Ohio History Journal
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(438) THE WORLD WAR MEMORIAL WING-NORTH FACADE |
DEDICATION OF OHIO'S WORLD WAR
MEMORIAL
An event of first importance in the
history of the
Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society is here
to be recorded. On April 6, 1926, the
Memorial Wing
of the Museum and Library building of
the Society was
dedicated with impressive ceremonies.
This was the
culmination of a movement that began
soon after the
close of the World War. The collections
of the Society
had outgrown the space provided in the
main building.
The accumulation of trophies and
mementos of the
World War, including a large
consignment promised
from Washington, the growth of the
library, including
tons of newspapers, documents,
manuscripts and other
material collected while the war was in
progress, and
the natural growth of the museum
through mound ex-
plorations and other sources all
emphasized the impera-
tive demand for more room. It was also
felt that this
building, located at the State Capital
and on the grounds
of the Ohio State University where it
is annually visited
by thousands of students from all parts
of the state,
should include as a prominent feature a
memorial to the
soldiers of the World War.
Efforts to get an appropriation for the
building at
the session of the legislature in 1921
were not success-
ful. Much was gained, however, by
bringing to the at-
tention of that body the needs of the
Society, and the
General Assembly, in 1923, made the
necessary appro-
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440
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
priation to complete the building that
had already been
commenced with funds of the Society.
A detailed account of the successive
steps taken in
the building of this dignified and
appropriate memorial
will be related in succeeding pages.
The purpose is
here to present a brief account of the
dedicatory exer-
cises, including all the addresses
delivered. Suffice it to
say that the new wing, added to the
north end of the
original building and extending westward
on the Uni-
versity grounds on Fifteenth Avenue,
180 feet, makes
a total frontage of 230½ feet on the
avenue. The base-
ment floor is divided into a number of
work rooms, in-
cluding a cabinet shop and apartments
for the curator
of history, curator of archaeology and
others assisting
in the preparation of exhibits. The
first floor of the
wing is divided into four rooms,
including the memorial
room with the bronze tablets, one room
on each side for
World War exhibits and a large audience
room at the
west end, which will later be used for
museum purposes
as will also the four rooms of the
second floor.
Professor Joseph N. Bradford, Architect
of the
Ohio State University, designed the
Memorial Wing.
He was also the architect of the original
building front-
ing High Street. His plans were
approved in the first
instance by Major Robert S. Harsh who
was then State
Architect, but who was succeeded in
that position by
Mr. Herbert B. Briggs. Major Harsh
continued his
contact with the work through
appointment on the Me-
morial Building Committee. Both he and
Mr. Briggs
worked in perfect harmony with the
trustees of the So-
ciety and Mr. Bradford in perfecting
the architectural
and artistic features of the building.
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 441
Every feature of the dedicatory program
had been
carefully arranged by a committee of
which General Ed-
ward Orton, Jr., was chairman and the
leading spirit.
Arrangements had been made to have the
University
regiment march in the afternoon
procession and detach-
ments from Fort Hayes and the Ohio
National Guard
were to participate. About 4,000
uniformed men under
arms would have been in the line of
march had the
weather been favorable. The forenoon
meeting, to be
devoted to addresses on the development
of interest in
the field of Ohio history, had also
been carefully planned.
Under the immediate direction of
Professor Wilbur H.
Siebert, an excellent program had been
arranged and
speakers had been secured.
The day chosen for the dedication was
the ninth an-
niversary of the declaration of war
against Germany
and the central powers by the United
States. The morn-
ing dawned with threatening skies. The
weather was
cold. At intervals rain fell with sleet
that threatened
to change to snow. The inclement
weather kept thou-
sands from attending the exercises. The
uniformed
men were ready to march regardless of
the rain that
now in intervals changed to torrents,
but those in charge
were determined that nothing should
occur to endanger
the health of marching students and
soldiers. General
Orton had arranged his plans for just
such an emer-
gency, should it arrive. The program
with very slight
changes was therefore presented without
a single break.
Practically all of the speaking was in
the audience
room of the new wing, and the
"loud speaking" ap-
paratus furnished by the Columbus
Evening Dispatch,
installed in the other rooms of the
building, made dis-
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442 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications tinctly audible every word that was uttered by the speak- ers. The exercises throughout were well received and the cordial appreciation of guests and friends was freely expressed at the time and has often since been echoed by those who were so fortunate as to be present. |
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At 10 o'clock A. M., Wilbur H. Siebert, Professor of European History in the Ohio State University, called to order the conference on "Cultivating the Field of Ohio History" and made brief introductory remarks as follows: |
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 443
The holding of this conference on
"Cultivating the Field of
Ohio History" and the dedication of
the handsome Memorial
Wing of this building this afternoon,
marks, if I am not mis-
taken, an epoch in the history of the
Ohio State Archaeological
and Historical Society.
It has long been the wish of the
Trustees of this Society to
promote research and develop a wider
interest in our state his-
tory, in cooperation with the leading
historical societies of Ohio.
We who are present have the privilege of
witnessing and taking
part in the beginning of this movement.
I am sure I express the sentiments of
this company when I
congratulate most heartily the Ohio
State Archaeological and His-
torical Society on this notable and
auspicious occasion.
We have a program of five speakers,
which I think we may
begin at this time.
I wish first to introduce Mr. Arthur C.
Johnson, President
of the Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Society, who will speak
in behalf of our Society.
Cordial applause greeted President
Johnson, who
spoke as follows:
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: Not
the least pleas-
ure and satisfaction which the Ohio
State Archaeological and
Historical Society is deriving from this
glorious day in its history,
is the privilege of playing host to this
forenoon's gathering.
You have come together for a conference
upon the subject
that is closest to your hearts,
"Cultivating the Field of Ohio His-
tory," a purpose that presupposes a
need and indicates a desire
for more satisfactory results, both
tangible and intangible, for
the good of the cause we represent.
It was with hesitation and some
misgiving that the president
of the Society consented to appear
before you this morning, even
to read this brief introductory paper.
He realized that he must
appear as the veriest layman among those
highly trained and ex-
perienced in their line of work. He
realized that you would be
here because of the magnetic presence on
the program of such
names as Siebert, Flick, Cathcart, Greve
and Keeler, so you need
have no fear of being wearied by any
digressions at this time. It
is the purpose of this paper, not to
recount the history or achieve-
ments of the state Society, which you
well know, but to extend a
hearty welcome, to discuss briefly the
Society's relationship to its
sister organizations, and to make a single suggestion
in the hope
that it may prove of some constructive
value.
It is safe to say that our historical
societies of whatever na-
444 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
ture, whether voluntary, endowed or
state supported, can have no
real excuse for being and functioning,
other than to render some
service to their respective communities
or to, the state at large.
The Ohio State Archaeological Society
bears the greater responsi-
bility in this respect, because it must
account to the whole people
of Ohio, including the very members of
all other Ohio historical
organizations who are in that measure
its patrons and its sup-
orters. As such, they have, or could be
expected to have, the
keenest interest in its welfare. If the
Society is rendering a
service commensurate with the cost of
its maintenance and the
effort expended in its behalf, then its
existence and its operation
are justifiable If not, it must soon
lose what confidence and
support it has enjoyed.
There is in this no veiled suggestion
that the Society is
not worth while. Quite the contrary. We
take the greatest pride
in its history, in its accomplishments,
and in the character and
personality of that long line of men and
women who struggled
against public indifference and endless
discouragements through
its formative years, that we might enjoy
the fruits of their en-
deavors. For their sake alone we should
keep the faith all the
more rigidly.
But the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society
cannot afford to overlook any
opportunities for progress and
greater things, nor can any of its
sister organizations. There
might be a distinct advantage to all
concerned, in cooperative
effort. The way has been paved by the
pioneers in the work.
There is an unmistakable awakening of
public interest in the
subjects with which our organizations
have to do. There is a
persistent and growing demand for
historical truth as the fa-
cilities for successful research work
have been increased. The
world has turned from the horrors of war
with a growing appe-
tite for cultural things, and there is a
loosening of public and
private purse strings to satisfy that
appetite. The highly special-
ized cultural lines have been among the
last to profit, but their day
is at hand.
How, then, can we best merit this ready
support?
By doing our job in the best possible
manner and by pre-
senting a solid front in the promotion
of our common cause. To
accomplish this it might be well for the
various organizations
whose interests and purposes lie within
the range of historical
work, to consider the formation of a new
state association with
a working principle to which they can
all safely subscribe.
If in the past old jealousies prevented
such a movement, it
is time those jealousies are forgotten;
if in the past some unfor-
tunate prejudices or competitions may
have arisen as bars to
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 445
closer relationships, they can now be
put aside. The spirit of the
times has changed. The suggestion is offered stripped
of details,
but in its larger aspect it carries no
thought of physical or finan-
cial consolidations, no thought of
interference, no abandonment
of individual activities.
May we not hope that in the very spirit
of this meeting here
today, there will be shown the seed of
united, unselfish, well-
ordered and systematic effort in
"Cultivating the Field of Ohio
History," to the end that Ohio may
reap by our hand an ever in-
creasing cultural harvest.
ADDRESS OF DR. ALEXANDER C. FLICK
In introducing the next speaker,
Professor Siebert
said:
We are fortunate in being able to secure
the presence of Dr.
Alexander C. Flick, from Albany, New
York, who is Director of
the Division of Archives and History of
New York State, who
will make the chief address of the
morning on the subject, "The
State's Function in Promoting the
Cultivation of its History."
Dr. Flickthen delivered with fine
effect the following.
address:
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: --
Chauncey M. Depew in his reminiscences
covering a period
of eighty years takes credit to himself
for the observation: "Some
men are born great, others have
greatness thrust upon them, and
still others come from Ohio." I am
proud of the fact that I may
claim membership in the third category.
Ohio is my birthplace
as it is that of my father and mother. My
grandparents, like
many of yours, came into this state on
the great waves of immi-
gration from Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Among my earliest
recollections are the heroic deeds and
hardships of the pioneers
and their encounters with the red men,
heard at the knee of my
great-grandmother, who came to Ohio when
it was a wilderness
and before it was organized as a
commonwealth. With these as-
sociations in my mind, it is a pleasure
to address this Society on
such an auspicious occasion. I come from
an older sister state
and such advice as I have to offer is
both as a native of Ohio and
as an adopted son of New York.
The city of Boston, which played no
small role in the early
colonization of Ohio, has the reputation
of being a self-centered
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446 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications community. It was quite in keeping with this character that Bos- ton selected as its motto a Latin prayer which runs as follows: Sicut patribus sit deus nobis. A class of Boston school-boys was asked to give the English version of that motto. One of them gave this translation: "Oh, God, how sick we are of the old |
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fathers." There is occasion for amazement and alarm at the in- difference manifested by Americans at the lack of interest in their own family origins, and in their local, state and national history. Recently in addressing a club of about one hundred members of more than the average intelligence, I asked how many of them knew the names of their great-grandparents. Only ten per cent had the information and only a few of them could tell the birth- place of these ancestors. |
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 447
A few years ago Doctor Starr of the
University of Chicago
visited those remarkable ruins in Central America --
rivals of
the pyramids of Egypt -- old palaces and
temples built no one
knows when or by whom, of huge blocks of
stone, and laid up
without mortar and yet with such
precision that one cannot in-
sert a knife blade in the joints. After
some difficulty travelling
by canoe, pony and on foot he reached
the ruins and was intro-
duced by his guide to the old Indian
chief who rules over that
part of the world. The chief asked him
to sit down for a pow-
wow. Among the questions asked was this:
"Where do you live?"
"I live in a great city called
Chicago," replied Doctor Starr.
"Chicago? Chicago?" said the
chief, "Where is Chicago?"
"Well," answered Dr. Starr,
"if you take your swiftest pony, turn
his head towards the north star and ride
in that direction for
three moons, and then turn his head
towards the rising sun and
ride in that direction for three more
moons, you will at last come
to Chicago, where I live." The
wrinkled old red man looked up
with amazement and pity on his face and
remarked: "Well!
Well! how far you do live from the
center of the world!" One
feels the greatest admiration for the
old chief's pride in his lo-
cality. His outlook on the world was
greatly circumscribed but
he had a pardonable loyalty in the place
of his birth and an at-
tachment to the source of his
protection. We, too, need to cul-
tivate a deeper loyalty to our origins,
to the ancient shelters, to
the institutions which minister to our
needs, and to the organiza-
tion to which we belong.
Some years ago I heard Booker T.
Washington, the great
Negro educator, give an address in which
he told of an ambitious
colored boy named Sam who wished to make
his life count for
something. After giving due
consideration to the various trades
and professions, Sam informed Mr.
Washington that he would
like to become a school-teacher. In that
calling he felt that he
could do the most good and at the same
time live a congenial life.
"Well, Sam," said Mr.
Washington, "if you go down to the
county seat, pass the examination, and
get a certificate to teach,
I'll get you a school." Sam took
the examination in due time,
and upon his return Mr. Washington asked
"Well, Sam, how did
you get along with the examination
?" "That was a very peculiar
examination, Mr. Washington," Sam
replied. "I passed the tests
for reading, writing, arithmetic and
geography without any
trouble. But the history examination was
something awful, ter-
rible
Why, Mr. Washington, what do you think they asked me
in that history paper? They asked about
things that happened
long before I was born! How was I
supposed to know?"
Too many of us are like Sam -- we
are interested only in
448 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
the present. Naturally we should be
concerned about the prob-
lems of today and should strive to solve
them so as to improve
the communities in which we live, and
the state, nation and world.
But we cannot understand our problems
today and meet them
intelligently unless we know their
origins, their development, and
the previous efforts to adjust them. The
roots of the present lie
deep in the past and the present is
intelligible only in the light of
what has gone before.
An ancient philosopher tried to beguile
a certain bored king
by reading poetry to him, but the
monarch did not respond to the
treatment. Then the philosopher played
his trump card and sug-
gested the historians! To this his Majesty
replied: "No, not
the historians! I want the truth for a
change!" Thus it will
be seen that from early days down to
modern times, when a great
industrial magnate characterizes all
history as "bunk", the his-
torian has labored under peculiar
disadvantages. There may be
some consolation, however, in the fact
that the very man who
so cavalierly waves aside all history as
"bunk" is spending a for-
tune in creating a unique museum of
history and is exceedingly
particular about the genuineness and
authenticity of his exhibits.
For this, at least, we historians may be
thankful.
SURVEY OF THE BEGINNINGS
OF OHIO HISTORY
Few states in the Union have a more
varied, fascinat-
ing, picturesque, heroic, and
instructive history than Ohio.
The history of Ohio may be said to be an
epitome of the history
of Colonial North America. Its
beginnings were cosmopolitan --
French and English -- Dutch, German,
Scotch, Irish, Swede and
Negro; Quaker, Catholic, Lutheran,
Calvinist, Anglican, Mo-
ravian, and Methodist; New Englander,
New Yorker, Pennsyl-
vanian, Jerseyite, Marylander and
Virginian -- all contributed to
the creation of this commonwealth. No
doubt much of its virility
and resourcefulness is due to these
united influences.
Broadly speaking, it is divided into two
great epochs -- that
of the aborigines concerned with the
Mound Builders and In-
dians, and that connected with the
Europeans. Viewed in time
it stretches back from the present
through nearly 300 years of the
white man's dominion, at least an equal
number of years of the
red man's occupation, and no one as yet
knows how long under
the Mound Builders. Do you realize that
the human story of
this State has evolved under five
distinct racial and national
groups?
I. The Mound Builders about whom, thanks to this Society,
we know so much, and yet, since they
left no written records, so
aggravatingly little, begin the account.
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 449
2. The Indians, whose direct and
indirect influence on white
civilization has been given too little attention, come
next. Traces
of Indian blood are still found in the people of the
State. They
scattered Indian names over nearly every
county. They left an
indelible impress on the literature.
Their trails were widened
into roads in later days. They taught
the white pioneers the use
of new foods and medicinal plants, the
canoe, cunning in the
chase and on the war path, courage,
hardihood and endurance.
3. The French period ran from 1608 to
1763, or 150 years.
New France extended from Quebec to
Louisiana and brought
Ohio under the white flag and golden
lilies of the Bourbons.
Early in the 17th century French
explorers, traders, missionaries
and soldiers penetrated this region and
by exploration and occu-
pation gave France title to Ohio, as it
did to northern and western
New York. La Salle in 1669 took formal
possession of Ohio in
the name of his royal sovereign. The
French allied themselves
with various tribes of natives to drive
out the hostile Iroquois.
They built forts and stationed soldiers
in them to hold the terri-
tory.
For about a hundred years the French
were bitter rivals of
the English and their savage allies, the
Iroquois, for possession
of Ohio. Both sides recognized that here
was an inland empire
worth fighting for. In 1749 Celoron de
Bienville took formal
possession of southern Ohio by planting
leaden plates at the
mouths of the streams flowing into the
Ohio River. In 1754 the
French drove the British out of the fort
they had built at the
forks of the Ohio and constructed Fort
Duquesne. It was the
race for this rich territorial prize
which brought on the French
and Indian War and resulted in the
conquest of all of New
France by the English in 1763.
One of the neglected factors in the
history of Ohio is the
French influence extended over nearly a
century and a half. Nor
did the French contribution end in 1763
with conquest by Britain.
I cannot refrain from reminding you of
another infusion of
French blood and ideas -- not large but
still significant -- in
which a New Yorker played an important
role.
In 1786 the Second Ohio Land Company was
organized at
Boston to settle Ohio. The next year Dr.
Manasseh Cutler of
Connecticut bought from the national
government for this com-
pany a large tract of land north of the
Ohio River, eastward from
Marietta, and took an option on a second
tract westward from
Marietta to the Scioto. Here enters
Colonel William Duer of
New York to whom was transferred half of
the Scioto tract.
Colonel Duer, like many other ambitious
men of that day and
this, was a land speculator. He thought of France as a
lucrative
Vol. XXXV -- 29.
450 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
field for his operations. In 1788, one
Joel Barlow was given
power of attorney to sell Ohio lands and
hurried off to Paris
where he opened an attractive office,
had a beautiful colored map
of the Scioto tract made with a village
and farm lots plotted out
on it, and began to advertise this El
Dorado in the New
World to the gullible Frenchmen. His prospectus praised
the
climate as balmy and frostless; mentioned the fine
streams
abounding in big fish; called attention
to the miraculous trees that
produced sugar spontaneously and the bushes that grew
candles
ready to light; described the abundance
of edible fowls and tame
venison; told of the rich and fertile soil; and
stressed the absence
of devouring wolves, lions, tigers,
elephants, taxes and military
service. Evidently salesmanship is not a
recent art for within a
short time Barlow had sold many farms,
collected the first pay-
ments, and supplied the deeds.
At this point, to add interest to the
scenario, Barlow disap-
peared with the cash. In 1790 about 600
French purchasers of
unseen farms in the Ohio wilderness left
for the New World.
They landed in Virginia only to discover that Barlow's
deeds
were to lands which he was not
authorized to sell. To the credit
of Colonel Duer be it said, that at his own expense he
transported
the defrauded Frenchmen to Ohio, did his
best to straighten out
their titles, and helped them build
their blockhouse and log huts.
Their new village was named Gallipolis.
The national govern-
ment tried to make amends by voting them
the "French Grant".
But they were unsuited to a pioneer
community. Among them
were excellent goldsmiths, watch-makers,
painters, sculptors,
glass-blowers, stone-cutters and
gardeners, but the wilderness had
no use for such accomplishments. The
settlement soon broke up
and the members scattered over the State
or left it altogether.
Many an Ohio family is proud to claim
one of these French
pioneers as an ancestor. The institution
and civilization of the
Buckeye state cannot be interpreted
correctly without taking into
account the French influences.
4. The English period in Ohio history
began with the dis-
coveries of the Cabots and the
settlements on the Atlantic sea-
board. The charters of Virginia,
Connecticut and Massachusetts,
in defining boundaries rather vaguely
from the Atlantic westward
to the Pacific, included this State and
formed the basis for later
claims.
Great Britain sought to strengthen these
early assumptions
to ownership, as against France, by
treaties with the Iroquois
Indians. This powerful confederacy
claimed jurisdiction over
Ohio as well as northern and western New
York, even after being
driven out of part of it by the
Wyandottes, Miamis and Shaw-
Dedication of Ohio's World
War Memorial 451
nees with the aid of the French. Since
the Iroquois needed Eng-
lish military aid against their French and Indian foes,
they readily
entered into a treaty in 1701 by which the King of
England was
given title to Ohio. This early cession was reconfirmed
by later
treaties in 1726 and 1744. When that capable
empire-builder,
Sir William Johnson, appeared in New
York as the Superintend-
ent of Indians for the northern
district, his jurisdiction extended
over Ohio and he labored unceasingly and
successfully in
strengthening his monarch's title to
Ohio. Read the Papers of
Sir William Johnson now being
printed by the Division of
Archives and History of the State of New
York, and you will
realize the magnitude of Sir William's
operations, which have
not been given sufficient notice by
historians.
The English were not slow to add to the
claims of discovery
and Indian treaty that of occupation and
settlement. Certainly
as early as 1730, perhaps much earlier,
English traders and ex-
plorers from Pennsylvania and Virginia
began to visit eastern
and southern Ohio. The Moravian
missionaries labored among
the Indians at an early date and used
Gnadenhutten as headquar-
ters. An English settlement seems to
have been established in
Shelby county as early as 1719. The First Ohio
Company, or-
ganized by prominent Virginians and
Englishmen in 1748 to
colonize the Ohio Valley, obtained a
large tract of land from
King George II and in 1750 sent
Christopher Gist to explore the
lands adjacent to the Ohio River as far
down as the Scioto. In
1754 the English built a fort at
Pittsburgh which was seized by
the French, as mentioned before.
The long clash between France and
England for Ohio, and
other valuable regions, culminated in
the French and Indian War.
With the dying words of Wolfe at Quebec
in 1763, Great Britain
added to what Professor Egerton calls
The First British Empire,
a gigantic region including Canada, the
Great Lakes, Ohio, and
regions westward. Thus it came to pass
that Ohio became an
English colony without a rival in 1763.
Even the claims of the
colonies, based on their charters and
earlier stressed by the British
government, were now ignored. For twenty
years Ohio was an
undisputed British colony.
5. The American period began in 1776 and
has endured
150 years. Ohio's part in the Revolution
has been rather sadly
neglected. It is not commonly known that
three important causes
of disruption of the British Empire by
civil war were associated
with this British colony. In the first
place, a royal edict in 1763
forbade the acquisition of any lands
from the Indians beyond the
Appalachian mountains. In the second
place, all trade with the
natives was restricted to those who had
secured royal licenses.
452 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
These two measures aroused the
indignation of the frontiers.
men, who joined the disgruntled
merchants of the sea-coast and
the angered planters of the south in
resisting the interference of
the British Parliament in colonial
affairs. The third measure
was the Quebec Act in 1774 which annexed
Ohio to Quebec, le-
galized the Catholic religion and French
law, and extended
them to Ohio. This act aroused the fears
of the Protestant
colonists and went far to provoke
rebellion.
During the Revolution the white settlers
on the frontier,
augmented by thousands who joined them
from the east, and aided
at times by Continental troops, kept up
a continual warfare with
the Indian allies of the British. Lord Dunmore
and General
George Rogers Clark won the Northwest
Territory for the Amer-
icans, and in 1783 the Mississippi was
recognized as the western
boundary of the United States. Fort
Laurens, the first military
stockade in Ohio under American
authority, was abandoned in
1779. This region was the theater of active Indian
warfare from
1780
to 1785 in which Colonel Williamson
operated in the Tus-
caroras country, and Colonel William
Crawford was burned at
the stake at Upper Sandusky.
Meanwhile six states revived their
claims to western lands,
which they wished to use to pay their
soldiers and to meet Revo-
lutionary war expenses. Virginia and New
York both claimed
all of the Northwest. Massachusetts and
Connecticut insisted
upon having the middle third of the
Northwest. Maryland in
1776 demanded "that the back lands
claimed by the British crown"
should be surrendered to Congress for
the common good and
formed into separate states. By 1781 all
claims by separate states
were waived, although Connecticut
reserved a strip of 120 miles
along the southern shore of Lake Erie
known as Western Re-
serve, and Virginia reserved a military
tract on the Little Miami
for her Revolutionary soldiers.
After the Revolution Ohio was open to
settlement. In 1786
the Second Ohio Company was organized by
New England
Revolutionary soldiers to colonize the
Ohio region. The North-
west Territory was organized in 1787 and
Arthur Saint Clair was
appointed Governor. The next year, 1788,
he and other terri-
torial officials arrived at Fort Harmar
and then located at Ma-
rietta, which became the capital. The
first courts were opened.
Hamilton county was organized in 1790.
Governor Saint Clair
made a treaty with the Six Nations and
with six other tribes in
1789 but there was no real peace until
General Anthony Wayne
in 1795 broke the Indian alliance
against the whites and forced
them to sign the peace treaty at
Greenville, Ohio. In I798 a
territorial legislature was elected and
met in 1799 in Cincinnati
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 453
The first church was built at Columbia
in 1790 and the earliest
newspaper printed in Cincinnati in 1793.
Then followed settle-
ments in rapid succession -- Marietta in
1788; Columbia 1788;
Cincinnati 1789; North Bend 1789;
Gallipolis 1790; Manchester
1791; Cleveland 1796; Chillicothe 1796
and so on. By 1799
there were 15 settlements with 15,000 white people,
and by 1810
the population had jumped to 231,000.
Meanwhile, in 1803, Ohio
had become a state and had started on
her marvellous growth.
I have outlined the fascinating
beginnings of this common-
wealth. For the later development, I
refer you to Professor Sie-
bert's excellent book on the government
and history of Ohio, and
to other works.
SOURCES OF OHIO HISTORY
Every group of people leaves behind it
certain remains from
which its civilization may be
reconstructed more or less satisfac-
torily. These sources are of two kinds
-- unwritten and written.
The unwritten sources consist of oral
traditions, customs,
and material things. A vast amount of
information has been
handed down in this commonwealth by word
of mouth from
generation to generation from the days
of the Indians and the
pioneers. All of you will recall the
traditions, tales and stories
received from your ancestors. The
quantity of this material is
tremendous. Only a fraction of it has
been recorded. Much of
it has perished with the passing of the
older people. What re-
mains should be gathered up and
preserved in some systematic
manner. I realize of course that much of
it may be of question-
able value, but nevertheless most of it
is unique and priceless.
Once lost, it can never be recovered.
In like manner the customs, habits and
ways of doing things
have gradually changed during the past
century. Political, social,
religious, educational, and industrial
institutions of today are
unlike those of our grandfathers and
still more different from
those of our great grandfathers. Who has
noted in detail the
changes? A few diaries, letters and
histories have recorded some
of them, but no systematic and concerted
effort has been made
to record accurately this evolution in
the civilization of this com-
monwealth. It is still possible to
reclaim much, but the longer the
delay the more difficult will be the
task.
The next group of unwritten sources is
so numerous that it
will be best to summarize them under the
following four heads:
I. Buildings of historical significance
either as types of
different periods of civilization or
because connected with some
important incident or with some famous
person. Under this
heading would come the log cabin, the
early homes of boards,
454 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
brick and stone -- school-houses,
churches, taverns and public
buildings -- sawmills, grist-mills,
cider-mills, and bridges --
blockhouses and forts, etc.
2. The
furniture and furnishings of these buildings such
as kitchen utensils, dishes, chairs,
tables, beds, rugs, curtains,
stoves, lamps, candlesticks,
spinning-wheels, musical instruments,
mirrors, pictures, statuary, etc., etc.
3. Clothing and articles of personal use
and adornment for
children, young folks, and grown ups.
4. Machinery and tools used, on the farm
and in various
trades and industries, weapons, traps,
harness, vehicles for work
and pleasure, etc., etc.
These articles illustrate the life, labor,
occupations, habits,
comforts, hardships, amusements,
beliefs, and culture of by-gone
generations in a manner not to be
obtained in any other way.
Thousands of these valuable sources may
still be obtained from
deserted buildings, cellars, attics,
sheds, barns and junk shops,
They are disappearing with the passage
of each year, however,
through the furnace, the rubbish heap,
the ash man and the Sal-
vation Army wagon. Through public and
private initiative, the
State should be scoured to collect and
preserve them. A hundred
years from now, they will all have
disappeared except those de-
liberately reclaimed. Five centuries
later, they will be priceless
sources of the period just behind us.
The written and printed sources of the
State's history include
the following four classes:
1. Private diaries, letters, business records, family Bibles,
sermons, lectures, and minutes of all
sorts of clubs and societies.
2. Cemetery
records, tombstones and church records.
3. Public records and official maps of
townships, villages,
counties, cities and the State.
4. Newspapers, pamphlets, magazines and
books.
This is the material on which historians
must rely largely to
write local and state history and
personal biography. "No doc-
uments, no history," said the
famous French historian Langlois.
Yet with the exception of the
newspapers, journals and books
most of these primary sources are in
manuscript form. What is
still worse, these precious materials
are largely in private hands,
and many of your official documents are
owned by institutions
and individuals outside of the State. I
venture to guess that you
would find them scattered across the
Republic from New York
to Seattle. Your local records have been
shamefully and inex-
cusably neglected. Many have already
perished forever from
fire, flood, mildew, and theft. Those
remaining are largely in
the hands of local officials who have no
idea of their value and
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 455
little concern for their safety. They
are housed, in many in-
stances, in buildings that are not
fireproof, and are seldom cata-
logued for use. Few of them have been
printed. Such is the
status today of the records that tell
the story of the settlement,
political organization and growth of
this great Buckeye State of
whose history you and I are so proud.
The public records of the State, I am
led to believe, are in
better condition than the local records.
They are by no means
intact, however, and many of them remain
unprinted. There is
room likewise for improvement in their
safety and in their ar-
rangement and cataloging for use.
After painting this dismal picture,
perhaps I may console
you with the statement that Ohio is not
alone in the neglect of its
historical records. It is a common
American disease, and even
New York has ample room for improvement.
PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL SOURCES
After explaining the character of this
state's historical
sources, the next question is, by what
means can they be pre-
served for use? I should like to discuss
three agencies which
ought to be brought into cooperation for
this service. They in-
clude private initiative and state aid.
1. It goes without saying that all native and adopted sons
and daughters of Ohio should have
sufficient pride in its history
to support every effort to improve the
present deplorable situation.
This task is a larger one, however, than
might appear at first
thought. The people generally are
apathetic and indifferent. To
overcome this inertia will require much
missionary work on the
part of the devotees of Clio. The press
will be glad to open its
columns to publicity for the purpose of
arousing a deeper and
wider interest in state history.
2. The historical and patriotic
bodies of the state must bear
the brunt of this task. Ohio is
fortunate in having some strong
regional organizations like the Western
Reserve Historical Society
of Cleveland, the Historical and
Philosophical Society at Cincin-
nati and the President Hayes Memorial
Library at Fremont.
These societies should be supplemented
by others so that the
whole state would be completely covered.
New York has more
than a hundred such bodies, the tendency
being to organize them
by counties and cities. These local
societies should assume re-
sponsibility for stimulating interest in
local history, for the pres-
ervation and publication of local
records as well as other histori-
cal materials, and for the formation of
local historical museums.
They will have to take the initiative
also in the preservation of
historical buildings; in the erection of markers on
historic sites;
456 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
and in the completion of a survey of
historical materials, his-
toric spots, and historic structures.
Finally they should cooperate
with the local patriotic societies,
schools, newspapers, churches,
lodges and clubs, and be willing to join
with other historical so-
cieties in a state-wide federation of
all such bodies under the
leadership of this State Society.
The patriotic organizations of the State
should be the staunch-
est allies of the historical societies. In New York we
find them
willing to cooperate with every movement
to further interest in
historic things and consequently we
greatly prize their friendship.
Looking at your situation in Ohio
somewhat as an outsider,
it seems to me that, logically,
effective leadership in the renascence
of interest in state history must
devolve upon the State Archae-
ological and Historical Society. It has
a venerable career and
enjoys a nation-wide reputation. Located
in the capital, connected
with the State University, and receiving
support from the State
treasury, it holds a singularly
advantageous position. Its work
in the field of archaeology and
ethnology, and the Museum which
has resulted from its researches, are
notable. The time has come,
however, when it must seek to do for the
history of the state in
general what it has done for the
archaeology. It should correlate
and federate all the local and regional
historical agencies in order
to define and direct some uniform state
policy.
Perhaps some adjustments may be made so
that the principal
regional societies may have
representation on your board of trus-
tees. It certainly would induce friendly
and effective cooperation
between the State Society and local
bodies if a federation or
league could be established by which all
members of county and
regional associations became,
automatically, members of the State
Society as in Iowa and Wisconsin;
Massachusetts has a Bay State
Historical League of more than twenty
societies; and Pennsyl-
vania operates under a Federation of
Historical Societies.
The State Society should insist upon the
protection of the
remains and records of state history,
whether in private or public
hands, from loss through neglect and
wanton carelessness. It
should maintain a bureau of information
on state and local his-
tory, including biography and genealogy.
It should outline some
sensible plan by which local and state
records may be printed. It
should induce the state to replevin or
to repurchase its lost public
records, or at least to obtain photostat
copies of all materials
necessary to complete the State's
collection. In conjunction with
your excellent State Library, it should
suggest some systematic
and thorough survey of the whole state
in order to ascertain (I)
the location, care and condition of the
public records; (2) the
private papers and records; and (3) the
marked and unmarked
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 457
historic sites and buildings. In New
York the State Historical
Association is collaborating with the
State Library Association
to do this important work.
With this survey completed, this Society
should promote some
organized effort in conjunction with
local historical and patriotic
societies, churches, schools, clubs, and
civic bodies to mark sys-
tematically all the places and buildings
of historic interest within
the state. In New York a bill has been
introduced in the legis-
lature to appropriate $50,000 for
historic markers to be spent on
a fifty-fifty basis up to $500; that is,
any locality willing to appro-
priate money to mark its shrines will
receive state aid. One
county in New York, after making a
survey, has arranged to
cooperate with the schools in putting up
cheap markers - boards
painted white and lettered in black.
Historical sites and battle-
fields suitable for use as public parks,
should be set aside for that
purpose. And last but not least, Ohio
should have a comprehen-
sive and authoritative history of the
State written -- one based
possibly upon the model of the Wisconsin
Domesday Book con-
sisting of General Studies and Town
Studies prepared and printed
under the auspices of the State
Historical Society. An essential
part of this work would be complete
bibliographies for the state
and all localities. Ohio has some
excellent county and city his-
tories and some satisfactory works on the
colonial and statehood
periods, but no comprehensive account of
the commonwealth in all
its activities.
3. Now what can and ought the state do
to encourage and to
supplement the efforts of individuals
and private organizations in
the preservation of state history?
In the first place, let me remind you of
the newer conception
of the functions of the state. The old
idea of the state as a big
policeman to protect life and property
and as a tax gatherer, has
just about disappeared. Today we think
of the state as the servant
of the people. It does for us
collectively what we could not do
so well individually or by groups. In
addition to protecting life
and property, it educates the people;
safeguards their health;
builds roads and canals; brings pure
water into the cities; aids
the farmer, day laborer and business
man; cares for the poor
and unfortunate-in short, looks after
the general welfare of
the people. I am happy to say that few
states in the Union have
taken a more advanced position in making
the state serve the
needs of the people than Ohio. You
Ohioans may not be aware
of the extent to which your new
constitution has been an inspir-
ing model to more backward
commonwealths.
In the second place, let me remind you
of the change in the
state's participation in education. Its
support of the little red
458 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
school house has been widened to include
the high school, normal
schools, colleges, a state university, a
state museum, laboratories,
state libraries, professional schools
and other educational agen-
cies.
With the broadened functions of the
state, what can and
should it do to preserve and print the
history of the state? In
answering this question, let me indicate
some practical activities
which are legitimate political duties:
1. Care of public records. These records
not only give the
history of the state and its political
subdivisions, but are the foun-
dations for all land titles; for
highways, railroads, canals, public
parks and reservations; for vital
statistics and marriages; and
for laws and court decisions. The
safeguarding of public records
and maps is indeed one of the
fundamental obligations of the
state. Yet our public records are
notoriously neglected, and Ohio
is one of the worst sinners. The local
records have disappeared
in some instances. Those that are left
are too often given inade-
quate fire-protection; many are
shamefully neglected by local of-
ficials who have no idea of their value;
and they are seldom cata-
logued and arranged for convenient use.
The state records are
given better attention but they are
incomplete; are scattered
among the various departments of the
State government; and
are neglected, badly arranged, and
inadequately catalogued for
use. Under these deplorable conditions,
what should be done?
This Society should cooperate with
sympathetic members of the
state government to enact laws to compel
local as well as state
officials to keep all public records and
maps in fireproof safes and
vaults, or in fireproof buildings. State
and regional halls of rec-
ords might be erected advantageously. A
State Archivist should
be appointed with an adequate staff to
enforce the law, and to
work out some policy for repairing and
cataloguing manuscripts.
The State of New York, in common with
many others, has
a state supported Division of Archives
and History. The State
Historian is its Director and it is a
part of the State Department
of Education. The law specifies the
duties of the Director as fol-
lows: "to collect, collate, compile, edit and
prepare for publica-
tion all official records, memoranda, statistics, and
data relative to
the history of the colony and state of New York."
To give adequate protection to local
public records New
York in 1919 created the
office of local historian in every political
subdivision in the State. They are appointed for
indefinite terms
by the Mayors of cities, by the village
presidents, and by the
supervisors for the towns. Salaries and
expenses may be paid
by the local authorities but are not mandatory. As a
result of this
experiment, the State Historian has a family of about 1200 local
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 459
historians scattered all over the State
to whom he may appeal
for cooperation and assistance and at
small expense. I commend
this system to your consideration.
2. Printing
of public records. One of the manifest duties
of the State is to make the public
records as serviceable as pos-
sible to the people of this state and
other states. The only way
to do this is to print the records so
that they may be widely dis-
tributed to libraries, historical
societies and individuals who are
interested. There should be two series
-- one of state records;
the other of local records. Such records
as have been printed
could be made to fit into the series.
The publications should be
carefully edited.
3. Publication of other sources on State
history. Almost
as important as the official records are
the private papers, diaries
and letters, of prominent individuals;
accounts of business con-
cerns; and records of societies, churches and educational
institu-
tions. After a survey has been made to
locate these materials
and to assess their value, the State
might print some of them and
cooperate with historical societies and
persons of means in print-
ing others. No doubt many of these
important sources will be
found scattered over the nation, up in
Canada and in European
countries. But recently I have located
local records of New
York in the Congressional Library at
Washington. About a year
ago some of New York's public records
were sold at auction in
Philadelphia. Accidentally I discovered 200 letters of Sir
Wil-
liam Johnson in a private collection of
manuscripts in California.
Eleven orderly books of New York in the
Revolution were lo-
cated in the State of Washington. You
will have the same ex-
perience. Some of your scattered sources
may be obtained as
gifts with a little diplomacy. It was in
1921 that
the Massa-
chusetts Historical Society presented
the valuable Trumbull Pa-
pers to the State Library at
Connecticut. Funds should be pro-
vided to purchase others, and photostat
copies may be obtained
of the remainder at small cost. The
important thing is to have
some competent authority make a search,
prepare a list, and
formulate a sensible policy of
procedure.
4. A State Museum of history and
affiliated branches. I
shall take it for granted that the
support of a museum of history
is a legitimate function of a
progressive state, because it is a
valuable educational agency. As proof of
this, I need only hint
at its usefulness as an ally of the
schools and colleges, of clubs
and societies of various kinds, of
business houses, factories and
industrial concerns of all sorts, of
newspapers and literary men,
and of many specialists in the study of
various aspects of human
society. If the state is justified in
financing a great annual fair
460 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
to encourage agriculture, stock
breeding, poultry raising, horti-
culture, bee keeping, and the mechanical
and industrial arts of
contemporary civilization, surely it is
justified in encouraging the
preservation and exhibition of remains
showing the beginnings
and development of our present
civilization. Our boys and girls
are quite as important as stallions,
rams and roosters. Culture
is more fundamental than agriculture. An
intelligent apprecia-
tion of our institutions is as necessary
as laboratories and experi-
ment stations. A museum of human nature
has as much to teach
as a museum of nature. Patriotism has
its real roots in history.
Advanced educators are getting away
somewhat from les-
sons in books, and cut and dried
questions and answers. Go to
nature for science, they say, and to
institutions and people for
sociology, politics, economics and
history. Teach by real things
through the senses. That portion of the
child's brain which is
developed by observation and comparison
is atrophied by some
of the public school methods. Boys and
girls who study nature
in the school-room cannot find her out
of doors. They study his-
tory but cannot see it in the life about
them. Many a boy looks
for the colored line between Ohio and
Indiana when he crosses the
boundary because it was shown in his
geography.
The museum of history, rightly organized
and displayed,
leaves no such delusions. The primitive
life of the redman be-
comes a reality. A peep into a pioneer's
log cabin gives a lasting
impression of frontier life. The
clothing, clumsy boots, simple
tools, and weapons of the boyhood days
of our grandfathers are
parts of actual life The genuine objects of history correct the
fanciful notions pictured in schoolbooks
and class recitations.
The museum of history creates a love of
collecting, which should
be encouraged because it develops the
capacity for observation
and comparison and induces habits of
neatness, orderliness and
precision. Its usefulness is not
restricted to children, because it
makes an equally strong appeal to
adults. It interests visitors
as well as natives. It amuses while it
instructs. It is by far the
most fundamental point of contact
between the historical society
and the public whose eager appreciation
is the best vindication
of its existence.
I have a final question to ask and an
answer to give and then
I shall have finished. What should the
ideal State Historical
Museum be? It should not be a side-show
of monstrosities, or of
freaks, or of glittering junk. It should
not be cluttered up with
Eygptian mummies, or stuffed squirrels,
faithful Fido and a
double-headed calf, or relics of South Sea
head-hunters, or Turk-
ish veils and pipes, or
"funny" and "luck" stones, or Chinese
birds' eggs, or a prisoner's chain from the Bastile, or
a cane from
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 461
St. Helena, or European mediaeval
armor, or a bottle of water
from the River Jordan and pressed
flowers from Mount Sinai,
or clay tablets from the Euphrates, or
Venetian glass beads, or
German beer steins, or curios from
Central Africa, or butterflies
from Brazil, or totem poles from
Alaska, or Italian manuscripts.
It should not be an accumulation of
relics, curiosities, travel sou-
venirs, bric-a-brac, discarded antiques
and a melange of artifacts,
minerals, and natural hisory. These things may be tremen-
dously interesting and of much value in
a museum on world civ-
ilization, or in specialized
collections, but they have no place in a
Museum on Ohio History.
Indeed a state historical museum should
not consist of a mis-
cellaneous, unorganized, haphazard
collection of historical ob-
jects relating to Ohio, however typical
and significant each object
may be. The very purpose of a museum on
Ohio history is to
organize these historical remains so
they will show in time and
geographical sequence the growth of
the civilization and the in-
stitutions of the people of this
state from the Mound Builders to
the year 1926. Each article must be made to tell its story in
man's life in Ohio and if it does not
do that it is incorrectly used
or poorly exhibited. The true museum
has its information to
give, its relations to show, its story
of progress to tell, and its
lessons to teach, and hence it must be organized and
arranged to
fulfil its mission. A museum may be a
veritable hodge-podge of
the most valuable materials and yet
without point or system. Of
what use is a book with the leaves
jumbled together without order
or sequence? Of what use is a fine
machine with the parts stuck
in wherever there happens to be a
vacant place without thought of
their coordination?
The absolutely fundamental necessity in
a museum of history
is an intelligent, flexible, scientific
plan of organization and dis-
play. There must be a scheme covering the development of hu-
man society in Ohio. This outline
should be blocked out with
the greatest care only after
painstaking study by the ablest his-
torians and museumists within the State
aided by expert advice
from outside. Unfortunately there are
no comprehensive printed
guides or handbooks on the subject.
There is needed for the
museum of history some classification
of objects akin to Dewey's
system for a library, adapted of course
to the peculiar environ-
ment. I might suggest the following
chronological periods: (1)
The Mound Builders; (2) The Indians;
(3) The French epoch;
(4) The English era; (5) The
Revolutionary times; (6) the Ter-
ritorial years; and (7) the period of
Statehood. Each period
in turn will have to be subdivided
perhaps on the basis of insti-
tutional growth with some attention to
time sequence and geo-
462 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
graphical location. This would give you
a museum of civiliza-
tion -- one that would show man's life and progress
politically,
industrially, socially, culturally and
religiously.
Such a policy, adopted at the outset,
would obviate many
pitfalls, and embarrassments. It would permit every
worthy his-
torical object to fit into its place as
a causal, resultal or illus-
trative factor. If it did not find a
place, then it should be dis-
carded as irrelevant. It might be
valuable for Texas, or Maine,
or Ireland, but it is of no educational
use in Ohio. Well-mean-
ing donors will readily see what are
needed as gifts, will not be so
insistent upon contributing extraneous
articles, and may more
easily be persuaded to allow their
collections to be separated in
order to strengthen the museum. Persons
of means may be per-
suaded to fill up important gaps by
purchase. It takes a good
deal of courage to refuse gifts of no
constructive educational
value and to insist upon the right to
distribute special collections.
Perhaps a museum should have a
cemeterial storehouse to which
discards may be relegated until they can
be sold or exchanged to
advantage. Far too many well-meaning
persons think of a history
museum as a rummage exhibit, or a
Salvation Army wagon, or a
junk shop, or a reservoir of all sorts
of discarded objects. Such
contributions should not be refused,
because jewels may be found
in a load of chaff. The problem is to
locate the jewel and to get
rid of the rubbish.
Quite as essential as a plan and a
policy, is a trained expert
with an efficient staff to supply
tactful, enlightened and sym-
pathetic direction; to arrange the
exhibits in an orderly manner
so as best to illustrate their cultural
lessons; and to label articles
plainly and pedagogically. For lack of
such guidance, many a
museum of history teaches falsehood,
fosters unhistorical tradi-
tions, tells no story of man's life, gives
no interpretation of prog-
ress, and merely incites amusement and
curiosity.
It goes without saying that such an
educational institution as I
have been discussing must have adequate
physical equipment not
merely to house the museum but also to
show the exhibits advan-
tageously. This is a larger problem than
may appear at first sight.
Not alone shelves and cases, but
suitable lights, vaults for the
most precious articles, filing cabinets
for duplicates, a library for
reading and research, quarters for
storage, work rooms and a
repair shop are needed.
Adequate funds must be supplied to pay a
competent staff,
to organize the museum properly, and to
purchase the necessary
apparatus, of course, but some sort of
endowment or fluid funds
are imperative to fill in the many gaps
by purchase whenever op-
portunities arise.
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 463
Finally, a State Museum of History here
in Ohio must take
advantage of its exceptional
opportunity to cooperate with the
regional historical museums in the
commonwealth. After all,
your purposes are a common one, namely,
to preserve and to teach
the history of Ohio--your task is general; theirs is
particular.
The ideal State Museum which I have
tried to picture should be
applied to all the local museums. A
system of exchange might
be worked out so that articles of
general significance would come
here, while those of a local nature and
value should be housed
with them. A check list of materials in
the possession of all the
museums would facilitate such an
interchange. The State Mu-
seum might send loan exhibits about the
counties for educational
purposes. An interchange of lectures
might be arranged, and
historical pilgrimages planned to the
shrines in different parts of
the State. You might lend your expert
staff to aid regional bodies
in the reorganization and
reclassification of their museums, and
in turn, perhaps profit by their
suggestions. In short, if all the
scholarship and all the interest in
history in this great common-
wealth could be mobilized into active
cooperation, Ohio would
soon win a primacy in the protection
and utilization of its past
civilization as it has in so many other
worthy fields.
The address of Doctor Flick was heard
with the
closest attention. The speaker had his
audience with
him from the first word uttered. His
address is a con-
tribution of great value to the Society
and all interested
in state and local history. Doctor
Flick's position at the
head of the division of archives and
history of the en-
tire state of New York and the eminence
that he has
won in this special field enabled him
to speak as one
having authority. His address sets
forth the ideals to-
ward which the newer historical
societies of the Middle
West may well direct their efforts. It
was just what
those to whom it was delivered need at
this time.
ADDRESS OF WALLACE H. CATHCART
At the conclusion of Doctor Flick's
address, Pro-
fessor Siebert inquired, "Is Mr.
Wallace H. Cathcart in
the room?" Mr. Cathcart, the
well-known and success-
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464 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications ful Vice-President and director of the Western Reserve Historical Society, came forward and spoke as follows: Ladies and Gentlemen: I was waiting to see if Dr. Siebert recognized me, but he has the same misfortune I have, and is a little near-sighted. It is a real pleasure as an Ohioan to be here this morning; |
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as an Ohioan, who for some forty years has been interested in the cultivation of the history of the State of Ohio. I think I can rejoice with the same genuine rejoicing that Mr. Galbreath, Dr. Mills and Mr. Johnson, President of the Society, are rejoicing in this wonderful and beautiful addition to the Ohio State Archaeo- logical and Historical Society building. I must state that when Prof. Siebert telephoned me about |
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 465
this meeting he asked me to present the
details of what we were
doing over in Cleveland, sketch the
history of our Society and
sum up conclusions. I think he knew how
well Dr. Flick would
present everything else.
I do not think the members of this
Society, or the members
of all the auxiliary societies and
kindred organizations in the
State of Ohio will lack for something to
do, if they carry out a
small part of what Dr. Flick has so ably
suggested this morning.
In 1811, when Cleveland had a small
population of some
fifty-five, and eighteen families, there
were sixteen men who
formed a Library Association. Among
these men were some that
were afterwards outstanding characters
of the State of Ohio.
Among them, Dr. David Long, Samuel
Williamson, and Mr.
Alfred Kelley, of whom the
last-mentioned became so closely
identified with the public works of the
state.
This library association commenced to
gather books. Among
the first books obtained was a file of
the Connecticut Evangelical
Magazine, which is now in our Library.
They kept on until
1848, when the Cleveland Library
Association was formed, and
they in turn received the collection of
books previously accu-
mulated.
In 1867, an amendment was made to the
charter of the Cleve-
land Library Association, permitting the
formation of a branch
as the Historical Division. The
historical works that had been
accumulated since 1811, were turned
over' to the Historical
Branch, known as The Western Reserve and
Northern Ohio His-
torical Society. In 1892, the society
was incorporated under the
name of The Western Reserve Historical
Society, to gather ma-
terial pertaining to Ohio and the West,
and to quote from the
Charter "The purpose for which said
corporation is formed is not
profit, but is to discover, collect and
preserve whatever relates to
the history, biography, genealogy and
antiquities of Ohio and the
West, and of the people dwelling
therein, including the physical
history and condition of that State; to
maintain a museum and
library, and to extend knowledge upon
the subjects mentioned by
literary meetings, by publication and by
other proper means."
It was my pleasure to become connected
with the society in
1890. In the early days much attention
was given to archaeology.
Judge C. C. Baldwin, and his brother, David, of Elyria,
also Col.
C. C. Whittlesey, who had made some of
the early archaeological
surveys of the State, were all very much
interested in that phase
of the work. In a careful study of the
situation, I found that the
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Society was taking care
of part of the work more ably than we could expect to
do. How-
ever, I felt that for the benefit of
those in the immediate neigh-
Vol. XXXV--30.
466 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
borhood, we should have a collection
bearing on the archaeology of
the State that would be fairly
representative, and that perhaps our
best efforts should be given to
gathering the printed and manu-
script material, bearing on the State's
history. So during the last
40 years we have perhaps devoted more
effort to that side than
we have to the other. The Library of the
Society, by means of
legacies, donations, and by purchases
supplemental thereto, has
accumulated a specialized library of
rather great importance, if
size alone is considered. We have about
200,000 books and pam-
phlets on American history. This will
compare favorably, I think,
with the older and better endowed
historical societies of the East.
But numbers, in themselves, give very
little idea of the true
strength of any library.
Our collection of source books of
history relating to the
Northwest Territory and especially to
Ohio is practically com-
plete. In statistical publications of
the State and Municipality we
have nearly complete files in the order
of publication. Of the
earlier ones of the State of Ohio,
published before they were
bound as executive documents, we have
really a very fine collec-
tion.
The department of travel, in the
Library, is a very important
one. This consists of the published
notes of those early adven-
turers who made the perilous trip from Pittsburgh to
Cincinnati
or Louisville, by land or water. The
accounts of the wonderful
things they saw of man and nature, and
the experiences they met
with were eagerly sought in the East and
in England and
France. Men were longing for habitation
in this marvelous valley
of the River Ohio, a river of such
striking beauty that it was
named, "The Beautiful River,"
in all the languages of the rival
races of men that claimed the region as
their own. These books
followed each other rapidly from 1750 to
1825. Their value as
sources of history is very high. They
are now very scarce and it
would not be possible to find all of
them, or indeed, a few of them,
in many libraries. The Society has practically a
complete set of
the original editions of these English
and French works.
I was just thinking that if a man
started in today to try to
accumulate these books, it would be an
impossible task. The
other day I was at Anderson's sale in
New York, and I saw a little
pamphlet of about twenty-odd pages, and
with part of the pages
torn out, yet it was rapidly bid up to
$200. The information that
was contained in it was not worth five
dollars, yet any one collect-
ing Ohio material would like to have
that book. This only shows
the eagerness with which Ohio material
is sought for and the
price that some are willing to pay for
it.
The Genealogical Department is one of
the outstanding fea-
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 467
tures of our work. It is used
extensively by the Daughters of the
American Revolution, and those who would
be Daughters of the
American Revolution; not only by those
in Cleveland, but by
many from all over the United States.
Correspondents sometimes
send in queries that would take a week
to answer, and oftentimes
these come in without even a stamped
envelope for the reply.
We have nearly three thousand distinct
separate genealogies
of families.
Local and town histories, covering all
the Eastern and older
states, with a goodly number for the
newer states, altho not nearly
so complete as of the Eastern states, have been
carefully sought
for and placed on the shelves of the
Library.
Rosters of the several Wars, Pension
Rolls and Year Books
of Patriotic Societies also serve as
aids to the searchers of family
history.
A library of Ohio imprints holds an
important place in our
collection. With the advent of the first
printing press in a com-
munity, came the newspaper, also the
opportunity of printing
books or pamphlets of a local nature
that otherwise, in most cases,
would never have been printed.
What an opportunity is given, by means
of these old books,
to study the thought and tendencies of
the day; also the literature
that the people were then reading!
Of these special collections of the
Society, probably the larg-
est and most outstanding is the William
P. Palmer Collection on
the Civil War. I think I can say it is
not excelled by any library
outside of Washington. This collection
covers not only the State
of Ohio, but the entire country. There
are over 40,000 books on
this particular period. On the War of
1812 we have a large num-
ber of volumes. We have manuscript
papers of two of the four
Western Brigadier Generals. The papers
of the other two we
have never been able to locate.
Some years ago Dr. McLean published a
most excellent history
of the Shakers of Ohio in the QUARTERLY
of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society
and later a bibliography of
the Shaker publications. As we had only
three or four of the 600
or more listed, I felt that with North
Union village of the Shakers
almost at our back door, our Society
should have a collection a
little more worthy of this wonderful
Communistic organization.
Dr. McLean had formed the largest
collection then known,
consisting of about five hundred books
or pamphlets writen by, or
about the Shakers, and perhaps two
hundred Ms. items. These
he sold en bloc to the Library of
Congress. A smaller collection,
I believe, he gave to your organization.
For a time I felt that the opportunity
to collect this material
468 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
had passed and turned my attention to
other things, when an un-
expected gift gave me a start. On
visiting some fifteen different
villages of Shakers, scattered from
Maine to Kentucky, by the
expenditure of a good deal of time and
some little money, I suc-
ceeded in gathering some fifteen hundred
printed books and pam-
phlets and about three thousand
manuscripts. These were later
turned over to the Society for permanent
preservation. We have
always felt that although good books may
have been written, cov-
ering the history of a subject, the
sources from which they have
been gathered should be preserved for
others, who may approach
the same subject from another
standpoint. To illustrate, in col-
lecting we had discovered safely housed
in the Ministry's private
rooms at Mt. Lebanon, the records of
that great spiritualistic
movement, which passed through all the
Shaker communities, and
of which most careful records have been
compiled. Dr. McLean
stated, and the rank and file of the
Shakers believed, that these
records had been destroyed to avoid any
use of them in the future,
by those who would not have a full
knowledge of this special
movement.
Again in reference to the Zoar Community,
Dr. Randall, for-
merly Secretary of your Society and the
Editor of your Journal,
published a most comprehensive history
of this Communistic So-
ciety. One might well hesitate to write
another, but at the same
time, when the opportunity presented
itself, we felt it well to
preserve the original sources of this
movement and in so doing,
we were able to obtain many letters
written to and by Mr. Bime-
ler, the founder, in the early part of
the 19th Century, from the
time when this group left the Old Country
and with the help of
the Quakers in the East, came and
settled on Ohio lands. These
letters, diaries and account books will
be valuable to those who
may wish to go farther into the history
of these movements, per-
haps from a different point of view.
In citing these two examples we are
doing it to urge your
Society to preserve, wherever possible,
the original source material
that may pass through your hands.
Of material and books bearing on the
Presidents of Ohio,
which ranks second only to Virginia in
the number who claim
her as their native state, we have
collected all we could obtain.
Another side of history that has not
been as carefully culti-
vated as it should be although
historians are now urging its im-
portance, is that of church history, and
to meet this demand we
have been gathering histories, reports of various
church organiza-
tions, church records, etc., wherever it
has been possible to obtain
them.
This is also true of the educational
work of Ohio, its acad-
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 469
emies, common schools, and colleges,
records of which we have
accumulated. President Hughes of Miami
University, on a re-
cent visit to the Library, said that in
Miami University history
and material, the collection surpassed
that which they had. Ohio
is the state of colleges, and when one
attempts to gather the ma-
terial of a half hundred colleges it is
no little undertaking. Yet
we feel the beginnings and development
of the educational work
in Ohio is and will be of great
importance.
We had not gone far in our collecting
before we found that
if we were going to get material for a
complete history of Ohio,
we had to go to the other states for the
beginnings of the history
of the Old Northwest and Ohio. Although
out of the limits of
this State, we have brought in a very
good collection on the vari-
ous states, such as Maine,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jer-
sey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland,
etc. One cannot write
Ohio history without having recourse to
the history and works of
the Eastern States.
The richest treasures of the Society are
its manuscripts.
Most important of these are the records
of the Connecticut Land
Company and its instructions to agents
and surveyors. Next are
the field books and daily records and
sketches made by the sur-
veyors at work on the Reserve. Then the
finished manuscript
terial information of the early days and
early settlements of the
Reserve. There are also many letters and
documents relating to
the Indian troubles on the border and
the War of 1812. Some
of these have been published by the
Society; others have been
mounted and listed and the lists
published, but there are large
deposits of papers, etc., which are
still to be examined and pub-
lished when time and means will allow.
Among these I might call attention to
the vast correspondence
and papers of General Simon Perkins,
Turhand Kirtland, Elisha
Whittlesey, the latter prominent under
all the Presidents from
Madison to Lincoln; thousands of
manuscripts on the Civil War,
Colonel C. C. Whittlesey papers, papers
of Governors Hunting-
ton, Tod, Brown, Trimble; papers of the
Ohio Land Company;
manuscripts pertaining to the settlement
and history of various
towns all over Ohio, the diaries and
papers of early Clevelanders.
Of special interest to those in this
Central-Southeastern part of
the State are those of John Kerr. These
papers cover the entire
beginnings of Columbus and the opening
of the Northwest Lands
in Ohio which are north of the Indian
treaty line and west of the
Reserve; they also have a great deal to
do with the early settle-
ments around Chillicothe. The C. W.
Butterfield manuscripts
turned over by the daughter of Mr. Butterfield are
important;
470 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
some of these have been published,
others revised for new editions
and some have never been published.
One of our strongest collections is that
of Newspapers. We
have some 8,000 volumes, among these the
files of Cleveland pa-
pers from 1818. The Western Reserve
papers started in 1812,
and we have practically complete files
of the various counties in
the Reserve.
Of the Confederate newspapers issued
during the Civil War,
there are some 24,000 separate issues.
The earliest American papers, such as
the Boston News-
Letter, which started in 1794, and the New York Gazette, the
first
of the New York papers, the first of the
Rhode Island papers, also
the first of Pennsylvania, as well as of
Virginia, have been pro-
vided by means of expensive photostat
copies. It would be im-
possible for any library to get anything
like a full file of these
early papers, and it can be done only
through the kindness of those
owning them in permitting photostat
copies to be made.
All of our newspapers have been
carefully collated, imper-
fections noted, and made ready for
research: There are many in-
teresting historical items contained in
these early publications.
Our collection of historical maps and
atlases is notably fine.
The nucleus of this collection was the
large collection formed by
our late President C. C. Baldwin. I
thought for a long time we
would lose these as the Library of
Congress was very anxious to
obtain them, but the family of Judge
Baldwin later presented
them to the Society. These maps cover
the entire range of his-
tory from the 16th century to the
present day.
They consist of:
The classic maps in original examples of
the work of the
great cartographers of Amsterdam, London and Paris.
They are
classified to show the development of
knowledge of the Great
Lakes and the Ohio River, as based upon
the return of voyagers
to the Royal Geographical Societies of France and
England.
Maps designed by the explorers
themselves and published in
their works; with few exceptions these are originals,
but we have
also almost a complete line of reprints.
Maps issued to illustrate standard books
of travel and his-
tory. These cover the period of opening of the Great
West.
War maps of the Revolution and the
border wars.
Maps for the tourist and emigrant of the
pioneer period.
Colonial maps based on first surveys and
political develop-
ments of Ohio.
Wall maps and atlases of the various
counties and cities of
the Western Reserve.
Among the outstanding manuscript maps of
the State of
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 471
Ohio, we might mention the first map of
the Ohio Land Company,
showing the location of Marietta, Rufus
Putnam's map of the
Military Lands, the John Kerr map of the
Northwest Section of
the State, the maps of Duncan McArthur
and Nathaniel Massie
of the Virginia Lands. We have several
hundred manuscript
maps of the various towns of the Reserve
and other parts of the
State. In the Civil War Collection we
have a good many, both
printed and manuscript. Among the latter
are those used by
General Hancock, General Braxton Bragg
and others.
The publications of the Society first
consisted of tracts
printed in simple newspaper form. In
other words the newspaper
set them up and ran them as news items
and from the type, sep-
arates were printed for the Society,
although of late years we have
not been able to use the newspapers in
this connection. The Tracts
now number 107.
The Journals of Trent, Heath and Brule,
all pertaining to
Ohio, were issued indirectly through our
Society and from ma-
terial we have gathered and preserved.
The Museum of the Society.
For the last two years we have had
conducted an educational
survey in Cleveland, and we have
surveyed and resurveyed, until
I don't know just what to say about this
phase of our work. We
have a large collection of
archaeological specimens and pioneer
relics, but I am afraid, as Dr. Flick
says, and as Dr. Parker, who
spoke so strongly at the last meeting of
the American Museum
Association, said, they have been thrown
together in a more or less
hodgepodge way, on account of lack of
space, and that is one of
the reasons why I rejoice with you in
this beautiful building,
where space seems ample and your
material can be shown and
grouped to its best advantage and for its widest
educational ser-
vice. We have plans for a new building,
in which we have ar-
ranged to carry out the work on very
similar lines to those of
which Dr. Flick has so, ably spoken.
Now, just a word in closing. I have brought
these things to
your notice, not with an egotistic thought, but with
the idea that
you are interested in history as we are and that you
like to know
where and what sources of the history of
our great State of Ohio
can be found in Cleveland. I think we
have done fairly well in
Cleveland, and it has been done entirely
without help of taxation
in any way, and only by private means.
In our individual zeal for our good
Mother State, Ohio, per-
haps one or another feels disappointed, as is perfectly
natural,
when this or that item has been obtained
by some one else, but
this should be only a passing feeling,
for think how much better
it is to have it preserved and made accessible than to
have it in-
472 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
accessible, or irretrievably lost. I do
not feel that way when an
item belonging to the State's history
comes into, one of our larger
Ohio institutions, but I do regret
seeing things go out of the state
that would be of greater importance here
in Ohio.
I very often have a chance to point with
personal pride to the
Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Society. I am interested in it
and have been for years. Colonel Hayes
has talked over the
Hayes Memorial at Spiegel Grove and its
work a number of times
with me. I have urged him, instead of
trying to form another
collection of Ohio books, which would to
a large extent simply
duplicate the collections in Cincinnati,
Columbus and Cleveland, to
render to Ohio a service which to me
seems of greater value, that
of gathering from the French, English
and Canadian Archives
the manuscript records of this territory
which may be found there,
and publish them. To what greater
service can he put the funds
he has so generously given or with what
greater memorial can he
honor his father, who was so deeply
interested in Ohio history
and gathering of its sources?
I have been anxious to see some action
by the Legislature for
the preservation of the real history of
Ohio, as contained in the
State archives. I think it would make
anyone here sick to go into
the basement of the State House as I
have many times, and see
the records and files of this state,
manuscripts of the period of the
Civil War, scattered over the floor,
where anyone going into the
room would walk on them. Go into the
Governor's office and try
to find papers of the previous governors
that have been in office.
If the State Historical Society could in
some way get hold of those
records and safeguard them, I think it
would be one of the great-
est advance steps they could take.
Iowa is a much younger state than ours,
but her archives
are well preserved, and are being
published. I would like to see a
man like Mr. Galbreath doing the same
work in Ohio that Prof.
Stambaugh is doing in Iowa. There is not
a better man that I
know of to put in charge of these
valuable archives and make
them accessible by publication, than
your worthy Secretary, Mr.
Galbreath.
I stand shoulder to shoulder with
everyone here, willing to
do all I can to preserve the history of
Ohio in Ohio for the world
at large.
I thank you.
Under the energetic administration of
Mr. Cathcart,
the fine collection in the library of
the Western Reserve
Historical Society has been greatly
increased, the addi-
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 473
tions in manuscripts, newspaper files
and local history
being especially notable.
ADDRESS OF CHARLES T. GREVE
At the conclusion of Mr. Cathcart's
address, which
was liberally applauded, Professor
Siebert introduced
Mr. Charles T. Greve, Secretary of the
Historical and
Philosophical Society of Ohio and
well-known author,
who spoke as follows:
Mr. Chairman and Our Hosts: The Ohio
State Archaeolog-
ical and Historical Society and fellow
guests, representatives of
sister historical societies and
libraries:
I come from the South bringing to you
the greetings of
an elder sister, -- an elder sister
born and bred in your midst
almost a century ago -- who departing
seventy-seven years since
from the scenes of her youth, now
returns to share in the reveren-
tial tribute to Ohio's sons, many the
sons of the city of her home
by the beautiful river, and to add her
felicitations upon the occa-
sion of this opening of new
opportunities for cultivating the field
of Ohio history, -- the greetings and
congratulations of the His-
torical and Philosophical Society of
Ohio.
On behalf of that Society, afflicted as
you, with a super-
abundance of name, betraying perhaps a
common origin, -- a
family trait, -- I wish to extend
thanks for your cordial reception
and appreciation of the warmth of your
welcome to our home-
coming after so many years, -- an
occasion of more than usual
significance to us who were here before
you and who claim your
capital city as our own, -- our common
mother consenting to share
with us her pride in her younger
offspring.
Ninety-five years ago, on February 11,
1831, a charter was
issued to Benjamin Tappan, of
Steubenville, S. P. Hildreth of
Marietta, Alfred Kelley of Columbus,
James McBride of Butler
County, Ebenezer Lane of Huron and some
twenty others, to or-
ganize The Historical and Philosophical
Society of Ohio. Among
the charter members for the city of
Cincinnati were Nicholas
Longworth, John P. Foote and Timothy
Flint. To anyone
familiar with the history of our state,
the names of these empire
builders must awaken a thrill of
enthusiasm, and the fact that men
of such standing should be sufficiently
interested to take part in
such an organization should be a source
of inspiration. The So-
ciety whose greetings I bear was
organized on December 31, 1831,
|
474 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications at Columbus, and Benjamin Tappan was its first president. Sub- sequent presidents during the Columbus period were Ebenezer Lane, Judge Jacob Burnet and J. C. Wright, Burnet being re- elected in 1844. For the first dozen and a half years of its existence, the So- ciety had its home in this capital city of Columbus, and its mem- bership included persons from all parts of the state. Its first pub- |
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lication was issued in 1838 from this city. This included not only the Act of Incorporation with lists of officers and the annual ad- dresses by Tappan and J. H. James but papers which had been read before the Society at its meetings, by Hildreth, Van Cleve, James McBride, and others. In the following year was published from this city what was called a second part of the first volume, one of the most notable contributions to our Ohio history. |
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 475
This included addresses by Judge Timothy
Walker, James H.
Perkins, William Henry Harrison and
others, and particularly
Judge Burnet's letters to Delafield
concerning the settlement of
the Northwest Territory, afterwards
expanded by the Judge into
his book, "Notes of the Northwest
Territory."
The meetings of the Society were held in
these earlier days
in the Representatives' Hall in the old
State House, or at the old
Neil House, and the possessions of the
Society were in a case kept
in the room of the Canal Commissioners.
In the meantime, there had been
organized in the city of Cin-
cinnati in August, 1844, what was known
as the Cincinnati His-
torical Society, with Mr. James H.
Perkins as president, John P.
Foote and William D. Gallagher as
vice-presidents, names equally
important in the history of the
development of our community.
In 1847 Judge Este became president and
was succeeded in the
following year by the poet Gallagher. In
this year, Dr. Hildreth
presented to the earlier Society the
manuscript of his "Pioneer
History," which was published in
1848 from Columbus. It is to
be regretted that the whereabouts of the
manuscript are unknown
so far as the present speaker is
concerned. Does any one here
confess to greater knowledge? As a
result of the organization of
this later society, Mr. Randall, its
librarian, at the annual meeting
in Columbus of the earlier Society,
suggested the removal of the
organization to the city by the river
and the turning over of its
papers and property to the new
organization in the Queen City,
which suggestion was acceded to and the
transfer of the Columbus
organization to Cincinnati took place in
February 1849.
The first president of the old-new
organization with the high
sounding name was William D. Gallagher
and among its mem-
bers were James H. Perkins, E. D.
Mansfield, Robert Buchanan,
A. Randall, John C. Wright, John P.
Foote and Judge Este, all
names for Ohio people to conjure with.
An admirable account of
this migration is given by Mr. Venable
in his "Literary Culture in
the Ohio Valley."
In the revision of the constitution of
the Society in 1850, its
primary object was announced to be
"research in every depart-
ment of local history, the collection, preservation and
diffusion of
whatever may relate to the history,
biography, literature, philoso-
phy and antiquities of America -- more especially of
the State of
Ohio, of the West and of the United
States," certainly an ambi-
tious undertaking and one that has been
at times attended with
more philosophy than activity.
Others who were very active in the
offices of the Society were
George Graham, Peyton Symmes, John D.
Caldwell, Osgood
476 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Mussey and Ainsworth R. Spofford,
subsequently librarian of
Congress.
The books of the Society were first
deposited in various
buildings more or less inaccessible to the public, and
about 1860
were packed in boxes and deposited in
the public library in the
Mechanics' Institute at Sixth and Vine
Streets. This fact in-
dicates a period of inactivity during
the Civil War, at the expira-
tion of which 'but four active members
remained in Cincinnati,
Messrs. Robert Buchanan, George Graham,
John D. Caldwell and
Manning F. Force. Due to the interest of
three of the Society's
friends, who later were among its most
valuable members, Julius
Dexter, Robert Clarke and Eugene F.
Bliss, the Society was re-
organized in 1868, the library
resurrected and placed in the rooms
of the Literary Club and the
organization took on new life. Rob-
ert Buchanan became president, Judge
Force and Charles Cist sec-
retaries and John D. Caldwell,
librarian, all well known to history
students. The library at that time
contained but seven hundred
bound volumes and 1250 pamphlets. Judge Force was president
from 1870 to 1889, to be succeeded in
turn by Eugene F. Bliss and
some years later by the present
incumbent, Mr. Joseph Wilby.
Mr. John M. Newton became the librarian
in 1869 and was suc-
ceeded in 1870 by Julius Dexter, who
held the position until 1880
when Miss Elizabeth Appleton was elected
to that place, holding
it for six years, at which time she was
succeeded by Mrs. C. W.
Lord. Miss Hamlin, the present
librarian, succeeded Mrs. Lord
in 1905.
The duties of such an organization are
collection, preserva-
tion and publication. In all probability
the manuscript collections
of a Society of this character are its
most valuable possessions and
our Cincinnati Society has been quite
fortunate in this respect.
We have succeeded in acquiring a number
of manuscripts, many of
which are of very great value. Among
these are the collections made
by the indefatigable Robert Clarke, and
the Cranch, Follett, Chal-
fant, Gano, Lawler, Stevenson, Pitcairn,
Hatch, Susan Walker,
Todd, McBride, Greene, Foraker and
Torrence papers, as well
as many books of miscellaneous manuscript letters, early tax lists,
pay-rolls, books of account and the
like, in which constantly recur
the names of many of the most prominent
residents of earlier
Cincinnati, such as Findlay, Harrison,
Whitman, Longworth,
Taylor, Burnet, Storer, Kilgour,
Yeatman, Ruffin, Baum, Carneal,
Kemper, Worthington, Short, Wright,
Lytle, Drake and Ham-
mond.
A most valuable item in our collection
is an almost complete
set of the earliest newspaper, The
Centinel of the Northwest Ter-
ritory, beginning in November 1793 and extending to May 1796.
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 477
I can testify from personal experience
that this early news-
paper is both amusing and instructive to
a degree quite unusual in
the case of many papers of more modern
date. Our Society has
also been
fortunate in the acquisition of numerous collections of
books with relation to the history of
our state and neighborhood.
In these are included the Williamson
Collection, that of Peter
Force, books of The New England Society,
The Centennial Col-
lection presented to Sir Alfred T.
Goshorn; The Robert Clarke
Collection and the Peter G. Thomson
Collection, in itself a com-
plete library of Ohio and Northwestern
History, consisting of 768
beautifully bound volumes and 11,063
pamphlets. Many fine be-
quests have given us a substantial
endowment fund.
On the walls of our library hang many
portraits of prominent
Cincinnati personages, as well as views
of the city showing its
appearance at various times in its
history.
As a result, the opportunities for
historical study which are
offered to the public are quite unusual
and have been taken ad-
vantage of by very many persons from all
parts of the country in-
terested in historical research, as well
as by students of our uni-
versity in whose library building our
collection is housed for the
present.
It is usually regarded as one of the
obligations of such or-
ganizations to make its treasures
available to the public generally
and our Historical Society has attempted
to do its share in ful-
filling this duty.
As already stated, in the early days
several volumes of great
value were published, and in more recent
years there have been
added to these publications others of
equal interest. Among these
may be mentioned the Journal of Capt.
John May and the Journal
of David Zeisberger translated from the
German manuscript with
annotations by Eugene F. Bliss, and more
particularly a publica-
tion just off the press, a cornerstone
of history to use the phrase
of Mr. Fiske, "The Correspondence
of John Cleves Symmes,"
the pioneer settler of the Miami
neighborhood, edited with schol-
arly care by Professor Beverly W. Bond,
Jr., of our university.
For a number of years we have published
a quarterly, which
is made up very largely of selections
from our manuscript papers.
From the Torrence papers have been
selected eight numbers cov-
ering national politics of the
Jacksonian era, office-holding under
Jackson, political career of William
Henry Harrison, Transfer of
Louisiana and the Burr Conspiracy; Early
Commercial Conditions
in the West; Early Illinois Politics,
with many military papers,
muster-rolls, etc.
The Gallipolis papers cover the Scioto
settlement; The Mc-
Bride papers deal with Miami University;
The Oran Follett
478 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
papers with the political conditions of
his time. The papers of
General Gano add much to our small stock
of information as to
the War of 1812. Dr. Daniel Drake, one
of the most remarkable
men of the West, gives his memoirs of
the Miami Country. Gen.
Wm. Lytle's personal narrative of
pioneer experiences and Peyton
Short's Tour to Mobile, etc., not only
reflect to us the every-day
life of the early pioneers but read with
the interest of a work of
fiction. We have also published the
letters of Hiram Powers, our
sculptor, to Nicholas Longworth; letters
of Thos. Corwin; the
Journals of Susan Walker and Francis
Collins; documents with
relation to the Burr-Blennerhassett
conspiracy and numerous let-
ters from people of more or less
prominence in our early history.
Other publications include reproductions
of such books as Dr.
Drake's Cincinnati in 181O; Worth's
Recollections of Cincinnati;
Chidlaw's "Yr American"
translated from the Welsh, as well as
reprints of various circulars and
pamphlets of historical interest.
A few of the quarterlies include
original contributions dis-
cussing such subjects as the "Ohio
Conspiracy," "The Movement
of Ohio to Deport the Negro," and
the "Relation of Southern
Ohio to the South during the decade
preceding the Civil War."
It is almost impossible to avoid the
appearance of a catalogue,
or index, in mentioning at such length
these publications, but to
one familiar with our history, each name
will recall a personality,
time and episode that contributed to the
development of our com-
munity and our state.
The narrative of the struggles of such
organizations and the
recounting of their achievements in the
collection of books and
pamphlets and manuscripts and the recital
of the publications
from time to time of the treasures of
these collections, naturally
suggest the inquiry as to the end to be
accomplished and its value.
Of the making of books there is no end,
it is said, and this state-
ment is true of works of history and
biography as well as of other
branches of literature. Whatever may be
said as to the contribu-
tion of our country to the general
literature of the world, there
can be no question that in the line of
history writing our success
has been as great as, if not greater
than, in any other branch of
literary workmanship. There is no need
to mention the names
of our great historians and biographers
and to suggest that they
occupy a position of preeminence
unsurpassed by workers in sim-
ilar fields of other countries. In a
great measure, this has been
brought about by collections, it is
true, made in foreign countries
under governmental auspices as well as
under similar conditions
in our own country but it is equally
true that the work of the state
and local historical societies has in a
great measure been of much
assistance. Many of the names that are
familiar to those of us
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 479
interested in the life of our particular
communities, are unfamiliar
beyond our own borders, and yet the
country's strength lies in the
great body of citizens and is not
dependent upon a few of national
prominence.
History, it has been said, is philosophy
teaching by example
(the essence of many biographies); and
the examples that teach
much of the philosophy and give an
insight into the psychology of
a community must be drawn from the lives of the general
body of
citizenry and not from the striking
episodes in the careers of those
whom chance, or perhaps, more probably,
greater gifts has pushed
more into the limelight of national or
international renown.
Truth may be mighty and will undoubtedly
prevail in the
end but the very prominence which gives
us acquaintance with the
careers of our more celebrated men is
apt to distort their person-
ality and give an imperfect impression
of their character and abil-
ities. The advancement of civilization
undoubtedly calls for great
achievements and great abilities but the
advancement is not a real
one unless it is reflected not alone in
the unusual but in the every-
day life of the community. The light
that shines upon the throne
may be a brilliant one but its very
brilliancy has a tendency to
make unreal the occupant of the throne.
There is no suggestion in this that our
great personages are
not really great because they after all
have the same feelings, de-
sires and ambitions as their
fellow-beings; but there is a sugges-
tion that the lifting of our more
prominent personalities from their
actual environment and duly idealizing
them destroys to some
extent their value as examples from
which we can learn a philos-
ophy of life. The truth as to any
particular individual cannot
hurt if he be an individual worthy of
study and emulation and if
he be unworthy, we should know the truth
in order that the ex-
ample may not be a misleading one. It
cannot in any way detract
from the greatness of Washington to
learn, as we have all known
for many years, that he was a real
person and not a bronze statue;
that Lincoln was a human being,
developing to the highest type
of greatness by reason of the
extraordinary demands made upon
his higher and broader qualities, and
not a mere frivolous retailer
of light humor; that Chase was, it is
true, an ambitious man, but
a most sincere and noble patriot.
These men were great because of the fact
that they were not
superhuman but were the products of an
heredity and an environ-
ment that made it possible for them to
respond to the needs of a
people like themselves whose needs they
could understand be-
cause they were a part of the people. To
understand them we
must know that people.
It would seem that today there is
greater need than ever be-
480 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
fore for a real history of the people
themselves, a recounting of
the real life of the community and one
that avoids the dangers of
history manufactured for a special
purpose. Whenever history is
treated as propaganda, it becomes an
element of danger. When-
ever a demand arises for presentations
of the development of our
national life, as 1OO% American,
or 100% patriotic, or 100%
anything else, except truth, it is
evident as today that the spirit
of intolerance which has ever been a
menace to civilization, is once
more coming into greater activity.
It was a revolt against intolerance that
drove the Puritans
and the Pilgrims into this country and
although they were them-
selves intolerant in their turn, their
reaction against the restric-
tions sought to be placed upon their
daily life and conduct was an
advance in the direction of freer life.
The more the historical
student, whether he be a pupil in our
schools or a research scholar
in our universities, or a man devoting
his life to historical work,
is enabled to come into contact with the
daily life of the average
person of the time that he is studying,
the more he is able to un-
derstand the events of that time and see
their signifiance and con-
nection with the development of our
nation and our community.
It is essential to the proper
understanding of that development to
have our history uninfluenced by special
pleading. Herein lies
the opportunity of our state and local
organizations as distin-
guished from national or governmental
collections.
Ohio, for reasons that may be given to
us by some of our
speakers today, has from the outset
occupied a position of unusual
importance in the history of our country
and has given many
distinguished sons to the service of the
nation, to such an extent
that today whenever some new personality emerges into
promi-
nence we immediately begin to look for his Ohio
connection, as in
the case of our principal speaker this
morning. Our state has
been well called the first-fruit of the
great ordinance of freedom,
and has always responded to the call for
the defense of liberty of
action and liberty of thought. At times,
for brief intervals, the
clouds of intolerance have hung over us,
but the sober second
thought of our great mass of clean
minded, straight thinking men
and women has been true to the spirit of
our founders, a spirit
that is best preserved in their own records of daily
life, in letters
and diaries and journals that reflect more fully and
frankly than
any writings of the present the real
thought and motive of the
writers. No surer and more efficient
bulwark against any tem-
porary forgetfulness of the tolerance
due to all the fundamental
principles of our national organization can be erected
than the
simple annals of the past which form the
valuable possessions of
our Societies. The men whom we are gathered to honor
today
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 481
fought for freedom and tolerance and
your Society with its new
facilities can do much to see that that
fight was not in vain.
In this work which we think of great
value, your elder sister
pledges you its constant and sincere help with the
conviction
that the glory and achievement of one is
that of all.
Mr. Greve is a graduate of Harvard and
the Cin-
cinnati Law school, a prominent
attorney of Cincinnati
and author of biographical and historical
works includ-
ing the Centennial History of
Cincinnati. His address
was of especial interest, showing, as
it did very clearly,
the origin of the institution with
which he is now con-
nected and set forth the collections of
unusual interest
that have been gathered in the
Historical and Philosoph-
ical Society of Ohio in recent years.
ADDRESS OF LUCY E. KEELER
Mr. Greve's address was followed by a
paper from
Miss Lucy E. Keeler of Fremont which
was read by
former State Senator A. E. Culbert of
that city. Miss
Keeler spoke for Spiegel Grove, its
beautiful park, the
Hayes residence and Memorial building
and the rare
and valuable collection of Americana,
left by the late
President Rutherford B. Hayes. Her
paper follows:
The Hayes Memorial is my special theme,
doubly appropriate
on this happy occasion because the very
site of this newly dedi-
cated World War Memorial Building is a
part of the noble tract
of land saved for the Ohio State
University through the far-
sighted and vigorous policy of
Rutherford B. Hayes during his
first term as Governor in 1868; after
his two terms in Congress
just prior to which the land grant for
colleges was authorized;
and because at the time of his death he
was Chairman of the
Board of Trustees of the Ohio State
University. President
Hayes's last public service was in
attendance as Chairman of the
Board of Trustees of the Ohio State
University, returning from
which he was stricken while in the depot
at Cleveland and reached
his home in Spiegel Grove only to die on January 17,
1893, fol-
Vol. XXXV -- 31.
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Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 483
lowing his declaration that he would
rather die in Spiegel Grove
than to continue to live anywhere else.
He had been for seven years president of
the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society,
one of that galaxy of able
men who have served as president of this
institution from its in-
corporation up to the present time,
never excelled in Ohio --
Allen G. Thurman, Francis C. Sessions,
Rutherford B. Hayes,
Roeliff Brinkerhoff, G. Frederick
Wright, James E. Campbell, and
our presiding officer, Arthur C. Johnson.
Memorials, it is pertinent to remind
ourselves and the public,
are memorable only for the memorials
they conserve and the
service they initiate and maintain. How
does the Hayes Memorial
meet this test? and indeed, what is the
Hayes Memorial?
In a limited sense of the term it is the
beautiful grey stone
building near the main entrance of
Spiegel Grove, in Fremont,
Ohio, containing an interesting Museum,
definitely limited in
scope and space; the large and valuable
library of Americana
gathered through many years by
Rutherford B. Hayes; and the
continuous expansion of this specialized
library made possible
by the generous endowments of Colonel
and Mrs. Webb C. Hayes.
In a truer sense, however, the Hayes
Memorials comprise, as well,
the entire estate of Spiegel
Grove--twenty-five acres of park and
woodland, and the fine ancestral
homestead.
Soon after the death of President Hayes
in 1893, his suc-
cessor, General Roeliff Brinkerhoff,
sought ways and means to
secure for the Society not only the old
home in Spiegel Grove, but
especially the vast volume of historical
data and papers including
the library of Americana, and issued a
confidential circular to the
friends of the Society, and especially
to those interested in the
preservation of historical papers
relating to Ohio and the North-
west Territory. This confidential
circular contained copies of
letters most highly approving the
proposition, from President
William McKinley and his Secretary of
State, John Sherman.
It said:
The place known as Spiegel Grove is of
great historical interest,
being located in the old Indian
Reservation or Free Territory maintained
by the Indian Tribes at the Lower Rapids
of the Sandusky River for a
long period prior to the Revolutionary
War. Near the center of the Res-
ervation, Fort Stephenson was built just
prior to the War of 1812, and
became famous by reason of its gallant
defense by Major George Croghan
against the combined assaults of the
land and naval forces of Great Britain
under Proctor, and Indians under
Tecumseh on the 1st and 2nd of August,
1813. The old Harrison Trail, so-called,
a military road leading from Fort
Stephenson to Fort Seneca, and then
south, passes through the Grove and
is preserved as the principal drive-way.
Of all the homes of our twenty-four
Presidents, covering a period
of one hundred and ten years, the only
ones that have been preserved are
484 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
those of Washington, at Mt. Vernon;
Jefferson, at Monticello; Madison,
at Montpelier; Jackson, at the
Hermitage, and Lincoln's modest home in
the city of Springfield. All of these
are now in the hands of private
societies, although in some instances
assistance has been had from their
respective States. But in every case
more or less time had elapsed before
the homes were secured and put in a state
of preservation, and few or no
personal relics or memorials were
secured. Spiegel Grove is now in a
perfect state of preservation, and all
of the valuable historical effects of
President Hayes remain there intact.
Unquestionably this is the largest
and most complete and perhaps most
valuable collection of documents,
papers, and books, ever left by any of
our Presidents. President Hayes
was a great reader and a man of
scholarly tastes and attainments. He
acquired perhaps the finest library of
American History owned by any
private individual, and during his
public life he preserved all papers and
memoranda in an orderly and accessible
form. All of this material will
be at the service of students and
scholars if this plan of the Society can
be carried out. It is certainly a rare
opportunity, such as seldom comes to
any State or organization. The citizens
of Ohio, the friends of President
Hayes, and the students of American
History cannot afford to do other-
wise than endorse and assist in this
project of the Society and the family
of President Hayes.
R. BRINKERHOFF, E. 0. RANDALL,
President. Secretary.
Owing to the War with Spain the bequest
lapsed under its
time limit and Spiegel Grove and the
personal collections became
the property of Webb C. Hayes in the
settlement of the estate in
1899 for cash advanced to the estate.
The desire of the Society was ever in
the foreground, and
in 1909
General Brinkerhoff's successor, Dr.
George Frederick
Wright, secured from Colonel Hayes the
transfer of the Spiegel
Grove property in three separate deeds
to the State of Ohio, as a
free gift, with the following three
simple conditions: The con-
struction of the Harrison Trail and
other drives as Park Drives; a
suitable enclosure from the public
highway and around the Knoll;
and the marking of the trees with their
common and scientific
names to make them interesting and
instructive to visitors.
Under the administration of Gov. Judson
Harmon, the Leg-
islature of Ohio made an appropriation
of $50,000 toward the
erection of the fireproof building,
$10,000 of which was later used
for paving the streets on the three
sides of the Spiegel Grove
State Park. Although it had been Colonel
Hayes's announced
intention to devote his bequest solely
to the purchase of historical
books, relying on the Society and State
to maintain in full the
conditions of the deeds, nevertheless he
advanced to the Society
some sixty thousand dollars required to
erect and equip the orig-
inal Hayes Memorial Building, in 1914,
and about $100,000 ad-
ditional prior to the Centenary
Celebration of 1922 for the com-
pletion of the six split boulder and
cannon gateways and for the
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 485
Library and Museum Annex, out of his
intended book purchase
bequest.
The dedication of the original building
was deferred on ac-
count of the engagements of President
Wilson owing to the com-
plications of the pending World War, and
it was not till the 30th
of May, 1916, that the formal ceremonies
occurred, the Hon.
Newton D. Baker representing the
President of the United States.
President Wright in his opening address
said:
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.
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
the transcendent service which he
rendered in the face of violent oppo-
sition 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 devotion
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.
The ninety-eighth anniversary of the
birth of Rutherford B.
Hayes was opened with ceremonies of
unusual interest on Oct. 4,
1920. The parade reviewed by the
distinguished guests formed
in front of the Hayes Memorial, on the
northern wall of which
was placed the artistic Memorial Tablet
presented by Col. Webb
C. Hayes, M. H., in memory of his eighty
comrades of San-
dusky County who died in the service of
their country in the War
with Spain, the insurrection in the
Philippines, China, the Mexi-
can Border and in the World War. Mrs.
Webb C. Hayes, in the
costume of the Y. M. C. A., in which she
had served in France as
Hostess and Librarian at the Soldiers'
American Leave Areas at
Aix-les-Bains and Nice, unveiled the
beautiful bronze tablet.
The Hon. James E. Campbell, president of
the Society, in his
opening address, said:
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.
Through the generous filial devotion and
patriotic spirit of Colonel Hayes,
this tract was offered, without cost, to
the State as a public park in memory
of both of his parents, by deeds dated March 20, 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 of a suitable
fireproof building for the purpose
486 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
of preserving and forever keeping in
Spiegel Grove all papers, books and
manuscripts left by the said Rutherford
B. Hayes.
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
appreciation and deepest sense of obli-
gation. The 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 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 the suspicion of flattery or
adulation, and at which it can be re-
ceived without undue inflation.
Therefore I take it upon myself, as pres-
ident of this Society, to relate
publicly and in detail what Colonel Hayes
has contributed 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.
On July 1st of last year Colonel Hayes
placed $100,000 in trust to
be used in the maintenance and
upbuilding 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 at-
tractive property which you see before
you, of at least $500,000; $250,000 in
cash and securities for endowment funds,
and $250,000 in real estate and
personal property including the library
of Americana and collections.
Again on the occasion of the Centenary
of the birth of Ruth-
erford B. Hayes, Oct. 4, 1922, exercises
were held and addresses
delivered by the leading men of the
State and formal letters read
from President Harding who, owing to the
illness of his wife, was
unable to be present, and Chief Justice
Taft.
Archbishop O'Connell, reading the
printed report of the
Centenary, took occasion to write to
Col. Hayes that not long be-
fore the death of Cardinal Gibbons -- a
keen observer of men --
they were discussing the relative merits
of the various presidents,
and the Cardinal said:
I have known them all intimately and
well from Lincoln un-
til now, and to my mind the most
scholarly and refined of them all
was President Hayes.
Almost fifty years ago (1877) President
Hayes, accompanied
by his cabinet and his son Webb, made an
official visit to search
for and mark the almost forgotten
birthplace of George Washing-
ton, at which time the son, hardly more
than a youth, conceived
the idea of making the much-beloved
family home at Spiegel
Grove the nucleus of a memorial to his
parents. Until the present
hour of accomplishment the idea has
never been far from his
thoughts and he has worked toward his
goal with a zeal and per-
severance undaunted by obstacles.
The Hayes Memorial includes properly,
also, seven substan-
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 487
tial volumes issued as the Hayes Series:
the two volume "Life of
Rutherford B. Hayes," by Dr. Charles R. Williams,
of Princeton;
and the more recent volumes of the diary and letters of
Ruther-
ford B. Hayes, edited by Dr. Williams,
and published by the
State of Ohio. The six appendices of
great historical value, cov-
ering all the source material relative
to the obsequies and official
testimonials to President Hayes, and
pictures of the tree-enclosed
Knoll where he lies beside his wife; the
buildings, with elaborate
catalogues of their contents and all
deeds, trust agreements and
endowments of the Spiegel Grove estate
in relation to the State.
The twelve years of President Hayes's
life following his re-
tirement from the Presidency were
devoted to philanthropy in
many phases, and the demands upon his
purse -- always gener-
ously met -- were constant and enormous.
To cope with the
financial situation which President
Hayes knew would follow his
death, I myself heard him advise his son
to divide Spiegel Grove
into residence tracts for sale. Instead,
thanks to filial devotion,
this superb estate, one of the few
unspoiled natural beauty spots
and one of the most notable historic
landmarks of Ohio has been
preserved intact for the benefit of the
people. Visitors resort
hither, often hundreds daily, walking
and resting under the mam-
moth trees which stand guard over so
many memories; driving
over the very trackways used by the
Indians and their captives,
explorers and missionaries, French,
British, Colonial and local
troops; standing reverently at the gate
of the Knoll; browsing
about the delightful library and museum
-- the register showing
names from every State of the Union and
from foreign lands.
Owing to the apparent lack of interest
in historical matters
on the part of our Society and a
devotion to the very worthy
archaeological and museum features, and
the culmination of the
efforts of the Society in the present
magnificent World War Me-
morial Wing, to all of which we are glad
to own our individual
interest and allegiance as members of
the Society, nevertheless
many of us believed it necessary to
revive the interest in historical
matters in Ohio, using as a nucleus the
magnificent Memorials
in honor of Rutherford B. Hayes; to
accord also with the ex-
pressed desire of Mrs. Webb C. Hayes to
devote a considerable
sum to be added to Colonel Hayes's
bequests as a historical library
in the Hayes Memorial Library in the
Spiegel Grove State Park,
conditional only on sufficient interest
being shown by the State
or Society to complete the equipment and
maintain the library
and museum in a creditable manner, which
latter bequest was in
great danger of being lost through the
lack of interest in historical
matters.
In furtherance of this, the budget
committee of the Spiegel
488 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Grove Committee, after conference with
Dr. W. O. Thompson,
President of the Ohio State University
and Trustee of the So-
ciety, and Prof. A. S. Root, the
distinguished librarian of Oberlin
College, issued a call for a conference
of persons, societies and
librarians interested in the collection,
preservation and publication
of the records and histories of Ohio and
the Northwest Territory
in the nine northern counties of Ohio
contiguous to Spiegel Grove,
including the Western Reserve Historical
Society of Cleveland, the
Firelands Pioneer and Historical Society
of Norwalk, and the
Maumee Valley Historical Society of
Toledo, and the professors
of history in the colleges of that
territory, to be held at Spiegel
Grove, Sept. 27, 1924. Great interest
and enthusiasm were dis-
played by those present at the meeting.
A second historical Conference was held
on Oct. 4, I925, the
anniversary of the birth of Rutherford
B. Hayes, in the Hayes
Homestead in Spiegel Grove, which was
attended by the chair-
man of Spiegel Grove Committee, Dr. W.
O. Thompson, with
Mrs. Thompson; the recently elected
president of the Archaeolog-
ical Society, the Hon. Arthur C.
Johnson, with Mrs. Johnson; Dr.
Chas. R. Williams, of Princeton, author
of the Life and editor
of the "Diary and Letters" of
Rutherford B. Hayes, with Mrs.
Williams; H. L. Peake, of Oberlin
College, with Mrs. Root;
Prof. C. C. Kohl, of Bowling Green State
Normal College, with
Mrs. Kohl; Mr. A. R. Culbert, of
Fremont, with Mrs. Culbert;
Mr. H. D. Messick, of the Union Trust
Company, Cleveland, with
Mrs. Messick; Mr. Birchard A. Hayes of
Toledo, and Miss Lucy
E. Keeler of Fremont.
The tentative plan for the organization
of the Hayes Historical
Society was suggested as follows: A
Board of Trustees, consist-
ing of twelve ex-officio trustees,
nine of whom are successors in
positions formerly held by Rutherford B.
Hayes as Governor of
the State of Ohio or as president of the
board of Trustees of
Ohio educational institutions or of Ohio
historical societies with
which he had been affiliated during the
latter years of his life,
five incorporating trustees for life, whose successors
shall be
elected by the Trustees of the Hayes
Historical Society and six
elective trustees to be elected annually at the meeting
of the trus-
tees of the Hayes Historical Society in
the Spiegel Grove State
Park, Fremont, Ohio, on October fourth.
12 ex-offcio Trustees,
as follows:--
13 Ohio State Officers:--
The Governor of the State of Ohio --
Hon. A. V. Donahey of
New Philadelphia, Ohio
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 489
The Speaker of the Ohio House of
Representatives -- Hon. H.
S. Silver of Eaton, Ohio
The Superintendent of Public Instruction
of Ohio -- Hon. V. M.
Riegel.
8 Presidents of Ohio institutions of
learning and Ohio His-
torical Societies:--
The President of the Ohio State
University -- Dr. W. O. Thomp-
son of Columbus, Ohio.
The President of the Western Reserve
University -- Dr. R. E.
Vinson of Cleveland, Ohio.
The President of the Ohio Wesleyan
University -- Dr. J. W.
Hoffman of Delaware, Ohio.
The President of Kenyon College -- Dr.
W. F. Peirce of Gam-
bier, Ohio.
The President of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical
Society -- Hon. A. C. Johnson of
Columbus, Ohio.
The President of the Western Reserve
Historical Society -- Hon.
W. P. Palmer of Cleveland, Ohio.
The President of the Firelands Pioneer
and Historical Society --
Hon. H. L. Peake of Sandusky, Ohio.
The President of the Maumee Valley
Historical Society.
The Occupant of the Hayes Homestead in
Spiegel Grove --
Colonel Webb C. Hayes of Fremont, Ohio.
Colonel and Mrs. Hayes were deeply
gratified at the cordial
response to the invitation to act as
incorporators by five of Ohio's
most distinguished men of today in the
persons of:--
Dr. W. O. Thompson of Columbus,
President emeritus of the Ohio
State University.
The Hon. John H. Clarke of Youngstown,
late Associate Justice
of the United States Supreme Court.
The Hon. Newton D. Baker of Cleveland,
late Secretary of War
during the World War.
The Hon. Theodore E. Burton of
Cleveland, late United States
Senator.
The Hon. Myron T. Herrick of Cleveland,
Ambassador to
France.
The Hayes Historical Society was
incorporated and its officers
elected at a meeting of the
incorporators held at Cleveland, Janu-
ary 8, 1926, at which time Dr. W. O. Thompson was elected presi-
dent; the Hon. Newton D. Baker,
Vice-president; Prof. A. S.
Root of Oberlin, Secretary; and H. D.
Messick, Esq., of Cleve-
land, Treasurer.
490 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
The incorporating trustees together with
Dr. R. E. Vinson,
President of the Western Reserve
University; Dr. W. F. Peirce,
President of Kenyon College, and Col.
Webb C. Hayes, the oc-
cupant of the Hayes Homestead, were
elected the executive com-
mittee of the Board of Trustees with
full power to control the
affairs of announcement made of the
prospective endowment of
the Hayes Historical Society by Mrs.
Mary Miller Hayes.
I trust that I have, in this summary,
shown you some bright
pictures of Spiegel Grove, expressed
something of the historic
interest, charm and refinement of an
American home of the 19th
century before the old order changed;
drawn some portraits of
the personages living there whose
foresight, courage and stead-
fastness to beneficent aims strengthen
one's faith in humanity.
I hope to have shown you how the Hayes
Memorial is not
only conserving rich treasures and
memories of a local and per-
sonal past, but initiating and ensuring
a rich service for the fu-
ture.
At the close of the reading of Miss
Keeler's paper,
the conference adjourned for luncheon,
after which
Doctor William C. Mills, director of
the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society,
through whose
industry and zeal, chiefly, its
collections have been
brought together, conducted the party
of guests and
friends through the rooms of the
Museum, pointing out
the leading objects of interest, and
answering questions
in regard especially to the recent notable
finds in the
Ohio mounds.
Following the inspection, the memorial
bronzes in
the rotunda and at the Fifteenth Avenue
entrance to the
building were unveiled. The direction
of this ceremony
was under Mr. Herbert B. Briggs, the
State Architect.
In introducing the sculptor, Bruce
Saville, Mr. Briggs
said:
There was born in Massachusetts some
years ago a baby --
I almost said a man -- who has had a very interesting
career. I
do not know whether it is quite proper
for me to use the word
which General Orton told me
characterizes the character or con-
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duct of that boy during school; but the General said he did some- thing like raising -- well that's all right -- but he did find later something that he liked. It was his opportunity to study with some of the best sculptors of Boston. It was his further oppor- tunity a little later to start a studio for himself. In 1916, when France and England and the other leading countries were in the throes of the World War, he heard the call and joined the French Ambulance Corps. From this branch of the service he went to a special motor transport division organized by the French and saw service up at the front with the motor transports. Nine years ago, the United States declared war. Al- most immediately after that, this man heard there was to be or- ganized in Paris an American Camouflage Regiment, and he made it a point to connect himself with that. That regiment was the |
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Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 493
40th Engineers, the only Camouflage
Regiment connected with
our troops. I hope you may pardon the personal
reference, for
the man of whom I am speaking was a
comrade in arms with my
son, in the same regiment and in the
same company, and it is a
pleasure to present to you Mr. Bruce
Wilder Saville, sculptor of
these panels and of The Victorious
Soldier. (Applause.)
In introducing Mr. Saville, Mr. Briggs
said:
Mr. Saville says quietly to me, "I
don't think I shall say
anything." I want to say this: I
believe that what you will see
will speak for Mr. Saville.
To Governor Campbell, I understand, goes
the chief credit
for this memorial wing, these memorial
panels and the statue of
the Victorious Soldier, outside.
It is very fitting that four of the
outstanding features of the
service of the United States in this war
have been selected as sub-
jects for these panels.
On April 6, 1917, the American mind was
prepared for war
It is a question whether, if war had
been declared prior to that
time, the American mind would have been
prepared for it, but
when the American mind is prepared to do
anything the American
mind can accomplish its purposes
quickly.
The subjects of these panels are: The
Draft, The Training,
The Voyage and The Advance.
Here is an indication of the preparation
of the American
mind, for had the American mind not been
prepared it would
have been utterly impossible to pass a
selective draft. It would
have been impossible to pick out of
civil life almost five thousand
men, who became recruiting officers, and
recruited an army of
men such as the world has never known
nor seen.
In the selection of the particular part
of the draft for this
panel, the physical examination was
chosen, and as the panel is
unveiled you will notice the
cosmopolitan character of the men
depicted. It shows that some of them
were physically fit and
others, perhaps, not up to the standard.
To those who have had
the opportunity of seeing these ideas
grow from mere sugges-
tions, from small, scanty models to the
finished products, it has
been a wonderful opportunity, and it is
my pleasure to ask that
the panel of The Draft now be
unveiled.
(The Panel was unveiled by Miss Edith
Tallant.) (Ap-
plause.)
The text under this panel is:
For the first time, America's Young
Men, Ten Million of
Them, Torn Betwixt Hope and Fear,
Stripped for the Test--
Fit or Unfit, Which Would It Be?
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Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 495
The next panel is entitled The
Training. Almost over night,
thirty-two cantonments or encampments were organized,
and built
to receive the men who were sent into these training
camps through
the selective service. The words under
this panel are:
In Thirty-Two Cantonments of Forty
Thousand Each, Un-
ceasing Drill hardened the Bodies and
Steeled the Souls of Men
for the Grim Task of War.
(The Panel was then unveiled by Miss
Mary Louise Long.)
(Applause.)
The next outstanding picture in this
war, or part of it shows
again that the American mind was
prepared, and the American
mind overcame through ships and
otherwise the great problem
of the transportation of these millions
of men. (The panel was
then unveiled by Miss Edythe W. Hall.)
In the development of this subject Mr.
Saville has picked
out the actions of a gun squad on one of
the transports. To me,
and also from the standpoint of the
sculptor, it is one of the best
panels. It is very difficult, when they
are all so wonderful, to pick
out the best. On this side of the panel
you will see the officer of
the squad and you can almost see the
movement of the arm and
hand of the man sighting the gun. The
reading under the panel
is:
The Navy, with Untiring Vigilance,
Convoyed through
Deadly Mines and Lurking Submarines,
our Fleets of Troop-
Ships, in Safety, Carrying Two
Million Men to France. (Ap-
plause.)
The last of the panels represents The
Advance. (At this
period Miss Margaret Knight stepped
forward and unveiled the
panel.)
It may be of interest to know that of
the actual scenes de-
picted by these three panels that we
have seen, Mr. Saville had
no personal contact, unless it be this
one, because he was fighting
for France when we declared war. He knew
nothing directly
about the selective service work, nor
did he have the opportunity
of a training in the camps, but he did
know from personal ex-
perience the subject of the last panel.
He did know what it meant
to be under fire. He did know in that
camouflage work up very
near the front what it was to receive
the German bombs from
the machines up in the air.
This panel is inscribed: Through a
Ruined and Stricken
Land, Scarred by Trenches, Blasted by
Shell Fire, Pestilent with
Gas and the Reek of Carnage, Our
Troops Pushed on to Victory.
(Applause.)
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(497) Vol. XXXV -32. |
498 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
General Edward Orton, Jr., here stepped
forward
and made the following announcement:
Ladies and Gentlemen: On account of the
weather, it has
been necessary to call off the military parade, and it
has been
necessary to bring the exercises for the
afternoon inside of
the building. The arrangements involve,
of course, a very sud-
den and drastic shifting. It is
necessary, therefore, that we shall
conduct, immediately following this, the
unveiling of the statue
on the front steps, which should have
been toward the latter part
of the afternoon. The Governor and
military authorities and the
unveiling party will come to this door
and proceed onto the plat-
form, and those of you who wish to
witness this part of the pro-
gram may come out on the steps and see
the last part of the un-
veiling, after which, come back into the
building, and the 2:30
dedication exercises which were to have
been in the open will be
in the Auditorium.
(The crowd then proceeded outside, where
the statue, The
Victorious Soldier, was unveiled by Mrs. Elizabeth L. Clark.)
A writer in the June number of The
Ohio State Uni-
versity Monthly thus describes the unveiling of the Vic-
torious Soldier:
At the conclusion of the dedication of
the panels, the Gov-
ernor, officers, speakers and
distinguished guests filed out from
the rotunda to the outside platform, a
bugle sounded, a battery
of 75's roared out their salute, and in
the breathless silence which
followed, Mrs. Elizabeth L. Clark of
Steubenville, Ohio, presi-
dent of the American Legion Auxiliary of
Ohio, assisted by the
four ladies: who had officiated inside
the rotunda, unveiled the
heroic figure of the "Victorious
Soldier". This statue, nine feet
tall, standing on a pedestal five feet
high, impresses everyone
with its action, its virility and
confident power.
Owing to the snow and rain, the
draperies did not fall in-
stantly, and their gradual release of
the head, the shoulders, the
bust, and finally the whole figure,
added a dramatic touch to a
tense moment. As he stood unveiled, the
band played the "Star
Spangled Banner" while the crowd
stood motionless, with eyes
devouring the artist's embodiment of
patriotic American man-
hood.
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 499
PUBLIC DEDICATION EXERCISES
Promptly at 2:30 P. M., the President
of the Ohio
State Archaeological and Historical
Society, Mr. Arthur
C. Johnson, called the meeting together
with these intro-
ductory words:
Ladies and Gentlemen: Speaking on behalf
of the Ohio
State Archaeological and Historical
Society, it is particularly
pleasing to us that, in spite of the
inclement weather, we are able
to have such a happy indoor party. After
having witnessed the
impressive ceremonies of the unveiling,
the time has now come to
begin the speaking program.
May I call upon the Chaplain of the
I35th Field Artillery,
37th Division, A. E. F., the Reverend
Father William P. O'Con-
nor, to invoke the Divine blessing upon
this assembly.
Rev. Father O'Connor led in prayer:
Our Father who art in Heaven, we are
gathered here today
to ask Thy blessing and Thy strength
upon our State, and upon
her soldiers and her citizens. We are
now enjoying the blessings
of Thy great feast, of Easter Sunday,
the resurrection of the
Lord, as we gathered with pious women
and disciples and went for-
ward to the tomb to throw back the stone
and to have the Saviour
come forth, and as we prayed, in seeing
that stone rolled back
and thereby the Lord risen, with the
recompense of his strength
and his glory, we gather here today, O
Blessed Lord, and as we
have unveiled, thrown back the veil of
The Victorious Soldier,
we pray again, that Thy heavenly
strength may be imbued into
us all; that out of the unveiling and
rolling back of the veil of
the Victorious Soldier, we may gather
strength from this mighty
form, and we may gather grace from those
mighty thoughts por-
trayed in the panels, that honor our
Divine Saviour in His resur-
rection, that honor our country in its
resurrection; to portray the
soldier thought and patriotism, may this
unveiling ever be our
strength and guide, in Christ Jesus our
Lord. Amen.
ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR VIC DONAHEY
In presenting Governor Donahey,
President Johnson
said:
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Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 501
It is particularly appropriate that the
address of welcome
with which the program proper is to
begin should be delivered
by His Excellency, the Governor of Ohio,
that staunch friend of
the Society, neighbor and
fellow-citizen, Vic Donahey. May I
present the Governor of Ohio?
The audience rose and extended a very
cordial greet-
ing to Governor Donahey. When the
applause con-
cluded, he spoke as follows:
Mr. Chairman, Fellow-Citizens, Ladies
and Gentlemen: It
is with a deep feeling of gratification
that I welcome so many
sons and daughters of Ohio to the
dedication of this Memorial
to the veterans of the World War, the
first to be erected by our
state for such a purpose. This structure
is not in any sense to
be considered as pertaining to a
locality, it belongs to all of the
people of our great state; that this is
realized is evidenced by the
many distinguished guests from within as
well as without its
borders.
I have sometimes heard it said that our
country rises to the
most fervent heights of patriotism
during the war, and relapses
into indifference to its defenders once
the emergency has passed;
this I have never believed. It is my
opinion that reverence and
affection for the defenders of our
country are deeply rooted in
the souls of our people, and I point to
this beautiful structure and
reverent assembly as a visible evidence
of my belief.
We have a group of citizens whose duty
and whose pleasure
it is to perpetuate the glorious records
of our state and country.
The Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Society is to all intents
and purposes a functioning agency of the
state; it is governed
by a Board of Trustees, composed of men
and women actuated
by sincere and ardent resolve, whose
enthusiastic efforts and pa-
triotic ideals are at all times engaged
in perfecting the historical
records, and preserving the historic
objects which are interwoven
with our daily life. This Society is
dedicated to the service of our
people and has no other purpose.
At this time, I wish to refer to a noble
patriot, a public leader
and a sage of his generation, long a
hard-working and valued
member of this Society, former Governor
James E. Campbell, to
whose vision and enthusiasm more than to
those of any other one
man this completed edifice owes its
birth, -- a veteran of that
most momentous of all our struggles, the
Civil War, in which
as a mere lad he served his country as a
sailor. It was his in-
terest which imbued others with the idea
of this memorial, which
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502 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications later was, by action of the General Assembly of Ohio, brought from the realms of vision to fruition in the form of a tangible monument. Man has an instinct for preserving the records of his life; even the prehistoric cave-dwellers etched in rude paints the pic- |
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tures of the beasts and other perils of their day upon the walls of their habitations, and crude histories of our primitive peoples have passed through many generations by word of mouth, from father to son in the form of superstition, legend or verse; but it is a significant fact that those races and peoples which have achieved most progress in spiritual, moral and material directions are the peoples in whom was most deeply developed the instinct of perpetuating their records. This is not to be wondered at, as |
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 503
it is only by the study of the past, we
are able to gauge the future.
It is only by a realization of errors, that we are able
to prevent
their future occurrence. To an
individual or nation the careful
study of past events is of vital
importance in guiding along the
paths yet to be trodden, and happy is the man who or
the country
which can profit in this manner.
As every stream has its long quiet
stretches, broken ever
and anon by the turbulent water of rapids,
so in the course of a
nation's destiny will it have its
periods of peace and prosperity,
broken at times by the dread shadows of
war, pestilence or
famine, and these become the peaks of
the mountains of history.
Six great wars have fallen upon our people
in the one hundred
and fifty years of our national
existence, or a war for every
quarter century; each of these wars was
unsought, and was fought
in defense of, or in furtherance of, a
great moral principle. God
being with us, we have prevailed in each
of those great conflicts,
although assailed many times by doubts
and fears as to the out-
come. It is my fond hope that humanity
shall never again engage
in war, but perhaps the realization of
this is far in the distance.
There remains then to us the obligation,
in the future as in the
past, to refuse to unsheath the sword
except in a just cause, but
in such a cause to defend the right to
the death.
Of the veterans of the first three of
our great national strug-
gles none remain, but their graves are
sanctuaries of our love,
and a grateful nation has accorded them
reverence, respect and
devotion. But few of that gallant band,
who preserved the in-
tegrity of the Union in '61-'65, remain
to receive our homage;
most of their comrades have completed
their tasks and have gone
to their reward, but their deeds are
forever enshrined in our mem-
ories. The veterans of '98, now in
middle age, and at the peak
of their service, are entitled to and
receive the appreciation due
them, not only for their valor as
soldiers, but for their public
spirit as citizens.
And now we have a new generation of
veterans, the gradu-
ates of the last and greatest school of
war since the dawn of his-
tory; these are now for the most part
young men and women, but
many years ago the soldiers of these
previous wars were just as
young. The passage of time has sent the
veterans of other wars
to their last resting place, or has
sprinkled the snow of advancing
age upon their heads, and just as surely
will it mete out the same
fate to the heroes of our last war. It
is therefore but fitting that
proper recognition be paid to these
soldiers while they still rec-
ognize and appreciate it. It is proper
to strew them with flowers
while living, rather than to withhold
such floral offering for their
graves. The deeds they have done, the
lives they have lived and
504 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
the sacrifices they have made, are here
recorded, that our people
of the future may receive anew, the
inspiration necessary to carry
them through a similar dark period, if
God in his wisdom shall
inflict it upon them.
This afternoon, in dedicating this
Memorial we are creating
history; let every soul rejoice that the past has
provided the
type of men and women who are here being
memorialized, and let
every mind resolve that the days to come
will still behold our
country rich in that most valuable of
all assets, a courageous,
loyal and true citizenry. (Applause.)
ADDRESS OF RALPH D. COLE
Mr. Johnson introduced the next speaker,
Honorable
Ralph D. Cole, as follows:
In the next speaker on the program, we
have the happy com-
bination of war veteran and historian,
Honorable Ralph D. Cole,
Lieutenant Colonel of the 145th
Infantry, A. E. F., and Historian
of the 37th Division of Ohio
Troops, who has been assigned the
subject "Ohio's War Memorial."
Mr. Cole, who is a distin-
guished son of Ohio, needs no further
introduction and will now
be presented. (Applause.)
Colonel Cole stepped forward and
delivered the fol-
lowing eloquent address:
Mr. Chairman, Governor Donahey,
Distinguished Guests, and
my Fellow Citizens: A generation of men
and women that
makes a record worthy of the emulation
of mankind is charged
with the responsibility of its
preservation. Nations will build
memorials to their immortals after the
lapse of centuries, but the
record of the rank and file must be
written into history, perpetu-
ated in bronze and marble, memorialized
in painting and sculp-
ture, by the generation that wrought the
achievement. If we fail
in the discharge of this duty, it will
never be properly fulfilled.
This generation has wrought so nobly in
a cause so just, that
it deserves and will receive a prominent
place in the annals of
time. The history of man is much like
the geological eras of the
earth. The record of the rocks declares
that centuries roll by and
the form and structure of the earth
remain stationary; then comes
a mighty convulsion of physical forces;
new continents are thrown
aloft, crowned by majestic mountains
that separate the waters
of the deep into new oceans. So it is in the history of man.
|
Dedication of Ohio's World War Memorial 505 Ages roll by in warless monotony, then comes a mighty convulsion of spiritual forces, empires are unmanned, kingdoms are over- thrown, new nations arise out of their ruin and strange races as- sert dominion over the affairs of men. We live in an epoch of time characterized by the flagrant action of great spiritual forces. The world was in a conflict between the forces of freedom and |
|
|
|
autocracy; between the power of despotism and the ideals of de- mocracy, and it was in such a generation, thrown aloft into the mountains of the centuries, that you and I have had the honor to live and discharge our duty. I thank God for the privilege, as you doubtless do, of being able to live and discharge my duty with such a generation. But it has been said only recently, both at home and abroad, |
506 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
that America did not discharge her full
duty during the world
war. We deny that charge, and we assert
that America dis-
charged every obligation which she sustained to the
civilization of
the world, during that titanic conflict.
They said we should have
entered the World War earlier. I listened a few moments
ago to
the gentleman, [Mr. Briggs], who spoke
at the unveiling of the
memorials, and he said that the American mind was not
pre-
pared for war until 1917, and it is true
that the character of that
conflict had to be stamped indelibly
upon the mind and upon the
heart and conscience of the American
people, before we were
justified in entering the war. Is it the
duty of America to assist,
in a military way, every people -- alien
people struggling for
their freedom against autocratic
government? No, that is no
part of the duty of an American citizen.
An American citizen
pledges allegiance to the flag of the
United States, and the flag
of his country alone. The President of
the United States is
charged with the duty of upholding and
defending the Consti-
tution of the United States alone. This
government under its
constitution, has no power to draft an
American citizen into the
military service of the country, to die
for another people, unless
American interests are involved, and
American interests did be-
come involved, and we had a just cause
for war.
The freedom of the seas was an issue in
the World War.
The lives and liberty of American
citizens had been taken. No
nation can murder American citizens and
not suffer the conse-
quences. We were justified in entering
the war when we en-
tered, and after we did enter, we
discharged our duty in a full
measure. In one year's time this country
became organized for
war. We equipped and organized an army
of four million men;
two million of those men were taken
across the seas, and Ameri-
can troops participated in the batltes
of Vimy Ridge and Chateau
Thierry, the first struggles in which
the tide of battle was turned
and in which the future destiny of the
earth was determined.
We have boys in Ohio who were in that
awful conflict when
civilization was at stake and the mighty
forces of the air were in
mortal battle. Ohio men were there, and
I thank God for the
privilege of standing upon a platform
with one of those noble
men, one of the greatest citizens of
Ohio, one of the most gallant
soldiers that ever drew the flames of
battle, an eminent jurist of
Ohio, Colonel Benson W. Hough.
(Applause.)
Ohio as well as the nation discharged
her duty. She organ-
ized the 37th Division, 30,000 of
us, and the 83rd Division. Both
of these divisions were on the other
side and rendered service
on the firing line. They hit the
Hindenburg Line in the St.
Mihiel Sector -- listen to the
historical names -- St. Mihiel,
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 507
Chateau Thierry, Belleau Woods, the
Argonne, Alsace-Lorraine,
Flanders Fields. As long as the English
language shall live,
those names shall be remembered. It is
fitting now that their
glory and historical achievement should be written upon
these
tablets of bronze, and oh, how beautiful
they are--how beau-
tiful! I was in Europe last year and
looked at much of the
sculpture over there and I saw nothing
to surpass the beauty of
the bronzes that were unveiled to our
vision this afternoon, and
especially of that magnificent
soldier-boy standing out there to-
day, tomorrow, and through the years to
come, reflecting a noon-
day sun, and standing guard at night
under the stars; there he
shall stand forever, the embodiment of
the spirit of the noble
boys that served Ohio during the World
War.
So, Mr. Chairman, as the representative
of the soldiers of
Ohio, for whom, with my comrade General
Hough, I am author-
ized to speak this afternoon; for them I
want to thank you and
your co-workers in preparing this
beautiful memorial building, in
the sculpturing that has been wrought in
these memorials. They
rightly deserve the recognition that you
have accorded them and
you shall have their undying gratitude
for the service that you
have rendered to the veterans of the
World War. It is an obli-
gation we owe to the dead to perpetuate
their memory. They
were only boys. Do you remember them?
They were only
boys. We live, mantled in the majesty of
manhood, in the full
possession of our ennobling faculties,
greeting the glorious oppor-
tunity of American life, reaping the
splendors of a civilization
they helped to save.
They are gone. In the bloom of boyhood,
in the unveiling
miracle of the morning of life, they
died. Many of them were
just free from school when the war
clouds lowered, but they
dropped their books and pens and plows
and picks and seized the
rifle and manned the mighty guns, and
with the courage and spirit
of America saved the civilization of the
earth. A strange dispen-
sation of Providence that places upon
the boys the greatest re-
sponsibility of citizenship. Men of
maturity would break under
the burden of battle that boys will bear
in triumph.
So, my friends, we owe it to their
memory today to erect
these memorials and preserve their
record, and as long as we
manifest such a spirit, that for which
they have died shall endure.
Our poor words shall perish but their
work shall endure, and
wherever among men hearts shall be found
that beat and throb
to the transports of freedom, their
highest aspiration shall be to
claim kindred with these boys. Thank God
for these boys. They
have saved for us a noble government.
They have made secure
for us the future of this Republic, for
this Republic must live,
508 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
It will not be disturbed by wars and
revolutions, but it will tower
sublime, while monarchies totter and
fall; it will stand majestic,
immutable, the American Republic. (Applause.)
ADDRESS OF THEODORE E. BURTON
Following the address of Colonel Cole,
President
Johnson said:
I wish I might possess some of this
inspiring oratory of the
last speaker in making these
introductions. However, my limi-
tations leave me only the power to say in
simple way that one of
the world's greatest statesmen, a man
full of years and honors,
who is today rendering the greatest
service of his career to his
state and his country, has left his busy
life in Washington that
he may come here to witness these unveilings
and make an ad-
dress. I shall introduce to you a man,
who, trite as the saying
may seem, needs no introduction,
nevertheless we will present
Honorable Theodore E. Burton, who will
address you on the
subject, "The World War and Its
Lessons." (Applause.)
When the last echoes of the generous
applause that
greeted Congressman Burton had died
away, he ad-
vanced to the speakers' stand and spoke
as follows:
It is most unfortunate that the faithful
labor of those who
organized for this occasion should be
marred by the inclement
weather. We cannot say that Winter is
lingering in the lap of
Spring, for Spring has not yet appeared
upon the scene. And
yet, let us not forget how much darker
were the skies, how much
more gloomy were the days when our
soldiers were battling
abroad. The dough-boys went down into
the trenches, slimy,
damp, and dark, not to protect
themselves against the elements,
but that they might not be slain by the
murderous shells of the
foe.
It is for us, by such memorials as this
and by the more sub-
stantial tributes of our gratitude and
affection, to remember those
who fought in the late war. Let not the
voice of the living or
the dead be able to say to us,
"Are we then so soon forgot?"
My friends, the late World War, from 19I4
to 1918, was the
most frightful conflict in the world's
history. Absorbed in the
busy whirl of the present, with its
excitements, we do not realize
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 509
its magnitude or importance. Maybe those
who come after us
will have a better grasp upon its significance. In that
awful con-
test more than ten million of the
bravest and best marched
through the dark valley of the shadow of
death to certain de-
struction, and deeply engraven on a
multitude of hearts are the
records of grief, rendering homes which
might otherwise be alive
with happiness and joy, abodes of
suffering and sorrow. The
number disabled by wounds or sickness
can scarcely be enumer-
ated. The material loss in that awful
contest was more than two
hundred and fifty billions of dollars.
The stored up savings of
the ages, more in amount than the
combined wealth of any four
of the leading countries originally
involved in the struggle, were
burnt up in the waste and destruction of
war. And yet, when
we contemplate the aftermath, the
spiritual and moral legacies
of hatred and vindictiveness may be more
disastrous than the
material damage.
What was America's part in this great
struggle? Nine years
ago today the declaration against the
rulers of Germany went
forth to the world. Then there was an
uprising such as no nation
has ever seen. By material assistance,
by sending two million
soldiers across the sea, and by the
readiness of many millions
more, America threw the weight of her
might into the contest,
sustaining those who were worn and
weary; and turned doubt
and defeat into victory. Whatever our
critics may say at home
or abroad, I shall always maintain that
our entrance into the war
was largely dictated by a spirit of
altruism and by a desire to
preserve liberty and free government.
Our nation's strength was
exerted for the supremacy of right over
might, for justice and
with a hope, -- a burning hope, -- that
the terrible struggle might
be the last and peace might follow.
Our participation in the war was not
unanticipated, and when
the tocsin of alarm sounded, millions of
soldiers were gathered
from far off Texas, from California,
from where roll the waters
of the Oregon, from across the mountains
and on to the plains,
and clear on to the Atlantic shore. We
saw the well-trained, well-
equipped soldier made out of the raw
recruit. We saw them say
farewell to kindred and friends, and go
down to the ocean side
to sail for the field of battle. They
were waving a last farewell
to us as they sailed forth, looking back
on their native land per-
haps for the last time.
"Sailing, sailing, over the
bounding sea," in danger from
the torpedo and the submarine, until
their eyes rested upon the
farther shore, a strange land indeed.
And when they landed in
France they needed no martial music, but
with strength and
brawn, with vigor and confidence, they
marched through the
510 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
streets; and the population of Brest,
the women and children, for
the men had gone, climbed up to roofs and towers,
shouting, "The
Americans have come, the Americans have
come, to save France
and to save the world." And later,
in the awful clash of battle
were their efforts known, and American
soldiers never knew re-
treat. We have never engaged in a war
but what triumph rested
upon our banners. Such were the
achievements of the men who
fought on the land, in the air, and on
the sea, -- let not our tri-
umphs on the sea be forgotten. Let not
our tribute of mourning
and praise be withheld from those
carried not by tender hands
to the cemetery but lost in the deep. Of
them we may say:
The waves became their winding sheet,
The waters were their tomb;
But for their fame, the ocean sea
Was not sufficient room.
It is especially fitting that we should
gather here today in
the presence of the Governor, who has
spoken, and of Colonel
Cole, and General Hough, who will
address you. Around us is
a throng of young men who took part in
the struggle. Here also
are the women who did their part as
nurses and otherwise, min-
istering to the wants of the wounded and
dying. And I see all
around me that throng of those who, at
home, with the deepest
anxiety but with devotion to the cause,
saw their kindred and
friends go forth to be, if necessary, a
sacrifice on the altar of
patriotism.
What was Ohio's part in this great
contest? For country
and for the rule of justice the state of
Ohio between the declara-
tion, April 6, 1917, and the Armistice,
November 11, 1918, con-
tributed two hundred and two thousand
enlisted men, beside some
eleven or twelve thousand officers, --
two hundred thirteen or
fourteen thousand engaged directly in
the service, to which must
be added the very considerable number of
those who enlisted as
marines, in the navy, and in the regular
army. Ohio, as in all
great crises of the past, responded to
the call.
There was the 27th Division recruited
from Ohio, which did
service in the Argonne and St. Mihiel
and other bloody battlefields
of France. There was the 83rd and part
of the 84th which also
fought bravely. Then there was the 166th
Regiment, represented,
I believe, by General Hough, which
performed most notable
service; and although some are wont to
look with despite upon
that humble class, I cannot help but
recall the 9th Battalion,
made up of the descendants of freedmen,
who fought so well. I
would mention also the 332nd Regiment,
part, I believe, of the
83rd Division. That was the only
regiment which went to Italy,
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 511
and following examples that have been
given in duplication and
multiplication, they moved from sector to sector, and
conveyed the
impression that a large share of the
American Army was there.
Although there were only 3600, they
rendered a most efficient
service.
You who fought in the war, you who took
part as men and
women, occupy a unique position.
Napoleon marched over the
Alps to the plains of Italy, and when he
sought to inspire his
troops, he gave an address in which he
said, "When you are old
and feeble, the young and the beautiful
will point to you and say,
'There goes one who served in the Army
of Italy.' " How much
more appropriately can the young and
beautiful of the future
point to you who in the time of your
country's perils, risked your
lives in the great World War from 1914 to 1918.
Now you have duties as citizens, and if
you fought for your
country in time of war, you must be
ready to serve it and strive
for it in time of peace. I wish I had
time to give some of those
injunctions which one long in public
life could give to a young
citizen. I shall mention only a few.
Bear in mind the perils which confront
your country in these
piping days of peace, -- the excitement,
the hysteria, the super-
ficial grasp on public questions,
participation in things which thrill.
Though I do not wish to be regarded as
unusually conservative,
I think sometimes it would be better if
invention would cease now
with its last great product, perhaps the
radio, and we should
utilize those which we have, before
seeking other inventions which
may turn us aside from the more sober
and deliberate duties of
life.
I would say to you, you should have some
part in trying to
stay the extraordinary wave of crime
which has overspread the
country. Some say it is due to the war.
I do not think so. There
is always a degree of restlessness after
a war, but in several of
the countries which participated, crime
has since very much di-
minished. It is due in far larger
measure to the lax administra-
tion of justice, and to the efforts of
the flimsy sentimentalist, who
weeps for the guilty criminal, but has
no tears for his victim who
lies buried in the cemetery.
And again, as to the quality of our
citizens, I would say a
word to you. Let us not have any
Bolshevists or Communists in
this country. There is one country
across the sea that is ruled
by them, and there is a large sprinkling
in others. They are ob-
taining a foothold in China and, I fear,
in Mexico. Let us say
to those who wish to establish here a
Bolshevik or a Communist
regime, -- "The ocean lies there,
broad and open. You cannot
sail away too soon."
512 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Now what are the lessons of the World
War? When we
survey its events we cannot be
altogether satisfied with its results.
There is still antagonism, and hatred,
and militarism among the
nations of Europe. Most fortunately we
have been free from
the accumulated antagonisms of
centuries. We had no deep-
seated animosity to the German people,
but we knew that there
was an element in control led by a
Kaiser who believed in the
mailed fist and the rattling sabre.
There was a worship of brutal
force, which was a constant threat to
the peace of the world.
But as far as the East is from the West,
so far were we removed
from any spirit of revenge.
In a spirit of amity and with
willingness to forget, we should
construct our policy for the future. But first, let us
note a few
practical considerations. I have a certain admiration
for those
who would outlaw war. That is the goal to which we
should
all bend our efforts. That is the millennium of the
future, but
until there is some substitute for war we cannot do
away with it.
Disarmament, except in a limited degree,
is perilous unless there
is assurance of security. We do not have for our young
men
the compulsory military training in vogue in most of
the nations
of Europe, because it is contrary to our
ideals and we do not
feel that any necessity exists for it.
We are fortunate in our
isolation, and across the border no armed forces
threaten our
tranquility; but to say that we can
never be in any danger is
most hazardous. Preparedness is necessary, and military
train-
ing, voluntary and even compulsory in
colleges receiving support
from the government, is most desirable.
In his first Annual Message, January 8,
1790, President
Washington said, "To be prepared
for war is one of the most
effectual means of preserving peace. A
free people ought not
only to be armed but disciplined",
and in the responsive address,
-- in those days when the Senate and the
House sent an address
in response, they said, "We are
persuaded that one of the most
effectual means of preserving peace is
to be prepared for war."
Some twenty years later, President
Madison, the scholar of the
formative period of our country, said,
"Nor can the occasion fail
to remind you of the importance of those
training seminaries",
that is, training schools. We may pass
by the more militant ex-
pressions of President Roosevelt and of
those men in the mili-
tary service and elsewhere who are
constantly conjuring up danger
of war with Japan and other countries.
But until a new order is
established in the world, our country
with its vast resources must
not be left defenseless.
Every good citizen should be ready to
respond with his
substance, his service, and even with
his life if his country is in
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 513
danger. That is the condition under
which we enjoy the political
society of this wonderful country of ours. Indeed I
would go
further. I think it extremely desirable
that legislation should be
enacted, such as that proposed by the
American Legion, and which
I had the honor to suggest in a keynote
speech in 1924, under
which, in time of war, all forces,
economic as well as man power,
be mobilized for defense. When the
nation is in peril there should
be room neither for the slacker nor the
profiteer.
But if practical considerations dictate
preparedness, surely
our general policy should be one which
looks to lasting peace.
If there is one universal desire among
the more humane and
enlightened, it is for peace. Moral and
intellectual forces have
been aroused as never before over the
horrible sufferings of the
late war, and the threat that another
combat would be even more
terribly destructive than the last. Such
a combat might even
destroy the most precious achievements
of civilization. It is well
to begin with that quality of restraint
which makes for good-will
in our domestic affairs, as in the
relations between employer and
employee, between whom there is frequent
conflict to the equal
injury of each and in the avoidance of
sectional strife. In olden
days when state was arrayed against
state, repulsion was the
dominant spirit, and in a lesser degree
this feeling still survives.
Let us consider a present day
illustration, -- the bitter recrimina-
tions between the advocates of
prohibition and its opponents.
Let there be no bandying of epithets but
a calm and dispassionate
weighing of arguments pro and con,
never forgetting that our
chief duty is to respect the established
law of the land. If we
maintain among ourselves an attitude of
composure and self-
possession rather than one of acrimony,
our influence abroad will
be greatly strengthened.
What are some of the discouragements
which face those who
seek for better relations between
nations? In the first place there
are some who believe that war is the
natural condition of man-
kind; that contests, bloody contests,
are inevitable; even more, --
that the field of battle is essential
for the maintenance of profi-
ciency, discipline and courage; and that
war is a part of the life
of the country the same as any of the
other various activities of
society. With that I cannot agree, and I
believe their number
is diminishing. There are myriads,
countless myriads of those who
have fought, who have seen bloodshed,
who have gone through
the hardships of war on the
battlefields. Leave it to them. Do
they desire another war? Leave it to the
women and children.
Do they wish war? Leave it to the
humanitarians. Leave it to
the Christian church; -- and I wish to
impress the responsibility
of the Christian church in this regard.
Devotion to the ideals
Vol. XXXV -- 33.
514 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
of the Master would put an end to wars.
You all remember the
story of Mary and Martha and Lazarus; just like many a
home
in Ohio; two maiden sisters and a brother. One day
Lazarus
sickened and died, and while the
mourners were coming to com-
fort Mary and Martha, the Master came,
and Mary said to him,
"Master, if Thou hadst been here my
brother would not have
died." As one looks over that broad
expanse stretching as it does
from morning till evening, with the
crosses, the government monu-
ments, the battlefields and cemeteries
in France where hundreds
of thousands lie buried, can we not say,
"If Thou hadst been
here, these myriads would not have
died"?
Then there is an exaggerated and selfish
nationalism in the
way of peace. As the different portions
of the earth come more
and more into contact, there arises a
pride in race which pro-
motes unreasonable claims under the
guise of a false patriotism,
and which demands that each country take
a more aggressive
position. Then the people of each nation
begin to think that they
have all the knowledge and all the good
things of this world, and
national pride is exaggerated. Different
races as well as differ-
ent people have different capabilities.
One person may be a great
orator and another a great musician, and
all cumbine in making
up society. We must realize that peoples with a
different genius
from ours are entitled to our respect.
There is another obstacle in the way of
peace, and it is
serious, -- the coming to the front of
other races. I regret to
say that in my time there has been an
increase of race repulsion.
True, we have indulged in a sentimental
liking for many peoples.
When we have seen them at a distance we
have not only been tol-
erant but appreciative of their virtues.
But when we come in
closer touch we recognize a lack of
entire congeniality. We per-
ceive that they have different ambitions
and different ideals. We
thought when we considered the nations
of Asia that they were
of little political importance, and we
had the idea that we would
be dominant for all time; but we find
that they resent this atti-
tude, and are beginning to say among
themselves, "The ravages
of war have so impaired the strength of
the white race that maybe
the time will come when we will put the
Caucasian to bed."
Then, beyond all this, are the
deeply-rooted feelings and an-
tagonisms which have grown out of this
recent war, and the recol-
lection of former wrongs. These can be
dissipated only by the
lapse of many years, for only time,
patience, and a disposition
to smooth away asperities can cure the
hatreds which have devel-
oped. These hatreds are heightened by
new alignments and boun-
daries, the permanence of which I
question. The forces of civili-
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 515
zation are not static. They do not keep
nations in the same con-
dition.
New boundaries were created in the
treaties after the war in
which nations of superior civilization
were put under inferior;
burdens unduly harsh were imposed upon
the vanquished. New
countries without experience in
government were sent forth as it
were upon uncharted seas without a
compass. We love the idea
of popular government and democracy, but
I must candidly say
I doubt whether it is a panacea for all
conditions. The motto,
"Make the world safe for
democracy" really means in some situ-
ations, "Make the world safe for
stupidity", -- make the world
safe for that which tends downwards
rather than upward.
I have dwelt on the factors which make
for war, for its con-
tinuance, and for its unnatural
miseries. Now, what are the
methods to prevent war? First of all, it
is desirable to have a
great, august court for the whole world,
to which all nations,
weak and small as well as great, may
submit their differences, just
as individuals and states of this Union
submit their controversies
to the Supreme Court of the United
States, which is a proper
model; and where, in the splendid
language of Chief Justice
Marshall a hundred years ago,
"Russia and Geneva shall be re-
ceived with equal consideration".
It is the aim of those who ad-
vocate this idea that international law
shall be rescued from
vagueness and uncertainty; that new
principles be established, and
that there be the same method of
settlement between nations as
between individuals.
But there is a more immediate means to
promote peace and
that is by education, -- education which
teaches that the world
is becoming one great commercial
republic and that there is a
community of interest, the importance of
which increases with
the years. In that education the first
and foremost need is to
build up an international mind and a
rational public opinion. On
that subject one of our great statesmen,
Senator Root, has said,
"There is but one power on earth
that can preserve the law for
the protection of the poor, the weak and
the humble; there is but
one power on earth that can preserve the
law for the maintenance
of civilization and humanity, and that
is the power, the mighty
power of the public opinion of mankind.
More than the sheriff,
more than the constable, more than the
state's prison, is the citi-
zen's fear of the condemnation of the
community in which he
lives, and in international affairs the
respective countries fear
more than anything else the condemnation
of the rest of the
world." Germany sincerely thought
that she had the greatest
military organization the world had ever
seen, and she had. Why
was it she did not succeed? It was
because the public judgment
516 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
and the public opinion of America was
against her and her ruth-
less methods that she met defeat. Our own President
Coolidge
has said on this subject, "World peace, a world
affair, stands or
falls by world opinion. If we are to
have world peace, we must
have the necessary world opinion to
support it."
In movements for peace, what country has
the opportunity
which our own possesses? We are the
mightiest in resources; we
are greatest in potential military
force; we have in a very excep-
tional degree the confidence of all. Let
our part be that of jus-
tice, with a spirit of fairness to all,
and with a realization that in
foreign relations, as between
individuals, neither can have his
own way, but that concession and a
spirit of amity are necessary
in order that nations may live in peace.
At present there is some
little friction in regard to debts to
the United States. Foreigners
are saying very generally, "Uncle
Samuel ought not to insist on
payment of the debts." I think all
due leniency should be exer-
cised, though the sacredness of
financial obligations between coun-
tries should be preserved. We ought to
treat Italy and France
and all the rest with forbearance and
good-will. I sincerely hope
that the proposed debt settlement with
Italy approved by the Debt
Commission and the President will be
confirmed by the Congress
in a few days. Let us bear in mind that
these debts were largely
for supplies sent from our own country
when prices were very
high; and let us bear in mind also that
these loans were made in
time of war for the carrying on of war,
-- largely for the work
of destruction, and not for any
productive enterprise which would
yield a return.
Let us, by example, show that we are
fair. We have stood
as a friend to all; we are ready with
our good offices to prevent
quarrels. Let us feel that our glory is
not so much in battles
won as in wars prevented. We have
extended aid by the hun-
dreds of millions of dollars, and the
kindness with which it has
been done is more than the money. We
have been deeply moved
by the suffering of Europe and of all
countries. We have fed the
hungry and starving, we have furnished
shelter for the homeless.
We have given succor to the sick and the
dying, we have lifted
up the heads of the broken-hearted; and
in this as much as in
military achievement rests the glory of
the American name.
It should be our most earnest hope that
our country may not
be guided by those motives of
imperialism and selfishness which
have dominated so many other lands, --
that our policy should
not be one of greed. Thus the prophecy
may be fulfilled that
"westward the star of empire takes
its way" and that this great
experiment in government shall be the
best.
My friends, let me say in closing, this
memorial will endure,
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 517
as we trust, for centuries to come. How
massive are these pillars
and foundation stones. Here we see the
beauty of the sculptor's
art, a monument to the skill of the
architect. And as these pillars
stand out in the darkness and the light,
each pillar may seem to
say to the mortal passing by, "When
you are dead and gone I
shall remain, for I speak for that which
is eternal. Here we will
stand, mightier in strength than the
fabled Atlas bearing the
round globe upon his shoulders, with no
muscles to grow weary
and with no heart to faint." And
yet, when this building
crumbles, as in the ages to come it
must, that which this build-
ing commemorates will be immortal, for
it is the symbol of an
event and of an idea. That event was the
world's colossal
struggle, in which the sons and
daughters of Ohio, with abun-
dant heroism and sacrifice, bore a
splendid part; and that idea
was liberty, humanity, the everlasting
triumph of truth and
justice, the might of our own United
States.
Mr. Burton spoke most effectively. His
established
fame as an eminent Ohio statesman, his
position on
the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the
National House
of Representatives, his membership on
the World War
Foreign Debt Commission and the
Executive Committee
of the American group of
Inter-Parliamentary Union
and his chairmanship of the U. S.
Delegation of the
1925 Geneva Conference for Control of
International
Traffic in Arms peculiarly qualified
him to speak on
"The World War and Its
Lessons." The audience with
rapt attention caught every word of his
noble address.
At a few points the tense silence was
broken by applause
and at the conclusion of the peroration
the audience
arose and manifested its enthusiastic
approval by long-
continued applause. A number of persons
present who
had frequently listened to Mr. Burton
on other occasions
declared that they had never before
heard him speak so
impressively. His address will long be
cherished as a
classic of patriotic oratory.
518 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Following Mr. Burton's address,
President Johnson
said:
We may well hope that a million radio
listeners, scattered
from lakes to gulf and from coast to
coast, have been sitting at
their instruments, listening to these
lessons of truth and mag-
netism. We are greatly indebted to Mr.
Burton for the message
which he has brought us. I am sure you will all join in a vote
of thanks to him for coming to Columbus
and appearing before
this assembly. Mr. Burton has made
arrangements to return
to Washington on the 4:50 Pennsylvania
train; so if it becomes
necessary for him to leave before the
conclusion of the pro-
gram, you will understand the reason
why.
Had the inclemency of the weather not
driven us to a change
of program, we would now be proceeding
to the unveiling of The
Victorious Soldier. In the arrangement
of this program we
sought to pay a tribute of love and
respect to the War Mothers
of Ohio, and for that reason there was
chosen to represent them,
Mrs. Elizabeth L. Clark, the President
of the Department of Ohio,
Women's Auxiliary of the American
Legion. The last speaker
on the program will represent the
service men and women of
Ohio. In order that Mrs. Clark, and the
War Mothers she rep-
resents, may not be deprived of their
rightful place on this pro-
gram, I am going to ask you to rise and
be presented to Mrs.
Elizabeth L. Clark. (Applause.)
ADDRESS OF MRS. ELIZABETH L. CLARK
Mrs. Clark came forward and spoke
briefly and feel-
ingly as follows:
Mr. President and Friends: When the
Congressman was
speaking, I, as a mother, could not help
thinking of a day when
under that golden dome in Washington was
gathered together a
body of men who held in their hands the
destinies of this nation.
On one side sat the members of Congress,
above them in silent
dignity sat the Supreme Court, on the
other side were the envoys
of foreign nations. Back here sat your
War President, on one
side the Vice-President, and on the
other the Secretary of War,
and outside the nation waited.
And you women know how we felt when we
heard those
words, "We are at War". I
shall not take time to go over the
things you know, but I saw those Ohio
men go overseas, I saw
them in England and France and Italy and
Belgium, and you
know their coming home, but over there they left
precious
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Dedication of Ohio's World War Memorial 519 shrines of America where side by side sleep Catholic and Prot- estant, Jew and Gentile, black and white, and while they slumber on foreign ground, they are protected by the flag of this country and it will keep them. Let the people of America keep the faith we have today. As women, we want peace, and no woman wants it more than I; but we want that peace with an ample army, Mr. |
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Congressman, with an adequate navy; not to bring on unjust and unwarranted wars, but to insure us everlasting and abiding peace. Mr. President, that statue that was unveiled today will bring to the women of the state a kindlier thought in their minds, a ten- derer tone in their voices, and a warmer throb in their hearts, because, while we want peace, we love peace, these men for whom it stands love it more, because they know war. We love that flag, |
520 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
but they love it more because they have
seen its crimson colors
reproduced in the blood of America. We
love this country, but
they love it more, because they have
seen the sacrifices which have
made it what it is, and while we hope
that we will have peace,
we are going to claim our right and
recognize our right under
any circumstance, at any time, to
protect our homes, our loved
ones, our country, and our flag, to
maintain American institutions
and to preserve American traditions. I
thank you. (Applause.)
ADDRESS OF MAJOR-GENERAL BENSON W. HOUGH
President Johnson next presented
Major-General
Hough, who in behalf of the service men
and women of
Ohio thanked the Society for its
manifestation of inter-
est and the interest of the great state
of Ohio in the
erection of the Memorial this day
dedicated. President
Johnson spoke as follows:
Now, we have come to the last of the
addresses of the day.
It is to be made by one of our own, Late
Colonel of the 166th
Infantry of Ohio, 42nd Division of A. E.
F., who recently re-
ceived a deserved recognition and honor,
appointment to the Fed-
eral Judgeship of the Southern District
of Ohio. I have the honor
to present Major-General Benson W.
Hough, who will give a
response on behalf of the Service Men
and Women of Ohio.
Judge Hough responded as follows:
Mr. President, Senator Burton, My
Comrades, Friends, La-
dies and Gentlemen: It is no
insignificant duty to be called upon
to state the congratulations and
sentiment of more than a quarter
of a million Ohio service men. It is no
small task, either, to tell
this Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society, in adequate
terms, of the appreciation that is due that
society for and in be-
half of this their splendid permanent
Memorial. It is my belief
that this should be approached in
modesty and humility, in a spirit
of thankfulness, for what has been
accomplished, in a spirit of
thankfulness that the occurrences of
1918 have terminated and
with the voice of hope that those times
may never be reenacted.
The man who conceived the idea of this
project must have been
a patriot. To James E. Campbell and his
associates, whose
thoughts developed into plans, and whose
plans through effort
finally developed into this completed
enterprise, all thanks must
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Dedication of Ohio's World War Memorial 521 cheerfully be given. I am sure it is the hope of the speaker and of those men whom he represents, that future wars may be ob- viated, and I agree with the Senator that the best guarantee for the obviation of future war is preparedness, adequate, at least, for protection and defense. The people of this country will make a serious error, if now |
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or in the future they fail to use their efforts, their funds and their services in developing and making the National Defense act that is on the statute books of the United States a continued and ulti- mate success. With that in view, we haven't much fear for the future. In 1918, that splendid one-armed French General said to his troops, "The assault is coming, the armament of the enemy is |
522 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
formidable, their numbers are legion,
and they are selected from
the cream of the German Army, but you are prepared,
your
armament is formidable, you have had
time to develop your plans,
and more than all, there beat in your
troops, both French and
American, the hearts of patriots, and
when the attack comes, your
General says to you, 'You will stop that
attack'." The faith of
that General was borne forth in success
and those troops did stop
and turn back that great German drive of
July 14,
1918, and
it
was because of the faith that he had in
the patriotism of his Army
that that thing became a possibility.
The State of Ohio contributed to the
World War two hun-
dred and sixty-odd thousand soldiers of
the Army, Navy and
Marine Corps; one-sixteenth of the
entire American forces, more
than six per cent of the four million
men that served during the
World War. Ohio participation, not only
in numbers, but in re-
sults, bespeaks honor to the State of
Ohio.
Seven thousand of those boys went to
France and did not
return alive. Their bodies came back for
the most part in wooden
boxes and caskets. Upon arrival, those
bodies and caskets were
placed in the pier building at Hoboken,
six or eight thousand at a
time. One night, just after the arrival
of a fleet carrying the dead
bodies of our American soldiers, a fire
broke out, and the next
morning down on those piers it was
plainly noticeable that two
of the pier buildings had burned to the
ground, and to the as-
tonishment of the spectators the next
two buildings were un-
harmed. And why? Those other two
buildings were filled to
capacity with the wooden boxes which
were brought by the Amer-
ican fleet with the American dead, but
there the Leviathan lay
across the way, and its great steel
sides loomed up a hundred
feet from the water. Those sides burned
and seared, with the
paint off, and that fire had come down
in that direction and those
great steel sides had effectively stopped
the flame from reaching
the dead bodies of our comrades. I say,
with all the mishaps to
that great ship and all the history that
is behind it, whatever the
cost to the Government of the United
States may be, for keeping
that ship in service it is money well
spent, and I thank God for
the Leviathan.
The Service Men and Women of the State
of Ohio sincerely
and earnestly thank the President of
this organization and his
associates living and dead, for the
manifestation of their interest
and of the interest of the great State
of Ohio, which we all love,
for the development and final completion
of a memorial here to
the soldiers, both living and dead, as
long as time may last.
Mr. Chairman, I congratulate you and
again thank you on
behalf of all our boys. (Applause.)
Dedication of Ohio's World War
Memorial 523
President Johnson thanked Judge Hough
for his
words of appreciation and paid merited
tribute to Gen-
eral Orton, Chairman of the Building
and Dedication
Committees:
The Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society appre-
ciates these expressions from the War Veterans'
representatives
who have spoken here today, but I want
to digress for just a
moment to say that the Society as such
cannot accept all of that
credit, without a word of explanation.
We believe that it is
proper to give credit where credit is
due, and while this work,
this Memorial, was erected under the
auspices of this organiza-
tion, and its officers and many of its
members, the yeoman work
in the development of the idea and in
bringing it to completion;
I wish to explain, the burden of this
labor and the development
of the idea and plan of the dedication
fell upon the shoulders of
one stalwart in our organization. I
refer to General Edward
Orton. (Applause.)
Benediction.
The program concluded with the
benediction by the
Chaplain of the Second Field Battalion,
First Division,
A: E. F., Rev. Dr. Arthur H. Limouze:
Almighty God, by whose favor we have
come to this day,
wherein in humility and gratitude we
have remembered the sac-
rifices of our sons and daughters, and
wherein Thou hast privi-
leged us to erect this Memorial as a
constant reminder to our State
and our Republic of the sacrifices of
the past, be pleased, we pray,
to accept our pledge given to the world
in the spirit of those who
laid down their lives, that they shall
not have made their sacri-
fice in vain; and help us to pledge
ourselves anew to the unfin-
ished task which with failing hands they
passed on to us, from
Flanders Fields where they lie asleep,
and may the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with us always.
Amen.