

Home.

  He enlarged the field of the State Board of Charities.  This

was a subject always dear to his heart, and after his term of

office was ended he served many years as a member of that body.

  Governor Hayes always had the welfare of the State's un-

fortunate in view, and it was through his suggestion and influ-

ence that increased provisions were made for the insane; that the

graded system  was introduced into the penitentiary,  and  that

many other prison reforms were instituted.

  Among the most important acts of this humanitarian states-

man was the founding of the Reform School for Girls at Dela-

ware.

  To him more than any one man  in  Ohio  can  be  credited

the promotion and success of the Agricultural and Mechanical

College now the Ohio State University.  He appointed the first

board of trustees of this institution and in its initial stages he

gave to it his wisest and best services.  All his life, after he

ceased to be governor, he watched with solicitous interest the

welfare of the university and no public duty was assumed with

more enthusiasm than his entrance into the board of trustees.

  He was always a student of history and a natural collector,









             GOVERNOR CAMPBELL'S TRIBUTE          337



as the treasures of this Memorial Building will show. It was

this instinct which prompted him to urge the purchase by the

State of the valuable St. Clair Papers; it was through his influ-

ence that they were preserved in the State Library and subse-

quently published.

  In these few words I have referred to General Hayes's record

as Governor because others have given you his full-length por-

trait as a national figure. But the people of his native State have

received from his life the heritage of service that comes close

home to them.  They can see the results of his life upon their

lives daily.  He has indelibly impressed upon the history of Ohio

some of the most important acts and institutions of her existence.

These imprints were deeds of humanity and are helping every

day to uplift the humble and to comfort the unfortunate.

  Basil Meek, representing the Sandusky County Bar associa-

tion and chairman of the local committee of the Ohio State

Archaeological and Historical Society, offered the following

tribute:

  Rutherford B. Hayes was, from 1845 to 1849, an active

member of what has been known as the Pioneer Bar of Sandusky

County, so called because existing prior to the adoption of the

Ohio State Constitution of 1851, and was associated in practice

with the earlier men of that galaxy of able lawyers of this bar,

among whom may be mentioned Dickinson, Otis, Bartlett, Greene,

Watson, Pettibone, Everett, Haynes, Buckland, Glick, and Fine-

frock. This bar was composed of men prominent, not only in

the legal profession, but also in public official stations filled by

the members thereof.  From its members were nine State legis-

lators, five members of Congress, six judges of courts, two gov-

ernors, one of Ohio, and the other of Kansas, two generals in

the Union Army, and a President of the United States.

  Rutherford B. Hayes, after a thorough  course  at Kenyon

College, from which he graduated with honor, commenced the

study of law with Thomas  Sparrow of  Columbus, Ohio,  and

afterwards entered Harvard Law School and in 1845 completed

the law course there, and having been admitted to the bar at

Marietta, March 10, 1845, commenced the practice of law in

   22









338          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



Lower Sandusky (Fremont), where in April, 1846, he formed a

law partnership with Ralph P. Buckland, which continued until

1849, when Mr. Hayes located in Cincinnati, Ohio, where by his

marked ability, he soon attracted attention, as a lawyer taking

rank among the prominent members  of the profession  there,

among whom were such men as Salmon  P. Chase,  Caleb  B.

Smith, Alphonso Taft, Bellamy Storer, George H. Pendleton,

and George E. Pugh.

  He was city solicitor, an important legal position in a city

like Cincinnati, from December,  1858,  to April, 1861.  The

salary was three thousand five hundred dollars per year.

  He was ambitious to excel in the profession, as we learn from

himself for, in 1859 while in active practice in Cincinnati, in his

diary, which he habitually kept, he writes: "Let me awake to

my old ambition to excel as a lawyer-as an advocate."  And

later he writes: "Without any extraordinary success, I have never-

theless found what I have sought, a respectable place," thus

modestly assuming that he had reached his desired goal.

  It was this ambition, which prompted his location in Cin-

cinnati,-which city necessarily offered a wider arena for activity

and experience in the practice, and consequent enlargement of

his powers, than did Lower Sandusky in that day.

  In the midst of his growing and successful practice in Cin-

cinnati, the War for the Union broke out. He immediately re-

sponded to his country's call and joined the army for the Union,

which necessarily caused an abandonment of his practice; and

subsequent events in his public career made the abandonment

permanent; and, though not having resumed the practice, since

giving it up to enter the service of his country as a soldier, fol-

lowed by his public official duties, as Congressman, Governor and

President, he was, nevertheless ever a lover of the theory of

the law in which he was profoundly versed, and would meet

with our bar association after his final return to Fremont and

occasionally would be seen in the court-room, when court would

be in session, thereby manifesting a lingering fondness for the

scene of his early forensic contests in the courts of Sandusky

County; and when his early friend, college mate, and army corn-









             SANDUSKY COUNTY BAR'S TRIBUTE          339



rade, Stanley Matthews, died at Cincinnati, in 1889, at his re-

quest a meeting of this bar was called to pay tribute to the

memory of the deceased, who in 1845, was on the recommenda-

tion of Mr. Hayes as chairman of the examining committee on

Mr. Matthews's application for admission, admitted to the San-

dusky County bar, and who had always been regarded by this

bar as an honorary member.

  It is an interesting fact that after the lapse of a third of a

century from the admission to the bar of Mr. Matthews on the

recommendation of Mr. Hayes, it was the pleasure of the latter,

as President of the United States to nominate the former to the

Senate of the United States for confirmation as a Justice of the

United States Supreme Court.

  Harvard Law School had among its faculty, while Mr. Hayes

was a student there, those eminent professors, Joseph Story and

Simon Greenleaf, whose names as authors of legal text-books

are household words among lawyers. Their high ideals of the

dignity of the legal profession and the principles which should

govern lawyers in its practice, as expressed by them to their

students, evidently appealed to him and found in his own char-

acteristic high sense of justice and right moral action a ready

response, for, in his diary referred to, he makes frequent entries,

quoting from their words--among which is the following from

Greenleaf: "A lawyer is engaged in the highest of all human

pursuits--the application of the soundest reason and purest

moralitv to the ordinary affairs of life. He should have a clear

head and a true heart."  Mr. Hayes possessed both of these es-

sential qualifications, a clear head and a true heart, in high de-

gree; and adhering in practice to the ideals held by his distin-

guished professors and believed in by himself, he won the admira-

tion and high esteem of his brethren of the bar both of the

county of Sandusky and city of Cincinnati and indeed of the

legal profession throughout the State and Nation.

  The Rev. E. M. O'Hare, rector of St. Ann's church, closed

the dedicatory exercises with prayer.









340          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



UNVEILING OF THE SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL TABLET

        ON THE HAYES MEMORIAL BUILDING

                  AT SPIEGEL GROVE.

  The ninety-eighth anniversary of the birth of Rutherford B.

Hayes, nineteenth President of the United States,  1877-1881,

was celebrated with ceremonies of unusual interest on October

4, 1920, at Spiegel Grove, Fremont, Ohio. The day was cloudless

and the people came by thousands.       The  exercises were held

under the auspices of the Ohio State Archaeological and Histor-

ical Society with its president, former Governor James E. Camp-

bell, presiding. It had been the original intention to lay the cor-

ner-stone of a Library and Museum addition to the Memorial

Building, of like architecture and with capacity for two hundred

and fifty thousand volumes for which Colonel Hayes gave fifty

thousand dollars.

  The exercises were ushered in by a parade at one o'clock in

which the veterans of the World War and the War with Spain

marched with flags fluttering in the warm  October sunlight, fol-

lowed by the Grand Army veterans in automobiles, the three

divisions headed by the United States Navy Recruiting Band

and the Light Guard and Woodmen's Bands of Fremont.  The

procession was reviewed by the distinguished guests as it marched

past the still unfinished Soldiers' Memorial Sun-parlor of the

Memorial Hospital of Sandusky County, and over the uncom-

pleted Soldiers' Memorial Parkway.  The impressive procession

then entered the Spiegel Grove State Park and formed in front

of the Hayes Memorial Library, on the northern face of which

was unveiled the artistic bronze Memorial Tablet presented by

Colonel Webb C. Hayes, M. H., in memory of his eighty com-

rades of Sandusky County who died in the service of their coun-

try in the War with Spain, in the insurrection in the Philippines,

in China, on the Mexican border, and in the World War.  While

the Navy  Recruiting Band played the Star-Spangled Banner,

Grand Marshal A. E. Slessman, chairman of the Soldiers' Me-

morial Parkway  Committee, presented Mrs. Webb  C. Hayes,

who was dressed in her costume of the Y. M. C. A. in which

she had served in France as hostess and librarian at the Amer-









             SOLDIERS' TABLET UNVEILED          341



ican Soldiers' Leave Areas at Aix-les-Bains and Nice.       Mrs.

Hayes gracefully uncovered the beautiful bronze tablet and

turned it over to Commander W. H. Johnston of Edgar Thurs-

ton Post, American Legion, and Commander  Harry  Price of

Emerson Command, Spanish War Veterans. After a careful

inspection of the tablet by Governor Campbell, Senator and

Mrs. Harding, and the members of the Hayes family who were

on the platform, the soldiers of the World War formed a lane

extending from the Memorial Building through to the speakers'

stand under the McKinley Oaks of 1897; and through this lane

walked Senator Harding with Mrs. Hayes, preceded by Presi-

dent Campbell of the Archaeological and Historical Society, at-

tended by former Congressman Overmyer,  and  followed  by

Colonel Hayes and Mrs. Harding and other guests.

  Music was provided by the U. S. Navy Recruiting Band of

the central division, and by the combined bands of the Fremont

Light Guard and Woodmen of the World. Mr. B. H. Swift,

Chairman of the Sandusky County War Work Committee, called

the meeting to order and presented Chaplain Ferguson of the

Ohio Soldiers' Home who delivered the invocation. In present-

ing the: members of the Board of County Commissioners of San-

dusky County and its efficient county engineer to welcome the

assembly, Mr. Swift said:

  Sandusky County soldiers are indebted to the patriotic mem-

bers of the present and former Boards of County Commission-

ers, and to one of her patriotic soldiers, Colonel Hayes, who

conceived and executed the plan, including the erection of the

bronze memorial tablet and Soldiers' Memorial Sun-parlor, for

the beautiful Soldiers' Memorial Parkway of Sandusky County.

Sandusky County's plan of honoring her soldiers who died in the

service is soon to be realized in the form of this Soldiers' Me-

morial Parkway, of about one hundred feet in width with two

paved drives fourteen feet in width along the border, between

which are planted, at a distance of thirty-five feet apart, two

rows of buckeye trees, the insignia of the Thirty-seventh or

Buckeye Division, to which are affixed white enamel tree-labels,

with four lines giving the name, organization, place and date of

death. It is hoped that the Memorial Parkway plan of honoring









342          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



the dead at the county-seat of each county in the State of Ohio

and in the country, may be adopted generally; and that the re-

mains of the honored dead who fell in battle on the fields of

France may be permitted to remain in the beautiful American

park cemeteries where they now lie and where they will be visited

for countless ages by their countrymen.

  The Hon. James E. Campbell, President of the Ohio State

Archaeological and Historical Society, was then presented as the

president of the day. He spoke as follows:

Fellow Citizens:

  The patriotic people of Sandusky County, remembering and

revering their heroic dead, have called us to join them in unveil-

ing a tablet that shall preserve forever, in enduring bronze, the

names of those gallant sons of the county who, in the war with

Spain and in that unparalleled cataclysm known as the World

War, gave their lives to their country, to mankind, and to hu-

manity. The War with Spain was a small war while the World

War was the worst known to men; but the memory of him who

died in the one is as precious and glorious as that of him who

died in the other. They were all heroes whom the people of

Sandusky County delight alike to honor.

  These men carried our flag upon foreign soil; in the first

instance,  for the purpose of freeing two oppressed races from

semi-barbaric rule; in the second instance, to destroy a military

autocracy which threatened to extirpate democracy and to make

all nations its abject slaves or dependents. From both of these

wars  the Star-Spangled Banner emerged with added and im-

perishable lustre. Especially is this true of the last war for there,

to quote these appropriate lines,-



           "Serene and beautiful it waved,

              The flag our fathers knew,

            In the sunny air of France it laved

              And gained a brighter hue.

            Oh, may it e'er the emblem be

            Of all that makes this country free;

            And may we cherish liberty

              And to the flag be true."









             PRESIDENT CAMPBELL'S ADDRESS          343



  To the eminent orators who are your honored guests, who

are much more capable of doing justice to these patriot dead

than I, and who are here for that purpose, I leave such further

eulogy as they may deem appropriate. I consider this a suitable

opportunity, however, on behalf of the Ohio State Archaeological

and Historical Society, under whose auspices  these ceremonies

are held, to state formally the development and consummation of

the project (born in the mind of Colonel Webb C. Hayes) of

making Spiegel Grove one of the most important monuments to

history and patriotism in the State of Ohio. It is the duty of this

society, and one to which it has faithfully adhered, to collect and

disseminate information as to the history of this State as well as

to collect, preserve, and classify evidence of its occupation by pre-

historic races.

  No part of the work of this society has been more important

or more valuable to the historical collections of the State than the

acquisition of Spiegel Grove with the precious personal property

connected  therewith.  Its history carries one back to a time

long prior to the Revolutionary War, for it is located in the old

Indian Reservation or Free Territory, maintained at the lower

rapids of the Sandusky River, which was a point of interest long

before the white man entered Ohio.  Israel Putnam was here in

I764 and during the War of the Revolution over two thousand

whites, captured by the Indians, passed through the Sandusky Val-

ley, stopping at the Lower Falls, now Fremont, from whence they

were transported by shipping to Detroit or on to Montreal. Zeis

berger and Heckewelder, the Moravians, were prisoners here,

and also Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton.  In 1772 the British

sent troops from Detroit as far as Lower Sandusky, en route to

repel the Crawford expedition, but they arrived too late, owing

to the capture and burning of Crawford on the Sandusky Plains.

During the War of 1812, through these very grounds the old

Harrison Trail-a military road which led from Fort Stephen-

son to Fort Seneca-passed and is preserved intact as its prin-

cipal driveway.

  Added to this historic interest is the fact that it typifies an

American home of the latter part of the nineteenth century - a

home fraught with historic memories of Rutherford B. Hayes,









344         RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



the nineteenth President of the United States, and his wife,

Lucy Webb Hayes.  Of all the homes of our Presidents, cov-

ering a period of one hundred and thirty years, there have been

preserved only those of Washington at Mt. Vernon, Jefferson

at Monticello, Madison at Montpelier, Jackson at The Hermit-

age, and Lincoln's modest home in the city of Springfield.  But

in all these instances, more or less time had elapsed before the

homes were acquired and put in a state of preservation; and

but few or no personal relics or memorials were secured. The

families of the Presidents had in most cases parted with the

property, and their historic associations were generally dissipated.

It is gratifying to know that Spiegel Grove met no such impair-

ment.  When received by the State it was in a perfect state of

preservation, and all of the valuable historic effects of President

Hayes were there intact.  Few Presidents of the United States

have left so large and so complete a collection of documents,

papers, and books.  To these should be added all the honorable

mementoes and historical objects that were intimately associated

with President Hayes during his career as a soldier in the Civil

War, as well as that of his Administration as President; and many

personal belongings of his wife, Lucy Webb Hayes, during her

exalted life in the White House.  President Hayes was a great

reader and a man of scholarly tastes and attainments. His library

of Americana was not excelled, in his time, by that of any other

private individual in the nation. He had the instinct of a col-

lector and preserved all papers and memoranda, both of his pub-

lic and private life, in an orderly and accessible form. His letters

and his diaries covering a continuous period of sixty years, writ-

ten in his own hand, are in this collection and are now being

prepared and compiled for publication by this society.  They will

be a valuable contribution to American history. With the excep-

tion of Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt, no President

of the United States has left such a collection of individual mem-

oranda, literary remains, and personal mementoes as did President

Hayes.

  Spiegel Grove, with its contents, upon the death of President

Hayes in 1893, was bequeathed to his children.  Afterwards the

entire Spiegel Grove property, with its library and collections,









             EXTENT OF COLONEL HAYES'S GIFT          345



became the property of Colonel Hayes by deed in 1899 from the

other heirs in the settlement of the estate. Through the generous

filial devotion and the patriotic spirit of Colonel Hayes, this

whole tract was offered, without cost, to the State as a public

park in memory of both of his parents, by deeds dated March 30,

1909, and March 10, 1910. The conditions upon which Colonel

Hayes donated this property to the State of Ohio simply require

its maintenance as a state park, with the further condition that:

  "The Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society should secure

the erection upon that part of Spiegel Grove heretofore con-

veyed to the State of Ohio for a state park, a suitable fire-proof

building on the site reserved opposite the Jefferson Street en-

trance, for the purpose of preserving and forever keeping in

Spiegel Grove all papers, books, and manuscripts left by the said

Rutherford  B. Hayes,         . . .  which  building  shall be  in

the form of a branch reference library and museum of the

Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, and the con-

struction and decoration of the said building shall be in the nature

of a memorial also to the soldiers, sailors, and pioneers of San-

dusky County; and suitable memorial tablets, busts, and decora-

tions indicative of the historical events and patriotic citizenship

of Sandusky County shall be placed in and on said building, and

said building shall forever remain open to the public under proper

rules and regulations to be hereafter made by said society."

  Thus there was given to the nation and to the State a heritage

of which both can well be proud, and I take this occasion on

behalf of the society which I represent, and on behalf of the State

which is represented by the society, to express the fullest appre-

ciation and deepest sense of obligation. These expressions also

extend to the noble and generous wife of Colonel Hayes who has

joined him in making this spot one of historic beauty as well as

a patriotic monument.

  In all the years since Colonel Hayes executed his first deed

to this property, the public has been left in ignorance of the

magnitude of his contributions; of his self-sacrifice, and of his

generous patriotism. He has arrived at the age (and so have I)

at which the truth can be told without suspicion of flattery or

adulation, and at which it can be received without undue infla-

tion. Therefore I take it upon myself, as president of this so-









346          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



ciety, to relate publicly and in detail what Colonel Hayes has con-

tributed to this great patriotic monument, aside from the property

itself; and these facts are due historically, not only to Colonel

Hayes, but to the society and to the people of Ohio.

  Colonel  Hayes  spent  large sums  after  the legal steps had

been taken to vest this property in the Ohio Archaeological and

Historical Society, in trust for the State of Ohio. The con-

struction of the Hayes Memorial Building cost when completed

over one hundred thousand dollars, toward which the State paid

forty-five thousand dollars and also paid ten thousand dollars for

the State's share of the paving of the streets on the three sides of

the Spiegel Grove State Park. Colonel Hayes at various times,

and in numerous ways, in order to complete the building and

bring it to the point of perfection which it has attained, expended

fifty thousand dollars to that end; and to further add to its use-

fulness and beauty as a monument, he has provided for an addi-

tion to the building that will cost at least fifty thousand dollars, the

funds for which are now in the hands of a trustee appointed for

that purpose.

  Since Spiegel Grove has been dedicated by Colonel Hayes,

he has placed in the hands of trustees for the benefit of the so-

ciety and the State of Ohio other lands contiguous to the grove

which, when sold, the trustees are to place the proceeds thereof

in a trust fund for the use and benefit of this institution. So far

lands to the value of thirty-five thousand dollars have been dis-

posed of, and that amount is in the hands of a trustee for the use

and benefit of Spiegel Grove, as held by this society. The land,

exclusive of Spiegel Grove, remaining unsold is worth at least

one hundred thousand dollars, the proceeds of which, upon sale,

will be held in trust for the use and maintenance of the Spiegel

Grove park and residence with any remainder for books for the

Hayes Memorial Library.

  On July first of last year Colonel Hayes placed one hundred

thousand dollars in trust to be used in the maintenance and up-

building of this patriotic memorial.    I am within a conservative

estimate when I state that Colonel Hayes has disposed, for the

benefit of posterity, in the form of the beautiful and attractive









             EXTENT OF COLONEL HAYES'S GIFT          347



property which you see before you, at least five hundred thousand

dollars; two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in cash and se-

curities for endowment funds, and two hundred and fifty thou-

sand dollars in real estate and personal property including the

library Americana and collections.

  Greater and more far-reaching than the vast funds which

he has so consecrated to others and to the memory of those loved

by him, is his magnificent spirit of unselfishness, of tender de-

votion to the memory of his father and mother, and of his

desire to leave to future generations historic evidence of the past.

Here the people of Ohio forever will come to view the evidences

of a period of American history that will be to them a continuing

lesson and an inspiring heritage. A visit to this place will stimu-

late the study of Ohio history; of her Indian tribes; of the wars

between the British and French and their Indian allies; fol-

lowed by our War for Independence, when this was a British

post; and of her people's heroic defense of our country in the War

of 1812. They will see here many historical mementoes of one

who laid down civil honor to go forth to fight for the Union.

They will see a collection of souvenirs of every President from

Washington to Wilson; manuscripts of great historic importance

and literature rarely found in Ohio libraries. They will view a

monument evidencing the unselfish devotion of private interests

to public good; and viewing this monument they will be inspired

to devote themselves anew to the service of our country and to

common humanity.

  At the conclusion of his address there were many cheers for

Colonel Hayes.  Governor Campbell called upon him  for a

speech but the colonel merely rose to his feet from his chair

several rows back of the presiding officer, bowed to the audience

and sat down. This caused renewed cheers and finally Colonel

Hayes walked forward to the front of the stand. When the

crowd had quieted expecting remarks, he bowed and returned to

his seat.

   "Just as modest as he is good," said Chairman Campbell and

the crowd again applauded.

   The Reverend Father F. S. Legowski, overseas chaplain in the









348          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



Thirty-second Division A. E. F., in the absence of Colonel F. W.

Galbraith, national commander of the American Legion, gave an

extemporaneous address that was well received.

  Brigadier-General W. V. McMaken, president of the Thirty-

seventh Division Association, expressed the thanks of his com-

rades of the War with Spain and of the World War to Colonel

and Mrs. Hayes for the splendid recognition of the heroic dead

who died while serving valiantly for their country.

  Captain Grant S. Taylor, chief of staff of the commander-

in-chief of the Spanish War Veterans, spoke for his fellow

soldiers.

  Commander S. B. Rathbun, of Eugene Rawson Post, responded

for the commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic,

in a very effective way, by calling on all members of the Grand

Army of the Republic to rise and salute. The president of the

society, Governor Campbell, and the president emeritus of the

society, the Rev. Dr. Wright, elicited increased applause by rising

and saluting with their comrades of the G. A. R. The Hon.

James M. Cox, Governor of Ohio, and a trustee of the society

found himself unable to be present and Governor Campbell, as

presiding officer, then presented the Hon. Warren G. Harding,

United States Senator from Ohio and a life member of the

society.

  The speaker, before beginning his prepared address, said that

he was glad he had kept his word with Colonel Hayes and had

come to Fremont. He had promised to do this before his nom-

ination for the Presidency.  He  regarded that promise in the

nature of a contract. "I believe in always keeping my contract,"

said he, "and I kept my contract when I came to Fremont

today." Much trouble in the world and many calamities includ-

ing some of our serious wars, he declared, came through the

failure of men and states and nations to keep their contract.

  Senator Harding then spoke as follows:

My  Countrymen:

  It is a fine thing to gather at the shrines of American pa-

triotism. It is fine that we have such shrines. Without them

we would have little soul and less love of country. It is good









             SENATOR HARDING'S ADDRESS          349



to pause and note the sacrifices through which we came to

nationality and then to eminence in the world.  It is reassur-

ing to dwell afresh in the atmosphere of colonial heroism, and to

be reminded anew that the spirit which triumphed in the early

making of the Republic is with us, after all the years of develop-

ing fulfillment to guarantee its perpetuity. It stirs our hearts to

recall how hundreds fought in Colonial days; it rivets our faith

anew to know how millions fought and more millions were ready

and still more millions available when our nationality and world

civilization were threatened in the great World War.

  It is an exceptional shrine at which we are gathered today.

A century and a half ago Israel Putnam came here in command

of the Connecticut battalion, and with other colonial troops from

New York and New Jersey in the British expedition of 1764,

under Bradstreet, and revealed to the northwest territory the

mettle of the men of New England. It was here at old Fort

Stephenson that Major George Croghan defended the new re-

public against the British and the Indians and won the only land

victory within the limits of the United States in the War of 1812

  Two companies from this county served with Croghan again

in the War with Mexico. From this hallowed spot came the

brave and gallant Major-General James B. McPherson, the officer

highest in rank and command killed during the War for the

Union.

  From Sandusky County came the first American killed in the

war for humanity's sake in all the world--Seaman George B.

Meek. Aye, and from Sandusky County there went the full quota

of American defenders in the World War. Seventy of them

made the supreme sacrifice, and in their memory, in the main,

we are met in grateful, loving tribute today.

  Still another glory illuminates this exceptional American

shrine. From this spot came citizen, soldier, patriot, and Presi-

dent, Rutherford B. Hayes. He served eminently in war and

patriotically in peace. I like to recall the helpful, reassuring Ad-

ministration of this fine, firm, unpretentious American, whose

official service to America was both healing and heroic, and left

a sense of satisfying security as a heritage to America.









350          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



  Today we are a the shrine of American manhood, to reavow

that love of country which fills every American breast and holds

sacrifice a ready offering to our common country. Youth holds

the safety of the Republic its especial obligation. It is no figure

of speech, signifying comradeship, to refer to 'the boys' of our

armies. The soldiers of the Revolution, the War of 1812, the

Mexican War, the War for the Union, the Spanish-American

War, and the great World War, were almost identical in type,

typical specimens of the flower of American young manhood.

Regal in their confidence, robust in their strength, and regnant in

their hopes, American youths have more than responded to the

nation's need; American youths have rushed to the country's

salvation.

  When the Baroness Riedesel wrote of the surrender of the

British under Burgoyne at Saratoga, of which she was a witness.

she remarked the "handsome lads of the age of about seventeen";

and we know ourselves now that but for these lads the War of

the American Revolution could not have been won.

  The same type of striplings wrought the American victory

under Croghan, and carried the flag in triumph to the City of

Mexico and unfurled it from the heights of Chapultepec. I saw

them go forth for the war to liberate Cuba, and I know the story

of youth's defense of union and nationality in the Civil War.

There were nearly nine hundred thousand boys in the Northern

armies alone, boys of the age of McKinley and Foraker. A half

million youths fought for the Confederate cause, from Bull Run

to Appomattox. At Gettysburg, where the high tide of the Re-

bellion ebbed from its crimsoned flood, the average age of the

veteran armies of that famed battle was but twenty years. Mc-

Kinley enlisted at seventeen, Foraker was a captain before he

was twenty-one, and Miles commanded the Second Army Corps

before he was twenty-six.

  Only a few days ago twenty thousand of the American Legion

marched in splendid lines at Cleveland, and there was the same

youth, the same undaunted spirit, the same virile young Ameri-

can manhood which has characterized American soldiery in all

our wars and written again and again our admonition to have

faith in the Republic.









             SENATOR HARDING'S ADDRESS          351



  Early after our entry into the World War, a young American

of eighteen called at my office in Washington to ask my assistance

in getting a passport to France. I was surprised and I asked,

"Why not fight under our own flag?"      He said he wanted to be

an aviator and he was too young for acceptance in the naval air

service. "Then why not the army?" I asked. "Five thousand

awaiting enrollment now, and I can't wait." Then I learned that

he had visited the French Embassy, had seen the military at-

tache, passed an informal examination, and was assured of ac-

ceptance if he could only reach France. I liked his ardor and en-

thusiasm, but I knew him to be an only son; I knew he had come

to me from the college, and I thought I ought to have his parents'

approval.  So I said, "What will your mother say?"  In a flash

he produced a telegram from her. It read: "I do hope Senator

Harding can help you to France. God bless you. I am glad to

have you go." And he went, and ultimately I hope he found his

place under the Stars and Stripes. I am sure he did his part,

wherever he fought, just as did all the sons of the Republic from

North and South, from East and West, from factory, office, and

farm.  I do not say we won the World War, but we helped to win

it, and our American forces wrought new glories for the Re-

public from the Marne to the Argonne, and gave to America new

reverence and new admiration throughout the world. Our boys

were the worthy sons of worthy sires, worthy defenders of a

worthy republic. They never turned back. Alas! they, too

rarely halted, because they could not tolerate the patient methods

of the more seasoned veterans.

  Retreat is honorable, often necessary, but the youth  from

America could not understand it, or they could not harmonize

it with their purpose. It is said our missing dead in the World

War is relatively the smallest in the records of warfare. The

explanation is that no American battle line moved rearward over

our glorious dead.

  I have heard the stories of heroism and achievement which

stir our emotions and magnify our pride, but I have yet to meet

a hero who was conscious of his heroism, or realized that he was

engaged in an act to rivet the gaze of all the world. It is not

difficult to understand, after all. The men of the army and navy









352          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



were committed to a duty, and the performance of that duty

was a simple matter of course. They were upon the supreme

stage of world heroism, but were simply performing the duties

of national defenders, unmindful of plaudits or wondering gaze.

Knowledge of duty well done, of devotion bravely proven, of

service fittingly rendered--these were their inspiration then; but

we utter today and memorialize for all time the honors they won

for themselves, their kind, their land, their people.

  I voice today a tribute to the steadfastness, the resolution,

the undaunted courage, the irresistible determination of the

American expeditionary forces. They wrought less in brilliancy,

but more in glory. They were less trained, but profited more

from Europe's costly experience. They were delayed in reaching

the battle front, but they speeded in meeting the enemy. They

made few trenches, but they took many. They had few objec-

tives, but they reached the one big one, and did their full part to

save world civilization. They came home with as little parade as

they went. America never saw the spectacle of their might and

majesty, but America has sensed the bigness of our expeditionary

army and those in camp ready for call, and somehow there is a

feeling of renewed security throughout the Republic.

  This is not alone for what you have done under arms. It is

because of what America knows you will do in peace. You

World War veterans are the new leaven in the patriotic citizen-

ship of the Republic, the mightiest influence in American life

for half a century to come. It was your Republic before, but

there is a new intimacy now.

  "Let us do more even than is symbolized in memorial tablets

and monuments. Let us pay our sorrowing tribute to the dead,

our grateful tribute to the living, and be resolved all of us, to

meet our duties as they met theirs, undeterred and unafraid, and

hand to our sons and daughters the legacy of liberty and the

temple of security, our own United States of America."

  The benediction was then pronounced by the Rev. Dr. George

Frederick Wright, president emeritus of the Ohio Archaeological

and Historical Society.









             HISTORY OF OLD BETSY          353



     OTHER CELEBRATIONS AT SPIEGEL GROVE

  Spiegel Grove has been the scene of many celebrations.  The

first of record was the Fourth of July celebration of 1852, which

was of great interest to this community both as marking the

national holiday and as celebrating the return of the old gun,

Betsy Croghan, to the scene of her great victory of nearly forty

years before. Betsy Croghan, the iron six-pound gun, is of French

manufacture and is supposed to have been captured from the

French by the British in one of the battles of the Old French War

of 1759-1763.  It is not definitely known when the cannon was

brought to the Lower Falls of the Sandusky to help defend the

old Indian factor's house in the centre of the two-mile square

reservation first ceded to the United States by the Indians in the

treaty of 1785.    In 1812 the old  factor's house  was enlarged

and stockaded so as to include almost double the original space,

with six blockhouses instead of four.  It was then named "Fort

Stephenson," after Colonel Stephenson the officer in charge. Its

sole means of defense was Old Betsy and the one hundred and

sixty soldiers under Major Croghan, of whose victory in defend-

ing the fort General Sherman said:

  "The defense of Fort  Stephenson  by  Croghan and his gal-

lant little band was the necessary percursor to Perry's victory

on the lake, and of General  Harrison's triumphant victory at

the Battle of the Thames.  These assured to our immediate an-

cestors the mastery of the Great West, and from that day to this

the West has been the bulwark of this nation."

  Old Betsy was taken with General Harrison's army down to

the site of Old Fort Sandoski of 1745 and transported across

the lake into Canada, where she is supposed to have taken part

in General Harrison's victorious Battle of the Thames, October

5, 1813.

  For a score or more of years, she was lost sight of, but hav-

ing been presented by Congress to grace the scene of her vic-

tory, which in military parlance was known as the Battle of San-

dusky, she was, after identification, shipped from  the arsenal

at Pittsburgh, and the last stage of her journey being on the

water, she was landed at Sandusky City, which had recently taken

   23









354          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



that name for at the time of the battle in 1813 it was known

only as Ogontz Point and later Portland.

  The authorities of Sandusky City promptly seized the old can-

non and buried her in the sand until such time as it might be safe

to proclaim the old gun as the victor in the defense of Fort San-

dusky "near this spot."  This was prevented by the vigilant and

patriotic mayor of Fremont, which also had recently felt the

necessity of changing its name from Lower  Sandusky  owing

to the multiplicity of towns named Sandusky; for with the as-

sumption of that name by the old town of Portland, there were

five towns bearing the name on the less than one hundred miles

of Sandusky River, viz.: Sandusky City at its mouth, Lower

Sandusky, Upper Sandusky, Little Sandusky, Big Sandusky.

   In 1840 mail was sent by water from Cleveland to the re-

cently rechristened town of Sandusky City where the mail was

held to suit the convenience of the citizens of that town but

much to the annoyance of the citizens and merchants of the old

historic Indian towns of Lower Sandusky and Upper Sandusky,

until finally the citizens of Lower Sandusky petitioned the court

to change the name so that they might promptly thereafter re-

ceive their mail.  Among other names proposed those of the

gallant Major George Croghan, then properly pronounced as

though spelled Kraun, and the military explorer, Colonel John C.

Fremont, were most prominently mentioned. The petition was re-

ferred to Rutherford B. Hayes, as a commissioner to report to

the court on the desirability of a change.  Mr. Hayes, on his last

appearance as a member of the Sandusky County bar prior to

his removal to Cincinnati in 1849, reported in favor of adopting

the name of Fremont, who in addition to his successful ex-

plorations in opening a pathway through the Rocky Mountains

to the Pacific, had recently enlisted the enthusiastic interest of

the Democratic citizens of Lower Sandusky by eloping with the

favorite daughter, Jessie, of the great Democratic Senator Thomas

H. Benton and marrying her in spite of pronounced parental ob-

jections. There was but one protest against the change of name

- by a local poet whose final verse was: "Change the people not

the name of my old home Sandusky."









             HISTORY OF OLD BETSY          355



  Mayor Bartlett, of Fremont, on learning through private de-

tectives of the spot where Old Betsy had been buried, organized

an expedition and marched to the shore of the lake, disinterred

Old Betsy, and amid jeering cries at the discomfited citizens of

Sandusky City, escorted her in honor to the site of Fort Stephen-

son where she has since remained an object of great interest

to all vistors.

  Hence the Fourth of July celebration of 1852 largely partook of

a glorification over the final return of Old Betsy to the fort which

she had made famous as the scene of the one American land vic-

tory on American soil in the War of 1812.

  The selection of Spiegel Grove as the scene of many famous

gatherings addressed by statesmen, soldiers, and sailors, began

when its owner, Rutherford B. Hayes was President of the United

States. The first of these celebrations was on September 14, 1877,

in honor of the famous Twenty-third Regiment Ohio Volunteers,

the regiment noted for its gallant record in war, and famous for

the number of its members who afterward distinguished them-

selves in public life. Major-Generals William S. Rosecrans and

E. P. Scammon, both graduates of West Point, and Rutherford B.

Hayes and James M. Comly were its four colonels; Associate

Justice Stanley Matthews and Russell Hastings were liteutenant-

colonels, and its surgeon major, Joseph T. Webb, was brevetted

lieutenant-colonel; William McKinley, captain and brevet-major;

while Robert P. Kennedy and William S. Lyon became lieutenant-

governors of Ohio.

  The members of the regiment dined at a long table under

what were then christened and have since been known as the

"Reunion Oaks," enormous white oaks, "General Sheridan,"

"General Rosecrans,"  "General  Scammon,"  "General  Comly,"

and "Associate Justice Stanley Matthews." Other oak trees were

christened after Chief Justice Waite and General George Crook,

the famous Indian fighter, who were also present at the reunion.

  During the annual visits of President Hayes to Spiegel Grove,

he was accompanied by many distinguished men who were like-

wise honored by having trees named after them. The most beauti-

ful and stately elm was named after General Sherman who was a









356          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



frequent visitor, and a beautiful red maple was named after Presi-

dent Garfield.

  On the occasion of the funeral of President Hayes, in January,

1893, Grover Cleveland,  a strong  personal  friend,  after their

joint service on the Peabody  Education Fund  and other public

philanthropies, at that time the only  ex-President, as well as the

President elect of the United States, made the  long journey

in the middle of winter to pay his last measure of respect to one

whom he personally esteemed, saying: "He would have come to

my funeral had the situation been reversed."  As he entered the

Hayes Presidential carriage which with its horses was still pre-

served the keen air of midwinter and the crowds of  men in

uniform  caused the horses to plunge forward and for a moment

it was feared that President Cleveland would be thrown to  the

ground.  He recovered himself promptly  by the aid of a  mam-

moth shell-bark hickory against which he leaned; and since that

time the tree has been known as the Grover Cleveland Hickory

of 1893 in honor of the great Democrat.

  September 1, 1897, the survivors of the  Twenty-Third Ohio

Regiment were guests at  a reunion in Spiegel Grove.            Presi-

dent McKinley,  Secretary  of War  Alger, Senator  Hanna of

Ohio, and others prominent in public life, spoke from beneath a

group  of white  oaks  around  which  a stand  had  been erected,

while Mrs. McKinley  and the  ladies of the  party  were seated

on the porch of the Hayes residence. The group of white oaks

was promptly named the McKinley Oaks of  1897.

  In 1904, another reunion of the Twenty-third Regiment was

held, owing  to inclement weather on the eighty-foot porch of the

Hayes residence.  The guest of the regiment and chief speaker

was Rear-Admiral Charles E. Clark,  U. S. N., the captain of the

battleship Oregon, which  made the famous run from San Fran-

cisco Bay through the Straits of Magellen.  Dodging the Spanish

fleet in the West Indies, she safely joined the American  fleet at

Key West, and  without  a moment's  delay proceeded  with the

fleet to bottle up Admiral Cervera's Spanish fleet in the harbor of

Santiago  de Cuba.      When  the Spaniards attempted to escape,

on the third day of July, 1898, the battleship Oregon opened fire

on each Spanish ship as it emerged  from  the  harbor "and left









             TREES NAMED FOR FAMOUS MEN          357



not one of them until after it had hoisted signals of surrender or

been driven ashore." The Admiral Clark White Oak was chris-

tened during the exercises.

  In 1908, in the early days of the Presidential campaign, Judge

William H. Taft was              a guest of Colonel Hayes, and on being ad-

vised of the custom of naming  trees after Presidents, distin-

guished soldiers, and sailors, and having been invited to select

his tree, promptly chose one of the largest white oaks in the

grove, immediately in front of the residence, and with the re-

mark, "That is about my size," placed his hand on it and chris-

tened it the William H. Taft Oak of 1908.







THE CENTENARY CELEBRATION OF THE BIRTH

       OF RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES AT

          SPIEGEL GROVE, FREMONT, OHIO



                   BY LUCY ELLIOT KEELER



  "Of which I was a great part," is the classic motto which for

almost twenty centuries hero after hero has proudly taken to

himself.   President Hayes  would  have passed it by.  Perhaps

no other phrase exists, however, which so effectively describes

the pervasion of his personality through all the commemorative

events and the scene in which they were staged, at Fremont,

Ohio, October 4, 1922, the centenary  of his birth.

  Spiegel Grove. the home to which he was devotedly attached,

and which he had known  intimately from  boyhood, was never

fairer than on that serene autumnal day  basking under the blu-

est of blue skies.  Every one of those great trees his hands hall

touched; each fair vista had delighted him; the clearings in the

dense forest, letting in the sunlight. had been planned and ex-

ecuted by him; on many of tie finest trees he had bestowed the

names of his comrades; spot after spot he had enriched with

gathered lore; the homestead which he had reshaped to his fam-

ily life, the rooms he had lived and worked in and in which he

had been the generous, delightful host: the porches and paths









358          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



he had trod; the national colors under which he had fought and

bled and served; the secluded knoll where his mortal remains

lie beside those of his beloved wife; the numberless books he had

gathered and studied; the reunion again of all his children whose

first hero he ever was; the presence of aged survivors of his

old regiment, and of his successors in the State and Federal

government; the city to whose welfare he had given himself and

his fame so generously and which forever becomes his heir in

the enjoyment of Spiegel Grove:-- marching feet, martial music,

happy faces, distinguished guests, ringing tributes of love and

honor and praise-of all this he is still the greatest part.

  In the spring of 1845, Rutherford Birchard Hayes began the

practice of law in Lower Sandusky, now Fremont.  He had been

admitted to the bar of Ohio at Marietta, March 10, following

his graduation in February of that year from the Dane Law

School of Harvard University, on the completion of his two

years' course at that institution. His father had died some three

months before his birth, which occurred on the 4th of October,

1822, at Delaware, Ohio; but his maternal uncle, Sardis Birch-

ard, who had himself been adopted into the family at twelve

years of age, on the death of his parents, at once assumed the di-

rection and control of his sister's little family and continued to

the end of his life as the fond uncle, guardian, and benefactor.

  Young Hayes first visited his uncle at Lower Sandusky (now

Fremont) in 1834, and on entering the Norwalk Academy, in

1836, walked the intervening twenty-five miles to spend his Sun-

days with his uncle at Lower Sandusky.

  This place was to him notable for its hunting and fishing on

Brady's Island, at the lower falls of the Sandusky, historically

noted by Washington during the Revolutionary War.

  From the Norwalk Academy, he entered in 1837 Isaac Webb's

school at Middletown, Connecticut, a preparatory school for Yale,

whither his mother had taken him in connection with a famous

trip to the New England relatives.  Owing to Yale's great dis-

tance from home, however, he was sent later to Kenyon College,

founded by the famous Bishop Philander Chase, which in the

short space of almost its first decade had as students Salmon P.









             HAYES CENTENARY CELEBRATION          359



Chase, Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice;

Dovid Davis, and Stanley Matthews, associate justices of the Su-

preme Court, Davis appointed by Lincoln and Matthews ap-

pointed by Hayes, his college-mate and fellow officer in the

Twenty-third Ohio; Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln's Secretary of

War; and Henry Winter Davis, a distinguished Representative in

Congress.

  Hayes entered in 1838 and graduated valedictorian in the class

of 1842. On leaving college he read law for a year in the office

of Sparrow & Matthews of Columbus, before entering the Har-

vard Law School.

  An active Whig partisan, even before he was a qualified voter,

he enthusiastically supported General Harrison in 1840, and while

a law student at Cambridge, Henry Clay. It has been related

that on the occasion of a great Clay rally in Boston, noticing the

absence of any banner indicating the support of Ohio men of

Henry Clay, Hayes obtained a rudely prepared placard bearing

the inscription OHIO, and with his uncle joined in the pro-

cession which before the end of the parade had increased from

two to some thirty odd Ohio Clay men, who were the recipients

of enthusiastic applause.

  Soon after opening his law office in Lower Sandusky, in 1845,

Hayes formed a legal partnership with Ralph P. Buckland, for

whom he maintained a warm lifelong regard, the intimacy being

strengthened by their joint service in the army during the War

for the Union and in the House of Representatives.  So in the

plans made in contemplation of receiving the White House gates

for the Memorial Gateways of the Spiegel Grove State Park,

a Buckland Gateway was built. This, like the Cleveland Gate-

way, is narrow --each to be fitted with one-half of one of the

large double gates.

  The place now known as Spiegel Grove was purchased by

Sardis Birchard in 1845 for the future home of his nephew and

ward, but the construction of the house was not begun until four-

teen years later, anticipating the return of Hayes from Cincinnati

to take up his permanent home in it. The return was delayed

because of the war and then because of Hayes's service in Con-

gress (to which he was twice elected) and his two terms as gov-









360          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



ernor. So it was not until 1873 that he made his home in Spiegel

Grove;-  where, on the knoll, the mortal remains of his wife

and himself are enclosed in the granite block, quarried from the

farm in Dummerston, Vermont, whence his father migrated to

Ohio in 1817.

  Hayes was a loyal Whig who opposed the Mexican War for

the extension of  slavery. Nevertheless, after conferring with

numerous friends, it was arranged that he should go into the army

with the company from Lower Sandusky, and be appointed its

second-lieutenant, provided that certain distinguished physicians

of Cincinnati thought his physical condition satisfactory, for he

had broken down in health.  He accordingly secured a substitute,

none other than the Hon. Benjamin Inman, later a representative

in the legislature, to accompany him to Cincinnati, where his hopes

for military service were blasted by the decision of the physicians,

and he was ordered to the extreme north, while the late Lewis

Leppelman was commissioned in his place as second-lieutenant of

the company from Lower Sandusky.  On recovering his health he

made a trip to Texas, and on his return arranged to remove to

Cincinnati to continue the practice of his profession.

  His last appearance at the local bar of Lower Sandusky was

as a commissioner appointed by the court to report on a petition

requesting the change of name of the village of Lower Sandusky.

This was because of the many towns called Sandusky, within the

less than one hundred miles of the river from its source to Lake

Erie, where the old fishing village, known during the War of

1812 as Ogontz Place, and later as Portland, had on account of

the association of the name Portland on Lake Erie with cholera

ravages of those days, dropped that name for "Sandusky City."

The U. S. mails, carried by sailing craft on Lake Erie, were

landed at Sandusky City, with the result that the forwarding of

the mail of the four older Sanduskies, further up the Sandusky

River, had to wait the convenience of the postmaster at Sandusky

City.  Mr. Hayes reported to the court that there was but one

remonstrance against changing the name from Lower Sandusky

which was in the form of a poem by the noted character, Thomas

L. Hawkins. Mr. Hayes further reported in favor of the adop-

tion of the name of Fremont in honor of the explorer who had









             HAYES CENTENARY CELEBRATION          361



further endeared himself to this democratic community by elop-

ing with the beautiful Jessie Benton, daughter of the influential

Senator Thomas H. Benton.  The name Fremont was confined

by the court on this last appearance of Hayes before his departure

for Cincinnati in 1849.

  Hayes was elected City Solicitor of Cincinnati, in 1857, by the

City Council to fill a vacancy, was reelected by popular vote in

1859, but was swept down in the Democratic tidal wave in Cin-

cinnati in April, 1861, following the inauguration of Abraham

Lincoln and the threatened war to preserve the Union which

would naturally cut off all the Southern trade from Cincinnati.

His last entry in his Diary before entering the Union army was

as follows:

  "May 15, 1861.--Judge Matthews and I have agreed to go

into the service for the war, if possible into the same regiment.  I

spoke my feelings to him which he said were his also, viz.: that

this was a just and necessary war and that it demanded the whole

power of the country; that I would prefer to go into it if I knew

I was to die or be killed in the course of it than to live through

and after it without taking any part in it."

  Both Judge Matthews and himself, who were active supporters

of Salmon P. Chase, were tendered colonelcies through the lat-

ter's influence in Washington, but each declined, preferring to

go in a subordinate capacity under a trained West Point officer

until they could learn the rudiments of military life.  Finally

on the 6th of June, 1861, they were appointed by Governor Wil-

liam Dennison of Ohio, Judge Matthews as lieutenant-colonel,

and Hayes as major of the Twenty-third Regiment of Ohio Vol-

unteer Infantry, which was the first regiment recruited in Ohio

"for three years or the war."

  It was also the first regiment in Ohio in which the field of-

ficers had not been elected, after log-rolling, by the members of

the regiment, but were appointed directly by the Governor of

Ohio.  Colonel Wm. S. Rosecrans, a distinguished graduate of

the U. S. Military Academy, was appointed colonel of the regi-

ment, but his services were within a week demanded as a gen-

eral officer, and again Matthews and Hayes declined the promo-









362          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



tions tendered them to fill the vacancies, and secured the appoint-

ment of another capable graduate of the Military Academy in the

person of Colonel E. P. Scammon.

  Hayes's first service was in western Virginia, but in August

1862, as a member of General Jacob D. Cox's division, he joined

the Army of the Potomac, covering the retreat of General Pope's

army after the second battle of Bull Run, and as a part of the

Army of the Potomac when General McClellan was restored to

its command, and marched against Lee's army in Maryland in

the Antietam campaign. He was severely wounded at South

Mountain, September  14, 1862.  Here his wife, Lucy Webb

Hayes, joined him and served in the field hospital established

after the battle of Antietam, the bloodiest one-day battle of the

war. He was in all the battles of Sheridan's Shenandoah Val-

ley campaign, Winchester, Cedar Creek, and Opequon, in which

he greatly distinguished himself and was promoted to brigadier-

general on the field, under Sheridan and Crook, the latter hav-

ing cut off his own brigadier-general shoulder-straps and pre-

sented them to General Hayes. He resigned and was mustered

out on the 6th of June, 1865, after his service of exactly four

years in which he had been six times wounded in battle and had

four horses killed under him. In August, 1864, he was nomi-

nated for Congress from the second Cincinnati district, and on

being urged to return home on furlough and enter the campaign,

having in mind the number of officers who had left the army to

electioneer for Congress in 1862 and 1864, he indignantly re-

plied: "Your suggestion about getting a furlough to take the

stump was certainly made without reflection. An officer fit for

duty, who at this crisis would abandon his post to electioneer for

a seat in Congress, ought to be scalped. You may feel perfectly

sure I shall do no such thing."

  He had just begun his second term in Congress when he was

nominated for governor and resigned to make the canvass.

He served two terms as Governor of Ohio, and on his retire-

ment in 1872 was solicited again to make the race for Congress

in order to strengthen the Republican ticket under General

Grant's candidacy for reelection as President, but the entire









             HAYES CENTENARY CELEBRATION          363



Republican ticket in Cincinnati was defeated owing to the de-

fection to Greeley.  He returned to Fremont in the spring of

1873 and took up his residence in Spiegel Grove, which he re-

tained until his death January 17, 1893, although absent during

his third term as Governor and his four years as President. He

made yearly visits to his home and held there in September, 1877,

the reunion of his old regiment, the Twenty-third Ohio, the

second of the large gatherings of prominent civilians and soldiers

of the United States held in Spiegel Grove. Other gatherings

were held there annually during his term of office as President

and several times in the years that followed until the date of his

death.

  President Hayes's return to Spiegel Grove, after the inaugura-

tion of his successor, was delayed for twenty-four hours by a

head-on collision of his special train in which several pasengers

were killed and members of his personal escort, the First Cleve-

land Troop, now Troop A of Ohio, which had escorted him

from the White House to the Capitol for the inaugural cere-

monies of James A. Garfield, and then as his escort home to

Ohio, were severely injured. Twelve years later, after the death

of President Hayes, Troop A, Captain Jacob B. Perkins com-

manding, served also in the provisional brigade of the Ohio Na-

tional Guard, at his funeral, under orders of Governor McKin-

ley, as the escort of ex-President and now again President elect,

Grover Cleveland.

  An interesting coincidence is that this Troop A, now under

Captain Ralph Perkins, a son of the former commander, with

many of the members of his command, also sons or grandsons

of former members of the Troop, again served, thirty years

later, at the head of the parade at the centenary celebration of

the birth of Rutherford B. Hayes, and appeared such duplicates

of their fathers or grandfathers that the old illustration of 1893

is used in this article.

  On his arrival at his old home, from the porch of the resi-

dence which had been doubled in size for his return, he made a

short speech in which he outlined his views of what a President

should do after his retirement.  He said:









364          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



  "What is to become of the man, what is he to do -who hav-

ing been Chief Magistrate of the Republic, retires at the end of

his official term to private life?  It seems to me the reply is

near at hand and sufficient. Let him like every other good Amer-

ican citizen be willing and prompt to bear his part in every use-

ful work that will promote the welfare and the happiness of his

family, his town, his State, and his country.  With this disposi-

tion, he will have work enough to do and that sort of work that

yields more individual contentment and gratification  than  be-

longed  to the more conspicuous employment of the life from

which he has retired."

  So he resumed active control of the Birchard Library which

he and his uncle, Sardis Birchard, had jointly founded.  He re-

vived his membership in Croghan Lodge I. O. O. F. to which

he belonged when he left Fremont in  1849; joined the Eugene

Rawson Post of the G. A. R.; organized the Sandusky County

Pioneer and Historical Society and became its first secretary;

became a member of the official board of the First Methodist

Church of which his wife and family were members; interested

himself in the introduction of the manual training department of

the public schools of the State; actively participated as trustee

of the Western Reserve University at Cleveland, the Ohio Wes-

leyan University  at Delaware. and began his very active connec-

tion as one of the trustees and later as president of the board

of trustees of the Ohio State University at Columbus.

  During his first term as Governor of Ohio, in 1868, he had,

in order to prevent the dissipation of funds among  the many in-

stitutions demanding its division, invested the receipts from the

sale of the land grants in the magnificent estate on North High

Street, Columbus, on which are located the Ohio State Univer-

sity and the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society,

of which latter he was president at the time of his death.

  He became also the president of the Ohio  Board  of  State

Charities from which he widened his interests, and remained to

the end of his life president of the National Prison Reform As-

sociation; was president of the Slater Educational Fund; and a

member of the Peabody Educational Fund. At the board meet-









             HAYES CENTENARY CELEBRATION          365



ings of these funds began the warm  friendship between Grover

Cleveland and  himself, which culminated in the attendance of

Mr. Cleveland at his funeral.  His greatest pleasure, however,

was in attendance at the reunions of his regiment, the Twenty-

third O. V. V. I., and the Grand Army gatherings at Detroit and Co-

lumbus and his last in the city of Washington, where he marched

afoot in the long procession down  Pennsylvania Avenue to the

reviewing stand, with his Grand Army post, side by side with

its commander.  This was in October, 1892, when he was seventy

years of age and but three months  before his death.  During

that reunion, he presided at the dedication of the rough granite

monument of Major-General George Crook,  the greatest hunter

and Indian fighter in the U. S. Army, with its bronze bas-relief

representing the capture of Geronimo in the Sierra Madre Moun-

tains of Mexico in 1883.  General Crook  was  his immediate

commander during the war, and his predecessor as president of the

Society of the Army of West Virginia.  At  the dedication of

the monument, Major William McKinley delivered the principal

oration.

  Last and most enjoyable of all was his membership  in  the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States of which

he was the commander-in-chief at the time of his death, in di-

rect succession to Hancock and Sheridan, each of whom  con-

tinued as commander-in-chief from election till death.  He  had

joined the Illinois commandery soon after his retirement as Pres-

ident, and later was transferred to become a charter member  of

the Ohio Commandery at Cincinnati of which he was elected the

first commander.  He was reelected several times as commander

and until his declination, on his  election as senior  vice-com-

mander-in-chief with  Major-General Winfield S.  Hancock as

commander-in-chief; and was succeeded as commander of the

Ohio commandery by General William Tecumseh Sherman.  On

the death of Major-General Hancock, General  Hayes insisted

on withdrawing  in favor, as commander-in-chief, of General

Philip H. Sheridan, our greatest battle general; but upon  Sheri-

dan's death General Hayes was unanimously elected commander-









366          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



in-chief of the Loyal Legion, which position he held at the time

of his death.

  Of the fifteen Presidents of the United States who served in

the wars of our country, none other than General Hayes was

wounded in battle with the exception of James Monroe, when a

lieutenant at the battle of Trenton, in 1777. General Hayes was

wounded six times during his four years of service.

  At the reunions at Spiegel Grove, President Hayes instituted

the practice which has since been carried on by his son, Colonel

Webb C. Hayes, of naming trees in the grove after distinguished

visitors. The largest tree in the grove, an enormous white oak,

was originally christened "Old Betsy," in honor of the old six-

pounder used by Croghan in the defense of Fort Stephenson,

and later presented by Congress to be placed on the site of the

old fort which was then usually called Sandusky. This gun had

been stored in the arsenal at Allegheny, but had been recognized

by certain marks and shipped by water till landed at the town

on the lake called Sandusky City, where it was promptly buried

in the sand, in the hope that at some future day the honors and

glories gained in the defense of Fort Stephenson at Lower San-

dusky (which name had been changed to Fremont in 1849)

could be claimed by this newer town. A noted character, Thomas

L. Hawkins, had recognized the gun, and the then mayor of

Fremont, Brice J. Bartlett, organized an expedition of men and

teams which marched over to the lake shore where "Old Betsy"

was disinterred and brought home in triumph to Fort Stephen-

son. On the fourth of July following, 1852, a mammoth

jollification was held in Spiegel Grove under the large oak di-

rectly in front of the future Hayes residence. This was called

the "Old Betsy" Tree until rechristened the Warren G. Harding

Oak at a later celebration on the 4th of October, 1920, when a

bronze tablet erected by Colonel Webb C. Hayes in memory of

his comrades of Sandusky County in the War with Spain and

in the World War was unveiled bv his wife, Mary Miller Hayes.

The dedicatory exercises included an address by Senator War-

ren G. Harding, the Republican candidate for President of the

United States.









             HAYES CENTENARY CELEBRATION          367



  At the celebrations in Spiegel Grove during the lifetime of

President Hayes, many trees were named after distinguished

visitors and christened by the laying on of hands.        At  the

first reunion of his regiment, in 1877, trees named in honor

of General Philip H. Sheridan, the battle general of the War

for  the  Union;  the great  stratgist  Major-General  William

S. Rosecrans, the first colonel of the Twenty-third Ohio; Briga-

dier-General E. P. Scammon, the second colonel of the Twenty-

third Ohio, of which General Hayes was the third colonel; and

General James M. Comly, the fourth colonel of the Twenty-third

Ohio; and Associate Justice Stanley Matthews, first lieutenant-

colonel of the Twenty-third Ohio, were all duly christened at the

banquet given under the famous oaks, which have since been

called the Reunion Oaks.  Oak trees were also named in honor

of Major-General George Crook, the famous hunter and Indian

fighter of the U. S. Army; and of Chief Justice Morrison R.

Waite, a resident of Ohio; and subsequently trees were named

in honor of General William Tecumseh Sherman and of Pres-

ident James A. Garfield. At the funeral of President Hayes, who

died on the 17th of January, 1893, the most distinguished visitors

were ex-President Grover Cleveland, now again President elect,

who made the long journey in the midst of winter from Lakewood

to Spiegel Grove to signify his friendship and high regard for

President Hayes; and Governor William McKinley of Ohio, who

four years later was inaugurated President of the United States,

the second member of the famous Twenty-third Ohio to hold the

exalted office of President of the United States. When the Presi-

dential carriage used in Washington during the Hayes and short

Garfield Administrations and in which all the Presidents of the

United States from Grant to McKinley had ridden, as well as all

the leading generals of the Union army and other distinguished

persons, was driven up to the porch to receive President Cleveland,

the horses, startled at the blare of trumpets and the waving plums

and brilliant capes of the soldiers, plunged forward, almost run-

ning into a large hickory tree against which President Cleveland

placed his hand to save himself from falling; whereupon it was

intimated to him that there was great propriety in naming this









368          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



rugged shagbark hickory, the tree emblem of Democracy, in

honor of the great Democrat.

  Four years later the Twenty-third Ohio Regiment again held its

reunion in Spiegel Grove, at which time President McKinley,

Secretary of War Alger, and Senator Hanna of Ohio were the

leading guests in attendance at the reunion, preceded as it was

by the wedding of Miss Fanny, the only daughter of President

Hayes. A large circular platform had been erected around a

group of five or six oak trees which were very appropriately

named the McKinley Oaks of 1897.

  At another reunion of the Twenty-third Regiment, held on the

porch of Spiegel Grove in 1906, Rear-Admiral Charles E.

Clark, U. S. N., a frequent visitor of Colonel Webb C. Hayes

since their joint service in the military and naval campaigns of

Santiago de Cuba in 1898, during the War with Spain, made

one of his inimitable addresses, after which he chose for his tree

a beautiful oak southeast of the house; as later did also Lieu-

tenant-General S. B. M. Young, on whose staff Colonel Hayes

served in Cuba and the Philippines, in the latter campaign win-

ning the much coveted Congressional Medal of Honor.

  Subsequently the William H. Taft Oak was named on the

occasion of Mr. Taft's visit to Spiegel Grove in 1908.  In com-

pany with Judge Taft was Lieutenant-General Henry C. Corbin,

Adjutant-General of the Army during the War with Spain, for

whom also an oak was named.

  A  large, fine black oak was named in honor of Newton D.

Baker, the distinguished American Secretary of War, during the

entire period of the World War, who  represented President

Wilson at the dedication of the Hayes Memorial Building, May

30, 1916. Later, oaks were named in honor of two comrades of

Colonel Hayes, in the wars with Spain, the Philippines, and China,

as well as in the World War: Major-General Joseph T. Dick-

man, of Ohio, the most successful American officer through the

World War; and Major-General Robert L. Howze, appointed in

1925 to command the Fifth Corps area, with headquarters at

Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio.

  Spiegel Grove was deeded to the State of Ohio for a state









             HAYES CENTENARY CELEBRATION          369



park in three deeds in 1909 and 1910, by Colonel Hayes, as a

memorial to his parents, with the single proviso that it should

be maintained as a state park in which the old Sandusky-Scioto

Trail from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, connecting the St.

Lawrence and the Great Lakes with the Ohio and Mississippi,

later known as the Harrison Trail of the War of 1812, should be

preserved and maintained as a park drive for the half mile from

its northern entrance at the Croghan Gateway to its southern

entrance at the Harrison Gateway; and that the trees in the

grove should be marked with their common and scientific

names, to make them instructive and interesting to visitors. Sub-

sequently the residence and all the personal effects, library,

Americana, historical papers and collections of both Rutherford

B. Hayes and his son, Colonel Webb C. Hayes, were tendered

to the State conditional only on the library and collections being

preserved in a fire-proof building north of the residence. The

State of Ohio and Colonel Hayes jointly erected and equipped

what is known as the Hayes Memorial at an expense of about

one hundred thousand dollors.  A  few years later came  the

dedication of the library and museum annex, more than doubling

the size of the museum, and with a stackroom library capacity

sufficient to hold a quarter of a million volumes, which Colonel

Hayes erected to complete his memorial to his father and mother.

In this beautiful addition the plans call for the practical duplica-

tion of the library room of Dr. Charles Richard Williams, the

author of the "Life" of President Hayes and the editor of the

"Sixty Years of Diaries and Letters."  It will be known as the

Charles Richard Williams Library and Reading-room, and Dr.

Williams has announced his intention of presenting to it his own

magnificent library. Curiously enough, Dr. Williams's library

at Princeton was the room occupied and used by President

Wilson from the time of his resignation as president of Princeton

University, during his term as Governor of New Jersey and until

his inauguration as President of the United States; while the

house itself was erected on land formerly owned by President

Grover Cleveland after his retirement to Princeton.

  At the dedication of the Library Annex, Dr. Williams made

    24









370          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



the address on behalf of the Society, prior to which one of the

fine white oaks nearest to his library and reading-room was

named in his honor; as were also oaks in honor of ex-Governor

James E. Campbell, the President of the Ohio Archaeological and

Historical Society; and of Major-General Joseph T. Dickman, a

native Buckeye, who had served with Colonel Hayes in Cuba,

the Philippines, China, and in the World War.  General Dick-

man, the foremost American soldier in the World War, took over-

seas the Third American Division of Regulars, which he com-

manded at Chateau Thierry, and until promoted to the command

of the Fourth American Corps, the First American Corps and the

Third American Army, which latter he led to the Rhine as the

Army of Occupation in Germany.  Major-General Dickman was

especially deputed to represent President Warren G. Harding at

the centenary celebration of the birth of Rutherford B. Hayes.

  The parade formed at Fort Stephenson under Grand Marshal

John R. McQuigg, with his chief of staff, Colonel M. C. Cox,

and aides, representing the military organizations, and his per-

sonal escort, Troop A of Ohio, now Troop A  107th Cavalry.  The

troop were splendid in their Hussar uniforms  and  bearskin

busbies, which they had not worn since their attendance as the

personal escort of President-elect Taft, on March 4, 1909. Since

that time they had appeared only in the olive-drab service uni-

form of the army, notably at the great flood in Fremont in 1913,

when dismounted, they served the city so efficiently, using the

basement of the First Presbyterian church for sleeping quarters;

followed by their service on the Mexican border in 1916-17, and

with America's participation in the World War of 1917 as a

regiment of artillery in France and Belgium.

  The parade marched from Fort Stephenson east past the city

hall to Arch Street, thence to State, headed by two automobiles

bearing Mayor Wm. H. Schwartz, Service Director E. H. Rus-

sell, and President of Council J. Bell Smith, in one; and County

Commissioners Clarke, Ritzman, and Rogers, with Surveyor Wis-

mer, in the other; two motorcycle policemen and a platoon of

Boy Scouts of America leading the line of march.

  Colonel Frank Halstead commanded the first division, com-









             CENTENARY PARADE          371



posed of the Eleventh U. S. Infantry and the Toledo Battery of

the Ohio National Guard, all fully equipped and armed for active

field service. They formed on Arch street south of Fort Stephen-

son.

  The second division consisting of the United Spanish War

Veterans of Ohio and the Department of Ohio American Leg-

ion, with Commander Albert D. Alcorn of the Spanish War

Veterans in command, formed on Croghan Street west of Fort

Stephenson; while the third division, under Commander G. M.

Saltzgaber, of the Department of Ohio Grand Army of the Re-

public, with G. A. R. Post in automobiles,  formed  on  High

Street north of Fort Stephenson.

  The fourth division of floats, accompanied by members of

the local fraternal organizations  under  command  of  Marshal

Frank Ging, formed on State Street right resting on Arch.

The Eleventh U. S. Infantry Band marched at the head of the

military, or first division; the Light Guard Band of Fremont at

the head of the Spanish War and World War Veterans, or the

Second Division; the Modern Woodmen's Band in their spotless

white uniforms headed the third, or Grand Army division; and

the youthful High School Band, in their purple and white capes,

marched at the head of the large delegation of Elks who por-

trayed on a mammoth float a scene of Betsy Ross making the

first American flag.

  The line of march was profusely  decorated,  State  Street,

Front Street, Birchard and Buckland Avenues to the Croghan

Gateway of the Spiegel Grove State Park, where over one hun-

dred Campfire Girls and Girl Scouts joined the procession and

marched with it over the old Sandusky-Scioto Trail, under the

great trees of the grove, past the little lakes and the knoll

where, standing guard over the granite monument in which are

encased the remains of their beloved Commander and his wife,

stood the few survivors of the gallant old Twenty-third O. V. V.

I., the regiment of Hayes and McKinley. The veterans had lov-

ingly draped their regimental flag over the monument.  The parade

continued along the brow of the hill to where the Trail descends

through the Harrison Gateway to the old French and Indian









372          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



spring, where it halted.  Meanwhile the Campfire Girls and Girl

Scouts, passing through the Cleveland Gateway to the McKinley

Memorial  Parkway,  stationed  themselves, each at a buckeye

tree memorializing the Sandusky County heroes who  gave their

lives in the service of their country in the War with Spain and

in the World War.  At a trumpet signal, blown from the top of

the Overseas Soldiers' Memorial Sunroom of the Memorial Hos-

pital of Sandusky County, each girl knelt and draped a me-

morial tree while taps was sounded on the trumpet.  Immedi-

ately thereafter General McQuigg, at the head of the proces-

sion, started up the Memorial Parkway to its intersection with

the McKinley Memorial Parkway, where the reviewing stand

was erected.

  Here were gathered Major-General Joseph T. Dickman, U.

S. A., of Ohio, the most successful American  general in the

World War, and the special representative at the Centenary of

President Warren G. Harding; Major-General Clarence R. Ed-

wards, a native of Cleveland, who commanded overseas the fa-

mous Twenty-sixth or Yankee Division, through the World War;

former Governor James E. Campbell, president of the Ohio State

Archaeological and Historical Society, who wore the uniform of

a comrade of the G. A. R.; members of the Hayes family, and

trustees and officers of the society.

  After passing in review, the procession turned sharply to the

right, countermarched on passing the Cleveland Gateway, thence

north through the Parkway to Hayes Avenue, east past the Me-

morial Gateway to the heroes of the War with Spain and the

World War, and was dismissed.

   Battery A of Toledo, after passing the reviewing stand, gal-

loped into position and fired the national salute of twenty-one

guns.

   Marshal Ging's floats division, as well as the Grand Army

division in automombiles, on arriving at the Croghan Gateway

into Spiegel Grove, continued out Hayes Avenue to the north-

ern entrance of the Parkway and thence south to the reviewing

stand where they witnessed the passing of the military and sol-

dier division before themselves passing in review  before  the









             DEDICATION OF MEMORIAL PARKWAY          373



Grand Stand; thence past the Cleveland Gateway into the Mc-

Kinley Memorial Parkway, and past the Memorial Gateway,

where they too were dismissed.

  The dedication of the Soldiers' Memorial Parkway took place

as the procession passed through the parkway and the Memorial

Gates were dedicated at the conclusion of the parade.

  The Soldiers' Memorial Parkway of Sandusky County, con-

ceived by Colonel Hayes and tendered to the county in a cable-

gram from France on the day following the signing of the armis-

tice, was laid out in the form of a cross through property pre-

sented by him to the Society.  This parkway, constructed jointly

by the Society and the Commissioners of Sandusky County, con-

sists of a strip one hundred feet wide in which two rows of

buckeye trees (the insignia of the Thirty-seventh or Ohio Divi-

sion) have been planted. To each tree is attached a memorial

containing the name, organization, place and date of death of the

soldiers of Sandusky County who gave their lives in the World

War.

  The transept of the cross is the McKinley Memorial Park-

way, extending from the McKinley Circle to the Cleveland Gate-

way into Spiegel Grove State Park, on which the memorial trees

in honor of the dead of the campaigns of the War with Spain,

during President McKinley's Administration, have been planted.

  Croghan Gateway was the first of the five memorial gateways

leading into Spiegel Grove to be dedicated, and this was done

amid a beautiful and inspiring ceremonial.  Grouped at the en-

trance were fuly a hundred Campfire Girls, white-clad, each

bearing a flag. These fell in line with the Boy Scouts who headed

the procession and then took position on the Hayes Avenue side

of the entrance.  Lined up on this same side was the magnifi-

cent Black Horse Cavalry, Troop A, all but three overseas soldiers

in the World War.  Horse and man stood like one, veritably

moulded together, and this wonderful exhibition won the admira-

of all the spectators.  Meanwhile, the officers of the Eleventh

U. S. Infantry, on horseback, took position on the mound directly

in front of the entrance, while Colonel Frank Halstead, U. S.

Infantry, drew aside the flags covering the tablet in honor of his









374          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



fellow officer of the regular army, Major George Croghan, U. S.

Infantry. The grand marshal of the parade, Brigadier-General

John R. McQuigg, O. N. G., late of the Thirty-seventh Division

Seventeenth A. E. F., surrounded by his staff, drew aside the

flags which draped the pink Westerly granite tablet in honor of

the old Sandusky-Scioto Trail, later known as the Harrison Trail

of the War of 1812.

  The tablet on the Cleveland Gateway was unveiled by former

Governor James E. Campbell, President of the Ohio Archaeologi-

cal and Historical Society.

  The gateways into the Spiegel Grove State Park are six in

number, two for pedestrians only, and each of the gate posts has

either an historic or a memorial tablet. The War Department, a

decade ago, when it learned of the proposed memorial gateways

in honor of Major-General William Henry Harrison of the War

of 1812 and Major-General James B. McPherson of the War for

the Union, gladly presented four huge, 10-inch Rodman cannon,

topped by fifteen-inch balls, to stand as gateposts.  President

Harding, on learning of the intention to add split-boulder gate-

ways with memorial tablets, in honor of the soldiers of Sandusky

County who served in the other wars of our country, and of the

desire to secure historic iron gates for each of the entrances, ten-

dered the five double gates on West Executive Avenue, adjoining

the White House, which being a menace to public safety, were to

be removed.

  The parade was over a little before noon. Immediately there-

after the speakers and distinguished guests, to the number of

over one hundred, were entertained at luncheon in the residence

at Spiegel Grove. At the same time on the first floor of the Li-

brary Annex the officers of the Eleventh Infantry and Toledo

Battery, and the band of the Eleventh Infantry, together with all

the survivors of the famous old Twenty-third O. V. I., and their

families, were specially served by the daughter, daughters-in-law,

and granddaughter-in-law of their old commander and his wife,

General and Mrs. Hayes. Here, too, luncheon was served to

Troop A, which had been the personal escort of President Hayes

at Washington, on his return to Ohio, and at his funeral. Colo-









             DEDICATION OF MEMORIAL GATEWAYS          375



nel Webb C. Hayes had been a member, active or veteran, of

this Troop for over forty-one years.  Colonel Halstead of the

Eleventh Infantry, Captain Perkins of Troop A, Major-General

Edwards, and Grand Marshal McQuigg, made addresses between

the songs, at the impromptu meeting of which Colonel Hayes was

the master of ceremonies.

  Promptly at I :30 P. M., after a patriotic number by the Elev-

enth Infantry Band, ex-Governor James E. Campbell, President

of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, called

the assembly to order, and the Rev. Dr. William F. Peirce, Presi-

dent of Kenyon College, in academic robe, delivered the invo-

cation.

  President Campbell then introduced the Hon. William  H.

Schwartz, Mayor of Fremont, who on account of the length of

the program welcomed the guests in the first eight words of his

prepared address, which was as follows:

  Mr. President, Ladies and Gentleman:  You are welcome!

  Members of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical So-

ciety through whose efforts we are honored today by this cele-

bration commemorating the one-hundredth anniversary  of the

birth of Rutherford B. Hayes, nineteenth President of the United

States, Fremont bids you welcome.

  To all you honorable gentlemen, representatives of this great

Nation and State, who honor us by your presence at this celebra-

tion in honor of one of America's greatest statesmen, we bid

you welcome.

  To you soldiers of the Civil War, who fought with him whom

we honor today, we assure you that we are proud to have you

with us today; to you soldiers of the World War and the War

with Spain, who have brought honor to your flag and country

by your brave and heroic deeds across the sea; to the military

organizations that participate in this celebration in honor of a

great soldier and statesman, we bid each and all a hearty wel-

come.

  Let us not be unmindful of the wonderful things that have

come to our fair city by having had Rutherford B. Hayes as a

citizen. Let us not forget to give credit and honor to our citi-









376          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



zens, Colonel and Mrs. Webb C. Hayes, who conceived and were

instrumental in having built the finest Soldiers' Memorial Park-

way in the world.

  In closing I again thank all of you who have helped to make

this celebration a success. The keys of the city are yours, use

them to unlock its many treasure-houses.

  President Campbell then paid a brief but glowing tribute to

President Hayes, with whom he was personally acquainted and

whom he highly regarded. He also spoke in feeling praise of

Colonel Webb C. Hayes for his deep filial affection, especially as

shown in making possible the creation of the beautiful memorial

to his parents here in Spiegel Grove. Because of the length of the

program he excused himself from extended remarks and referred

his hearers to the address that he delivered here October 4, 1920,

on the ninety-eighth anniversary of the birth of President Hayes.

Whereupon he read the following letter from President Warren

G. Harding:



                   THE WHITE HOUSE

                           WASHINGTON, September 30, 1922.

MY DEAR GOVERNOR CAMPBELL:

  I have delayed answering your appealing invitation to come

to Spiegel Grove on October fourth for the dedication of the

Hayes Memorial Library Addition, the Memorial Gateways of

the Spiegel Grove State Park, and the Soldiers' Memorial Park-

way. It being now apparent that I cannot indulge myself in the

satisfaction of personal attendance, and participate in your tribute

to President Hayes on the centenary anniversary of his birth, I

desire to at least express some sentiments which this occasion

inspires.

  Perhaps I owe to my Ohio nativity and my neighborship with

the Hayes family the fact that from young manhood I have main-

tained a particular interest in the career of President Hayes and

the period preceding and including his term as President. At

any rate, I have always considered that he was by intellect, by

moral and temperamental qualities peculiarly fitted for the difficult

task of administration which confronted him as Chief Executive.









             PRESIDENT HARDING'S EULOGY          377



  It is difficult sometimes to understand  the inspirations or

hindrances to the full appraisal of a great public service. There

are the prejudices of the hour, the cross currents in our politics,

the embittered conflicts of policy. Surrounded though he was by

these things, President Hayes was yet above them, and the de-

liberate students of history will rate him one of the great Presi-

dents of the Republic.

  I suspect that some of my early examinations into the facts,

as contrasted with the prejudices, regarding the Hayes Adminis-

tration, were largely responsible for a theory that our estimates

of American public men have often been distorted by partisan-

ship and prejudice. I strongly feel that more study of the men

and events of our national history would lead us to sounder judg-

ments concerning them, and better understanding of the pro-

cedures by which, under our institutions, the highest aims may

be attained.

  It has always been a matter of interest to me that President

Lincoln, the leader in saving the nation; President Grant, the

great soldier of the cause; and President Hayes, under whom

the national reconstruction was brought to so gratifying a con-

clusion, all made visits to the South as young men, and all were

greatly influenced by their observations of the institution of

slavery and its effect on general conditions.     I think General

Grant's story of his Southern experiences before and during the

Mexican War is much more familiar than is that of General

Hayes;  but both are charming  narratives.       That  of General

Hayes is particularly illuminating because it can be read in the

diary which he kept, and which, like a few other journals of

eminent Americans, has been the source of so much valuable

contribution to history.

  To me, the study of the developing character of this man who

was building his way toward leadership of the Nation, has been

intensely interesting. It is certainly suggestive that in the diary

of his early experiences as a young lawyer in Cincinnati, he

should have written down at considerable length and with the

utmost care, the record of conversations with many men whom he

regarded highly. In some of these entries, he tells of his con-









378          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



versation with Ralph Waldo Emerson, faithfully setting down

Emerson's story of experiences while visiting England, and his

estimates of such men as Carlyle, Macaulay, Disraeli, and many

others.

  Enlisting in the Union army at the beginning of the war, the

young Cincinnati attorney rose rapidly by gallantry and merit

to a brevet major-generalship.  I have read somewhere that al-

though twelve of the Presidents of the United States had served

in its armed forces, Monroe and Hayes were the only two to be

wounded in battle.

  The development of political events, following the war, which

brought General Hayes to the governorship of Ohio and thence

to the Presidency, is far better known than his earlier career.

Better understood, also, I venture, than the great affairs which

made up his career as Chief Magistrate.  Excepting only Lincoln,

I think it may be said that no President came to the duties of

his high office under more difficult conditions than those which

confronted Mr. Hayes.  The bitter fight for the Republican nomi-

nation, the still more bitter contest which was necessary before

the result of the election was determined, and the fact that at no

time during his Presidential service were both houses of Congress

controlled by his political party, made his position as President

uniquely difficult. Regarded by Democrats as the beneficiary

of corruption, and by many Republican leaders as an interloper

in orthodox political company, he clearly realized his difficult

position from the beginning and went straight ahead with a

simple aim of doing what he believed right and best, trusting to

the sound sense of the public to support him, even if the poli-

ticians were not disposed so to do.  I think the fine, tranquil

courage which he displayed in the steady pursuit of this policy

marks him as an Executive most fortunately equipped for the

needs of his time.

  Looking back from our present point of observation, there

is little disagreement as to his wisdom in withdrawing federal

troops from those Southern States where they were still employed

to maintain nominal governments which did not represent the

communities. Like most thinking men who had taken actual









             PRESIDENT HARDING'S EULOGY          379



part in the great conflict, President Hayes had little hatred for

the men who had been such gallant antagonists. His hope and

wish was all for the restoration of national unity on the basis

of confidence and understanding. He believed that the attempt

to enforce hard and unnatural conditions upon  the vanquished

could not possibly advantage either section; and one who recog-

nizes the parallel between the problem of our national recon-

struction then, and the problem of a world's reconstruction with

which our generation is called to deal, cannot but feel that a

thoughtful consideration of the Hayes policy would be of vast

benefit in the world today. If it be assumed that wars are in-

evitable so long as humankind continues as it is, it must also

be accepted that periods of peace are inevitable; and the hatreds

and bitterness of war ought not to be carried over and perpetu-

ated in the epochs of peace. This was the basis of the Hayes

philosophy, and its results certainly commend it to earnest pres-

ent-day consideration.

  There is another page from the history of the Hayes Admin-

istration which I wish might be read and pondered in these times.

I refer to the resumption of specie payments. The law looking

to resumption had been passed before Mr. Hayes became Presi-

dent; but after its passage there developed a powerful opposi-

tion. The country was full of antagonism to a "hard money"

program; of conviction that the early resumption of gold pay-

ments would have disastrous effect. Mr. Hayes had taken his

stand firmly in favor of the execution of this law, and opposed

all proposals for its repeal or modification. We get a vision of

both his courage and statesmanship, when we recall his attitude

toward the Bland Silver-Purchase Act.  In the face of his oppo-

sition as voiced in a message to Congress, the bill passed by such

large majorities in both houses that it was quite apparent a veto

would be overridden. Nevertheless he did veto it, despite that

it had been supported by a majority of the members of both

parties. There were strong reasons in favor of the President

swallowing his scruples and signing the measure.  Even so un-

compromising a supporter of sound money and the public credit

as Secretary Sherman opposed the veto. It is only fair to refer









380          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



to Mr. Sherman's attitude, because there has been disposition to

give him an undue share of credit for the sound fiscal and money

policies of the Hayes Administration. In his "Recollections" Sena-

tor Sherman says:--"In view of the strong public sentiment

in favor of the free coinage of the silver dollar, I thought it

better to make no objections to the passage of the bill, but I

(lid not care to antagonize the wishes of the President.  He

honestly believed that it would greatly disturb the public credit

to make a legal tender for all amounts of a dollar, the bullion

in which was not in equal value to the gold dollar." The truth

is that President Hayes, in his determination to veto the measure,

was a lonesome figure; then and for a long time afterward.

Yet today I think we would find an overwhelming opinion that

the President was right, that the legislation was unfortunate,

and that a large part of the financial ills of the succeeding gen-

eration would have been avoided if the veto had been sustained.

Once more, I am impressed that a thorough  understanding and

fair appraisal of the Hayes fiscal and money policy would be of

value to students of the economic problems of this hour. In-

flation has been carried in many countries to extremes seldom

reached in any of the recurring periods of financial excess that

have marked modern history. I feel that the unalterable com-

mitment of President Hayes to moderation in expenditure and

rigid maintenance of the monetary basis marked the beginning

of the long struggle for financial faith and sound money, which

has brought the American nation to the proud position it now

holds.  Contemplating the American  dollar as the recognized

standard of a world, we will indulge no error if we give to

Rutherford B. Hayes the first share of credit for putting us on

the path that has led us to this high estate.

  His veto, in the closing days of his Administration, of the Re-

funding Bill, on the ground that it contained provisions which

would surely bring disaster to the national banking system, was

a most important contribution to maintain the system which has

since been developed into a banking establishment that is one of

the potent guarantees of economic stability and financial security.

  I hope that if in thus recalling some few of President Hayes's









             ADDRESS OF DR. WILLIAMS          381



many notable contributions to wise administration, I have in-

truded upon your patience, I may excuse myself on the ground

that on this centenary occasion I have sincerely wanted to pay

tribute to one who has not had the fullest measure of recognition.

I know, in view of what I have said, that you will give me credit

for utmost sincerity when I repeat my keen regret that it has

not been possible for me to be with you in person and join in

the testimony to the memory of a great, courageous, and particu-

larly unselfish American.

                     Most sincerely yours,

                                       WARREN G. HARDING.

HON. JAMES E. CAMPBELL, PRESIDENT,

    The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society,

           Columbus, Ohio.



  Dr. Charles Richard Williams, of Princeton, New Jersey, the

author of the two-volume "Life" of Rutherford B. Hayes and edi-

tor of the sixty years of "Diary and Letters," to which he has

devoted his time since completing the "Life," so that the combined

publication of a Hayes Series of seven volumes could be issued

under the name of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical

Society, thereupon delivered the following eloquent address:

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:

  In the little village of Delaware, one hundred years ago, in a

modest home, of parents undistinguished by wealth or fame but

of clean and wholesome quality, Rutherford Birchard Hayes

was born. There was nothing at the time --unless in the secret

recesses of the widowed mother's heart, jubilant that a man-child

was born - to give one the faintest adumbration of the greatness

of character and achievement Fate had in store for him.

  A hundred years ago! Can you think back to the conditions

of that day? James Monroe was President--the fifth in the

line. The battle of Yorktown was nearer by almost twenty years

than Appomattox is to us. Men that fought with Washington,

and helped to frame the Constitution and establish the Republic,

were living and active in affairs. The Government was still an









382          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



experiment- the world expecting its speedy collapse, even its

most ardent friends doubtful of its enduring success. The steam-

boat was a novelty; agriculture pursued primitive methods;

chemistry and the cognate sciences were feeling their slow way

in the early stages of development; medicine and the knowledge

of disease had made slight progress beyond the attainment of

Galen. The railway, the telegraph, the telephone, all the uses of

electricity, and a hundred other things, which are now common-

places, that add so much to our daily comfort and pleasure, that

broaden our intellectual horizon to embrace the world, were yet

to come. Surely no century in the history of the human race

since our first parents,

              "hand in hand with wandering steps and slow,

            Through Eden took their solitary way,"

has seen so great advancement in all the arts and sciences by

which life is enriched and made easier and more interesting, or

has won such access of power in discovering and utilizing the

hidden forces of nature.  Hard, indeed, to think back to the

narrower mode of life of pioneer days in Ohio, in the first quar-

ter of the nineteenth century, into which Hayes was born.

  But, however great the changes in the externals of existence,

men remain the same in spiritual and moral life--subject to the

same emotions, swayed by the same motives, fired by like ambi-

tions. So, we can understand the men of the past, can enter into

their lives and thoughts, can sympathize with their defeats or joy

in their triumphs as easily and fully as if they abode among us

now.

  And it is good for us to dwell on the life of such a man as

Rutherford B. Hayes. It was so clean a life, so wholesome, so

noble; it was so normal, in every stage of his growth, and in

every phase of his private activity and of his public career. "The

chief aim of life," in his opinion, "is to become better, to get

character." Whatever he did or said in professional endeavor,

on the field of battle, or at the helm of State, you feel the man-

the character--behind it all. Many eulogists, at the time of his









             ADDRESS OF DR. WILLIAMS          383



death, applied to him the significant words written by Tennyson

of the great Duke:

                  "Rich in saving common-sense,

                   And, as the greatest only are,

                   In his simplicity, sublime."



  No characterization of Hayes could be more appropriate;

none  could  better  define  his  dominant  qualities.  Curiously

enough, before he was nineteen, Hayes himself became conscious,

as he records in his diary, that he was "possessed of a good share

of common sense, by which [he adds] is meant a sound practical

judgment of what is correct in the common affairs of life."  And

he impressed his companions with this quality. A fellow student

at Kenyon, Stanley Matthews, wrote:         "Hayes  was  notorious

for having on his shoulders, not only the levelest, but the oldest

head in college." Search his life through; you shall find that

common sense, sound practical judgment, prevailed with him and

determined his conduct in every critical period of his career. He

was never carried off his feet by any popular craze, however

insinuating and plausible its appeal. He could not be led away

by Know-nothingism, which seduced so large a portion of the

Whig party; he saw the futility of attempts at compromise and

bargaining with the slave barons after the banner of secession

had been unfurled; he never made a fetish of high protectionism;

he was quick to perceive the fatuousness of the Liberal Repub-

lican movement in 1872, with its fantastic nomination of Horace

Greeley.  He could see the virtues as well as the faults of Gen-

eral Grant's Administration and appraise them  justly.  He  re-

fused to shut his eyes to the excesses of Republican misrule  in

the South, and had the strength and courage to defy party tradi-

tion by reversing the policy long pursued and passionately de-

fended.  He stood like a rock against every effort-though at

times by party friends-to relax the financial obligation of the

Government, or to debase our money standard by greenback in-

flation or cheapened silver. He recognized the evil and peril of

the spoils system, and made the first serious and sincere execu-

tive effort to create the merit system. He never believed, nor









384          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



professed to believe, that all political virtue was lodged in the

party of his choice. Personal feeling and partisan bias could

not blind his judgment to the force of opposing public opinion.

He was fair to Arthur; he was prompt to acknowledge the high

patriotism and imperious sense of right displayed by Cleveland.

   No President, at least up to his time, was ever subjected to

such malignity of misrepresentation and unmerited censure. Per-

sistent obloquy and detraction, of a variety and ingenuity which

could be inspired and invented only by insane hatred, pursued

him into the retirement of private life-filled to the full with

unselfish  philanthropic  activities.  To  lies, however  base,  to

calumnies, however malevolent, he made no answer.          He disre-

garded them with silent and amused contempt. He felt con-

fident that in the calm judgment of history-when "the loud

vociferations" of the time had been stilled-he would come into

his own. Already, in his later years- to his great joy and satis-

faction -due recognition began to be accorded to him by the

better public opinion of the day.  And steadily-as the passions

of his time have become a memory-this  recognition  of his

character and of the very great and important services he ren-

dered to the nation, under most difficult conditions, and in a most

critical period, wisely, farsightedly, patriotically, has become

clearer, stronger, and more general.  Indeed, he is among the

few Chief Magistrates whose fame has constantly increased and

grown more assured with every passing year. The worth of his

achievements gains in appreciation and significance with every

fresh survey of his pure and purposeful Administration. His

appeal to the judgment of history has been heard. And History,

proudly and with benignant approbation, places on his brow a

wreath of deathless laurel.



                 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES

          (Born October 4, 1822-Died January 17, 1893.)

        Who best serves country serves his party best!

          So Hayes proclaimed, and so he lived his days:

          Serene and unbewildered, through the maze

        Of wrangling factions, onward straight he prest









             CHIEF JUSTICE TAFT'S TRIBUTE          385



        In steadfast effort, with unflagging zest,

          For Right and Truth, for nobler, gentler ways:

          Calm when approved, unruffled by dispraise,

        Obedient aye to duty's high behest!

        Maligned, misjudged, misprized - he made no plea;

          The rage of partisans he knew would pass;

            What he had wrought would stand imperishable;

        Time would correct perspective ! -True! Men see

          With vision cleared now all he did and was;

            And Fame enwreathes his brow with immortelle!



  After a number by the Eleventh Infantry Band, President

Campbell read the following letter from ex-President Wil-

liam H. Taft, Chief Justice of the United States:



           SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

                     WASHINGTON, D. C.

  HON. JAMES E. CAMPBELL, PRESIDENT,

    Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society,

         Columbus, Ohio.

  I knew President Hayes. He was a great friend of my wife's

father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Herron. Mr. Hayes

came into the Presidency under a very great burden, because

of the contest over the legality of his election. He conducted

his Administration with the aid of one of the ablest Cabinets

that was ever gathered together in the history of the country.

He devoted his entire attention to the efficient administraion

of the Government, and strengthened the civil service, and in

spite of the fact that his inauguration had aroused the indigna-

tion of many Democrats who thought he had been improperly

installed in the Presidency, he administered his office with such

satisfaction to the people that the Republican party was able

to elect his successor, President Garfield. His Administration

was not theatrical, and did not involve events that forced them-

selves into the history of the country as critical, unless it be

the resumption of specie payments, which came so quietly, in

spite of the prophecies of disaster, that it did not disturb the









386          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



financial situation, but laid the basis for the enormous conse-

quent prosperity of the next decade. His Administration, too,

marks the turning over to the Southern white people the con-

trol of politics in the Southern States, and the end of the racial

war in those States, so far as it was political. When President

Hayes retired he was not a candidate in the next convention,

and he retired into a dignified leisure, pursuing  his tastes for

study.  His Administration is a notable one in the history of the

country, and he is entitled to the credit of the substantial prog-

ress that was accomplished in it.

                            Sincerely yours,

                                             WM. H. TAFT.



  Major-General Joseph T. Dickman, U. S. Army, retired, a

native born Buckeye and by many considered the best and most

successful American general in the World War for which he

trained and later commanded the Third Division of Regulars

at Chateau Thierry, the Fourth Corps at St. Mihiel, the First

Corps in the Argonne; and, appointed to the command of the

Third American Army, he marched it to the Rhine, where at Co-

blenz he commanded the American Army of Occupation in Ger-

many; as the representative of the President of the United

States, delivered the following address:



Mr. Chairman, Fellow Citizens, Ladies and  Gentlemen:

  We are assembled on this solemn occasion to perform a duty,

which is at the same time a labor of love, namely, to honor the

memory of one of the most illustrious sons of our great State.

The setting as to time and place for this historic event could not

be more appropriate. This day is the hundreth anniversary of

the birth of the great citizen whose life is so inspiring to us,

and this scene is located in the most interesting region, his-

torically, in the United States in connection with the War of

1812. We need to mention only Perry's victory on Lake Erie,

the siege of Fort Meigs at Perrysburg, and the defense of Fort

Stephenson here in Fremont to call to mind the campaigns and

battles of over a century ago. The resistance made by Major









             GENERAL DICKMAN'S ADDRESS          387



George' Croghan and his band of one hundred and sixty heroes

against General Proctor's force of eight hundred British regulars,

reinforced by two thousand Indians under Tecumseh, was unique

in that it was almost the only success on land achieved by the

United States in the War of 1812, in which we raised four

hundred and fifty thousand troops.  The effect of Croghan's

victory was of the highest importance for it raised the spirit

of the American troops and gave them confidence in ultimate

victory. General William Tecumseh Sherman wrote to Presi-

dent Hayes on July 15, 1885:

  "The defense of Fort Stephenson by Croghan and his gallant

little band, was the necessary precursor to Perry's victory on

the Lake, and of General Harrison's triumphant victory at the

Battle of the Thames. These assured to our immediate ancestors

the mastery of the Great West, and from that day to this the

West has been the bulwark of this nation."

  When Rutherford B. Hayes first saw the light, but a score

of years had passed since Ohio joined the family of common-

wealths forming the American nation. The populous cities of this

State were then mere villages, and the primeval forests covered

the greater part of the land. The federal law for the public land

survey had not been enacted, and the memory of battles with the

savage tribes, by troops under Anthony Wayne and St. Clair,

was still fresh in the minds of the settlers.

  When the Civil War broke out, Mr. Hayes was nearly forty

years of age, a time of life when most men have settled down

and have established their families. Nevertheless, he immediately

offered his service in the great conflict then going on for the

preservation of the Union.  With an established law practice and

family ties, this action of Mr. Hayes sheds a strong light on the

sturdiness of his character and the quality of his patriotism. Mr.

Hayes was the ideal American volunteer, one of the class of men

of strong character and ardent patriotism who, coming out of

what then was considered the Great West, cast a decisive weight

into the scales of national conflict.

  Mr. Hayes's military service was of the highest order. He was









388          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



one of Sheridan's trusted commanders. Although at the time

only a colonel, he commanded a brigade and division in the Shen-

andoah campaign, and General Sheridan refused to accept any

and all general officers sent from Washington to replace him.

Grant wrote of him: "His conduct on the field of battle was

marked by conspicuous gallantry, as well as by the display of

qualities showing a higher order than that of mere personal

bravery." This might well have been expected of one who

could write at the time he did:  "An officer fit for duty who

at this crisis would abandon his post to electioneer for a seat in

Congress ought to be scalped."

  Having entered the army as major of volunteers at the be-

ginning of the war, Hayes attained by meritorious service the

grade of brigadier-general and brevet major-general of vol-

unteers.

  It is interesting to note that Hayes enlisted in the first Ohio

regiment organized "for three years or the war"; that he refused

a colonelcy at the beginning and accepted a majority because he

believed he was not fitted at that time for higher command; that

he refused all political appointments at a time when that evil was

at its worst; that most of his service was as colonel, his elevation

to the grade of brigadier-general and major-general by brevet,

being tardily awarded near the close of the war; that he was

wounded six times while leading his men in battle; and that he

lay wounded between two lines faint from the loss of blood.

Wounds received in battle are evidence which no man can gainsay

of presence in action and bravery in the presence of the enemy.

  A  simple resume  of the important battles in which General

Hayes bore a worthy part is more significant, impressive, and

eloquent than laudatory phrases:

  He commanded the regiment which led the attack and suc-

cessfully opened the Battle of South Mountain, in the Antietam

campaign, where he was severely wounded.

  He commanded the brigade which led the assault which car-

ried the works of the enemy in the fierce Battle of Cloyd's Moun-

tain, where General Jenkins was defeated and killed.

  He was in command of one of the two brigades which cov-









             GENERAL DICKMAN'S ADDRESS          389



ered the retreat that saved Crook's Army after his defeat at

Winchester.

  He commanded one of the two brigades selected by Sheridan

to lead in repeated attacks on Early's lines in the Shenandoah

Valley.

  His was one of the two brigades which fought at Berryville,

and by great gallantry saved the day.

  He was in command of the brigade which led the flank at-

tack which turned Early's left and defeated him in Sheridan's

great victory at Opequon; and it was while marching to secure

position to strike the enemy that Hayes performed one of the

most daring feats of the war, charging through an almost im-

passable morass upon a battery.

  He commanded the division of Crook's Army which led the

way in scaling North Mountain and striking on the left flank

made certain the victory of Fisher's Hill.

  He commanded one of the divisions which retained its or-

ganization and gained great distinction in the Battle of Cedar

Creek.

  This is a military record of which the descendants of Gen-

eral Hayes, natives of the States of Ohio, and indeed any true

American may well be proud. It was achieved in grades which

placed him in intimate contact with his men, whom he inspired

by his sterling qualities as a citizen and a soldier and by his

personal bravery, and at the same time exposed him  to all the

dangers of the humblest soldier in the ranks. The annals of the

Civil War record no case of an officer exhibiting greater devotion

to duty and more steadfast courage in the face of the enemy.

And if we scan the records of the Spanish-American war, the

Philippine Insurrection, the Relief Expedition in China, and the

greatest of all wars, which involved practically all the civilized

nations of the world a few years ago, and the echoes of which

have not entirely subsided to this day, we find no nobler example

of the true patriot and brave soldier than that typified by General

Hayes.

  In the huge armies of today, with the range of modern wea-

pons and the distance at which a large part of the battle is









390          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



fought, there is not the same opportunity in grades above com-

pany commander for personal leadership that existed in the cam-

paigns of the smaller forces of sixty years ago. In the World

War many of our officers and soldiers never saw  the enemy

during the battle in which they were engaged, while inflicting and

suffering tremendous losses in the use of the long-range fire of

artillery and small arms. The qualities displayed by General

Hayes are, however, still of the greatest importance in battle;

for courage under fire covers a greater multitude of shortcom-

ings in times of war than charity does in time of peace.

  As long as America has such leaders, she will be victorious

in any international conflict which may be forced upon her, pro-

vided sufficient forethought is exercised by the legislative branch

of the Government to place our men on an approximately equal

footing with the enemy in numbers, training, and equipment.

  It is perhaps not out of place to call attention to the teach-

ings of history and to issue a note of warning against being

swayed by sentiment rather than by cool reason; and against

making our wishes the fathers of our beliefs in international mat-

ters, thus running the risk of being placed in the predicament

of those zealots, who one week pass resolutions for the elim-

ination of our land and naval forces, and next week call on the

President to stop the massacres of Christians in the Near East.

What means do they expect the President to employ to restrain

the victorious forces of a people far removed from our standards

of justice and liberty?

  At the critical period of our history, when the country was

recovering from the wounds of the protracted Civil War, Presi-

dent Hayes by his calm, just, and dignified conduct of affairs com-

pleted the work of reconstruction and started the Nation in the

great strides towards progress and prosperity which have event-

ually made it the foremost among the nations of the earth.

  The leaders of the great conspiracy who for four years at-

tempted to disrupt our Nation could not defend their action by

frank confession that they were fighting to perpetuate the in-

stitution of human slavery which had been abolished by all the

civilized nations of the earth, but instead appealed to the doctrines









             GENERAL DICKMAN'S ADDRESS          391



of "the rights of the State." The hollowness of this pretext is

clearly shown by the fact that in the present generation, while

many of the participants of the great struggle are still living,

their descendants have repeatedly and eagerly surrended a large

part of the powers which they formerly contended were reserved

to the States, and have been foremost in the advocacy of amend-

ments to the Constitution to accomplish such purpose.

   General Hayes was  one of the soldiers whom  the American

people have entrusted with the highest office in their gift- a

position which now is the most influential in the government of

all the nations of the earth. It is a matter of pardonable pride

and profound satisfaction to realize that all of our Presidents

have been patriots and statesmen rather than mere politicians,

and that they have steadfastly performed their duties regardless

of the effect upon their personal fortunes. None of them was

more deserving of the word "patriot" than General Hayes.           At

the outbreak of the Civil War lie wrote: "I would prefer to

go into it, even if I knew I was to be killed in the course of the

war, than to live through and after it without taking part in it."

  Owing his election to the efforts of his political party, he

said in his inaugural address: "He serves his party best, who

serves his country best." Because he believed that a President

could serve his country best by serving only one term, without

thought of reelection, he not only announced that he would serve

only one term, but firmly refused to even consider a second four

years in the White House.  A  man  who placed duty to country

on such a high plane, and above all party and personal con-

siderations, certainly was a patriot.    We  can all be proud of

the fact that he first was a soldier; and it is not too much to ex-

press the conviction that his military service and experience in

times of great stress helped to develop in him that high concep-

tion of duty to country which was the grandest feature in his

character.

  The rectitude of his intentions and his firmness  of purpose

have never been doubted.  The  purity of his domestic relations

and the dignified poise of his character prevented the slightest

of those suspicions which unfortunately have marred the record

of some other Administrations.









392          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



  General Hayes gave us an example of such pure and lofty

patriotism that were he living today he would undoubtedly cast

all the weight of his influence in the direction of more thorough

Americanization of the youth of our land. That problem is not

so difficult as it looks. The natural tendency is toward homo-

geneity. If the boys and girls, of whatever foreign parentage,

are not interfered with, but are allowed to mingle freely with

their American contemporaries, they will readily learn the lan-

guage and customs of the country and be thoroughly American

before arriving at the age of maturity; but if they are exempted

from attendance at public schools and a large part of their in-

struction is conducted in a foreign language, we must expect

to see perpetuation of alien characteristics.

  In these days when crimes of violence against persons and

destruction of property appear to be on the increase; when mass

murders go unpunished; when classes of people receive special

exemption from compliance with provisions of law made for the

whole people; when organized minorities intimidate our legisla-

tive bodies and cause members to vote contrary to their own

convictions; when the economic life of the nation is menaced by

organized groups of foreigners under leaders of foreign birth;

when certain laws are freely violated by high officials of national,

state and local governments; when in fact we are threatened with

a great relaxation of public regard for all law; the life and char-

acter of Rutherford B. Hayes should serve as an inspiration to

those who carry on the fight against the shams, frivolities, and

hypocrisies of social and political life.  His career is a proud

heritage to the people of Ohio who will cherish his memory as

long as her brave sons and noble daughters control affairs of

state.

  In introducing Senator Atlee Pomerene, Governor Campbell

was most happy in his vein of optimism.

  I thought this was Hayes Centenary Day, but from the looks

of the faces on the platform, it must be Senatorial Day. We

have two United States Senators and a third who is willing to

become a member of the Senate if elected to the office. Senator

Pomerene has been an honest, faithful public servant of character









             SENATOR WILLIS'S ADDRESS          393



and ability about whom I could say other good things -but that

would be politics.

  Senator Pomerene's address, sustained the high reputation for

forceful oratory justly enjoyed by the senior Senator from Ohio,

who had been a frequent visitor at Spiegel Grove and knew of

the literary treasures which it contained.

  In referring to the patriotic attitude of Hayes at the outbreak

of the Civil War, he quoted:

  "I would rather be killed in the war than not have taken a

part in it," said Hayes to his friend and adviser, Stanley Mat-

thews, at the time of the crisis that tried men's souls. He was

commanding but modest and could "walk with kings, nor lose

the common touch."

  Senator Pomerene thought the two greatest outstanding acts

of the Hayes Administration were the removal of the federal

troops from the South and the resumption of specie payment. He

voiced the beautiful sentiment in McKinley's tribute to Hayes

following his death in 1893, by reading the proclamation issued

at that time.

  President Campbell then called upon the Hon. Frank B. Willis,

the junior United States Senator from Ohio, who delivered

the following address:

Mr. Chairman and Fellow Citizens:

  I cheerfully concur in all that has been said by the distin-

guished speakers who have preceded me in tribute to Ruther-

ford Birchard Hayes whose character and achievements we cele-

brate in the observance of this centennial day.

  I cannot claim, as can the veterans of the Civil War who

honor this occasion, your distinguished chairman, and others

present today, to have personally known President Hayes. I do

recall, however, that when a mere boy I went from home in

Delaware County to attend a great public meeting in Columbus.

The papers for some time had announced that President Hayes

and General Sherman would be among the distinguished guests

at that meeting. When I saw them I was somewhat disappointed.

In my boyish fancy Presidents and generals and other great men









394          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



had been of larger stature than their fellows.  I was like the

boy of inquiring mind who is represented in the McGuffey read-

ers as asking, "How big was Alexander, pa?"

  I expected to see the President and the great general loom

high above other men in physical stature, and so I was a little

disappointed at first to see that they were not taller than other

grown-up folks around them.  I esteemed it a great honor, how-

ever, to have had the rare privilege of seeing them.  I felt some

way or other that this opportunity had distinguished me.         I

could tell the other boys in our neighborhood that I had seen a

President of the United States.  In after years, however, as I

read the history of our country and the lives and administra-

tions of our Presidents, I learned to appreciate the patriotic

service and the moral grandeur of him whose name and memory

we honor today.  His fame increases with the passing years.

It is a significant fact that many of his contemporaries of both

of the great political parties who criticized certain of his exe-

cutive acts and policies, in after years reversed their hasty judg-

ments and joined those who accredited merited fame to this

worthy President and manly man.

  We of Ohio take especial pride in the career of this man who

has been properly accorded a prominent place among the jewels

of our State.  We take a just and peculiar pride in all our Presi-

dents, in Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, McKin-

ley, Taft, and Harding, all of whom were born in Ohio, and in

William  Henry Harrison, grand old Tippecanoe,  who  was  an

Ohioan by adoption, and in the early history of our State, in the

War of  1812, led his soldiers through these very grounds upon

which we have assembled today.

  Much has been said about eminent Ohioans. Virginia was

long the Mother of Presidents but that distinction is passing from

the Old Dominion to the Buckeye commonwealth.          Much has

been said in praise of our citizens who have acquired fame in

statesmanship and war and other fields.

  The ubiquity of the Ohioan is an inviting and inspiring theme.

He  is found everywhere.     Through  our  commonwealth  has

flowed the tide of migration which has peopled the States farther









             SENATOR WILLIS'S ADDRESS          395



west. I was impressed with this fact some years ago when in

company with friends I made a visit to the Pacific Coast. On

that delightful trip it was our pleasure to spend some time at

the Canyon of the Colorado. One day in company with two of

my uncles and a few other friends we visited that remarkable

gorge. It made us almost dizzy to look down to the depths

below. Some of our party proposed that we follow the road

down to the river's bank.  I at first declined but two of my

uncles insisted upon making the descent.      From our vantage

ground we watched them as they went down farther and farther

into the great canyon, and they went down and down diminish-

ing to our vision as they went. They went down until they

reached the river bank and those two old uncles looked like two

ants.  (Laughter.)  A little later I myself went down over the

same road and I discovered there some muleteers driving their

teams.  Some of them were using the language which is said to

be peculiarly adapted to the muleteer. Some say that it is en-

tirely excusable in persons serving in that capacity.  I believe

General Grant in commenting upon his experience in the Mexican

War made a remark to that effect. He said that while he did

not indulge in this language himself he considered it excusable

in those who drove mules. Well, those men down in the canyon

were using that language.  I met very pleasantly the chief mu-

leteer and in answer to a question he stood proudly up and de-

clared that he was from Lucas County, Ohio.  A  little later

we made the ascent of Pike's Peak. Away up there near the

summit, above the clouds, was an enterprising citizen who was

publishing a newspaper. After chatting with him a few minutes

I asked if Colorado was his native State. "No," said he, "I am

proud to say that I was born in the Buckeye State. I came to

Colorado some years ago from Tuscarawas County." The

Ohioan is widely distributed and in other States and lands and

in stations humble and exalted is reflecting credit upon the land

of his birth.

  It is worthy of mention in this connection that Rutherford

Birchard Hayes was thoroughly Ohioan. He was born in Ohio,

lived in Ohio his entire life with the exception of a very brief









396          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



period in his school days. All his public service was in and from

Ohio.

  His loyalty to Ohio is illustrated by an event which occurred

in the campaign of 1844 while he was a student in college. A

great parade had been organized in Boston in connection with a

Whig meeting to be addressed by some great national leaders.

As the parade passed along the streets young Hayes observed

there was no Ohio organization and no Ohio banner. Hastily

improvising a banner this young collegian drafted two of his

classmates and formed an Ohio delegation of them.  This was

augmented to hundreds before the parade reached Boston Com-

mon and the Ohio delegation became one of the largest, noisiest,

and most notable of the day.

  General Hayes, though a loyal Ohioan, felt his obligation to

the Nation was  first.  His devotion  to the Republic was by

straight line to Washington, not by a circuitous route through

the state capitol. He was a thoroughgoing nationalist; he would

never have surrendered his country's independence for inter-

nationalism.

  When he had concluded his term of office in the highest posi-

tion within the gift of his countrymen, he returned to his native

State and spent his remaining days in the comfortable home that

stands before us.  We are told that this is preserved as a typi-

cal residence of the latter half of  the nineteenth century.  It

may be typical of its class, but the extensive improvements that

have been made here suggest something more than this modest

designation. I am sure that those of you who have viewed the

beautiful grounds and the treasures within these buildings will

support me in the statement that this is more than typical, that

it is ideal in its appointments and historic suggestion.

  The citizens of Ohio owe a debt of gratitude to Colonel Webb

C. Hayes and his devoted wife for their self-abnegation in de-

voting their private fortunes and their lives to the perpetuation of

this historic shrine and its permanent dedication to the public

good. History affords no finer example of filial devotion, and

future generations will continue to learn lessons of history and









             SENATOR WILLIS'S ADDRESS          397



patriotism from contemplation of this benefaction by a devoted

son in fond memory of an illustrious father.

  I cordially agree with all that has been said this afternoon

in the way of tribute to President Hayes.  I was especially im-

pressed with the scholarly address  by  Dr. Williams,  by  the

tributes to Hayes as a soldier from Generals Dickman and Ed-

wards, by the appreciation of Hayes as a statesman expressed

in the eloquent address of my colleague, Senator Pomerene, by

the remarks of our distinguished chairman, Governor Campbell,

and the very appropriate letter that he read from  the Presi-

dent of the United States, Warren G. Harding.  I heartily in-

dorse all that has been said in praise of his service in the Civil

War, in the office of Governor of Ohio, of his Southern policy

as President of the United States, of his contribution to the

resumption of specie payments and the preservation of the finan-

cial honor of the Republic.  It would be difficult to add anything

to the words of generous appreciation to which we have listened.

  In private station, in public life, or on the battle-field, Ruther-

ford B. Hayes was a man of dauntless courage.  He was bold

enough to do the thing that he believed to be right even though

such action was not immediately popular.  He had the type of

courage so needful in this very hour. Most people know well

enough what they ought to do, but many have not the courage

to act.  Republics can live only when their citizens have the

vision to see the right and the courage to defend it. In a critical

hour, when suspicion was rife and accusations bitter, President

Hayes had the courage to say, "He serves his party best who

serves his country best."  His public service was an exemplifica-

tion of this principle. In private life and in public station, Gen-

eral Hayes always stood unflinchingly for obedience to the law

and maintenance of the Constitution. He fully understood that

if one man may select one law and break it because of personal

taste, then every other man has the same right and there is an

end to all laws. There is no middle ground; either this Re-

public will stand on the rock of constitutional government and

observe the law or it will sink in the hopeless morass of lawless-

ness.









398          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



   I may be permitted to add, I am sure, that in the residence

yonder was a home that may well be considered ideal in its

character, a model American home.

   By inheritance and early environment Hayes was peculiarly

fortunate. He was of worthy pioneer ancestry. The record of

his life that he has left us in written form extends back to his

early school days.  From the beginning he seems to have been

modestly conscious of his powers and wisely interested in their

conservation and direction to worthy and beneficent ends. He

was throughout life completely master of himself. He was at

no time the slave of passion or prejudice. He was at all times

devoted to the service of country and a high conception of duty

in all the relations of life.

  It is the universal testimony of those who knew him well at

different periods of his career that he was under all circumstances

a gentleman, considerate not only of the rights but the opinions

and attitudes of those around him. Uncompromising in his

views on essentials, he yet accorded to others the privileges of

independent opinion that he claimed for himself, and thus it

was that wherever he moved, whether in college or law office,

on the tented field, in legislative halls or in high executive posi-

tion, he numbered among his friends men of varied political and

religious faith. He was always considerate of his fellows. Carp-

ing criticicm, personal denunciation, partisan jealousy, and burn-

ing resentments were foreign to his nature. Continued success

and the elevation to the highest position within the gift of the

Republic did not separate him in sympathy from those whom

he had known in the humbler walks of life. To his comrades in

war time who served in the ranks he was always a fellow com-

rade. When his Presidential term was at an end, he came

here and simply resumed his service as a private citizen. Here

again he entered with genuine interest and enjoyment into neigh-

borly association with the citizens of Fremont and his native

State. He was called upon to serve on various committees, some

of them purely local and humble in character and others of

nation-wide and world-wide scope. In all of these the question,

and the only question, that he considered in accepting the tendered









             SENATOR WILLIS'S ADDRESS          399



trust, was whether or not he could be helpful in the position.

Having once accepted the proffered opportunity for service, he

faithfully assumed the duties of the position and was scrupu-

lously punctual in their discharge.  Many who are now living can

bear testimony to his fidelity to trusts, humble and exalted. Thus

it is that as his life is studied in detail from his boyhood days

down to its close in this beautiful Spiegel Grove, the apprecia-

tion of the man, the soldier, the public servant, and the citizen

is heightened with the passing years. What a legacy he has left

to his family, his State, and the Nation; what an inspiring ex-

ample to those who study his life and character!

  No sketch of his career would be complete without recogni-

tion of the influence of his partner through the years of his il-

lustrious service. If Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the model

husband and father it should be remembered here that he was

fortunate in his life partner, Lucy Webb Hayes, who was recog-

nized while she lived, as she is today, as the model wife and

mother. A woman of culture and refinement, responsive to all

the nobler impulses of her sex, she so bore herself at the side of

her illustrious husband as to win a secure place in the hearts of

the whole American people. She is affectionately remembered

for her generous services in the hospitals of the Civil War and

for the example that she set in the White House as first lady

of the land. Here the two very happily spent the remaining

years of their life in this home surrounded by this grove, a rem-

nant of the forest primeval, with all of its historic associations

dating back to pioneer days. Here they saw life's sun set in a

horizon that was cloudless.  Here their remains lie in yonder

tomb.  Their work and their example have not altogether fol-

lowed them.  They still endure to bless the American people and

the Nation that they loved so well.



  The next speaker was Major-General Clarence R. Edwards

of Cleveland, who organized, armed, and equipped the Twenty-

sixth or New England Division so expeditiously and thoroughly

that it was sent overseas as the First National Guard Division

without being placed in a Southern training camp. General Ed-









400          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



wards made a patriotic plea for the maintenance of the army, with

side remarks at his long-time friend and present host, Colonel

Hayes, with whom he served overseas in Cuba, Porto Rico, Phil-

lippines, China, and the World War, "who might soon be en

route for Turkey."

  "Don't ask me what I said," General Edwards wrote a few

days later from the First Army Corps headquarters in Boston

to Colonel Hayes: "I haven't the least idea, or enough of an idea,

to dictate it. I knew that it would be carrying coals to Newcastle

to attempt to recount your father's great deeds, so well known

and so well uttered that day; so just upon the inspiration of the

moment in that beautiful grove I tried to show what an inspira-

tion his life was to the youth of today, and how his principles need

putting into force to avoid another great sacrifice to the country."

  Congressman Simeon D. Fess, of Ohio, in response to some

smiling remark of the chairman that he would have to make his

best speech to win his vote from Senator Pomerene in the en-

suing senatorial election, then delivered so telling and scholarly

an address that he claimed President Campbell's vote. He spoke

in part as follows:

Mr. Chairman and Fellow Citizens:

  History must decree to President Hayes a very high place as

a public servant. His nomination and election were justified in

his marked fitness and in achievements before and after his elec-

tion.

  In birth all that a notable ancestry both paternal and ma-

ternal can supply was his.

  In childhood training, nothing was wanting to fit him for the

highest career.

  In education both at home, college, and university he was the

most favored.

  In choice of associations he was equally highly favored: I.

Teachers--the greatest.  2.  Friends and associates--the best.

3.  Books--such as serve to develop great soul power.

  The result of this training is what would be expected where

a youth of all the advantages of birth, family connection, simple









             CONGRESSMAN FESS' SPEECH          401



and frugal habits, yet abundant financial resources, high ideals

and family pride in the possibility of achievement, is started on

a career marked out by an aspiring and wealthy relative am-

bitious for family renown.

  His were the college days before the arrival of the intellectual

prig. He thrived upon the intellectual democracy of his law

professor, Judge Story, and the vigorous nationalism of his chief

study, the decisions of Chief Justice Marshall. He reveled in the

fundamentals of American political ideals and never apologized

for the Federal Constitution or the American institutions de-

veloped under the organic law.

  The aspirations for this nation begun in the Hayes home were

carried out in his college days at Kenyon and later in his university

days in the law school of Harvard. Colleges in that day did not

deem aspirations for high ideals, both personal and professional, as

inconsistent with a virile manhood. They maintained an atmos-

phere in which a student was stimulated to high resolutions. Young

Hayes in his famous diary is witness to this university product. It

found unmistakable expression in a New Year's resolution, January

1, 1845: "I will strive to become in manners, morals, and feelings

a true gentleman."

  His conception of success was well expressed in an early entry

of his diary: "I never desired other than honorable distinction.

The reputation which I desire is not that momentary eminence

which is gained without merit and lost without regret.

Let me triumph as a man or not at all."

  When the Civil War came it found him in the early days of a

struggling lawyer, who had recently been married to Miss Lucy

Webb. The Hayes brand of patriot is best expressed in his own

words then uttered: "I would prefer to go into the war if I knew

I was to die or be killed in the course of it, than to live through

and after it without taking any part in it."

  This statement was corroborated by a career from Gauley

River to Fisher's Hill, which saw the major in a series of pro-

motions to major-general, after a service of four years in which

there were shot from under him four horses, and in which he

was wounded six times, and during which time he received the

   26









402          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



highest commendation of his superior generals, including General

Grant.

  At South Mountain he continued to command his troops after

his left arm  was shattered.  Of  the thirteen other Presidents

of the United States who had served as officers only Monroe

was ever wounded in action.  It was later said of him that he

was a man "who during the dark and stormy days of the Re-

bellion, when those who are invincible in peace and invisible in

battle were uttering brave words to cheer their neighbors on, him-

self, in the forefront of battle, followed his leaders and his flag

until the authority of Government was established from the Lakes

to the Gulf, and from the river round to the sea."

  His gallant leadership was no less popular at home than on the

field.  Having been nominated for Congress while in the thickest

of the fight, his friend Smith urged him to come home to elec-

tioneer.  His reply is the Hayes brand of patriotic duty: "An

officer fit for duty  who at this crisis would abandon his post to

electioneer for a seat in Congress ought to be scalped.  You may

feel perfectly sure I shall do no such thing." Of course he was

triumphantly elected.

  The war had brought to the nation problems of great serious-

ness, whose solution demanded the best brain, the highest type

of courage, and the most powerful prestige within the country.

The Thirty-ninth Congress stands out in history for its ability

in great statesmen. The most outstanding delegation in that body

was from Ohio.  To  the powerful group numbering Garfield,

Ashley, Bingham, Delano, Lawrence, Schenck, and Shellabarger

was now to be added Hayes.  He immediately took front rank

in important war legislation. Before the end of the Thirty-ninth

Congress he was drafted to make the contest for the governorship

in Ohio, where the militant Democracy was endangering Repub-

lican success by putting forth as its standard-bearer the distin-

guished national Democratic leader, Allen G. Thurman. General

Hayes brought to the governorship not only a highly trained

mind well grounded in political science, but an experience which

at once guaranteed a high degree of success.

  His various messages and state papers at once marked him as a









             CONGRESSMAN FESS' SPEECH          403



statesman of sound and fundamental principles. He was unani-

mously renominated and was reelected governor over another

distinguished national leader, George H. Pendleton. His second

term was so signally successful that his name was persistently

mentioned in connection with the senatorship until he authorized

the statement that he would not allow his name to be presented

for the seat then occupied by Senator Sherman. He was nomi-

nated without his consent and over his protest for Congress in

the Second District.   He had sent dispatches to Smith, of the

Gazette, and Davis, declining to accept.  But in party interests he

finally accepted what he declared must be a losing fight. Here he

suffered his only defeat after running far ahead of his ticket.

While he was defeated by 1500, his Republican colleague in the

First District was defeated by more than double that figure.  In

this campaign he sounded the warning against the Democratic

policy for an unsound currency.  They had carried the elections

in Ohio in 1873 on the soft-money issue, and under the leader-

ship of the famous Bill Allen. In 1874 they again carried most

of the State offices and a majority of the delegation in Congress

-thirteen out of twenty. In 1875, with this handicap, Repub-

licans turned for the third time to General Hayes, who had to

his credit the defeat of two of Democracy's leaders and national

figures, Allen G. Thurman and George H. Pendleton.        Notwith-

standing that he had persisted up to the very last moment against

the candidacy, he was nominated without his consent by a vote

of 396 to 151 for Judge Taft, who moved  for unanimous nomi-

nation. In the campaign he defeated the popular governor, Bill

Allen, by a decisive vote on the issues before the country.

  In the midst of his third term, the National Convention was

held in Cincinnati.  General Hayes's name and fame were eclipsed

by the more popular names of Blaine, Morton, Conkling, etc.

His was not a magnetic career.  It was only distinguished and

substantial. The only contingency needed for the highest promo-

tion was  a deadlock between the favorites in the convention.

In such a situation Hayes supplied all the qualifications of educa-

tion and training, of ability and courage, of prestige and reputa-

tion, of a splendid standard-bearer by having defeated three times









404          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



as many national figures. He was the inevitable choice to lead

the Nation as he had led his own State.

  His great success was in what he did, notwithstanding his Ad-

ministration was not popular with Republican politicians. While

he was distinctly a party man, he was not a spoilsman. His

determination to inaugurate reform in the civil service won for

him enemies in his own party, such as Conkling. His policy to-

ward the South won for him enemies among Republican leaders,

such as Blaine. His attitude for sound money which compelled

him to veto many measures won for him enemies tinctured with

soft-money  heresies.    These  cumulative  disaffections  among

leaders in his own party compelled him to abide by his announced

decision when first elected that he would not stand for reelection

in 1880, --in sharp contrast with recent utterances of the modern

opportunist. Rutherford B. Hayes was a man whose promise was

law so far as his conduct could make it; in him no mental nor

moral dishonesty could find place.

  Mr. Fess referred to the difficulty of saying much that was

new after the speeches that had already been made.

  "Fame is a bubble, money has wings, but the character and

soul power of Rutherford B. Hayes will live, in spite of the

lapse of time," said Mr. Fess, whose tribute went also to the

clean college life of the young man when at Kenyon college.

  The speech for the American Legion of Colonel John R. Mc-

Quigg, who commanded the One-hundred-twelfth Regiment of

Engineers, Thirty-seventh Division, A. E. F., in France, and

represented here the commander-in-chief of the American Legion,

evoked much applause. Colonel McQuigg said:

  It is but proper for me to state that, owing to an engagement

made several weeks ago, our national commander, Hanford

Macnider, is unable to be present today, much to his regret.

  If he were here I am sure he would say that no words from

him were necessary to convince this audience that the American

Legion is in most hearty accord with the spirit of the ceremonies

and events of this day.

  The whole atmosphere and environment could not have been









            COLONEL McQUIGG'S ADDRESS          405



more to our liking if the American Legion had made them to

order. I know of no more fitting place for such an occasion.

  The whole region is rich with historic events, the mere recital

of which thrills the blood of every real American.

  Fort Meigs, General Harrison; Fort Stephenson, Major Cro-

ghan. My! what a wealth of patriotic devotion and pioneer hero-

ism those names and places recall.

  Croghan, a mere youth, twenty-one years of age, a native of

Kentucky, whose Irish father fought  under Washington  at

Brandywine, Monmouth, and Germantown; Croghan the boy, who

on August 2, 1813, within sight of the spot where we now are,

with one hundred and sixty men defeated and routed a force

of five hundred British and two thousand Indians in as brilliant

an incident as adorns the history of American arms. My! but

Croghan and his men would make good Legionnaires if they were

alive today.

  Even in that pioneer age, Ohio was playing a conspicuous

part in defending the Nation and the cause of civilization. Yes,

a part she was to duplicate on a mighty scale one hundred and

five years later in a foreign land and under foreign flags.

  It's no wonder that a State whose founders were possessed

of such love of country, such daring, and such tenacity of pur-

pose, eventually became the mother of Presidents. She couldn't

help it. It's from such ancestors that Presidents are descended.

  It is around one of those Presidents that the events of this

day cluster. Rutherford B. Hayes. A name that stands for all

that's worth while in clean, pure, Christian American citizenship.

Obedient child; industrious youth; conscientious student; ideal

husband and father; a soldier whose ability and devotion to duty

were inspirations to all who came in contact with him; a states-

man, the soul of honor, whose only concern was the good of his

country and the welfare of those whom he represented; an able

and painstaking governor, three times chosen to that office. A

President whose courageous stand on sound money and resump-

tion of specie payments laid the foundation of that prosperity and

development which the country enjoyed for the next quarter

of a century.  His treatment of the South and the termination of









406          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



military control in that section was an act of patriotism that did

much to unite the country and wipe out the distinction between

North and South.

  In 1884, while touring Ohio, as a candidate for President,

James G. Blaine said of President Hayes's Administration: "It

was one of the few and rare cases in our history in which the

President entered upon his office with the country depressed and

discontented and left it prosperous and happy."

  Naturally we of the Legion like to think of Rutherford B.

Hayes as the typical citizen soldier.

  On the threshold of a promising civilian career, at the out-

break of the Rebellion, he promptly volunteered and laid all he

had on the altar of his country.  Compelled, like thousands of

others, to struggle against the lack of technical military training,

a lack chargeable to the Government and the spirit of the times

rather than to himself, by close application, incredible exertion,

and a spirit to win, he finally attained the rank of major-gen-

eral.  His ability as a leader and commander was demonstrated

at Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek.

  He was a typical son of Ohio.  His devotion to the Union

was sublime.  The  intensity of his patriotism  was  illustrated

when he said just before leaving to join his regiment, "I would

prefer to go into it, if I knew I was to (lie or be killed in the

course of it, than to live through and after it without talking

any part in it." And thousands of men can testify to the sound-

ness of that patriotic philosophy when applied to a later war.

  On  another occasion, when speaking of the three hundred-

thirteen thousand men  Ohio sent into the Union army, he said,

"God loves Ohio or He would not have given her such a galaxy

of heroes to defend the Nation in its hour of trial."

  The living embodiment  of such sentiments, and loving his

State with an intensity little less than sublime, it is not to be

wondered at that his son has arranged that the home the father

cherished so much is to become the property of the State.  As

the tree is bent the twig's inclined. The unselfish, patriotic life

of the father has been reflected in the lives of his children, and

the community, State, and Nation are to benefit thereby.









             COLONEL McQUIGG'S ADDRESS          407



  From time immemorial it has been the wont of nations to

pay tribute to those who have fallen on the field of battle.  Tab-

lets, monuments, triumphal arches, and palaces, erected in honor

of their heroic dead, have dotted the capitals and high places

or nations, ancient and modern.  The memory of those who perish

amid the clash of armies is cherished through the centuries.

  To this all but universal custom of paying lasting tribute to

the battle dead America is no exception.

  But the people of Sandusky County are indebted to Colonel

Webb C. Hayes for a new type of memorial: a new style of

architecture direct from the draughting room of the Almighty.

Instead of a single monument of granite or marble or bronze,

on which the passing years must inevitably levy their tribute

of decay and distintegration, Sandusky County is to have as a

living monument to each fallen soldier of the World War and

the Spanish War, a buckeye tree-a  monument to which the

years will add size and strength and beauty rather than weakness

and decay; monuments whereon the budding leaves and blos-

soms of each recurring season will fitly typify the growth and

perpetuity of the principles and high ideals for which these men

made the supreme sacrifice.

  These living monuments, in symmetrical arrangement, spread-

ing their shade over the green turf and flowers of the beautiful

parkway, constitute memorials unique in the country's history

and worthy of imitation throughout the length and breadth of

the land.

  And so, Mr. Chairman, the American Legion joins the people

of the State and Nation in expressing our appreciation of and

thanks for the generous action that has given to Ohio this splen-

did estate with its cherished memories, precious relics, historic

archives, and its splendid memorial parkway.

  President Campbell introduced Captain W. L. Curry, the pres-

ent commander of the Ohio Commandery of the Loyal Legion,

who read the following letter from  Lieutenant-General Nelson

A. Miles, U. S. A., retired, commander-in-chief of the Loyal

Legion of which President Hayes was commander-in-chief at

the time of his death:









408          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



                         WASHINGTON, D. C., September 30.

  Your very kind invitation is at hand and in reply I would

say that I regret exceedingly that prior engagments render it

impossible for me to attend the celebration on October 4 next.

Nothing would give me more pleasure than to join with others

in paying due honors to the memory of Rutherford  Birchard

Hayes, one of the Nation's best Presidents. The purity of his

character, the sincerity and nobility of his ambition, the justice,

humanity, and eminent ability of his Administration will long be

an example and blessing for the people of these United States.

                     With great respect,

                                       NELSON A. MILES,

                             Lieutenant-General U. S. Army.



  Captain Curry, in his remarks, referred to the fact that Gen-

eral Hayes was the first commander of the Ohio Commandery

of the Loyal Legion, being succeeded, when elected senior vice-

commander of the Commandery-in-Chief, by General William

Tecumseh Sherman, as commander of the Ohio Commandery.

At the time of his death, General Hayes was the commander-

in-chief of the order, in direct succession to Hancock and Sheri-

dan, each of whom, by successive elections, retained the high

position of commander-in-chief of the order, until his death.

  In the unavoidable absence of Commander-in-Chief James E.

Willett, of the Grand Army of the Republic, Commander Gay-

lord M. Saltzgaber, Department of Ohio, G. A. R., spoke as

follows:

  Only last week the national encampment of the Grand Army

of the Republic met at Des Moines, capital of the great State of

Iowa. On Wednesday was held the grand parade where it was

estimated there were twenty thousand in line. Their heads were

proudly upright, their bodies erect, and their movements alert and

vigorous, inspired by martial music and the plaudits of the watch-

ing multitude. It was a grand and glorious manifestation of

American patriotism.

  These men were the survivors of an army of over two mil-









             MR. SALTZGABER SPEAKS FOR G. A. R.          409



lion men who marched, suffered, and fought for the integrity

and unity of our national life. The assembly and banners and

march of these white-haired old men was a tribute and a symbol

for the citizen who heeded in days of danger his country's call

and volunteered to suffer all of the agony of war that the Union

might be preserved and saved for its supereminence in grandeur

and goodness.

  When you see these aged men with faltering step you are

thrilled as you are reminded of the awful war from 1861 to 1865

and you look beyond this thin and wavering line to that grand

aggregation of citizens who responded then to the call of duty.

  No praise is too great for that noble band of heroes who were

not soldiers by profession, who surrendered voluntarily the com-

forts of home and the companionship of family and friends to

brave all the dreadful accidents of an awful war. These men

were stirred by high ideals. It was no common brawl in which

they ventured but a surrender of the highly prized comforts of

peace to wage war against the wicked evil of secession. As a

class the American citizen soldier stood unrivalled. He went, not

in quest of glory, but his mind and heart were stirred by his coun-

try's peril and he laid all upon his beloved country's altar. He

was willing to sacrifice everything, even life itself, that the best

government on earth should not be destroyed.

  Rutherford Birchard Hayes, at the age of thirty-nine, was

one of that noble band of heroes. We are proud to pay his

memory tribute today for he was one of the brightest and best

of the citizen soldiers. At the outbreak of the war he was a

successful lawyer and could have continued a career of civic

honor and emolument in his chosen profession. He was favored

above most men in the affection and esteem of his fellow citizens.

He had a loving and loved family. There was nothing wanting

to make his success and happiness complete, but he surrendered

it all to serve his country. As a lawyer, he knew the same as

Abraham Lincoln, that this nation was conceived in liberty and

dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, and

that the great Civil War tested whether that nation, so conceived

and so dedicated, could long endure.









410          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



  Comrade  Hayes was one of the first to enlist and in the

Twenty-third Ohio Regiment, and afterward as general, he valor-

ously proved his devotion to the cause of union and freedom in

many hard-fought battles. We followed his lead in war. We

come now to the celebration of this anniversary with love and

praise for his services to our country and humanity. His deeds

are known to fame and shall shine on with undiminshed lustre.

His conspicuous example inspires us to pledge anew allegiance

to our glorious flag and to the republic for which it stands - one

nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

  Commander Albert D. Alcorn, Department of Ohio Spanish

War Veterans, spoke in part, as follows:

  It is a rare privilege to have a part in these exercises com-

memorating the one-hundreth anniversary of the birth of the

Great Commoner of Ohio, Rutherford Birchard Hayes.

  Among my earlier recollections was the Hayes-Tilden cam-

paign. It is remembered chiefly by reason of the fact that the

boys, the rooters of those days, wore neck scarfs in which was

interwoven the name of the Presidential candidate.

  My mother, rearing a large family of boys, was and still is

a great admirer of that noble Christian woman, Lucy Webb

Hayes, and has never lost an opportunity to laud to the skies

her courageous stand, as first lady of the land, in prohibiting the

service of wine at the White House table.

  President Hayes entered upon his duties as the nineteenth

President of the United States under more trying circumstances

perhaps than any other President we have ever had.

  Three incidents of his life stand out in bold relief.  First, his

voluntary enlistment, not for three months, not for a year, but

"for three years or the war."

  Second, that last entry in his diary before leaving for the

war under date of May 15, 1861:  "I would prefer to go into

it if I knew I was to die or be killed in the course of it, than to

live through and after it without taking any part in it."

  How many of us can measure up to such a high standard of

patriotism?  That these were not mere idle words, his wounds,

his promotions, his whole war record attest.









             ALCORN FOR SPANISH WAR VETERANS          411



  The third incident I refer to was his reply to a friend, who

suggested that he take leave of absence from the army in the

field for the purpose of making a campaign for Congress for

which he had been nominated: "An officer fit for duty who at

this crisis would abandon his post to electioneer for a seat in

Congress ought to be scalped."

  One cannot read his biography without admiring his cour-

age in peace as well as in war.

  It took courage to advocate and promote civil service reform.

It took courage to advocate his Southern policy. It took courage

to oppose those who would deplete our national forests, even

in that early day. It took courage to fight and win his battle

for honest money.  It took courage to face and overcome the

thousand and one obstacles he had to overcome during his in-

cumbency of the Presidency.

  Like Cincinnatus of old, that ancient model of virtue and

simplicity, who having been called from  the plow to perform

a great service for his country, returned to his plow when it

was finished, Rutherford B. Hayes, who rivalled Cincinnatus in

patriotism, virtue, and simplicity, returned to this his quiet coun-

try home, where to the day of his death his chief ambition was

to be of service to his fellow man.

  It has been said:  "A character is not built on a prospectus

but upon a good record, not of what you agree to do, but of the

good things you really have done." The record of the things

Hayes did makes his a noble character.

  Mr. President, for myself and on behalf of the United Span-

ish War Veterans of Ohio, I thank you for the honor of being

present on this occasion.

  Commander Gilbert Bettman, representing the American Le-

gion of Ohio, closed the program with an eloquent tribute to Pres-

ident Hayes.

  The exercises of the afternoon concluded with a reference to

the resolutions adopted by the Sandusky County Bar Associa-

tion, of which Mr. Hayes became an active member on his ad-

mission to the bar of Ohio. The resolutions which were to have









412          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



been read by the Honorable Arthur W. Overmyer, were omitted

on account of the lateness of the hour. They are as follows:

  The committee appointed to prepare resolutions of the San-

dusky County Bar Association on the occasion of the one-hun-

dreth anniversary of the birth of General Rutherford B. Hayes

submitted the following report:

  It is fitting and proper that the Bar Association of Sandusky

County pay its tribute of respect to the memory of General Hayes

upon  this one-hundreth  anniversary  of his birth.      General

Hayes was admitted to the bar of the State of Ohio at Marietta,

on the 10th day of March, 1845, and very shortly thereafter be-

gan the active practice of law in Fremont (then Lower San-

dusky) in partnership with General Ralph P. Buckland. During

the entire time after his admission to the bar he always mani-

fested a keen interest in the bar of Sandusky County and the

welfare of the bar association.

  At the age of fourteen years the subject of this sketch was

sent to Norwalk, Ohio, to become a pupil in what was then

known as "The Norwalk Seminary," a Methodist school, of

which the Rev. Jonathan E. Chaplin was principal, where he

spent his school year of 1836; and in the autumn of 1837, he was

sent to a private school at Middletown, Connecticut, conducted

by Isaac Webb. Mr. Webb was a graduate of Yale College;

had been a tutor in the college, and was highly commended

by the president, Jeremiah Day.  It was not a large school,

the number of pupils being restricted to twenty; great care

was exercised to receive only boys of diligence and good char-

acter.  Mr. Webb intended that the reputation of the school

should rest on thorough study, faithful instruction, and steady

discipline; correct habits, principles, feelings, and tastes were to

be assiduously cultivated and truth, justice, and honor, to be re-

garded as the cardinal points of character.

  On November 1, 1838, General Hayes entered Kenyon Col-

lege as a freshman, where he graduated with high honors in

1842, and on the 11th day of October, 1842, at the age of twenty

years, he began the study of law in the office of Sparrow & Mat-

thews at Columbus, where he remained for ten months and in









             SANDUSKY COUNTY BAR'S TRIBUTE          413



August, 1843, enrolled as a law student at Harvard University.

Among the students who attended Kenyon College and who were

warm friends of General Hayes were David Davis, Edwin M.

Stanton, Henry Winter Davis, Stanley Matthews, and Salmon P.

Chase, all of whom attained marked distinction in public life.

As evidence of the character of the man we quote from his diary

written on November 12, 1842, just after he had graduated

from Kenyon College: "I have parted from the friends I love

best, and am now struggling to enter the portals of the profession

in which is locked up the passport which is to conduct me to all

that I am destined to receive in life. The entrance is steep and

difficult, but my chiefest obstacles are within myself. If I knew

and could master myself, all other difficulties would vanish. To

overcome long-settled habits, one has almost to change 'the stamp

of nature'; but bad habits must be changed and good ones formed

in their stead, or I shall never find the pearls I seek."

  On January 1, 1845, we find this significant entry in his diary:

"This is the beginning of the new year. In two or three weeks

I shall leave the Law School and soon after shall begin to live

Heretofore I have been getting ready to live. How much has

been left undone, it is of no use to reckon. My labors have been

to cultivate and store my mind. This year the character, the

whole man, must receive attention. I will strive to become in

manners, morals, and feelings a true gentleman. The rudeness

of a student must be laid off, and the quiet, manly deportment

of a gentleman put on--not merely to be worn as a garment,

but to become by use a part of myself. I believe I know what

true gentility, genuine breeding, is. Let me but live out what is

within, and I am vain enough to think that little of what is

important would be found wanting." The ability of General

Hayes as a lawyer was clearly recognized by the courts, because

during the month of August, 1845, he was appointed and acted

as a member of the committee that examined Stanley Matthews

for admission to the bar of Ohio; and in March, 1889, he de-

livered a brilliant oration before the Sandusky County Bar As-

sociation in commemoration of the death and works of Stanley

Matthews. Judge E. F. Dickinson, a member of this association,









414          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



had been a lifelong friend of General Hayes and upon his death

he submitted a beautiful tribute to the life and works of Judge

 Dickinson; and likewise upon the death of General Buckland,

 General Hayes delivered very fittingly, before this association,

an oration referring feelingly to his association with General

 Buckland, not only as a lawyer, but as a comrade in arms and as

a fellow citizen. General Hayes early manifested that military

spirit which was characteristic of the young men of his day; and

in 1847, he made an; effort to enlist in the service of his country

while it was engaged in the War with Mexico, but on account of

his physical condition, he was not permitted to enlist; and when

it became manifest that civil war in this country was imminent,

his patriotic zeal was awakened and he immediately prepared

himself for active participation in the Union cause.

  As an evidence of his patriotic zeal and determination to fight

for that which he thought was right, we quote the following:

  "Judge Matthews and I have agreed to go into the service for

the war--if possible into the same regiment.  I spoke my feel-

ings to him which he said were his also, viz., that this was a

just and necessary war and that it demanded the whole power

of the country; that I would prefer to go into it if I knew I was

to die or be killed in the course of it, than to live through and

after it without taking any part in it."

  As to the life of General Hayes as a soldier, executive, states-

man, and philanthropist, we will leave it to others upon this oc-

casion to recount.  He was of singular purity and uprightness

in public and private life. As a soldier, statesman, and President,

he rose to the foremost rank and never lost that true kindness to-

wards every human being, great or small.

  As a public official he grappled with and successfully mas-

tered perhaps more complex and serious problems than any other

citizen of America.  When Sandusky County builds a new court-

house, may we not now suggest that a statue of General Hayes

be provided for as a part of the building, that his memory may

be thereby honored and perpetuated, because of his membership

in the Sandusky County Bar Association and in view of the fact

that he achieved high and distinguished honors as President of









             LETTERS OF REGRET AND EULOGY          415



the United States, as three times Governor of the State of Ohio,

as a Member of Congress, and as an eminent soldier, in addition

to long residence in this county.

                    Respectfully submitted,

                                       T. P. DEWEY,

                                       DAVID B. LOVE,

                                       J. T. GARVER,

                                       JAMES G. HUNT,

                                       A. W. OVERMYER,

                                       A. E. CULBERT.



             COMMUNICATIONS AND PRESS NOTICES

  It had been hoped that Secretary of State Hughes and Secre-

tary of Commerce Hoover would be present. Secretary Hughes

wrote:

                           WASHINGTON, September 27, 1922.

  MY  DEAR COLONEL HAYES:--I have received your letter of

September 25 and have also had the pleasure of talking with

your brother, Mr. Scott R. Hayes, who has today strongly urged

the acceptance of your kind invitation. It is needless for me to

say that it would give Mrs. Hughes and myself the greatest

gratification to be able to attend this centenary celebration of the

birth of your distinguished father, President Hayes, and especial-

ly to have the opportunity to join in the tribute to his memory.

You will understand, however, that having just returned from a

month's absence (in Brazil), I find an accumulation of work

and it will be absolutely impossible for me to leave Washington

in order to be present at the celebration on October 4.  I am very

sorry to disappoint you, but I have no alternative.

  Mrs. Hughes joins me in kind regards to Mrs. Hayes and

yourself.

                        Very sincerely yours,

                                        CHARLES E. HUGHES.

  The American Ambassador to France during the American

participation  in  the  World  War, the Honorable William G.

Sharp, wrote:









416          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



  DEAR COLONEL HAYES: - I have before me the kind invitation

to attend the centenary celebration of the birth of your illustrious

father, the former President of the United States, which was

evidently sent me soon after my departure for Europe. I am

acknowledging it first of my unanswered letters to express my

appreciating of your remembering us for such a noted occasion.

  I am sure that the celebration, as well as the dedication of

the several worthy projects which are enumerated in your invi-

tation, must have been very impressive as well as interesting.

Please accept my hearty thanks.

                    Cordially and sincerely yours.

                                         WILLIAM G. SHARP.

   The next governor of Ohio wrote as follows:

                      COLUMBUS, OHIO, September 26, 1922.

   DEAR COLONEL HAYES: - I beg to acknowledge receipt of your

invitation to attend the dedication of the library addition to the

Hayes Memorial, at Spiegel Grove, on October 4. You can rest

assured that if it is at all possible, I will be present, as I remember

the very pleasant time I had on a similar occasion several years

ago.

   I am deeply interested in your work and will always be glad

to have any literature you have in connection with the same.

   With kindest personal regards and best wishes for you and

yours,

                       I am very truly yours,

                                             A. V. DONAHEY.

   The centenary celebration drew interesting comments from

 high officials of the previous national Administration. Secretary

of War Baker, of President Wilson's cabinet, who represented

 President Wilson and delivered an eloquent address at the dedi-

cation of the original Hayes Memorial on May 30, 1916, in send-

 ing his regrets, wrote:

                              CLEVELAND, September 25, 1922.

   MY DEAR COLONEL HAYES:-I have just received the invitation

 to be present at the celebration of the centenary of the birth of









             LETTERS OF REGRET AND EULOGY          417



your distinguished father, on Wednesday, October 4. I deeply

regret that engagements already made so far preempt that day as

to make it impossible for me to be away from Cleveland until

late in the afternoon, when I must leave for a supreme court en-

gagement in Columbus. I think I have already said to you, but it

gives me pleasure to repeat it, that as the years go by and my

experience and reading grow larger, I come to have a larger and

more sympathetic view of your father's life and services. Surely,

no one could have been called to high executive office under cir-

cumstances more trying or at a time when the country itself was

more disturbed and unsettled. His fairness, dignity, and clear-

sighted integrity were a rock of strength to the Government in

trying days. I am glad this significant centenary is to be observed

and I hope that the utmost use will be made of the occasion to

impress the lessons of your father's life upon the country which

he served.

                        Cordially yours,

                                       NEWTON D. BAKER.

                    STEAMSHIP FRANCONIA

                                   AT SEA,* March 25, 1924.

  DEAR COLONEL HAYES:--I am returning the pamphlet ["The

Hayes Centenary"] which you so kindly lent me this morning and

which I read with great interest.

  I am so glad that President Hayes, your illustrious father, is

to have a lasting monument which will perpetuate his memory.

I was not in public life when your father was President and per-

sonally I was not at that time in the way of knowing much of him

or his Administration intimately.

  But not long before our dear Cardinal Gibbons died [March

24, 1921] we were discussing the relative merits of the various

Presidents whom he had personally known and he said on that

occasion: "I have known them all well and intimately from Lin-

coln until now, and to my mind the most scholarly and genuinely

refined of them all was Rutherford Hayes."



  * Between Jerusalem and New York, completing trip around the world.

   27









418          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



  The old Cardinal was a keen observer of men and this appre-

ciation of your distinguished father is worthy of record. I am

happy to pass it on to you to use as you like.

                         Very sincerely,

                        W. CARD. O'CONNELL, ABP. BOSTON.

  Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels wrote in reply to an

inquiry of his estimate of General Hayes's Administration:

  "Following the election of 1876, it was impossible to give an

appraisal of public servants that would be just or free from par-

tisanship. With the passage of time, however, I feel that there

has come an appreciation of the fact that the action of President

Hayes in withdrawing the troops from the South indicated high

moral courage and a resolute desire to bring peace and opportunity

for development to the Southern people.

  "The situation which President Hayes had to encounter when

entering the White House was a very difficult one. The Demo-

crats believed that Mr. Tilden was elected.  President Hayes

owed his election to the electoral vote of South Carolina, Louis-

iana, and Mississippi [Florida], States in which the Democrats

believed the votes had been cast for Mr. Tilden.  The withdrawal

of the troops from these three States automatically put in power

the Democratic state governments, who had been chosen in the

same election when the electoral vote was counted for President

Hayes.  Of course President Hayes knew when lie withdrew these

troops that the results that did take place would follow.  He knew

that such results were necessary for good government in those

States.

  "No one understood better than he that the withdrawal of the

troops would be regarded by many of his countrymen as a con-

fession that his election was not free from partisan setting-aside

of the voice of the people in these States. I have, therefore, al-

ways regarded it as a matter of high moral courage for him to

have restored peace in the South at such a cost to his prestige.

  "His courage showed that he preferred to be the recipient of

much criticism [rather] than to perpetuate in the South conditions

that were intolerable and unbearable.









             LETTERS OF REGRET AND EULOGY          419



  "Thus, when one looks back at the Administration of Ruther-

ford B. Hayes, he sees a serious effort made to reform the civil

service, an effectual resumption of specie payments, and a con-

ciliatory policy inaugurated toward the distressed Southern States,

which has altogether inured to the honor, integrity and stability

of that Union for which General Hayes fought on many Southern

fields; whose integrity he proclaimed in every political contest

and which he endeavored to maintain in his three terms as gov-

ernor of his native State, and which he finally greatly advanced

by his four years in the White House at Washington."

  Rear-Admiral William S. Sims, U. S. Navy, who as admiral

so efficiently commanded the American naval forces in European

waters during the World War, expressed his regret at his in-

ability to be present in the following letter:



                  OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

            NAVAL WAR COLLEGE, NEWPORT, R. I.

  DEAR SIR:-- I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of

September 3, containing the very flattering invitation for me to

attend the centennial celebration of the birth of your father,

Rutherford B. Hayes, on October 4, your invitation kindly includ-

ing Mrs. Sims.

  Needless to say we should be very glad indeed to attend this

celebration, but unfortunately October 4 will be but a few

days before my retirement from active service and I shall be so

much engaged in closing up my active duty as president  of the

Naval War College that this and certain other engagements will

make it impossible for us to be absent from Newport at that

time. I need not assure you again how much we are gratified

that we have been included in this invitation and how much we

regret our inability to accept it.

                     Very sincerely yours,

                                        WILLIAM S. SIMS.



  Commander-in-Chief James W. Willett of the Grand Army

of the Republic, in a letter from Des Moines, Iowa, to President









420          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



Campbell, expresses his keen regret at being unable to attend the

Hayes centennial exercises, and notes that Mrs. Willett was

born in Tiffin, Ohio, which would have been an added induce-

ment to draw them to Ohio, "aside from the honor conferred

upon me had I been present."

  The New York Sun which was a bitter opponent and critic

during and after the Hayes Administration, says in an editorial

on the centenary, headed "Hayes Abolished Carpetbags":

  "The judgment of a later day has put unpredicted value on

both the ability and the services of President Hayes. While he

may not rank with Washington, with Lincoln, or with Roosevelt,

his firmness and foresight have earned recognition not at first

granted them.  He appears to deserve the credit for bringing

to an end the post-bellum course of political laxity in the North

and retrogression in the South.

  "Congressional reconstruction had proved by 1877 its inability

to carry out the majority's plans of restoration and idealistic

advance  for  the reconquered Southern States.  Hayes, with-

drawing the Federal troops, permitted the unsuccessful policy

to fall of its own weight. He had apparently concluded that

the Nation could not attain full prosperity while one great sec-

tion remained on the rocks. He broke with the traditions of his

party in this respect to perform a service to his country."

  The New York Herald in a comprehensive, discriminating, but

highly laudatory article on President Hayes brings out the fact,

too often overlooked: "All attempts to induce him to accept a

renomination failed." Also, that "some of his ablest political op-

ponents conceded that President Hayes's Administration, taken

as a whole, had been no less honorable to himself than creditable

to his country."

  An editorial in the Ohio State Journal emphasized the fact

that "the soundness of his measures soon proved itself and made

possible the Republican success in 1880. It has been said of

him that never once in all the trying days following his election

and throughout his Presidency did he lose his temper. He com-

bined great firmness of character with unfailing good nature,

an effective combination not often found in Presidents or other









             NEWSPAPER COMMENDATION          421



men.  .  .  .  As President he soon proved a complete and un-

pleasant surprise to the managers of his party machine.      His

manners were mild, but his backbone was stiff as a ramrod.

With the utmost good nature but with the grimmest determina-

tion he proceeded at once to antagonize the party leaders, wiping

out carpetbag government in the South, upholding Sherman in

his great fight against the insistent unsound-money sentiment of

the day, and inaugurating civil service reform to an extent un-

dreamed of by the disgusted practical politicians."

  A comprehensive editorial in the Boston Herald of October 4

says in part:

  "A century ago today, on Oct. 4, 1822, at Delaware, Ohio,

of ancestry reaching far back into New England, Rutherford

Birchard Hayes was born.  He  fought bodily weakness as a

young man, manifested great interest in books, studied in Ohio

and Connecticut, and after having spent two years at the Har-

vard Law School and in attendance upon special classes in the col-

lege, he was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1845. He had gained

some distinction in Cincinnati when the Civil War came.  Several

times wounded and with a fine record for bravery, he entered

Congress at the end of 1865 and became governor of Ohio in

1868. He served two terms, then after an interval a third, tak-

ing the nomination against his preferences and making the cam-

paign on the sound-money issue; there were many in Ohio in

those days who believed that the only thing necessary to make

real money was the stamp of the United States, no matter how

much or how little of actual value might be back of it. It was

this fight against 'Fog-Horn' Allen and inflation that gave Hayes

the nomination for the Presidency.

  "Few Presidents have assumed office under more difficult

conditions than did our nineteenth Executive. Few have borne

themselves with greater dignity under excoriation of the mem-

bers of the opposing party and the cross-fire of the factions of

their own party. Hayes deserves far more credit for vigor,

steadiness, and fulfillment of campaign pledges than has usually

been granted him. No one knew who his cabinet were to be until

the actual inauguration. When they were announced the country









422          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



could not miss the conclusion that Hayes intended that the war no

longer should dominate our politics. He had avowed his inten-

tion of restoring home rule in the South, cleaning up the national

administration, and maintaining the public credit. He went to

work with a body of advisers representing all these aims but with

a Congress split against itself. He had few friends in the Re-

publican Senate once he had sent in his cabinet list, and the Demo-

cratic House wanted most of all to hamper the Administration.

Hayes withdrew the federal troops from the South, he vetoed

the Bland-Allison silver act, he showed the country that 'the way

to resume "specie payments" is to resume,' to quote the Horace

Greeley dictum ; and in spite of the quarrel between Half-Breeds

and Stalwarts and his unpopularity with his party, he issued an

executive order forbidding office-holders to take active part in

party management.

  "Hayes grew in popular estimation steadily through the four

years of his incumbency. There is reason to indorse the state-

ment of Carl Schurz that the Republican party in Hayes 'had

nominated a man without knowing it.'  His Presidency over, he

retired to Spiegel Grove at Fremont, Ohio, where a celebration

will be held today, and in simple and useful pursuits passed the

remainder of his years. He was a 'great commoner,' an able

and 'straight' man."

  The Indianapolis Star in a discriminating article on the Hayes

centenary, by Miss Margaret M. Scott, says in part:

  "The elaborate celebration in Fremont, Ohio., Oct. 4, of the cen-

tenary of the birth of Rutherford B. Hayes, nineteenth Presi-

dent of the United States, at his former home, Spiegel Grove,

now a state park through the generosity of his son, Col. Webb C.

Hayes, had special interest and significance for the people of

Indianapolis because an ex-citizen, Charles R. Williams, long the

editor of the Indianapolis News, was one of the speakers and

was honored by having a room in the new addition to the Hayes

Memorial Library dedicated to him under title of 'The Charles

Richard Williams Reading-Room.'

  "The Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society of which Gen.

Hayes was president at the time of his death, had charge of the









             NEWSPAPER COMMENDATION          423



centenary exercises, invitations for which were sent to the dis-

tinguished guests of the society in civil, military, and official life.

  "The city of Fremont, where Gen. Hayes spent the major por-

tion of his life, when not actively connected with state and na-

tional affairs, cooperated with the historical society and had direct

charge of the parade and historical pageant, which was dismissed

on entering Spiegel Grove. Dedicatory exercises then were held

for the Croghan Gate, the Harrison Gate, the McPherson Gate-

way, in memory of the soldiers in the War with Mexico and the

War for the Union; and the Memorial Gateway in memory of the

soldiers in the War with Spain and the World War.

  "This new addition to the Hayes Memorial, equal in dimensions

to the original structure, will house the large and valuable library

collected by Gen. Hayes during his army service in the Civil War

and as Governor of Ohio and as President of the United States,

as well as during his long career as a lawyer.

  "Rutherford 13. Hayes. after the passion of years has sub-

sided, is growing in worth to the American people. The great

accomplishments of his Administration, with the reconstruction

of the South, the establishment of sound currency, and the main-

tenance of the civil service system, have given him his proper

place in history.  It is now worthy and fitting that this celebra-

tion should be held where the mementoes of his civil, military, and

Presidential life are assembled.  Added  is the fact that the

Spiegel Grove State Park in itself is a historical monument to the

wonderful days of the past.

  "Under the sweeping branches of its gigantic hickories, oaks,

elms, and maples sped the bronzed messengers of Pontiac carry-

ing the war wampum  to the southern Indian tribes; over the

same trail marched Gen. Harrison and his army to resist the

British invader, and in a later era gathered the great generals

of the Union army to do honor to its distinguished occupant.

Here Sherman, Sheridan, Rosecrans, Crook, Comly, and Scam-

mon were visitors. Here, too, at various times, came Presidents

Garfield, Cleveland, McKinley, Taft, and Harding.

  "Few writers, Republican or Democratic, have written as dis-

passionately and fairly of Hayes and his Administration, few









424          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



have done as much as, and none has done more than Mr. Williams

to draw attention to Hayes's personal worth, his scholarly attain-

ments, his splendid civic services, and the great accomplishments

of his Administration. This is all the more remarkable when it

is remembered that Mr. Williams is a Democrat.

  "It will be recalled that after leaving the News (1911), Mr.

Williams devoted three years to writing the 'Life of President

Hayes'--a task inherited from his father-in-law, William Henry

Smith, who died in 1896. The latter, who had been Hayes's

closest personal and political friend, was to write the life, but

had hardly begun it. On his death-bed, he insisted that his son-

in-law should go on with it.

  "This Mr. Williams promised to do, supposing the arrangement

would not be acceptable to the Hayes family. But the family

urged it, and Mr. Williams loyally fulfilled his promise.  And

no one knows better than the writer, who acted as his literary

secretary for a great portion of those years both in Indianapolis

and at Spiegel Grove, at what cost to his nerves, his eyesight, his

pleasure, his health, his welfare, he did indeed loyally fulfill that

promise.

  "The Life was published in 1914, and was received most favor-

ably by critics and historians.  Andrew D. White pronounced

it one of the three or four best biographies in the English lan-

guage; and there were other similar commendations.

  "This same year Mr. Williams removed to Princeton, N. J.,

and later bought the house at 25 Cleveland Lane, which had been

occupied by Woodrow Wilson while he was Governor of New

Jersey, and from which he went to the White House. The house

was remodeled and the grounds enlarged and developed until the

place, named 'Benedict House' in memory of his mother whose

maiden name was Benedict, became noteworthy among the many

beautiful places for which Princeton is famous. There he has

led a life of busy leisure among his books and with abounding

hospitality. During the first two years of residence there he

wrote a history of the Cliosophic Society of the university in com-

memoration of the 150th anniversary of its founding (in 1765)--









             NEWSPAPER COMMENDATION          425



the oldest literary society in America. Critics have characterized

it as the best book of its sort they have ever read.

  "After America entered the war against Germany, he became

one of the speaking staff of the National Security League and

of the New Jersey State Council of Defense, doing his bit by

making speeches, in stimulating patriotism and explaining and

defending the policies of the Government.

  "Not long after the publication of the 'Life of Hayes,' the Ohio

State Archaeological and Historical Society began to plan for the

publication of Mr. Hayes's 'Diary and Letters.' At the solicita-

tion of the society, Mr. Williams, who was most familiar with

all the Hayes papers, consented to edit them and prepare them

for the press. The normal income of the society, however, was

not sufficient to justify so ambitious an undertaking. Appeal was

made to the Legislature of Ohio, which the Governor seconded

and approved, and early in 1921 the Legislature provided the

society with ample means for the execution of its worthy project

  "Mr. Williams had already begun his task, which he found de-

manded an incredible amount of minute research and painstaking

labor. To this he devoted, all told, some three years of almost

continuous effort, assisted by copyist and secretary. The result

is seen in five large volumes, which not only abound in valuable

historical information, but which vividly reveal the development,

character, and accomplishment of a typical American gentleman

of noble qualities, who rose to the highest distinction.

  "Mr. Williams's work is a model of good editing. With char-

acteristic modesty, the editor himself never obtrudes, but his

presence in the background is constantly felt."



  Much of the success of the speaking program was due to the

presiding officer, Hon. James E. Campbell, who introduced the

speakers with a wit and readiness of repartee greatly enjoyed

by all. Despite the length of the program, many unable to find

seats stood throughout the afternoon. Comparisons are barred,

but many declared that the mayor's speech of eight words was the

triumph of the day! In all the elaborate preparations for the

day, Mayor Schwartz was, next to Colonel Hayes himself, the









426          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



main motive force. Mr. Ging's handling of the float section was

also highly efficient.



      LETTER FROM COLONEL WEBB C. HAYES

  As a fitting conclusion to the foregoing pages, the following

tribute of Colonel Webb C. Hayes to former Governor James E.

Campbell, President of the Ohio State Archaeological and His-

torical Society, on the occasion of the celebration of the eightieth

anniversary of the birth of the latter, is herewith appended.

  DEAR GOVERNOR CAMPBELL:-Thank you sincerely for send-

ing me a copy of the very beautiful menu of your eightieth an-

niversary birthday dinner given in your honor on July 7, 1923, at

the Scioto Club.

  It is worth while to have an eightieth birthday when it is com-

memorated  in such a manner by  one's admiring  friends and

neighbors.

  Mrs. Hayes deeply regrets that it became impossible for us

to be present and participate in the enthusiasm of the gracious

occasion. We were called to the East, fully expecting to be able

to return in time for the dinner; but we were only able to reach

the Delaware Water Gap on July 7, from whence I telegraphed

our congratulations and regrets.     None  of your friends could

have rejoiced more heartily than we in doing you honor.  It has

been a constant source of gratification to me to be associated with

you on the board of trustees of the Ohio State Archaeological

and Historical Society.

  I recall with peculiar pleasure the several interesting occasions

at Spiegel Grove to which your presence added lustre.  On May

30, 1916, you were on the list of speakers as a representative of

the board of trustees at the dedication of the Hayes Memorial

Library and Museum, when President Wilson, who was unable

to be present was represented by the Honorable Newton D. Baker,

Secretary of War, following the scholarly address of Doctor

Charles Richard Williams, biographer of Rutherford B. Hayes.

  On October 4, 1920, my father's birthday, you presided, as

president of the Society, at the unveiling of the bronze tablet









             COL. HAYES TO GOVERNOR CAMPBELL          427



on the Hayes Memorial Building in memory of the soldiers of

Sandusky County, who died in service during the War with Spain

and the World War.  Your patriotic and  eloquent  speech  of

that day, with its all too flattering reference to my wife and my-

self for our efforts to honor our father and mother by bequests

made to preserve forever their old home in Spiegel Grove as a

typical American home of the last half of the nineteenth cen-

tury, touched us deeply, and was made the subject of favorable

comment later by Warren G. Harding, who followed you on the

program.

  Similarly, on October 4, 1922, you presided at the exercises

commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the birthday of

Rutherford Birchard Hayes. The dignity and propriety of your

opening address at the dedication of the library and museum annex

to the Hayes Memorial, and the aptness and felicity of your

words at the dedication of the Soldiers' Memorial Parkway of

Sandusky County, and at the unveiling of the historic tablets on

the five memorial gateways leading into Spiegel Grove, won ap-

preciative applause and were beyond all praise. During the exer-

cises a beautiful oak tree, located near the memorial trees here-

tofore christened by the laying on of hands and named the "War-

ren G. Harding Oak," the "William H. Taft Oak," the "Grover

Cleveland Hickory," the "William McKinley Oak," and the "Gen-

eral Sherman Elm," was christened the "James E. Campbell Oak"

in your honor.

  In all the activities of our society as trustee and as presi-

dent, you have uniformly displayed an intelligent interest and

zeal.

  Within the last year, through your personal initiative, you have

secured the necessary funds for the erection of the World War

Memorial annex to our main society building in Columbus, and

thus rounded out your soldier activities begun sixty years ago in

the War for the Union.

  It is because of my interest and belief in the society, of which

for the last seven years of his life my father was president, that

when I deeded Spiegel Grove as a state park and endowed the

homestead for permanent preservation, it was with the expecta-









428          RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES



tion of including in this memorial an American historical library

which would be the nucleus of a library for an Ohio Historical

Society, for which my wife and I hope to provide an endownment

fund for the purchase of historical books.

  I cannot help reflecting on the singular good fortune of our

society in its choice of presidents. I doubt if any similar society

in America can show a more distinguished list. All have been

men of state-wide reputation or of national fame. I recall with

pride the names of your five predecessors: Allen G. Thurman,

who for a generation was one of the political leaders of the na-

tion, statesman and jurist; Francis C. Sessions, eminent banker

and philanthropist; Rutherford Birchard Hayes, who needs no

characterization; General Roelif Brinkerhoff, soldier, lawyer,

student of politics, and distinguished penologist;  George Fred-

erick Wright, erudite in theology, and long the most learned geolo-

gist in America; and now you, so aptly characterized by the

dinner committee on arrangements, as "A patriot of the war of

1861-1865, a statesman of long service, a former governor of

Ohio, an outstanding man of affairs, a courteous and unassum-

ing gentleman." The society rejoices in having a president who

most worthily continues the great tradition.

  My earnest hope is that, in the future, the society may be as

wise and fortunate in the choice of presidents as it has been up

to this time.

  With renewed felicitations and high respect,

                        Sincerely yours,

                                          WEBB C. HAYES.

  THE HONORABLE JAMES E. CAMPBELL,

    Columbus, Ohio.



Previous Chapter ||  Table of Contents  || Next Chapter