LAYING CORNER STONE
OF
THE SOCIETY'S
BUILDING.
On the afternoon of September 12, 1912, the Trustees and
officers of the Society laid the Corner
Stone of the building
of the Society, located on the Campus of
the Ohio State Uni-
versity.
The ground was first broken for the
excavation on June 25th.
The weather on the day of the corner
stone laying was ideal
and a goodly audience of the friends of
the Society, including
many professors of the University,
assembled to witness the
ceremonies. There were present, Prof. J.
N. Bradford, the archi-
tect, and Messrs. L. V., W. B., and
George Dawson of the
Dawson Construction Company, the
contractors. The following
Trustees of the Society were in
attendance: Prof. G. Frederick
Wright, Hon. D. J. Ryan, Col. John W.
Harper, Prof.
B. F. Prince, Dr. H. A. Thompson,
Treasurer E. F. Wood,
Curator W. C. Mills and Secretary E. O.
Randall. Mr. Randall
acted as chairman of the occasion, the
exercises of which were
as follows:
INVOCATION.
BY REV. H. A. THOMPSON.
Oh, King of kings and Lord of lords. we
come reverently
into Thy presence this afternoon to
implore Thy blessing upon
us and Thy presence with us in the
exercise of this hour. We
confess our sins before thee, but at the
same time we would re-
member that as a father pitieth his
children so the Lord pitieth
those who fear him. We thank thee for
thy loving kindness
which has followed each one of us all
along the journey of life.
So also we thank thee for the great
nation which thou hast
established on this western hemisphere.
We rejoice in the dis-
covery of this land and especially in
its settlement, many years
(416)
Laying Corner Stone of the Society's
Building. 417
ago, by God-fearing men and women who
left the old world,
to seek a new home where they could have
freedom to worship
God. On reaching this continent, before
they began to build
homes for themselves, they first of all
on bended knees, dedi-
cated this land to God-to civil and
religious liberty. Here they
sought to found a nation that should
become a home for the op-
pressed of all lands; where men should
have opportunity to de-
velop their God given powers under such
benign influences as
should make them efficient servants of
thine. We believe thou art
the builder and preserver of nations;
"The powers that be are
ordained of God." Thou dost build
up and preserve as seemeth
good in thy sight; and thou dost pull
down and when men per-
sist in going contrary to thy teachings
as is shown in the history
of the nations of antiquity which kept
not thy Commandments
and so have been destroyed. They learned
as all nations sooner
or later will learn that
"righteousness exalteth a nation while sin
is a reproach to any people."
We confess with sorrow that we have not
always lived up
to this high ideal of our forefathers,
nor kept thy teachings as
revealed in thy holy word. At times we
have oppressed the
poor; we have not dealt justly with the
hireling; we have broken
thy Sabbath; we have given ourselves to
the getting of unjust
gains, forgetting for the time that for
all these thy God would
bring us unto judgment. Even when thou
didn't chastise us,
thou didn't turn away in anger. In the
dark hours of Revolu-
tion when at times men's hearts were
almost ready to fail them,
thy eye was there upon us in mercy and
we were kept from de-
struction. During the late Civil War
when our very existence at
times seemed to hang in the balance,
thou didn't chastise us in
mercy, and if the life of the Nation was
preserved, in order as we
believe, that thy American people might
become a beacon light to
the struggling nations of the earth;
that here God would save us
a people who would deal justly with
their fellow men.
So also we desire to thank thee for this
goodly common-
wealth of Ohio under whose auspices and
by whose authority we
are assembled here, on the 12th day of
September, 1912; we
bless thee for our public schools and
colleges and all our higher
Vol. XXI -27.
418 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
institutions of learning; for the church
and its living ministry
helping to point men to the highest
spiritual life; for our courts
of justice and all the legal means we
have for encouragement of
virtue and the discouragement of vice;
for the law-making and
law executing powers of the land insofar
as these instruments are
trying to follow the Master's ideals;
for the force which leads
us away from the grosser things of life,
keeps before us the high-
est ideals of manhood and womanhood and
helps us to imitate
them for the great and good men who have
been called from our
midst to serve the nation in various
fields of usefulness, a ma-
jority of whom we believe have done
honor to the Common-
wealth of Ohio.
And now we are about to lay the corner
stone of a build-
ing which is to be the home for years to
come of the Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Society.
We are grateful that
more than a quarter of a century ago
thou didst put it into the
heads and hearts of a number of
patriotic citizens to organize
this Society, whose main purpose was to
promote a better knowl-
edge of the history and resources of the
State of Ohio. In faith
and hope they labored and today they are
beginning to see the
realization of their hopes; we are
grateful for the appropriations
of money on the part of the Governor and
the Legislature of the
State, which provides for the
construction of this building. When
citizens of the State shall come to know
more definitely of the
work they have done, we believe they
will all do them honor.
We ask the blessing of God upon the
workmen who shall be im-
mediately concerned in the construction
of the building, that not
a single life shall be lost in its
erection. May these men have
continually in mind the thought that
they are not simply earning
wages to supply their daily wants, but
are also doing that which
we hope shall honor God and bless the
people of this goodly
commonwealth.
And when this building is completed, as
we hope it may be,
honestly and faithfully and without the
loss of a single life, in
the not distant future, then into its
spacious quarters shall be
gathered a large number of the
archaeological remains of our
own and other states, on which tables of
stone, as did Moses of
old, we shall read the record which God
has thus made of him-
Laying Corner Stone of the Society's
Building. 419
self and ascertain the laws in
accordance with which God con-
structed this physical universe. On its
library shelves shall be
placed we hope thousands of volumes of
books and manuscripts
in which skilled men have written of the
people of our own and
other states, indeed of all nations,
showing in unmistakable
terms how God has led the nations of the
earth, and how men
in the olden times came to Jerusalem to
see God's wonderful
work so in the years to come may not
scholars and students, not
only from our own and other states, but
indeed from the nations
afar off, gather here at this Mecca to
read "God almighty's
thoughts after him." Thus life
shall be made brighter, men
be made better because of this building
and the things it repre-
sents, God be better known and loved by
the children of men.
Bless this Society under whose auspices
we are met; bless
the great Commonwealth of Ohio, whose
people we here repre-
sent today; bless the American Nation
which thus far has had
a wonderful history and which we believe
God will preserve if
we are deserving for greater good in the
world and keep us
ever obedient to thy righteous Law,
until time shall be no more.
Amen.
MR RANDALL: We are assembled here to-day
to observe
an occasion of supreme satisfaction and
great rejoicing to the
members of our Society.
During the year 1875 a State
Archaeological Society was
formed at the home of General Roeliff
Brinkerhoff, Mansfield,
Ohio. The Society, through the efforts
of General Brinker-
hoff, who was made president, received,
from the Legislature, an
appropriation of $2,500, to be expended
in making an Ohio arch-
aeological exhibit at the Centennial
Exposition at Philadelphia.
Prof. John T. Short of the Ohio State
University, was made Sec-
retary of the Society, and it flourished
under his secretaryship
until his death, November 11,
1883, when the Society became
practically inoperative.
Governor Hoadly during his
administration suggested a
revival of the Society, and a meeting
for that purpose was called
to convene at the office of the
Secretary of State, on February
12, 1885. On that date a number of
prominent gentlemen, in-
cluding scholars and professors from
various parts of the State,
420 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
responded to this call and at this meeting, it was decided to ex- tend to all persons in the State, interested in the formation of such a society, an invitation to meet on March 12 (1885) at Columbus. In response to the circular sent out, some sixty gen- tlemen representing all sections of the State, embracing the historical and archaeological interests of Ohio, convened on the day specified, in the Library Room of the State Capitol. This convention continued in session two days and perfected an or- ganization thereafter to be known as The Ohio State Archaeol- |
|
ogical and Historical Society, which was incorporated March 13, 1885. Hon Allen G. Thurman was elected president and Mr. A. A. Graham, secretary. The articles of incorporation succinctly set forth the purposes and aims of the Society. The following have served as presidents of the Society since its organization: Allen G. Thurman, Francis C. Sessions, Rutherford B. Hayes, Roeliff Brinkerhoff and G. Frederick Wright. The Society made a small beginning by collecting books for a library and establishing an archaeological museum, all of which |
Laying Corner Stone of the Society's
Building. 421
was housed in the State Capitol. For
twenty-seven years the
Society has faithfully pursued the lines
of study and investiga-
tion for which it was organized, and has
held regular annual
meetings at Columbus. In that time it
has accumulated a valu-
able collection of relics and
antiquities, consisting of over 200,000
specimens, mostly archaeological in
character, but embracing also
many papers and articles of historical
value. The collection has
been catalogued and arranged in cases in
the Museum Room of
the Society, Page Hall. The Library of
the Society, which num-
bers some 10,000 volumes of great value,
occupies a library room
in the same building.
In 1892, two bills were
introduced in the Legislature, one
to merge this Society with the State
Library, the other simply
to unite the Library of the Society with
the State Library. The
larger bill failed, but the lesser bill
was enacted, and several hun-
dred books which were owned by the
Society were merged with
the State Library, and most of them are
there now; but the So-
ciety struggled on and increased in
membership, and in 1894, the
year after the World's Columbian
Exposition, at which an ex-
hibit was made, the Ohio State
University generously gave us
quarters on their grounds, and our
collection and what little
library we had found quarters in Orton
Hall, and there remained
until May, 1902, when the
property and quarters of the Society
were transferred to Page Hall, where
splendid rooms were
accorded us by the further generosity
and hospitality of the Ohio
State University. It is therefore very
fitting, my good friends,
that this building is erected on the
grounds of the University,
which has all these years been our
patron and friend.
Many times during these long years we
have appealed to the
legislature for an appropriation for a
building of our own. Many
schemes have been proposed, several
bills introduced, but none
of them became effective until two years
ago the Legislature of
1911, put into the appropriation bill
the sum of $100,000, or
rather $50,000 in each bill for 1911 and
1912, respectively, for
the erection of a building. The Trustees
of the Ohio State
University again generously came to our
aid and offered us a
site upon their ground, to our mind the
best, certainly no better
could we have, for the position of this
beautiful building Just at
422 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
the entrance of the Campus and facing
the High street thorough-
fare. The legislature passed those two
bills and the hopes of
these officers who have labored for
twenty years now see the con-
summation of our labors.
And now I have the pleasure of
introducing our honored
and devoted President, Professor G.
Frederick Wright.
ADDRESS OF PROF. G. FREDERICK WRIGHT.
Ohio has been behind many of her sister
states in appreciat-
ing her archaeological and historical
treasures. Confessedly, she
is pre-eminent over all in the wealth of
her prehistoric remains,
while her history records a greater
variety of thrilling episodes
than that of almost any other
commonwealth. Early in the last
century her mounds and earthworks were
sporadically explored by
Squier and Davis to obtain relics of her
prehistoric peoples. The
results of this exploration by these two
eminent citizens of the
State are embodied in the noble volume
which constitutes the
first monograph published by the
Smithsonian Institution at
Washington. But it remained for an
appreciative archaeologist
of the old world to set a just estimate
upon the relics collected at
that time. Mr. Blackmore of Salisbury,
England, gave practical
demonstration of this appreciation by
purchasing the entire col-
lection and erecting for it a special
building in his native town,
whither all American students have to
make a pilgrimage if they
would study the first fruits of
archaeological exploration in Ohio.
At a later date the authorities of the
Peabody Museum in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, of the
National Museum, at Wash-
ington, and of the Field Museum at
Chicago, awoke to the im-
portance of our buried treasures and
spent large sums in ex-
cavating for them. The remarkable
discoveries made by these
outside parties are duly displayed in
the aforesaid museums, and
serve greatly to enhance their
attractiveness.
But, fortunately, these outside
explorers did not find all of
our treasures. Under the liberal
patronage of the state legis-
lature our accomplished Curator,
Professor W. C. Mills, has been
so successful in gleaning the field that
even now our collection of
implements and ornaments from the mounds
and earthworks of
the State exceeds in interest and value
that of any of the other
Laying Corner Stone of the Society's
Building. 423
collections, and has taken the first
prize at all the expositions
where it has been partially displayed.
We cannot, however, say as much for the
historical col-
lections. More than half a century ago,
Wisconsin was so for-
tunate as to engage for the custodian of
its library a widely
known and highly accomplished citizen of
Ohio, who signalized
his appointment by scouring the State in
search of original man-
uscripts bearing upon our early history.
So successful was he
that the Wisconsin Library has a larger
collection of such docu-
ments than we can ever hope to obtain.
The redeeming feature
in the case is that the curators of the
library at Madison are over
generous in giving the students of our
history access to their
treasures, and in permitting us to print
them for the benefit of
our citizens and the world. But
Wisconsin did not get all. We
have already accumulated a large
quantity of original documents
which were overlooked by the
enterprising Wisconsin collector.
Up to this point, one of our greatest
lacks has been an appro-
priate building in which we could safely
preserve and display our
inestimable documents and relics. Many
private collections are
only awaiting the erection of such a
building to be added to our
already great store of valuable objects.
We cannot be too thank-
ful for the appreciation of the work of
the Ohio State Archaeo-
logical and Historical Society which has
been shown in the gener-
ous appropriation of one hundred
thousand dollars ($100,000)
for the erection of the noble building
whose corner stone we are
now proceeding to lay. Hither may all
the teeming population of
our State come from time to time to be
reminded of the privations
and heroism in which the foundations of
our Commonwealth
were laid, and of the contrast between
the privileges of the pres-
ent time and those of the dim
prehistoric ages of which we have
such abundant evidence in the mounds and
earthworks whose
relics enrich our museum. Let us pray
and hope that no acci-
dent may befall those who engage in the
erection of these walls,
and that no disreputable work may enter
into its construction
partially to defeat the generous aim of
the state authorities in
providing the means for its erection.
MR.
RANDALL: It is a fact that the legislature passed the
appropriation of $100,000 for this
building, but that bill had to
424 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
pass through the Governor's office for
he holds the veto power,
and we are equally indebted, therefore,
to good Governor Jud-
son Harmon, who has long been a member
of our Society and
taken a deep and active interest in its
proceedings. We had a
very delightful and successful voyage
through the Governor's
office. Governor Harmon is not able to
be present in person, but
we are greatly favored in having with us
his good Secretary,
Honorable George W. Long, who will speak
for the Executive
Office.
ADDRESS OF HON. GEORGE W. LONG.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, the
Governor's modest
part in signing the bill which makes
provision for this magnifi-
cent building, I am sure will bring full
satisfaction and compen-
sation to him for what he has missed in
the inspiration of the pres-
ent hour, when the milestone marks the
beginning of the above
ground growth of this building.
His interest in the project, his
interest as a citizen of the
state, must be his satisfaction and
answer for him that which he
loses by his enforced absence.
I count myself fortunate in being able
to enter with you, and
those of the officers of this Society,
for whose long and patient
work we owe what will soon be a permanent
home for this
splendid association and its work as
well as the legislature to
whose good sense and judgment and
generosity we owe the pro-
vision which now gives us a home for the
Archaeological and
Historical Society and enables it to
carry its work forward with
that which it absolutely and essentially
needed and without which
it could not well go forward. There is
no one thing which en-
ters more into civic life-into our civic
life as a state, or a nation,
so much as general information-the
spread of knowledge, or
knowing what was accomplished in the
past; what were the
deeds, what were the accomplishments and
what were the forces?
By all those things we learn that
knowledge is essential to con-
tinue successful progress. Therefore,
this building, the work of
this Society, is a direct element of the
strength of our state and
indirectly of our nation. Therefore, it
is well to acknowledge
Laying Corner Stone of the Society's
Building. 425
that no effort, no money which the state
could spend, can be
more worthily spent than that which the
legislature has appro-
priated for the purpose of this Society
in this building.
An eminent French writer has said that
time is blind but
men are stupid. What suggested that idea
was the fact that
time is the ruthless destroyer and
defacer of the marks which
mankind leave upon the face of the
earth, and that when left
alone much that is of importance and of
value becomes in the
course of time destroyed and lost so
that they should only lose
that which was accomplished by those
before them, and men are
stupid in that they often blindly, even
through sheer stupidity
and carelessness, even through purposes
which appeal only to
self, destroy that which would be a
source of information, of
joy, of importance to succeeding
generations. I am glad to say
now that in this latter day, since the
day when this eminent
Frenchman wrote those words, we have
awakened to the fact
that we must not let the facts be
effaced, we must not let its mon-
uments be destroyed, we must not let the
story of the people and
their work be lost, not because it would
be a matter of informa-
tion, but for the teaching, for the
benefit of the knowledge that
may flow to us and to succeeding
generations. This tells me how
important has been the work of these
gentlemen who have so
steadfastly held to their purpose
through all these years, and on
behalf of the Executive Department I
doff the Executive hat to
these gentlemen who have labored and
made possible that which
shall be such an important element to
the people of the State, to
the youth and generation that shall come
in the future.
MR. RANDALL:
The Archaeological and Historical Society
is deeply indebted to the firm, constant
and generous friendship
of the Ohio State University, and the
fact that we are located
upon this campus at the entrance to this
splendid institution is
evidence of the friendship and purpose
and desire of the insti-
tution to father and further our
interests and now Dr. W. O.
Thompson, one of the Trustees of our
Society and President of
the University will address you.
426 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
ADDRESS OF DR. W. O. THOMPSON.
Mr. Chairman, my election to a position
in this Archaeolog-
ical and Historical Society was accepted
as a distinct honor. I,
therefore, rejoice in the hour that is
now here with all the
other members of the Archaeological and
Historical Society. For
indeed this is an hour of genuine
rejoicing. It gives the Society,
as we hope, a permanent place in the
history of the State.
I happen, in the fortune of life, to be
here as the President
of the University, and in that capacity
I rejoice knowing that we
are to have upon this campus,
permanently, so dignified and hon-
ored a society as this one is. It is,
therefore, with sincere pleasure
that we anticipate the completion of a
building which shall be in
keeping with the dignity of the State
and the dignity of the So-
ciety. I come here simply to express
anew our most cordial wel-
come to the Archaeological and
Historical Society and join in
the congratulations of the hour to them
upon this happy and
auspicious day.
I am looking forward to the time when
this very building
itself will be a place to which
distinguished men will come. I
think Ohio in its early phases presents
a great opportunity for
scientific study and research, and I am
glad the State of Ohio
recognizing that fact has given this
Society a permanent home
upon this campus. Not many of the people
of the University,
or of the State or City, are aware of
the fact that we have already
had some of the most distinguished men
of the world appear
upon this campus looking for this
Society. Sir Walter Ramsey of
Scotland came to this place, and the
only thing in Columbus he was
at all interested in was the
Archaeological and Historical Society.
He made the journey at considerable
expense, time and money
for the satisfaction of seeing with his
own eyes the result of the
research work in this line as made in
Ohio. Sir Walter Ramsey
is only one of a number of others, and I
am anticipating the time
to come when scholars from all over the
country will come to
this particular building as the place
where they expect to find
the information for which scholars are
always looking. I ex-
pect, therefore, this building itself
will be a tribute to Ohio's
judgment, to her character, to her own
dignity and to the work
Laying Corner Stone of the Society's
Building. 427
that shall be carried on in this
building and outside of the build-
ding and that it will, in the years to
come, add very greatly to the
distinction of our commonwealth.
I congratulate the people, of Ohio, I
congratulate the Uni-
versity, I congratulate the State upon
this happy hour and the
prospect of this building.
MR. RANDALL: Prof. B. F. Prince of Wittenberg Uni-
versity, Springfield, Ohio, and one of
our most loyal trustees will
now speak.
ADDRESS OF PROF. B. F. PRINCE.
Mr. President: At many of the meetings
held in this City
we discussed the question of a location,
a place, in which to put
our collection. We thought for a long
time it ought to be down
in the City, but that seemed impossible.
Next there was offered
to us ground here upon the State
University Campus, and we
are pleased to know now that we accepted
that proposition, and
that we are here located so favorably on
this ground.
I am sure that every member of the
Directorship of this
Association feels grateful to the State
of Ohio and to the Ohio
State University for this privilege of
locating at this point. I am
sure that as time passes there will be
greater pleasure come to
the trustees as they see what
opportunities and privileges have
been accorded to this Society. There are
a great many things
that helped to contribute to the growth
and prosperity of this
Society. Peoples of long ages past have
laid up relics for us.
They have scattered them all over the
State of Ohio; put them in
mounds where they are being found from
time to time and are
being transported to this place for the
inspection of the people of
today, and in the days to come. The
State of Ohio, or what is
now Ohio, has long been to my mind a
battle field-a battle
ground-a pleasant place, too, in which
to live. People in her
historic times have left their
monuments. After them came
the Indians into this Country. No matter
what their origin they
were here, and they have come down to
us-their memory-in
historic times. They struggled for this
country. We read in
history that the Algonquins and the
Iroquois fought for this
land until they made it a desert; for
almost a hundred years no
428 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
wigwam dared to be raised upon its soil
on account of danger
of some enemy. A little later the
Algonquin, as well as the Iro-
quois, returned to this country in small
tribes and grew, but there
was another enemy rising up against
them, the English and the
French particularly the English. For about twenty years
they struggled for the occupation of
this territory, and the
English finally succeeded, but the
Indian was determined to
hold it, and really not until after the
war of 1812 was this country
held by the white men in security. Now
all these people have laid
up great things for us to learn.
Historically we want to collect
all the information we can and place
them in this building where
they shall be of interest and usefulness
to the generations that
are to come. I am sure that the trustees
are all interested in this
work, and that as the years go by and
new trustees come, they will
find it a pleasure to inspect what we
have done and shall add
more and more to the benefit and to the
honor of this State.
We are thankful for this afternoon; we
are thankful that this
hour has come when the foundation of a
grand building is being
laid and when the efforts that are to
tell for the future in this
society can be carried on with a greater
degree of success than
we have been able to do in the past.
This I say again is a happy
and auspicious day and we are glad for
it.
MR. RANDALL: One of the principal
accomplishments of the
history of our Society has been the
holding at various times
throughout the State historical
celebrations, and the first of
those was held in Marietta in 1888, at
the One Hundredth Anni-
versary of its settlement, at which many
distinguished men of the
nation took part and spoke. One of the
gentlemen here today
was an orator on that occasion. Mr. D.
K. Watson will now ad-
dress you.
ADDRESS OF HON. D. K. WATSON.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I
have lived long
enough to know that a man never knows
when he is going to get
into trouble. Standing on this platform,
together with other
gentlemen here a few moments ago, my
distinguished friend, Mr.
Randall, stepped up to me and asked if I
wouldn't say a few
words. I said I didn't know what to talk
about and he said just
Laying Corner Stone of the Society's
Building. 429
give them a "straight flush."
Not being familiar with that kind
of vernacular, and not knowing what that
meant, thinking he ex-
pected some unusual thing of me I
stepped back and asked a
friend what a straight flush was, and he
said five cards of the
same kind in a sequence. Now, you all
know-I don't know any
more about that than I did before, but
it is so easy for a man to
get into trouble.
I allow no man here or elsewhere to
surpass me in my ad-
miration of what is being accomplished
here today. I believe
most profoundly and thoroughly in the
erection of this build-
ing. I hope it will be beautiful. I hope
that it will be enduring,
I hope it will stand the ages of time
and that it will be
one of the mighty monuments of Ohio and
of this great Uni-
versity of which you, Dr. Thompson, are
such an honored presi-
dent.
A friend of mine some years ago returned
from Egypt and
brought me as a present a scareb. Now,
you all know I suppose
what a scareb is. Years and centuries
and thousands of years
ago the Egyptians saw in the claw of the
beetle or the bug what
he said was immortality and he said
"I have been looking for this
thing and here it is. Here is
immortality or the representation
of it." Not being able to preserve
the bug itself he made it in
imitation of stone and cement, and it
became the emblem of im-
mortality to the Egyptian who believed
in that doctrine, and it
became sacred, and so the scareb became
known as the sacred
bug. It was worn by the rich and
powerful. The King and
Queen adopted it as their insignia of
office, and when they died
it was the custom of the country to bury
with them three of these
scarebs, and for years people from
Germany and France and
other countries have been going over to
the tombs of Egypt
where those old Kings and Queens were
buried thousands of
years ago and taking them up and taking
these scarebs away from
them and bringing them home, and that is
one I have, and it is
4,300 years old. On the flat side of it
is this inscription "As
long as I am King of Egypt, justice
shall be done throughout the
land." It is worth something, Mr.
Randall to you, and it is worth
something to me, to know on this bright
and beautiful afternoon
in the year 1912, that twenty-three
centuries before Christ was
430 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
born, an Egyptian King was thinking of doing justice to his people throughout the land. We are trying to do that now in this country and some other countries and I hope we may succeed. I often think what it rep- resents. I often think of the ages that have passed and I often think of the history it could write, if it could write at all, and I have learned more history from that little thing no longer than your finger nail, than from Macauley, Hume and Gibbon, not |
|
that it said so much, but it said it in such a way and said it forty-three centuries ago. I hope that if ever this building is destroyed, if ever the waves of age and time annihilate it, there will be left the con- tents of that box, so that men who stand here thousands of years from now will read in that history something that will be of importance to them. I believe, Mr. Chairman, in a man doing something to-day that will benefit the man that lives tomorrow, and I believe in a man doing something this year that will be of some benefit to |
Laying Corner Stone of the Society's Building. 431
the man that lives next year, and if you can do something now that will be of some assistance to a man who lives a thousand years from now that man's life has not been a failure. MR. RANDALL: Ladies and gentlemen we come now to the last act of the program. Curator Mills will place the box in the corner stone and spread the first trowel of mortar. Prof. W. C. Mills then stepped forward with the box con- taining the articles to be sealed in the cornerstone. The articles were: copy of the bills of the Seventy-Ninth General Assembly, containing the items of appropriation for the erection of the building; copies of the first and twentieth annual volumes of the proceedings of the Society; circular of the list of publications of the Society, Constitution and officers; printed pamphlet of the specifications of the building; proceedings of the meetings of the Building Committee; speech of President Wright, just delivered; copies of the Columbus papers of the day, September 12, 1912, Ohio State Journal, Columbus Evening Dispatch and Columbus Citizen. Prof. Mills then placed the box in its receptacle in the cornerstone and spread the first trowel of mortar; President Wright and Secretary Randall likewise handled the trowel, when the upper stone was lowered in position and the interesting exer- cises were at an end. |
|
LAYING CORNER STONE
OF
THE SOCIETY'S
BUILDING.
On the afternoon of September 12, 1912, the Trustees and
officers of the Society laid the Corner
Stone of the building
of the Society, located on the Campus of
the Ohio State Uni-
versity.
The ground was first broken for the
excavation on June 25th.
The weather on the day of the corner
stone laying was ideal
and a goodly audience of the friends of
the Society, including
many professors of the University,
assembled to witness the
ceremonies. There were present, Prof. J.
N. Bradford, the archi-
tect, and Messrs. L. V., W. B., and
George Dawson of the
Dawson Construction Company, the
contractors. The following
Trustees of the Society were in
attendance: Prof. G. Frederick
Wright, Hon. D. J. Ryan, Col. John W.
Harper, Prof.
B. F. Prince, Dr. H. A. Thompson,
Treasurer E. F. Wood,
Curator W. C. Mills and Secretary E. O.
Randall. Mr. Randall
acted as chairman of the occasion, the
exercises of which were
as follows:
INVOCATION.
BY REV. H. A. THOMPSON.
Oh, King of kings and Lord of lords. we
come reverently
into Thy presence this afternoon to
implore Thy blessing upon
us and Thy presence with us in the
exercise of this hour. We
confess our sins before thee, but at the
same time we would re-
member that as a father pitieth his
children so the Lord pitieth
those who fear him. We thank thee for
thy loving kindness
which has followed each one of us all
along the journey of life.
So also we thank thee for the great
nation which thou hast
established on this western hemisphere.
We rejoice in the dis-
covery of this land and especially in
its settlement, many years
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