14 .I'n ! i ^fi Qi. DEDICATION OF THE STATUE OF THE HON. GEORGE FRISBIE HOAR WORCESTER JUNE TWENTY-SIXTH 1908 e^ By transf<=r The White House March 3rd, 1913 INTKODUCTORY N response to a general invita- tion extended by Hon. Walter H. Blodget, Mayor of the City of Worcester, a meeting was held in the Mayor's office at the City Hall on Tues- day evening, April 25th, 1905, to consider the advisability of erecting a memorial to the late United States Senator George Frisbie Hoar. The meeting was presided over by the Mayor, and John P. Munroe was secretary. The following gentlemen addressed the meeting : Charles M. Thayer, Stephen Salis- bury, Henry A. Marsh, Matthew J. Whit- tall, Rt. Rev. Mgr. Thomas Griffin, Jacob L. Coding, Joseph DeMarco, G. Stanley Hall, Eugene M. Moriarty and A. B. R. Sprague. As a result of the deliberations, it was voted to raise by popular subscription a memorial fund, and the following gentle- men were elected trustees of the George F. Hoar Memorial Fund: — 4 George F. Hoar Memorial Walter H. Blodget, G. Stanley HaU, Rt. Rev. Mgr. Thomas Griffin, Philip J. O'Connell, James Logan, Stephen Salis- bury, Charles H. Hutchins, Jacob L. Goding, John F. Jandron, Henry A. Bow- man, Henry A. Marsh, Charles M. Thayer, A. George Bullock, F. O. Dahlquist, Arthur P. Rugg, Paul B. Morgan, Matthew J. Whittall, William E. Rice, John R. Thayer, Nathaniel Paine, Homer P. Lewis, David F. O'Connell, Napoleon P. Huot and John T. Huggan. On May 4th, 1905, the trustees formally organized by the election of Walter H. Blodget, chairman, Philip J. O'Connell, sec- retary, Charles M. Thayer, treasurer, and John B. Bowker, auditor. A trust agreement prepared by Charles M. Thayer was entered into and executed by the Board of Trustees, and filed in the office of the City Clerk. At this same meet- ing a plan was adopted for the raising of a fund by popular subscription. As a result of this plan more than .30,000 subscribers contributed to the fund, and inside of a few weeks' time a sum over twenty-one thousand dollars was received by the Treasurer. This money was placed on deposit in the Wor- cester Trust Company in the name of the Introductory 5 President, Secretary and Treasurer. A suitably engraved certificate, bearing the signatures of the President, Secretary and Treasurer of tbe trustees, was given to each subscriber to the fund. At a meeting of the trustees held on July 20th, 1905, Daniel Chester French was chosen as the sculptor of the statue. Peabod}" and Stearns, of Boston, Mass., the architects of the Worcester City Hall, were chosen to design the j^edestal of the statue. The pedestal was furnished by the Norcross Brothers Company. On Jul}^ 24th, 1907, the following com- mittees were chosen: Committee to select an orator, Arthur P. Eugg, Charles M. Thayer, C Stanley Hall. Committee on Dedication Exercises, Charles M. Thayer, Paul B. Morgan and Philip J. O'Connell. Arthur P. Kugg, Charles M. Thayer, G. Stanley Hall, Henry A. Marsh, Nathaniel Paine and Philip J. O'Connell served as a committee to formulate the inscriptions on the pedestal of the statue. The site of the statue was determined upon by the Board of Trustees on January 16th, 1908. The Hon. William H. Moody, of Haver- hill, Massachusetts, Justice of the Supreme 6 George F. Hoar Memorial Court of the United States, accepted an invitation to deliver the address at the dedication of the statue. On the afternoon of June 26th, 1908, the statue was dedicated in the presence of a large concourse of people, the exercises being held in the open air on the green immediately north of the City Hall. The following is the programme of the exercises on that occasion : • • Prayer Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D.D, Address Hon. James Logan, Mayor of Worcester. Address Hon. Curtis Guild, Jr., Oovernor of Massachusetts. Oration Hon. William H. Moody, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. America Audience, accompanied dy Band. Trust Agreement 7 COPY OF THE TRUST AGREEMENT IN THE GEORGE F. HOAR MEMORIAL FUND Declaration of Trust made by Walter H. Blodget, Stephen Salisbury, Tbomas Griffin, Matthew J. Whittall, James Logan, Francis O. Dahlquist, A. George Bullock, Charles H. Hutchins, Philip J. O'Connell, Paul B. Morgan, John R. Thayer, Homer P. Lewis, Henry A. Marsh, Arthur P. Rugg, William E. Rice, Henry A. Bowman, Jacob L. Coding, John F. Jandron, David F. O'Connell, G. Stanley Hall, Napoleon P. Huot, Nathaniel Paine, Charles M. Thayer, all of Worcester, in the County of Worces- ter and Commonwealth of Massachusetts. KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS That ivhereas, at a meeting of citizens of Worcester held on April 25th, 1905, in response to an invitation issued by the Mayor, it was unanimously voted that it was appropriate and expedient to take immediate steps to erect upon some public site in Worcester a statue of George F. Hoar ; and 8 George F, Hoar Memorial Whereas, at said meeting the persons whose names are hereinafter set forth were requested to act as a Board of Trustees to accomplish such a result; and Whereas, it is desirable that the author- ity and duties of said trustees should be set forth in legal form, Now, therefore, in consideration of one dollar and other sums of money to us paid by Edward Everett Hale, William D. Luey, Alexander Belisle, George F. Blake, Jr. and Joseph DeMarco, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, we, Walter H. Blodget, Stephen Salisbury, Thomas Grif- fin, Matthew J. Whittall, James Logan, Francis O. Dahlquist, A. George Bullock, Charles H. Hutchins, Philip J. O'Connell, Paul B. Morgan, John K. Thaj-er, Homer P. Lewis, Henry A. Marsh, Arthur P. Rugg, William E. Rice, Henry A. Bowman, Jacob L. Goding, John F. Jandron, David F. O'Connell, G. Stanley Hall, Napoleon P. Huot, Nathaniel Paine, and Charles M. Thayer hereby covenant and agree with the said Edward Everett Hale, William D. Luey, Alexander Belisle, George F. Blake, Jr. and Joseph DeMarco, and with each one of them and with all other persons who Trust Agreement 9 may deposit money with us for the pur- poses herein set forth, that we will and our successors shall hold as trustees said sums thus deposited, upon the following terms and conditions, and for the following pur- poses : — CLAUSE I. To expend such sums as, in the opinion of the trustees, may be necessary to carry out such plans for raising funds for the purposes herein set forth as may be deemed advisable by the said trustees. CLAUSE IL To expend such other sums as may in the opinion of the trustees be necessary to administer in a proper manner this trust. CLAUSE III. To use the balance of said fund, pro- vided in the opinion of the trustees a suffi- cient amount is subscribed on or before January 1, 1906, or on such date as the trustees may determine, to procure a statue 10 George F. Hoar Memorial of George F. Hoar, including a pedestal to be erected upon some public site in the City of Worcester, the exact location to be determined by the trustees after conferring with the City Government of Worcester and with the family of the late George F. Hoar. CLAUSE IV. If on January 1, 1906, or on such date as the trustees may determine, in the opin- ion of the trustees, a sufficient sum has not been subscribed to procure an adequate statue of Senator Hoar, then said trustees shall deposit with the Worcester Trust Company the balance in their hands, after making the payments for which provision is made in Clauses I and II of this instru- ment, and shall make arrangements with said Trust Company to make a pro rata distribution of said balance among all the subscribers to said fund. In the management of said trust fund, the trustees shall be governed by the fol- lowing rules. Trust Agreement H I. NAME. Said trustees shall be designated as "The Trustees of the George F. Hoar Me- morial Fund of Worcester, Massachusetts." II. OFFICERS. The trustees shall elect from their num- ber a President, a Secretary, and a Treas- urer, each of whom shall hold that office until his successor is elected. No trustee shall hold more than one office at one time. III. QUORUM. Two-thirds of the trustees shall consti- tute a quorum for the transaction of busi- ness, and no motion shall be declared car- ried unless it receives the votes of at least three-fourths of a quorum. IV. FUNDS. All funds received shall be deposited in one or more of the banking institutions of 12 George F. Hoar Memorial the City of Worcester in the name of the trustees and shall be withdrawn only upon checks signed by the President, Treasurer and Secretary. V. CONTRACTS. No contract calling for the expenditure from said fund of more than twenty dol- lars shall be valid unless it is approved by at least two-thirds of the trustees. VI. AUDITOR. The trustees shall elect an auditor who shall hold his position until his successor is chosen and who shall audit the accounts of the trustees at least once in three months and at such times shall publish in each one of the daily papers of the City of Worces- ter a statement of the condition of the trust fund. No trustee shall be eligible for the position of auditor. VII. COMPENSATION. No trustee shall receive any compensa- tion for services rendered by him in con- nection with this trust. Trust Agreement 13 VIII. VACANCIES. If vacancies occur in the board of trus- tees, the remaining trustees shall by ballot fill such vacancies, and the trustees may increase their membership to a number not exceeding twenty-five. IX. AMENDMENTS. These rules may be amended and addi- tional rules may be made by the trustees, except, however, that no change shall be made in the rules relating to a quorum, or to the withdrawal of funds, or to the duties of auditor. This instrument shall be recorded with- in five days of its execution with the City Clerk of the City of Worcester, and if any changes are made in the rules governing the trustees, or any new rules are added, as provided in Clause IX of this instrument, a certified copy of such changes, or addi- tions, shall be recorded with the City Clerk of the City of Worcester within five days from the time that they are in force. 14 George F. Hoar Memorial In witness whereof^ we tlie said Wal- ter H. Blodget, Stephen Salisbury, Thomas Griffin, Matthew J. Whittall, James Logan, Francis O. Dahlquist, A. George Bullock, Charles H. Hutchins, Philip J. O'Connell, Paul B. Morgan, John K. Thayer, Homer P. Lewis, Henrj^ A. Marsh, Arthur P. Rugg, William E. Rice, Henry A. Bowman, Jacob L. Goding, John F. Jandron, David F. O'Connell, G. Stanley Hall, Napoleon P. Huot, Nathaniel Paine, Charles M. Thayer, have set our hands and seals this fifth day of May in the year one thousand nine hun- dred and five. Walter H. Blodget Henry A. Marsh Paul B. Morgan Jacob L. Godiug Stephen Salisbury David F. O'Connell Thomas Griffin John F. Jandron Napoleon P. Huot John R. Thayer Henry A. Bowman G. Stanley Hall James Logan Wm. E. Rice C. H. Hutchins Francis O. Dahlquist A. G. Bullock M. J. Whittall Nathaniel Paine Arthur P. Rugg Philip J. O'Connell Charles M. Thayer Homer P. Lewis Inscription 15 INSCRIPTION ON THE PEDESTAL OF THE STxA.TUE. West Side. George Frisbie Hoar born in concord august 29 1826 died in worcester september 30 1904 lawyer scholar orator statesman citizen of worcester for more than half a century member of massachusetts house of representatives 1852 member of massachusetts senate 1857 city solicitor of worcester 1860 member of the united states house of representatives 1869-1877 senator of the united states 1877-1904 16 George F. Hoar Memorial North Side. PURITAN AND PATRIOT BY INHERITANCE UNSULLIED IN CHARACTER LOVER OF LIBERTY CHAMPION OF THE OPPRESSED HIS LIFE EMBODIED THE TRADITIONS OF MASSACHUSETTS AND OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE REPUBLIC HIS HIGH IDEALS ZEAL FOR LEARNING AND CONSTRUCTIVE STATESMANSHIP MADE IMPERISHABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO A GREAT PERIOD OF AMERICAN HISTORY THIS STATUE IS RAISED BY GIFTS FROM THIRTY THOUSAND OF HIS TOWNSFOLK THAT THE PEOPLE FOR ALL TIME MAY BE INSPIRED BY THE MEMORY OF HIS PERSONAL VIRTUE AND PUBLIC SERVICE Inscription 17 South Side. "I BELIEVE IN GOD, THE LIVING GOD, IN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE_, A FREE AND BRAVE PEOPLE, WHO DO NOT BOW THE NECK OR BEND THE KNEE TO ANY OTHER^ AND WHO DESIRE NO OTHER TO BOW THE NECK OR BEND THE KNEE TO THEM. I BELIEVE THAT LIBERTY^ GOOD GOVERN- MBNT_, FREE INSTITUTIONS^ CANNOT BE GIVEN BY ANY ONE PEOPLE TO ANY OTHER, BUT MUST BE WTIOUGHT OUT FOR EACH BY ITSELF, SLOW- LY, PAINFULLY, IN THE PROCESS OF YEARS OR CENTURIES, AS THE OAK ADDS RING TO RING. I BELIEVE THAT, WHATEVER CLOUDS MAY DARK- EN THE HORIZON, THE WORLD IS GROWING BET- TER, THAT TODAY IS BETTER THAN YESTERDAY, AND TOMORROW WILL BE BETTER THAN TODAY." ^-,^K^,a>mi^,■^■.^•r^^,■.. ^«.VH»*»w.»ii- ■- - ■•• . ..^•«*«- 1 ORCt FRISBIE HOAR 1 PRAYER BY THE REVEREND EDWARD EVERETT HALE PKAYER BY THE REVEREND EDWARD EVERETT HALE jET us all join in prayer. Father of life, Father of love, we thank Thee for him. We thank Thee for his life. Father, we renew our vows and promises and hopes and peti- tions, that we may repeat his life, in re- membering the words that he taught us — in remembering the things that he did. We cannot thank Thee in words for what he did for his State and for his Country. But we do thank Thee when we enter into our Father's service, and seek as he sought to live for Thee and the world. That Thou hast revealed Thyself as a Father to us, who art Thy children. That Thou hast called us to enter into our Father's work, and to go about our Father's business. He knew this, and he entered into that service gently and brightly, and as a child of God 22 George F. Hoar Memorial he sought to do what God had taught him to do. And we thank Thee for today and to- morrow, and for every new day we ask Thy blessing still upon this land with which Thou hast favored us before. That Thou wilt be with Thy children, and teach them the lesson of truth and holiness — ^that Thou wilt be with Thy children, and teach them to be Thy children. That Thou wilt be with this man we call our Governor. That he will govern the nation in the fear of God, that this may be the happy people whose God is the Lord. We ask this in the name of Christ Jesus, our Saviour. Amen. ADDRESS OF HONORABLE JAMES LOGAN, MAYOR OF WORCESTER ADDRESS OF HONORABLE JAMES LOGAN, MAYOR OF WORCESTER ADIES and Gentlemen : We have ' assembled here today to dedicate this memorial which has been erected by his fellow citizens to honor the memory of him who was the first citizen of this Commonwealth. This occasion is great because of the purpose for Avhich we have come together, because of the character and fame of him whose memory we thus honor, our friend and neighbor, George Frisbie Hoar. A man whose whole life was characterized by unselfish public spirit, of unremitting, in- telligent, well directed effort for the welfare of his country and his fellow men. He had the ability to have amassed a great fortune, but he passed that by, putting aside the emoluments of his profession, devoting his 26 George F. Hoar Memorial time and splendid talents to the public service, living a frugal, simple life that he might serve you. It is good for the State and Nation in these days of strain and stress, when so much is measured by the standard of the dollar, to realize that the old truths still hold good, that "a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches" and that "He who is greatest among you shall be your servant." It is an inspiration for us to have such a splendid object lesson of the responsi- bility of citizenship and devotion to duty which compels men to pause in their mad rush for wealth and power and position, that they may take knowledge of the eter- nal verities, and see that there are some things of more permanent value than money, things which money cannot buy and which death itself cannot take away. Amid the strife and turmoil we some- times fail to discern the true greatness or the beauty of a life, but when death comes with its wonderful silence, which gives to us the true perspective, then it often hap- pens that the life that has been lived so near to us that we may have failed to Address — Hon. James Logan 27 appreciate it, stands out in bold relief and witli a clearer vision we see its beautiful outlines. The metal which was cast into the melt- ing pot which we call life having passed through the fire, the dross has vanished and only the pure gold remains. Nothing can be more fitting and seemly than the departure of one whose work has been well finished and who has reached the evening of his day. He lived a noble life of service and we are here met to celebrate the victory of that life, the triumph of a noble character. And when in the stillness of that Sep- tember night God called him home and we listened to the mournful tolling of the bells which made known to this community its great loss; that a prince among men had fallen; that the spirit of George Frisbie Hoar had returned to God who gave it, there went up from this stricken people a mighty sob, and we were taught that there was a brotherhood of grief, and that it was not unmanly to weep. To quote from a recent writer: ^'It would roT) death of half its sting to he assured that daily your face would live he- 28 George F. Hoar Memorial fore the vision of faithful hearts and your memory ivith redeeming faults as well as some feiv excellences be kept green by un- changing afection.'' And this I believe would be his highest wish, to be held in loving remembrance in this too forgetful world. The desire to be remembered beyond this short span of life is a real and persis- tent one. It shows itself quite uncon- sciously in the boy who carves his name or initials on the bark of the white birch, the fence post, the barn door, or on the desk in the district school, but to have left one's secret mark upon men; to have left the impress of one's life upon the nation; and when life's work is ended to be held in close and loving remembrance, not alone by those with whom he had been intimately associated, but by thousands whose names he could never know, whose faces he had never seen, is surely one of the richest compensations of earth. And so we have erected this monument, paid for by the freewill offerings of over 30,000 people: 2,648 subscriptions of 1 cent, 22,820 from 1 cent to 25 cents, 3,139 from 25 cents to one dollar, 15 subscrip- Address — Hon. James Logan 29 tions of over $100, and the subscriptions of 128 societies, and this has been done as a reminder to the youth of coming genera- tions of the life he lived, and of the service which he rendered, that they may be in- spired with the true grandeur of American citizenship as exemplified in the life of this patriotic public servant, useful citizen, faithful friend and charming companion, the memory of whose life and service will be to this community an abiding posses- sion. ADDRESS OF HONORABLE CURTIS GUILD, JR., GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS ADDRESS OF HONORABLE CURTIS GUILD, JR., GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS F I for a moment tax the patience of an audience eager to listen to the orator who most fittingly can deliver an appreciation of George Frisbie Hoar, speaking not only for our great senator's chosen profession, but for the nation itself, it is only because no garland of encomium that we could weave would in the eyes of our lost friend be quite complete did it not contain at least a strand of the official blue and gold colors of the Commonwealth. The life and services of the man belong to the United States, but the man himself belongs to us. By tradition, by descent, by temperament, by ideals, he was all Mass- achusetts. Not her history merely, but every familiar bird and flower and tree 34 George F. Hoar Memorial were the objects of an attaclimeiit tliat was almost a passion. A ripe scholar, the swelling hexameters of Homer, the tripping odes of Horace were to him no language of the dead, but the words of living friends. He brought to his great task an equipment based on a read- ing as broad as it was profound in history, in political economy, in literature. Yet, beneath it all, the shrewd, keen, analytical Kew England nature lay as the bed rock of his character. Downright in his decisions, this was a world of black and white to him, with never a hint of gray. Eight was right and wrong was wrong — to be respectively defeifded or attacked with equal ardor, almost with equal savage- ry. His logic, like his life, was as singular in its strength as in its simplicity. His first question was never "Is this thing expedient?" but "Is this thing right?" and his appeals for support were not to the leaders of faction, but straight to the conscience of the people. We shall remember him, indeed, in future years as the last of the Puritans; not because he was austere — he exulted in Address — Hon, Curtis Guild, Jr, 35 the joy of living; not because lie was pre- judiced — lie was a very crusader for the rescue of free thought in a free land; but because in public as in private life he lived uncompromisingly according to conviction and preferred defeat to equivocation. A seeker for the ideal, he had in marked degree the saving grace of common sense, and in him honest independence never degenerated into mere fantastic opposition. A wit, a scholar, a jurist, a statesman, a Christian American gentleman, we may well be proud that when posterity in the days to come names George Frisbie Hoar, it will be forced to add "of Massachusetts." ORATION OF HONORABLE WILLIAM H. MOODY, JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES ORATION OF HONORABLE WILLIAM H. MOODY, JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OP THE UNITED STATES HOPE to receive your indulgence for tlie briefest reference, in the ^ beginning, to a subject which primarily concerns me alone. But it concerns deeply the proprieties of my official station, and for that reason is not indifferent to others. It might well be left unnoticed on this occasion, were it not that it leads up to a thought which ought to have place in the fore- front of these observances. One of the considerations which restrained me from the instant and eager acceptance of this high privilege was the doubt whether the silence upon present political issues im- posed by the judicial office could be recon- ciled with an attempt to commemorate a 40 George F. Hoar Memorial life devoted to the public service, in the ways of statemanship, and in the works of political leadership. But the doubt was resolved by the reflection that this famous political career, though its significance lives today and ought always to live, is as essentially of the past as though it had ended a generation ago. Who understood this better than he himself, or expressed it more beautifully than he, on the centennial of the establishment of the government at Washington, where he said of his contem- poraries — "Their work is about done; they seem to survive for a brief period only, that the new century may clasp hands with the old and that they may luring to the future the benediction of the past." How clearly is this truth manifested in the auto- biography which he has left to us. The Administration which has played so great a part during the opening years of the century and the questions with which it has mainly dealt, appear but dimly there. The Chief of that Administration receives now and then a casual mention; its princi- pal officers none at all. He enters into no discussion of the momentous social and economic problems which have come for- Oration — Hon. Wm. H. Moody 41 ward so recently, and we know nothing of his opinions with regard to them, except as they may be gathered from his views of the older conflicts out of which they grew. So it happens that we may seek to portray the principles which governed this illustri- ous public character, and to cherish those which are beautiful and enduring as a rich inheritance, without fear that in the at- tempt we shall fan the embers of political strife into an angry flame. We need not linger long over the details of biography. Those are within the office of the historian. The duty of this occasion is to discover, if it be possible, the charac- ter and achievements which have led so many thousands to join in the raising of this statue to preserve their memory for posterity. George Frisbie Hoar was born in Con- cord, in this Commonwealth, of an ancestry which was his pride and inspiration all his life long. His youth gave no promise of great things. It was lived in a town and in a household where the air he breathed was laden with culture and conscience, honor and patriotism. His boyhood days were neither spoiled by luxury nor embit- 42 George F, Hoar Memorial tered by hardship. He had as an under- graduate at Cambridge the best education afforded by the time, which he seems to have estimated lightly, for he called the four years wasted. I doubt if he valued these years justly. They were the essen- tial introduction to the life of study which, beginning at the law school, made him a lover of books, a master of literature and a scholar among men of affairs. They may well have taught him that honor for labor, that contempt for idleness which incited him to scorn ignoble ease, and live in his maturer years a life of incessant activity at the bar and in the public service. "This community," he said to you qji the 200th anniversary of your township, "has never respected an idler, whether he were rich or poor." In such a spirit he wrote upon the wall of the library of the house where he lived and died, — "I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work." And as he wrote so he wrought to the end. He was a boy of 18 at college when his father, charged by the Commonwealth with the duty of protecting the rights of its colored seamen, was driven by threat of Oration — Hon. Wm. H. Moody 43 violence from the city of Charleston. It was the fortune of the son more than fifty years later to be received in that city with a delightful hospitality which touched his heart and brought to an end the already softened resentment. But it is no wonder in the early days, when the memory of that indignity was fresh in his mind, that the first political service which he ever ren- dered was the folding and directing of cir- culars calling in this city a convention of those who believed in free men upon a free soil; nor is it strange when, after his ad- mission to the bar, he came to choose his place of residence that he chose Worcester, chiefly because it was the stronghold of the new anti-slavery party. His ambitions then, as he has stated them, were modest, — a quiet practice, a small income and a few books. But he soon shared with this community the knowledge that the meas- ure of his abilities would not be met by such a fortune as this. Opportunity, which always seems to come to those who deserve it, brought to him an association with Emory Washburn, a leader of the Worces- ter bar, and then the care of a large prac- tice which devolved upon him through the 44 George F. Hoar Memorial election of his partner to be Governor of the Commonwealth. He faced his respon- sibilities bravely and successfully and for twenty years, as counsellor and advocate, he steadily won his way to the front rank of a bar not excelled at any time in any county of this Commonwealth. I am not the man nor is this the time or place to take account of his success, ability, and rank as a lawyer. It is enough to say that his professional learning was a vital part of his equipment for a noble service to the country. These twenty years at the bar gave promise that if he had remained in that station, power and wealth would have come to him in abundance, then^eath, then a few years of admiring remembrance, then fading tradition, and, soon, oblivion. But he chose a greater fortune than all the wealth of his clients could have given him, or, rather, time and occasion chose that fortune for him. If he had lived in the times of the commonplace, it is likely that the career that I have imagined for him would have been realized. But youth came to him in one of those happy epochs when a great question was coming forward and demanding settlement and the question of Oration — Hon. Wm. H. Moody 45 Ms youth was one on which he had deep and abiding convictions. The day was approaching when the Nation must make expiation for the common original sin of human slavery and destroy it forever. No other cause than such an one as this could have challenged his allegiance to his chos- en profession. The cause came to him, summoned him, and he obeyed. Thus it was that, from the first, politics mingled with the law and, in the end, overpowered it. His first vote was cast in 1847 for the Whig candidate for Governor, though there was nothing in the Whig party or its tradi- tions and principles, useful and honorable as they were, Avhich by themselves could have attracted him strongly. To the new party, which was born as he became of age, he was destined to yield a life-long devo- tion, as passionate as that of a lover for his mistress. He could see few faults in the object of his love and he could find excuse for all of them. The single bond of union between all the original members of that party, — the belief that all men were en- titled to freedom and equality before the law — was that which commanded his Intel- 46 George F. Hoar Memorial lect and Ms heart. The enthusiasm of his youth never grew cold and he never fal- tered in the faith that that party would seek and find what seemed to him the paths of righteousness. Nothing could be more touching than the serene confidence of his later days, undimmed by the indifference or the cynicism of the age, that the party of his early love would always in the end fol- low those paths. How fine it is that any man could say, as he did as the end approached, — "No political party in history was ever formed for objects so great and noble. And no political party in history was ever so great in its accomplishment for liberty, progress and law." In the formation of the Fre^ Soil Party, soon to assume its final shape as the Repu- blican Party, the movement for the aboli- tion of slavery took on menacing form and substance. Mr. Hoar made, in 1850, his first speech in your City Hall in support of its principles. From that time forth, along with his professional avocations, he kept a keen interest in political affairs, be- came part of the party organization, pre- sided and spoke at political meetings, and in the two years' service in the two Houses Oration — Hon. Wm. H. Moody 47 of the Massacliusetts Legislature acted as one of the leaders of the cause which that party represented. It was quite natural, when, in 1869, weary with the exacting de- mands of professional life, he announced his willingness to accept a nomination to Congress, that, without effort on his part and almost against his wish, he should have been chosen. And so he went to Washington as a Representative from this District, believing, as so many others have done before, and since, that he was to enter upon a mere episode in his life and that after the passing of a few years he would again return to the law. But, happily, it was ordered otherwise. The one, or at the most the two, term limit which he had set for himself lengthened into thirty-five years of complete devotion to public duty, ending only with his life. He went forth from you a strong man, with settled con- victions, with an intellect cultivated by education and trained in all the affairs of life, with a high local reputation and an assured professional standing. He came back to you, to die, one of the great men of his time, with a fame which, though pecu- liarly your own possession, you must share with the Commonwealth and the Nation. 48 George F. Hoar Memorial What was the secret of this wonderful transformation? By what means did the inconspicuous citizen of Worcester come to be, his neighbors and friends scarcely realizing, the statesman Avhose death was mourned from the Atlantic to the Pacific and ])eyond the seas? It was no sudden leap to a pinnacle, no single splendid deed, no leadership for a few intense years of some great cause. It was rather the faith- ful performance of every duty, a mastery of the varied details of our national life, a constantly growing power and the con- stantl}" growing confidence of the people which resulted from it, and over all a mas- terful conscience which compelled obedience to its decrees. We must be (Content now with such generalities as these. If we sought to prove their truth by an array of the facts which support them, it would carry us far into the history of the country for the past forty years. I can do no more today than to try to discern and describe some of the traits of character and intellect which brought to him such honor and fame, that the record of his life is one of the richest treasures of the Commonwealth. He won his way to public office by no unworthy means. He could have told them Oration — Hon. Wm. H. Moody 49 all to you in any of your churclies, without shame or without shrinking. If any one had ever proposed to him that he should procure his nomination or election to office by the expenditure of his own money in his own behalf, I fancy he would have rejected the proposal with unspeakable loathing. He has told us, and I never heard it doubt- ed, that he never lifted a finger or spoke a word to promote his own election to office. I can well believe this to be true. In the winter of 1900 it was said to me that he believed that at the next session of the Legislature his service in the Senate would be brought to an end. I called to ask him if it were true. He said, — "I have differed from my Party on a subject of the highest importance. I do not reflect the views of the majority of my own State. I have no right to expect that under these circum- stances I shall be continued in office. I have no doubt that I shall be displaced by some younger man more in harmony Avith the policy of the Party. I have been treat- ed generously by the people of Massachu- setts and I do not complain." It seemed not to enter his mind to appeal to those who might be supposed to have influence 50 George F, Hoar Memorial in the Party councils, and I doubt if lie even asked the aid, so freely given, of his colleague, with whom he was upon terms of the most affectionate friendship. Scorn- ing to beg or purchase office, his way of seeking it was to keep his Party right by wise counsel, no doubt to make modest con- tributions to its funds, to foster its for- tunes by convincing speech, and to deserve the confidence of the people by performing faithfully every public duty which came to him. This is what he proudly termed "the Massachusetts way." If it be not always the Massachusetts way, it was his way and a way Massachusetts cannot afford to despise. He had little skill in the arts of politi- cal management. When I say this I do not intend to rate those arts meanly or in the slightest degree to disparage those who practice them. They are necessary; they can be and ought to be practiced honorably. But he had none of them. He was the last man in the world to whom one would go for an accurate prophecy of a vote in the Senate. He had neither taste nor talent for the small management of men. He could not persuade in the cloak- Oration — Hon. Wm. H. Moody 51 room; he could not go from one to another and set up a vote on this question against a vote on that question. He knew how he would vote. He was capable of expressing on the floor in terse and vigorous English the reasons which impelled him to the vote. When that was done he left the result to care for itself. Nevertheless, on the larger negotiations and the larger currents of our national affairs he exercised a considerable influence and he was aided by a shrewd judgment of the character of the men with whom he dealt. But above all he knew the secret of political management by appeals to the people. He understood what is so often forgotten at Washington that when the people were convinced, their represen- tatives soon would follow ; and so his legis- lative career is marked with a series of closely reasoned arguments, which were read by thousands of his countrymen. He knew that great causes could be won more surely by leading the people than by cau- cusing their servants. He performed cheerfully and without complaint the little irksome tasks which the people have the right to demand of their representatives. 52 George F, Hoar Memorial He was a leader in the victorious struggle which has removed the appoint- ment and tenure of thousands of office- holders from the system of patronage to the system of merit. That part of the duty of appointment to office which the Consti- tution conferred upon him as a Senator he discharged with scrupulous fidelity, marred only, if it can be said thus to be marred at all, by an amiable overestimate of the merits of his friends and a lovable sentiment which sometimes misled his judgment. When he was first nominated for Con- gress, it is said that the choice fell upon him rather than upon any of his worthy competitors because it was thought that he possessed a power of public speech which would cause the District to count for much in the councils of the Nation. His constitu- ents judged that no man could succeed greatly in the National Legislature who had not that power. Their confidence was signally justified. They builded even bet- ter than they kneAV. They sought to give their district a larger influence, and they gave to the country a new power. He him- self has trulv said that he lacked some- Oration — Hon. Wm. H. Moody 53 thing of the external graces of oratory, but surely no man of his time has excelled, or perhaps even equalled, his capacity for persuasive, cogent and eloquent speech. One who has witnessed only the stately courtesy and measured periods of his later years in the Senate, when the chamber was crowded with eager listeners and the spoken words were read the next morning in all the States of the Union, can scarcely realize the fiery attack, obstinate defense, quick and bitter retort and overwhelming poAver with which he met his antagonists in the earlier days. He neither asked nor gave quarter ; he was intent on winning the debate of the moment. To those who know the House of Kepresentatives, it is not strange that this quality of speech brought him speedil}^ to the front rank in that body. A seat in the Senate, at the Cabinet table or on the Bench brings to any man abun- dant consideration and authority, but a seat in the House of Kepresentatives brings only opportunity and he who succeeds there succeeds by the cold and impartial test of merit. If there were needed evi- dence of his place in the House, his appoint- ment as one of its representatives on the 54 George F. Hoar Memorial Electoral Commission and as one of tlie managers of tlie impeachment of Secretary Belknap is enough. In the latter place lie gave to our literature a treasure wMcli will be prized as long as incorruption in office is held dear by our people. I have spoken of his passionate love for the party of his choice. He not only had faith in his party, he believed in govern- ment by party. If you were not of his party he would have you of the other party. Perhaps he did not do full justice to the body of independent men who think that they serve better uses if the parties can be made to realize that they must deserve the suffrage, not only of their adherents but also of those who hold theifiselves aloof. But, independence, it seemed to him, some- times lacked a sense of just proportion, and often degenerated into impartial abuse. He respected a valiant opponent, but he despised the mere critic — the man who railed at him who was carrying the burden and carried no burden himself. And he was convinced that one who ex- pects to accomplish much in our national life can only do it within the limits and through the cooperation of political parties. Oration — Hon. Wm. H. Moody 55 Mr. Hoar was in full accord with the coustitutional and economic principles of his party, principles which it may be said to have inherited in large part from the Whigs, though the heir developed and in- creased the inheritance. He was there- fore an ardent advocate of the policies of internal improvement and of tariff protec- tion to our industries. In his interpreta- tion of the Constitution he was of the school of Marshall, Hamilton, Wilson and Webster. He recognized that the national government in all its branches was one of delegated and limited powers, but he found in the broad and general grants of power contained in the Constitution ample au- thority for efficient national rule and did not demand that every governmental act should find its special warrant in specific words. He appreciated clearly the vast extent of the power vested in the Congress by the commerce clause of the Constitu- tion. Kesting his position on this clause, in a speech in the House of Kepresentatives as early as 1874, he supported a bill, which he in part had framed, for the regulation of the rates of interstate railroads, and in that speech he showed briefly but conclu- 56 George F, Hoar Memorial sively the vital interest of New England in the question of interstate transporta- tion. Many years after, in the Senate, he had a large share in giving its final form to the misnamed Sherman Act for the sup- pression in interstate commerce of the combinations loosely called "trusts," but he disagreed with the interpretation which the Supreme Court has since given to that act. He was always a supporter of a national bankrupt law and without his aid the law now upon the statute book would not have been enacted. In his long legis- lative career illustrations of his potent in- fluence upon questions of such a nature might be multiplied. For the dealing with them he was well equipped By a long ex- perience at the bar, an adequate knowledge of constitutional principles, and a keen in- telligence, all made singularly effective by the capacity for tactful and lucid debate. In this region he was an equal among his associates, but no more. Here he labored earnestly, faithfully and with notable re- sults, but without the enthusiasm which he reserved for what he deemed higher things. He became one of a still more select company when there came forward prob- Oration — Hon. Wm. H. Moody 57 lems touching the nature of our govern- ment and the relations of the several parts to each other and to the whole, and to the people whom by their choice it ruled. At such times he spoke and was heard as one having an authority which was shared with few others. When we pass to still higher altitudes we find him standing there alone. In that splendid isolation we may always yield him reverence, even though it be that our lesser faith now and then falters. We shall fail to appreciate this finest side of his charac- ter in which he excelled all the public men of his time, unless we understand some of its moral elements. He has been called a Puritan of the Puritans. Indeed he had no trace of other blood, and the stern quali- ties of the race that overturned thrones, destroyed misrule, created institutions and founded governments came down to him through every avenue of descent. But his came to be a Puritanism without intoler- ance, as zealous for the civil and religious rights of others as for its own. He was a man of ideals and they broadened and sweetened his nature. His ideals ruled not onlv his faith but his conduct as well. 58 George F. Hoar Memorial He held them above party, above friends, above success, above renown. When they were drawn in question be was superb in the intensit}^ of conviction and purpose, which he clothed in speech of surpassing vigor and beauty. To worship God in the manner and form their consciences dic- tated, to be exempt from all government except of their o^vn choice, to be free and equal before the law, these to this Puritan idealist were the fundamental rights of all men. In defending them in his old age he displayed all the fire and enthusiasm of his youth. He would not compromise, he would not qualify, he would not postpone these great rights. He would not keep them for his own country or his own race, he would bestow them upon all mankind. Let them be denied to whatever race or color, whether Chinese, Negroes or Filipi- nos, he was always their champion, with a multiplied zeal if he thought they were desolate and oppressed. In the battle for such cause he shone supreme. Defeat did not dismay or delay discourage him. He remained steadfast. The happiness of his last years was clouded by the difference with his party which on an issue like this Oration — Hon. Wm. H. Moody 59 his convictions forced upon Mm. There can be no doubt of the pain which this dif- ference brought to him. "God help me," he said, "I can do no otherwise." This day's work would be sadly incomplete if it left unnoticed this final chapter of his life, which illustrated so many of his highest qualities. The policy of the Government toward the Philipine Islands was abhor- rent to him in all its details. In a series of speeches of great power, he opposed their acquisition for the purpose of govern- ing them, even for a time, without the con- sent of their inhabitants. He thought the Constitution afforded no warrant for an acquisition for such a purpose; he thought that it violated the spirit of the Declara- tion of Independence, which to him was "the greatest evangel that ever came to mankind since the story of Bethlehem;" he thought that it was a cruel wrong, un- worthy of our people, to crush out a rising republic, to impose upon a people a govern- ment to which they had not consented, to give to them as a favor even the best of governments, for to his mind there was no good government except self-government. All questions of the material interest, 60 George F. Hoar Memorial either of the Filipinos or of our own people, he put aside as unworthy of serious con- sideration. He stood on higher grounds. He pleaded for the Filipinos as for Hamp- dens and Washingtons and Adamses and Jeff er sons and Henrys, and he lamented the wound which he believed our departure from the fundamental principles of the Eepublic had inflicted upon our own people. He lost the fight, but he kept the faith. "I know," said he, in closing one of the speech- es to which I have referred, "how feeble is a single voice amid this din and tempest, this delirium of Empire. It may be that the battle for this day is lost. But I have an assured faith in the future. I have an assured faith in justice and the love of liberty of the American people. The stars in their courses fight for freedom. The Euler of the Heavens is on that side. If the battle today go against it, I appeal to another day, not distant and sure to come." Many differed from him and believed that time and conditions were not ripe for the accomplishment of all his noble aspira- tions. But even by them those aspirations have come to be cherished as the ultimate ends to which all our efforts should be Orations-Eon. Wm. H. Moody 61 directed. It lias been decreed that tlie final settlement is not for tliis day or gene- ration, and we may not safely speak for any other. If the utterances of responsible public men are to be trusted, if we have faith, as he did, that the liberties which we demand for ourselves will be bestowed upon others under our control, we may be assured that the inhabitants of the Phil- ippine Islands will in God's appointed time live under a government of their own choice. Then would the clouds of disap- pointment which darkened the closing years of this fruitful and fortunate life be lifted. Then would the unfaltering cour- age with which he held his high soul above despair be reAvarded. Then would the serene confidence with which he looked for- ward to that other day, "not distant and sure to come," stand justified. It seems almost an intrusion, here, to- day, to his kindred, neighbors and friends, to speak of the beauties of his private life, his insensibility to the allurements of wealth, his indifference to the constant de- cay of his fortune, his devotion to the civic duties of this community, his love of city, home and family, his gentle Christian life 62 George F. Hoar Memorial and belief. The time of Ms departure was well chosen. We cannot but rejoice that he was spared the sorrow of the untimely death of his son, to whom he would long ago have gladly yielded the few years of public life which remained to him. For- tunate it was that with hope undimmed, happy in the love of those dear to him, covered with honors which came because he had labored and spared not, sustained by faith in God and faith in man, he lay do^\Ti for the eternal rest which we fondly trust is but another name for the life ever- lasting. BELISUE PRINTING & PUBLISHING CO. WORCESTER, MASS. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS II till iil'ill I'M 014 079 618 9 •