•iH^j)

r-.'-l

-^ £:^^c7

MEMORIALS

OF

WILLIAM E. DODGE

COMPILED AND EDITED

By D. STUART DODGE

NEW YORK
ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH AND COMPANY
38 West Twenty-Third Street

Copyright, 1887,
By D. Stuart Dodge.

!Hiif6n2ft8 ^rtei:
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge.

To HER
WHO WALKED LOVINGLY AT HIS SffiE FIFTY-FIVE HAPPY YEARS,
AND
who has always been to her children
"The Dear Mother,"
these MEMORIALS
ARE TENDERLY INSCRIBED.

CONTENTS.

Chapter Page
Introduction  vii
I. Ancestors — Early Life — Marriage .... i
II. Merchant and Citizen  21
III. Chamber of Commerce — Mercantile Library —
Public Schools  45
IV. Connection with Railroads  62
V. Public and Patriotic  72
VI. Visit to Fortress Monroe — Riot of 1863 —
Address at Baltimore — Welcome to South
ern Delegates — General Grant nominated
— Letter to President-elect Garfield —
Speech in Favor of Protection  87
VII. Congressional Life  104
VIII. Congressional Speeches  117
IX. Travels  137
X. Efforts for Temperance  149
XL Efforts for the Indians  167
XII. Efforts for Foreign Missions  180
XIII. Church Relations  198
XIV. Interest in Revivals — Letters to Individuals 208
XV. Bible Society — Tract Society — City Missions
— Sunday Schools  221
XVI. Young Men's Christian Associations — The Gen
eral Assembly — The Evangelical Alliance 233
XVII. Aiding Students for the Ministry  245
XVIII. Work in Behalf of the Colored Race ... 261

vi CONTENTS.
Chapter Page
XIX. Characteristics  ; 275
XX. Personal Habits — Letters of Advice — Benev
olence — Friendship — Sympathy — Hospital
ity — Social Influence — His " Motto " —
Regard for the Sabbath — Devotional Read
ing — Indifference to Fame — Interest in
Prayer-meetings — Last Days — Death . . 292
XXI. Funeral Services and Addresses  317
XXII. Tributes  328
XXIII. Letters of Sympathy  372
XXIV. Addresses at the Unveiling of the Statue . 390
Monody  406

INTRODUCTION.

.AT the urgent, solicitation of his children, Mr. DoDGE
¦^ ^ consented, a few months before his sudden death,
to prepare an autobiography. His private sitting-room
was furnished with additional comforts, that, as opportu
nity could be found, he might have seclusion and ease to
tell, in his own bright and vigorous way, the story of his
life. A stenographer was to take down his words ; and his
sons were to assist in editing a volume which would be
most precious to them, and might also prove attractive
and useful to others.
Those leisure hours never came. The hurried and ex
hausting duties of each new day left no time to recall the
past. The room that was to afford a quiet retreat was in
reality made ready only for his use during the last short
week of his life ; and the history he would have related
so vividly, had now to be imperfectly gathered from let
ters, private documents, items and reports in old news
papers, and from the recollections of his family and
friends. No attempt has been made to construct a continuous
narrative. Material for it did not exist, nor was it neces
sary. The life to be portrayed was many-sided, — per-

viii INTRODUCTION.
haps more so than is usual ; but the progress was along the
same lines, — diversified in character and continually wide
ning in scope, yet practically identical from youth to old
age. The business interests and the benevolent or reli
gious causes which attracted his energies as a young man,
were those he steadily pursued to the last. He grew with
their growth, he helped towards their growth ; and his
life is remarkable mainly for the zeal, ability, persistency,
and entire self-devotion he exhibited in such numerous
and diverse departments of useful activity. It has been
said of him that he could not have failed to achieve dis
tinction if he had confined himself to a single one of these
objects ; but he evinced the same spirit in all. A clear
and comprehensive view of his career may perhaps be
best gained by examining it from each of these stand
points. This method will enable any who are interested in a
special branch of his work to see at a glance what he at
tempted in that direction ; while all who follow his course
throughout, and read the tributes of his friends, will, it is
hoped, find themselves in possession of a true and living
portrait. Whenever they could be discovered, Mr. DODGE's
own words have been used ; and when these failed, — as
they too often did, — the testimony of others, if it could
be obtained, has been introduced.
The apprehension that affection would tempt to an over
estimate of acts or traits, has led to the omission of inci
dents and statements which might otherwise have been
inserted. The delay in issuing these Memorials has arisen partly
from the difficulty experienced in collecting and arranging

INTRODUCTION. ix
a somewhat crude mass of material, and partly from the
constant pressure of more immediate duties. But if any
member of the family, or any of Mr. Dodge's friends, or
those who may have known him personally or by name,
can derive from the reading of these pages something
of the enjoyment and inspiration that come from living
over again such a life, however inadequately portrayed,
one object in preparing this volume will be abundantly
accomplished.

MEMORIALS

of

WILLIAM E. DODGE.

MEMORIALS

of

WILLIAM E. DODGE.

CHAPTER L
ANCESTORS. — EARLY LIFE. — MARRIAGE.
WHEN the representatives of the numerous and
widely scattered Dodge family assembled at Salem,
Mass., July lo, 1879, to celebrate the two hundred and
fiftieth Anniversary of the landing in this country of their
first ancestor, William Dodge, they accepted with some
satisfaction the claim of the historian of the occasion, that
" Peter Dodge, of the town of Stopworth, in the County
of Chester, Gentleman," did such loyal and valiant service
for the good content of his Sovereign Lord, Edward I.,
son of King Henry III., that he and his heirs forever were
entitled " to have, enjoy, and use " a coat-of-arms, fully
described in a patent bearing date of April 8, 1306. This
document is said to be one of the most ancient records
of the Heralds' College. It relates that it was in Ed
ward's battles against " his great enemy and rebel, Baliol,
King of Scotland and Vassal of England," that Peter
Dodge distinguished himself, and in recompense received
" the Lordship of Podenhughe, with the Barony of Cold-
ingham, in the Kingdom of Scotland." This barony be
longed to a family of the ancient Scotch nobility, and was

2 ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE.
situated on the coast in Berwickshire, at no great distance
from Melrose Abbey. It seems doubtful whether the
English soldier ever took possession of his Scottish titles
and lands, but it was certainly in this district of Berwick
and Dunbar that he won the crest and arms he gave to
his posterity.
One of these descendants, " John Dodge, of Rotham,
in the County of Kent, Gentleman," was granted, in 1 547,
a confirmation of the early patent, with the right, appar
ently to add further heraldic emblems.
It was in Cheshire, therefore, on the southern bank of
the Mersey, opposite modern Liverpool, having its county-
seat and cathedral in venerable Chester, that we may lo
cate the original home of the Dodge family. Its branches
spread out into Lancashire, Bedfordshire, Middlesex, Kent,
and Norfolk. The name is found also in Glasgow, in the
Lowlands, and along the Border.
The first American ancestor, William Dodge, was among
the passengers of " The Lyon's Whelpe," which arrived at
Salem July 10, 1629. He is mentioned as a "skilful hus
bandman " and as having charge of " ye teame of horses."
The annals of the Colony are careful to style him " Mr.,"
— a title at that time confined to persons holding some
social position. He was admitted as a freeman of Salem
in 1639, took part in founding Beverly Church in 1667,
and became a selectman of that town in the following year.
In person he seems to have conformed to the ancient
Briton type, — dark complexion, hair, and eyes, large of
stature, well formed, and athletic. One of his daring
exploits with the Indians is particularly chronicled. Some
of these traits of person and character have been repeated
all down the line, and were noticeable even in the subject
of this sketch.
Richard Dodge was a brother of the first William.
From these two have sprung famihes to be found in
almost every State of the Union. The name figures

ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE. 3
honorably in the Revolutionary War and in every national
struggle since. Members of the Dodge family have be
longed to every profession and calling, and in many cases
have risen to places of distinction. Several have occupied
seats in one or both Houses of Congress and in State legis
latures. Some have always been found, who, in the words
of their ancient patent, have " valiantly served towards the
public good, and encouraged their heirs and successors to
follow in -like virtue and noble conduct."
But far more than any supposed antiquity or eminence
of earlier progenitors, William E. Dodge prized the simple
godliness and personal worth of his immediate ancestors.
His father, David Low Dodge, was descended from a
Congregational minister, a man of some learning and
wealth. His great-grandfather, David Dodge, received a
liberal education, apparently in England, and is described
as a man of large size, fine form, and unusual strength. He
married Anna Low, a lady of piety and accomplishments.
They settled in Beverly, Mass. ; but extravagant living ex
hausted an ample estate, and a commission in the army
had to be obtained. Before leaving to take part in the
old French War when the British and American armies
invaded Canada, the father apprenticed one of his two
sons, then fifteen years of age, and the third David Dodge,
to a respectable landholder, who was also a carpenter by
trade. Later in life this son, by the advice of his friend
old General Israel Putnam, became a manufacturer of army
wagons in the Revolutionary War. He was paid in State
and Continental paper-money, which afterwards depreci
ated, and finally lost all value. He then devoted himself
to farming. This was the grandfather of William E.
Dodge. His great-grandmother, when a girl, was known
as Mary Stuart, her father being a refugee from Scotland.
He is represented as " a tall man, with light complexion,
sandy hair and black eyes, of gentlemanly manners, and
remarkable for the richness of his dress. He spoke

4 ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE.
French more fluently than English." Before his marriage
he declared to the clergyman " that he was connected with
the royal family of Stuarts, and that he and his friends
were associated with those who claimed the crown." No
further information in this direction has been handed down.
It is known, however, that about this time Cavaliers at
tached to the interests of the Stuarts visited the Colonies,
and some settled here. During a happy married life of
several years this gentleman visited France once -or twice.
From his last voyage he did not return, and his wife died
from grief. Their only child, a daughter, married William
Earl, of Pomfret (now Brooklyn), Conn., who afterwards
died in Havana, where he had gone as an officer in the
English expedition against the Island of Cuba. His widow
married David Dodge in 1768. She was " a rigid Calvinist
of the Whitefield school," and both were " careful to ob
serve external ordinances, catechise their children, and
give religious instruction."
Their son, David Low Dodge, learned his letters and re
ceived some of his first religious impressions from a vener
able Irish schoolmistress, whose pious memory he always
cherished. As he grew older, the distance of his home
from any school deprived him of opportunities for suitable
instruction ; but in the long evenings he would often place
his lamp in the old kitchen oven, and spend hours over his
slate and arithmetic. One or two serious injuries when a
young man confined him to the house for some weeks,
and these he gave to hard study, although the list of books
he possessed, or could borrow, was small. Finally, before
coming of age he bought off" his remaining time from his
father, and obtained the charge of a district school. Here
he introduced some original methods, and in a few years
gained a wide reputation as a teacher. His last school was
at Norwich, Conn. The love for books continued through
life ; and in his maturer and advanced years he became
the author of several treatises, — notably one or two vol-

ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE.

5

umes opposing war as anti-Christian in spirit and practice.
The energy and self-reliance which made the self-educated
and successful schoolmaster, developed into the alert, sa
gacious, enterprising merchant, with his own independent
plans of conducting business, wide connections, and rapid
accumulations. In 1805, the year William was born, his
father entered into partnership with some relatives by mar
riage, the Messrs. S. & H. Higginson, a Boston firm of
long standing. Mr. Dodge opened the New York branch ;
but it stood as a distinct concern, and was not involved in
the bankruptcy, during 181 1, of the Boston house, caused
by the ruin of their extensive shipping interests, in conse
quence of the embargo imposed by Napoleon Bonaparte.
This disaster led, however, to the dissolution of the New
York firm, and Mr. Dodge next became head of the Bozrah
Manufacturing Company, in connection with which he
erected the first cotton-mill in the State of Connecticut.
The fact that attracts chief attention in the history of the
father, and that could not fail to influence the character of
the son, was the religious earnestness of Mr. David Dodge
in the midst of his most absorbing business enterprises.
Soon after his marriage he took part in revival work, and
later, when established in Hartford, his spiritual life re
ceived a fresh awakening. He began to give less attention
to the political questions of the day ; and though engaged
in a large and increasing business, he found opportunity for
religious and theological reading, and even wrote some ar
ticles for the " Connecticut Evangelical Magazine." About
that date he visited Simsbury, Conn, (now Canton Centre),
and spent a week, assisting at revival meetings in the
church, then under the care of the Rev. Jeremiah Hallock.
At Litchfield, where he had a branch store, and often went
himself, a revival also began ; and he sent his chief clerk
there, ostensibly to examine the accounts, but with the
hope that he might be brought under the power of the
spiritual work then in progress.

6 ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE.
Mr. Dodge was often under the necessity of carrying
large sums of money from place to place. He was always
an expert marksman with the rifle ; and as his travelling
for business purposes increased, he took the precaution to
practise with pistols, — made after his own des'ign, — until
he could fire accurately and on the instant. One night,
stopping at an hotel, the proprietor suddenly entered the
room by mistake, and Mr. Dodge was on the point of
shooting him. Reflection upon what might have been the
result, led Mr. Dodge to examine the Scriptural and other
grounds for self-defence, and then of war in general. It was
at this time he published the essay on " The Mediator's
Kingdom not of this World;" and after public discussion
had been aroused, the other work entitled, " War inconsist
ent with the Religion of Jesus Christ." A few years later
he united with others in forming the New York Peace So
ciety, Mr. Dodge being made president. This is believed
to be the first society of the kind ever publicly organized.
It took form largely from an earlier and more private
association, which originated in a gathering at Mr. Dodge's
house in 1808 of a few earnest and evangelical spirits who
allied themselves in what they called a Christian Friendly
Society for the Promotion of Morals and Religion. The
labors of this body revealed the general want of Bibles for
gratuitous distribution, and measures were taken to organ
ize the New York Bible Society. From this fountain
sprang also the New York Tract Society ; and it was in
Mr. Dodge's parlors that pious clerks of his own and other
stores formed the Young Men's Missionary Society, — the
forerunner of City Missions and Young Men's Christian
Associations. One further illustration of Mr. David Dodge's fixed pur
pose to recognize the sovereignty of religion in business
affairs will indicate the kind of inheritance he left to his
son. The associates who established the cotton-mill at
Bozrahville sought at their first meeting the Divine guid-

ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE. 7
ance, and then signed a form of covenant, pledging them
selves to maintain, as a primary object, a moral and
religious establishment. Preference was given, as far as
practicable, to operatives who were church members or
who would value Christian privileges ; and although strict
regulations were enforced, a superior body of working-peo
ple was always found there. About the time of opening
the factory an interesting revival was in progress at a vil
lage not far distant. The minister who conducted it was
invited to visit Bozrahville, and a large unoccupied loft of
the mill was fitted up for services. This was the begin
ning of a series of revivals in the manufacturing village.
Two of the converts became ministers of the Gospel, one
of them going abroad as a missionary. Mr. Dodge's own
family also shared largely in the spiritual blessing. After
twelve years Mr. Dodge returned once more to New York,
and embarked again in the dry-goods business; but was
only fairly established when heavy losses from the failure
of two large creditors of high standing led him to abandon
active life and remove to a country home in Plainfield,
N. J. A few years before his death he came back again to
New York, and employed his still active powers in exten
sive reading and writing upon religious and theological, as
well as general topics, leaving behind him a number of
interesting manuscripts. He was an elder in the Old Col
legiate Presbyterian Church as early as 1809, and dis
charged the duties of this office in the Wall Street Church
when Dr. Miller was pastor. His name is still found on
the tablet in the vestibule of the newer church building on
Fifth Avenue, between Eleventh and Twelfth Streets. He
was an elder of the Laight Street Church when his brother-
in-law. Rev. Samuel H. Cox, D.D., was pastor, and also
in the Prince Street Church, which was designed especially
for preaching to the poor and promoting revival eff"orts.
Here Mr. Finney, the famous evangelist, began his labors
in New York.

8 ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE.
Mr. David Dodge died April 23, 1852, at the age of
seventy-eight, surrounded by children and grandchildren,
and with a patriarchal blessing on his lips. The records
of the session of the Fourteenth Street Church (corner of
Second Avenue, New York), of which he was an elder, in
making official mention of his death, say, in part : " His
delight and proficiency in the study of God's word ; his
devotedness and consistency as a Christian; his ample
experience, sound judgment, and eminent fidelity as an
elder, — endeared him to us in life, and render his memory
very precious."
If William E. Dodge was thus largely indebted to the
sterner qualities, the faithful instructions, and the impres
sive example of his father, the finer elements of his nature
were due to the character of his mother.
Sarah Cleveland's family sprang from vigorous Saxon
stock in Yorkshire, England. Its branches can claim dis
tinguished representatives both in England and America.
Her grandfather. Rev. Aaron Cleveland, a graduate of
Harvard College in 1735, was originally a Congregational
minister, but afterwards crossed the Atlantic, took Epis
copal orders, and was made rector of a church in Nova
Scotia. He subsequently died at Philadelphia, in the
house of his friend Benjamin Franklin. Her father, bear
ing the same name, early manifested a taste for books, and
showed some poetic talent. He was also fond of meta
physical studies, and was known as a ready speaker. After
spending a number of years in business he entered the
Congregational ministry. He is said to have been the first
in Connecticut to call in question the lawfulness of slavery.
In 1775 he published a poem denouncing the system as
contrary to the principles of the Christian religion. One
result of the excitement aroused on this subject was his
own election to the Connecticut General Assembly, where
he introduced a bill for the abolition of slavery in the State.
He possessed brilliant talents and keen wit, and was much

ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE. 9
courted on account of his genial companionship. His child
Sarah Cleveland was born in New Haven, Conn., Nov. 7,
i;f6o, her mother being Abiah Hyde, a daughter of James
Hyde, of Norwich, Conn. One brother, Rev. Charles Cleve
land, of Boston, lived to within a few days of his hundredth
year, and was widely known and loved for his devotion to
the poor. Her sister Susan, who married Harry Pratt of
Hartford, and subsequently of Rochester, N. Y., hved to
nearly the same age.
Sarah as a young girl was evidently bright, vivacious,
. and aff"ectionate. Her grandchildren believe she must also
have been beautiful. They certainly remember how her
sweetness tempered the somewhat austere atmosphere of
the country home they were wont to visit in the summer.
They recall the tender solicitude she manifested during
her declining years in all the aff'airs of her numerous de
scendants, and particularly how she watched for their spiri
tual prosperity. Every birthday was kept in mind, and
not one allowed to pass without special prayer. She was
a woman of sound judgment, much intelligence, remark
able activity, and simple, unquestioning piety. She thor
oughly believed in the power Of prayer, and was one of
the seven mothers who originated the New York City
Maternal Association. She survived her husband ten
years, and died, at the age of eighty-two, in the house of her
son WiUiam, with whom she lived during her later years.
Connecticut can boast an honorable list of men who
have made their way up to places of influence, and to this
number the city of Hartford has furnished a generous
quota. Here, September 4, 1805, William Earl Dodge was
born. The old brick house once stood on what was
called Lord's Hill, west of the present railroad station;
but modern changes have swept it away.
During his first year the business engagements of his
father carried the family to New York, and when he was

IO ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE.
seven or eight years of age, to Norwich, Conn. A let
ter written by his mother at the time he was five says,
" William has learned his lesson well on his birthday ; and
I hope it will continue through the year, for I still instruct
him at home." Two years later the conclusion of the War
of 1 812 was celebrated, and William could distinctly re
member how the boys ran around the streets, writing with
chalk on the fences the joyful word, Peace ! Peace !
His childhood showed the dawning of the traits which
afterwards distinguished him. His youngest and only
surviving sister, Mrs. E. C. Kinney, tells lovingly of the
unselfish, gallant boy, who was always quick to do some
kind act for his sisters, or to step forward as their cham
pion. He was fertile in finding amusements for them, be
came their tender nurse in sickness, and in their childish
quarrels was the wise and good-natured peacemaker.
But there was no eff"eminacy, no unnatural soberness or
sentimentality. His beaming face, bright dark eye, hearty
laugh, and perpetual activity, not to mention his decided
partiality for horses, showed the wide-awake, genuine boy ;
while his clear head, ready sympathy, and considerate
helpfulness made him everywhere welcome. Once or
twice he narrowly escaped death from disease or acci
dent. On one occasion, in childhood, a resort to desperate
remedies by his resolute father alone saved his life ; and
when older, both father and son were nearly killed by the
running away of a high-spirited pair of horses. A serious
injury at this time made the father lose all further interest
in horses ; but the son always retained his love for them.
William attended school in New York, afterwards at Nor
wich, and still later at Mendham, N. J. His father's
experience as a teacher was of peculiar service to him in
the selection of books and the carrying on of courses of
study after he had begun to be a clerk; but his chief
schooling was among men and in eff"orts to solve the daily
problems of life. He was always an eager and constant

ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE. II
reader, and as a young man he mastered many solid
works, including several standard histories.
From his earliest years he had been singularly respon
sive to religious impressions. Frank, generous, cheerful,
energetic, upright in his dealings, and instinctively shun
ning evil practices and associates, he had long been re
garded by his friends as a child of God; but at about
sixteen years of age, when residing at Bozrahville, he
appeared to become more deeply conscious of his own
sinfulness, and at the same time to have enlarged views
of God's mercy to sinners through Christ. He listened
thoughtfully and candidly to what was said from the pulpit
or in private gatherings. He had probably never neglected
reading the Bible or maintaining the habit of prayer.
About this time also one or two events occurred which
tended still more to deepen his seriousness. He was help
ing to load some boxes into a wagon at the door, when he
was unexpectedly called back into the store. Another
clerk took his place, and the next instant a heavy iron
pulley dropped from above and struck the young man
senseless to the ground. He recovered consciousness,
but died in a few days. William was constantly at his
bedside, ministering to his comfort and directing his
mind to Christ ; but his own providential escape was not
forgotten. Dr. Asabel Nettleton, the eminent revivalist, was then
laboring in Hartford, Conn., and Mr. Dodge was anxious
to have his son come under such inspiring influences.
William was often selected to take a load of cotton goods
from the factory to this city ; and his father now improved
the opportunity for such an errand, making an additional
excuse for delay there by telling him to wait for some
copies of the " Village Hymns," which had just been pub
lished for the first time, and were being bound. Mr. Dodge
also arranged to have him stay with friends who, he knew,
were interested in the meetings. For a week or more

12 ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE.
William attended the solemn services, and was deeply
impressed. As he was about to return, he called upon
Dr. Hawes, pastor of the Centre Church ; and he never
forgot his parting remark : " What 1 Going home, and
taking that hard heart with you ? "
The words came again and again to mind as he drove
slowly back alone. Soon after, at a prayer-meeting, con
ducted on that occasion by Mr. Erastus Hyde, assistant
agent in the mill, a man of unaffected piety, an invitation
was given to any who felt anxious respecting their spirit
ual condition, and desired the prayers of Christians, to
signify their wish by rising. William was instantly upon
his feet. His next younger and warmly attached sister,
Mary, joined him, and in a few moments ten or twelve
others. It was the beginning of a revival that spread
through the community, and extended into the country
around. From that eventful Sabbath evening, June 8,
1 82 1, William's life seemed to take on new earnestness.
The decision he had made was final, and without reserve.
One of his first steps was to induce a few young converts
in the village to establish a meeting for mutual Bible-
study and prayer.
On the first Sabbath in May, 1822, he, in company with
his sister Mary and several others, united with the Con
gregational Church in Bozrah, then under the pastoral
care of the Rev. David Austin.
William's Christian character now developed rapidly.
He was blessed in the friendship of James Brainerd Taylor,
whose piety was of a rich and ardent type, and whose
labors for the spiritual good of all about him were most
abundant. William took an active part in religious meet
ings and efforts of every kind, and thus early acquired
that readiness, fitness, and zeal in Christian work which
afterwards distinguished him, and which made him so wel
come and efficient in times of spiritual awakening, and in
his personal influence wherever he went.

ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE. 13
The family returned to New York in 1825, and here his
energies found at once a congenial and a larger sphere.
He began to feel the pressure of increased business respon
sibilities ; but his activity and earnestness were not confined
to Pearl Street and dry-goods. He became warmly inter
ested in Sunday-schools, — then in their infancy. With a
number of like-minded companions, he assisted in organ
izing the New York Young Men's Bible Society. In the
Laight Street Church, where he became a member, and
over which his uncle, the Rev. Dr. S. H. Cox, was settled,
he found ample scope for various forms of Christian labor.
His father, fresh from revivals in Connecticut, opened
his house for weekly prayer-meetings for young people.
William took a prominent part in these gatherings, and
was also active in distributing tracts, in visiting the sick
and poor, and in working for sailors. The Rev. S. Irenaeus
Prime, D.D., a friend long and affectionately esteemed by
Mr. Dodge, published in the " New York Observer " an
article from the pen of Dr. Nicholas Murray (Kirwin) of
Elizabeth, N. J., describing a prayer-meeting held at Aunt
Betsey's, an old bedridden colored woman living in Ann
Street. It was attended by several young men, who were
in the habit of visiting the aged saint to comfort and
relieve her, but in reality to learn from her, lessons of
patience and practical Christian wisdom. William was
of this number, and also Daniel James, his future brother-
in-law and partner ; William B. Kinney, in later years also
a brother-in-law, and representative of the United States at
the court of Italy in the days of Count Cavour, whose
personal friend he became ; and James Harper, afterwards
of Harper Brothers, and mayor of New York.
In the circle of Mr. David Dodge's family friends none
were more respected and cherished than Mr. and Mrs.
Anson G. Phelps. They also had removed from Hartford,
Conn., and had come to reside in New York, about the
year 18 13, living at first in a large brick house on Broad-

14 ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE.
way, opposite St. Paul's Church, but soon changing, on
account of the noise of the thoroughfare, to Beekman
Street, near Old St. George's Church, — where a spacious
fruit-garden was an attraction, — and afterwards moving
to Cliff Street, near Fulton. The growth of the city
led them later on to Fourth Street, between Second and
Third Avenues; and they finally occupied a noble old
mansion, with extensive grounds, reaching to the banks
of the East River, at the foot of Thirtieth Street. The
two households were intimate, and the younger members
frequently saw each other. William had early resolved
never to become engaged until he was of age, and not
then unless he could properly support a wife. But long
before these conditions were realized he had definitely
fixed it in his own mind that when circumstances should
permit, the one person he supremely desired and deter
mined to win was Mr. Phelps's second daughter, Melissa.
She too, years afterwards, confessed that other suitors,
though perhaps entitled to consideration, had small favor
with her, because she always remembered two bright black
eyes and the attractive owner of them. But William was
not permitted at once to discover this partiality. He
experienced, however, unusual enjoyment in attending
prayer-meetings at Mr. Phelps's house, or accepting an
invitation to tea, or deceiving an occasional suggestion
from Mr. Phelps that the young ladies might need an
escort to Dr. Spring's lecture-room, or elsewhere.
These occasions became more frequent, and the mutual
pleasure they experienced in them more evident ; but a full
understanding was not reached until that long-delayed
twenty-first birthday arrived, and a happy drive was taken,
in an old-fashioned gig, all the way to Coney Island. The
letters which made that drive possible were found in the
traditional old box in the attic. They are not for the public
eye ; but some reference to them may be allowed, as they
reveal the characteristic devoutness and Christian consider-

ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE. 15
ation which led up to the new relationship, and for more
than half a century crowned it with unusual happiness.
The letter of the anxious lover to his respected friends,
the parents; the reply of Mr. and Mrs. Phelps; and the
somewhat formal but unmistakably earnest appeal to the
" much-estfeemed friend " herself, with her own reserved,
yet sufficiently encouraghig response, — all breathe the
same sincere desire for Divine guidance. The request to be
permitted to address the daughter closes: " Praying that
God, whose unseen hand directs in all the concerns of life,
may lead you to that conclusion which may be for his
glory and our good for time and eternity, I subscribe
myself," etc. Mr. Phelps replies, —
" We shall ever study to promote the happiness of our beloved
daughter; and if complying with your very respectful request
coincides with her views, it will meet with our perfect approbation.
Permit me here to remark that in addition to the esteem we have
ever had for you personally, it is greatly strengthened by the long
and uninterrupted friendship subsisting between your family and
our own. Trusting the same Hand that has led you both to seek
a better good than this world can afford will still cause his word
to be as a cloudy pillar by day and a light of fire by night to guide
you safely through this wilderness, and finally to give you an inher
itance among the just, we remain your affectionate friends."
The letter enclosed for the inspection of the parents, and
if approved to be handed to the daughter, speaks of their
meeting for the first time the previous spring. It must be
remembered that William's residence in Connecticut had
separated the young people for five or six years, and at
just the age when most marked changes in person and
mind occur. Knowing each other as children, they had
met again, on his return to the city, almost as strangers.
He had now developed into the alert, vigorous, ambitious
young man, with more than usual maturity from his early
responsibilities. She had grown into the tall, graceful,
lovely woman, not so old as he by four years, but as an

1 6 ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE.
elder sister, and having a large share in the household and
social duties of her father's hospitable home, she had seen
much of society, and had also gained other and wider
views of life by her faithfulness as a Sabbath-school
teacher and as a visitor among the poor. During the
' interval correspondence had been maintained between the
families; and William recalled in after years the solemn
impression he received on hearing of the revival at New
Haven, where she was attending school, and of her uniting
with the church. In this momentous letter he tells her
that their renewed acquaintance had awakened a regard he
never felt for any other person ; that he had endeavored
to repress these feelings, and concluded he must avoid
going where she was ; yet when an opportunity occurred
even to attend a meeting where she might come, his
resolutions wholly failed, — he could not resist the pleas
ure of accompanying her home ; and when she was sick
during the past summer, he determined, as soon as she re
covered, to make his attachment known. All the more he
had besought the Lord to be the guide of his youth, and
not to leave him to take any step inconsistent with his will
and glory. He had then purposely called at her father's'
house as often as he could with propriety, anxious to
become better acquainted with " her general views on re
ligious and other subjects." Each visit had given increased
satisfaction; every day. had strengthened his affection.
He can never be happy with any one else. He is grateful
for the many kind attentions received in her father's family,
but he desires now to come as something more than a
friend, and to explain to her his own views and position.
He prays that God may give her wisdom and grace in de
ciding this important matter, and closes with the hope that
she will " not keep him long in suspense, but as soon as
consistent grant him a frank reply," adding, as postscript,
that he has his own parents' entire approbation. The reply
was frank enough to convince him that his suit was not in

ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE.

17

vain, and also that perfect accord would be found in rela
tion to religious questions, — a condition which he believed
could alone insure a happy and lasting union.
They were married two years later, June 24, 1828, at
the old house. No. 32 Cliff Street, Dr. Gardiner Spring, of
the Brick Church, officiating.
On their wedding journey they travelled somewhat by
stage, but chiefly in the comfortable two-wheeled chaise of
that day, visiting relatives and friends in Fairfield, Hart
ford, and other parts of Connecticut, not forgetting an
excursion to Wadsworth's Tower on Mount Talcott. Mr.
Dodge loved to recount the details of this memorable jour
ney, and ever afterwards the material, color, and trim
mings of his bride's travelling-dress combined his ideal of
a becoming costume. Nor did he ever fail, with peculiar
emphasis and pleasure, to attribute to his union with one
so worthy of his love, the happiness and prosperity of a
wedded life prolonged and blessed beyond all ordinary
experience. It would be difficult to gain a just conception of Mr.
Dodge's own life and character without some more ex
tended reference to the history of Anson G. Phelps, with
whom for nearly thirty years he maintained relations only
less intimate and affectionate than those enjoyed with a
wife who inherited her father's best qualities.
Mr. Phelps's ancestors were among the first settlers of
Connecticut. They came of " an ancient and honorable
family in Staffordshire, England," which embarked at
Plymouth in the " Mary and John," 1630, and settled first
at Dorchester, Mass., and subsequently at Windsor, Conn.,
the original pioneer being George Phelps. The family
afterwards went to Simsbury, Conn. Lieutenant Thomas
Phelps, Anson's father, was among the first from that town
to enlist in the revolutionary army, and he served through
out the war. He named his son after his old commander
and friend. General Anson Greene. The mother, Dorothy

1 8 ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE.
Lamb Woodbridge, was a descendant of the Rev. Timothy
Woodbridge, pastor of the First (Centre) Church in Hart
ford, Conn., from 1685 to 1732, himself sprung from two
generations of clergymen. A man of wide influence, he
was one of the original trustees of Yale College. His son,
the grandfather of Dorothy, was pastor of the church at
Simsbury, Conn., from 1712 to 1742. The reverence and
affection which Dorothy inspired in her son, with other
memories of her, show her to have been a woman of
refined and lovely character, earnest piety, and superior
education. Simsbury was Anson's birthplace (1781) and
early home. Both parents dying before he was twelve, he
went to live at Canton, a neighboring village, where he
learned the saddler's trade from an older brother. A re
vival under the preaching of the pastor, the Rev. Mr.
Hallock, led to his conversion when he was eighteen years
of age ; and almost his first act was to contribute all his
savings, some twenty-five dollars, to aid a Universalist,
brought to accept the truth at the same time, in preparing
to study for the ministry. Soon after, Anson went to Hart
ford to begin life for himself; while here he united with
the church where his own ancestor had once preached, of
which the Rev. Dr. Nathan Strong then had charge. In
domitable energy and natural business talent led to some
what rapid success; and for the purpose of extending
his trade he spent several winters at Charleston, S. C. In
Hartford he married Olivia Eggleston, a lady of intelli
gence, amiability, and force of character, with a bright,
equable, Christian spirit, whose family were old residents
of that city, her mother being a descendant of Thomas
Olcott, one of the first settlers. Mr. Phelps had now
become engaged in more general mercantile operations,
and finally removed to New York in 1815, when Melissa
was about three years old. From this time until his death,
nearly forty years afterwards, he was closely identified with
the commercial and religious history of that city. His

ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE. 19
last pastor, the Rev. George L. Prentiss, D.D., then of the
Mercer Street Church, describes him as a man of strong
and original character, remarkable for self-reliance, an iron
will, solid and comprehensive judgment, a sagacious power
of combination and forecast, untiring perseverance, good
common sense, and having a constitution capable of im
mense labor and endurance. Mr. Phelps took part in all
the prominent religious movements of his day, being as
sociated in several of them with Mr. David Dodge. He
was a manager of the American Bible Society, and a
director of the Tract Society, of the Seamen's Friends'
Society, and of the Peace Society. He was president
of the New York branch of the Colonization Society,
and of the Asylum for the Blind, a member of the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions,
and was also connected with temperance, Sunday-school,
and similar organizations. From the time he first ac
quired means of his own, he exhibited a growing spirit
of large and wise liberality. He habitually contributed,
while he lived, to a multitude of objects both public
and private, and in his will he left bequests of a mag
nitude and number rarely surpassed at that time. His
business operations were on a large scale, and in various
directions. He was ambitious to accumulate wealth ; but
it was the testimony of his lips and of his life that he de
sired it chiefly as a means for promoting the good of his
fellow-men, and especially for the extension of the king
dom of Christ. Private diaries found after his death,
containing occasional entries for nearly fifty years, reveal
an inner life of singular humility, large-heartedness, and
honest longing for growth in every Christian grace.
Daily contact with a man of this broad and vigorous
type had its share in moulding the character of William
E. Dodge. In some respects the two were by nature
much alike. Both could seize upon a situation with a
quick and comprehensive grasp. Both stood in small fear

20 ANCESTORS. EARLY LIFE. MARRIAGE.
of difficulties. Their plans were far reaching, and pushed
with resolute self-reliance, tireless energy, and abounding
faith. Both wer6 ready in resource, and thoroughly en
joyed the stir and strain of business Hfe. They were born
merchants. Yet in both the foundation of character was
a firm and unquestioning acceptance of the cardinal truths
of the word of God. Both early discovered the happiness
of working for others, and both were remarkable for genial
and attractive personal traits.

CHAPTER IL
MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.
TTTHEN nearly thirteen years of age, William was
* * sent to boarding-school at Mendham, N. J., where
his uncle by marriage, the Rev. Samuel Hanson Cox,
D.D., then resided. A friend of the family, Mr. Merritt,
a Quaker, engaged in the wholesale dry-goods trade in
New York, had long before taken a fancy to the bright
boy, and secured a promise from the father that as soon
as the two Merritt brothers formed a partnership, William
should become a clerk in the new house. The fulfilment
of this promise was now urged ; and Mr. David Dodge,
who usually decided matters in his own family somewhat
autocratically, wrote to his son, giving him permission to
accept the offer if that should be his choice. The attrac
tions of a new and stirring life carried the boy to the
great city. His circumstances there, how the place ap
peared to his young eyes, and the chief features of its
trade at that time, can best be given in Mr. Dodge's own
words, in extracts from an address delivered at the Young
Men's Christian Association Hall, April 27, 1880, upon
the invitation of fellow-merchants and other friends.
" Eighteen hundred and eighteen found me a boy in a wholesale
dry-goods store, No. 304 Pearl Street, near Peck Slip. It was a
very different thing to be a boy in a store in those days from what
it is now. I fear that many young men, anxious to get started,
would hesitate long before facing such duties as had then to be
performed. My father lived at that time at 98 William Street,
now the corner of Platt. William Street was then the fashionable

22 MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.
retail dry-goods centre; at No. 90 stood Peter Morton's large
establishment, the fashionable family store of that day.
" I had to go every morning to Vandewater Street for the keys,
as my employers must have them, in case of fire in the night.
There was much ambition among the young men as to who should
have his store opened first, and I used to be up soon after light,
walk to Vandewater Street, and then to the store very early. It
was to be sprinkled with water, — which I brought the evening
before from the old pump at the corner of Peck Slip and Pearl
Street, — then carefully swept and dusted.
" Afterwards came sprinkling the sidewalk and street, and
sweeping to the centre a heap for the dirt-cart to remove. This
done, one of the older clerks would come, and I was permitted to
go home for breakfast. In winter the wood was to be carried and
piled in the cellar, fires were to be made, and lamps trimmed.
Junior clerks in those days did the work of porters now.
" The dry-goods auction-stores were mostly on the corners and
on the blocks, from Wall to Pine Streets. When our employer
purchased a lot of goods at auction, it was our business to go and
compare them with the bill ; and if two of us could carry them
back, we did so, as it would save the shilling for porterage. I
remember that while in this store I carried bundles of goods up
Broadway to Greenwich Village, near what are now Seventh and
Eighth Avenues, and Fourth to Tenth Streets, crossing the old stone
bridge at Canal Street. This had long square timbers on either
side, in place of railings, to prevent a fall into the sluggish stream,
some fifteen feet below, which came from the low lands where
Centre Street and the Tombs now are. It was the great skat
ing place in winter. Turning in at the left of the bridge, I took a
path through the meadows, often crossing on two timbers laid over
the ditches where the tide ebbed and flowed from the East River.
At this time the wholesale dry-goods trade was confined almost
entirely to Pearl Street, the retail business being mostly in William
Street and Maiden Lane, and the cheaper stores in Upper Pearl
and Chatham Streets. A firm with ;^i5,ooo to ^20,000 capital
commanded good credit, and its annual sales seldom exceeded a
few hundred thousand.
"Business was periodical; we had our spring and fall' trade.
There were but few steamboats, and no raikoads, and it was quite

MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.

23

an event for the country merchants to visit the city. They gen
erally came twice a year, — those from the North and East by the
Sound or North River in sloops or schooners ; those from the
West and South by stage, or by lines of vessels along the coast.
Over the stores in Pearl Street were numbers of boarding-houses
for these country merchants.
" New York was then a city of less than a hundred and
twenty thousand inhabitants, and Brooklyn a town of some seven
thousand. Most of the merchants and families of wealth lived
in the lower part of the city, the fashionable residences being
chiefly around the Battery, and up Broadway and Greenwich
to Cortlandt Street. Not more than twenty-five families kept
a two-horse carriage. The Post-Office was in the parlors of a pri
vate house, altered for the purpose, at the corner of William Street
and Exchange Place. I well remember the fun we boys had
while waiting for the office to open, crowding each other up the
line. Postage was so high that letters were sent by private hands
as frequently as possible. Wood was almost the only fuel ; stoves
and furnaces had not yet come into use. How my feet and
.fingers have ached as I have stood at the desk of a bitter
morning ! "
The young clerk in the employ of the Brothers Merritt
was delighted to receive at the end of a year a silver
watch as the reward for faithful service. It was a massive,
old-fashioned, double-cased timepiece. He long wore it
with pleasure, and it is still retained in the family as an
heirloom. The next year, 1819, Mr. David Dodge returned, with
his family, to Bozrahville, Conn., to take charge of the
cotton-mill that he and his associates had established there.
WilHam learned that his father was at the time in some
financial embarrassment, and he determined to provide for
his own support. He asked for a position as clerk in the
country store connected with the factory, and was soon pop
ular among the customers for his quickness and courtesy.
Old women and farmers' wives, coming on horseback to
exchange butter and eggs for dry-goods and groceries.

24 MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.
would wait for William to help them dismount, bring in
their saddle-bags, and serve them at the counter. By way
of encouragement to earn something for himself, his father
gave him the use of a separate show-case at the end of the
store. William purchased a variety of small articles from
pedlers and others, and sold them at a moderate advance.
These little accumulations were part of his meagre capital
later on.
His willingness and ability, however, gradually led him
to assume more than his share of the work. He became
at last so constantly occupied that he often neglected to
go home for his regular meals, and tried to satisfy his
appetite by eating crackers and cheese as he went about
the store. This neglect brought on a long attack of ner
vous prostration.
When he began to recover, the season for huckleberries
had come, and he always spoke of them as his best medi
cine at that time. Long drives in a wagon without springs
was another part of his convalescent regime. At eighteen
years of age he was accustomed to go to New York to
make the entire purchases for this store.
In 1825 the mill was sold, and the family came again to
New York. Mr. Dodge opened a dry-goods store at 113
Beekman Street, with William to assist him. The year
following, the firm of Dodge & Gregory was formed, and
the business removed to 78 Maiden Lane, and later to
227 Pearl Street. In 1827 William left his father and be
gan the wholesale dry-goods business on his own account
at 213 Pearl Street. He thus refers to it in his lecture on
Old New York : —
" A retired Connecticut merchant with whom I had done busi
ness most of the time while a clerk, had a son just graduated from
Yale whom he was anxious to place in New York ; and having heard
that I was intending to commence for myself, proposed a co
partnership with his son. He offered to furnish an amount of capital,
which, with the small sum I had (mostly savings from my salary)

MERCHANT AND CITIZEN. 2$
would make for those days a respectable beginning, and further
more promised to indorse for us to any reasonable amount.
" There are few events in a man's life more important than that
which introduces him into active business on his own account ; and
as my partner had no experience, I felt the more responsibihty.
A few weeks after we started, and when our stock of goods was
small, three young men stepped into the store, each having two
large tin trunks, which he carried in his hands, aided by a large
strap over the shoulders. I saw at once they were Connecticut
pedlers. They were attracted by some article in the window.
After giving them the price, and while they set down their loads to
rest and talk, I said to them : ' I see you are, like myself, just start
ing in business ; now, let me make you a proposition. There is
plenty of room in our store ; each of you take one of these pigeon
holes under the shelves, put your trunks there, in place of carrying
them around while you are picking up your goods, and order all
you buy to be sent here. We will take charge of your purchases,
pack and ship them ; and you can come here and examine your
bills, write letters, and do as you like, whether you buy a dollar of
us or not. It will be an advantage to us, as well as a convenience
to you.'
" They were pleased with the offer, accepted it at once, and left
in search of such things as they wanted. For the six years during
which I remained in the dry-goods business for myself, they were
among my most attached customers. They were all respectable
young men, not afraid of work, nor ashamed of small beginnings.
One has now been president of a New England Bank for more than
twenty years ; his brother, another of the three, years after moved
to one of the large towns of Ohio, went into business there, and
grew to be the man of the place, associated with the railroads and
public improvements of the State ; the third, who was from a
manufacturing town in Connecticut, has long been connected with
the large mills of the place, and a man unusually respected. Three
fourths of our own most honored and successful citizens have risen
in much the same way."
In March, 1833, the new and lofty warehouse which Mr.
Phelps had recently erected at the corner of Fulton and
Cliff Streets, and filled in a short time with tin and cotton.

26 MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.
proved to have inadequate foundations. Without a mo
ment's warning the whole structure fell, crushing to death
several persons, among them two book-keepers and a con
fidential salesman. At first it was feared that Mr. Phelps's
only son was also one of the victims ; but after an ineffec
tual search by the almost distracted father, who had him
self been unexpectedly called away at the time of the
accident, the boy appeared, having left to do an errand
just before the building gave way. He also had supposed
his father was under the ruins, and they met while looking
for each other.
Mr. Phelps was greatly prostrated by this sudden de
struction of his property and interruption of business. He
turned to his son-in-law, and found him prompt and effi
cient in aiding to rearrange the aff'airs of the firm. Soon
after, he urged Mr. Dodge to give up the dry-goods busi
ness and join him in the metal trade. A settlement was
agreed upon for the dissolution of the firm of Huntington
& Dodge, and the entire stock of goods was soon disposed
of by Mr. Dodge in the following characteristic manner.
Among their customers was " a rough old man from Vir
ginia, who, though wealthy, still dressed as he did when
a travelling pedler. He was a large buyer, and his credit
was beyond doubt. He had a number of wagons travelling
all over the West, and made Wheeling his headquarters."
Mr. Dodge had secured the confidence of this trader,
and sold him large quantities of goods. Not long after
the decision had been reached to close out the business,
this old man came into the store, but not finding Mr.
Dodge, with whom alone he was willing to deal, went
away. As he again entered the door, some hours later,
Mr. Dodge astonished his partner by saying, in an under
tone, that he intended to sell everything in the place to
the old Virginian.
The proposition was soon made in his own straight
forward and genial way. With some hesitation the

MERCHANT AND CITIZEN. 27
experienced trader consented to look over the goods;
after two days of examination and bargaining, however, he
purchased the entire contents of the store, and at prices
satisfactory to both parties.
¦ Mr. Dodge was wont to say that " a good salesman
must be, in the right sense, ' all things to all men,' and
that open, frank, upright dealing is the way to secure
confidence and customers."
Thus closed nearly fifteen years of connection with the
dry-goods trade.
The partnership now formed took the firm-name of
Phelps, Dodge, & Co. It succeeded to the old house of
Phelps & Peck, importers and dealers in metals, whose
place of business was at one time at 181 Front Street.
The new firm consisted at first of Anson G. Phelps,
William E. Dodge, and Daniel James, who married the
eldest daughter of Mr. Phelps, and for forty-eight years
conducted the business in Liverpool, with local partners,
under the title of Phelps, James, & Co. Subsequently
Anson G. Phelps, Jr., an only son, James Stokes, who
married another daughter, and William E. Dodge, Jr., and
D. Willis James, both grandsons, became partners, as also,
later on, other sons of the older members. At the date of
Mr. Dodge's death the house had completed just a half
century of vigorous life. The chief offices have always
been in Cliff Street.
Long before 1834 Mr. Phelps had been a dealer in cot
ton ; shipping, from New York and from Southern ports,
invoices to be sold in England, and the proceeds to be
used for purchases of tin, sheet-iron, and other metals.
The new firm continued for some years this customary and
often profitable form of exchange ; but it was attended with
risk and anxiety, from the constant fluctuations of the mar
ket, and it involved also large transactions in distant parts
of the country, with incessant watchfulness, and from time
to time personal visits to the South. In those days, when

28 MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.
all travelling was by sailing-vessels, river-steamers, stages,
or on horseback, such journeys were long and wearisome.
During the fall of 1839 Mr. Dodge found it necessary
to undertake an extended tour through the Southern
States, going by way of Charleston, Augusta, Mobile, and
other places, and spending much time at New Orleans,
where the agents of the firm had met with financial
misfortunes. A few extracts from letters written to his wife during
this journey will give an insight into his varied experiences,
and at the same time unfold some traits of character.
" New Orleans, Jan. 26, 1840.
" I had some business at Bayou Sara, a hundred and eighty
miles up the Mississippi. I left here Friday afternoon, and reached
my destination next morning before breakfast. Coming back, I
took passage in a boat that stopped at almost every turn for cotton
and passengers, remaining in some instances several hours at a
place. It was my first debut on the great river, and I found it
very interesting. Here you see the Southern planter in all his
glory. The banks are lined with sugar-plantations, and some of
them present a fine appearance.
" The large sugar-houses, with their tall chimneys and the quarters
of the slaves, which are comfortable wooden cottages, all placed in
regular order, each with its little garden, and sometimes thirty or
forty houses together, painted white, with red roofs, make each
plantation, as you approach it, look like a small village. The resi
dences of the planters are often large buildings, with piazzas and
pillars, all surrounded with noble live-oaks and other evergreens,
affording a beautiful shade ; but the curse of slavery is stamped
upon everything. The children are brought up to call a slave for
the least thing they want, without any idea of helping themselves.
A young lady cannot go on board a steamboat without her black
or mulatto girl. The young men must have their servants to stand
behind them at dinner. No one on board appeared to have any
idea of God, except at almost every word to profane his holy
name. Give me the small New England farmer, with his sons and

MERCHANT AND CITIZEN. 29
daughters brought up to work six days in the week, and to attend
church well dressed on Sundays ! " " New Orleans, Feb. 23, 1840.
" Every day seems to bring something new to detain me here or
on my way home ; but I desire to leave the matter with God, and
am determined to try to do up my business so completely that I
may never have occasion to return to finish it. Orange-trees are
hanging full, and the peach-trees all over the city are in bloom,
and the green grass looks like May. If the weather goes on in
creasing in heat I do not wonder they have the yellow fever. The
city is so low the water cannot run off, and even now it stands all
around the outskirts in a deep green, stagnant state. Yet to
natives and those acclimated it is one of the most healthy places in
the United States, and promises to become one of the largest and
most elegant (and I fear most wicked) of our cities."
"New Orleans, March 11, 1840.
" My time to-day has been every moment taken up in getting
off cotton and looking over accounts. This evening I have had to
take a decided stand with  , and talk very plainly to him. I
can assure you, such things are not at all pleasant. It always affects
me, for you know it is my way generally to get along without any
difficulty ; but ' there is a point at which forbearance ceases to be
a virtue,' and at that point I had arrived. It was necessary to
speak, however trying. I was enabled, however, to be perfectly
cool and collected. It is hard, after waiting here three months,
that I should only yesterday have been able to get the accounts
which are to form the basis of our settlement. They fill fifteen
large sheets, all to be examined, and in many cases item after item
to be disputed. This will keep me here at least ten days further.
And now comes a letter from Vicksburg, saying that a debt of some
^6,000, which was to have been paid March ist, has again been
put off until April ist ; and it is in such a shape that I cannot leave
the country until it is settled." " New Orleans, March 22, 1840.
" After a week of great anxiety and much talking, I was able,
late last evening, to get  to a point where he acceded to a very
liberal offer on my part. The loss will be great, but I am per-

30 MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.
suaded we never could settle with less. I shall have to go to Vicks
burg, then return here, and on my way home stop a day or two
at Louisville, Cincinnati, and Pittsburg, and go into Ohio as far
as Zanesville." " Steamboat ' Gray Eagle,' April i, 1840.
" I have exchanged the noisy cabin for my stateroom to write
to you ; but the boat trembles so, I can hardly guide my pencil.
" We left New Orleans at noon yesterday, and now, at 2 o'clock
to-day, we are two hundred and fifty miles up this majestic
stream. The steamboat is one of the finest on the river, and
belongs to old customers of ours at Louisville. For some hun
dred miles there is a levee in front of all the plantations, and
the river is now in many cases two feet higher than the level of the
land, and only kept from overfiowing it by this embankment.
Yesterday I saw a spot where it had broken through, and was
running like a stream, entirely covering a beautiful plantation, and
making a lake of a hundred acres. Some two hundred slaves, men
and women, were hard at work to stop it ; but they will make poor
headway against such a rush of water, and the river continually
rising. Give me the hills of Pennsylvania rather than the bottom
lands of the Mississippi ! We are constantly passing steamboats
and flats, or arks, on their way to New Orleans, loaded with the
produce of the West. There are six hundred steamboats on the
river, and generally they are more comfortable and elegant than
any we have at the North, with fine large staterooms and airy
cabins." "Vicksburg, April 5, 1840.
" How strange the series of Providences that have caused this
long and painful separation, and how little do we know or think,
when commencing an undertaking apparently full of promise and
pleasure, how soon it may bring disappointment, perplexity, loss,
and vexation, with a long train of trials which it would seem
impossible could ever have resulted from such a beginning I
" Asking myself last evening why I am here, away from wife,
children, friends, home, and all I hold dear on earth, I find the
answer carried me back to 1836, when, not satisfied with busi
ness at home already so extended as to occupy all our precious
time and fill the mind so full of worldly anxiety as to leave scarcely

MERCHANT AND CITIZEN. 31
any room for thoughts of God or eternity, we were stretching
after more, and in the folly and intoxication of prosperity we
formed the house of  & Co. of New Orleans. But God, who
knew best how to humble our pride, has made this connection
one of constant anxiety, and finally of great loss.
" I am at the Vicksburg House, and so fortunate this time as
to have a small room to myself, although it was very dirty when I
came in. By a little management with the servant, a freeman
from Virginia, I had my bed taken down and cleaned, the out
side dirt of the room removed, the washing utensils made present
able, and I soon felt myself comfortable for the ten days I must
spend here. I have access to the library of a young lawyer, and
with reading, writing, walking, and thinking of you, hope to keep
out of mischief at least ; I have been quite a reader since leaving
home, having gone through some thirty volumes, to say nothing
of the book of Nature and mankind. One cannot travel as long
as I have on boats and in public houses, and not see much to
remember." " Vicksburg, April 12, 1840.
" To-morrow I go thirty miles into the country, and on the result
of my visit will depend the time when I may expect to leave this
place. It has rained almost every day since I came. Think of
Hartford without sidewalks, and you can judge of the difficulty
of getting about. I look in vain among the Sunday-schools for
the poor black children ; nor do I think they are ever brought
under its influence. They may well say, ' No man cares for my
soul.' The Methodists have preaching every Sunday afternoon
for the blacks, who are fond of going to church, and many are
professors ; but the Presbyterians, as far as I can judge, do nothing
for them. The field-hands — and they are both men and women
— are generally in this State a most degraded and wretched set of
beings, littie removed from brutes, and usually treated as such.
Yet they are all immortal beings, for whom Christ died, and they
are living in what is called a Christian land ; but thousands of them
never heard of him, except in the profanity of their masters and
overseers, — a practice they soon leam to follow. Slavery is an
awful thing, and God will yet punish this nation, and especially the
South, for this sin and the evils resulting from it. Many of the

32

MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.

charges the Abolitionists bring are true, but they go the wrong way
to remove slavery. The almost total destruction of the family
relation is one of its worst features. The children born on a
plantation know only their mothers, and many planters care little
how their negroes increase, provided they do so rapidly, as in this
consists their property. There are exceptions, but this is the
general fact.
" I saw last week a fine little fellow about eight years old sold at
auction. As usual, they were a long time at it, and many asked
him idle questions. He paid littie attention to them, but kept his
eye on the bidders. At last he was struck off; and when he saw
who had bought him, he burst out crying, and being asked what
was the matter, he replied : ' I want to live with Mr.  , because
then I can see my mother.' " " Vicksburg, April i6, 1840.
"Never was a letter more welcome than yours of the 31st
ultimo. I received it yesterday on my return from the country,
and just as I had met one of the most unexpected disappointments
in business transactions I had ever experienced. I had anticipated
so many ways in which I might be disappointed that I determined
to make no calculation on it until I had the money in my hand.
After much difficulty I did get from the United States Deputy-
Marshal the money to bring to the Principal Marshal to make with
him a final settlement. He said he must once more examine his
books, to be sure that our claim was in fact the oldest ; when to my
utter astonishment it was found that by a blunder of an attorney who
had charge of the case some time ago we had lost our lien on the
property, and the money must go to pay some New York creditors
who came after us and were not on the ground at the sale, presum
ing our claim would take all there was. Just at this moment your
letter was handed to me, and it was hke balm to my troubled spirit.
The man whose property was sold is among the few honest men in
this country ; and as this error occurred in an attempt of 
& Co. to oblige him by putting off the sale, he says that although
he is ruined, I shall have the money if I will wait until he can
raise it among his friends, as it is the most sacred debt he owes.
My only chance is to remain ; the claim amounts to ?6;ooo. Yet
there are special reasons why I should be at home. Our spring

MERCHANT AND CITIZEN. 33
business is now pressing, the country is in such a state, and I have
had for a long time most to do with our customers, and know
many whom we have trusted heretofore that we should not now
trust. I am made truly happy in the midst of my anxiety by the
good news in your letter. If M  is truly converted, he will
make a most useful man, as he is so well informed in religious
matters, and has such an excellent education." "Vicksburg, April 19, 1840.
" I have been here sixteen days, and it has rained every day but
two. The streams are high ; the mighty Mississippi, which is two
hundred feet deep opposite this city, is now running level with its
banks, and fears are entertained of a general inundation such as
they had in 1828 and 1832. This, added to the present distress,
would about complete the ruin of this country. If others were not
interested with me, I would leave the business in the hands of the
attorney, and be on my way home ; but this would amount to giving
up the debt, for as things now are, ordinary means will not answer.
Law cannot be enforced. The people have become desperate, and
will not suffer their property to be sacrificed, as it must be at pub
lic sale. All are so much involved, there are none able to purchase.
Only those who are here can see and appreciate the trials of the
people and make allowances for them. God is dealing with them,
though they neither see nor acknowledge his hand, and I doubt
not he will have to continue to afflict them until they reform or are
ruined. I am confident the result will be good to the State, al
though many individuals will lose everything. The fact is, the peo
ple of the whole United States have been acting under a delusion.
The unnatural prosperity resulting from the credit system has been
taken for real, and it has been carried to such an extent that now
its overthrow must be the ruin of thousands. The grand difficulty
with me has been (I do not speak for others) that I have had my
mind so constantiy occupied with business and its anxieties, I have
not had time for sober, rational thought. I desire in future to re
member that I am an immortal being ; that I have a mind capable
of thought, and it should be stored with solid food ; that those pur
suits and employments which will best prepare me for the dis
charge of duties here, and the enjoyment of heaven, should not be
neglected, and that I have something else to do besides simply
3

34

MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.

accumulating property. My duties to God, my family, the church,
and the world, must not be disregarded, let what may suffer ; and
while I have no idea of slighting business, I will not hereafter un
dertake more than I can attend to without neglecting other and
more important things, — and of this, by the assistance of God, I
intend to be my own judge. The idea of living so that my children
will be led to conclude that the great object of life is to make
money, now appears to me in a new light. I desire to make their
religious education a prominent object in time to come. The
truth is, I have spent hours in thinking over these and other duties,
and I know the decision I have reached is the resuk of careful and
prayerful investigation. I have read and thought more calmly
since I left home than for the last six years, and I pray God it may
have its effect on my life." " Vicksburg, April 22, 1840.
" I think the person who owes us has about obtained the money ;
but when I have it in my pocket, and get on board the boat, and
she is under way, I shall really think it is in my possession. I am
anxious to hear from home, and anticipate bad accounts from the
election. The new law had not time to go into effect, and the
Whigs hurrying it will make the locofocoes so angry they will stir
up a riot, and I fear you will have sad times. Old Connecticut has
done her duty at last, and if Providence should grant us Harrison
as President, I think we shall get on better. If Van Buren can get
up a war, he will. ' War ! war ! ' is the party watchword in this
part of the country, and the best reason a leading man could give
was, ' It would kill off a great many loafers ! ' The State Court is
now sitting here. It is curious to see how they do things, and
notice the jurors, lawyers, and judges. The floor is covered with
sawdust several inches deep, to prevent its being flooded with
tobacco-juice. When not smoking, the people chew beyond any
thing I ever saw. The lawyers sit with their legs on the tables,
and the judge leans back and puts his on the desk ; and then they
examine witnesses and cross-fire at each other, seldom getting up
until they are ready to sum up the case. Still, they have some
very able lawyers, and now almost every man in the State is at law ;
and such men as you see in the Court-house yard, lying on the
grass, or sitting in every style, anxiety and distress on many faces I
Such general ruin one does not often see."

MERCHANT AND CITIZEN. 35
" Steamer ' Swallow,' April 26, 1840.
" Here it is almost May, and I am now going fifteen miles an
hour away from home, bound again for New Orleans. The weather
is equal to our August. I feel the need of the cold, bracing air of
our winter." " Steamer 'Edward Shippen,' May i, 1840.
" I made but a short stay in New Orleans, and am now seven
hundred miles on my way up the great river. The current against
us is very strong, but we make about two hundred and fifty miles
every twenty-four hours. We stop occasionally to ' wood,' and it
is a curious sight. We have on board two hundred men as deck
passengers, who pay their way in part by helping to take in wood.
In a half hour they will carry on their backs thirty cords from
the shore to the boat. They run down the river on rafts or
arks, and before steam navigation they would walk home some
fifteen hundred to two thousand miles. The sail up the river
is very interesting now, as the water is thirty feet higher than
usual. We constantly see where large masses of earth have been
washed away, carrying down trees and soil. I have already read
a thousand pages since coming on board ; among other books,
three volumes of Cooper's ' Home as Found,' — an instructive tale.
A ' Mr. Dodge,' a loquacious character, figures largely ! The boat
is about to start, after wooding, and the mosquitoes are so thick, I
must stop writing."
Mr. Dodge reached Louisville May 5th, after "a fine
passage," and Pittsburg on the 15th ; then made his
way home, stopping at Williamsport to attend to some
important lumber interests of the firm.
To show Mr. Dodge's considerate and liberal spirit in
his dealings with the agents who had caused such annoy
ance and loss at New Orleans, it may be well to quote from
a lettter written afterwards by one of the parties there.
" For the equitable spirit which actuated you in all our dealings
I owe many acknowledgments ; but I desire particularly to express
my unfeigned thanks for the kindness manifested by you during
the vexatious delays attending the last settlement of our accounts,

36 MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.
and the handsome as well as obliging course pursued in bringing
all our late partnership transactions to a final close."
One of Mr. Dodge's earliest investments, outside of his
regular business at the time, was the purchase of timber
lands and the manufacture of lumber. Some facts narrated
by Mr. E. B. Campbell, who was for nearly forty years
associated with Mr. Dodge in the management of pine-
lands in Pennsylvania, will be found of interest.
" At a very early day, and long before there was a saw-mill of
any size in Michigan, Mr. Dodge seemed to comprehend the vast
ness of the lumber interests in Pennsylvania, and in fact through
out the United States. He began to purchase timber lands while
still a partner of Mr. Huntington, buying (or taking partly for debt)
a thousand acres on Pine Creek. The same tract is still in the
possession of his successors. In 1835 his attention was called by
an advertisement to the large and valuable tracts of land held by
Messrs. Stowell & Dickinson in Tioga County, Pa. The owners
were somewhat embarrassed, and after correspondence proposed
to sell him one half of all their lands and mills. He came to Penn
sylvania in June, 1836, to see the property, arriving Saturday even
ing at WiUiamsport, then a town having a population of only one
thousand. Early Sunday morning (as was his wont), he inquired
for the church and Sunday-school. He attended service in the
morning, and at the request of the superintendent, Mr. Oliver
Watson, addressed the school in the afternoon, and in the evening
was asked to speak to the people in the one little church of the
place. Monday morning, Mr. Watson, who was county commis
sioner's clerk, called upon him, and during the interview received
from Mr. Dodge authority to buy in for him any timber-lands to
be sold for taxes. The next morning Mr. Dodge started on horse
back for Manchester, Tioga County, sixty-five miles distant."
Some notes of this journey were found in Mr. Dodge's
own handwriting.
" Left Jersey Shore, Lycoming County, to go up Pine Creek.
The stream much swollen by recent rains. Spent the night at
Buttemut Island. In the morning took a canoe and went over

MERCHANT AND CITIZEN. 37
to the island, — about fifty acres of bottom-land under cultivation,
with house, barn, etc. ; suitable place for building saw-miUs ; could
put a dam across one of the channels, and make a pond to hold
securely some thirty thousand logs. Wednesday morning rode
twenty-five miles through the woods before coming to the settle
ment at Babb's Farm on Crooked Fork, and next day, at noon,
reached Manchester. Examined the mills and premises, and on
Friday spent ten hours visiting different tracts. Measured some
of the trees cut down : one — and it was no more than an average
— was a hundred and sixty-eight from butt to tip, and ninety feet
to the first limb. Found some logs to-day thirteen to fifteen feet
around. Pine, oak, and hemlock abundant, with littie underbrush ;
soil rich, timber heavy. Saw a ' slide ' by which logs are sent down
directly into the creek in. half a minute from the top of the hill ;
they are then floated to the mill. Rode to-day thirty miles on
horseback through the woods ; visited the saw-mills again, — seven
ty-four logs produced nearly eighty thousand feet of lumber. Re
turned down the river by scow, stopping to examine different
tracts ; counted at times sixty to seventy trees an acre. I am
delighted with Pine. Creek, and have been astonished to find such
a stream running through so great a length of uninhabited coun
try. Average width two hundred feet, and about four feet deep ;
generally smooth water. We glide along at about four miles an
hour. No need of a pole to fend off, in fact the boat would
almost go of itself. Spent the night at Lloyds, and next day had a
delightful run, arriving at the Susquehanna River at seven o'clock,
p. M. ; then floated down the main stream four miles farther for
the night. Next day enjoyed a pleasant sail. Fine farms on both
sides; reached WiUiamsport at noon."
Among Mr. Dodge's old papers there was also a cha
racteristic calculation of the cost and chances of this ven
ture in pine-lands. Before making any personal inspection,
he had sent out a special agent, who had previously re
ported upon pine-lands in Maine; the result being that
the Pennsylvania lands were pronounced to be the most
valuable. Mr. Dodge now endeavored thoroughly and
relentlessly to estimate the possible profits of his proposed

38 MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.
investment. Taking the actual figures, from operations
upon a given number of acres, according to the statements
of trustworthy parties, he applied the facts to the whole
number involved in this case, say twenty-five thousand
acres ; and then began to reduce the problem in the
following unique method : —
" For fear of errors, deduct one half; to be very careful, deduct
one half again ; in these days of speculation we will once more
deduct one half; as everything appears to be going to the bottom,
we will another time deduct a half; on account of the destruc
tion of the United States Bank we will go another half. Half of
this final amount will be the share of Phelps, Dodge, & Co. Now
deduct the original cost, and the remainder will be profit."
And as this, after such wholesale cutting down, was still
nearly thirty thousand dollars beyond the sum to be paid
in buying the property, the risk seemed justifiable I
On the representations of Mr. Dodge the purchase was
made, and in subsequent years large additional tracts were
secured in adjoining counties (Potter, Elk, Clearfield, Ca
meron, Lycoming). Mr. Phelps frequently visited Penn
sylvania, and gave personal attention to the business; but
from the first, and almost to the time of his death, the chief
care of the lumber interests of the firm devolved upon
Mr. Dodge. The expense and loss in rafting such masses
of lumber led eventually to the abandonment of the smaller
saw-mills up the stream. A large mill, known as the
Phelps Mill, was erected near Jersey Shore in 1849, with
its own " boom " and other facilities, and the logs were
" driven " — floated — down to this point.
Still later, in 1 864, at Williamsport, which had now grown
to be an important lumber centre, there was built one of
the largest saw-mills at that time east of the AUeghanies,
which was given the name of the Dodge Mills. Most of
these operations were carried on under the local direction
of Mr. E. B. Campbell, who first came into Mr. Dodge's

MERCHANT AND CITIZEN. 39
employ in 1845, ^"d always enjoyed his esteem and
friendship. The extensive business growing out of these
transactions was conducted for many years under the
firm-name of Henry James & Co. of Baltimore, to which
point most of the lumber was shipped, Mr. James being
the resident partner, and having general management of
all the affairs of the Company.
At Tobyhanna, Monroe County, Pa., Mr. Dodge also had
an interest in pine-lands, and a saw-mill. He was subse
quently led to make a large investment in mills and " Gov
ernment Limits" in Canada; the chief office and mills
being at Waubaushene, on an arm of the Georgian Bay.
He Hkewise purchased extensive tracts of yellow pine-
lands in the State of Georgia, and erected a capacious saw
mill on St. Simon's Island, near Brunswick. The mill and
outbuildings, the church, school-house, store, and houses
for the workmen, form an attractive village, often noticed
by travellers taking the inland steamer route to Florida.
The State of Georgia, as a compliment to Mr. Dodge
for the interest he had long manifested in the progress
of the South, and especially for the confidence shown in
making so large an investment in that State, set off, in
1870, — from the counties of Pulaski, Telfair, and Montgom
ery, — the district in which most of Mr. Dodge's lands are
found, creating a separate county, to be known as Dodge
County. A letter communicating this fact, and enclosing
a copy of the enactment, says : " Appreciating your suc
cessful efforts, as chairman of the Chamber of Commerce
of New York, in inducing Congress to remove the burden
of taxation from the great staple of our State and of the
South ; mindful also of the interest taken by yourself and
friends in the commercial prosperity of our State, —
Georgia has, by an Act of her Legislature, given the
new county your name."
Mr. Dodge erected at his own expense a court-house
at Eastman, the county-seat, and presented it to the county

40 MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.
authorities. A Macon paper describes it as " a substantial
building, occupying a prominent site, and justly ranking
as one of the finest and most convenient court-houses in
the State. Such a gift was probably never tendered or
received before in the history of any county of Georgia."
The same journal gives an account of the proceedings on
the day of presentation : —
"The court- room was crowded with people from all parts of the
county, and Mr. Dodge made an address ; in which, after acknowl
edging in graceful terms the honor done him, he spoke at length
of the resources and advantages possessed by the people of Georgia
over most other portions of the United States, — the mild climate,
particularly salubrious in the pine-woods district ; the fertile soil,
capable of high cultivation ; the variety of productions and indus
tries ; the proximity to the seaboard, and other favorable features :
all of which argued that the day was not distant when immigration
would set in from the North and from Europe, and Georgia, with
her sister States, would become prosperous and powerful beyond
any present conception."
When Mr. Dodge passed through Macon, on his way
home, a committee of citizens waited upon him with an
address of welcome ; to which he cordially replied, express
ing his belief that " the next decade would be signalized
by extraordinary progress, and that the growing inter
course between the people of both sections would estab
lish the best mutual understanding, and that capital from
abroad would be increasingly attracted to the South, and
especially to Georgia."
Other investments in pine-lands were made by Mr.
Dodge in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Texas. He once re
marked, during negotiations for some of these lands, that
his object was " to secure what would eventually be for the
advantage of his children ; " and in most of his transactions
in lumber or lands he had associated with him one or
more of his sons.
Probably few men, even among those exclusively en-

MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.

41

gaged in the lumber trade, were more widely and practi
cally familiar with the varied features of this great industry.
Mr. Dodge took an intelligent and enthusiastic interest in
every detail, from the first selection of suitable lands, the
felling of the trees, the driving of the logs, the sawing,
piling, and distribution of the lumber, to the final sale in
the best markets. He was constantly reading on the sub
ject, and carefully watching production and prices. He
knew, too, better than most men what interminable anxiety
there can be over titles, taxes, trespasses, fires, floods, and
droughts. The firm of Phelps, Dodge, & Co., as importers of cop
per, became interested in the manufacture of that metal,
and later also in the copper-mines of Lake Superior and
other districts. A rolling-mill was early established at
Derby, Conn., some seventy miles from New York, on
the Naugatuck River. Within a short time a village was
built a little farther up the stream, and named Ansonia,
after Mr. Anson G. Phelps. It has now a population of
over four thousand. The works of the Company have
grown into independent corporations, including the Anso
nia Brass & Copper Co. and the Ansonia Clock Co., — the
latter having recently removed to South Brooklyn.
Mr. Dodge was a founder, and until his death one of the
most active directors, of the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Co.,
of Scranton, Pa. In the resolutions adopted by this Board
on the announcement of his decease it is stated that —
" Our late associate was identified with this Company from its
organization in 1853. With his accustomed sagacity in business
affairs, he realized the importance of developing the mineral wealth
of the country, and of utilizing it in manufactured products for the
extension of railroad facilities to all parts of the United Spates.
Not only did he invest his large capital in this and similar enter
prises, but he also devoted his time and matured judgment in de
vising plans for promoting their best interests. Judicious as a
counsellor, he was nevertheless considerate of the opinions of others,

42 MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.
and ready to harmonize differences and secure concord. His
eminent ability, his untiring devotion to business, and his unblem
ished integrity, have given him rank with the most honored and
successful of merchants."
Mr. Dodge also gave much time and labor for a series
of years to the iron-works at Oxford Furnace, N. J., w^here
at one time car-wheels, and afterwards nails, were manu
factured. He had likewise an interest in iron-mills and
steel-works in Illinois and in Virginia.
The reputation of his firm and his personal standing as
a business man were always to Mr. Dodge objects of keen
solicitude and just pride. Both from Christian principle
and the convictions common to all honorable merchants,
he held to the necessity of inflexible integrity as the indis
pensable foundation of commercial transactions. In times
of general financial depression, or of specific exigencies in
his own affairs, Mr. Dodge, though acutely alive to the
difficulties and perils involved, was usually calm, brave,
and full of resources. Behind human complications and
uncertainties he had an unwavering confidence in the abso
lute control of an overruling Providence. ' His business in
terests were widely scattered and diversified, and it was to
be expected that critical periods would have to be passed
through, and painful, often disastrous, experiences encoun
tered. Mr. Dodge, however, was permitted to see his firm
pass through the vicissitudes of nearly half a century of un
usually extended transactions, and through all the historical
panics of his day, without a stain upon its credit.
One incident, however, should be noticed, which occa
sioned at the time serious anxiety and loss to Mr. Dodge
and his associates, and created discussion throughout the
country, but happily resulted in the overthrow of the in
iquitous revenue system which then prevailed, and which
had wrought injustice and injury not merely in the aff'airs
of this house, but to merchants at every port of entry in
the United States.

MERCHANT AND CITIZEN. 43
Under the intricate and compHcated revenue laws relat
ing to goods on which ad-valorem duties were imposed,
there were many contradictory regulations, which made it
almost impossible to avoid technical errors. Foreign in
voices were to express actual cost only, while at the same
time they must be sworn to before the consul as at exact
market value on the day of sailing ; and both these prices
must agree on arrival with the views of the appraisers of
the port. As many goods were contracted for months
before shipment, and market values were constantly chang
ing, the regulations were preposterous and dangerous.
A misunderstanding arose between the Custom Depart
ment and Phelps, Dodge, & Co. on the claim that certain
small items in various invoices had been undervalued.
This would have been easily adjusted, had not the moiety
laws provided that an error in any invoice forfeited the
whole amount, one half of which went to Custom officers
and informers. The same technical errors had led in many
previous instances to overpayments by the firm ; but these
would not be considered. A long and painful controversy
followed, which was finally settled by the payment of a
stipulated sum.
A full and detailed report of this matter was prepared
by the Hon. David A. Wells, late Commissioner of Revenue,
fully exonerating Mr. Dodge and his firm ; and as this was
widely circulated at the time, it is unnecessary to enter into
the subject more at length now.
When the facts became known, and the nature of the
system that could make such exactions possible was ex
posed, the mercantile community at large took up the sub
ject and protested against the continuance of laws that left
importers at the mercy of interested officials and offered a
premium to clerks to misrepresent the dealings of their
employers. Public sentiment soon forced the matter upon
the attention of Congress. The National Board of Trade
and the Chambers of Commerce of New York, Boston,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other cities adopted resolu-

44 MERCHANT AND CITIZEN.
tions condemning the revenue laws and appointing com
mittees to visit Washington and seek redress. Mr. Dodge
went as a member of the Special Committee from the New
York Chamber of Commerce. During the hearing before
the Committee of Ways and Means he was requested to
present the facts relative to the proceedings against Phelps,
Dodge, & Co., both because the Government agent, who
was chief informer at that time, had now repeated before
the Congressional Committee his accusations against the
firm, and also because this case was everywhere recognized
as illustrating conspicuously the oppression and terrorism
practised upon merchants under cover of law. A public
meeting was held at Steinway Hall to hear the report of
this Committee on its return to New York. In the follow
ing May (1874) a bill was introduced into the House re
pealing the obnoxious features of these laws. The debate
brought still more clearly to light the iniquities of such a
system of official espionage and robbery. The bill was
passed without a dissenting voice ; and in the Senate, where
a still longer deliberation followed, the measure received an
almost equally unanimous vote. It was some consolation
to Mr. Dodge that, in the wide discussion of this question,
not only was the good name of his firm vindicated, but
largely through the injury perpetrated upon himself and
associates the scandalous provisions of the moiety system
were abolished. The narrative of this episode in the his
tory of Mr. Dodge would not be complete without recall
ing the fact that soon after its occurrence Mr. Dodge was
re-elected to the presidency of the New York Chamber of
Commerce, although he had already served in that office
several consecutive terms. In expressing his grateful ap
preciation of this renewed evidence of confidence, he made
some reference to the circum.stances which had led his
firm to agree to a compromise ; and concluded by saying
that since his partners and himself had been able to under
stand their actual position in this matter, they had not
ceased "• to regret ever having paid a dollar."

CHAPTER in.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. — MERCANTILE LIBRARY.—
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
THE Chamber of Commerce of the State of New
York was founded in 1768, and has always enrolled
among its members the representative merchants of the
great metropolis. Its influence in questions of trade, both
local and national, hcis been unquestioned and potent.
Mr. Dodge became a member of this body in March, 1855,
and at once took an active part in its proceedings. In
1863 he was elected first vice-president, and in 3867 be
came president, retaining that office for eight years. He
served upon many important committees, and was par
ticularly prominent in. promoting the loyal and vigorous
measures of the Chamber at the outbreak of the war and
during its continuance. He was frequently appointed on
delegations to Washington to urge upon the Government
courses of action deemed by the Chamber advantageous
to the State or country.
At the close of 1862 reports came to America of the
sufferings of operatives in the manufacturing districts of
England, chiefly on account of the stoppage of supplies
of cotton from the Southern States. Mr. Dodge took a
lively interest in the cause, and initiated the movement
which resulted in the calling of a meeting of merchants at
the rooms of the Chamber of Commerce and the formation
of an International Relief Committee, Mr. Dodge being
made chairman of the Executive Committee. A number
of large contributions were quickly obtained, some of them

46 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
at his personal solicitation. He subscribed five thousand
dollars in the name of his own firm. The appeal brought
in generous responses. Immediate shipments of flour were
made; and in a short time a new ship, of .1,800 tons bur
den, placed at- the disposal of the Committee free of charge
by Messrs. N. L. & G. Griswold, sailed for England with a
full cargo of grain and provisions. The noble gift received
a cordial welcome. Public meetings were held in Liver
pool and Manchester, and the Lancashire working-classes,
who had so uncomplainingly endured the privations result
ing from the great struggle in America for human freedom
and popular government, fully appreciated the generous
sympathy extended to them. These contributions, amount
ing to two hundred thousand dollars,. were not prompted
by considerations of mere policy, or even patriotism; but
they made a lasting impression upon the laboring popula
tion of Great Britain in favor of American institutions, and
helped in both countries to cement the ties among the
friends of popular liberty.
Some years later (in 1871) Mr. Dodge, representing the
Chamber of Commerce, addressed the New York Corn
Exchange in behalf of a somewhat similar effort to send
relief to the suffering people of France just after the war
with Prussia.
" We will not stop," he says, " to consider the folly or responsi
bility of France in provoking and bringing upon herself this fearful
result. Our duty is simple and clear. We have food, they are
starving ; and at such a time, forgetting her position in our late
struggle for national unity, we may go back to that earlier war for
our national independence, and remember how manfully France
stood by us, and gave us arms and men, and better than that, her
hearty sympathy and encouragement. Yes; we owe her a debt
of gratitude, which I trust, in her hour of need, we shall not be
slow to repay."
Mr. Dodge presided at several of the annual or occa
sional banquets of the Chamber. At a dinner given Sept.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 47
18, 1867, in honor of the return from China of Mr. A. A.
Low, his immediate predecessor as presiding officer, Mr.
Dodge said : —
" It was peculiarly appropriate that our honored guest should
have made the voyage across the Pacific on the first of the line of
steamers between San Francisco and Hong-Kong. These vessels
have inaugurated a new era in the history of our commerce. The
mind staggers at what may grow out of such near connection with
the millions of China and Japan. A nation before Rome was
founded, China had attained in 18 13, according to the native
census, a population of over three hundred millions ; yet we have
considered ours a great country with its thirty-five miUions. And
we have looked upon our Erie Canal as a large undertaking ; but
China had one twice its length before Columbus was born ! We
have well been proud of our noble Mississippi; yet China can
boast of her Yangtse-Kiang, nearly as long, with better water, with
steamers replacing junks, already ascending fifteen hundred miles,
and a commerce far exceeding that of our own great river. We
possess special advantages for securing the largest share of trade
with these intelhgent and industrious nations. May we not hope
also that their more intimate intercourse with us shall be the means
of turning them from the worship of dumb idols to serve the
living and true God?"
At the annual dinner. May 7, 1874, Mr. Dodge, as
president, made the opening remarks : —
" We are met on the evening of our hundred and sixth
anniversary. It is a pleasant reflection that we are among the
oldest of commercial and trade associations in our country ; let
it be our ambition to hand down to the future commerce of our
city and State our trust, with its value and importance greatly
increased !
" Since last we met, the commercial interests of the country have
been called upon to face another severe financial crisis ; and though
our merchants, with very few exceptions, have passed through it
triumphantly, yet I fear we have far from recovered from its effects.
It has been for many very difficult to account for so sudden and
severe a reaction, when all seemed so prosperous. Our foreign trade

48 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
was apparently more in our favor than for many years previous ;
our grain, cotton, and other exports were in good demand in other
countries, and our crops unusually large. But it appears to me
more difficult to realize that so vast an interest as our railroad
system has become, could have increased since the commencement
of the war from thirty-one thousand miles to seventy-five thousand
miles, with an expenditure of more than fifteen hundred mil
lions of dollars, without bringing about a crisis in our financial
system ; and while all are now ready to admit that the demands
of the people in all sections for the extension of railroad facilities
have led to too rapid construction, yet it should be always kept in
mind that while those interested in their construction may have
been great losers, yet the country as a whole has been largely
benefited, and this vast expenditure has actually added to the real
value of the entire country many times the cost of the roads.
" I think it is very easy to account for the present stagnation of
trade, when we consider the fact that during the past eighteen
months there has been developed a systematic opposition to rail
roads, which was commenced by the farming interest of the West,
has spread to almost all parts of the country, and has become an
organized political power, leading the legislatures of some of the
States to enact laws which, if sustained and carried out, must
destroy confidence in railroad investments. The very agitation
of these railroad questions in the State and national legislatures
has alarmed capitalists at home and abroad ; and as they see this
vast interest passing from the control of the stockholders and direc
tors into the hands of political commissioners, who are to attempt
to regulate prices of transportation in the interest of the producers,
they very naturally hasten to dispose of their investments. And rail
road securities, which but a short time ago were sought after with
confidence, are now considered very uncertain, and have been for
months past crowded on the market, until they have declined so
fearfully that the very stock-list is constantly increasing the distrust.
But for this war on the railroads, men of property would have held
these securities until the growth of the country would have given
them permanent value. We now see this great interest prostrate,
and the various branches of industry which it has fostered paralyzed.
The iron manufactures, which have sprung into life all over the
country, are the offspring of our railroads ; the locomotive and car

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 49
building, the axle, the spring, and the wheel works, and the hun
dred other manufactures depending on the prosperity of the rail
roads, are crippled, and many of them ruined. Thousands and
thousands of operatives in these various manufactures are idle, and
rolhng-mills, furnaces, and foundries are standing still, because the
States and the nation have struck a deadly blow at this great
interest. " Can we wonder that business is dull, even in the midst of a
plethoric money-market ?
" If this railroad war is to go on, and the States attempt to
enforce laws which destroy the vested rights of those who have
advanced their money to build these lines, so vital to the country,
then these roads must and will become political powers in all sec
tions, and those who now oppress them will in their turn become
the sufferers. Is it not time that the business men of the country
should look carefully to see what will be the end of this interference
by the States with the great channels through which commerce is
now, to a large extent, carried on ?
" The Chamber during the year has done much to arouse the
attention of the country to the manner in which the revenue of the
Government is collected, and to the embarrassments thrown in
the way of commerce ; and there is good reason to expect that the
present Congress will pass such laws as will enable the honest mer
chant to import his goods under regulations so plain that he may
not be in constant fear lest he shall render himself liable to their
confiscation. " The efforts of the Chamber, with others, to secure from Congress
a currency which should at least tend towards the value of that of
the countries with which we trade, and look to a return to the stan
dard of the world at no distant day, have been, we hope, not with
out some good results during the past few weeks.
" The untiring efforts of members of the Chamber have pre
vented the passage of the Canal Funding Bill, which would have
for years prevented such enlargement as the business of the West
and the great interests of our city demand.
" The importance of this matter has not been either understood
or appreciated by our citizens. The great want of the hour is en
larged outlets for the commerce of our chain of inland seas ; and
if we would secure to our city its great natural advantages, and
4

so CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
insure to ourselves a fair share of the business of the growing West,
we must prepare an enlarged water-way, or the St. Lawrence will
continue from year to year to divert trade which would naturally
seek our city."
Mr. Dodge was connected with some of the most im
portant commercial and financial institutions of New York.
His reputation for ability, integrity, and zeal in positions
of trust led to his being often invited to join boards or
corporations. He was one of the first directors of the Mutual Life
Insurance Co., and shared in its control from small begin
nings to its present vast operations, extending over this
continent and reaching out to foreign lands. In 1847 he
became a trustee of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co.
He was one of the oldest directors of the New York
Bowery Insurance Co. For many years he sat on the
board of the United States Trust Co. He was made a
director in 1863 of the United States Telegraph Co., and
afterwards of the Western Union Telegraph Co. His
name stands also among the original subscribers for the
Atlantic cable. His ordinary business connections, his
wide acquaintance, and his spirit of enterprise, — still
more, perhaps, his efforts to aid friends or relatives, — led
Mr. Dodge to embark in some financial ventures that
demanded much attention, and frequently brought small
profit. His cares were greatly increased by the death of
his father-in-law and partner in 1853. During the ten fol
lowing years he had the responsible charge of Mr. Phelps's
large estate, and most of the time was sole executor. The
scheme of the will enjoined the holding and development
of much of the property until it should increase in value.
A bank established by Mr. Phelps at Dover, N. J., in 1833
required much attention from Mr. Dodge both before and
after Mr. Phelps's death.
Mr. Dodge always felt a peculiar interest in the clerks
of New York. To promote their welfare he long served as

MERCANTILE LIBRARY. 51
an officer in connection with the Mercantile Library Asso
ciation, being at one time treasurer, and for many years
a trustee of Clinton Hall, the building occupied by the
main library on Astor Place. His appreciation of the
value of this organization can be seen from some remarks
made at a dinner of the Officers' Union of this Society,
November, 1873, when he said: —
" This library was a necessity at the time it was established. It
has grown at a pace fully equal to that of the city, and now pre
sents proportions which its founders never anticipated. Those of
us who remember when it first took possession of Clinton Hall
can recall also the limited extent of the business part of the city at
that time. The hall was on the far outskirts, and Canal Street was
quite up town. Those who were then boys and clerks are now
among the old merchants. It appears to me there never was a
time when it was more important for our young men to avail them
selves of the advantages of such a hbrary. They are to be our
future merchants ; and as our city shall continue to grow during the
next hundred years, how much will depend upon the character and
intelligence of her men of business I Unless there shall be a
change in the present ideas of conducting business, and a return
to the high-minded and steady habits so general fifty years ago ;
unless industrious, persevering attention to regular business, with
moderate annual gains, shall take the place of the more recent no
tion of making haste to be rich, and running the risks of enormous
credits, with a view of jumping into a fortune at once, our city can
never attain the position and reputation indispensable to permanent
prosperity. Our young men should read the more solid works in
the library, and become thoroughly acquainted with the history of
our institutions, our form of government, the laws controlling home
and foreign commerce, books on political economy and kindred
subjects. They must prepare themselves to sustain and perpetuate
the popular system of government in this country. They must
be ready to meet the peculiar responsibilities just before them, or
the vast emigration coming to our shores from all lands, bringing
political views widely different from our own, will enable designing
men to gain a control that may endanger all we now hold so
dear."

52 MERCANTILE LIBRARY.
Mr. Dodge became a life-member of the New York His
torical Society in 1857, and he was interested in the estab
lishment of the Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural
History in the Central Park. To each of these last insti
tutions he left a bequest of $5,000.
As a prominent merchant and citizen Mr. Dodge was
often called upon to preside or speak at public gatherings.
During the war, at an entertainment given to a distin
guished Englishman, Mr. Dodge referred to the feelings
of depression then somewhat prevalent, and to- the asser
tions of enemies at home and abroad that the country was
" ruined," and said: —
" I am sure our honored friend, as he passed from city to city in
our land, saw no evidence of such ruin, but everywhere witnessed
rapid growth and increasing prosperity ; and I beg him to carry
with him across the sea the fact that in no three years of our his
tory have we made such material advancements as during the past
three. Our home and foreign trade in the midst of civil war is a
wonder to ourselves, the imports being equal to the largest years
when cottton formed two thirds of our exports. Our internal
traffic has been beyond all precedent, and the receipts of our
railways and canals have more than doubled. We ask our distin
guished guest, on his return to his own country, to tell the mer
chants of Liverpool and other English cities that we are not
' ruined,' but that American merchants are ready to be, if it is
necessary to save our Union.''
Upon a somewhat similar occasion, when a compli
mentary dinner was tendered (November, 1879) to Mr.
Thomas Bayley Potter, M.P., Mr. Dodge, in responding to
a toast, said in part: —
" I am confident the visit of our esteemed friend to this country
will promote the best interests of both nations, and I am happy
that he has had the opportunity of visiting the West and seeing for
himself something of the extent and capabilities of this country.
He will return to England, I am sure, with the conviction that our
cheap and fertile soil will enable us to produce at so low a rate that

AMERICAN SHIPPING. 53
it will be impossible to continue much longer the present system of
agriculture in Great Britain, and that great changes must ere long
take place in that land. Let me say also that I sympathize deeply
with the mortification of Americans that our laws make us depend
ant on other countries for the tonnage by which our vast products
are sent over the ocean ; but it must be a satisfaction to our friends
abroad that while they are under the necessity of taking our sur
plus food they can carry it away in their own vessels. If I cannot
agree with our distinguished guest in all his views of free trade, I
am at least a strong advocate of such modifications of our laws as
will enable us to compete with other nations in building ships for
our own trade ; and I believe the day is coming when we shall send
out better, faster, and cheaper steamers than any ever yet con
structed. I trust the two countries will continue to vie with each
other in everything that can advance their mutual good. Nothing
certainly will hasten this more than the visits of such men as we
have the honor of entertaining this evening."
Like most other merchants, Mr. Dodge was so absorbed
in his own business that he found little time — and less in
clination — for the party strifes and low associations of
local politics. Like some other intelligent and influen
tial citizens also, he became convinced of the imperative
duty of not leaving municipal aff'airs in the hands of sche
ming and unscrupulous men, who serve party to serve
themselves. As early as the winter of 1852-1853 we find him ad
dressing a public meeting in the following strain: —
" I appear before you, fellow-citizens, not so much to make a
speech as to make a confession. For years I have been finding
fault and talking against the extravagant expenditures of our city
government ; at the same time I was so disgusted with the political
management of our municipal elections that I was quite satisfied
with simply voting the regular ticket of the party, without any
knowledge of the men, or any feeling of responsibility in regard to
them. If I am not mistaken, I am also describing the position of
many others.

54 MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.
" As merchants, we have been especially guilty in this respect.
We have, perhaps, as a general thing, on our way down town,
stopped at the grocery where the polls were held, and deposited our
vote ; but few of us have taken any part in choosing right candidates
and securing their election. This has been left to men who make
politics their business, and who as a rule select officers pledged
beforehand to carry out certain party measures or to find places in
the city departments for those who have been most active in the
canvass, and if there are no places, to secure for them a good con
tract or an interest in some sale of city property. We need not
wonder things have gone on so ruinously when men who have paid
the bills have felt no responsibility to look after those who have ex
pended the money. We pay our taxes to carry on the legitimate
objects of city control and improvement, not to reward this or that
man for political management. Every one in this house has a direct
interest in securing an honest, economical city government. We
all know that the real tax-payers are not the property-holders only,
but those also who occupy property. The poor man who sees his
rent annually growing larger, may find the reason for it in this in
crease of taxes. The prosperity of our city is not to be promoted
by making living dear, but cheap. A few years more of such pub
lic wastefulness, and we shall find other places around us growing
up at our expense."
Mr. Dodge was no longer content to be an idle spec
tator or fault-finder; he gave time, means, and influence to
aid in correcting these abuses. He was active in the estab
lishment of the Citizens' Association, whose distinct object
was to secure an economical and pure city administration.
In 1 871 he was made president of an organization to
oppose the onerous income-tax. In the fall of the same
year, while on the Mediterranean, bound for Egypt and
Syria, he wrote to one of the New York daily papers
(the "Times"): —
" While travelling for the last few months in Great Britain and
on the Continent, I have often wished my fellow-citizens at home
could know the deep interest shown by intelligent foreigners in the
events transpiring in our own country, and particularly in the city

REFORM MOVEMENTS. 55
of New York. I have been surprised to see that Tweed and his
associates are almost as notorious here as in America. Our system
of government, which has heretofore attracted the attention, and in
so large a degree won the admiration, of the world, is now on trial
under new circumstances. If these men escape justice, and continue
to flaunt their ill-gotten plunder in our faces, the American form of
popular government will lose much of its power in other lands."
The year following (1872), at a mass-meeting to in
sist upon the nomination of suitable municipal officers,
Mr. Dodge was appointed a member of a special commit
tee to act in conjunction with an organization known as
the Commitee of Seventy, formed to seek out and punish
corrupt city officials. In 1876 he was one of the exe
cutive committee of the Republican Reform Club, and
later in that year he was among the signers of a circular
urging the election, for city officers and the State Legisla
ture, of men of unimpeachable character and ability, irre
spective of political parties.
A public meeting was called in the autumn of 1877 to
protest against oppressive taxation. Mr. Dodge spoke
of the growing debt of the city, and its injurious bearing
upon the welfare of the working-classes. He said : —
" We are here this evening, without distinction of party, repre
senting the tax-payers of the city. We find that our public ex
penses have been increasing to an alarming extent. Between 1850
and i860 our debt was enlarged from ^9,000,000 to ;^ 18,000,000,
— an increase of a hundred per cent, and the tax levy over three
hundred per cent. But look at the fearful growth since the war !
Our indebtedness is now about ^120,000,000, and our annual
expenses fully ^30,000,000, — almost double the entire debt of
i860; while during the same time our population has increased
hardly thirty per cent. Not long since I rode by moonlight
from Riverdale to the city, over those miles and miles of well-
nigh uninhabited Boulevards, where millions of dollars have been
expended for streets a quarter of a century in advance of any need ;
and although it was nearly light enough to read, yet through all

56 CITY TAXATION.
those vast numbers of avenues and streets the splendid gas-lights
were burning at your expense and mine. The cost of living in
New York is so great that young men cannot afford to be married,
and if they do, they must live in some neighboring town. In 1830
I began housekeeping in a block of handsome two-story and attic-
houses, just completed, in Bleeker Street, between Broadway and
the Bowery. I paid ^300 rent. I had the curiosity, a few days
ago, to stop and inquire the present rent. The occupant said he
was paying ^1,500, — just five times what I had to give when the
house was new ! People of moderate means, our mechanics and
laboring-men, are as deeply interested in the passage of the pend
ing constitutional amendments as the owners of real estate, — per
haps more so. They are paying double the rent that would be
asked were it not for this enormous city debt. If this could be
decreased, I believe capitalists would improve the present favorable
time to put up buildings all over the island, and our mechanics and
working-classes would find employment at fair wages, and would
soon, moreover, have better tenements at less rent. We think
more of party than property. Let us forget that we are Demo
crats or Republicans, and only remember that we must save New
York." Mr. Dodge was frequently consulted by members of
Congress or of the State Legislature respecting the char
acter of public men or measures. He was asked to testify
before the Congressional Labor Committee; and in ex
pressing his views on the prevalent depression in business
and the sufferings of the laboring-classes, he called atten
tion to the fact that of late years the rich had indulged in
most extravagant habits, and those not so rich had endeav
ored to copy after them ; and so down the whole scale of
society. Living beyond their means, multitudes had be
come involved in debt, and in times of pressure were
dragged down to ruin.
The condition of immigrants into the United States
was a subject of interest to Mr. Dodge, and he took
part in various movements to promote their welfare. In
1870 he was named as one of the incorporators of a

PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 57
proposed International Society for the protection of this
class. No one valued the public schools of New York more
highly than Mr. Dodge. At a mass-meeting held in
Cooper Institute, May 3, 1870, to denounce legislation
adverse to these schools, Mr. Peter Cooper presided, and
Mr. Dodge was one of the speakers. In his remarks
he said : —
" It is the glory of our land that here every man and every sect
may worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience.
All their ecclesiastical affairs may be managed as they please, pro
vided they do not infringe upon the rights of any other sect or
people, nor insist upon special privileges in a way to interfere with
a system intended for the good of all. There is no disguising the
fact that we have in our midst a sectarian element, which in all its
past history has been opposed to the education and elevation of
the masses, and which claims to be the true and only representa
tive of the religion of our Saviour. The great body of its adherents
have come to this country to escape the oppression and poverty of
the old ; but they still acknowledge ultimate responsibility and alle
giance, temporal and spiritual, to a foreign power. Ignorant and
superstitious, trained to rely implicitly on their religious advisers,
with little or no appreciation of our peculiar form of government,
they are yet, in a short time, admitted to all the rights of American
citizenship. Now, if these persons when taken into partnership
with us in this noble inheritance, purchased for us by the toil,
blood, and treasure of our fathers, would become truly Americans,
there would be less danger ; but we all know that the Catholics in
the United States are an actual part of the great Papal power, with
its centre at Rome, and, whatever they may claim as Americans, they
are the subjects of the Pope, and through their priests are bound
with chains stronger than iron to the dictates of a foreign power
always antagonistic to the principles of popuku: government and
popular education. We have only to look at Spain, Italy, and
Mexico, to see what America would be, — and will be, — if they
can succeed in destroying our common schools. We welcome them
to all the privileges of our free and happy country. We throw

58 PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
around them the protection of our laws. We offer them a liberal
portion of our landed inheritance without money or price. We
agree to educate their children free of all cost, and to give them
facilities our fathers never dreamed of. We wish to train them in
Christian morality, to cultivate in them a sacred regard for jus
tice and love of country, to instil into their minds the grand and
liberal principles upon which our institutions are founded. We
would instruct them in frugality, industry, temperance, and the
universally binding moral law of the Scripture. But they say,
' No 1 You teach our children the Bible, you allow them to read
history, which may tell them what we do not wish them to know.
You do not give a " religious education." What we want is to
have our children trained according to the dogmas of our own
Church, so that we can make them as good subjects of a foreign
power as if they had been born there ; so that we can hold all our
people by the strong hand of sectarian influence. We demand,
therefore, that all other sects shall be taxed to support our Church
schools.' If we should offer to substitute the Douay Bible, it would
be no more acceptable, unless we should allow Catholic priests to
teach it, and with it the tenets of their Church. No ! It is the in
fluence of our public schools and their democratic features, free
from sectarian bias ; it is the mixing of their children with ours, —
the tendency of these schools to promote the true type of American
character, and the probability that children sent to them wOl break
loose from ecclesiastical authority. This is what they fear. They
know, moreover, the advantage of holding their people in one
mass, and being able to offer them to whichever political party shall
do most for them as a sect. They make no secret of their power in
public affairs. It is triumphant in our city, and they do not hesi
tate to boast that in fifty years they will secure in the entire coun
try what they have gained here. They understand well how and
when to use their influence. We are met to see if anything can
be done to arouse the city, the State, and the whole land to appre
ciate the danger, and if possible to avert it. Shall we allow our
noble system of free schools, supported by all, and for the educa
tion of all, to be destroyed ? This is the issue. Once let Roman
Catholics have a portion of our fund raised by general tax go to
sustain their sectarian schools, and every sect may demand the
same."

COMMERCIAL INTEGRITY. 59
Mr. Dodge's position in the mercantile world gave
weight to such pubhc utterances. He always entertained
a lofty conception of the dignity and responsibility of a
merchant, especially in a great city. The thought was
expressed, with characteristic grace, by his intimate friend
— and at one time his pastor — the Rev. WilHam Adams,
D.D., at an anniversary of the Chamber of Commerce
(May I, 1873), where Mr. Dodge presided. The words
were perhaps uttered then with no personal reference ; but
they seem now to have a life-like application to more than
one dear to the speaker, and to none, it may be, more truly
than to the friend who presided that night.
" I know not the man, at this period of time, who occupies
a position more exalted above the valor of the soldier or the arts
of the politician, with opportunities more auspicious in their bear
ing on the well-being of society, than a merchant, intelligent in
mind, honest in principle, cultivated in tastes, simple in manners,
generous in sympathies, hberal in conception, bountiful in gifts, —
the accredited friend of letters, science, art, charity, and religion,
standing on the summit of commercial success, the honored almoner
of a benignant Providence."
Mr. Dodge was eager to impress upon others, especially
the young, the necessity of cultivating in all business rela
tions a character for integrity, and of making the largest
and noblest use of opportunities. At the close of his ad
dress on Old New York, he turned to the young men
before him and said : —
" Those who have been identified with the commercial history
of our cities during the last half century are fast passing away.
We are to commit to other hands, under God, the future of these
cities and the influence they are to exert on the nation. We have
lived amid eventful times, and you, my young friends, enter upon
your life-work under many advantages. There are some things
which lead the Christian patriot to fear, as he looks to the future of
the country. We are still to test the problem of our republican form
of government with a nation of one hundred milHons, extending

60 RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT.
from ocean to ocean. We all feel that the real security, under
Providence, is in the virtue and intelligence of the people. Our rapid
growth in population and wealth ; the ambition of our citizens to
become suddenly rich ; the great variety of incorporated companies
for every conceivable object, pressing their stock on the market ;
the immense power of capital invested in our railways, and the reck
less mode of manipulating shares, — all these have engendered a
spirit of speculation most dangerous to regular business. As you
wduld aid in the prosperity and perpetuity of our city and nation,
let me urge you to maintain a high standard of mercantile
honor." At the special meeting called by the Chamber of Com
merce on the day following Mr. Dodge's death, the reso
lutions of sympathy and respect make this reference to his
standing in the mercantile community: —
" In the successful career of this distinguished merchant we find
an example of the results of sagacity, strict attention to details, and
perfect integrity. He has always, here and elsewhere, through
a long and eventful life, enjoyed the unfailing confidence of his
fellow-merchants. This Chamber records with profound satisfac
tion its appreciation of his public spirit, of the philanthropy and
ur^bounded charity with which he maintained the character of the
American merchant."
Mr. A. A. Low, in his remarks on this occasion, said :
" We are met as those who mourn the loss of a beloved associate
and friend who for eight successive years was president of this
Chamber ; but more than this to lament the death of a noble man,
who for half a century has been visible as a foremost figure in
most of the important movements which have served to advance
our city in knowledge and in wealth and in that true greatness
which exalts a community. We deplore the loss of one who was
conspicuous in commercial life as a sagacious, enterprising, and suc
cessful merchant, who recognized his responsibility as a steward
in the manifold uses to which he so generously devoted his riches.
He was a benefactor indeed, aiding — in ways too numerous to re
count — individual and associate charity, and in every effort that
aimed to refwm the outcast and inebriate.

REMARKS OF MEMBERS. 6l
" He was a man of boundless activity, and this made him a most
valuable acquisition to the various and important institutions with
which he was connected ; and to all he imparted the ardor of an
enthusiastic nature and the vigor of a ripe and discerning judg
ment. Nor do I forget he was a patriot as well as a philanthropist
and a Christian, and how cordially and efficiently he exerted him
self in matters of great national concern, both in and out of Con
gress, but more especially in that season of gravest peril to the
Union, — our Civil War."
The Hon. S. B. Chittenden, in seconding the resolutions,
remarked : —
" Mr. Dodge has been an active, living force in New York for
more than sixty years. His career as a useful man has been won
derful. He has witnessed the growth of the population of the
metropolis, including the suburbs, from a hundred and fifty
thousand to two milHons, with all the wealth and power so grand
an aggregation of human activities imply. In and through all this
remarkable development Mr. Dodge has been a prominent and
influential figure. It is hardly possible to exaggerate his activity,
or to magnify too much his public and private virtues. His was
the spirit of honest enterprise. He loved to make money, and
had a faculty for the accumulation of property by right methods ;
but he also had, in larger measure, the higher and more enviable
faculty for a wise distribution of property for the welfare of man
kind. It is not the fortune of many merchants to make so deep
an impress upon their times as Mr. Dodge has made. Let us
hope that his merited fame will speak through many centuries, and
that his example will be an inspiration to future generations of this
Chamber of Commerce."
A truthful and animated likeness of Mr. Dodge, painted
by Daniel Huntington, president of the National Academy,
now hangs upon the walls of the Chamber of Commerce,
among those of other eminent members. A portrait of his
father-in-law, Anson G. Phelps, who became a member in
1825, has also recently been added to this gallery.

CHAPTER IV.
CONNECTION WITH RAILROADS.
RAILROADS have made the United States. But it
required sagacious, large-minded, daring men to
make the railroads; and yet the wildest dreamer among
early railway pioneers never anticipated such vast and
rapid results. Mr'. Dodge was familiar with the first dawn-
ings of the system in this country, and he lived to see it
stretched a hundred and twenty thousand miles. No
one took a keener or more intelligent interest in this
development, and few have given it larger personal
service. The building of the New York and Erie Railroad first
attracted Mr. Dodge's energies. The State had passed an
act in 1836 providing for a second mortgage loan of three
million dollars, on condition that subscriptions should be
obtained for a similar amount of stock. Public meetings
were held, and the merchants appointed committees to go
from store to store and solicit subscriptions. Mr. Dodge
took an active part in this work ; and at one of the large
gatherings of business men where much despondency pre
vailed, he sprang upon a chair, and changed the whole
current of feeling by a vivid and forcible representation of
the advantages to both city and State inevitably to follow
the completion of the great highway. It was the impulse
of the moment ; but it revealed a clear grasp of the subject
and a courage always most conspicuous when large interests
were most in peril.

CONNECTION WITH RAILROADS. 63
Mr. Dodge was himself surprised the next day to receive
an announcement of his election to the Board of Directors.
For twelve years he labored unceasingly to overcome the
financial and engineering difficulties incident to the exi
gencies of the times and the character of the route. As
the line advanced section by section, and public celebra
tions marked each new stage, his voice was prominent in
congratulation and encouragement ; and when, in May,
185 1, the last rail was laid, and President Fihmore, Daniel
Webster, and others of the Cabinet, with members from
both Houses of Congress, and distinguished men and dele
gations from New York and from different parts of the
State and country, assembled at Dunkirk, on the shore of
Lake Erie, to commemorate the glad event, Mr. Dodge's
enthusiasm was unbounded. He was appointed to respond .
to the welcome tendered to the directors and their guests.
He said : —
" I am utterly at a loss to find words to express my own feel
ings, much less to give vent to the deep emotions of my associates,
as we begin to realize the fact that we are at the end of our long
and toilsome journey, that our eyes look out upon this mighty
lake and backwards over a continuous line of rail to our city
homes. Oh, yes 1 it is no fiction ; we have reached the goal of
our hopes. And now, as we look back upon the days of darkness,
disappointment, and toiV— = and they were many, — let us to-day
forget them all in our rejoicing that over all we have triumphed,
and that at last this arduous work has been accomplished. The
Empire City and the great West, the Atlantic Ocean and the inland
seas, are by this ligature of iron made one.
" Who will attempt to predict the future of this road? Although
my friends have called me crazy in my estimates of its growth, I
feel to-day that if I am spared to make fresh estimates ten years
hence, I shall wonder at my present tame views and stinted calcu
lations. " What mind can keep pace with the progress of this country ?
What was Buffalo or Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati, or St. Louis,
in 1 832, when this road was chartered? Where were Wisconsin,

64 CONNECTION WITH RAILROADS.
Iowa, and Minnesota; where California and Oregon? Just in
proportion as this country expands, and its foreign and domestic
commerce develops, will the business of this road increase. Who
can compute its income and importance as years go on ?
" We accept with deep emotion your cordial welcome ; and we
say to the people of these counties and to the multitudes in the
West who have long watched for the completion of our task : ' We
have built this highway for you and for your posterity.' "
During the festivities a grand barbecue and open-air
meeting took place ; but when speeches were in order, no
one could gain a hearing. Mr. Dodge, with characteristic
promptness and tact, borrowed a huge bandanna handker
chief from the hand of a friend near by, and, standing on
his favorite impromptu platform, ¦ — a stout chair, — waved
the flaming colors back and forth until the entire throng
stopped to learn the meaning of such an extraordinary
signal. Then, in his strong, clear voice, he shouted : " Far
mers ! what do you get for eggs? What is the price of
butter? How do you sell your chickens? " The country
people were at home now. Answers came back from all
directions ; question upon question followed ; and every
man was soon glad to hear how his farm had already in
creased in value because its products could now be swiftly
carried to a sure and permanent market. The next speak
ers found an audience ready to listen.
While the Delaware division of the Erie was under
construction Mr. Dodge became acquainted with the
remarkable resources of the Lackawanna valley. Two
brothers — George W. and Selden T. Scranton — had estab
lished there a small iron furnace and rolling-mill, and had
given their name to the hamlet which has since grown into
the third city of Pennsylvania. Wishing to enlarge their
works, these brothers asked the Erie Company to loan
them a hundred thousand dollars, payment to be made
in rails, and a mortgage to be taken upon their property,
which included the mills and several thousand acres of

CONNECTION WITH RAILROADS. 65
land, part of it rich in coal and iron. Mr. Dodge and
Mr. Benjamin Loder, then president of the road, were ap
pointed to visit the locality, and report. They found that
unavoidable delays in making the improvements would
prevent an acceptance of the original proposition; but
Mr. Dodge became so much impressed with the prospec
tive value of this property that in 1853, after consultation
with the Messrs. Scranton, he invited a number of friends
to meet at his office for the purpose of forming a company.
His father-in-law, Anson G. Phelps, became the first sub
scriber, and he himself the second. This was the be
ginning of the now widely known Lackawanna Iron and
Coal Co.
Out of this organization others soon grew. A line of
railroad was built, through Leggett's Gap to Great Bend,
connecting Scranton with the Erie Road ; another was
constructed to join the New Jersey Central Railroad, and
thus carry coal directly to New York ; next was added a
branch northward to Binghampton, and then to Owego and
Ithaca, to supply northern New York with coal through
Lake Cayuga, — the whole being afterwards consolidated
into the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad.
Numerous other connections followed. With the Morris
and Essex Railroad, the Syracuse and Binghampton and
New York Railroad, and the Oswego and Syracuse Rail
road, an unbroken line was established from New York to
Lake Ontario. Still later more branches were thrust out,
— one southwest to Bloomsburg and Northumberland, and
one northeast to Utica, with a spur to Richfield Springs ;
and, finally, the main line was carried to Buffalo, giving a
terminus on Lake Erie, and thus securing connections by
water and rail with the entire Northwest. In all of these
associated enterprises Mr. Dodge was interested ; in most
of them he was a director and energetic supporter.
Another of the great trunk lines running into New York
city, the Central Railroad Co. of New Jersey, commanded
S

66 CONNECTION WITH RAILROADS.
much of Mr. Dodge's time and thought. In 1843 he cut
the first spadeful of sod when the work was begun ; and
for thirty years he was an active member of the Board
of Directors.
In Texas he became one of the early builders of the
Houston and Texas Central Railroad, and was for seven
years its president.
He was a director of the two lines subsequently consoli
dated into the International and Great Northern Railroad,
— all of these enterprises looking forward to a connection
with railroads in Mexico. At other points in the South and
West Mr. Dodge had railway interests. In 1868 he be
came one of the incorporators to construct and operate an
underground railway; and he was one of the first to take
stock in the New York Elevated Railroad, believing some
such system essential to the growth of the city.
Mr. Dodge had large faith in railroads. There was
something congenial to his nature in the magnitude,
energy, and promptness of their operations. He believed
in their civilizing agency, their power to develop the re
sources of the country, to facilitate trade, to bring the
people into closer contact, and cement together different
sections. He loved to study existing routes, to project
new lines and discuss their advantages, not merely because
they might become profitable investments, — although he
was fully alive to such considerations, — but largely because
he felt they might be made channels of good to the com
munities through which they passed, and because of their
magical influence in awakening new life and opening up
still wider territory.
As years advanced, however, and he saw railroads spread
ing in every direction with such amazing rapidity, he began
to fear there was, in the very greatness and wide extension
of this system, an element of peril to one of the most
cherished and vital characteristics of our national life.
In an address delivered in Boston at the State Sabbath

CONNECTION WITH RAILROADS. 6"]
Convention, October, 1879, he uttered an earnest warning
against this dangerous encroachment : —
"Railroads have wrought wonders in the rapid development
and general prosperity of our country during the last half century.
They have become the great highway for the millions, have vastly
increased travel, brought the distant parts of the land together,
given to commerce a new impulse, equahzed values of the soil and
manufactory, and made a journey of thousands of miles scarcely
more than a pleasure trip. They have become every day more
and more an absolute necessity.
"With thousands of millions of dollars invested in them, and
hundreds of thousands of our citizens employed in building and
running them, or in providing their equipment and supplies, with
the vast number of stockholders and the great travelhng commu
nity, their influence is beyond calculation.
" But if railroads cannot be conducted without changing the
habits and customs of our people, and trampling on the right of
the community to a quiet day for rest and worship, training up
their armies of employees to desecrate the Sabbath, and rushing
past our cities and towns and peaceful villages, screaming as they
go, ' No Sabbath ! No Sabbath ! ' — then they will become a curse
rather than a blessing. The fact is, the railroad interest has be
come the all-powerful, overshadowing interest of the country, and
every year adds to it. Railroads will double in the next twenty
years. What is done must be done promptly.
" The question of the day for every one who loves his country
and believes in the value and importance of the Christian Sabbath
as we in America have honored and maintained it, the great ques
tion is : ' Shall this mighty railroad interest become one of the
chief instruments in transforming our American Sabbath into the
Continental holiday, or — as it is fast growing to be — a day like
all the others of the week ? ' I have no doubt it is within the
power of the intelligent lovers of the Sabbath, associated with
the Christian stockholders in these roads, to bring about a change
that shall stop the transit of freight-trains and reduce the passenger
traffic to such an extent that the influence shall tell on the side
of Sabbath observance. I have no question that if Christian men,
when about to invest in the securities of a raikoad, would ask,

68 CONNECTION WITH RAILROADS.
' Does this road run on Sunday ? ' and if so, refuse to put money
there, it would go far to settle this problem. But if the only
inquiry is, ' Does the road pay regular dividends ? ' no matter how
they get the money, do not be too sure of your dividends.
Those over-worked engineers, conductors, or brakemen, may lose
all interest in their duties, become discouraged and careless, or in
capable of that prompt action necessary in the moment of danger,
and an accident may occur which will not only send many into
eternity, but cause a loss that will make a dividend impossible.
" Railway managers determined to use the Sabbath as any other
day must either drive Sabbath-loving employe's from their roads,
or so demoralize them that they will soon come to feel, if there is
no binding force in the fourth commandment, there is none in the
eighth I Stockholders will find they have a pecuniary interest in
so conducting their roads that men can be employed who believe
they have a right to claim the one day's rest which God and nature
demand." In this address Mr. Dodge cites with gratification the
fact that in the two roads in which he was most largely
interested, — the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western, and
the Houston and Texas Central, — when a change of gauge
was necessary (in one case for three hundred miles, and
the other three hundred and sixty miles), in neither in
stance was the Sabbath taken for this work.
In a letter to the Rev. Rufus W. Clark, D.D., of Albany,
who was collecting facts for a series of sermons and articles
on " Sunday Railway Desecration," Mr. Dodge writes,
December, 1882: —
" No one can estimate the immense value to the country of our
system of railroads. It has done for us more than all else. But
for it our country would hardly have extended west of Chicago.
Yet it has done more than all else to destroy our Sabbath, and it
is becoming worse and worse every year. Many roads now use
the Sabbath for making up extra freight trains to clear away the
accumulated freight of the week, thus running more such trains on
Sunday than any other day. It is also the special day for repairs

CONNECTION WITH RAILROADS. 69
to cars and engines, and the shops of many roads are more busy
then than any day of the week.
" I contend that by such a policy these roads are driving away
their best workmen, and making the bulk of their employes men
who have not the fear of God before their eyes, and hence are not
to be fully trusted. No positions are more responsible than those
of engineers and conductors. If they are not honest, conscientious,
and also sober men, all who travel run great risk, as well as the
owners of the roads. The time has come when Christian men
must realize the fact that in becoming stockholders they become
partners, and will be held accountable by God if they continue
as partners in roads that are breaking his commandments. It is
entirely within the power of Christian stock and bond holders to
stop the running of trains on the Sabbath. Let it once be well
understood that Christians will not invest in roads that disregard
the Sabbath, and a large portion of the companies would see that
to maintain the price of their securities they must respect the feel
ings of the best men in the country, who now hold hundreds of
millions of railway stock and bonds."
The letter from which these extracts are taken was
written within a few weeks of Mr. Dodge's death. It was
published by Dr. Clark, and somewhat widely copied by
papers in different parts of the country. The New York
" Independent," in referring to it, closes a long and vigor
ous article in these words : —
" The fact that the violation is committed by a railroad corpora
tion in no sense mitigates or condones the offence. The corpo
rators in this case are the offenders, including the stockholders and
directors. They own and control the agency that breaks the
Sabbath. They treat it as they do any other day, and in so doing
trample the law of God under their feet. They hire and pay
a large number of employes to desecrate the day in their name
and service. They do it for profit. They furnish facilities for
other Sabbath-breakers to disregard the authority of God. There
is no justifia'ole plea of necessity for so doing, any more than there
is for running all the manufacturing establishments of the country
on the Sabbath, or keeping stores open, or continuing the ordinary

70 CONNECTION WITH RAILROADS.
operations of farming. We believe that if all Christian men
throughout the United States would take the position of William
E. Dodge and firmly hold it, this great enormity of Sabbath-break
ing by raOroads would speedily be very largely abated, if not
wholly brought to an end. Not one of them would be a director
or stockholder in any such road. The protest would be so loud
and universal as to be felt in all parts of the land. If the position
is a good one for him to take, why is it not just as good for every
other Christian man? Mr. Dodge is clearly right, or the whole
theory of the Church as to the Divine authority and sacredness of
the Sabbath is wrong."
Mr. Dodge was true to his principles. He resigned as
a director of the Erie Railroad when, notwithstanding his
protest and exertions, Sunday trains were decided upon.
For the same reason he closed his long connection with the
New Jersey Central Railroad, promptly selling his stock.
When he learned that the Elevated Railroad would run its
trains on Sunday, he at once sold out. On the Texas Road,
while he was president, no Sunday trains were allowed;
and in the entire history of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and
Western Railroad no fact gave him greater pleasure than to
be able to point to its uniform observance of the Sabbath.
For thirty-three years he was intimately identified with
the operations of this road ; and the zeal with which he
labored in all such undertakings may perhaps be best
illustrated by giving, in part, the resolutions passed by
his associates in this Company upon the announcement
of his death : —
" From the original organization of this Company as the outiet
of the resources of the Lackawanna valley, in the earlier develop
ment of which he had been largely instrumental, he has been an
earnest and unfaltering promoter of its interests.
" True to his duties as a director, and from the first to the last
conscientiously faithful to the trusts reposed in him by its stock
holders, its growth and its prosperity have in no small degree
been due to his wise counsels, helpful co-operation, and important
influence.

CONNECTION WITH RAILROADS. 71
" We, his associates, know with what unswerving fidelity he has
fulfilled his duties as a member of this Board and of its Execu
tive Committee. We know how greatly his personal kindness and
unfailing courtesy have endeared him to our affections, and how
deeply his integrity, public spirit, and large-hearted benevolence
are impressed upon our respect; and we also know that the
memory of his useful life and noble Ufe-work, already so widely
known and recognized by our community, will long be cherished
with loving reverence."

CHAPTER V.
PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC.
TN the memorable Presidential struggle of 1844 Mr.
-*¦ Dodge was a moderate Whig and a supporter of
Henry Clay. He was opposed to the annexation of
Texas, the extension of slavery, and the reduction of the
tariff. Early in that year, and also in the year following, he
was solicited to accept a nomination to the Common Coun
cil of New York as alderman for the ward in which he
then resided, the Sixteenth. In those days to be an alder
man was happily a distinction still held in repute. In
declining the honor, Mr. Dodge pleads impaired health
and an extraordinary pressure of business and other duties.
He expresses, however, sympathy with the principles of
the Association tendering the nomination. This was an
American Republican organization, holding, as one article
of its political creed, the Know Nothing, or Nativism doc
trine, which looked with jealousy upon foreign-born vo
ters. But Mr. Dodge's interest, at any time, in local or
national politics was chiefly that of the enlightened citizen
and large-minded patriot. He had no personal ambitions,
and no taste for the methods and associations of ordinary
office-seekers. He prized the right to vote, and rarely
failed to exercise it. He had firm faith in the American
form of government, and he loved his country beyond all
claims of party. State, or section. By nature he abhorred
faction and strife ; he would settle difficulties by arbitration
or righteous compromise. He longed to be at peace with

PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC. 73
his neighbors, and to see relations of kindness between all
parts of his own country, and among the nations of the earth.
War he regarded as an intolerable evil, only to be accepted
as a last and dire resort. His long and prominent connection
witlr different branches of trade, and his unusually exten
sive and cordial personal acquaintance with business men
from almost every State and Territory, made him recoil
from any prospect of civil conflict. He believed a fratri
cidal war would inevitably and to an incalculable degree
entail ruin upon trade, misery in families, bitterness be
tween brothers, and disaster to the religious as well as sec
ular interests of the nation. Hence he saw with anxious
apprehension the increasing indications of alienation and
antagonism between the North and the South. He could
not tolerate hot Abolitionists, and yet he was no friend
to slavery. He looked upon it as an evil at some time
and in some way to be peaceably removed, but not to
be interfered with where it then existed. He advocated
emancipation, and was an active member of the New York
branch of the Colonization Society, and took warm inter
est in the Republic of Liberia.
In 1856 we find him sympathizing with the struggle to
make Kansas a free State. In the Presidential contest
of i860 he sided at first with the party representing the
" Old Whigs " and " Americans," having Bell and Everett
as candidates, and as a watchword, " The Union and the
Constitution." In March he presided at a meeting in
Cooper Institute in the interest of this strongly conser
vative party. On taking the chair he spoke in part as
follows : —
" Fellow-citizens, in accepting an invitation to preside over your
dehberations this evening, I do it, not because I am a politician,
— I never have been, I never expect to be, — I do it because
I have always been a Union man. My impression is that not only
in the hearts of those present to-night, but throbbing in the hearts
of thousands — in the Northern States, and also in the Southern —

74 PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC.
up and down the whole length of our land, there is a strong feeling
that the time has arrived when all who love their country must
come out and sustain those who are striving for union rather than
for party. There is a feeling, much more extensive than is gener
ally supposed, that we should leave the great agitating subject of
slavery in the hands of those who hold the slaves. They are will
ing to bear the responsibility, and it is our duty no longer to meddle
with an institution which belongs strictly to them, and which they
have a constitutional right to maintain. It is not possible that the
spirit of crimination and recrimination which has characterized
our people for the last few years can much longer exist with
out bringing about that fearful catastrophe which when I was
young it was deemed a sin even to think of, but which has now
become so common in the mouths of pohticians, — the idea of
severing the union of these United States. Such a thought cannot
be endured ! "
As events developed, however, and it became manifest
that some, at least, of the Southern States had determined,
at all hazards, to secede, Mr. Dodge ranged himself on the
side of pure Republican principles, and labored for the
election of Mr. Lincoln. In September of this year, i860,
at a mass meeting that not only filled the great hall of the
Cooper Institute, but overflowed into the adjoining streets,
Mr. Dodge seconded the resolutions ratifying the nomina
tion of Mr. E. D. Morgan as governor of New York, and
approving the position of the Republican party on national
questions. Notwithstanding the steady and hostile drift of
public opinion on both sides, Mr. Dodge still hoped some
method of pacification could be found. He was prominent
and persistent in efforts to this end.
In January, 1861, he became a member of a committee
of twenty-five, appointed by the Chamber of Commerce to
be the bearers of a memorial having thirty-eight thousand
signatures, praying Congress to adopt some measures ade
quate to the settlement of the national difficulties. It was
the voice of the commercial emporium, and it urged the
wisdom of tendering to the South the utmost concessions

PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC. 75
consistent with honor and principle. In an address at
Washington a few days later, Mr. Dodge says of this
petition : —
" Among those who signed it were more than twenty thousand
business men and firms. The petition was earnest and emphatic.
We prayed that Congress would reheve the country from the
anxiety and apprehension which pervaded it, and permit business
and commerce to resume their accustomed channels. We knew
the time had come when patriotic men must act ; that commercial
and financial ruin was impending. Our petition set forth that in
the opinion of the signers the plan embodied in what were called
' The Border State Resolutions ' was best calculated to secure the
end desired. We thought those resolutions ought to be satisfac
tory to the reasonable and true men of the South, and ought not
to be obnoxious to the prejudices or objections of the people of
the Free States. Still we were not strenuous, we were not com
mitted to any particular scheme. All we wished was to secure
such action on the part of Congress and the Executive as would
satisfy the country, — such action as would give the country
peace." The Committee had a conference with members of Con
gress from the border States, where a majority of the peo
ple were still loyal, and hoping for some compromise; and
next the Committee met sixty or seventy of the Republi
can members of the Senate and the House, and endeav
ored to impress upon them the importance of early and
conciliatory action. At this friendly council Mr. Dodge
spoke at length. A Washington paper gives the following
report : —
" Mr. WiUiam E. Dodge, whose name has been so long and
honorably associated with the mercantile fame of New York, said
that after coming here the Committee realized that they had under
taken a most difficult and embarrassing office. They had almost
felt, in the great variety of opinions expressed, and the slight feel
ing of unanimity existing here, that their mission was a hopeless
one. But when we go back upon the avenues of commerce and

76 PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC.
of trade, upon Wall Street and upon 'Change, our fellow-citizens
will meet us at every turn with the anxious inquiry, ' What news do
you bring us ? Is there any hope ? ' and we fear by our uncertain
replies we shaU only add to the gloom which already darkens our
homes. After a long night's sleepless and intense thought, he
had resolved to counsel friends of the Committee to hold a con
sultation, first with the members of Congress from the border
Southern States, to ascertain what they actually want and desire,
and next to consult with the Republican members, to discover
whether they are wiUing to meet the border representatives fairly,
and to declare that they have done all that can be done. ' We
have done so, and we are here to know what response you are
wiUing to make to the forty thousand citizens of New York whom
we represent. Some of our friends who have visited Washington
have told us that nothing can be done ; that the Republican mem
bers cannot possibly bend from their position.' He assured them
that in the bosom of the signers of that monster petition there ex
isted the highest patriotism, the most devoted love of the Union.
It was well known and recognized by every man at the North
that if we had only had the proper courage and determination
at the head of the Government when the trouble first began, we
should not now have to deplore the present calamitous crisis. He
illustrated, by a beautiful and striking figure, taken from the burn
ing of a house, the gradual process of secession. First, the people
did not believe any State would go. South Carolina went, and
people said, 'That wiU be aU;' let her go. Then Georgia, Alabama,
and the others followed in rapid succession ; and the danger is now
that the whole fifteen may also go. So, said the speaker, the edi
fice — a glorious edifice too — takes fire. Two parties of firemen
stand on either side with folded arms and speculate on the prob
able progress of the flames. One party says, ' Why, it is beginning
to catch the shingles ; but it won't go any farther.' Soon the roof
falls in, and the other party says, 'Why don't you put on the water?'
The reply comes back, ' The roof isn't of any account ; better let
it go : the fire won't go any farther I ' And stiU not a drop of
water goes to stay the conflagration. Story after story burns, and
the danger is that not even a beam or timber may remain to
indicate the spot where the noble edifice stood.
" He referred to the question of tariff, and declared that if all

PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC. -JJ
the fifteen Slave States should go together into a separate confeder
acy, and open their ports to free trade, a cry would come up from
the North and West greater and louder in favor of free trade than
ever was raised for a tariff. Meantime, until the laws of trade could
adjust themselves, all our vast interests must be completely par
alyzed. ShaU we, the speaker eloquently asked, stand upon a
platform made some time ago in view of facts which then existed,
and which have ceased to exist now, or shall we be willing to make
an advance, and yield some fair concession without any sacrifice
of principle ? "
No permanent impression, however, resulted from the
labors of this Committee. Events were swiftly passing
beyond the control of Congress, conferences, or mem
orials. The election to the Presidency of a Republican
candidate was regarded by the South as a fresh mark of
hostility. Every attempt on the part of the North to ne
gotiate or compromise only made the South more confi
dent and aggressive. State after State seceded. Property,
forts, and munitions of war belonging to the General Gov
ernment were defiantly seized. The growing antagonism
of long years had reached the last stage of endurance ;
there was only needed the fatal firing upon Sumter to
precipitate the inevitable conflict. And yet before the last
hour struck, before every hope of adjustment must be
abandoned, one final effort was to be made. In this also
Mr. Dodge had a share.
Upon the invitation of the State of Virginia, the Peace
Congress, as it was afterwards called, assembled in Wash
ington, February 4, 1861. Twenty-one States were repre
sented, — fourteen Free, and seven Slave. Mr. Dodge was
one of the ten commissioners appointed by the Legislature
of New York. In accepting the invitation of Virginia, the
Free States generally affirmed their desire for an nonor-
able and fraternal solution of the questions at issue, but
distinctly declared their unwillingness to accede to the
propositions submitted in the call. Some of the States

78 PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC.
pronounced in favor of amendments to the Constitution ;
others held that ample provisions already existed.
The delegates came together with views widely diverse,
and at a time when public sentiment was inflamed to a de
gree that made calm deliberation seem impossible. Wash
ington, where the conference sat, was the very centre of
heated discussion. Congress was in session, anxiously
debating propositions for compromise and concession.
Southern senators and representatives were vacating their
seats after making demands or uttering sentiments that
could not fail to exasperate the North. A President was
about to retire whose weakness had made secession pos
sible, and another stood ready to take the oath of office
whose inauguration might be the signal for still fiercer
agitation or even immediate outbreak.
During three weeks of often prolonged sessions the
Conference with closed doors strove to find some basis of
agreement. Mr. Dodge took an active part in the consul
tations of his own delegation, and at times addressed the
Convention itself He was not only animated with the
conservative and conciliatory sentiment still largely preva
lent in the North, but he represented the cautious spirit of
commerce. He came directly from the chief centre of
trade, and spoke for merchants who had vast interests at
stake, and were painfully alive to the disastrous conse
quences involved in civil strife and a divided country;
hence his views were chiefly from the commercial stand
point, and his efforts were all for honorable concession and
prompt adjustment. In the voting of the New York dele
gation there were frequent divisions, and Mr. Dodge usually
acted with the more conservative minority. In the course
of his remarks before the Conference (February 20), he
says : —
" In the delegation to which I belong I find many shades of
opinion. I respect the views of my brother delegates. It is not
for me to assume to sit in judgment upon them. I give each of

PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC. 79
them credit for the same honesty and integrity which I claim for
myself; and if I happen to differ from them, I hold that such
divergence naturally arises from the different paths of life we pur
sue, and which may lead us to take opposite views of the same
subject. The Conference has listened to the arguments of pohtical
and professional men ; will you now hear a few words from those
who have hitherto been silent here, but who have a deep and abid
ing interest in the happiness and prosperity of the country and in
the preservation and perpetuity of the American Union ?
" I speak to you as a business man, a merchant of New York.
Words cannot describe the stagnation which has now settied down
upon the business and commerce of that great city, caused solely
by the uncertain condition of the questions we are here endeavoring
to settle. " Had not Divine Providence poured out its blessings upon the
West in an abundant harvest, and at the same time opened in
foreign lands a new market for that harvest, bringing it through
New York in transit, our city would now present the silence of the
Sabbath. In Baltimore, PhUadelphia, New York, and Boston, mer
chants are not ordinarily listless and unenterprising. They are
accustomed to the bustle, the excitement, the responsibilities of
trade. Hitherto they have seen their places of business crowded
with buyers. Not infrequently their clerks have had to labor by
night to select and send off goods sold during the day. When
business is good and driving, wealth and comfort are not only se
cured to the merchants and dealers in the great cities, but general
prosperity is indicated in the districts to which the goods are trans
mitted. How is it to-day? Go to the vast establishments of these
commercial cities. The spring trade should be just commencing.
What wiU you see? The heavy stocks of goods, imported last
autumn or laid in from our own manufactories, remain upon the
shelves untouched. No customers are there, or the few who do
come are there, not as buyers, but as debtors seeking to arrange
for extensions. The merchants in despair are poring over their
ledgers, checking off the names of insolvent customers ; and each
day's mail increases the list. Clerks sit round in idleness, reading
the newspapers, or thinking of wives and children at home, who if
they are discharged wiU go unclad and hungry. All alike, em
ployers and employed, are looking anxiously — I wish I could say

8o PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC.
hopefully — to Congress or to this Conference as the source from
which help may come. Tens of thousands of this class all over the
country must in some way have relief, or their ruin is inevitable.
The same is true of that other class, numerically larger, and cer
tainly not less worthy our regard, — the mechanics and day-laborers,
and aU dependent upon them. If something is not done to start
again the wheels of commerce and trade, what is to become of
them? And New England, lately the workshop of the South and
the West, and growing rich by the traffic, what is her condition
to-day? The noise of the loom, the rattle of the shuttle, have
ceased in many of her factories, while others are gradually dis
charging their operatives and closing their business. No one ac
quainted with the facts wiU deny that the whole land is on the eve
of a disastrous financial crisis unless we can do something to avert
it. What is it that has thus arrested the ordinary movements of
commerce ? What has driven from the markets of the North cus
tomers once so welcome ? It is because confidence is lost. The
North misunderstands the South ; the South misunderstands the
North. I am not here to discuss constitutional questions, — that
belongs to gentlemen of the legal profession ; I am here as a
merchant. I venerate the Constitution and its authors as highly
as any member present ; but I do not venerate it so highly as to
induce me to witness the destruction of the Government rather
than see the Constitution amended or improved. I know the
people of this country. They value the Union ; they will make
any sacrifice to save it. They will disregard politics and parties,
they will cast platforms to the winds, before they wiU imperil
the Union.
" I regret, Mr. President, that the gentiemen composing the
committee did not approach these questions more in the manner
of business men. We should not have sacrificed our principles,
but we should have agreed. We should have brought our minds
together as far as we could, — have left open as few questions as
possible, and these we should have arranged by mutual concessions.
I love my country and its Government ; my heart is filled with
sorrow at the dangers threatening it. I came here for peace ; the
country longs for peace ; and if the proposed amendments now
presented will give us peace, my prayer is that they may be
adopted."

PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC. 8 1
These amendments recommended substantially the res
toration of the Hne of the Missouri Compromise, — that no
further territory should be acquired except by consent of
a majority of senators from the Slave States and a majority
from the Free States; that slavery should not be inter
fered with in any State or Territory where it was estab
lished or recognized ; that fugitive slaves should be liable
to seizure anywhere, and if recapture were prevented by
violence, the value of the slave to be paid from the
national treasury; and that the foreign slave-trade be
forever prohibited.
Although the terms of this proposed settlement did not
fully meet Mr. Dodge's approval, he was willing to vote
for it, with the hope of escaping what he believed to
be immediate and greater evils. Slavery, the root of all
the political difficulty, might be removed at some future
day without bloodshed and without endangering the
Union. The amendments, however, met no general response.
Though so favorable to slavery, they did not satisfy the
Border States, much less those which had already seceded.
Nor were they acceptable to the North. The Senate
would not concur in them, and the House, took no con
clusive action whatever. The day for reconcihation by
resolutions was passed.
During the sessions of the Peace Congress, Mr. and
Mrs. Dodge occupied rooms at Willard's Hotel. Their
apartment happened to be one of the most desirable in the
house. Late one evening the proprietor came and begged
them to relinquish their rooms in favor of Mr. Lincoln, who
was suddenly expected, having consented, at the entreaty
of friends, to enter the city secretly by a night train. This
course was deemed indispensable for Mr. Lincoln's safety, as
there was reason to believe that the mob in Baltimore was
to be incited to violence on his anticipated passage through
that city. The next morning, before Mr. Dodge was fully
6

82 PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC.
dressed, the younger son of Mr. Lincoln knocked at the
door of the apartment to which they had removed, and said
that his father was anxious to have an interview with him.
On joining the President-elect, Mr. Dodge found him busy
over his inaugural address ; but this was at once thrown
aside, that inquiries might be made respecting the prog
ress and probable results of the discussions at the Peace
Conference, then nearly ready to close its sittings. After
a lengthened conversation, as Mr. Dodge arose to go, he
said : " Mr. Lincoln, the prayers of many hearts were with
you before you started upon this journey, they accompanied
you all the way here, and they will follow you as you enter
upon your administration." Tears filled Mr. Lincoln's
eyes, and grasping both of Mr. Dodge's hands, he replied,
with deep emotion, " Thank you, thank you." That even
ing Mr. Lincoln gave a public and cordial reception to all
the delegates of the Conference. In subsequent days he
consulted with Mr. Dodge more than once in regard to
public affairs.
The last hope of averting the conflict having failed, Mr.
Dodge as promptly and strenuously turned to the supreme
duty of the hour. The Government must be sustained;
the Union m;ist be preserved.
At the tidings of the firing upon Sumter, April 12,
which so instantaneously aroused the entire North to
a passionate purpose to uphold the national honor, Mr.
Dodge's firm was among the first to subscribe to a fund
for the Union cause. It also aided in supplying the means
for the immediate despatch of the New York Seventh
Regiment to protect the city of Washington.
At a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, held April
19, Mr. Dodge submitted a resolution that " a committee
be appointed to receive subscriptions for the benefit of
regiments now in preparation for departure to the South."
Mr. Dodge was made chairman; and this Committee, a
few days later, by authority of the Chamber of Commerce

PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC. 83
united with the Union Defence Committee, which was
appointed at a mass meeting of citizens April 20.
The City Government, by special ordinance, placed a
large sum ($1,000,000) in the hands of this General Com
mittee. In the interest of this organization Mr. Dodge
went, early in May, to Philadelphia and Washington.
The letter requesting him to undertake this mission states
that, —
" The Executive Committee have deemed it an object of im
portance to communicate confidentiaUy with friends of the country
on questions affecting the public welfare, and are desirous to have
the advantage of your presence at these cities. The subjects Ukely
to come before you are of a character at once important, pressing,
and delicate. No definite instructions can be given in writing.
You have been present at the discussions of the Committee in
reference to the object of your mission, and are therefore possessed
of the general views they entertain, and which are believed to be
in accordance with your own. Relying on your inteUigence and
discretion, the Committee cheerfully commit to your management
the questions which may be brought before you."
At Philadelphia he met a special agent, who was in com
munication with parties at different points. One report
mentions indications of a movement in Richmond opposed
to the secession leaders and in favor of the Union. Pro
ceeding to Washington, he writes to his wife, May 3,
1861: —
" I have been twenty-four hours coming from Philadelphia, via
ParrysvUle and Annapolis, in the Government train, all under
martial law. My ' pass ' was visdd four times, quite in the Euro
pean style. This city is full of soldiers at every turn. I am to
meet Mr. Lincoln by appointment this aftemoon, and have had
already to-day a long interview with the Secretary of War."
During the month of May also he attended the eighth
anniversary of the American Congregational Union. The
absorbing topic of the occasion was the state of the coun-

84 PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC.
try, and Mr. Dodge made an earnest and patriotic appeal
in support of the Government.
Mr. Dodge was so impressed with the necessity of prompt
and adequate efforts on the part of the military authorities
that he wrote, May lo, 1861, to the Commander-in-Chief,
Major-General Winfield Scott : —
" Permit me to say that I fear we are not sufficiently alive to the
extent of the preparations making by the South. Since I had the
pleasure of seeing you, one of my partners has returned from New
Orleans. He passed through aU the States south, and informs me
that in every direction troops are moving east. He saw three thou
sand five hundred leave MobUe in one day, all well armed and
equipped, many of them at the expense of the merchants, some of
whom had subscribed fifteen thousand dollars each for that pur
pose. Last week he passed up the river to Memphis. There were
six hundred troops on the boat, said to be for operating on Cairo.
He remained there for a day, and took another boat, also fuU of
soldiers, who were left twenty miles below Cairo. After landing
passengers at that city, the boat proceeded twenty miles farther
up the river, and then stopped to put on shore seventy other men,
who had been concealed before. My partner is convinced that
more men and means are ready at the South than is generally sup
posed here. One of my sons has also visited New Orleans, Mobile,
Montgomery, Savannah, Charleston, and Richmond within a few
days, and he beUeves we are not at all awake to the vast efforts
making at the South, and the large number of troops coming east.
On my way home from Washington I met several very inteUigent
gentiemen and ladies, escaping from the South. They all unite
in the conviction that there are more soldiers in the field than we
have any idea of. This direct testimony from different sources
leads me to suggest that as there are so many of our own troops
now ready, you would perhaps think best to have them moving
forward at once."
Feb. 3, 1862, he wrote to the Secretary of War, Hon.
E. M. Stanton : —
" I trust you wiU appreciate my motives and pardon the liberty
I take in calUng your attention to the fact that letters received by

PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC. 85
late arrivals from my partner in England, and from two valued
friends in Paris, aU go to show the deep impression existing there
of the danger of EngUsh and French interference in favor of the
South at an early day, and the conviction that nothing can prevent
it but some decisive action on the part of the North, — such a
manifestation of ability to subdue the South as would result from
a victory by sea or land, and such as is expected from our immense
forces. I know the difiiculties that have prevented the forward
movement of our Grand Army. I am not one of the ' On to
Richmond ' party, nor would I venture to urge a movement in any
quarter, but for the fear that delay may induce action by England
and France that wiU render aU we have yet done by way of prepa
ration of Uttle value. My correspondent in France, who has done
more perhaps than any one abroad to give correct views of our
sfiuggle, and who has expended several thousand dollars, sent him
by a few of us merchants, in printing and distributing documents,
says : ' I repeat the urgent appeal for fortifications at Portland,
Boston, New York, and Newport. A French engineer, just re
turned, has reported to the Government that Newport, R. I., is the
most important harbor in the country, and should be the first
seized in case of war between France and America ; ' and he adds :
' If you do not beat the Rebels in some great battle before spring,
you may rely on an intervention to open the blockade of the
Southern ports.' There is a growing fear among our merchants
that unless we move very soon South or West, we shall never have
an opportunity ; and since the settlement of the ' Trent ' affair, our
merchants have been afraid to undertake long voyages for their
ships, in view of the risk of English interference which wiU bring
on war with that country.
" Excuse this letter, and do not think of me as one of the fault
finders, for I have no sympathy with them."
As troops in increasing numbers were hurried to the seat
of war, various forms of effort sprang up for their physical
or spiritual welfare. To this work Mr. Dodge gave cordial
support. He early assisted in sending reHgious papers,
hymn-books, and other reading to the soldiers. His eldest
son, William E. Dodge, Jr., was an active member of the
Sanitary Commission, which aimed to supply special wants

86 PUBLIC AND PATRIOTIC.
of the troops, in camp or on the field, not fully met by
the regulations or agencies of the Government. This son
also, with two friends, originated and carried out an army
allotment system, by which soldiers were enabled to make
provision for their families by sending back through offi
cial channels a portion of their monthly pay. Mr. Dodge
himself was specially associated with the Christian Com
mission, being chairman of the New York branch. This
Commission chiefly sought to care for the moral and reli
gious necessities of the armies, although its delegates and
resources were also unceasingly and unstintedly employed
in ministering to the sick and wounded. This work was
the very embodiment of the teachings of the Gospel. No
adequate estimate can ever be formed of the blessings con
ferred upon the soldiers and sailors and their famihes by
these benevolent agencies, nor the extent and potency of
the reflex influence upon the people at large.

CHAPTER VI.
VISIT TO FORTRESS MONROE. — RIOT OF 1863. — AD
DRESS AT BALTIMORE.
IN March, 1862, Mr. and Mrs. Dodge visited Fortress
Monroe, Va., to see their son. Major Charles C. Dodge
(afterwards brigadier-general), who at the time was sta
tioned there with his regiment, the New York Mounted
Rifles. Here they witnessed (March 8) the memorable
engagement between the Rebel steamer ' Merrimac ' and
the little ' Monitor,' the first of the now famous revolv
ing-turret vessels of war. A public reception was after
wards given, in the Academy of Music, New York, to the
survivors of the officers and crews of the ' Cumberland ' and
the ' Congress,' two United States frigates sunk in that naval
battle. Mr. Dodge gave the parting address to the sailors.
He said : —
" I feel a special interest in you all, for we have met before. I
saw you the day after the engagement, when you came from your
destroyed ships, looking very different from your appearance this
evening. " Never can I forget that Saturday when it was announced that
the ' Merrimac ' had passed SeweU's Point and was making her way
to Newport News. I was with General Wool at his headquarters.
Soon the telegraph told that she had engaged the ' Congress,' then
the ' Cumberland,' and then that the latter was sinking, with aU
on board ! In less than an hour came the astounding tidings that
the ' Congress ' had been compeUed to surrender I AU expected the
victorious ironclad would next attack the ' Mmnesota,' — another
wooden ship, — aground not far distant ; but the Rebel steamer
moved off, disabled somewhat — as we now know — by your last
shots. That evening, when word went round that the ' Monitor '

88 VISIT TO FORTRESS MONROE.
had arrived, the air rang with shouts, and men who seldom ac
knowledge Divine interference were saying, ' How providential ! '
" Sunday morning early, the ' Merrimac ' was seen advancing to
wards the ' Minnesota,' near which the ' Monitor ' had remained aU
night, and from which she promptly moved out to meet her enemy.
Firing began, and for more than an hour the two vessels manoeu
vred back and forth, pouring their shots into each other as they
passed, but with no apparent effect. At last the ' Merrimac ' ran
directly for the diminutive craft, and drove its ram up on to the
' Monitor's ' deck, both vessels in this close position rapidly dis
charging their guns. It was an exciting moment ! Soon the
' Merrimac ' backed slowly off, and the report spread that she was
sinking ! Then from that old fortress what a deafening shout
went up ! But at last two Confederate gunboats hastened to the
disabled ship and towed her away.
" I want to say to these noble men who took part in that en
gagement, some of you just escaping with your Uves as the ' Cum
berland ' went down : Look at this splendid audience, aU gaz
ing upon you and longing to do you honor. Never forget, when
again you go to sea in your country's cause, how many thousands
are stiU watching you ! Never think you are forgotten ; stand by
the old flag as you have already done. This naval battle, in which
you have shared, wiU be part of our nation's history, and your
gallant conduct wiU be known aU over the world. May every
blessing foUow you, and may you aU at last cast anchor in the
haven of eternal rest ! "
A few days after the engagement at Hampton Roads the
Chamber of Commerce appointed a committee — of which
Mr. Dodge was a member — to secure contributions for
the immediate construction of ironclads or vessels similar
to the ' Monitor,' for the defence of the city and its ap
proaches. Mr. Dodge afterwards became chairman of the
Standing Committee of the Chamber on Harbor Defences.
In July, 1862, this body also passed resolutions reaffirm
ing its previous expressions of loyalty, and establishing
a committee — upon which Mr. Dodge served — to unite
with other bodies of citizens in recommending measures

RIOT OF 1863. 89
to give increased eflficiency to the military and naval
power of the Government.
Early in 1863 there were indications of popular impa
tience and discouragement respecting the conduct and
prospects of the war, and many felt that serious mistakes
had been made. Gold and exchange had risen to an unpre
cedented figure. Fears were entertained that the Govern
ment could not obtain means to meet its enormous daily
expenses. At the commercial centres demoralization was
evident Secret or open enemies in many places at the
North were crying out that the struggle was a failure.
Loyal men saw the need of fresh exertion and a re
newed appeal to the patriotism of the people at large. A
Loyal National League was formed, with a council of
twenty-five members, Mr. Dodge being one. The object
of the organization was to unite loyal men of every class.
Its pledge demanded " unconditional loyalty to the Gov
ernment; unwavering support in efforts to suppress the
rebellion and maintain unimpaired the national unity, both
in principle and territorial boundary." Associate leagues
were to be organized in every ward of the city, and
throughout the State and country. A great gathering
was held at the Cooper Union, March 20, and a few
days afterwards an open-air meeting on Union Square,
where Mr. Dodge presided at one of the stands. Subse
quently he became a member of the Union League Club,
which originated at iiearly the same date as the Loyal
National League, and advocated the same patriotic prin
ciples, but with the more distinct purpose of influencing the
higher social circles. It also rendered effective service in
the enlistment of troops, in directing and elevating public
sentiment on the issues of the war, and in strengthening
by other means the hands of the Government.
In July of this year (1863), and while almost the entire
body of city militia and United States troops ordinarily
in the vicinity were at the seat of war, serious riots

90 RIOT OF 1863.
occurred in New York. The alleged cause was opposition
to the draft ; but the violence was chiefly (^irected against
the colored population, many of whom were killed, and a
large number wounded. Several private dwellings were
pillaged, a Colored Orphan Asylum was destroyed, and
some prominent buildings and newspaper offices were
threatened. Upon the first outbreak, a meeting of citizens was gath
ered in front of the Sub-Treasury steps on Wall Street.
Mr. Dodge was one of the speakers, and urged the neces
sity of prompt and severe measures of repression. His
remarks were published in the papers ; and attracting the
attention of leaders of the mob, there were heard intima
tions that the warehouse in Cliff Street would be attacked,
and also his residence on Murray Hill, as well as his coun
try house at Tarrytown, where a large body of Irish were
in close sympathy with the rioters in the city.
The vigorous action of the authorities, reinforced by
the personal efforts of the best class of citizens, finally
quelled the disturbance. It was, however, skilfully planned,
and formed no doubt part of a larger scheme to check en
listments, produce extensive damage, and increase popular
discontent with the progress of the war.
In February of this year Mr. Dodge assisted the vener
able General Winfield Scott in presiding at a meeting in
the New York Academy of Music in behalf of the Christian
Commission. The year following (1864) the Society held a similar
meeting; but it occurred just as tidings were coming of the
battles then being fought in rapid succession in the Wil
derness during General Grant's advance upon Richmond.
The occasion filled the Academy with a vast audience.
In his opening address as chairman, Mr. Dodge was deeply
moved. He said : —
" We are met under circumstances few anticipated. Probably
thousands of our feUow-citizens are to-night bleeding and dying.

ADDRESS AT BALTIMORE. 91
— our fathers, our brothers, our friends, who have gone out in
our stead to breast this terrible rebelUon ! Ah ! go to your own
home ! See that beloved one on a bed of sickness and anguish !
See how love, tender, compassionate love, watches every symptom ;
how the physician comes and goes ; how everything is done to
bring reUef I Multiply that loved one by aU that are in this house ;
then multiply it again ten times over. They are not lying in that
comfortable room, on that soft bed, nursed by the tenderest care.
They are out on the field ; they are down along the road-side ;
they are away in the woods. They are alone, striving to stanch
their own wounds ; thirsting ; looking, caUing for help, — dying for
us ! And now we are here to-night, in the midst of our own
comforts and blessings, to ask what we can do for these noble,
suffering men."
Early in the history of the war Mr. Dodge was actively
engaged in arming the Union men of western Virginia. In
1864, at a meeting of citizens, he was placed upon a com
mittee to solicit and transmit assistance to the destitute
Unionists of East Tennessee, who had exhibited heroic
courage and loyalty in the midst of extraordinary sacri
fices. Mr. Dodge never lost his interest in these brave
and patient people. Their college at Maryville was resusci
tated after the war, partly by his aid ; and it continued to
receive his constant sympathy while he lived, and in his
will he left it a liberal bequest.
During this year also (1864) he united with a few other
patriotic citizens in sending copies of the " Rebehion Rec
ord " to certain of the public libraries in Europe, and to
influential men in England and on the Continent who had
given expression to their interest in the national struggle.
It was believed that these volumes — consisting solely of
documentary evidence, from all sources, both Northern
and Southern — would prove valuable to future historians,
and would aid candid minds in reaching just conclusions
upon the issues involved.
In the beginning of 1865 a Presbyterian church in Balti-

92 ADDRESS AT BALTIMORE.
more found itself seriously embarrassed by debt. Mani'
of the members had suffered from the interruption of trade
with the South, and others had withdrawn on account of
the stanch and outspoken loyalty of the pastor. A course
of popular lectures was undertaken to remove the debt,
and Mr. Dodge was urged to become one of the speakers.
His prominence in business and religious circles, and his
vigorous support of the Government, would, it was thought,
not only be of service to the immediate object, but also
help to strengthen the growth of Union sentiment in a city
which had manifested marked sympathy for secession.
Mr. Dodge consented, although at the time, in addition to
his ordinary cares, always numerous and pressing, he was
in the midst of a wearisome contest for his seat in the
House of Representatives. He took for his subject " The
Influence of the War upon our National Prosperity." A
few extracts will indicate still more clearly his position in
regard to the great struggle, and also the comprehensive
ness and accuracy of his views respecting its results. He
first congratulated his hearers that they were assembled in
the free city of Baltimore, and that Maryland was now
forever delivered from the curse of slavery. He then
proceeds : —
" Until this war began, I never was known as an Abolitionist. I
was not indifferent to the evils of human bondage ; but I had early
identified myself with the Colonization movement, and I also feh it
to be the duty of the North sacredly to maintain the constitutional
rights of the South. It was with these sentiments I went, in January,
1 86 1, to Washington as one of the delegates of the New York
Chamber of Commerce, and labored there to save the country
from disunion. With the same feelings I entered upon my duties
in the Peace Convention. I urged upon that body the necessity,
if we would have peace and unity, of securing to the South aU its
constitutional guarantees; and I urged upon Southern members
their obUgation to yield to the great pubUc sentiment of the country
and of tiie world, and agree that slavery should be held within the

ADDRESS AT BALTIMORE. 93
bounds named in the Constitution. But aU such efforts failed.
The conflict was precipitated. The Constitution was trampled
under foot. War, with aU its unspeakable miseries, was chosen by
the South.
" I have never ceased to feel that the hand of Providence was
in aU this, that while individuals were none the less guilty, the
same wonderful Power that can bring Ught out of darkness and
make the wrath of man to praise him, would bring out of this evU
great and ultimate good. Nor, when we speak of material pro
sperity, do we forget for one moment the blood, the tears, this war
has cost. More than two hundred and fifty thousand brave men
have gone out from among us and met a crael death, to preserve
our inestimable liberties and hand them down to posterity. Let
us ever cherish their memory, and feel that, under God, we owe to
them all we have gained.
" At the first outbreak of the war many true lovers of their
country doubted whether the means necessary to carry it on could
possibly be provided ; and when the Government decided to issue
a national currency — the representative of coin, and a legal tender
for past and future debts — it was an untried experiment. Its ex
pediency was questioned. Many denounced the measure, and
bespoke for it certain failure. If you go back to the winter of
1862-63 you wiU recollect the general depression over the land.
There was want of public confidence, doubt of our ability to con
tinue the war ; and the deep dark cloud upon our finances did not
give way until the amount of currency thrown into the volume of
circulation had begun to be felt in the increase of business. The
Government weU knew that the prices of material for the war would
be enhanced and the debt swollen ; but they saw that if the heart
of the nation — the great manufacturing, commercial, and agricul
tural interests — were depressed, the struggle could not be main
tained. The impetus given to trade helped the Government to
seU its bonds. The wisdom of its poUcy was vindicated.
" Let me caU your attention to a remarkable interposition of
Providence. The crops in 1861, 1862, and 1863, particularly in
the West, were unusuaUy abundant, and at the same time the crops
in England and on the Continent were below an average. For ten
years previous two thirds of our exports consisted of cotton ; but
this was now entirely out of our hands. How could the amazing

94 ADDRESS AT BALTIMORE.
deficiency be met? A drought in England and Europe in 1861
and 1862 opened foreign ports to receive in those two years a
value of over two hundred miUions of the products of our soU.
The balance of trade was turned in our favor, and in those years
England sent us more than sixty millions of gold. And look at
the variety of these exports I To mention a single instance : The
firm with which I am connected in Liverpool have within the last
three years received and paid over to a house in New York more
than eight hundred thousand doUars for sewing-machines sold for
one Company. The amount for ' Yankee clocks ' has not been
quite as much, but it has been very large ; they are ticking all
over England.
" But there are those who still continue to prophesy ruin. They
look around, and are angry because the country refuses to be
ruined. See what great interests have received a stimulus from
the war. Look, for example, at the marveUous development of
our mineral productions during the past four years. Our coal, iron,
gold, silver, lead, copper, and zinc mines have attracted attention
never before known, and millions have been invested in working
them. Our coal and iron industries are taking a position that wiU
soon make us independent of England. Mining and other com
panies and undertakings are projected constantly, and the people
have the money to take hold of them. Our gigantic war debt
sweUs up its vast proportions ; and yet, by the blessing of God
upon our land, how easily we handle and carry it ! When General
Jackson, as President, vetoed the old United States Bank, the
whole country stood aghast at the prospect of twenty miUions
being withdrawn from circulation. Now we take a loan of five
hundred mUlions in a few weeks, — three milUons a day of volun
tary subscription to Government securities ; and not by the wealthi
est class, nor mainly by banks and insurance companies, but by the
people, — two thousand applications daily, in sums less than a
hundred doUars I Every man who invests his money in this way
takes hold of the Government, and he is going to hold on. And
StiU those who all through the war were saying, ' We cannot get the
men ! we cannot get the money !.' are crying out, ' We can never
pay the interest on our great debt 1 '
" The kind Providence who has been watching over us and pre
paring us for this crisis, schooUng us in the art of agriculture until

ADDRESS AT BALTIMORE.

95

the fields almost plough and plant themselves and gather their own
crops, — the same beneficent Hand has supplied us with these un
told deposits of gold and silver, and the production of gold to-day
is reduced to a science. There is no more shaking out of gold-
dust by a rude ' pan.' Quartz-crushing mills, with immense stone
buildings and costly machinery, are in use ; and though at present
this machinery must be carried long distances by teams, we shall
see in less than ten years raikoads ascending the slopes of those
' mountains, and passing from here to San Francisco right alongside
of the gold and silver mines, and those dreary wastes wiU be dotted
with villages and towns. Another as remarkable evidence of provi
dential care is to be found in the wealth which has suddenly sprung
up from the bowels of the earth, where it has apparently been kept
for ages to meet this crisis. Already petroleum forms a large item
in our exports, and bids fair to become one of the prominent
interests of the land.
" What has been the effect of the war upon our transportation
system ? In importance raOroads stand next to agriculture. Take
the actual increase of tonnage on the Erie Canal and the three
leading raUways, the Erie, the New York Central, and the Penn
sylvania. We shaU find, in four years up to 1863, an advance of
nearly fifty per cent. The passenger traffic on most of our rail
roads has also been beyond aU precedent. The statistics of trade
centring at Chicago alone would show a rate of progress singularly
instructive. Or see what emigration has done for us since the
war began, — eight hundred thousand foreigners have come to
our shores.
" These years have also brought to the people, as a mass, a
large degree of prosperity. They are generally out of debt. This
has extended to institutions. Hundreds of churches, burdened
with debt when the war began, are free to-day. The amount of
endowments to public and Uterary institutions of various kinds has
been unequalled in our history. Our missionary boards, for which
so many trembled, never before received such liberal donations.
Recall also the milUons expended through the Sanitary and the
Christian Commissions, and the generous provision for the famUies
of the soldiers.
" Yet some insist we are to have a great revulsion. I do not
beUeve it. A year ago gold was 280. To-day it is 180. With

96 ADDRESS AT BALTIMORE.
the continuance of mUitary success it wiU gradually decline, and
the prices of labor and products wiU also decline. We cannot at
once return to a specie basis ; but when the war ceases, as it soon
will, we shaU do as we have done before, — adjust ourselves to the
exigencies of the times. As soon as it can be shown that we can
pay the interest on our debt, every man wiU want to keep his
Government bonds, and our friends across the water wiU also be
anxious to obtain them. Then the currency will slowly be ab
sorbed and become part of our bonded debt, and in time aU the
Government indebtedness will be in the form of bonds. Our
State and national banks wiU fiU up the vacuum of circulation, and
we shaU return to specie payments.
" Many who hear me will live to see the trade of the far
East coming to our Western coast. Lines of steamers wiU make
their regular trips to Japan, China, and India, and their cargoes wUl
cross our entire continent by rail, instead of going around the capes.
" The influence of the war, moreover, wiU advance the material
interests of the South more decidedly than those of the North.
The South wiU become equal to and greater than before, enjoying
a prosperity it could never have attained under slavery. The
masses there cannot but be stimulated by contact with the enter
prise of the East and the North, which wiU now be attracted to
the South. Schools, churches, newspapers, and books, wiU be
more abundant. The children of the poor wiU be educated, the
people wiU be elevated, and the negroes be taught to read and
made more capable of intelligent labor. Manufactories wiU spring
up, and a general and unprecedented prosperity gradually be
enjoyed. "With the blessing of God upon our regenerated and united
country, we may anticipate that the year 1885 shaU find us with a
population of sixty milUons, stretching in unbroken lines from the
Atlantic to the Pacific."
Mr. Dodge was himself permitted to see the fulfilment
of some of these prophecies, and to have a personal part
in carrying them out.
This address was published at the request of the church
in Baltimore, and found its way into the hands of influen
tial men in this country and abroad. Mr. Dodge received

ADDRESS AT BALTIMORE. 97
letters of thanks from many sources for his timely, conclu
sive, and patriotic presentation of facts.
The pastor of the church where it was dehvered, the
Rev. H. Dunning, writes, March 13, 1865 : —
" It was a very decided success in both the number and charac
ter of the audience, which was composed to a large extent of men
prominent in our mercantile community, and distinguished for their
unshaken loyalty during aU our severe trials.
" It was a success also in matter and manner. Of this I have
heard but one sentiment expressed. You have shown us the
broad basis on which God has planted this nation in its struggle
for Ufe and liberty, and you have done much to strengthen those
who have stood by our cause in its darkest hours. One of my
members, who faced the fury of the mob on the 19th of April,
1861, interposing himself between them and the Massachusetts
soldiers, said to me to-day : ' I have not felt so strong since the
RebelUon broke out as since hearing that speech.' "
In December, 1864, Mr. Dodge served upon a general
committee to provide a testimonial for Admiral Farragut.
In the following March (1865) he assisted in the arrange
ments for a celebration of the victories of the Federal
forces, and a few weeks later in a commemoration of the
final triumph of the Union cause.
Immediately after the assassination of President Lincoln
he united with a number of prominent citizens in sending
an address of encouragement to Mr. Andrew Johnson,
called to office under such startling circumstances. He
was one of the delegation of the Chamber of Commerce at
the funeral of the martyred President, and subsequently
acted upon a committee to erect a statue to his memory.
In October, 1865, he addressed a meeting in Chicago in
behalf of the American Union Commission, an organiza
tion for the relief of suffering in the South. In his
remarks he says : —
" The North has been blessed with a bountiful harvest. It has
been saved from the desolation which has swept over the South.
7

98 WELCOME TO SOUTHERN DELEGATES.
We must no longer regard the people of that section as enemies.
God has given the North power to make them friends. We rejoice
in the recent triumph of our arms because it has given us a Union.
But what is a union without friendship ? Whether friends or ene
mies, when we see the people of the South starving, we must send
them help from our overflowing granaries. Thousands of intelli
gent men there were, in heart true to the Union. Yet all now
share the common need. In one day a single blast obliterated the
entire Confederate currency ; and with what else could they pur
chase bread? The object of this commission is not to pauperize
the South, but to render judicious aid. We want to see them in
dependent and self-sustaining, mingling with the North as they
have never yet done. Accept the South as it is. Take their
repentance as it is presented. State after State has formally
acknowledged that slavery is dead, and they want no more of it.
Let us help also to aUeviate their intellectual destitution. The
Press and the school-teacher must go there. InteUigence must
increase, and the whole people be made one with the North. Let
us deal with them in a Christian spirit, and God's blessing wiU
crown the effort."
In November, 1865, he took part in the preparations for
a public reception to General Grant. He also presided at
a Republican ratification meeting in Cooper Union Hall,
where addresses were made by General Kilpatrick, Horace
Greeley, Daniel S. Dickinson, and others. The next year
he delivered at the same place an address of welcome to
loyal delegates from the South. In the course of his
remarks on that occasion he says : —
" You may have felt at times that we of the North were not
sympathizing with you in the terrible struggles through which you
have passed, not only during the war, but worse perhaps since it
ended. But we have not forgotten you. Nor have we lost our
love for our common country. We want a union that shaU be
permanent; no hasty union without conditions from those who
have striven to destroy our liberties. Four miUions of lately en
slaved men stand in new relations. The war, the act of emanci
pation, the amendments to the Constitution, have elevated them

GENERAL GRANT NOMINATED.

99

to be citizens. We insist that they shaU have an opportunity to
rise to the fuU privileges of citizenship. We are glad to have
you who come from the South pass through the land and see
for yourselves that the Republican party is still alive, that it is
undiminished in numbers, honor, and influence."
The Union League Club of New York gave to General
Grant (December, 1868) a dinner, at which Mr. Dodge
responded to the toast, "The Congress of the United
States the Guardian of the People's Rights." In his re
marks here, as elsewhere, he does not fail to recognize the
Divine ordering of events. It was almost the unconscious
expression of his habitual frame of mind. He said : —
" It is instructive to look back and mark the Providence of
God, which not only guided in the establishment of our republi
can form of government, but has so manifestly watched over it
ever since. It was adapted to our wants when we were just
emerging from Colonial dependence, and it is found equaUy
efficient now that we have three times the number of States, and
four times as many Representatives. The wise adjustment of re
sponsibility between the legislative, executive, and judicial de
partments, provided for in the Constitution, has continued to work
harmoniously and to meet every emergency. Although we have
seen that a President, in striving to enforce his own views, can tem
porarily embarrass the proper functions of Congress, yet the people,
in whom is vested the final appeal, can place, and have placed,
through their chosen Representatives, a solemn veto upon such
attempts." Mr. Dodge took part in the movement which gave
General Grant his first nomination to the Presidency ; and
at a public meeting of merchants, bankers, and business
men, held at Cooper Institute, April 17, 1872, to recom
mend General Grant's renomination, Mr. Dodge was called
to the chair. In his opening address he says : —
" We are assembled frankly to express our impressions in regard
to the manner in which General Grant has fulfilled the expecta-"
tions of the party which elected him to his high office. In com-

lOO GENERAL GRANT RENOMINATED.
mon with many others, I confess I had apprehensions that his
previous training might not have fitted him for the responsibilities
of a position to which he was elevated on account of his success
in leading our armies to victory. The result of his administration
for three years has dissipated my fears. When has our country,
as a whole, experienced more general prosperity ? When has our
national credit, at home and abroad, stood higher? When have
our laboring-classes been more widely employed or better paid?
The heavy burden of taxation, made necessary by the war, has been
steadily lessened, and our stupendous debt itself reduced, to the
astonishment of the nations of Europe. It could not have been
anticipated that the great social and political changes following
the war would be adjusted without trouble and friction at the
South. That there has been more or less cause for complaint,
we do not deny. Yet the difficulties have mainly been the natural
result of this transition state, and President Grant should no more
be held accountable than the whole Republican party ; nor should
they be made responsible for the adventurers who went to the
South to profit by the chaos there, and who in many cases, under
the guise of Republicans, misled the freedmen for the purpose
of carrying out their own personal ends. It was ¦ only natural that
men just emancipated should seek the counsel and leadership
of others than those who had held them in bondage ; nor could
it be expected that they should at once be able to discern the true
character and aims of the unscmpulous men who were seeking to
lead them astray. I have recently returned from an extended tour
in the South, where I found the leading men watching with intense
interest the progress of the Presidential campaign at the North.
They remember that the Democrats here, with some noble excep
tions, were opposed to the war, and in Congress and out, during
all its continuance, predicted and desired its failure. These men
at the South are now hoping for Democratic success, expecting
in that event that in some way — they do not exactly see how —
the freedmen are to be made political slaves, and their influence
in a large measure be destroyed."
Garbled accounts of this portion of his speech were
published, and found their way into the columns of South
ern papers. Mr. Dodge was charged with asserting that

GENERAL GRANT RENOMINATED. loi
the people of the South " were seeking to re-enslave the
negroes." Some severe criticism appeared, and several
friends in the South wrote to inquire if these were his
sentiments. His reply was also soon published in the
Southern papers, and the misconception corrected. Mr.
Dodge's cordial attitude towards the South was fully
recognized, as well as " his desire to remove all distrust
and antagonism between the two sections of the common
country." His gifts to various objects in the South, to
gether with his large investments there, were also cited as
evidence of his confidence and good-will.
In 1872 he was chosen delegate from the Sixth District
of New York city to the National Republican Convention
at Philadelphia.
From that city he writes to his wife, June 5 : —
"The delegates are singularly fine-looking men. No conven
tion ever had fewer office-holders. There are a number of colored
delegates from the South. To-day, after we had been Ustening
for several hours to splendid addresses from some of the best
speakers in the country, there was a general desire to hear from
the colored members, and three of them were called out, and made
remarkable speeches on the spur of the moment. To-morrow we
shaU nominate Grant by acclamation."
Mr. Dodge was also made, at the general election in
Noveinber, 1872, one of the electors of the State of New
York for president and vice-president, and at the assem
bling of the Electoral College he cast his vote for Grant
and Wilson.
Just on the eve of the Presidential election of 1876, in
which the Democratic party was defeated, Mr. Dodge pre
sided at a large political gathering and gave expression to
the fears of many business men at the possibility of the
government passing into the hands of those who were the
enemies of their country during the war, and who would
now attempt to evade the recent amendments, increase
the issue of paper-money, and delay the resumption of

I02 GENERAL GARFIELD'S ELECTION.
specie-payment. Mr. Tilden was a good governor, but
he could not, if President, resist the demands of a " soHd
South," backed by its friends at the North ; and the result
would be that " after all our expenditures of life and
treasure, we should be the divided, and not the United,
States." During Mr. Dodge's term in Congress his relations with
Mr. Garfield were most pleasant and intimate. In 1880,
when Mr. Garfield was elected, Mr. Dodge wrote him :
" New York, Nov. 5, 1880.
" My Dear General Garfield, — I desire to unite with multi
tudes who wiU send their congratulations. I have watched the
progress of the canvass with intense interest and daily prayer. I
am confident more prayer has been offered for your success than
in any recent election, and I desire to bless God that he has, by
such a large and decided majority, given us a President who, I
know, will satisfy the best portion of the nation, and will do aU
that can be consistentiy done to restore the South to its proper
position. I am quite sure we shaU never see a ' solid South ' again.
May God bless you and give you aU necessary strength to do (as
1 know you wiU wish to do) just what wiU best promote the true
interests of all parts of the country."
In November, 1882, Mr. Dodge spent an active day in
New Jersey making addresses in three neighboring towns
to urge upon the friends of temperance the wisdom of not
attempting to run a separate ticket in the canvass of that
year. He believed such a course often defeated the very
object most desired by Prohibitionists.
Mr. Dodge was a large importer during almost his entire
mercantile life, yet he was a warm advocate of protection.
He looked upon the diversified industries of the country as
one of the chief causes of its prosperity. While entertain
ing broad views of the mutual dependence and obligation
of nations, he held it to be the first duty of Americans to
develop the varied and marvellous resources of their own
vast territory ; to encourage home manufactories until they

SPEECH IN FAVOR OF PROTECTION. 103
could successfully compete with the products of low-priced
labor abroad ; and to build up a strong, happy, and united
people by direct and extensive businesss relations among
all the States of the Union. Just a week before he died
he addressed a meeting at the Cooper Institute of the
opponents of Free-Trade. Many prominent merchants
were present, and also a large number of skilled mechanics.
Among other things, Mr. Dodge spoke of the contrast in
wages and comforts of the workmen at two great iron
centres with which he was personally familiar, — one a
district in South Wales, the other in Pennsylvania. He
also deprecated any attempt to create antagonism between
capital and labor : —
" It is time, fellow-ckizens, that aU who believe in the support
of our own manufactories and in sustaining the laboring interests
of this country should let the country know what they advocate
and what they intend to do. One of the greatest dangers of the
present day is the fact that the working-classes throughout the land
are made to believe that capital is oppressing them and standing
in the way of their advancement. The truth is, that in this country
capital is the best friend of labor."
On this occasion Mr. Dodge assisted, in the duties of
presiding officer, his friend of many years, the venerable
Peter Cooper, whose familiar and beloved face was also
so soon to be seen no more in the great gatherings of the
people.

CHAPTER VII.
CONGRESSIONAL LIFE.
THE first intimation that he was to be nominated for
Congress came to Mr. Dodge while attending the
annual missionary meeting of the American Board, held
that year at Worcester, Mass. The letter, dated New
York, Oct. 6, 1 864, says : —
"Your fellow-citizens of the Eighth Congressional District be
Ueve that you are the only man in it who can carry the district in
the interests of good government and union. On this account we
have made bold, against your knowledge and wishes, to use your
name. It has been received in every quarter with the highest
commendation." The country at this time was profoundly stirred by the
issues of the impending Presidential contest. Upon the
re-election of Mr. Lincoln hung the question whether
the war should be prosecuted with unabated vigor, and
until rebellion should lay down its arms. All through the
previous summer general doubt and depression had pre
vailed ; but now loyal hearts everywhere were filled with
fresh courage by brilliant Union victories at Chattanooga,
Atlanta, Petersburg, and in the Shenandoah valley, and
with Republican success in the early fall elections of
Vermont, Maine, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.
The city of New York, always a Democratic stronghold,
contained throughout the war a vast body of voters op
posed to the Government. The platform adopted at the
Democratic Convention of that year had denounced the
war as a failure, and demanded cessation of hostiHties and

CONGRESSIONAL LIFE.

los

the calling of a convention of all the States, or " other
peaceable means to restore tranquiUity." At the same
time the acts of Mr. Lincoln's Administration were declared
to be subversive of the Constitution, a usurpation of the
rights of citizens, and antagonistic to the interests of the
country. Mr. James Brooks, the principal opponent of
Mr. Dodge, was a prominent leader of the Democratic
party in Congress and out. He now held the seat, and had
been successful at three previous elections. He was sup
ported by a large and often unscrupulous constituency,
knew all the arts of an experienced politician, and exerted
a wide influence over certain classes through his own
newspaper, " The New York Evening Express." He was
a recognized " champion of the rights of the South."
To defeat such a candidate seemed hopeless; but it
would be an additional Union victory, and the loyal
elements in the district, laying aside other differences,
combined to name Mr. Dodge.
He thus received the nomination of the Regular Union
Association, the Citizens' Organization, and the War
Democratic General Committee; afterwards also that of
a smaller faction, which at first had proposed a candidate
from one of the United States Government offices in the
city. At the same time there was a prospect that the
usual Democratic vote might be divided by the attempt
of Tammany Hall to elect a nominee of its own.
Mr. Dodge rephed as follows to the official announce
ment of his nomination : — " New York, Oct. 14, 1864.
" Gentlemen, — Your note of this date, informing me of the
honor done me by the Union Convention in nominating me as
their candidate for Congress, is received. You truly state that the
position was neither sought nor desired by me. It is a grateful and
unexpected tribute of confidence from my friends and neighbors.
Did I consult those dictates of personal comfort and private inter
est which you seem to think should be disregarded at this time,
I should refuse the nomination ; but when so many are periUing

I06 CONGRESSIONAL LIFE.
their lives for our common cause, I have not the courage to refuse
any duty, however laborious, to which I may be called. If my
feUow-citizens deem that my voice and influence in the National
Congress can contribute to the support of that Govemment and
Union by which alone our existence is made sure, that influence,
whatever it may be, shall not be withheld. I should at least hope
to serve somewhat the commercial interests of the city with which
I have been so long identified."
One or two extracts from resolutions passed at political
meetings in the district will exhibit the loyal sentiment
prevailing at the time.
At a public meeting of the i8th Ward Union Associa
tion it was —
" Resolved, that in the pending canvass the Unionists of New
York are not contending for a partisan triumph ; but coming, as
they do, from every political organization of the past, they are de
termined to avail themselves of all the opportunities of the present
to preserve the free principles of our Constitution and to advance
the cause of good government in city. State, and nation.
"Resolved, that in times like these, when the soldier and the
statesman are struggUng to perpetuate those Uberties of which the
blood and brain of our revolutionary fathers was the price, we
ought to send to the Capitol of the United States such men as sat
in the Continental Congress in the era of 1776. The people of
the Eighth District have found a man of this type in the incor
ruptible merchant, the honorable, able, and accomplished citizen,
William E. Dodge."
Less fervid and personal, but equally characteristic of
the patriotic sentiments of the day, were the resolutions
offered by Mr. Samuel B. Ruggles at a general meeting of
the citizens of the district, cahed to ratify the nomination
of Mr. Dodge.
A few vigorous paragraphs condensed the special consti
tutional questions then before the country, insisting that —
" The one transcendent issue was the preservation of the Na
tional Government; that the Constitution contained no reserved

CONGRESSIONAL LIFE.

107

rights to separate States, by which, at their own discretion, they
could impair the powers invested in the General Government ; that
the Union was in no sense a mere compact, but an irrevocable
act of the whole people, by which a National, and not a Federal,
Union was created ; and that the existing insurrection was open
treason against legitimate authority, and must be suppressed at
any cost."
The Eighth Congressional District included that part of
the city east of Fifth Avenue and between Fourteenth and
Forty-second Streets. A large number of leading citizens
resided within these limits, and the names of most of
them appear in a printed appeal to the voters of the wards
comprising the district. It reads as follows : —
" This nomination, entirely unsought by Mr. Dodge, and only
accepted by him from a sense of duty, wiU at once commend itself
to every loyal man who desires to see our city represented in Con
gress by one in every way qualified for the position. For the last
thirty years he has been known as one of the most prominent mer
chants of our city, and as such has been identified with its growth
and commercial prosperity, and has ever been foremost in its
enterprises of pubLx benevolence and improvement."
The election took place within a few days. Returns
brought to police headquarters declared Mr. Dodge to
have received a majority of more than seven hundred votes.
The reports of the Associated Press gave Mr. Brooks a
majority of about a hundred and fifty. The total vote
of the district was twenty-two thousand. Investigation
brought to light " gross irregularities and frauds.''
Friends in the city and elsewhere continued to urge
Mr. Dodge to contest the election; and he finally con
sented, although his decision might have been different,
had he known beforehand the wearisome and offensive
experiences involved.
Mr. Dodge had for his attorney Mr. William Walter
Phelps, afterwards himself member of Congress, and

I08 CONGRESSIONAL LIFE.
United States Minister to Austria. The evidence on the
part of Mr. Dodge filled a volume of over five hundred
pages, charging conspiracy to secure, by any means, the
return of the Democratic nominee, and showing that the
voting population of the district had been mysteriously
increased by several thousands, all of one political faith ;
that soldiers' votes were forged and accepted, and the
votes of non-residents counted, while those of soldiers
and others, legally qualified, were rejected ; that in some
cases, with fraudulent intent, books of registry were made
defective ; inspectors acted without warrant ; canvassers
sent in false returns ; and bribes, threats, and intimidation
were employed.
The taking of testimony before the Court consumed
nearly six weeks of the spring of 1865. At the opening
of Congress the following autumn, Mr. Dodge's memorial,
claiming the seat, was presented, and 'the papers referred
to the Committee of Elections.
The sitting member used every device to delay action,
especially by withholding his own evidence. When finally
forced to print, he also brought in a document of some five
hundred pages.
The hearing before the Committee occupied many days ;
and when the contest at last reached the House, two
months elapsed before the decision was made.
Mr. Dodge, as contestant, was accorded the privilege at
one of the sessions of being heard in his own behalf Mr.
Brooks, still having the rights of a regular member, took
an active part in the entire discussion. He was, moreover,
a man of plausible address, skilled in the use of parlia
mentary expedients, and had the strength of his party
behind him. At the organization of the House when this
Congress assembled he was the only Democratic candidate
for Speaker.
Mr. Brooks formulated numerous charges, but failed to
produce satisfactory proof He dwelt repeatedly upon the

CONGRESSIONAL LIFE. 109
wealth of the contestant, and accused him of using it to
secure votes.
The chairman of the Committee of Elections, the Hon.
Henry L. Dawes, of Massachusetts, in presenting a report
of the case and announcing the decision of a majority of
the Committee in favor of Mr. Dodge, declared this charge
of bribery was not sustained " by one scintilla of evidence ;
that the most diligent search of nine hundred pages of
printed matter failed to reveal a single particle of testi
mony that any money whatever had been used for any
corrupt or unlawful purpose."
An indignant protest also came from one of the mem
bers from New York, the Hon. Henry J. Raymond, editor
of the " New York Times : " —
" I venture to say there is not a man in New York or in the
United States who knows the contestant that wiU for one moment
pretend or suspect his possession of large wealth is to be weighed
against him in this or any other scale. It has aU been acquired
honorably, justly, fairly, without wronging any man. After acquir
ing wealth in this manner it is to his honor, and something to be
said rather in his praise than against him, that he still has it, and
something still more to his praise and honor that he has expended
it as liberaUy and nobly and honorably as he has acquired it.
There is not a man famUiar with the charities of New York, or the
charities outside of New York which seek that city as the field
of operations for the recruital of their resources, who does not
know that the contestant in this case is the first man to whom
they aU go, and the man from whom they come with the largest
contributions." At the session of April 6, 1866, the resolution was
passed declaring Mr. Dodge entitled to the seat, and he
was at once duly qualified.
With characteristic thoughtfulness, he had a letter on
the table describing to his wife the progress of the final
debate, and he leaves it open to add a hurried line
announcing the result: —

IIO CONGRESSIONAL LIFE.
" Five o'clock. — I have just been sworn in — 72 to 52. AU
right." Congratulations flowed in from every quarter. Mr. Jona
than Sturges writes. New York, April 7 : —
" I congratulate you that your rights have been assured to you
by Congress, and I congratulate New York that she has a repre
sentative." Mr. EUiot C. Cowdin : —
" I congratulate you on the final result of your weU-fought
battle. Few would have had the patience to follow up the contest
with such energy."
Mr. James Brown, in a long letter upon the condition of
political parties, says : —
" You take your seat and wiU record your votes at about
as anxious a period in the history of the country as it has ever
seen." A leading religious paper of Philadelphia, " The Presby
terian," in an editorial, April 12, 1866, refers to Mr. Dodge's
success in these terms : —
" It gives us uncommon pleasure to announce the admission to
the lower House of Congress of a citizen so eminently fitted to
bear the responsibilities and perform the duties of a legislator as
Mr. WiUiam E. Dodge, of New York. It is one of the most cheer
ing results of the great and bloody revolution through which we
have passed that the people have to so great an extent become
convinced of the vital necessity of sending a better class of men to
represent them in Congress and at their State capitals, and that
men of this class have been found willing to go. The high charac
ter of the Thirty-ninth Congress has been a matter of frequent re
mark. We believe that even among his noble-minded associates
of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dodge's piety, probity, busi
ness capacity, largeness of views, and liberality in action will make
him eminent. In the vain but brutal assaults made upon him
during the debate preceding his admission, he was already recog
nized as in some sense representing the religious sentiment of the

CONGRESSIONAL LIFE. m
community. We do not ask a safer, truer standard-bearer. We
congratulate New York that she has, in the person of Mr. Dodge,
secured one of the best men every way, the country over, as a
representative." The discussions and decisions of the Thirty-ninth Congress
occupy a memorable place in the history of the country.
Since the adjournment of the preceding Congress events
of the gravest moment had transpired. Abraham Lincoln
had been slain by the hand of an assassin. Andrew John
son had become President. Under his official direction
the work of reconstruction had advanced along lines in
volving profound principles and far-reaching consequences.
Not only were these acts of the Executive to be now rati
fied or condemned, but the whole vast and perplexing
problem of pacification — the restoration of civil govern
ment in the Southern States, their representation in Con
gress, the condition and rights of the freedmen, with
questions of financial, commercial, and international bear
ing — pressed for settlement.
The deliberations were protracted and exhaustive. The
conclusions reached have not perhaps been fully justified
by subsequent events ; but in honest endeavors to grapple
with and solve difficulties of extraordinary novelty and
magnitude at a period of intense national excitement, the
records of this Congress bear evidence of rare nobility
of purpose, unswerving patriotism, and, in a large degree,
freedom from motives purely sectional and partisan.
Mr. Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the House, in closing
its sessions, expressed his conviction that —
" The Thirty-ninth Congress had proved itself more faithful to
human progress and Uberty than any of its predecessors. The
outraged and oppressed found in these congressional haUs cham
pions and friends. Its key-note of policy was protection to the
down-trodden. It Ufted the slave, whom the nation had freed, to
the full stature of manhood."

112 CONGRESSIONAL. LIFE.
Mr. Dodge entered upon these discussions with the liveli
est sympathy, and also with inteUigent and independent
views, born of long observation of the general progress of
the nation and special familiarity with recent events. One
of his colleagues, — the Hon. Josiah B. Grinnell, member
from Iowa, — writing of Mr. Dodge at this time, says :
" Years are often required to become versed in congressional
rules, routine of business, and pariiamentary arts. Mr. Dodge's
wide knowledge of men and experience in pubUc matters spared
him from blunders. He set about his work with the directness
of his nature, and an intensity of conviction that evinced the man
'of mark. His political opinions were not always in accord with
the dominant majority. For thirty years a man of affairs, identified
with commerce, a leader in a great metropolis of trade, merged in
financial operations, associated with men of the largest means and
influence, he could not be a strict adherent or follow the dictates
of party without relation to the credit of the country and the re
construction schemes then on trial. This was one of the most
brilliant eras of our poUtical history. Of his colleagues who after
wards served in the United States Senate I recall BoutweU and
Dawes, of Massachusetts; MorriU, of Vermont; Patterson and
RoUins, of New Hampshire ; Blaine, of Maine ; Conkling, of New
York ; Garfield, of Ohio ; AUison and Wilson, of Iowa ; Cullom, of
Illinois ; Ferry, of Michigan ; Sawyer, of Wisconsin ; and Windom,
of Minnesota. " Eminent since then in diplomatic services have been Wash-
bourne, Kasson, Bingham, and Schenck. Banks and Rice, of
Massachusetts, and Perham, of Maine, are remembered as Ex-
Governors. RandaU, of Pennsylvania, and Kerr, of Indiana, have
since been Speakers of the House. Thaddeus Stevens, the great
comuioner, had won his laurels as the leader in many a Congress.
Hayes, of Ohio, and the martyr Garfield rose to the presidency.
" Nor should I fail to recall Henry Winter Davis, the orator ;
Hooper, of Massachusetts, the banker ; and Oakes Ames, of Massa
chusetts, ^the manufacturer, crushed by the herculean task of build
ing the Union Pacific Railway, and bearing a load of calumny, to
be generously lifted by his native State. Others there were less

CONGRESSIONAL LIFE. II3
conspicuous, but not less worthy of a seat in the national councils.
Let me add that both Lincoln and Garfield trusted and confided
in our friend.
" Mr. Dodge's public speeches give only a dim outline of the
service he rendered. He was never deaf to the wants of classes
neglected in the recent fratricidal strife and suffering by the wastes
of war. In seeking to secure them relief, he became a constant
messenger to the different departments. The colored man, in and
out of the House, found an earnest listener to the necessities of
the people on the cotton plantation, and to the plea for schools in
the desolated Old Dominion and other places. Indian chiefs and
territorial delegates could talk to him of abuses without fear of
rebuff. In the promotion of temperance Mr. Dodge gave much of
his leisure, and lent the influence of an official and eminent social
position. The iUegal vendors at the Capitol and the intoxicated
imbiber shrank from his gaze, both respecting and fearing his kind
and earnest admonition. As a legislator, he advocated a high tax
on liquors to lessen consumption, and urged the rigid enforcement
of restrictive laws in the District of Columbia. As a host — not
from parsimony, but as a reproof to pernicious customs — he
boldly and without apology became singular by banishing intoxi
cants from his table. It would be pleasant to mention his solicitous
personal efforts, which led more than one to reformation and rescue
from a drunkard's doom.
" He gave most effective support to the Congressional Tempe
rance Society. At the great historical meeting held in the Capitol,
Mr. Dodge read the names of forty-seven senators and representa
tives who were pledged to total abstinence. To perpetuate the
influence of this great occasion, Mr. Dodge himself sent pamphlets
of the proceedings and speeches aU over the country. In the Con
gressional prayer-meeting, where senators and members of aU sec
tions and of every shade of reUgious belief met to supplicate the
favor of the God of nations, Mr. Dodge was a prompt attendant
and the animating soul. As a Christian gentleman, his cheerfulness
and uniform courtesy left an indelible impression upon his asso
ciates. The announcement of his name as a speaker or presiding
officer would attract a crowded assembly. With the colored con
gregations of the city he was a special favorite as a speaker ; and
he himself found inspiration in their hearty ' amens ' and stirring
8

114 CONGRESSIONAL LIFE.
songs, which in his mind were more in accord with jirimitive wor
ship than operatic airs given by a professional quartette.
" In the Standing Committees of Congress, as Mr. Dodge was
not a member at the opening of the first session, he was not as
signed to some positions for which he was eminently qualified.
He served, however, upon the important Committees of Commerce
and of Foreign Affairs, besides others special and select.
" In respect to tariff legislation, while Mr. Dodge presented by
request adverse petitions, he beUeved in the modification of the
tariff and of the internal revenue laws enacted during the war.
His views on the tariff question alUed him in theory and principles
with Henry Clay, the champion of protectioh and the American
system. His personal interests as an importer of metals were
against high duties, but he refused to overlook the claims of labor
and the advantage to the nation at large of a protective policy.
" Mr. Dodge had been mentioned as a suitable person for Secre
tary of the Treasury, not only by his own party, but by the mature
judgment of business men, embracing every shade of opinion.
Apart from finance, the reconstruction of the Southern States and
the impeachment of Andrew Johnson were the great questions be
fore the Thirty-ninth Congress. Pohtically Mr. Dodge was ranged
on the side of the conservatives. He was a prominent member of
the Peace Congress of 1861 ; and there, while never yielding to
treason to the Government, he was ready to go to the verge for
conciliation in averting civil war. He beUeved now in a policy
honorable but pacific. While a friend of the colored race, he did
not think the masses of that population could at once be made
voters for their own good or for the best interests of the country.
He held — what has since been clearly demonstrated — that it is
impossible to maintain order and enforce salutary laws while the
educated classes are either disfranchised or debarred from holding
offices in the State or the nation.
" In respect to the policy of impeachment, Mr. Dodge was out
spoken and decided, agreeing with the (for a time) much reviled
senators Grimes, Fessenden, and TrumbuU, who are credited with
having saved the party from a precedent at once impolitic and
dangerous to the stability of our political institutions. The speech
of Mr. Dodge delivered in the House Jan. 21, 1867, contained
brave words, uttered in the face of an intolerant party spirit ; but

CONGRESSIONAL LIFE. 115
they were so statesmanlike that since then they have commanded
the approval of a large majority of his colleagues. His address
urged the discontinuance of mUitary domination and a hearty
recognition of genuine loyalty. It was the generous, fraternal
spirit subsequently advocated by Sumner, Greeley, and the ad
vanced thinkers in our own country, and it was also in accord with
the sentiment of the nation's real friends in other lands."
Mr. Dodge was most conscientious in his endeavor to
meet the just demands and liabilities of his official posi
tion; but "the quality of mercy" was at times somewhat
" strained" when he opened his daily mails or was waited
upon by persistent individuals or self-appointed deputa
tions " from his own district." While the tax bill was
under consideration, his constituents especially favored
him with profuse communications or personal interviews,
but at no time during his residence in Washington could
he complain of neglect on the part of those who felt they
had " claims."
Inquiries, suggestions, remonstrances, applications for
advice, introductions, or " influence," confronted him at
every hour, in all places, under the most engaging or
exasperating forms ; some legitimate, some with the odor
of " jobbery," all marked " immediate," and each expect
ing attention. Such requests as the following constantly
found their way to his desk: "Please push our railroad
bill ; we believe it to be a most righteous measure."
" Shall I take my goods out of bond, or leave them there?
Answer by wire." " Should be obHged by a copy of the
Medical and Surgical History of the War. I voted for
you." " Thanks for your help in obtaining second lieu
tenancy ; only needs active pressure to secure the further
promotion to which I feel my services are entitled." " Am
anxious to be appointed weigher in the New York Custom
House." " Find myself in need of seeds from the Agricul
tural Department." " I have some claims for horses kiUed
in the war." " I have a niece who is seeking a clerkship

Il6 CONGRESSIONAL LIFE.
in the Treasury ; her father was a soldier." " We sent an
ingenious and useful invention to the Patent Office; can
not understand why it is refused." " I beg you to use
your influence in obtaining my pension." " Please send
all public documents ; we are filHng up our Hbrary."
" Wish you would favor the bill to equalize bounties ; also
as to disposition of Government lands." " My son is a
candidate for cadetship at the Naval Academy; a line
from you would be of great service." " I am a volunteer
officer, seeking appointment in the regular army. There
is danger of my application being pigeon-holed." " I ven
ture to request a letter of introduction to the Secretary of
State ; the consulship at Trieste may soon be vacant."
" I should be so gratified to have your photograph, with
your own signature." Appeals to his " well-known benevo
lence " were based on political considerations, or urged
from the benefit to the cause of a contribution from one in
his public position.
He took special pleasure in the visits of friends at his
temporary home (No. 410 E Street), and in addition to
frequent companies at dinner, he gave one or two large
entertainments ; but while every provision was made that
a generous hospitality could supply, on no occasion was
wine offered to his guests.
He usually attended the brick Presbyterian Church,
then under the pastoral care of the Rev. Dr. Gurley, but
he was often found at Sunday-schools and at various
religious gatherings in the city.

CHAPTER VIII.
CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES.
ALL the speeches and votes of Mr. Dodge indicate that
he looked upon questions before Congress from a
broad and national point of view rather than as a member
of a party, a citizen from a particular State, or even as a
representative from the chief centre of trade. He wished
to see justice hold sway in every sphere. He was ready
to join hands with any of his colleagues in removing
oppression, under whatever guise.
Three days after he had gained his seat the House was
called upon to cast its final vote upon the Civil Rights Bill.
The amendment to the Constitution which abolished slav
ery had devolved upon Congress the subsequent enforce
ment of the measure by appropriate legislation, defining
the rights, privileges, and obligations of the freedmen.
The bill now under consideration was intended to protect
them against all unjust discriminations in their new re
lations. Both in the Senate and the House it evoked
prolonged and embittered debate. Democratic members
opposed it at every stage. After its passage President
Johnson, whose " policy" had now become conspicuously
subservient to the views of the South, returned the bill
with his veto. On the 9th of April, 1867, it came up for
reconsideration, and was promptly carried by more than
the requisite constitutional majority of two thirds.
Mr. Dodge felt peculiar gratification in casting his first
vote for a law which he hoped would be effective in con
firming the liberties of those so recently enslaved. At the
time this was the general sentiment of the North.

U8 CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES.
The Union League Club of New York adopted resolu
tions affirming that the passage of this bill was to be rec
ognized as an important step in securing to all the people*
the rights and immunities consonant with republican
government, and tendering the thanks of the Club to aU
members of Congress who voted in its favor.
Mr. Dodge was made the channel of communication
with Congress for varied interests.
The Chamber of Commerce of New York presented
through him its pleas for the preservation of the harbor of
the great city, and its remonstrances against certain feat
ures of the tariff in relation to imports. Dealers in leather,
in sugars, and manufacturers of stoves, asked him to call
official attention to their wants. He brought into the
House a petition praying that books imported for Hterary
institutions and the encouragement of the fine arts be ad
mitted free of duty ; also a petition from the fire insurance
companies of New York to obtain exemption from oppres
sive internal revenue taxes. He presented the concurrent
resolutions of the legislature of New York desiring the
continued use of Government ships for hospital purposes
at quarantine. He submitted a resolution requesting the
President to communicate information respecting the action
of the papal authorities in forbidding public religious wor
ship at the American Embassy in Rome. He reported a
bill for the re-establishment of lighthouses and other aids
of navigation along the Southern coasts. He introduced a
memorial urging an appropriation for the payment of the
officers and crew of the " Kearsarge " for the destruction
of the Rebel cruiser " Alabama; " also a biU for the relief
of Rear-Admiral Hiram Paulding.
In his remarks upon the Niagara Ship Canal Mr. Dodge
says : —
" Notwithstanding the fears of the Canal Commissioners of my
own State, I shall cheerfully vote for this biU, because I beUeve
the prosperity of the State and city of New York is identified with

CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES.

119

that of the West. Just in proportion as Illinois and other Western
States are able to produce, and then dispose of their products at a
profit, wiU they traffic with the city of New York and use our
canals and railroads. I shaU vote with the firm conviction that the
prosperity of the country is the prosperity of New York."
When the Northern Pacific Railroad was urging its
claims, Mr. Dodge supported the bill.
" I presume, sir, when the Congress of 1864 granted the charter
for the construction of this road, it was in view of the fact that its
completion was calculated to advance the interests of the country.
The Government not only had unproductive lands to improve, but
it looked to the vast population settUng on the Pacific coasts. It
looked to Oregon, nearly a thousand mUes north of San Francisco.
It looked to the mineral resources which this road would open for
development. Both the Central Pacific Railroad and the Northern
Pacific should be completed. I have no hesitation in saying that
the aid granted by Congress to the Central Pacific has done as
much as any-other thing to give substantial credit to the financial
standing of our Government both in this country and Europe.
People know there is in the centre of this continent an immense
deposit of the precious metals, and they know, if this road
is built, that instead of producing, as we have in the last ten
years, ;?i, 000,000,000, we shall get out, for ten years to come,
^2,000,000,000; and we shaU have this gold and silver as the
basis not only for circulation in our own country, but to pay our
bonds here and in foreign countries."
He also urged an appropriation to carry out a contract
to faciliate telegraphic communication with the Pacific
coast; he held it to be a matter of simple justice.
"This appropriation of ^40,000 is to fulfil a contract with the
Telegraph Company, made, as I understand, five or six years ago,
when there was no telegraph Une between the Atlantic and Pacific
States. To aid in constructing a Une from the Missouri River to
San Francisco, the Government was to pay this sum every year for
ten years. The money has been paid for a number of years, and
the Company has regularly transmitted messages under the terms of

I20 CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES.
the contract. In addition to this line, recentiy interrupted by In
dian depredations, the Company has built a new line, and Govern
ment despatches are sent over it every day. Thus we have the
telegraphic intercourse with the Pacific States for which the appro
priation was ordered ; and yet gentiemen seem to think it is of
no consequence whether we shall carry out this contract or not. I
trust the appropriation wUl not be stricken out without fiiU consid
eration on the part of the House."
Mr. Dodge's views in regard to national finances appear
in his remarks upon the scheme for the redemption of the
compound-interest notes. He was strongly opposed to
inflation of the currency.
" I am prepared to vote for the report of the Committee ; I
think it will give more satisfaction to the entire community than
to pass an amendment to issue ^140,000,000 more of green
backs. There is great anxiety in the country now lest in some
way this Congress shaU adopt some resolution for the increase
and further inflation of the currency. The currency cannot be
disturbed at all if this biU becomes a law, for the notes now to be
redeemed bearing six per cent interest wUl be substituted by inter
est-bearing notes of three and sixty-five hundredths per cent. On
the other hand, if you issue the greenbacks, I believe the Govern
ment, not to say the country, in the purchases to be made during
the coming year, wiU lose more than the ^3,000,000 of interest
which it will allow the banks. No plan can be devised which will
give such ease to the anxious, and provide for the ^140,000,000
of compound interest notes, as to pass this bill. They will be sub
stituted immediately, and there will be no inflation of the currency ;
but if some provision is not made, the banks wiU be obliged to
substitute greenbacks, and there wiU be a contraction of over
^100,000,000." As a merchant and citizen of New York, as well as one
of its representatives, Mr. Dodge took special interest in
the passage of the bill to secure the present site for the
General Post-Office in that city. It may also be added
that he was one of the first to propose and urge the sub-

CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES. 12 1
sequent enlargement of the plans for the building. Dur
ing the discusion in the House, he said : —
" Mr. Speaker, this matter of a post-office in the city of New
York is one of national interest. It is not merely a post-office for
the accommodation of citizens of New York, but for the benefit of
the entire country. The building now occupied is the old Dutch
Church, transformed into a post-office, and is one of the most in
convenient places for such a purpose that can possibly be con
ceived for a city of the magnitude of New York. The vast increase
of business in that city demands a post-office large enough to do
the business rapidly, conveniently, and economically.
" Only a few years ago we had our mails from Europe once a
month by steamers. When they came tri-monthly we felt that it
was a great increase. We now have our steamers almost daily from
various parts of Europe ; and I noticed that on Saturday last there
were twelve large steamships cleared from the city of New York,
each of them carrying a maU. Within the last ten years in the
city of New York the daily maU has increased from thirty to a
hundred tons. '
" The property now offered by the Corporation of New York to
the United States Govemment for a post-office and for the
United States courts, at the nominal sum of ^500,000, would seU
at public auction to-morrow for from three to five million dollars.
It is an opportunity such as the Government can seldom obtain.
It is the most feasible, the most eligible spot in the city for the
purpose ; and although there is great objection to using a portion
of our public park for a post-office, yet such is the necessity, and
such the desire to accommodate the United States Government,
that the Corporation has yielded a plot of ground at the lower end
of the public park equal to twenty-six lots. It is such a favorable
opportunity that I trust the House wiU see the importance of
embracing it without delay."
In the prolonged debate over the tariff bill Mr. Dodge
was frequently heard. He was an importer, a manufac
turer, and a merchant. He had an intimate knowledge of
the principles and also of the details of the subject. His
efforts, however, were not so much directed to specific or

122 CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES.
personal interests as to measures which he believed to be
for the welfare of all classes and sections.
When the tax upon cotton was under consideration, Mr.
Dodge said : —
" It strikes me that the subject before the House to-night has a
wider range than has been giveu to it in this debate. While we
are looking at the income to be derived from cotton alone, we
must not forget that cotton is the basis upon which our chief im
portations are to be made in the future, and on any provision we
make for the payment of the pubUc debt we look to the duties on
imports. We cannot have large importations unless we have some
large article to export. There is nothing to my mind more im
portant than that our country should gain as soon as possible the
position we held in European markets previous to the war. We
must not forget that during these five years gigantic efforts have
been made to cultivate cotton in India ; and while once they were
at great disadvantage there on account of the distance and cost of
transportation, now, by means of railroads buUt by English capital,
immense amounts of cotton are produced. We must at the earliest
date return to our normal condition and raise in the United States
not only twenty-five hundred thousand, but five milUons of bales.
The price of cotton then cannot be sustained above twelve and a
half cents per pound."
Mr. Dodge advocated protection to the iron industries
of the country. In relation to the tax on railroad iron, he
says : —
" I am confident there is no portion of the country so deeply
concerned in the increase of our iron interests, and particularly of
raUroad iron, as the West. The State of Iowa, twelve hundred
mUes from the sea-coast, wiU gain more by the successful increase
of railroad interests of the country than almost any other State.
Within the last five years there has been a vast enlargement of the
capacity for roUing iron in this country. I differ from my coUeague
from New York city [Mr. Raymond] in regard to the prosperity of
the iron interests of this country. I know that for the last eighteen
months those interests have been far from prosperous. But during
the early part of the war the iron interests were prosperous, and at

CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES. 123
that time the railroad iron mills of this country increased rapidly.
The railroad interests of the West are stimulating the production
of raUroad iron in the West. There are now roUing-mills in
Chicago, in St. Louis, and other places.
" It wiU be more to the advantage of the people of the West
than to any other portion of our people to secure railroad iron
made from the best quality of iron. Railroad interests for the last
fifteen years have suffered immeasurably from the poor quality of
the raikoad iron imported into the country. They have had the
products of the cinders of the mountains of Wales converted into
rails and brought here. The result has been the imposition of a
vast expense upon the raikoads. We want to develop the manu
facture of railroad iron from the very best quality of iron. It is
of more consequence to railroads that they secure the first quality
of rails than that they shaU procure them at a low price. Grant
the protection now proposed, and railroad iron-mills will spring
up all over the West, not only providing new raUs which are
wanted for the construction of new roads, but re-rolling the old
rails and perpetuating in the cheapest possible manner aU the
mighty railroad interests of the West."
He urged an increase of duty on certain grades of steel
wire on the ground that otherwise the more than two hun
dred thousand people engaged in its manufacture might
be turned out of employment.
Mr. Dodge's position on the temperance question natu
rally led him to oppose any attempt to diminish taxation
upon the manufacture of liquors. In the Committee of the
Whole he said : —
" Mr. Chairman, aU that we require in regard to this question of
whiskey is a law sufficient to find out the small distilleries. I fail
to perceive the force of the suggestion made by the Chairman of
the Committee of Ways and Means that a smaU tax of twenty-five
dollars wiU induce men who are carrying on an iUicit traffic in cel
lars and garrets to come forward and make known the fact that
they are engaged in this business. I hope, sir, that we shall fix
a tax so large and frame a law so stringent that every manufacturer
of distiUed spirits, whether he makes a thousand gaUons a day or

124 CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES.
five gallons a day, wUl be found out, so that the Government shall
receive from him the entire amount of revenue contemplated by
the law.
"We may rest assured, sir, that a tax of $25 wiU never
bring to light men who are seeking to carry on an illicit traffic.
If the tax be fixed at ^1,000, or ^1,500, there would be an object
in finding them out. In the city of New York we have now
a law fixing the license at ;?200 and ^150. Last year, when only
a smaU tax of ^10 was required for seUing liquor, there were in that
city more than nine thousand places in which intoxicating drinks
were sold. Under our present system, where it is an object to
detect every individual seUing liquor without a license, the city is
receiving ^1,000,000 of revenue annually from this source. If
men will manufacture, if men wiU sell, if men will drink alcohol, let
them pay the tax which the Government imposes."
He also proposed an amendment to prevent fraud by
the importation of fruits preserved in brandy, intending to
import brandy rather than fruits. This measure imposed
a duty on such fruits of $2 per gallon and thirty-five per
cent ad valorem, the duty on brandy being at that time
$3.50 to $4 per gallon.
In the interest of the poorer classes Mr. Dodge opposed
the granting to any horse-railroad in New York or any
other large city the right to add the duty or tax to their
rate of fare, —
" The remarks of my coUeague from New York [Mr. Hotchkiss]
may be very correct in regard to the raUroads in the smaUer towns
and cities ; but we find in New York that our street-railroads are
very oppressive. They have obtained a right to run through our
streets. They have secured valuable franchises, on the condition
that they would transport people from the lovver to the upper part
of the city, — the poor men that the gentleman refers to, the me
chanics, the men who cannot afford to walk two or three miles to
their business. They were granted these franchises because they
agreed to carry passengers at a given fare. If this amendment
passes, they wiU be authorized to add this two and a half per cent
tax upon aU these poor persons. I hope the amendment, so far

CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES. 125
as horse-railroads in the large cities are concerned, wiU not be
adopted." He carried an amendment not to increase the duty on
" crash," made by the peasantry of Russia, and largely
used for toweUing by the poorer classes in America.
He presented a petition, signed by the working-men
of New York engaged in manufacturing Italian marble,
complaining of the excessive duty on that article.
He advocated relieving from tonnage-duty certain ves
sels trading from California to the Sandwich Islands.
At the close of the entire discussion Mr. Dodge had an
opportunity — by the courtesy of Mr. Garfield in yielding
a portion of his time — to state his position on the general
question of the tariff": —
" Brought up in my youth in a viUage which was the seat of a
cotton-manufacturing industry, I early learned to sympathize with
what was known as ' the American system ; ' and from that day to
this I have witnessed great excitement and predictions of ruin to
commerce whenever a new tariff has been produced. And yet we
have continued to prosper under each successive change ; for
whenever any one article manufactured here gained such a posi
tion as to supplant the foreign competitor, some other article was
found to supply its place in the list of imports, — and thus the total
amount of importations from abroad has gone on increasing, untU
now, under the present tariff, which was denounced as prohibitory,
we have imported a larger amount the last year than in any pre
vious year. I am impressed with the conviction that the commer
cial interests of the city I in part represent will be promoted by
the prosperity of the agricultural and manufacturing interests, and
by the ability of the people, on account of this prosperity, to buy
and pay for the vast amount of imports which I am confident,
notwithstanding this tariff, wiU continue to flow to this country.
"The increased duties on wool and woollen goods wiU un
doubtedly stimulate the growth of wool here to the general advan
tage. If in time a portion of the coarser fabrics are shut out, there
will be increased abiUty in the South and West to purchase the
finer foreign goods.

126 CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES.
" The duty on flax wiU not only encourage the manufacture of
the cheaper grades of linen, but furnish means to pay for the better
article made abroad.
" The duty on iron wiU stimulate the making of rails in the
West and on the banks of the Mississippi, and thus save t;he cost
of transporting wheat twelve hundred miles by railroad, and then
three thousand mUes across the Atiantic, to purchase rails to build
roads in the very vicinity of immense beds of coal and iron, the
manufacture of which will create a home market for the wheat.
" There are many things in the bill which I think should have
been amended. The duties on many articles are unnecessarily
large, and could have been reduced without any detriment to the
country. I trust they wiU yet be adjusted ; but in view of the
state of our finances, and under the conviction that the increased
tariff wiU, notwithstanding the predictions to the contrary, secure
us an amount of revenue equal to the estimates of the Secretary of
the Treasury, I shaU vote for the biU, although I had hoped it
would be recommitted, with instructions to report at the next
session of Congress."
Among other measures, Mr. Dodge favored a uniform
system of bankruptcy throughout the United States.
He also voted for several bills which were carried over
the veto of the President, the most important being a bill
for " the extension of the elective franchise in the District
of Columbia," so as to include people of color ; the ad
mission into the Union of the States of Colorado and of
Nebraska; the bill regulating " the tenure of office; " and
that providing " for the more efficient government of the
insurrectionary States."
The absorbing topic of discussion before the country
during all the period of Mr. Dodge's congressional service
was necessarily the adjustment of the altered relations of
the late Confederate States. It devolved upon the Thirty-
ninth Congress, as the first after the close of the war, to
consider and decide this paramount and pressing question.
Intense solicitude in regard to the issue existed both North
and South. " Reconstruction " was the word upon every

CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES. 127
Up. " What shall it be ? " " How shall it be accom
plished?" Mr. Dodge had taken the deepest interest in
every measure passed for the protection and elevation of
the freedmen. In this larger question he watched with
anxiety a growth of opinion and a proposed basis of settle
ment that seemed to him full of peril. The discussion
came up in Congress on " the bill to provide for restoring
to the States lately in insurrection their full political rights."
Mr. Dodge addressed the House at the session of Jan. 21,
1867: —
" Mr. Speaker, it was my purpose to prepare some remarks
to submit to the House in the morning; but I understand the
debate is to close this evening, and I shall have no other oppor
tunity. I therefore embrace the present moment to give some
reasons why it wiU be impossible for me to vote for the biU or the
amendment. But I trust in the remarks I am about to make I
shaU not be accused of being a renegade to party, — that I shaU not
be accused of going with those who are considered as enemies of
the best interests of the country, for I claim to be as loyal as any
other man.
"Mr. Radford (Democrat). — To whom does the gentieman
refer as ' enemies of the country ' ? Does he mean gentiemen on
this side of the House ?
" Mr. Dodge. — Not at all ; and I am glad to be intermpted to
make the disclaimer.
" I differ, Mr. Speaker, entirely with this side of the House in
assuming, as they do, that the States lately in rebelUon are out of
the Union. I am not a constitutional lawyer, and not prepared to
argue the question in a constitutional way. Looking at it in a
common-sense way, I think we have already recognized these States
as States in the Union by submitting to them the constitutional
amendment for the abolishment of slavery.
" I assume, sir, it was impossible for them to have constitution
ally ratified that amendment without being States in the Union.
It was because they were States that it was submitted to them.
At the last session we recognized that although they had in a cer
tain sense lost their relations to the Government, they were stiU
States in the Union. In a discussion in this House in 1862 on the

128 CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES.
admission of West Virginia, this whole subject was very fully con
sidered. It appears to me that the State of Virginia was recog
nized then as a State, and the Government under Governor Peir-
point was regarded as the constitutional Government, competent
to give its assent to the division of a portion of its territory and
have it formed into a new State.
"Then, again, we have treated them as States by sending to
them the various amendments to the Constitution that passed this
House at its last session. I am sure that a majority of the mem
bers of this House at least fully expected that these amendments
would be sent to the legislatures of the Southern States for ratifi
cation. If they had seen fit to ratify them ; had it not been for
the influences that were thrown around them in high quarters ;
had it not been for the Philadelphia Convention and all the influ
ences that emanated from that ; had it not been the expectation
on the part of the South that there would be another party in the
country which would sustain the policy of the President ; had they
not been flattered and made to believe that if they refused to ratify
the amendments they would yet be admitted to representation in
Congress, — I verily believe that a sufiicient number of the South
ern States would have ratified the amendments to have made them,
with the help of the Northern States, a part of the organic law of
the country.
" I regret that these amendments could not have been ratified.
I beUeve they were wisely designed to promote that peace and
harmony which are necessary for the best interest of this entire
country. They do not attempt to interfere with the constitutional
rights of the States in regard to suffrage, but they do make a proper
arrangement for the changed condition of things resulting from
the emancipation of slaves and the destruction of slavery. They
declare that if any portion of the people recentiy made free by the
constitutional amendment, and thus become citizens of the United
States, are deprived of the right of suffrage, they shall not count in
the basis of representation. We aU know from the past history
of the South that their desire has ever been to secur-e their fuU
amount of political influence in the country ; and that desire would
have led them ere long to pass such laws as would have even
tually enfranchised the negro race. They have not seen fit to do
it These amendments were sent forth to the country as the result

CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES.

129

of six long months of careful deliberation on the part of the Joint-
Committee on Reconstruction.
" The loyal portion of the country, — I beg pardon of my col
league (Mr. Radford) ; I wiU amend by saying the radical portion
of the country, which, I presume, will satisfy him, — the radical,
or Union, portion of the people were almost universally satisfied
with the report of the Committee of Fifteen, resulting in the pas
sage of the joint-resolution amending the Constitution. I believe,
Mr. Speaker, that if these resolutions had been adopted, had been
ratified by the States and become a part of the organic law of the
land, there would have been universal satisfaction throughout the
country. When it was found that they were not likely, at present
at least, to be adopted by the Southern States, the people looked
anxiously to the deliberations of this House to see what we should
propose next. The country is looking at us now as the focal point
from which is to emanate something that shaU give peace, har
mony, and prosperity to the nation, and perpetuity to the Govem
ment ; and now, when the session is half over, we are about to
present to the country the biU of the honorable gentieman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Stevens), or the substitute offered by the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ashley).
" I have very carefully read these two bills, or the biU and the
proposed amendment, and I faU to find in either the original biU
or in the ainendment of the gentleman from Ohio anything that to
my mind promises peace, union, and happiness as the resuk of its
passage. I hold that it is of the very first importance t)iat at the
earUest possible day there should be a reconcihation — let me use
that temi — between the North and South ; that there should be
a permanent reconcihation ; that as far as possible, considering the
nature of man, we should forget and forgive the past so far as it is
right and proper. And in making laws here, having that in view,
we should be careful not to pass those that from the very nature
of man must be calculated to irritate and perpetuate the very
difficulties that now tend to separate us.
" I hope, Mr. Speaker, that in the very desultory remarks I am
making I shaU not be understood as having no sympathy with the
loyal men of the South who have been, and stUl are, suffering
under the continued rule of the majority there, or as having no
sympathy with the emancipated colored man, or as having no feel-
9

I30 CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES.
ing for those who are being shot down, imprisoned, whipped, and
deprived of their rights under the law. I feel as much sympathy
for them as any gentleman on this floor ; and yet I cannot divest
myself of the belief that, to a certain extent, just such a state of
things was naturally to be expected from so sudden a change in
the civU and social relations which have existed in the South for
the last hundred years. It was hardly to be anticipated — it
would have been a miracle if it had been so — that immediately
upon this sudden and almost instantaneous severing of the relations
which had existed between master and slave there should have
been nothing to irritate, that there should have been no men of
such unnatural feelings as would lead them to refuse to do justice
to the emancipated negroes. We must aU know that there are
men, North as weU as South, who are hard-hearted, unfeeUng, —
men that seem to have no sense of right or justice.
" But, sir, I do not say this as an apology for the wrongs done
to the freedmen, or for the cruel manner in which they have been
and stiU are treated, in defiance of the CivU Rights Bill which we
passed last year, and in despite of the provisions of the Freedmen's
Bureau BiU, which were all calculated to shield the freedman from
the dangers which surround him. I make no apology for the
wrongs done to them. What is wanted now is something that wiU
secure quiet and better feeling between the North and the South,
and at the same time better feeling between Southern men and the
freedmen. And we want this because the Southern country is part
of our own. [We fought for four long years that we might continue
one undivided people ; and if these Southern States are stiU to be
kept year after year in this state of disquietude, we at the North,
sympathizing with them in our social and business relations, must
to a certain extent suffer with them. We want to devise some
plan, equitable, just, and reasonable, that wiU, if possible, bring
about a state of peace, union, and harmony between the North
and the South. I cannot see, Mr. Speaker, that either in the biU
or the amendment there is anything calculated to bring about such
a result In the constitutional amendment we made a proper
provision for the punishment, if I may use that expression, of the
prominent men who were engaged in the Rebellion. We disfran
chised them for a certain length of time from the right to hold
office under the Govemment.

CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES. 13 1
" The bUl proposed here, with the amendment, provides that
every man who was twenty-one years of age in 186 1, and who has
engaged in any way or held ofiice under the so-caUed Confederate
Government, or who has taken an oath to support that Govem
ment, — which, if I understand it, includes aU the private soldiers
in the Confederate army, — shaU be disfranchised. They are to
be deprived of all civil rights, and to be placed in the position of
aUens. They can only acquire the rights of citizenship, not as
foreigners acquire them, — by giving notice of their intention to
become citizens in five years, — but by taking an oath, under the
most fearful penalties, that from March, 1864, until the close of
the war they would have been ready, if opportunity had offered,
to do anything to bring the war to a close ; that they had no
sympathy with the war after that time ; and that they would,
if opportunity had presented itself, have accepted the amnesty
offered by President Lincoln and left the Confederate Government.
How large a proportion of the Southern people could come for
ward and honestly take that oath ? The result of the passage of
this bill, if it shall become operative, wiU be to disfranchise nearly
the entire white population of the Southern States, and at the
same time enfranchise the colored people and give them the
virtual control in the proposed organization of the new State
governments. " I submit as a dictate of common-sense, taking mankind as we
find them, as we know they are, is it natural to suppose that the
passage of such a law as this wiU be calculated to promote in
creased friendly relations between the North and South, to create
a better feeUng between the white and the colored population ?
I assume that that should be the object of the laws which we pass,
as weU as to protect in aU their civU rights the loyal white man and
the freedman. I can see nothing either in the original bUl or in
the proposed substitute which is calculated to increase or create
any good feeling between the North and South. It is not natural
that they should love us whUe we are putting them under such
a ban. Under this bUl, if they shaU ever be formed into States,
aU the men who have ever held office under the Confederate
Govemment are to be entirely disfranchised.
" Mr. Speaker, if we had gone before our State at the last elec
tion, and had proposed as a plan for reconstruction and settling

132 CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES.
the difficulties existing between the North and South the plan
contained in this biU and the amendment, I have no hesitation in
saying we should have lost the State of New York. I do not know
what was the course pursued in other States, but when we went
into the canvass in the State of New York we took our stand upon
the amendment to the Constitution, and assumed that we intended
to hold the South where they were until they should see fit to ratify
that amendment.
" Mr. Radford. — WiU my colleague allow me to ask him a
question ?
" Mr. Dodge. — Certainly.
" Mr. Radford. — I desire to know if the gentleman is now in
favor of admitting the Southern States to a representation here in
Congress, provided they ratify the amendment to the Constitution ?
" Mr. Dodge. — I say unhesitatingly that I should, provided
they send loyal men here.
" Mr. Radford. — That is my religion.
" Mr. Dodge. — I believe if this Congress shall abandon the
idea of requiring the ratification of the constitutional amendment
passed by the last session of Congress, and shaU pass these bills
and they become laws, the people of the country will not be satis
fied. As they examine them they wiU see provision made for the
military support of the new State organizations contemplated.
They wiU see that by the amendment of the gentleman from Ohio
(Mr. Spalding) in all these ten States martial law is to be declared,
and we are to go, if not into actual war again with the South, at
least to put the South under martial rule ; that the writ of habeas
corpus is to be suspended, — that writ so precious to us aU as citi
zens. They will see that this is not likely in the nature of things to
bring about an early reorganization of the South. The commercial,
the manufacturing, and the agricultural interests of this country, as
they look at this matter, wUl see in it a continuance of taxation
necessary to support this miUtary array sent to these ten States.
" Then in connection with this they wiU see the attempt which
is now being made in this House to impeach the President. I
speak of the impeachment, not because I should not be as ready
as any man in the House to impeach the President if there can be
specific charges brought against him which wiU enable the Senate
of the United States to find a true bUl against him. But looking

CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES. 133
at it in view of the present position of the party to which I belong,
I think it a' most unfortunate move. I hold that the President of
the United States has been impeached by the country ; that he
stands impeached to-day ; and that this effort wUl simply tend to
galvanize him again into life, to give him an amount of sympathy
which he never would get otherwise. I think it a most unfortunate
move in a party point of view, but of vastly more importance in its
relations to the great interests of the country, which are being
paralyzed in view of this unprecedented movement.
Sir, if this biU should pass, and if we go on with the impeach
ment movement and carry it to the Senate, you will find that aU
the great interests of this country wUl measurably stand stiU, wait
ing the result of these movements. The manufacturing, commer
cial, and agricultural interests of the country are now looking to
this House for that support which may be given by an increased
tariff; but they wUl look in vain for a resuscitation of business and
return to a healthy state of things so long as the pubUc mind shaU
be agitated by this unexpected and unusual measure brought for
ward in this House. There are gentiemen from aU parts of the
country who are making their way to our great commercial centres
to obtain the means for carrying on the enterprises so necessary to
the development of our country. But when they go to the capi
talists, asking means or offering for sale their railroad bonds, when
they present propositions for their varied enterprises, they wUl find
that the men who control the money are waiting to see what shaU
be the result upon the interests of the country of the measures
about to be acted upon in this House. Mr. Speaker, the fact is
there wiU be a general hesitation. The man who has been con
templating the building of a ship wiU stand stiU and await the
development of these measures. The merchant about to send his
vessel on a long Eastern voyage wiU hesitate before he loads his
ship and sends her away for twelve months.
"Sir, I received to-day from one of our merchants a letter
stating that on Friday last he met with some gentiemen who are
directors of a benevolent institution of which he is the treasurer,
those gentiemen being among the weakhiest and most loyal men
of our country; and at that meeting they decided that ;? 150,000
placed in his hands for investment, and which they had at a pre
vious meeting resolved to invest in United States securities, should

134 CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES.
be deposited in the Life and Trust Company, to await the action
of this House on these important measures now pending.
" Sir, you wiU find that the man who has been waiting the de-
cUne of materials to build, wUl wait stiU longer. The result wUl be
a partial paralysis of the great interests of the whole country, and
especiaUy if this biU shaU pass, and if the other measure to which
I have referred shaU be pressed to a decision.
" Mr. Speaker, we have been Uving for six long years between
hope and fear. I assure you, sir, that standing here to-day, look
ing at these measures, fraught, as I believe, with so much danger
to the best interests of the country, I feel very much as I did when
I stood in the peace conference before the war and saw the dark
clouds that were gathering over our country. I feel that we are
now in great peril, and ought not to look simply to the immediate
enfranchisement of the negro race, overlooking aU the other great
interests of the country which are dependent upon the legislation
we may adopt. No man on this floor is more strongly in favor
than I am of protecting the best interests of the colored man. I
voted with aU my heart for their enfranchisement in this District,
and I would go as far as any other man to elevate and advance
the colored race, down-trodden as they have been so long. But
pass this bUl, and I cannot see that it wiU be productive of aught
else than injury to the colored race. We need to-day measures
which shall improve their condition, which shaU render them most
valuable as citizens. We want to place them in such a position
that their labor wUl be sought after as a matter of interest, and that
they may receive from the people with whom they have so long
associated, that treatment to which they are entitied. But the very
fact that the white population of the South by this biU are to be
almost universally degraded, while the colored men are elevated
above them, is not, in my opinion, calculated at all to promote the
best interests of either.
" I do hope, Mr. Speaker, that neither the biU of the gentleman
from Pennsylvania nor the amendment of the gentleman from Ohio
vriU pass. I trust that some other plan viuU be devised, by which
the loyal men in the South and the freedmen shaU be protected in
their civU rights. I hope that we shaU not attempt to reorganize
the Southem States by assuming they are nothing but Territories,
and their inhabitants aliens.

CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES. 135
" Mr. Speaker, I trust these bUls wiU be referred to the Commit
tee on Reconstruction, with the hope that they may be able to
present to the House some constitutional plan by which the loyal
men of the South, white and black, may be protected in aU their
rights of person and property, and which may put an effectual stop
to the injustice, persecution, and murders which are now going
on in all parts of the South, apparently without restraint from the
general or local govemments."
Letters were received by Mr. Dodge from merchants,
bankers, lawyers, ministers, and others, commending his
position, and thanking him for the wisdom, courage, and
force of his address.
The New York " Journal of Commerce " referred to it
in these terms : —
" The commercial classes in New York were exceedingly glad
to read the brief report yesterday of Mr. W. E. Dodge's speech in
Congress on the previous day. He seems to have cut loose from
party ties, — at least for the moment, — and addressed himself, as
an experienced New York merchant should, to the sober truth and
the pressing necessities of the country.
" It is refreshing to see such a course pursued ; and Mr. Dodge
wUl find that he has done very much to estabUsh his reputation
among his fellow-citizens here by his plain speaking."
The correspondent of the Washington " National Intel
ligencer " writes from New York, Feb. 5, 1867: —
"The speech of Mr. Dodge on Reconstruction has been re
ceived here with great favor. The main features of this speech
are approved and highly commended by nine tenths of the busi
ness men of aU parties in this city. He utters the sentiments of
the great majority of the merchants of New York who came up to
the support of the Government in the season of its greatest perU.
He does not pretend to be a constitutional lawyer, but he is a saga
cious man of business of long experience and of sound common-
sense, animated by the warmest sentiments of patriotism as "weU
as Christian phUanthropy."

136 CONGRESSIONAL SPEECHES.
The progress of events largely justified Mr. Dodge's
conclusions. Long after he had left Congress, he was
heard to say that his words at that time had been spoken
in the fear of God, against party policy, and that after
years of mature deliberation he would not erase one
sentence he then uttered.
In the faU of 1866 Mr. Dodge was officially informed
that he had been unanimously renominated by the Con
gressional Convention of the Union Republican citizens of
the Eighth District. In making the announcement, the
Committee say : —
" Apart from aU considerations of personal respect and attach
ment, we can assure you that the action of 'this Convention has
been dictated by a profound sense of duty towards the constitu
ency of the district, in the fuUest belief that you have while in
Congress been efficient, consistent, and faithful to the high trust
confided to you. It is our earnest hope, and in the expression of
it we but utter the sentiments of the loyal Union people of this
whole community, that you wiU accept the nomination."
In reply, Mr. Dodge expressed his grateful appreciation
of the kind approval of his course, and his regret that
circumstances over which he had no control, and involving
other than pecuniary considerations, made it imperative
that he should not be absent from the city during the
sessions of the next Congress.

CHAPTER IX.
TRAVELS.
IF one could speak of a " born traveller," Mr. Dodge
would be entitled to that distinction. It was no effort
for him to travel. He undertook long journeys or short
without hesitation. He not only had the common enjoy
ment in seeing new places and persons, or revisiting familiar
scenes and renewing former acquaintanceships, but he knew
how to reduce the fatigue of the journey itself to a min
imum. He could make himself comfortable — and others
too — where many would find cause for complaint. He
was enthusiastic over every fresh beauty in the landscape,
and eager to learn any new facts respecting the character
and products of the district or country, the condition of the
people, the state of trade, the progress of education or reli
gion. He could talk with passengers or employes, and was
always ready to ask or answer courteous questions on terms
of pleasant equality. An old man on the train, or an unat
tended lady or sick child, was sure to attract his notice
and call out some offer of assistance. His genial smile
and manifest good-will disarmed suspicion and helped to
make his fellow-travellers kindly disposed both towards
himself and each other. In cases of delay, danger, or
accident, he was quick to give encouragement or devise
methods of relief Those who shared in any of his journeys
wiU not soon forget how his bright, appreciative, unselfish
companionship tended to Hghten the ordinary weariness
of the way.

138 TRAVELS.
He was constantly making short trips to neighboring
cities, — to Washington, or parts of Pennsylvania. Once
or twice each year he usually found it necessary to go to
Georgia, — perhaps to Texas, — to Missouri, Michigan,
or Canada.
Business for himself or others, or some temperance,
missionary, or church occasion, would generally be the
motive; for he rarely undertook a journey on the score
of health, or if he did, the other objects were apt to be
included before he returned.
Mrs. Dodge almost invariably accompanied him, for
she also had extraordinary endurance, and would seldom
fail to discover something of interest on any route; nor
could either fully enjoy any pleasure unless shared by
the other, while their mutual dependence was all the
more conspicuous in times of anxiety and trial. She was
familiar with the general features of his business aff'airs,
and took the deepest interest in all his benevolent and
religious enterprises. He loved to talk over his plans with
her, and knew he would always receive wise and sympathetic
counsel. They crossed the Atlantic together several times. Busi
ness and family ties combined to make these foreign jour
neys more frequent and attractive. Mr. Dodge's partner
at Liverpool was Mr. Daniel James, senior member of the
firm of Phelps, James, & Co., and his wife was Mrs. Dodge's
eldest sister.
Their first voyage was in the good ship " Ashburton."
After a passage of some twenty days they were becalmed
off Kinsale, on the coast of Ireland, and finally landed in
a fishing-boat. It was the last of June, and in the days of
coaching, which made the drive to Dublin most delightful.
On the way, at Cork, they called upon Father Mathew,
and Mr. Dodge urged him to visit America in behalf of
the temperance cause. They made excursions through
England and Wales, and a short visit to Paris, being absent

TRAVELS.

139

from home altogether about three months. Ten years
later they crossed the ocean again, but only to remain
a few weeks. They happened, however, to be in Paris
at the time of Queen Victoria's royal entrance on her first
visit to the Emperor Napoleon III.
In 1858 they enjoyed a longer trip, going as far as Italy
to see Mr. Dodge's sister, Mrs. William B. Kinney, whose
husband was then the United States Charg6 d'Affaires at
the Court of Turin.
They made a still more extended tour during 1871 and
1872. Most of the larger countries of Europe were visited,
as also Egypt and the Holy Land. They were able to
remain at Jerusalem only a short time, but long enough
to see the chief places of interest, and to carry away lasting
and grateful impressions. At Beirfit Mr. Dodge laid the
corner-stone of the Syrian Protestant College. At Vienna
and Berlin he received many courtesies from his old friends,
the Hon. John Jay and the Hon. George Bancroft, the
United States Ministers ; and in Rome he was present at
a dinner given by Mr. Cyrus W. Field to the Inter
national Telegraphic Conference. It was during this
journey that he acted as one of the American delegates
of the Evangelical Alliance to petition the Emperor of
Russia, then at Friedrichshofen,' Germany, to grant full
religious liberty to the persecuted Esthonians and Livonians
of the Baltic provinces.
In England he made a number of addresses at temper
ance and other gatherings. The United Kingdom AUiance
entertained him at a breakfast, where he gave a somewhat
full account of the progress of the cause in America. The
British branch of the Evangelical Alliance tendered to Mr.
Dodge and a number of other members of the organization
in the United States a dinner at Richmond, the President,
the Earl of Chichester, presiding. He also enjoyed a visit
at the ancient and hospitable country-seat of Sir Harry
Verney, Croydon, Buckinghamshire.

140 TRAVELS.
The last European trip was made in iSBi, Mr. and Mrs.
Dodge being absent this time also several months. They
traveUed leisurely through Ireland, Scotland, and parts
of England and Wales, then crossed the Channel and
spent a portion of the summer and autumn on the Conti
nent, going as far as Vienna, where they visited the Hon.
William Walter Phelps, at that time United States Minister
to Austria.
While in England Mr. Dodge had constant invitations
to be present at pubhc and social gatherings and to make
addresses for various objects. During the World's Confer
ence of the Young Men's Christian Association, he spoke,
with the Rev. Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler, at a vast meeting
in Exeter Hall, London, presided over by the Earl of
Shaftesbury. Mr. and Mrs. Dodge attended a reception
given to the members of this Conference by the Lord
Mayor of London, the Right Hon. William McArthur, M. P.
They were also present at a dinner where the Lord Mayor
entertained the mayors and mayoresses of the kingdom.
They were guests again at the Mansion House on a more
private occasion. They attended a number of meetings and
entertainments of the Evangelical Alliance and of differ
ent temperance organizations. They likewise greatly en
joyed seeing once more many old friends, — among them
the Rev. Drs. Newman Hall, Arthur, Stoughton, Harrison,
Allon, and others, with Messrs. Raper and Rae, leaders
in the temperance reform. In London Mr. Dodge was
present at the funeral obsequies, in Westminster Abbey,
of Dean Stanley, and in Paris he spoke at the public meet
ing of American citizens called on receiving tidings of the
death of President Garfield.
In Paris also Mr. Dodge received the injury to a nerve
in the foot which manifestly reduced his strength at the
time, and from which he never entirely recovered.
Early in the foUowing year (1882) they made a short
trip through the South, and in April started with a small

TRAVELS. 141
company of family friends to carry out their long cher
ished plan of a trip to California. Mr. Dodge enjoyed
this entire journey with unusual zest. Most of it was over
routes altogether new to him. A private car, with sleeping
and eating accommodations, was taken from Chicago, and
on all the lines the railway officials extended every facility.
At San Francisco and other places friends were waiting
with a cordial welcome. Throughout the journey no acci
dent or serious detention occurred ; the health of the party
was unimpaired, and each day brought some new pleasure
to all.
Mr. Dodge writes from Las Vegas, Hot Springs : —
" Here we are, 2,250 mUes from home, in New Mexico, and
just one week since we left, having spent three days at Chicago,
and one in Kansas City. It is a perfect wonder what railroads are
doing for this far-off country, which but for them would stiU be one
vast wilderness."
From Santa F^, May 2 : —
" We have been here for three days, amid the strange sights of
this the oldest city of our country. We attended the Presbyterian
Church on Sunday, and had a large temperance meeting in the
evening. We have visited the schools and mission of our church ;
and one day drove out to the Indian viUage, some ten miles away,
and saw the poor, deluded creatures belonging to a people who for
three hundred years have been under CathoUc influences, and not
one in twenty can read, or has any more general knowledge than
their fathers three centuries ago. We have met friends at every
turn. The Judge of the Supreme Court here is from Flushing,
Long Island. When senator at Albany he acted for our Chamber
of Commerce, and he showed me a finely engrossed vote of thanks,
signed by me as president. At the close of the temperance meet
ing the Governor of the Territory introduced himself as an old
attorney of our firm. We subsequentiy visited him at the 'pal
ace,' or government-house, now three hundred years old, where he
has a wonderful collection of curiosities. At the temperance
meeting also a lawyer and his wife came up to greet us, afid he

142 TRAVELS.
introduced himself as a son of our old friend Judge  . A fine-
looking young man foUowed, who said he was once a member
of the Rivington Street Church in New York, and had been five
years in Mr. Booth's office. We are aU well, and enjoy every
moment." The party took the Southern Pacific route, entering
California at Fort Yuma, and passing their first night in
the midst of the charming scenery of the Sierra Madre
Mountains. A delightful month was spent in visiting the
chief cities and resorts of the State. The days at San
Francisco and in its immediate vicinity were especially full
of interest, as this was the first visit of most of the com
pany. Their final excursion brought them to the wonders
of the Yosemite Valley.
Mr. Dodge writes. May 2i, 1882, to his children at
home : —
" We reached this most grand and remarkable spot in the after
noon of the second day, and the sight was beyond anything I could
have anticipated by descriptions. The rocks rise five to six thou
sand feet perpendicularly, with' every form of peak, and with
streams twenty feet wide, falUng sixteen hundred feet in one sheet
As we came down into the valley, which is only some mUe or
so wide, and full of majestic trees, it looked like a fine English
park." The principal points of attraction were visited with con
stantly increasing delight, — Mr. Dodge making one of the
excursions on horseback with something of the old ease
and pleasure he always manifested when mounted on a
good horse.
On their return from the Yosemite, the " big trees " of
the Mariposa group were carefully examined. The growth
and dimensions of trees had been a subject of study to
Mr. Dodge during all his business life, and as he now
drove day after day through the woods, the immense size
of many of the trees, regarded there as only ordinary, con
stantly called forth his admiration ; but when the famous

TRAVELS.

143

monarchs of the forest were finally reached, and his ex
perienced eye began to take in their stupendous pro
portions, his astonishment, delight, and awe were almost
beyond expression. No scene during the journey made
a deeper impression upon his mind, and he frequently
referred to it afterwards.
The Central and the Union Pacific Railroads were fol
lowed on the homeward route, the party stopping at Salt
Lake City and diverging also for a few days to visit Denver
and other places in Colorado. This was the last journey
of any importance undertaken by Mr. Dodge.
The fact that he was engaged in travelling was not held
by Mr. Dodge to be a valid excuse for suspending any
Christian activity. He never regarded himself as " off
duty." Wherever he went, on whatever errand, he was
also intent upon his " Master's business," — not anxiously
or ostentatiously, but naturally, and whenever an oppor
tunity offered. On the steamboat, in a stage-coach, sitting
beside a stranger in a railway car or at a hotel table, he
could, by a friendly word or act, enter into conversation,
and finally lead the way to religious topics, and perhaps to
a personal appeal. He usually carried with him a number
of tracts and leaflets suitable for different occasions. In
the days when he was in the habit of travelling by stage or
in a private carriage, especially through the lumber or
mining regions of Pennsylvania, he would scatter tracts at
schoolhouses or dwellings along the road. If he saw a
group of children, he loved to stop and say a few cheerful
words, or throw them some small papers or tracts. When
sometimes floating down a stream on a timber raft, he
would fasten a tract in a partially split shingle and throw
it on the bank in front of some lonely house.
The guide who conducted the party to the great trees of
California was found by Mr. Dodge to have once belonged
to one of his Sunday-schools in New York. He had long
ago wandered out to the Pacific coast, and was now living

144 TRAVELS.
in forgetfulness of much of his early training. When
Mr. Dodge returned to San Francisco he took special
pains to send this man a Bible. In his various journeys
from place to place he was continually invited to address
temperance meetings or Sunday-schools, or to speak be
fore churches and at public assemblies, and he rarely
refused to comply. He was also frequently urged to aid
churches, institutions, or individuals in the places he
visited ; and if the cause commended itself to him, he was
glad to respond to such appeals.
Sunday travelling he regarded as unnecessary and
wrong. However urgent his business, or wherever he
found himself on Saturday night, his invariable rule was
to stop for the Sabbath. He believed that a little previous
care in planning a journey would generally enable a trav
eller to reach some suitable, or at least comfortable, rest
ing-place at the end of the week. Certainly he always felt
that some of his own most delightful experiences, as well
as often unexpected opportunities for usefulness, came to
him when he was endeavoring to honor the Lord's day.
He had occasion to notice also that such "godhness"
was sometimes " profitable " in promoting the direct object
of the journey, — and this not merely in the rest to body
and peace of mind so valuable to a man burdened with
business cares, but that more than once he reached his
destination all the sooner by waiting over.
At one of the sessions of the Sabbath Convention at Bos
ton, 1879, Mr. Dodge related the following incidents: —
" Some forty years ago I was bound to New Orleans on a hasty
and important mercantile trip. I had been riding three days, day
and night, in the stage. The stage was fuU ; and on Saturday, as
evening approached, I said to my fellow-travellers : ' What a blessed
thing that we have the Sabbath to-morrow!' 'Well,' said one,
' would n't it be 1 But I am so situated that I must go on. I wish
I could rest ; but I can't.' I found from the driver that at about
eight o'clock in the evening we should reach La Grange, Ga.

TRAVELS.

145

I said, ' Let me out there.' When we arrived, I took my valise
and went into the hotel. It was a very smaU hotel ; but I slept
soundly. The Sabbath morning was beautiful. At the breakfast
table there were none but the landlord and three chUdren. I
asked the children, ' Have you a Sabbath-school ? ' ' Oh, yes, sir 1
we are hurrying to get through to go.' ' WUl you let me go with
you? ' 'Yes, sir ; certainly.' They led the way, and we crossed a
little park to an academy in a grove, where I found, to my aston
ishment, a large Sabbath-school. The children went in, and I sat
down by the door, an entire stranger. I was superintendent of a
Sabbath-school in New York. The superintendent, seeing me,
came and said, 'There is a Bible-class of young men from the
academy; their teacher is sick to-day. WiU you teach them?'
There were eight or ten fine-looking young men, and I had a
pleasant time with them. Before the school closed, the super
intendent came and said to me, 'Stranger, where do you come
from ? ' 'I am from New York.' ' Now, look here,' said he, ' we
have just started a Sabbath-school here, a union school. We are
Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. We never had a Sabbath-
school here untU now. Now, won't you talk to the teachers and
scholars?' So, in my plain way, I undertook to speak to the
children. Then the school was dismissed, and we went towards
the church, where I heard an exceUent plain sermon. There were
three or four churches on the green ; and as I came out, quite to
my astonishment and pleasure one of my customers — I had for
gotten that I had a customer in La Grange — came up to me and
said, ' Why, Mr. Dodge, where did you come from ? ' And he
introduced me to three or four gentlemen ; and one of them said,
' Don't go back to that hotel ; come and take dinner with me.'
While we were eating, three gentiemen called, among them the
principal of the large academy, — a brother of the Rev. Dr. Be-
man of Troy, — and they said, ' We want you to talk to the people
in the church this afternoon. We wUl give up the services in the
other churches, and attend this.' The church was large ; and in
front were about sixty of the young men from Mr. Beman's
academy, and then the chUdren of the school filled up nearly the
rest of the centre, and the gaUeries and sides were crowded fuU.
I spoke to them for half an hour. In the evening they said they
had just started a teachers' meeting, and they wished me to come

146 TRAVELS.
to that. I went, and we had a good taU< together. I retumed to
the hotel, slept well, and rose on a delightful morning. I had to
run the risk of the stage being fuU. When I came out to go, there
were some twenty or thirty of the citizens of La Grange to bid me
good-by. I had come a perfect stranger, but they were waiting to
see me off. The stage arrived, and I secured my seat, and went
on traveUing that day and night. Next morning we reached a
littie railroad built out from Montgomery, Ala., where we were to
take the steamer for MobUe. As I got on the train I was anxious,
and said to the conductor, ' Is there any boat down the river to
day ? ' ' Two went down yesterday,' he said. ' There won't be
another untU Thursday.' ' Well,' I said to myself, ' it has always
turned out weU when I have tried to spend the Sabbath right.'
We arrived in Montgomery. As the train stopped, a man sung
out, ' Any passengers for the boat? It is just off.' The best of
the two boats had waited to take in a hundred bales of cotton,
and they concluded to await the train. In ten minutes we were
going down the river. The next day we overtook the other boat
at a wooding-place, and there were my friends who rode with me
in the stage, and could not stop over Sunday, waiting on board that
boat ; and, our boat being the faster, we got into MobUe one day
ahead. " A few years after that, before the days of steamships, I was on
my way to Liverpool in one of the largest ships that ever saUed out
of New York. We had a twenty-four days' passage to the mouth
of the Channel, and there we rested ; there was not wind enough
to carry us farther. A pilot-boat came out from old Kinsale ;
there was just a breath of air sufficient to move the Kttle boat with
its large saUs. I was anxious to stop at Cork to see Father
Mathew, and quite a number of us made an arrangement to get
on the pilot-boat and go on to old Kinsale, and thence through
the country. Soon after we left the ship we found there wasn't
wind enough for the boat even; and just as we got under the
head of Kinsale, the tide began to run out swiftly (for it rises
there thirty feet), and we had to lie under the head of Kinsale
aU night, — a terrible night too. Next day was the Sabbath. The
sun rose in all its beauty, and about seven we ran in with the tide
to the littie viUage of Kinsale. We were aU tired, many of our
friends had been sick during the night, and it so happened that

TRAVELS.

147

each one of them had a most pressing excuse to go on. Some of
them had never traveUed on the Sabbath, but they were so situated
that they must go on ; and particularly one lady, who had come
out in charge of two giris ten or twelve years of age, and she was
very anxious indeed to keep on traveUing. A gentleman and his
wife from New York, Mrs. Dodge and myself, were aU that re
mained. We had nice rooms in a littie bit of a hotel, where we
changed our clothing, washed ourselves, and got breakfast. We
went to a beautiful littie church, and had a delightful service.
After service the young preacher, seeing us there as strangers,
made us welcome ; and we attended service again in the after
noon. On Monday morning, as the coach came up, we found
this young clergyman was to be our companion to Cork ; and he
said : ' Now get up on top of the stage ; I know aU the country,
and wiU show you everything.'
" We had a charming ride of two days and two nights. But the
second day, about ten o'clock, we stopped at one of the principal
stage villages, and there on the platform stood every one of our
poor fellow-passengers. There they stood ; and that poor woman
with her two little children ! They had travelled day and night,
had become tired, and waited for this coach to come along; but
there was n't a seat to be had, and we left them there utterly
forlorn." Mr. Dodge was a ready and rapid penman, and when
absent from home made it a practice to write almost daily
to his wife or a member of the family. If he had not
time to send more than a few lines, or even a postal card,
some message was sure to come. He occasionally took
with him envelopes already addressed, and containing a
sheet of paper, so that he could write a pencil note and
throw it into a post-office box in any railway-station or
town. In the comparatively few journeys Mr. Dodge took un
accompanied by his wife, his Sunday letters to her gener
ally contained an account of the sermons he had heard, or
of the work he had himself done during the day.
Such a letter, written at Phelps's Mills, April, 1858, gives

148 TRAVELS.
a glimpse of one of his Sabbaths at a lumbering point in
Pennsylvania : —
" I must say I have not foUowed your advice. I could not keep
StiU on Sunday. I rode early in the morning four miles up the
creek, and met by appointment some twenty or thirty of the men
who had contracted to float the logs, and were intending to do so
on Sunday. I got them aU into a house, and had a very interest
ing time. I left them tracts, papers, etc., and ' they rested the
Sabbath day.' In the morning I attended church at the viUage,
and in the afternoon addressed the Sunday-school at the mills,
and at the close of preaching spoke twenty minutes to the people.
They were very attentive and solemn. In the evening I went
again to the church at the viUage. So you see I was very busy ;
but God gave me strength, and I am much better than when I left
home." From St. Louis, November, 1880, he writes to his
wife : —
"I have been to-day to hear my good friend Dr. Nelson
preach a most wonderful sermon from the text, ' For we have all
sinned, and come short of the glory of God.' He dwelt on sin,
its nature and consequences ; and then the only remedy, Jesus
Christ. Every word was just what you would have deUghted to
hear. He used no notes whatever. I took dinner with one of
his church members, and met there Mr. G  , the great friend
of the colored people who have come in such numbers to this
State. This evening I expect to hear Dr. Nelson again, — on
' Heaven, and who will go there.' How I wish you were with
me!"

CHAPTER X.
EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.
IN no sphere of activity were the characteristics of Mr.
Dodge more conspicuous than in his labors for the
cause of temperance.
At the date of his birth the question of total absti
nence had scarcely been broached. Drinking habits were
universal. " Births, marriages, and burials were hallowed
by strong drink. It was indispensable at anniversaries,
civic festivities, military displays, municipal elections, and
even religious ceremonials."
In his address as chairman of the opening session of
the International Temperance Convention, held in Phila
delphia, June, 1876, Mr. Dodge reverts to his own recol
lection of those early customs : —
" I caU to mind my sainted father, an elder in the Presbyterian
church and a strict temperance man for his time. When buUding
a factory in Connecticut, he insisted as one of the conditions that
there should be an entire separation of the village from the sur
rounding country, where Uquor was sold, and that nothing which
could intoxicate should be allowed, except a small keg of brandy
and a keg of New England rum and of gin, to be deak out by order
of the physicians. But the idea of the social disuse of everything
intoxicating never entered my father's head, for no one was more
particular in putting up his cider for the year. The best apples
were selected, and after the cider had stood for some time, forty or
fifty dozens of well-washed botties were fiUed and corked, — my
brother and myself having first put in aUspice and raisins. This
cider, when ready, was like sparkling champagne. Ministers of

I50 EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.
all denominations, who came to the viUage to preach, always stayed
at my father's house, and they invariably found the sideboard sup
plied with the best madeira. Guests were not asked whether they
would take something, but what would they take, — brandy, wine,
or this sparkling cider. My father, I say, was a thorough-going
temperance man for those days, — but that was sixty years ago.
He lived long enough to become one of the strongest advocates
of total abstinence."
He says again, addressing a Young Men's Christian
Association : —
" At that time cider was the common family drink in the coun
try ; but this, in turn, led to a large increase in the use of rum, —
few New England farmers supposing it possible to harvest their
crops without the customary supply of rum and molasses mixed
with water. At last it became evident that cider also must be ban
ished, or there was no hope of a successful temperance reform.
Thus began the movement for total abstinence from aU that could
intoxicate I — but not without great opposition. Even many
Christian people looked upon the advocates of this cause as fanat
ics. It is something more than fifty years since those veterans,
Edwards, Dwight, Nott, Lyman Beecher, Delavan, Hewitt, Ladd,
Marsh, and others began the great crusade against ardent spirits.
Sermons, addresses, tracts, were widely circulated ; societies were
organized all over the New England and Middle States ; and the
published statistics of intemperance aroused and alarmed the best
portion of our citizens."
With some of these distinguished pioneers Mr. Dodge
was associated, and in many of these early movements
he bore a part; his interest growing with his years, and
his position becoming more and more prominent, until
he was recognized in the United States and in other
countries as a leader and representative of the most cath
olic, sagacious, and progressive phases of the temperance
cause. In the checkered development of this great moral strug
gle Mr. Dodge saw the original Moderation Reform itself

EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.

ISI

reformed into positive total abstinence. He rejoiced in
and aided the Washingtonian uprising, swift and strong in
its first glow, but finaUy shorn of lasting results because it
did not demand suppression of aU traffic in liquor, and laid
small stress upon reHgious motives. He had words of
encouragement for the various Orders, Leagues, Unions,
and Associations which sprang up successively; for he ac
cepted them as fresh corps in the one army, although they
might not always use the weapons or methods he most
approved. He greeted with enthusiasm the formation of
Juvenile Societies, Cold-water Armies, and Bands of Hope ;
for he loved children, and had faith in the progress and
final triumph of temperance principles chiefly as they
could succeed in winning the young.
During his visit to Ireland in 1844 he urged Father
Mathew to extend his labors to America ; and when this
zealous apostle of total abstinence reached our shores, Mr.
Dodge with a large company hastened down the bay in a
special steamer to extend a fitting welcome.
With Neal Dow and his long and undaunted conflict for
absolute prohibition he always manifested the warmest
sympathy. To John B. Gough he was a Hfe-long friend.
To Francis Murphy and many other individual workers he
gladly gave the hand of fellowship, and into the labors of
Moody and Sankey he entered with burning zeal; for he
recognized in their aims supreme reliance upon what he
held to be the one ground of hope for the drunkard, — re
pentance towards God, and faith in Jesus Christ. He had
small confidence in any reforrnation that did not include
Scriptural conversion. His own early Christian life was
nurtured in the midst of the revivals under Nettleton and
Finney; the temperance awakening began at that time.
It has always been, in a greater or less degree, a religious
movement, and has achieved its best results as the pre
cursor or attendant of revivals. Prayer for and with the
slayes of drink, or dealers in it, has achieved results

152 EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.
that cannot be denied. This was the power behind the
heroic and memorable Woman's Crusade, exceptional in
its methods, but justified by desperate need and by tri
umphant success. Mr. Dodge deeply sympathized with
this irrepressible outburst against the destroyer of homes,
and he hailed with thankfulness the growth of the Woman's
National Christian Temperance Union and other kindred
organizations. Wherever a distinctly religious element was the basis of
temperance effort, he expected favorable results. He held
it to be the province of the Church to lead in this reform,
and he welcomed denominational or ecclesiastical co-oper
ation, of whatever name or in any form. He was himself
a member of the Permanent Committee on Temperance
appointed by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church. He was one of the first to receive and encourage
Mr. Robert Graham, General Secretary of the Church of
England Temperance Society, in the effort to estabhsh a
similar organization in America.
Bishop Henry C. Potter, of New York, then Rector of
Grace Church, writing Feb. 9, 1883, refers to Mr. Dodge's
presence at one of the earlier meetings of this Society : —
" It is to me a very grateful memory that the last time I saw
him he came to the anniversary of our Church Temperance
Society and, unsolicited, gave us a ' God-speed ' which surprised
and delighted us aU. I knew that he dissented from some of our
methods, and I was rather perplexed by his presence, thinking
that perhaps he had come to criticise. In this mood I said to
him, 'I am somewhat surprised to see you on this platform, Mr.
Dodge.' ' Oh,' he repUed promptly, ' it is a very good platform.'
' As far as it goes, I suppose you mean,' said I. ' Yes,' he said,
' as far as it goes.' But before the evening was over he asked an
opportunity to bring us the greetings of the National Temperance
Society ; and then, in words whose cordial ring I can never forget,
gave us the encouragement of his warm approval and hearty sym
pathy. It was a large-minded and chivalrous thing to do; for,
as I have said, he was not unmindful of our differences as to

EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.

IS3

methods. But his vision was wide enough to see that we were
trying to serve the common cause, and his heart was generous
enough to acknowledge it."
The same characteristic spirit of liberality and readiness
to see good in every honest attempt to promote temper
ance, is manifest in a letter addressed, April, 1879, to the
editor of the " Tribune." It also exhibits Mr. Dodge's
views of the progress already achieved. The occasion was
the report of a meeting of the Business Men's Society for
the Encouragement of Moderation, at which it had been
asserted that " drunkenness was more than ever on the
increase." " I am gratified at any movement looking to the downfaU of the
habit of fashionable or social drinking. Those of us who can go
back to the very commencement of the temperance reformation
know that in all parts of the country outside of our large cities a
remarkable change has taken place in the habits and customs of
the great mass of the people as the result of temperance efforts.
Had it not been for the vast increase of population from the Old
World the results would have been more apparent. We who have
watched it feel that the progress has been most encouraging. I
have just returned from an absence of two months, in which I have
traveUed through ten States and more than two thousand miles,
and I have seen less drinking and fewer drunkards than ever before
in the same time and distance. This new movement reported in
your columns is in the right direction ; and although it does not go
the fuU length, I wish it God-speed, and trust many of its members
wiU take the pledge which stands first in their platform, — the
pledge of total abstinence."
Mr. Dodge was ready to try all instrumentalities that
could commend themselves to his judgment.
In 1857 he united with a large number of citizens in
founding a State Inebriate Asylum at Binghamton. Ex
tensive buildings were erected, and high hopes entertained ;
but adequate results were not realized.
More recently, in 1877, he aided largely in establishing

154 EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.
the New York Christian Home for Intemperate Men, — an
institution having its chief design to bring all its inmates
under direct and positive religious influences. Provision
was made to accommodate those able to pay; but an
equally cordial welcome ' was extended to those utterly
destitute. One condition only was demanded of rich and
poor, — an honest desire to be wholly and permanently
delivered from the debasing habit, and a willingness to
look solely to God for rehef Drunkenness was declared
to be a sin needing to be repented of, and to be overcome
by Divine grace alone. Mr. Dodge took unwearied interest
in the growth and success of this institution. He was its
president at the time of his death, and a few months
previous had rejoiced in the opening of its new and
commodious building on Madison Avenue, and in being
able to say in his annual official Report : " It is manifest
that this home has done and is doing a most bene
ficent and remarkable work in restoring and saving the
unfortunate." It was in visiting a somewhat similar institution for
women, which, in conjunction with a few other friends
of temperance, Mr. and Mrs. Dodge had just established,
that he did his last public work. He was here taken ill
and returned to his own home, never to leave it again
alive. Mr. Dodge was always ready to advocate his temper
ance principles upon every proper occasion, in public or
private. He was a natural, forcible, sympathetic speaker,
and his genial, courteous, clear presentation of arguments
or incidents rarely failed to disarm criticism, and often won
both the hearts and convictions of his hearers. He spoke
apparently with equal freedom and pleasure to great as
semblies or crowded conventions, in halls or pulpits, at
Sunday-schools or mission-chapels, among nev^s-boys or
roughs, miners, lumbermen, or freedmen.
On his first visit to England, in 1844, he carried letters

EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.

iSS

to prominent temperance men, and was repeatedly invited
to make addresses. An intimate American friend, Hving
in England at the time, writes to him in August of that
year of a meeting held at Manchester : —
" Many inquiries have been made concerning you. The chair
man told me he had never known so much real good done at one
meeting, not only on the subject of temperance, but in religion ;
nor had he seen any one so weU keep the attention and interest of
a meeting." When traveUing abroad subsequently, and especially
during his last visit to Great Britain, in i88x, he addressed
large audiences in London and elsewhere. Speaking of
these journeys, he says : —
" I remember having in England several times a good oppor
tunity to deUver quite a temperance lecture at table in giving the
reasons why I did not drink. Dining once with six or seven
clergymen, we were the only ones who drank water, and they
thought it strange. The conversation for more than an hour after
wards was a regular running temperance discussion on the duty
and responsibility of Christians in relation to social drinking."
Mr. Dodge not only was himself received in foreign
countries as a leading American advocate of temperance,
but he took peculiar pleasure in welcoming to the United
States representatives of the cause from abroad. Many
delightful and enduring friendships were thus formed, and
the essential unity of the common movement was made
more conspicuous.
Mr. Dodge was a constant reader of British as well as
American temperance papers. The "Alliance News," pub
lished in London, was often in his hand. He especially
followed with keen interest the progress of Sir Wilfrid
Lawson's Permissive Prohibitory Bill, from its first intro
duction into Parliament, amid the derision of members, until
the passage of the resolution affirming the principle. He
also anticipated important results from the establishment,

156 EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.
by Dr. James Edmunds and others, of the London Tem
perance Hospital, which seeks to remove disease without
any resort to alcohol as a medicine.
The principle that responsibihty is in proportion to
opportunity, Mr. Dodge heartily embraced. The higher
he rose in private or public stations, the more eager he
seemed to be to make that position a new vantage-ground
for enlarged usefulness. When he went to Congress, he
was impressed with the thought of the vast influence which
that body might exert outside of mere political questions ;
and while conscientious in the discharge of his absorbing
duties as a representative from the city of New York, he
found time for other work.
The Rev. J. B. Dunn, D.D., in his " History of the Tem
perance Movement" (see " Centennial Volume") says:
"During February, 1867, a Congressional Temperance Society
was formed in Washington. Sixty members of the Senate and
House signed the caU for the meeting. The president was the
Hon. Henry Wilson, Senator from Massachusetts, to whom, with
the Hon. William E. Dodge, president of the National Society, and
then a member of the House, Washington and the country are
indebted for such a society. No one step taken to advance the
cause of temperance for some time did more to educate public
sentiment, arouse the public conscience, and electrify the hearts of
its friends. It was one of the victories gained for temperance
during the winter of 1866-1867."
At the formation of this Society Mr. Dodge was one of
the principal speakers : —
" We are met here to-night in view of a widespread evU more
to be dreaded than any epidemic. More die in a single year from
the influence of intoxicating drinks than aU who have perished
from cholera since it first visited our land in 1832. The fact has
already been stated here that fifty thousand annually go to drunk
ards' graves. I indorse the statement, — not that all die admitted
drunkards, but they die premature deaths from disease superin
duced by the use of intoxicating drinks. Some of us stood on this

EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.

IS7

beautiful avenue two years ago, and for long hours witnessed the
columns of our returning noble veterans as they passed in review.
Could we have realized they were aU marching to drunkards'
graves, with what terrible anxiety should we have looked upon
their faces I And yet when that mighty army had passed, if we
could have felt that was the end of the sad procession, it would
have been less appalling. But as 1868 looms up in the distance,
we behold the onward march of fifty thousand more, all coming
from those licensed recruiting places for drunkards, — the hotels
and saloons. They come enlisted from the dining-tables of the
distinguished men of our land, where temptation is set before them
because it is fashionable ; they come from social gatherings where
the punch-bowl is seen, — where intoxicating drinks circulate amid
our wives, our daughters, sisters, and friends ; where temptation
meets the man who enters that house determined not to drink, and
young and lovely woman reaches out the cup, and there is no
moral courage to resist.
" Sir, we are not fanatics ; no man can take the Bible in his
hand and say to me th.a.t per se it is sin for me to drink wine. Yet
he can take that Bible and show most conclusively there may be
circumstances under which it would be sin for me to drink. If
my brother has been addicted to the use of the intoxicating cup
and is manfully struggling to resist the appetite (and what it is
none but they who have acquired it know), should I drink my wine
in his presence, putit on my table and ask him to drink, and he
should be overcome and die a drunkard, — God would caU me to
account for my brother's blood. And here comes in the power
of example and sympathy, which is the grand foundation of every
temperance organization. It is the Bible principle we must en
deavor to foUow, — self-sacrifice for the good of others. Paul
declared : ' If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no more
meat whUe the world stands.' And now let me say to my fellow-
members of the Thirty-ninth Congress, the eye of the nation
rests upon Congress as the focal point. Whatever emanates from
Congress goes world-wide. We are here placed high on the
mount of responsibility ; and as, by God's blessing, we have helped
to save the country from that terrible curse of slavery, is there a
man here who wUl not be wiUing to sacrifice himself for the

158 EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.
sake of saving the fifty thousand who may die drunkards in 1868 —
for the sake of saving the nation itself ! "
From the year 1865 until his death Mr. Dodge's name
and labors in connection with the cause of temperance
were more particularly associated with the National Tem
perance Society and PubHcation House.
For more than twenty years he had been an active
member of the American Temperance Union ; but at the
close of the war the friends of temperance were kindled
to unite with fresh vigor against a foe of the nation's life
more deadly than even negro slavery. Many felt the need
of a more comprehensive and central organization than
any yet attempted, and at the same time a vastly larger
use of the Press. A call was issued for the Fifth General
Temperance Convention, to be held at Saratoga. An un
usual number of the older and best-knbwn friends of the
cause assembled. After full deliberation a committee was
appointed, with Mr. Dodge as chairman, to propose meas
ures for a new and national society.
The first meeting of the Committee was held in New
York, at Mr. Dodge's office. A constitution and scheme
of work were drafted, and finaUy the two objects deemed
essential were combined under the title of the National
Temperance Society and PubHcation House. At the
subsequent formal organization Mr. Dodge was elected
president, WiUiam A. Booth treasurer. Rev. J. B. Dunn
corresponding secretary, and J. N. Stearns publishing
agent, with a large body of representative temperance
men as vice-presidents and managers.
The struggles and successes of this Society cannot here
be told. The story already has a place in the religious
and phUanthropic history of the country. Its influence
has penetrated into every State and Territory, and among
all classes. Its literature has presented each new phase
of the discussion, and has grown into an educating power
of incalculable value. Twelve hundred publications have

EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.

159

been issued, with millions of pages annually of tracts and
papers for old and young. Its operations embrace meet
ings, conferences, appeals, and useful agitation of every
form. It seeks the aid of the pulpit, it goes into the family
and the social circle, it enters the doors of public and
private schools, it appears in the halls of legislation, and
has its deputations at the seat of national government. It
pleads for congressional commissions of inquiry and for
constitutional amendments. It watches the decisions of
courts, and strives to hold officials to strict discharge of
duty. It co-operates with religious bodies of every name,
and with all the various orders of temperance societies. It
is in close alliance with similar organizations in foreign
lands, and hastens to announce every fresh triumph at
home or abroad. It is steadily growing in strength and
in popular esteem. Above all, it is seeing a country in
creasingly pervaded with a deep and intelligent hatred of
intemperance, and a fixed purpose to suppress, by every
moral and legal means, this " crime of crimes."
In each department and effort of this Society Mr.
Dodge was profoundly interested. Every instijict of his
nature revolted against the unspeakable misery caused by
intoxicating drinks. Every year intensified his apprehen
sion of the enormity and destructiveness of this curse of
the race. Each fresh development of its evil aroused him
to more resolute opposition. He gave time, strength, and
means to this Society because he beheved it might be
made a fit and potent agency in resisting and overthrow
ing a power that threatened the very life of the nation.
He bore the Society on his heart, and was constantly
devising ways to promote its efficiency. One of his last
efforts in its behalf was to raise a fund of forty thousand
dollars to increase its working capital, adding twenty thou
sand dollars more himself as a special endowment, the in
come of which should be used for gratuitous circulation
of its publications.

l60 EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.
A few extracts are taken from a tribute to the memory
of Mr. Dodge from the pen of one whom he loved with
peculiar affection, and who had been associated with him
in the management of this Society from its inception, the
Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, D.D. : —
" When the Board of Managers gathered, on the day after his
death, in the committee-room which had been one of his homes,
and when we looked upon his empty chair, we all felt like orphans ;
for he was the founder, the friend, the father to whom we aU paid
a loving reverence. No taint of selfishness ever entered into his
life-long, whole-souled labors for temperance. He loved the cause
' with aU his might and mind and strength, and gave to it the
unstinted gifts of his purse, his time, his brain, his example, his
prayers. To him we aU looked in every emergency ; on his
sagacity, energy, and intuitive judgment we all leaned with a trust
that was never disappointed. During these eighteen years he has
been the representative, before the whole American people, of the
wisest purposes and the widest activities of the temperance reform.
His eye took in the entire field, his hand was on every lever of
the varied machinery. Everybody knew him, everybody loved him,
everybody trusted him. When his lithe, manly figure, elastic step,
and genial face came to the front on our platforms, we all felt as an
army-corps feel at the glimpse of their field-marshal's plume.
" His conscience made him a total abstainer from the social
glass. As a citizen he held to the inherent right of every com
munity to protect itself from the curse of the dram-shop : this
made him a zealous prohibitionist. As an ardent laborer for the
welfare of the young he urged the introduction of temperance
teachings into the Sabbath-schools and the public schools. Asa
Christian redeemed by the blood of Jesus, his deep temperance
convictions of duty were part and parcel, bone and sinew, in his
vigorous vital piety. He. was too sagacious not to perceive that
the kingdom of God can never conquer this world while it shaU
have in its rear the stupendous batteries of King Alcohol. Recog
nizing this great fact, he bent his energies towards arousing Chris
tian people to the fuU measure of their responsibUities and duties.
His voice rang out, clear as a trumpet, before hundreds of religious
assemblies. During the centennial summer of 1876 he presided

EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE. i6l
over an International Convention of Temperance Reforms. He
there took the high ground that the Bible and the ballot are the
two great weapons for the overthrow of drunkenness and the dram
shop. In the same city of Philadelphia, before the Pan-Presby
terian Council of 1880, he read a masterly paper on the Church
and Temperance. During the last dozen years he repeatedly
threw open the elegant drawing-room of his own mansion for the
discussion of the various aspects of temperance. Many of the
best treatises of the Publication House were first read there."
At one of these parlor gatherings Mr. Dodge had the
pleasure of introducing to a distinguished company two
prominent leaders in temperance reform, the Hon. J. P.
St. John, then Governor of Kansas, and the Hon. A. H.
Colquitt, Governor of Georgia. At another, Chief-Justice
Noah Davis, of the Supreme Court, presented a paper
entitled the " Relations of Crime to Intemperance." At
one of these drawing-room meetings, also, a widely known
British advocate of temperance, Mr. James H. Raper, rep
resenting the United Kingdom Alliance, was welcomed to
America. Papers were also read by the Rev. Mark Hop
kins, D.D. (then President of Williams College), upon
" The Relation of the Social Drink-Customs to the Edu
cational Interests of the Country," and by the Rev. Henry
C. Potter, D.D. (now Assistant-Bishop of New York), on
the topic, " How may the Total Abstinence Movement be
strengthened and extended?" Informal addresses were
also made by others, among whom were the Rev. James
McCosh, D.D., President of Princeton CoUege, the Rev.
John HaU, D.D., of New York, the late Rev. William
Adams, D.D., and Dr. Willard Parker.
Mr. Dodge's views respecting the questions now most
prominent in temperance discussions will appear from
passages in his paper read before the Pan-Presbyterian
Council in 1880: —
" Having watched the progress of the temperance reformation
from its beginning, and the several crises which have from time

1 62 EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.
to time secured fresh public attention, and in each case carried
the cause forward, I am now fully convinced that the next great
battie is to be for prohibition. This principle of the suppression
of the traffic by popular vote, either through constitutional amend
ments. State and National, or by local prohibition, is the question
which the friends of temperance in this country are bound to press
until public sentiment shall secure the result.
" It is not claimed that prohibition will prevent all intemperance ;
but it will go far towards it, by removing the public temptation
which is now the cause of so much intemperance. The Ucense-
system is the chief obstacle in the way. It gives a kind of legal
respectability to the business. I desire to secure the active co
operation of our church to the greater work of prevention, by
closing up the fountains from which aU this misery flows, — to the
work of awakening public attention to the sin and folly of granting
men license to sell the poison, and then trying to rescue those
who are being destroyed by the very thing we have made it lawful,
and hence apparently right, to sell and use.
" As Christians and citizens we have responsibiUties which we
must so discharge as to promote the best interests of society, and
not simply to carry out party plans, which in almost all cases are
arranged to secure the influence of the rum-seUer and the votes of
his customers. The time must come when no Christian can main
tain his standing in the church who will manufacture, sell, or use
intoxicating drinks, or vote for any party favoring income from
license to seU poison. Christians have it in their power almost
wholly to remove the source of this fearful evU. Let it once be
understood by political managers that Christians wiU no longer
support men for office pledged to license this traffic, and there
wUl be no difficuhy in obtaining the adoption of the principle of
prohibition." While maintaining these sentiments he did not insist
upon immediate and extreme measures, that would in
reality defeat themselves. He saw the need of educating
the public mind and the Christian conscience ; he knew
the process must be gradual ; he would keep one aim in
view, but not expect the consummation to be reached at
a single stride. " I am for prohibition of the dram-shop,"

EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE. 163
he said, in effect, to Dr. Cuyler, " but I am willing to work
with anybody or everybody who is honestly trying to
curtail their number. If I cannot obtain all I want, I will
get all I can."
In 1882 some zealous friends of Mr. Dodge and of tem
perance requested him to allow his name to be proposed
for mayor of New York. Still later he was strongly urged
to consent to be nominated for governor of the State as
the candidate of the growing temperance party; but while
he firmly believed Christian men should vote as they pray,
he felt it would be wiser at that time for the advocates of
temperance to side with the party which represented the
best elements of the people, and had already carried some
measures for the suppression of the liquor traffic, and was
willing to favor still others. Under the circumstances then
existing he considered this course more for the real inter
est of the cause than to make a distinct temperance issue,
with every probability of so dividing the vote as to throw
victory into the hands of avowed enemies.
During the struggle for prohibition in Kansas, Mr.
Dodge raised a subscription among friends in New York
to aid the temperance party ; and he lived to see the policy
of prohibition established not only in Kansas, but in Iowa,
while local option had already been successfully carried in
separate counties of many States, and agitation for prohi
bitory laws was active in every part of the Union, and
manifestly gaining in popular favor. On several occasions
Mr. Dodge represented the National Temperance Society
before committees of Congress to advocate the appoint
ment of a national commission of inquiry concerning the
alcoholic liquor traflSc. As president of this Society he
signed an earnest protest, which was presented to both
Houses of Congress, against the infamous bonded-whiskey
extension bill, and he joined in a petition for an amendment
of the Constitution to prohibit the manufacture and sale of
all alcoholic beverages throughout the national domain.

1 64 EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.
During the last few months of his life he presided or
made addresses at a series of meetings and conferences
held in New York and Brooklyn to consider the religious
aspects of the reform to favor a prohibitory amendment to
the State Constitution, the introduction of scientific tem
perance instruction in the public schools, the temperance
needs of the freedmen, and kindred topics. It was his habit
to send temperance books — often one or two volumes,
sometimes almost a library — to individuals, societies.
Sabbath-schools, institutions, railroad employes, or others
in special need of such reading. During the war he aided
in supplying temperance literature to the army, and more
recently he gave much attention to the effort to scatter
temperance books and papers among the colored people
of the South.
He participated in securing the tribute to Mrs. President
Hayes for her brave devotion to principle in excluding
spirituous liquors from the White House. He believed
her portrait hanging in the executive mansion would be a
perpetual incentive in the struggle to reform social drink
ing customs at the capital and in other parts of the
country. Mr. Dodge never joined any distinct temperance order
until near the close of his life, when he united in establish
ing a division of the Sons of Temperance in connection
with a church near his country residence at Tarrytown, on
the Hudson ; and then the chief motive was to bring under
the influence of such an organization a gentleman in whom
he had become interested.
Mr. Dodge had deep convictions respecting the power
and responsibility of personal example. He accepted in
the fullest measure the apostle's rule of action (Rom. xiv.
2i) : " It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor
anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or
is made weak." _ He could not see it to be consistent for
one who professed to obey the word of God, and to be

EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE. ' 165
a follower of Him who came not to please Himself, to
indulge in the use of wine or ardent spirits of any kind.
However harmless they might seem to be to the person
himself, there could never be a time when such indulgence
might not prove a deadly snare to some immortal soul at
his side, — perhaps a child at his table, an associate in busi
ness, a family friend, a casual acquaintance, a servant in
the house ; or it might be a mere passer-by, unknown and
unnoticed, but one who knew him, and would gauge his
own conduct by the example before him ; or it would be
some reformed man struggling half despairingly with his
old enemy, and it needed but this one glimpse of a self-
indulgent professor of religion to turn the fatal scale.
In this matter Mr. Dodge was not willing to allow in
himself even the appearance of evil. He would not occupy
any position that seemed to countenance in any form the
use of alcoholic drinks. He severed his connection with
one of the leading social organizations of the city when he
found that a considerable portion of its income was derived
from supplying its members with wines. He was loath
to sanction the use of alcohol as a medicine, not merely
because of the pernicious adulterations, now so well ascer
tained, but because he doubted its efficacy as a remedial
agent, and especially because of the constant and painful
revelations from every quarter of confirmed drinking habits
resulting from remedies prescribed by physicians.
Mr. Dodge held his temperance views as intelligently
and tenaciously as his religious convictions. His temper
ance was part of his religion ; both were firmly grounded
upon love to God and love to man. He maintained these
principles at all times and in every company, not obtru
sively, not uncharitably, but frankly, affectionately, earn
estly ; and while in public addresses he enjoyed so general
a welcome, the singular persuasiveness of his private con
versation and personal attraction will long be remembered
by many who sought his counsel or were sought out by

I 66 EFFORTS FOR TEMPERANCE.
him. Such transparent love and faithfulness in word and
manner could not often be resisted ; yet the patience and
solicitude with which in some cases he would follow indi
viduals for months, or even years, can never be known
beyond the circle of those who were privileged to see how
— following in the footsteps of his Master — he went out
to seek the lost, or by those who through his persistent
devotion were themselves permitted in their own experi
ence to know the joy of the saved.

CHAPTER XL
EFFORTS FOR THE INDIANS.
THE injustice and inhumanity which so long disgraced
our national treatment of the Indians are hap
pily giving place to methods more in harmony with the
requirements of a Christian civiHzation.
The growth of public sentiment on this subject led, in
1867, to the appointment of a joint committee of Con
gress to investigate abuses in the administration of Indian
affairs. This official inquiry revealed still more glaringly
the extraordinary wrongs perpetrated under authority of
the Government or by its citizens. A peace commission,
consisting chiefly of army officers of high rank, was soon
after despatched to make treaties with several of the tribes
and to endeavor to avert a fresh outbreak of hostilities.
The report of these officers declared that the wars waged
by Indians were caused by the uniform injustice with
which they were treated.
An organization, formed in New York and known as the
United States Indian Commission, presented, in July, 1868,
an urgent memorial to Congress, setting forth the reasons
for the dissatisfaction of the Indians in the want of good
faith on the, part of the Government, the unprovoked out
rages by white citizens, the unlawful occupation of their
lands, and the fraudulent acts of agents in distributing
appropriations. The petition closed by suggesting the
appointment of men of trustworthy character, independent
of political party, and not to be remunerated from the
public treasury.

1 68 EFFORTS FOR THE INDIANS.
The next year saw the introduction of the " peace pol
icy " proposed and sustained by President Grant. His
first step on assuming office had been to substitute every
where army officers for Indian agents ; but as this failed to
effect any marked improvement, he now resolutely adopted
a system that was intended to transfer the management of
Indian affairs to a board of not more than ten commis
sioners, selected " from men eminent for their intelligence
and philanthropy," who would serve without pecuniary
compensation. They were to act under the direction
of the President, and to exercise joint control with the
Secretary of the Interior over the disbursement of the
appropriations. Mr. Dodge was requested to become one of these com
missioners. The letter announcing his appointment reads
as follows : — Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C,
April 15, 1869.
Dear Sir, — The President has directed me to invite you to
become one of the Commission, provided for by the late Act of
Congress, to act as auxiUary to this Department in the supervision
of the work of gathering the Indians upon reservations, etc.
The Commission will serve without pay, except for expenses
actually incurred in traveUing, and it is expected to act both as
a consulting board of advisers and (through their sub-committees)
as inspectors of the agencies, etc., in the Indian country.
The design of those who suggested the Commission was that
something like a Christian Commission should be estabhshed,
having in view the civilization of the Indian, and laboring to
stimulate public interest in this work, while co-operating with the ,
Department in the specific purpose mentioned.
(Signed) J. D. Cox, Secretary,
The names of the other members were the Hon. Felix
R. Brunot, Pittsburg ; WilHam Welsh and George H.
Stuart, PhUadelphia; John V. Farwell, Chicago; Robert

EFFORTS FOR THE INDIANS. 169
Campbell, St. Louis ; E. S. Tobey, Boston ; the Hon. H. S.
Lane, Indiana; and Dr. Nathan Bishop, of New York.
Mr. Brunot, subsequently chairman of the Commission,
writes in regard to its formation and work: —
" Few of these gentiemen at first seemed to think acceptance
possible, owing to the magnitude and pressure of their private
duties. Only the reasonable request accompanying the official
letter, asking that no adverse reply be made untU a meeting for
consultation could be held in Washington, prevented Mr. Dodge
and several others from declining the honor at once. But when,
after fuU consultation with the President, the Secretary, the Indian
Committees of Congress, and with each other, they were convinced
that the opportunity presented itself to prevent the threatened
Indian war, to reform the long corrupt administration of Indian
affairs, to change the poUcy of injustice and wrong, of warfare
and extermination, for that of honesty and fair deaUng, and to
inaugurate practical measures for the civiUzation, education, and
Christianization of the Indian, they felt compelled to accept the
trust" Mr. Thomas K. Cree, at one time secretary of this
Board of Commissioners, describes the original design and
method of operation of the scheme now inaugurated : —
" The members, in consultation with the President, divided up
the seventy Indian agencies among the different religious denomi
nations, giving a fair proportion to each. The missionary boards
or some kindred authority were asked to name the seventy agents,
who in turn had the appointing of some nine hundred subor
dinates. Thus the management of two hundred and seventy-five
thousand Indians — civilized, half-civUized, and barbarous — was
handed over to the Church, every branch of which was asked
to assist in the work. The intention was that aU the employes
should be Christian men and women, with salaries ranging from
six hundred to fifteen hundred dollars per annum. The caU was
for doctors, teachers, farmers, blacksmiths, millers, etc. Thus it
was expected that nearly a thousand Christian men and women
would go among the Indians, and by precept and example Chris
tianize, civUize, and educate them. It was the grand opportunity

170 EFFORTS FOR THE INDIANS.
of the Church. Unfortunately the Church failed to see the great
opening. In some cases men who were not even professing Chris
tians were named as agents, and it was exceptional where the
subordinate positions were filled by Christian men ; some of the
agents were appointed by local and political influence exerted
upon the mission boards ; some could not resist the opportunities
so abundantly offered for making money dishonestly; and the
subordinates were often men of no character whatever. Yet
this system, grand in its conception, but imperfectly carried out,
secured agents who as a class were honest, and went with the
intention of doing what they could for the service and for the
Indian." Mr. Brunot's account of the work of the Board states
that —
"Mr. Dodge was a member of each of the most important
committees, and engaged in the duties involved with his usual
energy and good judgment. His high appreciation of the objects
aimed at, and their feasibility, made him from the outset an earnest
supporter of the peace poUcy."
His services on the Purchasing Committee and the Ex
ecutive Committee were highly valued by his colleagues.
The Purchasing Committee, which supervised the contracts
and buying of goods and subsistence supplies for the In
dians, reformed at once the abuses in that department by
inaugurating methods suggested by their long business
experience ; thus saving miUions to the Government, and
by the quality of the goods convincing the Indians that an
era of honest dealing had come.
Visits to the Indian country by the sub-committees
unearthed frauds, and their perpetrators were compelled
to make way for honest men ; causes for discontent were
discovered and removed, and threatened outbreaks
prevented. The objections of the Indians to schools were
also largely overcome.
In 1869 Mr. Dodge, with Mr. Brunot and the late Dr.
Nathan Bishop, made a long and laborious journey to

EFFORTS FOR THE INDIANS.

171

visit the Indians of the Southern Plains. The Committee
was more than thirty days beyond the reach of mails,
and their personal observations, together with those of
Mr. FarweU among the Cahfornia Indians, largely suppHed
the material of the First Annual Report of the Board.
One of Mr. Dodge's letters, written from a point in the
Indian Territory sixty miles north of the Texas line, gives
some description of this trip : —
"Camp Witchita, Medicine Bluff Creek,
" Aug. 21, 1869.
" We arrived here after a fatiguing journey of eighteen days over
the plains. We had from Fort Hays, Kansas, where we started,
an escort of forty soldiers ; one ambulance and four mules for Mr.
Bishop, the doctor, our clerk, and the cook ; while Mr. and Mrs.
Brunot and wife and myself had a smaU carriage, Uke a depot-
wagon, with two fine gray mules. If it had not been for our hav
ing a chance to buy this carriage, the ladies must have tumed
back. Then we had two large six-mule-wagons for our tents,
baggage, beds, eating arrangements, etc., and two more for the
troops and their forage, making quite a respectable force, and com-
pelUng us to travel at army rate, — say twenty to twenty-eight miles
a day, according as we found wood and water for our camp. The
first six days were over a vast prairie, without a drop of water or a
tree for miles together, or as far as the eye could reach. But after
we crossed the north fork of the Canadian River we found an
entire change, the prairie more roUing, and land of the very best
quality ; the grass and weeds, in places, growing as high as the
top of the carriage, and covering the trail so completely that every
few miles, with aU our efforts in sending men ahead, we were
often detained in trying to find it. The country became more
and more beautiful as we continued our course south. After
leaving Camp Supply we found ourselves amid vast herds of buf
falo. We had every chance to see the excitement of chasing and
kiUing them. We had good saddle-horses, and the ladies have
taken turns in riding, and I have generally ridden twelve to fifteen
miles each day. We have managed to get on with the discomforts of
our three weeks' camp-Ufe very well, thanks to a kind Providence.
What we should have done without the tin cans of fruits, milk, and

172 EFFORTS FOR THE INDIANS.
vegetables, I hardly know. We had fresh meat almost every day,
— venison, buffalo, birds, etc. Think of our traveUing over four
hundred mUes, and not seeing a single human being except at Fort
Dodge and Camp Supply, near which the Indians are gathered !
At the point where we now are, and within twenty miles around,
some six thousand Indians have been brought together. There are
six tribes, — the Kiowas, Comanches, Apaches, Wichitas, Wacos,
and what are called here the ' affiliated ' Indians, made up of several
remnants of once large tribes. The agency is under the charge of
the Quakers, who are taking hold in good earnest. Their agent
has several hundred acres of corn and other crops planted. Yester
day we met in councU some fifty of the principal chiefs of all these
tribes. It was a most interesting occasion. We had native
speeches that would have done credit to any people in the world.
Some of the young men in one band of Comanches, who came in
last week from the mountains with a hundred and twenty lodges,
had never seen a white man. They are among the wildest of the
Indians. To-day three to four thousand have encamped near by
to receive from us a present of sixteen hundred pounds of sugar
and eight hundred pounds of coffee, which the head men wiU dis
tribute to each lodge according to the number in the famiUes.
Every man, woman, and child has a horse or pony. The day of
our arrival we passed six large camps, with thousands of horses
grazing. We have stiU four hundred miles of slow travel before
we can reach the railroad; but we dismiss our escort at Fort
Arbuckle, and can then go somewhat faster."
The council held at Camp Supply was with the Chey-
ennes and Arapahoes. The official report says: "The
talk was in many respects more satisfactory than we anti
cipated, and the result we hope will be very important."
Mr. Dodge's remarks were as follows : —
" Brother of the Arapahoe and Cheyennes, we, the commissioners
from the President, the Great Father, have come this long journey
to see you and to let you know that the good white people love
the Indians and want to do them good. We have come to see
you, and take you by the hand, and say good words to you. We
know there are some bad white men who have come among you,

EFFORTS FOR THE INDIANS. 173
and have cheated you, and made you think the white man is your
enemy. We want you to look at your present position and see
that the white man is inclosing and surrounding you, and that
raikoads wiU be built through the country and will soon drive away
the buffalo, and then you wiU have nothing to depend upon. We
want you to decide to settle down in one place, and each to select
your home, cultivate the land, and learn to support yourselves, and
become part of the American people and children of the Great
Father. There are a great many people East who love the In
dians. They wish to save the Indian from ruin. They remember
that many moons ago the red man lived where the white man now
lives ; but they are gone. The great tribes caUed the Narragan-
setts, Mohicans, Mohawks, Stockbridges, the Delawares, the Onei
das, Senecas, and Tuscaroras, have passed away before the white
man, whUe the Cherokees, Choctaws, and Creeks, who have gone
on reservations, have lived and prospered. Now, we want you to
begin to live like the white men. Cultivate your land, and we
wiU send good men to teach your children to work, to read and
write ; and then they wiU grow up and be able to support them
selves after the buffalo has' gone.
" You must not drink whiskey if you want to do weU. We are
glad to see you here to-day, and hope aU wiU be peace."
One immediate and unexpected result of this councU
was an agreement on the part of Medicine Arrow, chief
of the Cheyennes, to bring in aU the Northern members of
his tribe, with their lodges, women, and children, and place
them under the United States authorities, if the commis
sioners would promise them protection and peace. The
Committee promptly drew up and signed a formal paper
giving the desired pledge.
The council held a few days afterwards, August 20th,
was at the Kiowa and Comanche agency, near Fort SUl,
Indian Territory. The report states that " General Grier-
son introduced the commissioners, and Mr. Brunot, as
chairman of the Committee, then stated that when the
white people held a great council they always asked
the great God and Creator of all men to give them

174 EFFORTS FOR THE INDIANS.
wisdom and incline their hearts to speak the truth.
Mr. Dodge then opened the council with a short prayer,
the chiefs rising and standing respectfully." After Mr.
Brunot and some of the chiefs had spoken, Mr. Dodge
said : —
" We have come a great way from the East to see you. We are
not Indian agents. We live at home and have our own business ;
but the Great Father sent us to see you. We have not come to
make treaties or to make presents. But the Great Father has
heard many stories. There are good Indians and bad ones ; good
whites and bad ones. We are come to hear what you have to
say, and wiU report it to the Great Father. He and aU the good
whites want the Indians to do weU and to come and live here on
their reservations, and they wiU be protected ; but if the young
men wander off and go on the war-path into Texas or elsewhere,
they must be punished.
" The Great Father does not want to give you guns or powder,
but Scants you to have clothing, food, and farming implements, and
to help you to raise corn and support yourselves. He wiU be
careful to send you good agents hereafter, who wiU give you all
that is promised. He wants you to cultivate your lands and be
come a part of this great nation.
" Bad white men have given whiskey to the tribes in the East,
and they have aU perished from it Keep it away from you."
The commissioners reached Fort Harker September 4,
and Mr. and Mrs. Dodge arrived in New York two weeks
later. At the meeting of the American Board, held in Pitts
burg during the following month, Mr. Dodge presented
the report of a committee upon the Indian missions. The
successful efforts of the Society in planting churches and
schools among some of the Indian tribes were recounted,
and special reference was made to the gratifying interest
of the President, and his appointment of the Indian Com
mission. After reading the report, Mr. Dodge spoke of
his recent journey, and concluded by saying: —

EFFORTS FOR THE INDIANS.

175

"We came back with the conviction that the time had arrived
when the Indians, driven from their accustomed haunts on the
plains and in the mountains, must seek some different location,
where, under the fostering care of the Government, they may be
tutored in the habits of civilization by the aid of schools which the
Govemment has promised to estabUsh, and by the efforts of Chris
tians throughout the land.
" Remembering what God has done for us, and what we have
just heard he is now doing among the Dakotas, we believe the
people of the United States must awaken to a sense of their re
sponsibUity to do something to save these men, — many of them
wild as the savages on the plains of Africa, — poor wanderers, so
long oppressed, neglected, abused, and feared ; so long standing in
the way of the settlement of our borders. They are the last remnant
of the aborigines of our country. Let us rescue them from exter
mination. We are convinced they may yet become a blessing to
us and to the nation."
In March, 1870, he wrote to the "New York Times" an
indignant comment on the massacre, in Montana, of the
Piegan Indians by United States troops. After referring
to the facts as detailed in the official report, he says : —
" Shall gratitude to our military men for their noble efforts dur
ing our late war cause us to attempt to extenuate their crime,
while as a nation we cover our faces with shame before the world ?
We must change our policy, or nothing can be done to save even
a remnant of those who once owned our soil. Whole tribes must
not be held responsible for the outrages of those of the tribe who
break away and steal, kill, and destroy on their own account.
Whoever is responsible for this late outrageous murder of women
and children should be held, at least by the pubHc, to a strict
reckoning." A deputation of Cheyenne, Arapahoe, and WichitJ^
chiefs visited the East in June, 1871, to confer with the
Government concerning the settlement of boundaries.
They came to New York, and had a large public reception
at Cooper Institute. Mr. Cooper himself presided, and

176 EFFORTS FOR THE INDIANS.
speeches were made by Little Raven, Buffalo Good, and
others, in which the injuries suffered by the Indians were
narrated and denounced. In Mr. Dodge's remarks he
said that —
" He had met these chiefs in their own country. The Indians
had told the audience a simple story, but it was the story of two
hundred years. Ever since the landing of our ancestors on Plym
outh Rock the Indians have had the same tale to teU. Where are
the Mohawks and the Six Nations of this State, whom our chair
man, Mr. Cooper, remembered in his youth ? AU swept away !
The land which Americans now boast of as their own, once be
longed to the Indian ; and now he is driven hither and thither by
the raikoads, looking for a spot upon which to place his foot. The
nation had made them many promises, but they were unfulfilled to
this day. General Grant's military experience had taught him that
something ought to be done to save a remnant of these people ;
and the policy of his Administration, if it can be carried out, will be
to place the Indians on their reservations and educate them, and
train them to walk in the white man's path. What we now wanted
was to use a little of the money that had been spent in slaughtering
them to educate, elevate, and Christianize them. It was the duty
of citizens to create pubUc opinion on this subject."
Of the work of the Indian Board during the time
Mr. Dodge and the other original members retained their
connection with it, Mr. Brunot adds : —
" An examination of the five annual reports, — comprising more
than a thousand printed pages, — the files of the Record Office at
Washington, and the columns of the public Press during the years
of this service, show the extent and importance of the gratuitous
sen'ices of the members. Performing many onerous duties, work
ing out important reforms, and forwarding by every means in their
power the wise and beneficent poUcy inaugurated by President
Grant, the Board was continued, with but few changes, as at first
organized, untU 1874. Five years of trial have proved this policy
to be a success beyond the anticipation of its friends. The country
has been almost entirely saved from Indian wars. MiUions of
money have been saved to the Government and to the Indians by

EFFORTS FOR THE INDIANS. 177
the breaking up of rings, the discovery and prevention of frauds,
the unearthing and dismissal of dishonest agents, the scrutiny of
contracts and accounts, and in many other ways. It is a cause of
gratification to the friends of the deceased members, as it is doubt
less also to the survivors of the original Board, that their recom
mendations have in the main been adopted as the avowed poUcy
of successive Administrations. Humane and just treatment of the
Indians, no more making and breaking of treaties, education and
industrial training in schools, individual ownership of lands, the
protection of civU law and amenabiUty to its requirements, and the
rights of citizenship as soon as they can be prepared for it, are
now demanded by the general public sentiment of the country as
the solution of the Indian problem."
The reasons which led to the resignation of the remain
ing original members of the Board were not officially
recited. They preferred to say little rather than run the
risk of exciting a conflict with the public authorities that
might prove disastrous to the final establishment of a pol
icy they so much desired to see successful. Mr. Brunot
says : —
" The signers of the letter of resignation were reticent on the
subject ; but it is known that differences with the Department of
the Interior, which could only be removed by changes in the per
sonnel of that Department, in the Indian Office, and in the field, —
which the President was not prepared to make, — left, in their
judgment, no other alternative."
At the time Mr. Dodge, in response to inquiries, gave
this general explanation : —
" It was distinctly understood that the commissioners were to
serve without compensation. Since our organization, four mem
bers, unable to give the matter the attention it deserved, have with
drawn, and their places have been fiUed by others. I do not wish
to say anything derogatory to the new members when I state that
in several instances they have been delegated by the Department
of the Interior for special service to the Indians, and have been
paid by the Department a fixed sum per day ; so that although

178 EFFORTS FOR THE INDIANS.
they did not receive salaries, they were really paid employes.
There were also controversies with the Department, which impaired
to some extent the usefulness of the Commission. Then, again, in
regard to the granting of contracts for Indian supplies there was
trouble. Under the former management contracts were often
awarded to a favored few. We endeavored to have justice done
to the Indians, and therefore designated certain points at which
supplies were to be delivered, and we had the materials examined
there to see if they were of proper quality. It would be found,
however, that after giving out a contract to a party outside of the
Indian ring, he would throw it up, and the award would be given
to some one whom the commissioners desired to avoid.
"They had, moreover, authority to audit all biUs relating to
Indian affairs, but the ultimate power to pay was left to the Secre
tary of the Interior ; and so, after the commissioners had examined
a biU carefully, and had decided against its payment, it frequently
occurred that in the opinion of the Secretary the bill should be
paid, — and yet the public held the commissioners responsible.
General Grant was right at heart as to his poUcy in regard to the
Indians, and our experience has increased our confidence that
under proper management it wUl be ultimately successful ; but we
did not wish to cause any agitation which might be unfavorable to
his efforts. A new department should be organized, distinct from
and independent of the Interior Department, and an able man
placed at its head."
The papers of the day did not feel any obligation to
keep silent respecting these official corruptions. The per
sistent efforts of the Indian Bureau and the connivance of
the then Secretary of the Interior to thwart the action of
the Commission and sustain the Indian ring of large con
tractors, were freely exposed ; and although an effort was
made to fill the vacancies in the Board, — chiefly by the
appointment of politicians, — the confidence of the public
in the Indian Commission was never revived.
Mr. Dodge was made chairman of a committee ap
pointed in 1880 by the General Assembly of the Presby
terian Church to present a memorial to the Government,

EFFORTS FOR THE INDIANS. 179
asking for the extension of the law over the Indian tribes,
individual ownership of land, the support of common
schools, and the enjoyment of full religious liberty. The
Committee had an interview with President Hayes in Jan
uary, 1 88 1, and received from him expressions of the
warmest sympathy. They also saw subordinate officers
and had a hearing before the Indian Committees of both
Houses of Congress. As a new Administration soon after
came into power, the General Assembly of the following
year continued and enlarged this Committee, and it again
appeared at Washington, praying that national legislation
should ensure to the Indians " American education,
American homes, American rights, and, as the outgrowth
of this, American citizenship."
It may be stated also that the efforts to educate Indian
youth at Hampton and at Carlisle were watched by Mr.
Dodge with cordial interest, and, that he aided in the sup
port of some of these scholars in both institutions.

CHAPTER Xn.
EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
FROM childhood to old age, missions to the heathen
had for Mr. Dodge a pecuHar attraction. It was
more than mere sentiment, or the impulse of a large heart.
It was a deep-seated principle, founded upon religious
conviction and definite knowledge of the unevangelized
nations. He read the command, " Go ye into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature," as if it were
addressed to him personally. He felt an individual re
sponsibility; and to the utmost of his ability, and in no
small measure, he did go, by gifts, by prayer, by counsel,
by words of encouragement and hope, into almost every
corner of the globe.
He began early to think and work for missions. Nur
tured by parents of deep piety and wide views, — espe
cially by a mother full of zeal for the conversion of the
heathen, — and growing up when the missionary spirit was
beginning to pervade the churches and homes of New
England, he became penetrated with the motives and
aspirations of the great commission. His first practical
effort was a " missionary potato-patch." When about
thirteen years of age he heard, in the village church, an
appeal in behalf of Obookiah, a poor waif from the
Hawaiian Islands who had found his way to the steps of
Yale College, and manifested such eagerness to be educated
and sent back to teach his own countrymen that a fund
was raised, and he, with four or five other natives, was
placed at school in Cornwall, Conn. The young people

EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.

181

of Bozrahville, where Mr. Dodge's family then resided,
had little money to contribute ; but William proposed to a
few companions to raise potatoes for this missionary fund.
He obtained his father's permission to cultivate a piece
of swamp-land near by. The boys took their spare time
to get the soil into good condition, and their small stock
of pocket-money to buy potatoes for planting. The sea
son proved unusually dry, and most crops suffered; but
their industrious tilling and damp soil produced a large
return, and the boys increased their profits by delivering
and storing away the potatoes with their own hands. The
money they received was invested in sheeting and other
material, which the girls made up ; and William was com
missioned to carry the parcel to Cornwall. He was wont
to say, " I never in my life felt more proud or happy.
From the time of this missionary potato-patch everything
I touched seemed to prosper." Some one has added,
" He was not only cultivating potatoes, but a missionary
spirit in his own heart, the fruitage of which can only be
revealed in Eternity." Obookiah died soon after; but a
sympathy was awakened, which gave an impulse to the
planting of the Sandwich Islands Mission. Mr. Dodge
was personally acquainted with many of the earlier mis
sionaries to these islands, and always followed them with
interest, often contributing to special features of their
work. This mission was one of the first and most prosperous
undertaken by the American Board of Commissioners
for Foreign Missions. While .still a young man Mr.
Dodge became a member of this Society, in 1857 he was
made a corporate member, and in 1864 he was chosen
vice-president, and annually re-elected to this office until
his death. No corporation or board with which he was
ever connected had more of his affection or confidence.
He was in closest sympathy with its distinctly evangeli
cal aims, its broad views, and its practical methods. No

1 82 EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
similar organization in any land has surpassed it in wisdom
and vigor of administration, in the hold it has maintained
upon its constituency, or in the success it has been per
mitted to chronicle.
Every step of this long and honored history was familiar
and sacred to Mr. Dodge. He loved its secretaries, he
cherished its missionaries, he read its journals, he watched
each new advance, he prayed often and fervently for its
prosperity, he gave to it liberally, conscientiously, joyfully,
and he took undisguised delight in its great assemblies.
The year to him seemed incomplete if he failed to be
present at the annual meeting. The reason must be ur
gent that could keep him away. Of his presence there,
the home secretary of the Board, the Rev. E. K. Alden,
D.D., writes, Aug. 29, 1883 : —
" We shaU never forget the pecuUar eagerness with which he
leaned forward, intent on every word presented in our papers, or
in the addresses connected with them ; and more especiaUy his
face, which was literally radiant when some particularly thriUing
tidings were communicated, or some unusually stirring summons
was given."
Only fragmentary reports of his addresses on these
occasions can be found, and chiefly from newspaper ac
counts or rough notes of his own. His remarks were
usually impromptu, directed to the point under immediate
discussion, but coming from a full heart, quick percep
tion, adequate knowledge, and long experience.
In the faU of 1862 the annual meeting was held at Spring
field, Mass. The war was then raging, and taxing heavily
the resources of the country. The finances of the Ameri
can Board had suffered materially from the depreciation
of the currency and the heavy cost of foreign exchange.
A debt had been incurred, and the question arose as to
what advance upon the appropriations of the previous year
would now be justified. The " Springfield Republican "

EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. 183
of that date gives some account of the discussion; and
after referring to the remarks of several of the business
men of the Board, adds : —
" Mr. William E. Dodge was loudly caUed for by the audience.
He at last responded in words earnest and effective. He thought
the debt was nothing, — not worth mentioning; it was a mere
balance of account carried over to the next year. The future
must be looked after. We must go up higher. A new step must
be taken at this point, when money is more plenty than ever before
in the country. He should like to have ;?5 00,000 raised for the
Board the ensuing year, but thought that perhaps ^450,000 would
be more practicable. To this he himself would contribute ;?io,ooo.
He wished the Prudential Committee and secretaries could have
twice as much faith in the power and willingness of the people.
More must be asked for, and they would get it."
The fifty-eighth annual meeting assembled in Buf
falo, N. Y., October, 1867.-' The prominent topic was
the claims of China upon Christians in America. Mr.
Dodge was on the Special Committee to which the paper,
prepared by one of the secretaries, was referred. " A
speedy enlargement of the missionary force in that em
pire" was recommended, and Mr. Dodge spoke as follows
in support of the resolutions : —
" There has never been an hour in the history of the Board of
more solemn interest than that upon which we have now fallen.
We are proposing to undertake the stupendous work of evangeliz
ing China. We stand here, pledging the American Board before
the world to assume a large share in this vast enterprise. China !
China I How the population of aU our States and Territories, and
of our greatest cities, sinks into insignificance in comparison with
its myriads of heathen ! We come here this afternoon to look
this momentous proposition in the face, to enter upon the work.
We have not reached this point hastily; God has been prepar
ing China and preparing us. The barriers are removed. The
Bible is being translated into her languages ; and by the faciUties
1 Reported by the New York Evangelist.

1 84 EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
of modem intercourse she is brought nearer to us than England
was fifty years ago. Soon we shaU have almost daily intercourse.
Are we able to go up and possess the land ? What do our pastors
think? What do our churches think, with the immense wealth
poured into our laps the last few years? The question is, shall
we pamper ourselves and our children with it, and turn it into a
curse, or shall we make it a blessing? Evangelize China with
it, and by so doing save our own households. Then, instead
of folly and luxury and questions as to whether dancing and cards
are, in themselves, wrong, we should become ourselves evangelized,
and be lifted above aU such considerations."
The following year, 1868, the Board met at Norwich,
Conn. At one of the sessions the Rev. S. B. Treat, D.D.,
the home secretary, presented an able plea for enlarged
efforts.^ Mr. Dodge followed in earnest support of the
positions taken, saying: —
" By the reading of this paper we have been carried back a half
century, and have seen what God has done. We were told yesterday
that, instead of being in debt, the year closes with a balance in our
favor. We ought to be grateful for what we have been enabled to
accomplish ; but when we reflect upon aU the circumstances, it
may not, after aU, be so much a cause of congratulation.
" Twenty years ago our contributions in one year were ;^254,ooo ;
in 1857-58 they were ^334,000; in 1867-68 they amounted to
$535,000. This would be gratifying if we occupied the same
position as in previous years. But we gave then in gold — now
in a depreciated currency. The chief expenditures of the Board
are in foreign countries. Making allowance for exchange, our
contributions for last year were $321,000, while in 1858-59 they
were $388,000. Besides, the cost of living in those countries is
greater now than twenty years ago by at least thirty-three and a
third per cent. And what is our abUity now compared with former
times ? The wealth of this country is to-day estimated to be twenty
thousand milUons of doUars. We have passed through the ordeal
of war, but God has dealt with us as with no other nation before !
Our land has never increased in wealth as during these six years.
1 Reported by the Bulletin.

EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. 185
For an iUustration, five thousand miles of raikoad have been con
structed at a cost of $175,000,000. God has been bringing the
world together. The missionary work is everywhere expanding,
and yet there is diflficulty in securing means to send out laborers.
" Much of this is owing to the neglect of the monthly concert.
We act as if missions were understood by everybody, and there
was no need of comment or explanation. Twenty years ago the
missionary cause was constantly urged upon the churches ; it is
not so now."
This was often the tenor of Mr. Dodge's remarks when
the finances of the Board were under discussion. He re
joiced at every advance in gifts at home or labors abroad ;
but with his jealousy for the honor of his Master, his high
sense of the obligation and the ability of the churches, and
his knowledge as a business man of the growing resources
of the country, he feared that success might be over
estimated, or effort be relaxed. This was particularly
noticeable at the meeting of 1869 at Pittsburg, Pa.^ Reso
lutions were presented urging further advance and still
greater liberality. Mr. Dodge says : —
" It has so happened that I have been selected from time to
time to speak before this Board on the financial question. I have
spoken so often about it, sir, that I almost hesitate when requested
to respond to these resolutions ; but I wiU begin by saying that
with all my heart I join in the sentiments of praise and thanks
giving to God for aU the way in which he has led this Board during
these sixty years, — constantly going before us, opening the path
from year to year and encouraging the heart of his people, and
crowning us with prosperity beyond our most sanguuie hopes, and
certainly beyond anything we have deserved. And now, sir, I
should be sorry, did I not feel it a duty, to say anything that
would in any way tend to discourage the jubUant feelings which
have been manifested at all the sessions, in view of the fact that
our receipts the past year have been in advance of former years,
and that God has so interposed as signally to deliver us from an
1 Reported by the Daily Commercial.

l86 EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
apprehended debt I have feared that so much has been said on
this point that we might go down to our business, our churches,
and our house -work without reaUy being stimulated to greater
activity. During the past year we have given to this noble work
$525,000. This is a large sum taken by itself, but it is a small
sum in view of the number interested in the American Board and
the means God has placed in the hands of his Church. It is a
small sum, an insignificant sum, when we look over a dying world
and remember that Christ left the realm of glory and came to
earth to die for perishing men, and that he has laid upon us the
solemn charge to make known the way of eternal Ufe. We have
met here ; we have gone up high on the mount ; we have seen
the teeming millions pressing on to death. We have said in our
hearts : ' We are ready ; do not curtail ; let no mission be weak
ened ; go boldly forward ; enter China ; ' and yesterday we said,
' Take up the great work of evangeUzing Japan.' We have con
sidered also the wants of the heathen in our own country, — the
Indians. We have cried, ' Let it aU be done 1 ' But the American
Board has no invested funds. Appropriations are made, relying
upon the Uberality, the earnestness, the faith of the churches. Our
hearts are warm here ; the beams of the Sun of Righteousness
shine down upon us as we Usten to the reports and hear the mis
sionaries. But there is danger that we may go back to our offices
and our home cares, and forget the weighty obligation resting upon
us. We must get down upon our knees, and with the word of
God in our hands we shall obtain clearer views of our true
accountabUity." It was about this time that the movement now so mar
vellous a power in the Church, and doing abroad a work
so wide and useful, — " Woman's Work for Missions," —
had its rise. As he closed his remarks on this occasion at
Pittsburg, Mr. Dodge, with his ready sympathy, and in the
familiar style which was no small part of the attractiveness
of his public addresses, gave this new line of effort a hearty
recognition : —
" I was rejoiced yesterday, at the close of the morning meeting,
when I went down to join my wife at the First Presbyterian

EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. 187
Church, to see the band of devoted women assembled there, and
beginning to enter with the true spirit upon the work they have
undertaken. We hear much about women's rights : here is some
thing the women of this country can take hold of, and nobody wiU
object. They behold the women of the East shutting themselves
out, or shut out by others, from the instructions of the men we
send to those lands ; but the female missionary and the Bible-
reader, with their warm hearts, can reach them, and the noble
women of our churches are waking up to the fact."
Among some pencil notes, evidently prepared for a
meeting of the American Board at which he was to
preside, Mr. Dodge quotes several missionary texts, and
adds : —
"As we have Ustened to these commands and promises, and
then looked out upon the world and have seen its hundreds of
mUlions yet sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, how often
have we felt as if these commands could never be followed or these
promises ever be fulfilled ! But God's ways are not our ways, nor
his thought as our thoughts, and in his own way and his own time
the earth shall be full of his glory ; and to those of us who have
been permitted to live since the first systematic organization of
missionary societies, and have witnessed the wonderful changes in
facilities for reaching the heathen and in the machinery for carry
ing on missionary operations, God has been at work aU these fifty
years, — not simply to prepare the way for commerce, to facUitate
the intercourse of mankind and the development of the arts and
sciences, but to open the world to the gospel, and make known the
news of salvation to the most distant and benighted nations."
At the meeting held at Syracuse, 1879, a special appeal
was made for medical men to go out to the foreign field.
On his return Mr. Dodge wrote from his country-seat
a long and urgent letter to a young physician. Some
extracts are given : — Cedar Cliff, Oct. 12, 1879.
Dear Sir, — I retumed last evening from the meeting of the
A. B. C. F. M. at Syracuse ; and it was in some respects the most
important and interesting I have attended, although in the con-

1 88 EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
stant habit of being present for over a quarter of a century. It was
my pleasure again to meet your good father and mother ; and as
we talked of our chUdren I heard from them of your love for your
profession, and also that you were considering a change of place.
Thinking it over on my way home, I concluded I would venture to
write to ask you to consider the question of responding to the
earnest caU to some of the most important posts in the world,
especially in China and Japan. I am sure if you had been present
and heard the appeal for a well-educated Christian physician to go
to a large city near Pekin, in the midst of a populous district with
forty miUions speaking the same dialect, you would have felt Uke
saying, " Here am I, send me." I know of no place where there is
a prospect of greater usefulness, or where a young man could go
with a better hope of rising to a high and enviable position, both
doing immediate good and becoming one of the instruments, in
God's providence, of introducing the changes which are to open
to the world that long separated nation. During the late destruc
tive famine the people there learned the value of English and
American physicians, and they are not only ready but anxious to
have them come. China is not the far-off country it was when our
Boston and New York merchants went there fifty years ago. Then
it was indeed a sacrifice ; but they did it for the sake of trade. I
have felt very often that if I were a young man I should long to be
identified with the great moral and material changes to take place
among those distant nations. As one evidence of what may be
done by going to such a land instead of settiing down here, let me
mention the case of a young HoUander who came to the United
States after receiving a good education at home, and having also
learned a trade, as is customary in his country. He was an active
Christian, and I heard of his holding reUgious services and con
ducting a Sunday-school at Green Bay, Wis., where he was working
at his trade as an iron-founder. There was need of some one to
preach to the Hollanders of that region in their own tongue, and
I proposed to this young man to enter upon a preparation for the
ministry with this object in view. He readily assented ; but when
he was about to graduate at Auburn Theological Seminary, a mis
sionary from Japan (the Rev. S. R. Brown, D.D.) heard of him
and begged him to go out and labor among his own countrymen,
the remnant of the colony of HoUanders who settled in Japan a

EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. 189
century ago. He came to New York to consuk with me, and I
advised him by aU means to go. He married, and saUed for Japan
twenty years ago. His abUities attracted the attention of the
Government, and by consent of the Mission he accepted the post
of official interpreter, and was subsequently appointed to a high
position in the educational system of the country. After many
years he rejoined the Mission. No one can ever estimate the good
done by this one missionary (now the Rev. G. F. Verbeck, D.D.,
of Tokio) among that interesting people. During the last few
weeks my nephew. Dr. A. G. P. Atterbury, a young physician of
high attainments and admirable preparation, has given up bright
prospects at home and sailed for China under appointment of the
Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, to be stationed at Pekin.
If he lives I have every confidence he wUl make his mark. May
I not venture to ask you to examine this matter carefuUy, and
see if the way is not clear for you to accept this urgent invita
tion ? WiU not the prospect of the vast good you may do there
compensate for any sacrifice you wiU make in leaving home and
friends ?
In 1880 Mr. Dodge was present at the meeting in
Lowell, Mass., and as presiding officer of one of the
sessions introduced Narayan Sheshadri, the converted
Brahmin, in whose visit to America he had taken much
interest. In October, 1881, Mr. Dodge was in Paris, confined to
his room by an injury. The Rev. Mark Hopkins, D.D.,
president of the Board, was there at the same time, and
together they sent a letter to the semi-centennial meeting
of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, to
which body they had been requested to bear the greetings
and congratulations of the American Board. Just four
months previous to his death Mr. Dodge, f6r the last
time, attended one of these great annual gatherings he so
highly prized. The meeting was held at Portland, Me.,
October, 1882. He seems to have made unusual prepara
tion, and to have taken the deepest interest in all the pro
ceedings. He presided at some of the sessions, and several

190 EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
times took part in the deliberations or made addresses.
On taking the chair at one of the evening services he
remarked : —
" Whatever may have been the necessity or expediency of these
pubUc gatherings in the early history of the American Board, no
one can doubt that, in the present aspect of our country, we can
not do without them. Pressed as we are by varied and constant
excitements and cares, it is good for us occasionally to turn aside,
and going up into the mountain, from which the world shaU for
a time be excluded, have an opportunity to look back over aU the
way in which God has led us. In the early days of the Board
the heathen were very far off. I remember as a boy the interest
felt when the earlier missionaries were being sent out from New
England, where my parents then resided. It was nearly a year
before we heard of the arrival of the second company in the Sand
wich Islands. They made the passage in the small and uncom
fortable cabin of a whale-ship. And when Myron Winslow, our
near neighbor, married Miss Lathrop, of Norwich, and sailed for
India, it seemed an age before news came of their landing in safety.
Now our missionaries are borne to the ocean by express trains,
and cross the water on noble steamships ; and when they reach
their destination, can cable back in the shortest conceivable time.
In view of such changes, and of the facts presented to us at this
meeting ; in view of the wonderful record of the past, and of the
names so fragrant in the remembrance of this Board, — what does
God expect us to do ? The secretaries unite in saying we must
have at least $600,000. Can we raise such a sum ?
"A half-dozen men are invited into a room in New York or
Boston. Some one from the West brings a map and shows a line
of railroad to be built ; it wiU take five miUions of dollars. Before
leaving that room the arrangements have been made and the
money subscribed. We have in hand a work infinitely above the
construction* of any railroad, and we have a constituency of over
three hundred thousand members. If each one would contribute
five cents a week, we should have much more than is asked for.
God has not given all the wealth of this country to the world : he
has given a vast amount of it to the Church of Christ, and he has
given it that we may use it for his glory.''

EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.

191

At this meeting a crisis was reached in the question of
appropriations for the coming year. In the midst of the
anxious deliberations a scene occurred which will not
soon be forgotten by those present. It is thus described
in the columns of the newspapers : —
"There was a higher pitch of interest than on the previous
day, which culminated when Dr. Alden, of the home department,
referring to the spent Otis-legacy and the fact that yesterday
brought no relief in the way of definite provision for future expen
diture on the scale of the past, said, ' God appeared wonderfuUy
for our deliverance from debt at the meeting in Providence. Our
hope is in him. It is fitting we should ask him to help us in our
weakness and need.' Mr. Dodge immediately inquired if some
thing could not be done now, and added with much feeling, ' I wiU
double my offering of last year.' Many others on the platform
followed, until nearly $30,000 were pledged ; and in response to a
warm and tender suggestion of Dr. Webb, nearly aU the audience
rose to their feet, promising to do the same, — namely, to double
the giving of last year. In the midst of this thrilling hour, in which
praying issued in giving, earnest words were spoken by different
pastors and laymen."
RecaUing this occasion some months later. Dr. Alden
writes : —
"To me personally, Mr. Dodge's prompt and hearty response
at that impressive Portiand meeting, when he arose and quietly
announced that his subscription for the year would be doubled,
wUl abide forever in most sacred memory ; and with it the manner
in which he afterwards spoke to me about it in private."
On the Sabbath after Mr. Dodge's death, in a discourse
delivered by the Rev. Richard S. Storrs, D.D., of Brooklyn,
the speaker referred to his long acquaintance with Mr.
Dodge, and to a conversation with him on the train as
they rode home together from Portland, and of the mod
esty with which he spoke, not in regard to what he had
been able to do for any good cause, but of the comfort

192 EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
and peace that came to him in the effort to do good, aside
from any wisdom or success in his plans.
Mr. Ezra Farnsworth, a member of the Prudential
Committee of the American Board, writes to one of the
sons, Aug. 23, 1883 : —
"As the time approaches for closing up our accounts, we cannot
forget your honored father, whose generous gift always came to
swell the amount. This year our receipts have been materially
increased by the noble movement he started at Portland. As he
looks down from that Better Land, how grateful he must be that
he had the privilege of making such a pledge 1 "
The affectionate regard in which Mr. Dodge was held
by all the members of the American Board was touchingly
manifested at the annual meeting at Detroit in the October
following his death. Dr. Alden writes, Nov. 17, 1883 :
" The fresh remembrance of Mr. Dodge seemed, if possible, a
greater power than even his Uving presence. It was iUustrated in
nearly every address most tenderly and beautifully."
In the welcome to the Board by the Rev. Z. Eddy, D.D.,
of Detroit, this reference occurs : —
" One whom we counted much on seeing and hearing is not
present in the body ; but may we not beUeve he is nevertheless
with us, though our eyes see him not? How we aU miss that
genial face ! How we shaU miss his wise counsels, his enthusiasm,
his earnest appeals, his exemplary beneficence ! ' The memory of
the just is blessed.' Had I the power, I would now and here erect,
on a high pedestal, a life-size statue of the princely merchant, the
great manufacturer, the large-minded patriot, the genuine phi
lanthropist, the munificent friend of missions, the humble, devoted
Christian. But I cannot erect such a monument, except in
imagination. " Something, however, I can do to show my love to this good
and great man. Soon after his death one of his sons sent me a
photograph of our lamented friend. It is too smaU to be seen
distinctly by the audience, but several young ladies and children
of my congregation have framed it with flowers and set it against

EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. 193
a cross, suspending above it a crown. Here is the inscription :
' Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.' "
In his report the home secretary says : —
" Has not the hour fully arrived for a marked advance, which
shall appropriately inaugurate a new period of greatly enlarged be
nevolence, giving us an impulse for another quarter of a century ?
Who at the present meeting will be impelled by the Divine Spirit
to lead the way in this important work? Could we once more
behold upon our platform the figure of the late honored and be
loved Vice-President of this Board, leaning forward, intent, as was
his wont, his face Ughted up at every fresh utterance, summoning
to more earnest missionary devotion, we could none of us doubt
what would be his response to this renewed and imperative call
for more enlarged liberality. ' He, being dead, yet speaketh,' and
for years to come wiU continue to speak through his generous
remembrance of this great missionary work, so dear to him and to
her who during all these years has shared with him in these con
secrated gifts. Could he speak from the loftier eminence to which
he has been lifted in fellowship with others whose names spring to
our Ups, with whom he was here so long associated, who for one
instant could question what his words would be ? "
¦ The venerable President of the Board, the Rev. Mark
Hopkins, D.D., whom Mr. Dodge had long revered and
warmly loved, also speaks of this meeting, in a letter
addressed to Mrs. Dodge, Nov. 23, 1883: —
" Everybody missed your husband at Detroit, but probably no
one so much as myself, by whose side he had sat at those meet
ings for so many years. The meeting was not to me what it would
have been. To me everything connected with your husband is
sacred, for he was one of the best examples I have known of a
trae saint, — a consecrated man, — not retiring from men, but in
the very centre of activity devoting himself, his time, his energies,
his wealth, with the heart of a child and the wisdom of age, to their
good." When the union between the Old and New Presbyterian
Churches took place, and the Boards of the consolidated
13

194 EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
body were organized, Mr. Dodge concurred in the wisdom
and propriety of the expectation that Presbyterians who
had thus far co-operated with Congregationalists in sus
taining the missions of the American Board, should now
connect themselves with the Foreign Board of their own
church. He also approved of the action of the American Board
in allowing three of its missions to go with these departing
friends. He believed these changes would promote the
best interests of both bodies ; but personally he was not
willing to sever his connection with the beloved organiza
tion whose history, labors, and representatives, both at
home and abroad, had from his earliest days held so large
a place in his thoughts and affections. And yet he would
be loyal to the new and better condition of his own de
nomination. He had himself taken an active part in
securing the long-desired union. He therefore resolved
to labor with both of the Foreign Boards, and to divide
between them his ordinary yearly subscriptions. This
was sometimes five thousand dollars, but more frequently
in later years ten thousand dollars. He also often re
sponded to special appeals in connection with both bodies,'
and again and again gave — at times large sums — to mis
sionary undertakings outside the jurisdiction of either. In
his will he made provision for a legacy of fifty thousand
dollars to each of these Boards, to be paid in ten annual
instalments. For twelve years he served as a member of
"the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions," and was
still holding that position at the time of his death. Shar
ing in the counsels of both organizations, and following
the operations of each with continual prayers and gifts, his
unique position was perhaps the best illustration of a char
acteristic largeness of vision and sympathy that recog
nized, not so much dividing lines, as one common work,
and that was eager to use all agencies and take advantage
of every opportunity to obey the last command of his Lord.

EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. 195
On one occasion, when financial affairs in the country
were much disturbed, and his own had suffered, he was
debating how he should make his usual donations to
foreign missions. As he sat at his office desk, a letter
was placed before him. On opening it, a check for five
thousand dollars appeared, and a moment's reading showed
it to be the payment of an old claim long before marked
off" as worthless. He at once interpreted it as an indica
tion that God intended him to give the customary amount ;
and he never again hesitated. It was his spirit of broad
charity, and that extended acquaintance with missionary
fields and workers, gained by so many years of consulta
tion and oversight, that made Mr. Dodge ready to encour
age enterprises which could not be legitimately supported
by the funds of the great societies, but which received
their impulse from these bodies, or were the direct out
growth of their operations.
Thus he became a trustee of the Oahu College, Hono
lulu, and of the Bible House, Constantinople; he aided
the Jaffna College, Ceylon, the Training-school at Kiyoto,
Japan, Roberts College, Constantinople, Central Turkey
College, Aintab, and Liberia College, Africa. He sup
ported several students for the ministry at Marsovan,
Turkey, and helped others who came to this country.
He took pleasure in supplying some special outfit for
missionaries, or sending apparatus, books, bells, or other
needed articles, to their schools and churches. He had pe
culiar sympathy for disabled or aged missionaries, and was
prompt to meet their wants. He shared in providing the
memorial house for the Rev. Rufus Anderson, D.D., so
long foreign secretary of the American Board, and a friend
whom Mr. Dodge profoundly esteemed. He was for many
years an active member and supporter of the American and
Foreign Christian Union, and was interested in establishing
the American Chapel at Paris, and in efforts among the
papal populations of Europe, Brazil, and elsewhere.

196 EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
His largest foreign gifts, outside of the ordinary chan
nels, were directed to Syria. In 1862, at the annual meet
ing of the American Board, held in Springfield, Mass., he
met the Rev. Daniel Bliss, for several years a missionary
on Mount Lebanon, and now sent by the Syria Mission to
solicit co-operation in founding at Beirut a college which
should provide a literary and scientific education for young
men speaking the Arabic language. The institution was
to be distinctly missionary in its aims ; evangelical, but un-
sectarian; a co-worker with the Mission, yet organically
independent, having separate funds and its own board of
control. Mr. Dodge, from the first, looked with favor
upon the project. He saw its possibilities of large useful
ness in promoting the enlightenment of Syria and the
countries adjacent. With five other friends of missions —
also members of the American Board — he united in se
curing an act of incorporation and forming a board of
trustees under the title of the Syrian Protestant College.
For twenty years he discharged the duties of treasurer,
and was himself the constant and largest contributor.
In his will he left twenty thousand dollars additional to
increase the permanent scholarship-fund. In 1872, during
a visit to the East, he laid the corner-stone of the main
building, four other buildings being subsequently erected.
He loved to call this coUege a lighthouse in the midst of
Oriental darkness, and he lived to see it send out more
than a hundred and fifty graduates — nearly half from the
medical department — to occupy important positions as
physicians, teachers, ministers, or in other spheres to be
useful members of society; and besides these a large
number who did not complete the entire course.
One of his sons, the' Rev. D. Stuart Dodge, has been
connected with this enterprise from the beginning.
Mr. Dodge likewise aided in erecting at Beiriit the
Female Seminary, the Mission Church, and the Theo
logical Seminary.

EFFORTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. 197
It was Mr. Dodge's delight to receive missionaries at his
own table and home ; and something of his wide interest in
different fields can doubtless be traced to this cherished
intercourse. He also kept his sympathies warm by being
a constant reader of missionary intelligence.
The tidings of his death found sincere mourners in dis
tant places of the earth. One of them wrote, " Every
missionary must feel as if he had lost a personal friend."

CHAPTER Xni.
CHURCH RELATIONS.
AN old and esteemed friend, Mr. Robert Carter, writing
of Mr. Dodge (Feb. 12, 1883), says: "Just after I
came to the city, in 1832, I attended a meeting of the
Tract Society, at which Mr. Dodge, then a young man,
made a stirring address. I asked who the speaker was, and
learned he was a merchant in active business, but quite
as active in his Master's work." Mr. Dodge's Christian
activity embraced almost every department of official or
personal service in the church, and every form of social
or private life. In his church relations he frequently
helped to gather the funds and erect the building, he
served as trustee, ruled as elder, was representative to
ecclesiastical bodies, officiated at the desk, taught in the
Sabbath-school, aided at weekly meetings, labored with the
impenitent, visited the sick, invited friends and neighbors
to the services, welcomed new-comers, cherished intimate
and often tender relations with pastor and members, and
felt a constant responsibility for both the spiritual and
temporal interests of the particular church with which he
was at the time connected. But he " felt also the care of all
the churches." In the city of New York he took an active
part, from early manhood, in the inauguration of various
church enterprises. He loved to see churches established
in needy districts, and he made it his duty to attach him
self to feebler congregations, where the presence and ef
forts of each member have a distinct value. He deplored
the custom or necessity of concentrating in a few strong

CHURCH RELATIONS.

199

central churches the wealthiest and most influential sup
porters of a religious body ; and although a Presbyterian,
with clear convictions of what he believed to be the advan
tages of his own ecclesiastical system, he was a warm advo
cate of union efforts wherever the majority of attendants
or residents were not of one denomination, or wherever, in
sparsely populated neighborhoods or places, there was not
sufficient strength to maintain adequately more than one
organization. When Mr. Dodge's family returned to the city from
Connecticut in 1825 they first attended the Laight Street
Church, then under the charge of his uncle, the Rev. Sam
uel H. Cox, D.D. Four years later Mr. Dodge assisted in
organizing a new enterprise, which took the name of the
Union Presbyterian Church, and " was designed," in the
words of one of the founders, " to sustain the preaching
of the Gospel to the poor, and endeavor to promote re
vivals of religion." The Prince Street Church was pur
chased by this congregation; and here, as we shall see,
Mr. Finney, the evangelist, began his labors in New York.
Mr. Dodge's father and father-in-law were both prominent
in this movement, and he himself acted for some time
as secretary. A number of minutes and annual reports
appear in his handwriting. He was a member of the
Financial Committee, and his official statements show how
pew-rents and contributions were under the control of this
committee, and were apportioned by them for the minis
ter's salary and different religious societies. The Rev.
Herman Norton was the first regular pastor.
Mr. B. B. Atterbury, a brother-in-law, writes of the next
change : —
" Mr. Dodge became interested in the Second Avenue Church,
near Second Street, about 1834, and soon after was made super
intendent of the Sunday-school ; and a most efficient and devoted
superintendent he made, beloved by aU the teachers and scholars.
I had joined the school while Dr. Murray was pastor. The church

200 CHURCH RELATIONS.
was very far out of the city ; the population was smaU. We wor
shipped in the lecture-room, as the church was not finished.
Mr. Dodge Uved in Fifth Street, between the Second and Third
Avenues ; and weU do I remember the Sunday-school teachers'
meetings held weekly at his house, and, in the great revival of
1836 and 1837, the early morning prayer-meetings held at six a.m.
during that winter. I was not then a member of the church ; but
his warm interest in me, and his example and prayers, helped me
in my decision to unite with the church. The Rev. Dr. Murray
left about the time Mr. Dodge united with us. Dr. Charles L.
Porter became our pastor, and in Mr. Dodge found an earnest
and wiUing co-laborer. A feeling of insecurity was felt in the ceil
ing of the church, and this kept many from joining in the enter
prise. Notwithstanding, the church was blessed, and many were
added to it, especially during the spring of 1837. How happy
Mr. Dodge was during these seasons of interest I His heart was
warmly engaged, and his earnest prayers for the conversion of the
teachers and scholars in the school were of great good. Many
were converted, and united with the church, and many of these
have become prominent in church enterprises. The fear that the
roof of the church would fall in, although alterations had been
made to secure its safety, stiU pervaded the people, and Mr. Dodge
urged a change, and suggested the building of the Sixth Street
Church." In 1842 this new effort, somewhat farther up town, was
begun. The terms of agreement are here also in his hand
writing, and were evidently drawn up by himself The
document reads : —
" The subscribers, being desirous of sustaining a Presbyterian
church in the immediate vicinity of the First and Second Avenues,
and between Fourth and Tenth Streets, and in order to conform
to the spirit of the times by furnishing comfortable accommoda
tions and good preaching at a moderate expense, and avoid the
embarrassment resulting from being in debt, have secured two lots
in Sixth Street, near Second Avenue, at a reasonable ground-rent,
on which they desire to erect a substantial plain building, 40 X 60
feet, to cost $2,500. In order to raise this sum, it is proposed to
create a stock of 100 shares, at $25 each."

CHURCH RELATIONS. 201
A portion of the basement was to be rented for school
purposes; and the entire expenses, including the minis
ter's salary, were to be less than $1,400 per annum. This
scheme was carried out, and the church built, the congre
gation meanwhile occupying a hall in Third Avenue. The
Rev. Horace Eaton was called to be pastor, and labored
here seven years, strong in the affection of an increasing
membership. He then removed to Palmyra, where he
became one of the most influential ministers of Central
New York.
Mr. Dodge cherished to the day of his death a warm
regard for Dr. Eaton. He corresponded with him from
time to time, and on more than one occasion visited him
to aid in religious work. They died within the same year.
In a letter written by Dr. Eaton after the death of his friend
there are some interesting reminiscences of Mr. Dodge in
his relation to this church in Sixth Street : —
" Some six months before I was to leave the Union Theological
Seminary — in the winter of 1842 — Mr. John McChain, a grave and
elderly gentleman, called at my room and invited me to speak the
next Sabbath morning to a few people who worshipped in Tempe
rance HaU, near Fourth Street, in the Bowery. ' The audience
wUl be smaU,' he said, ' and the opportunity a good one for a
young man to improve his gifts and graces for more pubUc duties.'
I felt the need of the improvement, and accepted the invitation.
I had two or three sermons written with some care, but they
seemed unfit for so informal an occasion ; and seizing upon the
text, so attractive to many an ardent and inexperienced candidate,
' God forbid that I should glory save in the cross ! ' I wrote what I
could, and depended upon the spur of the occasion to eke out the
remainder. " The Sabbath morning was sleety, the way to Temperance
Hall forbidding. As I ascended the platform and looked around
upon the audience, I saw I was in a trap. Here and there I ob
served a learned professor or teacher I had seen before. The long
seats of the entire hall were filled with men of culture and standing,
assembled with their famUies to hear the word of God. The sing-

202 CHURCH RELATIONS.
ing was led by Dr. J. J. Owen, the commentator. And this, thought
I, is Temperance HaU I this ' the few people ' 1 this ' the place for
a young man to improve his gifts ' ! As I came to my first sermon
the Ught was bad, the writing worse. I blundered, boggled. What
could I do ? I threw away my paper, struck at a few points, and
said ' Amen I '
" To me the service was a memorable one. Could I have
found some subterranean passage I should have gone quickly out
of sight of my audience, never to meet them more. But in the
third seat, sitting with his wife and children, there was a man of
expressive and beautiful countenance, that beamed with sympathy
for my confusion. At the close of the service he came up to me
and gave me his hand. It was my first introduction to WiUiam E.
Dodge. Without cutting the seam of truth, he spoke kindly,
praised the text, referred to this and that point fitted to do good.
After Sabbath-school he invited me to dinner. The wise and
thoughtful words of Mrs. Dodge, the smiles of the children, charmed
away the fever of my chagrin, and let me down into something of
hopefulness and rest.
" My first sermon in Temperance HaU, and my first meet
ing with WiUiam E. Dodge, wiU not be forgotten in this world
or the next. If his purse helped hundreds of young men into
the ministry, his warm, quick, generous nature apprehended
their trials, excused their mistakes, and cheered them on their
way. How many servants of Christ, strengthened and gladdened
by him on earth, met and welcomed him as he entered the gates
of Ufe !
" When I first saw Mr. Dodge he was some thirty-five years old,
yet as lithe and blithe as a youth of twenty-one. Indeed, he ever
retained the same bright expression; his face always shone be
cause his heart always glowed. Goodness never grows old. A
Christlike sensibility and transparency were the central elements
of his character, which commended him to every man's con
science. Though clear and open-eyed to discover and escape
the dupUcity and sinuosities of the serpent, yet he could say,
with the great apostle, ' Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of
our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with
fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our con
versation in the world.'

CHURCH RELATIONS. 203
" He was alive to whatever touched the spiritual interests of
men. Before his increasing wealth and public duties placed him
in the seat of princes, Mr. Dodge reaped great harvests among
the lowly. He loved chUdren, and they knew it, and returned
the affection. As the superintendent, his presence was gladness
to our Sabbath-school. After the weary hours of business he
might have been seen among the poor, the sick, the wayward.
The rich fruit of this labor often surprised him. In passing
through New Orleans, St Louis, Chicago, Uke his Master he could
not be hid. Some Christian tradesman, teacher, or preacher would
haU him, and gratefully acknowledge that the seed he had sown in
their youthful minds had ripened into a harvest of manhood and
piety. But in nothing was he so much at home as in revival
work. " It was not strange that a band of laborers, such as met in Tem
perance Hall, should be visited with the refreshings of the Spirit.
Men and women were there converted, who stood like pillars in the
house of God. A few of them remain unto this present, but are
like the scattered olive-berries in the topmost bough after harvest.
This revival inspired a courage that led to the erection of a smaU
but comely sanctuary, where for seven years we worshipped as the
Sixth Street Presbyterian Church. I weU remember the decisive
hour when Mr. Dodge headed the subscription, and with trae busi
ness tact brought others to the point which secured sums that
warranted the enterprise. The hive was small, but composed of
working-bees. A number of precious ingatherings marked the
seven years. Mr. Dodge assured me that in the communion and
worship of that little church he partook of some of the richest
clusters he was ever permitted to pluck. Here his younger chU
dren were baptized ; here his elder sons came out and subscribed
with their own hands to be the Lord's.
" Whether Mr. Dodge attracted the ministers, or the ministers
Mr. Dodge, I wiU not decide. This is, however, true, — that the
famUies of seven distinguished clergymen cast in their lot with the
Sixth Street Church. Our meetings were frequently enriched by
the presence and words of Drs. Armstrong, White, Baird, Spauld
ing, SawteU, Owen, bringing in sheaves from their different fields
of Christian work ; and led by the munificence of Mr. Dodge, the
various benevolent causes were generously supported. I can but

204 CHURCH RELATIONS.
think the part he acted in this narrow field was not a Uttle prepara
tory for positions of world-wide influence. ' He that was faithful
in that which was least, was faithful also in much.' He that de
fended the few sheep in the wilderness from the paw of the Uon
and the bear, was strengthened to meet Goliath in the valley of
Elah, and to be the leader of God's people Israel. There were
crises with the little flock when God called for some Moses to
stand before him in the breach. At such times Mr. Dodge was
the man to withstand the breaking in of error, intemperance, Sab
bath-breaking, the worship of the golden calf. In this early dis-
cipUne his faith gained roots for severe trials on the high places of
the field. In Congress, in railroad corporations, in temperance
conventions, in missionary meetings, when God sought for a man
among them that should make up the hedge, Mr. Dodge was not
wanting there. Never have I known such strokes of individual
power as when, trusting to the Voice that said to the children of
Israel, ' Go forward,' he struck for an advanced step in some cause
of reform, always baring his own breast to the sharpest arrows of
the enemy. Mr. Dodge was one of Ezekiel's ' gap-men ; ' God
made him, stood by him, crowned him.
" As pastor of a country parish, I should be ungrateful not to
mention personal favors. Did the eye of Mr. Dodge light upon a
book that would help me, he wrote my name in it and sent it Did
my health demand rest, he provided means for travel and recovery.
If worn down with revival work, he sent me reapers by whom large
ingatherings were secured to the garner of God. By more than
one visit, accompanied by Mrs. Dodge, he has strengthened my
hands, and by his presence and eloquent words in public given
new impetus to every good cause.
" In reviewing my early acquaintance with him, I seem to have
come so near his Master that, Uke the disciples in the walk to
Emmaus, ' my heart bums within me.' "
The members of the Sixth Street Church and of the Riv
ington Street Presbyterian (Brainard) Church united, in
185 1, in organizing, with others, the Fourteenth Street Pres
byterian Church, situated at the corner of Second Avenue.
Mr. Dodge and his father were here again associated as
elders in the same session. The Rev. Asa D. Smith, D.D.,

CHURCH RELATIONS. 205
afterwards president of Dartmouth College, was made
pastor, coming from the Rivington Street branch. Here
Mr. Dodge had as fellow-members and elders several
friends, with whom he long co-operated in religious,
benevolent, or public efforts. Among these associates
were especially Mr. William A. Booth, the late David
Hoadley, and Christopher R. Robert. The ten years
spent in this church witnessed many, and in two or three
instances powerful, revivals. Dr. Smith during such sea
sons of special interest was in the habit of making out
lists of persons in the congregation who he thought might
be favorably approached on religious subjects. These lists
he placed in the hands of members of the session or
church most capable of dealing with each case. Mr.
Dodge was repeatedly asked to engage in this work, and
he did it with singular fidelity and tact, often with marked
success. The memories of the years spent in this church
were most precious to him, and he was heard to say more
than once : " The place where I have enjoyed myself more
than almost any other on earth is the lecture-room of the
old Fourteenth Street Church."
Mr. Dodge retained his connection with this church for
some years after removing his residence from Eighteenth
Street to Murray Hill, although the distance was greatly
increased. He afterwards united with the Madison Square
Presbyterian Church, and enjoyed the ministry of his friend
the Rev. WiHiam Adams, D.D., until 1864, when he took
part in the movement to establish the Church of the Cove
nant. The site selected for the new edifice was at the cor
ner of Thirty-fifth Street and Park Avenue. In the erection
of this church and of the adjoining parsonage, as well as
of the mission-chapel on East Forty-second Street, Mr.
Dodge was one of the largest contributors. The Rev.
George L. Prentiss, D.D., became the first pastor, and was
succeeded by the Rev. Marvin R. Vincent, D.D., under
whose ministry Mr. Dodge remained untU his death.

206 CHURCH RELATIONS.
The feebler Presbyterian churches of the city rarely if
ever failed to receive aid from Mr. Dodge, — two or three
were assisted regularly. He often contributed also to the
erection or support of the poorer churches of other de
nominations. But this interest in the building of churches
extended far beyond his own city. Applications were con
tinually made to him from almost every State and Terri
tory; and not merely from places where he had business
connections, or where any of the students he had helped
to educate were settled, or where he was himself known
personally, but frequently from entire strangers, — usually
ministers, who could plead only their wants and the name
of their Master. He read such appeals with care, and
endeavored to gain a correct impression of the case,
sometimes making inquiries from other sources. If rea
sonably convinced of the worthiness of the request, he
would send such an amount as he thought the circumstan
ces warranted ; occasionally giving more than was asked
for or expected, — more frequently subscribing on condi
tion that the people should themselves raise a given sum,
or obtain it from other friends. If he had doubts of the
exigency of the cause, he would perhaps agree to give the
last hundred dollars, when the remainder had been paid
in. He held that in church affairs, as well as in others, it
was wise policy " to help men help themselves." He had
an official connection at one period with the Church Erec
tion Fund of his own denomination ; but he rejoiced to see
churches of any evangelical body going up along the Hnes
of railway, and pressing on with the tide of settlement into
every part of the West. A house of worship in any com
munity gave promise of permanent religious influences ;
but he deprecated the multiplication of churches where a
small population existed, and he emphatically urged a
well-considered harmony of action among the various
evangelical sects that would prevent unworthy and de
structive rivalry. Proper fraternal comity in occupying

CHURCH RELATIONS.

207

new places would leave no point uncared for, and Chris
tians of different names would be the gainers spiritually by
learning to hold services in common untU numbers and
financial strength should justify an attempt to have sepa
rate buildings. In reply to an appeal from a Presbyterian
church of a few members in a distant part of the country,
he writes : —
" It would appear to me far better, in so smaU a place, for the
few Presbyterians to unite with the Methodists and use one church
edifice, — each for half a day ; the two congregations worshipping
together, while yet preserving their denominational differences.
In my early reUgious life, in a small viUage in New England, we
had this union in respect to one house of worship for five or six
years. In the morning we had our own form, using the Congre
gational or Presbyterian hymn-book ; and in the afternoon we aU
went to the Methodist service, carrying our Methodist books. God
blessed us, and in the six years there were three revivals, the con
verts joining the church of their own choice. I can hardly see
the advantage of keeping up the smaU Presbyterian church of
which you speak. I enclose, however, a check for twenty-five
doUars to aid your effort. Although for fifty years a Presbyte
rian elder, I feel it is more important to make Christians than
Presbyterians." Mr. Dodge was also opposed to excessive expenditures
for merely church purposes. He writes to a friend : —
" The trouble with our New York Presbyterian churches is that
pew-rents are so high the poor cannot venture to come. With
singing and other expenses so far beyond the means of most who
do attend, there is little left to give to the other objects of the
church. I have had for years great anxiety on this subject"

CHAPTER XIV.
INTEREST IN REVIVALS. — LETTERS TO INDIVIDUALS.
IT can be said emphatically that Mr. Dodge was never
so happy as when engaged in direct labor for the
spiritual good of others. He watched for opportunities
to reach individuals, and he was never more at home
than when taking part in the frequent meetings or per
sonal interviews of a true revival.
In an address delivered December, 1872, at the Lay-
Workers' College in Brooklyn, he says : —
" I have been associated in revivals of religion with those who,
thirty, forty, fifty years ago, were marked men in this country. Com
ing into the kingdom at an early age, I was in revivals under Mr.
Nettleton. I saw much of his work, and of that of many who fol
lowed him. I also labored with Mr. Finney. In my contact with
these evangelists, I noticed one thing, — to be prepared to work for
the salvation of men, you must be thoroughly convinced that men
are lost. Whitefield, Tennant, the Wesleys, Edwards, had this pre-
vaUing conviction, and it gave energy to all their efforts. They
believed that the men for whom they were laboring were on the
way to eternal death. Our Saviour believed in the eternal con
demnation of the wicked, and he knew aU about it. 'These,' he
said, ' shaU go away into everlasting punishment,' — punishment as
everlasting as the eternity of the righteous. Unless we get an idea
of what it is to be lost, we cannot know what it is to be saved.
' Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost.' God saw a ruined
race in the broad road leading to everlasting death, and 'he so
loved us as to send his only begotten Son, that whosoever believ
eth in him should not perish, but have everiasting Ufe.' When
our Saviour' related the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, are

INTEREST IN REVIVALS. 209
we to suppose he was trifling with us ? I have felt that I could
not go and try to point a soul to Christ untU I was fuUy imbued
with the thought that untU saved in Christ, a soul was forever lost.
God has prescribed a remedy that we might not perish. I have
heard of those who beUeve in the final restitution of the wicked.
They claim that God is so good, all the wicked wiU be saved. I
do not find a hint of it as I read my Bible. We are told there of
' the worm that dieth not, and of the fire that is not quenched.'
Christ died not only to open the prison-door, but to open the pal
ace-gate and give men everlasting Ufe. Impelled by this solemn
truth, we shaU say as we look and see men perishing, ' Here am I,
send me.' ' Use me in whatever way I can do most to save lost
sinners.' A saved sinner myself, I can declare that God desires
not the death of the wicked. He says to all, ' Turn ye ; why wiU
ye die?'"
This was the key-note of Mr. Dodge's theology, the
secret of his earnestness, and, we may add, the chief cause
of his success in leading men to Christ He had, indeed,
a singularly tender and convincing manner of presenting
and pressing home these solemn truths; but it was his
unqualified acceptance of the cardinal declarations of the
word of God that brought to his own mind such un
wavering conviction and enabled him to impart it to
others. Mr. Dodge was eager to have these great foundation-
truths made the frequent theme of pubhc preaching. This
was the characteristic of the religious movements with
which he was early familiar, and one of the reasons which
led him always to long for and enjoy such seasons. Men
were converted under such preaching, and generally be
came inteUigent, active, and trustworthy church members.
These views also made Mr. Dodge ready to welcome and
assist evangelists whose success proved their special call
to this work, even though he could not be sure of the
wisdom of aU their methods. He was one of the small
company of earnest men who gave Mr. Finney, the revi
valist, his first invitation to labor in New York. Mr.
14

210 INTEREST IN REVIVALS.
Dodge refers to it in a long communication, dated Jan. i,
1880, addressed to the Rev. Henry M. Field, D.D., editor
of the " New York . Evangelist," giving an account of Mr.
Dodge's connection with the establishment of that paper
in 1829: —
"From 1820 to 1830 there were remarkable revivals in many
parts of New England and throughout the western portion of our
own State. The Rev. Dr. Nettieton had been visiting Hartford,
New Haven, and many other places. Powerful awakenings had
followed, with large additions to the churches. In western New
York the Rev. Charles G. Finney, then a young man, who after
his conversion had left the law and prepared for the ministry,
began to labor as an evangeUst. Extensive revivals took place
in Rome, Utica, Auburn, and Rochester. Reports of the methods
adopted were widely spread and severely criticised by the secular
as well as the religious press. The Rev. Dr. Beman, who had
visited Utica to satisfy his own mind, invited Mr. Finney to Troy,
and his efforts there were crowned by an extraordinary outpouring
of the Spirit.
" My late father-in-law, Mr. Anson G. Phelps, became deeply
impressed with the feeling that a great blessing would foUow if Mr.
Finney could be induced to come to New York, but found that
his pastor. Dr. Gardiner Spring, as weU as other prominent min
isters, were doubtful of the propriety of introducing into their
pulpits a person about whom so much was said and such differ
ence of opinion existed. Still, feeling it a duty, he invited the
Rev. Dr. Beman of Troy, Dr. Aiken of Utica, and Dr. Lansing of
Auburn, with Mr. Finney, to come to the city for consultation.
This was in the faU of 1828. The interviews continued for several
days at Mr. Phelps's house, then 32 Cliff Street.. I shall never for
get those days. Such prayers I never heard before. These men
had all come from the influence of the recent wonderful revivals,
and were aU fiUed with the Spirit. Each afternoon was spent as
a season of special prayer for Divine direction, and several zealous
Christians, officers of the Presbyterian churches in the city, were
invited to be present. The remarks and prayers of these ministers
impressed us aU. When it was decided that Mr. Finney should
undertake a work in New York, Mr. Phelps invited him, with his

INTEREST IN REVIVALS. 21 1
wife and chUd, to his own house. A suitable place to open the
meetings was sought. The old Vandewater Street Church was at
the time unoccupied, and here Mr. Finney entered upon his
labors, in the early spring of 1829, with crowded audiences and
evident effect. In the beginning of the summer the church built
by the UniversaUsts at the corner of Prince and Marion Streets
was to be sold under foreclosure of mortgage, and though very far
up town, it was purchased and fitted up. The fine large basement
had never been completed, and was used by a neighboring brewer
to store his casks. Turned into a lecture-room, it became one
of the most precious places I ever enjoyed. In this church Mr.
Finney preached for about a year and a half. Multitudes flocked
to hear him, and large numbers were hopefully converted. In
order to provide for the vast throngs, and also to get farther down
town, Arthur and Lewis Tappan, David Hale and others, bought
and prepared for him the Chatham Street Tabernacle.
" Oh, how I long to witness once more such days! "
A short time after (Feb. 11, 1880) he writes to an old
associate : —
" I am ready with you to bless God for his mercy to you and
many others, who from earth as well as eternity can unite in the
song of thanksgiving that they were led to Usten to the Gospel as
sounded forth by our dear friend Mr. Finney."
Mr. Dodge himself frequently visited different places for
the express purpose of taking part in revival efforts. It was
a matter of small moment to him what particular church or
sect gained accessions, provided men were truly converted.
He looked anxiously for an inteUigent apprehension of
evangelical truth and growing consistency of life. He felt
a special responsibility for the spiritual welfare of all who
were in his employ or connected with companies in which
he was interested. At points where he had mills and tim
ber lands, one of his first cares was to provide church
privHeges. He aided in securing the building and in
establishing regular services and a Sabbath-school. When
there himself on business, he rarely failed to make an

212 INTEREST IN REVIVALS.
address, often taking the place of the preacher, or gather
ing the people for a stirring temperance meeting.
Mr. E. B. Campbell, writing of Mr. Dodge's investments
in the pine-lands of northern Pennsylvania, says : —
" During 1838 Mr. Dodge erected the little church, stiU in use,
on the knoll near the junction of Marsh and Pine Creeks, remark
ing at the time that he would not be interested in any operations
where his workmen did not enjoy the privilege of having a house
of worship. This was the first built in Tioga County, Pa. Mr.
Dodge sent out a minister, who remained for two years, and was
followed by the Rev. J. F. Calkins, who also preached at Wellsboro',
then a mission-station. From that time until his death Mr. Dodge
contributed yearly to this field. In fact, no church has been built
in that entire section without receiving help from him ; and aU
along down Pine Creek, Jersey Shore, and Williamsport, all have
on their records his name as a contributor. Were I to speak of
the great influence he exercised in this section, and the results of
his Christian example and teaching, time would faU me. Wherever
he went he did good, always seeming to care more for the welfare
of others than his own."
The Rev. J. F. Calkins, first pastor of the church at
Wellsboro', Pa., wrote to his former charge on the death
of his friend : —
" I probably never should have seen WeUsboro' but for Mr.
Dodge. He sent me there just graduating from the Seminary. I
probably should not have stayed there more than two years, but for
his constant benefactions to me for the sake of the church. His
gifts to the church, beyond the support of the minister, began with
the building of the parsonage. Then he gave one quarter of the
cost of the church building. Just after the frame was ready, the
, kiln in which we had all the timber for the inside work took fire
and burned up. I wrote to Mr. Dodge. The return mail from
Cliff Street brought word, ' Put me down for ten thousand feet of
lumber wherever you can get it' In 1859 the eight-hundred-
pound bell, which has ever since called the people to the house of
God, was sent by him without soUcitation. Afterwards, when re
pairs and enlargement were necessary, he paid one tenth of the

INTEREST IN REVIVALS.

213

whole sum. But he not only gave his money, but himself to the
Lord in our behalf. When his visits were much more frequent than
of late yeai-s, he did not spare himself from always talking to our
church and people with great acceptance, and going in my wagon
with me to Pine Creek and the neighboring school-houses to preach
the Gospel of Christ. The witnesses are aU around you to teU how
he left his large business in New York — after sending to us one
minister after another to help in the revival of 1856 and 1857 — to
come himself and go with me from house to house, to stores, offices,
and families to invite men to the mercy-seat The last letter I
received from him was in part to beseech me to labor and pray for
an old-fashioned revival of religion ; and with it he sent two books
on the subject."
Mr. Dodge wrote to his wife from this place, March 13,
1856: —
" I was urged to return at once to the city on very important
business ; but I could not, or did not dare to leave. God's power
has been so wonderful for the past two days, and I have so many
on my hands and heart, apparently just on the turning-point of
their destiny, that I cannot go. Last night some four or five of
the most prominent men of the place, who the Sabbath before
were among the anxious, and for whom we had been praying and
laboring, arose in the meeting to teU what God had done for them,
and to urge others to come to Christ."
He adds, in reference to a friend in whom Mrs. Dodge
was interested in the city : —
" Urge her right up to the point of submission and giving up
all for Christ, — no half-way, — if she would be happy."
More than fifty united with the church at Wellsboro' as
the result of this awakening.
Referring afterwards to these occasions, Mr. Dodge
wrote, Dec. 20, 1878, to Mr. Calkins: —
" Your good letter has brought back recoUections of the many,
many interesting times we have enjoyed together when I was
called so often to Wellsboro'. What a blessed revival ! Mr.
 's visit to your house and his first prayer in the evening meet-

214 INTEREST IN REVIVALS.
ing ! The Rev. Dr. Asa D. Smith's visit and illness, and your
preaching in his place, showing that he who planted should also do
the reaping I What a blessed day that was ! We shaU never fully
understand it aU untU we realize it ' anew in our Father's king
dom.' Let us be thankful for all the way in which the Lord has
led us, and keep on hard at work while he gives us strength. I
do not expect this ever to be ' the place of my rest,' even if I do
not continue in mercantUe business. I was never so fully pressed
in my life."
During the year of this revival at Wellsboro' (1856)
Mr. Dodge made a similar visit to Jersey Shore, Pa., — a
place near one of the larger lumber-mills of the Company
in which he was interested. He assisted for some time in
the protracted meetings, and became so deeply engaged,
and so impressed with a consciousness of the presence of
the Holy Spirit, that friends who came with him to aid in
the work noticed that for several days he refused to open
and read business communications of any kind. Here
also a large number of conversions took place, and more
than fifty united at one time with the Presbyterian Church.
To other places likewise where he had business connec
tions Mr. Dodge either went personally or would send
ministers or evangelists to assist the pastors in special
meetings, and he watched eagerly for favorable reports.
Writing to a ministerial friend (March, 1864), he says:
" I have heard with deep interest that God has been among
you with his Holy Spirit in the conversion of many souls. I felt
as if I must come up and spend a day or two with you, but have
not been at all weU, and have had to avoid aU excitement. I have
been often to different places to enjoy with God's people such
precious seasons. Nothing this side of heaven can compare with
them." His warm personal friend, the Rev. Dr. Cuyler, wrote of
him on the day of his death : —
"While the whole Church of God in this and other lands is
mourning the departure of this nobleman of the Lord Jesus Christ,

INTEREST IN REVIVALS. 21 5
let me narrate an incident that iUustrates the depth of his personal
consecration to his Master. It was not only by princely benefac
tions, and by pubUc services on platforms and in board meetings,
that my friend served Christ ; he was a personal worker for souls.
One morning I had occasion to caU on him at his counting-room
in business hours to present some work of philanthropy. ' See
here,' said he, in his eager, enthusiastic way, — ' see what letters I
have just got from the minister up in that coal and iron settlement
in northern Pennsylvania. I have been up there for several days,
and a blessed revival is going on among the iron-miners and coal-
diggers. I went into the inquiry-meetings, and got greatly inter
ested in some of those rough, hard-working feUows ; and now the
minister writes me that some of those men I talked with have
found Christ. Is n't it glorious ! ' Then he went on and gave me
an account of one and another of the various humble individuals
whose cases he had come to know as well as if they had been the
friends of a lifetime. There was a frequent rap at the counting-
room door of people who had come to see Mr. Dodge on matters
of commercial business. ' No matter,' said he ; ' let them pound
away 1 You sit stiU and hear these letters. I care more about the
souls of those miners than about any of those people out there who
have come to talk about money.'
" I have been with Mr. Dodge on a great many public occa
sions, and seen his interior Ufe too under many circumstances ; but
no memory of him wUl be sweeter than of that morning when his
big benevolent heart was so stirred with a holy enthusiasm over
those humble miners whom he had helped towards the cross of
Jesus. The same Harlan- Page-like spirit he manifested during the
great revival of 1858. Every day he threw himself into personal
efforts for the conversion of souls; and the break in his health
which necessitated a trip to Europe was largely caused by the extra
strain put on him by daily meetings and other reUgious activities.
He leaves a mighty gap which no one can fiU. He has gone to a
heaven which has in store for him a crown of many stars. Mourn
we weU may for ourselves, but let none mourn for him in his
glory." In all his efforts he was exceedingly jealous of the" honor
of his Master. He loved to see " the Name that is above

2l6 INTEREST IN REVIVALS.
every name" duly and everywhere exalted. He would
sometimes say of a sermon which may have displayed
learning and eloquence, " There was no Christ in it."
When engaged in personal appeals, he endeavored to lead
men directly to a divine and present Saviour, dwelling
upon the need of the soul, and then upon the fulness of
Christ to meet every want.
During his long journey through the Indian Territory as
a Government commissioner, he aided in having religious
services for the escort of soldiers ; and on one of these
occasions he read a little tract entitled, " Make it so plain
that I can get hold of it.'' This was the earnest request of
a wounded soldier, whose father had reached his bedside
and was trying to show him the way of salvation. He
finally succeeds, by reminding the son of an incident in his
childhood when he repented of some gross disobedience,
and was freely forgiven and received back again to his
father's love. Mr. Dodge used this narrative to enforce
his own remarks to the soldiers before him ; but it was an
illustration of his usual directness and simplicity in present
ing religious truth. He aimed to make it so plain that all
<;ould lay hold of it.
When Mr. Moody and his associate, Mr. Sankey, held
the great evangelistic meetings at the New York Hippo
drome in 1876, no one gave them more eager and constant
support. Mr. Dodge had been among the first to urge
their coming, and not only contributed freely to the large
expenses necessary, but he served on various committees,-
and was daily present at some or all of the services. Al
most every evening saw him on the platform, near the
speaker, his face radiant with interest, and tears often flow
ing down his cheeks. He was always ready to take any
part in the exercises, and at the after-meetings or in the
inquiry-rooms he was untiring in directing souls to the way
of salvation. Friends who, he thought, might be benefited
spiritually by attending the meetings were personally in-

LETTERS TO INDIVIDUALS. 217
vited; and when an impression seemed to be made, he
endeavored by subsequent visits to have it become perma
nent. He did not soon recover from this continuous and
absorbing devotion ; but these days and weeks were to
him full of holy joy, and he always referred to them with
peculiar gratitude and delight
One method of Christian usefulness was much practised
by Mr. Dodge. He frequently wrote letters to friends,
urging most affectionately the need of personal religion.
These were generally written at the house, and were rarely
copied. The few of which a record has been found refer in
most instances so definitely to the individual circumstances
of those to whom they were addressed that the contents
must be held as confidential. Portions of one or two may
perhaps be allowed, to exhibit the tenderness and yet
faithfulness he always brought to a task so delicate and
difficult During the revival of 1858 he wrote to a friend with
whom he had long been associated in various enterprises,
and for whom he again and again expressed peculiar
solicitude : —
" For many years I have been in the habit of meeting you in
business circles, and have repeatedly admired your prompt action
and great executive talents. I have always felt a deep interest in
your prosperity ; at the same time I have often been anxious lest
you should be satisfied with riches, which can at best last but a few
years. The providence of God has of late in a remarkable manner
visited our city and land. First, by the panic, which led aU to see
how vain were human calculations. But now he has come by his
Spirit, touching the heart and leading hundreds of business men to
understand the importance of receiving a better portion than this
world can give. Never has there been such a time, since we have
been on the stage, when, speaking after the manner of men, it was
so easy to find ' the pearl of great price.' Many whom you know
and respect are turning their thoughts to eternal things. You, my
dear sir, at times think of the need of a preparation for death, and

2l8 LETTERS TO INDIVIDUALS.
you hope in some way to have such preparation before you die ;
but are you acting in this all-important matter with that wisdom
and promptness which have always governed your business Ufe?
Oh, my dear friend, that you could but open your eyes and see your
true position, and the danger that, with all this world can give, you
may go unprepared to the bar of God ! Why wUl you not take
time to look at this matter calmly, and ask yourself, ' What shall it
profit me if I gain the whole world and lose my own soul? ' I ven
ture to enclose a little paper, which I trust you wiU read carefully,
and put to yourself the inquiry, ' Am I not the man ? ' I am con
fident you wiU appreciate the motive which induces me to write to
you when I say that for many days I have been thinking much
about you, and have been daily praying that God would visit you
with heavenly blessings."
Many of Mr. Dodge's most earnest letters on religious
subjects were addressed to those who had become addicted
to intemperate habits.
Writing to one such friend, who was also in deep
affliction, he says : —
" You have hardly been out of my mind since I heard of the
death of your dear wife. Most deeply and truly do I sympathize
with you in your sudden and great bereavement. May God give
you strength in the lonely moments which are to follow the excite
ment of paying the last rites of affection, and when you return to
your desolated home ! As I went back to my office I felt as if I
wanted to say to you a few words which come from a fuU heart,
and which I am sure you will appreciate. I have never spoken to
you in regard to a matter that has long been whoUy known to me,
and of which I have desired to speak, but have deferred it from
time to time. I mean your habit of using stimulating drinks. I
know the power of appetite as few others do, for I have made it a
study for years. You know it by sad experience, and how, too, it
grows by every indulgence. I doubt not that many, many times
you would have been glad to be able to give it up forever, but
have been held by its awful power, and by the example and temp
tation of your associates. I feel that just now will be, perhaps, the
critical time of your Ufe. In the midst of your loneliness and

LETTERS TO INDIVIDUALS.

219

affliction you wiU be tempted as never before. If you yield you
wiU, I fear, soon find yourself beyond control. If you foUow the
leadings of your better judgment and the dictates of conscience,
and resolve that from this time forward, looking to God for help,
you will never touch a drop of anything that wiU intoxicate, you
will through aU time and eternity bless God for this trial. You
cannot tamper with this monster habit ; nothing but absolute giv
ing up can save you. I have seen so many who have broken
these chains, and become, by the grace of God, free men, that I
cannot refrain from writing you. During this present week I have
received from one of our active merchants — in reply to a letter
written to him recently — a long communication, fuU of hope, and
containing his solemn pledge to abstain from drink. During the
week I have also received a letter from the son of one who has oc
cupied a place of great influence, but is now a victim of this habit,
and so degraded that his chUdren wish to get him into an asylum.
Oh, my dear sir, do at once take the stand that will give you the
high position your peculiar talents enable you to fiU ! Pray receive
this from your true friend."
It was not unusual for Mr. Dodge, in his efforts to reach
and reform individuals, to urge them, after serious conver
sation and appeals, at once to sign a pledge of some kind.
Several of these papers appear in his own handwriting,
and bear the signatures of persons with whom he had
special relations.
He was anxious that all who gave satisfactory evi
dence of real change of heart should make a public
avowal of their faith by uniting with some recognized
church. Among the last letters he wrote was one to the
son of an old friend, urging him to take this decisive
step : —
" Let me beg of you openly to honor Him whom I can but
think you are anxious to please. While you are doing much for
the church and Sunday-school now, your usefulness for aU that is
good wiU be far greater."
In his efforts to help Christians or irreligious friends Mr.
Dodge often gave, or would send by post, some book,

220 LETTERS TO INDIVIDUALS.
tract, or hymn, which he thought might be adapted to
their special state of mind. He aided in the preparation
or distribution of a number of publications suitable for this
purpose. Among those more recently issued he helped
to circulate some of the pointed and practical writings of
the late James William Kimball, of Boston : " How to
see Jesus ; " " Faith, and how to come by it ; " " Heaven ; "
and others. Mr. Dodge's last work of this character was
in connection with the volume entitled " Revivals : How,
and When," by the Rev. W. W. Newell, D.D. Its recom
mendations in respect to the best methods for promoting
and conducting such seasons in a church or community,
were largely in accord with Mr. Dodge's own views and
experience. The copies he sent out contained a slip at
tached to the fly-leaf: —
" Presented by Wm. E. Dodge, an old friend of Dr. NeweU,
with the request that it be carefully read ; and may God's blessing
attend it."
These were distributed somewhat widely among theo
logical students, ministers, and home missionaries. Grate
ful acknowledgments came from different parts of the
country, some reaching the city on the very day his
earthly activities so suddenly ceased. It was fitting that
the work he loved best, — the promotion of revivals of
religion, — should have a place among his latest labors for
his Master.

CHAPTER XV.
RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY.
ABOUT the year 1833 Mr. Dodge became a manager
of an organization, formed chiefly of merchants
and clerks, called the New York Young Men's Bible
Society. Its special object was " to supply the word of
God to the destitute of the city ; to emigrants arriving at
the port; to the humane and criminal institutions ; and to
the naval and military posts in the vicinity." It was also
to aid in obtaining funds for the central body, the Amer
ican Bible Society. In the wards of the city the agents
of the Tract Society were employed to act for the Young
Men's Society. Mr. Dodge became responsible for the
presentation of the cause and making collections in the
Second Avenue Presbyterian Church. Apparently he also
had charge for some time of supplying the Bibles and
Testaments required by the minister who served as special
visitor for the organization. A notebook in Mr. Dodge's
handwriting records the number of books given out, to
gether with the points where they were to be distributed.
He was a manager of the Parent Society for twenty-five
years, and always cherished the largest conception of the
importance of its work. At the time of his death he was
serving on a special committee in reference to the transla
tion of the Old Testament into Japanese. He was a regu
lar contributor to the funds of the Society, and left it a
legacy of ten thousand dollars. It may be added that it
was chiefly owing to the efforts of his father-in-law, Anson
G. Phelps, that the present site of the American Bible So
ciety's House was secured.

222 RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY.
Mr. Dodge was a firm believer in the usefulness of tracts.
When a young man, he labored as a volunteer tract-
distributor, visiting at one time the district in the vicinity
of the Mariners' Church in Catherine Street.
The Executive Committee of the American Tract
Society, in resolutions passed soon after his decease, say
in part: —
"Among the distinguished laymen in the roU of honored offi
cials of this Society Mr. Dodge stands prominent both in the wide
range of his natural and acquired gifts, and in the completeness
of their consecration and the effectiveness of their employment in
the service of Christ
" His winning presence and courteous manners, adorning his
high social position, gave him great power with individuals, and he
employed his personal influence, far more than most Christians, in
the work of saving souls. His piety was as practical as it was cheer
ful. Half a century ago he was a frequent visitor at the counter of
the Tract Society, replenishing his supply of tracts and volumes for
such work. It is believed that few ministers of the gospel have
performed more evangelistic work out of the pulpit than he. This
practical testimony to the truth, with the concurring witness of a
Ufe of fearless and steadfast consistency to his high Christian prin
ciple, gave great power to his pubUc appeals for the cause of
Christ. For every institution devoted to the glory of God and the
good of man he had a genuine sympathy, and on every such
platform he was ready to stand forth, and his earnest and persuasive
speech was always welcome and effective. From the outset of his
Christian course he has been a friend of this Society, — a vice-
president since 1864 ; and his ready and hearty advocacy of it
in public and in private, his wise counsels, his generous regular
and special contributions, wiU long be remembered."
Mr. Dodge had large faith also in colportage, and for
many years paid the salary of a missionary of the Society,
often designating a field of labor in some part of the
country where he had business interests. He particularly

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 223
urged that this unsectarian and evangelical agency be
largely employed in the Southern States. The Rev.
George L. Shearer, D.D., one of the secretaries of the
Society, wrote from Richmond, Va., Jan. i, 1868: —
" About a year ago the Hon. WiUiam E. Dodge, in an address
at Washington, D.C., directed attention to the providence of God
in preparing and perfecting a system of colportage during a quar
ter of a century, so as to be ready at this juncture to enter upon
an extended and holy mission in the desolated South. Recent
letters give facts showing the correctness of his estimate and the
good fruits of such efforts in these States."
Mr. Dodge evinced his confidence in the large useful
ness of this instrumentality by leaving a bequest of twenty
thousand dollars to the American Tract Society, the income
to be devoted to the support of colporteurs, " especially in
Dodge County, Ga." CITY MISSIONS.
Mr. Dodge's name appears among the directors of the
New York City Mission and Tract Society at its organ
ization in 1827. Mr. Lewis E. Jackson, secretary of this
Society, writes : —
"The City Mission was the earliest in the field of personal
Christian effort. Mr. Dodge was from the very first identified with
it. I became acquainted with him in 1844, and was in the habit
of calling upon him at his house in Eighteenth Street. Ever since
then I can testify to his uniform interest in the cause of evange
lization. I think he was a contributor to every free evangelical
church and to every reUgious and benevolent movement that has
been started in this city during the last fifty years."
Mr. Dodge made a bequest of twenty thousand dollars
to this Society, to be applied to its building fund; and this
amount, with other funds of the Society, and contributions
from members of his family and a number of friends of city
evangelization, have now been expended in the erection of

224 RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
a large and well-appointed church for the people, known
as the Broome Street Tabernacle. It is situated in the
midst of a dense population in one of the lower districts
of the city, and there are attached to it a free library, a
gymnasium, and other facilities and agencies for practical
Christian work. A memorial tablet has been placed in the
vestibule, bearing this inscription: —
"WilUam E. Dodge, Christian citizen, patriot, and philan
thropist, whose gifts aided in the erection of this building."
SUNDA Y-SC HOOLS.
Mr. Dodge was an enthusiastic worker in the cause of
Sunday-schools. He was a teacher or an officer in them
during the larger part of his life. In a letter to a friend,
dated April 30, 1880, he describes his earhest attempts of
this kind : —
" I am inclined to think the first Sunday-school in New York was
started by Lemuel Brewster about the year 1818 over a livery-
stable at the corner of Broad and Stone • Streets. It was intended
only for the very poor children gathered from the destitute fam
ilies near the docks. I remember going in as a lad, about twelve
years, of age, and asking Mr. Brewster if he could let me teach a
smaU class of young chUdren. I shall never forget his reply :
' No ; but you can have that bench there. You must get your
own class ; ' and I did go out and bring in some four or five little
boys. This was the beginning of my Sunday-school work, which
lasted fifty years."
A former customer of Mr. Dodge wrote, Feb. 23,
1883: —
" In the year 1825 I engaged as a teacher in the Presbyterian
Sunday-school connected with Dr. Samuel H. Cox's church, corner
of Laight and Varick Streets. I there first saw Mr. Dodge, who
was a teacher in the same school. I was associated with him
about two years. He was older than myself, but always treated me
most kindly. I was at the time an apprentice, learning the cop-

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 225
persmith's trade, and he a member of the firm of Huntington &
Dodge. I saw him frequently during the week, as our places of
business were not far apart. He never met me without a kind
recognition and pleasant word. He was an active Christian ; I was
not, but I always attended the young people's meeting, which was
held weekly at private houses, very frequently at his father's. In
those meetings Mr. Dodge took a prominent part."
The Rev. John McCullagh, missionary and district sec
retary of the American Sunday-School Union, wrote in
July, 1883: —
" Mr. Dodge gave two grand facts at our anniversary meeting in
the Church of the Covenant, — one to illustrate giving, and the
other showing the importance of caring for the destitute. The first
was the story of his cultivating potato-hiUs to help educate a poor
native of the Sandwich Islands ; and the second was an account of
the ragged boy taken into his class under the most discouraging
circumstances. I have repeated these stories from Charleston,
S. C, to Bangor, Me."
The last incident was part of Mr. Dodge's early experi
ence as a teacher. A boy in dirt and rags came one day
into his class. The other scholars were indisposed to give
him a seat ; but their teacher arranged a place in one
corner, and after school learned from the boy something
of his history. It was the old sad story of a drunken
father and wretched home. Mr. Dodge told the boy to
come to his house the next Sabbath morning ; and here he
received a suit of clothes that made a marked difference
in his appearance, and also in his reception at the school.
But the following Sabbath he came again in the same
miserable plight as at first, only if possible looking more
woe-begone. His father had seized the clothes and sold
them for rum. Mr. Dodge provided another suit, but took
the precaution to have his scholar come regularly to his
house before school, put on the Sunday suit, and stop to
exchange it again before returning home. The boy showed
an eager interest in the lessons, and was always present.
IS

226 RELIGIOUS .SOCIETIES.
When summer came, his father took him away from the
city for several months ; but on leaving, the boy asked for
a New Testament, and said he would try to learn some
verses while absent In the fall he was in his old seat
again, his face beaming with joy at finding himself once
more in school. As the class was being dismissed, he
asked his teacher somewhat diffidently if he would be will
ing to wait a few moments to hear him recite a few verses.
Mr. Dodge gladly consented and sat down, expecting the
task to be soon over. "Where shaU we begin?" "Oh!
anywhere, sir ; perhaps at the first chapter of John." For
twenty minutes the boy continued to recite, needing only
an occasional prompting of a word. The church services
were then to begin, and they were compelled to go ; but
Mr. Dodge agreed to remain again the next Sabbath.
This was continued for several weeks, chapter after chapter .
being repeated with wonderful accuracy. In the course of
time the family moved away, and Mr. Dodge lost sight of
the scholar who had so greatly interested him. Many
years after, as Mr. Dodge was sitting in his office, a tall,
fine-looking, well-dressed young man approached him, and,
with a moment's hesitation, said, " You do not remember
me." " No, I can hardly recall your face." " Do you
recollect a little ragged boy named  , who came into
your Sunday-school class one day?'' "Certainly I do."
" I am that boy.'' And then, with some pardonable pride,
and to Mr. Dodge's surprise and delight, he told how he
had succeeded in obtaining work in a large manufacturing
establishment; how he gradually won his way up to a
responsible and confidential position ; and how finally the
original partners relinquished one branch of their business
and handed it over to himself and one or two others of
their principal assistants. He had now become a member
and officer of a church, a teacher in the Sunday-school,
and had a family of his own. It may be added that since
then he has advanced still further in wealth and influence.

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 227
Mr. McCuUagh's letter refers to another case in which
Mr. Dodge felt deep interest : —
" Mr. M. B. Lewis, of Red Wing, Minn., one of the most suc
cessful missionaries of the American Sunday-school Union, has
always spoken of Mr. Dodge as his spiritual father. He has now
labored twenty-two years in that field, and cannot recaU the dis
banding of a single Bible-school."
Mr. Lewis, when a young man travelling for business
purposes, spent a day in a small town in Pennsylvania
where it was announced that Mr. Dodge, a merchant from
New York, would make an address that evening in one of
the churches. Chiefly from curiosity to hear what a busi
ness man would say on the subject of reUgion, he remained
and attended the service. Something in the remarks
arrested his attention, led to serious thought, and finally
to whole-hearted consecration to Christ. After Mr. Lewis
became a Sunday-school missionary in the West he was
supported by the Sabbath-school Missionary Association
of the Fourteenth Street Presbyterian Church, where Mr.
Dodge was superintendent (Sunday-school No. 60). To
encourage this Association in sending out Sunday-school
libraries, Mr. Dodge for several successive years agreed to
double the amount of their subscriptions for this purpose,
— an offer that enabled them during one year (1863) to
distribute thirty-four libraries.
Mr. Dodge often received applications for Sunday-school
books and papers, and it was his delight to respond. In
his earlier days " The Penny Gazette," " The Sunday-
School' Journal," and other papers were among the num
ber. He held that a good library gave interest and
permanency to a school, and helped to make it a fountain
of blessing to a whole community, especiaUy in new and
remote places.
Mr. Dodge carried his business energy and promptness
into the Sunday-school, and also his genial, attractive man
ner. Teachers and scholars were attached to him; they

228 RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
loved to see his face and hear his cheerful voice. He felt
a personal interest in each one, and made it his concern to
know something of their spiritual condition. The Rev.
Henry A. Stimson, in an article in the " Congregation
alist," mentions an instance of this solicitude for the con
version of individual scholars : —
" Many years ago a lady of my acquaintance, then a young girl,
was a member of the school of which Mr. Dodge was superin
tendent. One winter she had two young ladies visiting her. None
of them were Christians, and their thoughts were largely absorbed
in a round of social gayety. Some religious interest appeared in
the church and Sunday-school, and Mr. Dodge astonished my
friend by caUing upon her early one morning for personal religious
conversation. He was then comparatively a young man, engaged
in an extensive and engrossing business, and having also a large
family. His explanation of the unusual hour of his visit was that
only on his way to and from his ofiice could he find time to see
the members of his Sunday-school. He seemed to hold himself
responsible for them aU, and, not leaving the work to his teachers,
he aimed to bring them, by his personal labors, one by one to
Christ. His efforts at the house of my friend were to such effect
that before the winter passed she and both her guests gave their
hearts to the Saviour. More than forty years afterwards this lady,
speaking in her family circle of Mr. Dodge, narrated this expe
rience, when to her surprise one of her brothers, who was present,
declared that he had been led to Christ in the same way ; and not
only so, but four other brothers, who had been members of the
same Sabbath-school, and have long been Christian men, owed
their conversion to the same agency. Mr. Dodge had sought them
out one by one, and had faithfuUy foUowed them up untU he saw
them within the fold of the Church."
Mr. Dodge was always ready to adopt any measure that
would promote the efficiency of the Sunday-school. He
wished it to occupy to the fullest extent its legitimate
sphere. But he was unwilhng to have it impair the obli
gation of parents to give religious instruction at home, nor

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 229
could he favor any exaltation of the Sunday-school that
might be pleaded as an excuse for children not attending
the regular services of the house of God.
At the Second General Council of the Presbyterian
Alliance, when the subject of " Sunday-schools, their use
and abuse," was under discussion, Mr. Dodge made the
following remarks : —
" Having been for thirty-five years a superintendent, it is not
necessary for me to say I love and honor the Sunday-school. But
for some time I have had serious fears in regard to it, especially
in our city of New York, — I wiU not speak of places outside of
that. Children in our city, particularly those connected with our
churches, are very differently situated from what they once were.
Children of parents connected with the churches are burdened as
they never were before with their weekly lessons. When I was
young, and when I had a young family about me, in aU our Pres
byterian churches in New York it was the habit of parents to take
their children with them to the weekly prayer-meeting or lecture.
Now the poor children come home with their arms full of school-
books, and parents have not the heart to urge them to the evening
meeting because their lessons must be ready for the next morning,
and the child loses that love for the services of the church that we
as children used to have, and our chUdren had when young. How
is it on the Sabbath? As we enter the sanctuary the Sabbath-
school is out, and we often see the children — ten, twenty, thirty
per cent of them — turning away from the house of God and going
home to read their library books because they have had an hour
and a half akeady, and the kind parent wiU not ask them to go
into church. In the evening there is a meagre audience, and only
here and there a child.
" I love the Sabbath-school ; but I say you had better keep your
children at home, and never let them enter the Sabbath-school, if
by attending it they leave the church and grow up without any
love for it."
" This explains," he adds in a letter referring to this
address, " why so few revivals are known in our city
churches. Speaking after the manner of man, there is

230 RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
no material to work upon. Years ago, when I was the
superintendent of a Sabbath-school that embraced rich
and poor, our church was constantly recruited from the
Sunday-school. The children of the church were all taken
to the sanctuary, and parents felt it a duty to bring them
also to the weekly meeting."
Shortly after Mr. Dodge's death a friend wrote to the
" New York Evangelist," March 8, 1883 : —
" About a dozen years ago Mr. Dodge spent a Sabbath in Phila
delphia. Mrs. Dodge was with him, and they attended the Clin
ton Street Presbyterian Church to hear a sermon from the Rev.
Daniel March, D.D., who was then pastor. At the close of the
service he tumed to me and asked why the church was trimmed
up with evergreens, and why the profuse display of plants about
the pulpit.
" I told him that the anniversary of the Sabbath-school would
take place in the evening, and that we should be much pleased if
he would come and take part in the exercises ; that they were dif
ferent from those of the anniversaries of most Sabbath-schools, and
I felt sure he would enjoy himself He admired the taste dis
played in the floral decorations, but did not promise to come to the
anniversary. In the evening the church was crowded, and as the
exercises were about to commence I spied Mr. Dodge endeavoring
to find seats for himself and Mrs. Dodge near the door.
" At once he was brought to the platform, where he was evidently
deeply interested in the proceedings. The concert lesson for the
evening was the first half of the Shorter Catechism, each class ris
ing and answering the questions as called upon, some of the more
general questions, such as ' What is God? ' ' What is sin? ' being
answered by the whole school in concert. The driU had been
thorough, so that each answer was given clearly, and so accurately
in concert that each word could be distinguished.
" It was evident that something in the recitation touched the
heart of the distinguished visitor. He smUed almost ' audibly,' his
eyes glistened, and his whole countenance Ughted up.
" When called upon to speak, shortly after the lesson, his fiiU
heart manifested itself in joyful, animated, rapid utterances j the

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 23 1
clear, ringing voice being heard in the remotest corners of the
house. ' I don't know when I have been so joyfully surprised,'
he said, ' as in your delightful recitation of the dear old catechism.
You have taken me back to-night to my old New England home,
to the hours of my childhood, when at my father's knee I mastered
these very answers, these identical words, just as you have done,
and could repeat them just as promptly and with the same appa
rent interest. I cannot imagine who has put it into the heart of
your superintendent to provide this most beautiful concert-lesson,
interspersing these snatches of hymns and anthems so appropri
ately between the answers, imbedding such valuable lessons in
your young hearts.'
" And so he continued through a pithy, pointed, delightful ad
dress of probably twenty minutes, emphasizing the beauty and
value of some of the answers, to the great deUght of the scholars,
teachers, superintendent, and pastor.
" And now, as the good man has gone before us to the better
land, and the record of his wonderful Ufe is being rehearsed among
the churches, may we not beUeve that his soUd, well-balanced char
acter owed something to the interweaving into his life of the clear,
weU-expressed doctrines of our holy reUgion as laid down in our
Shorter Catechism?
"Do not the hundred and seven answers form grand founda
tion-stones upon which to build soUd, successful lives? "
Mr. Dodge was so strongly impressed with the value of
the undenominational system of colportage that he con
stantly aided this special feature of the American Sunday-
School Union, often paying the salary of a colporteur,
receiving his monthly reports, and occasionally writing
him letters of encouragement. A few days before he died
he arranged to have such an agent sent into three of the
more neglected counties of Kentucky, near which one of
his sons had business relations.
For many years Mr. Dodge was a vice-president of the
American Sunday-School Union, and at one time served
as chairman of the New York Sunday-School Teachers'
Association.

232 RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
When traveUing, it was his invariable rule to stop for
the Sabbath ; and one of his first inquiries was almost sure
to be in regard to the Sunday-schools of the place. He
would often attend one or more sessions, for he loved to
address children ; and when speaking to them would fre
quently give expression to a thought always present in his
mind, — the rapidity with which the children become the
responsible men and women of a community. Writing to
a young minister whom he had aided in his theological
course, he says, Dec. 29, 1879: —
" I am pleased to find you settled in Iowa, on the Une of the
Rock Island Railroad. That State in twenty years wiU be one of
the most important in the Union ; and it wiU be a great thing to
have been engaged in its early development and the formation of
its religious character. Those boys in your Sunday-schools wiU
then be among the prominent men of the State. Always keep
this in mind in your efforts for Sunday-school scholars."
At public gatherings of the children he loved to be pres
ent, and in the days when the Sabbath-schools of the city
were in the habit of marching in procession to the old
Broadway Tabernacle, or Cooper Union, or to any of the
large churches, to celebrate the May anniversary, Mr.
Dodge was an active leader, and often made one of the
addresses. He was always ready to use his influence in favor of this
cause. In January, 1878, he wrote to President Hayes,
urging him to attend a meeting of the Sunday-school
Union to be held at Washington. In this letter he says :
" I am sure the great work of tiiis Society during the past half
century has not escaped your notice, or the vast good it has ac
compUshed in the religious education of miUions of children, many
of whom are now the leading men and women of the West. It is
the object of this organization to plant as far as possible a Sabbath-
school in every needy neighborhood throughout the West and
South."

CHAPTER XVL
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS. — THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY. — THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE.
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS.
ONE SO quick to sympathize with the young, so famil
iar with the circumstances of young men in a great
city, and having himself — even to old age — a heart so
full of freshness and enthusiasm, could not fail to appre
ciate the aims and usefulness of such an organization as
the Young Men's Christian Association. He felt a special
interest in the New York branch, and gave liberally to its
objects. When it took possession of its rooms on Fifth
Avenue, at the corner of Twenty-second Street, he spoke at
one of the first receptions, Jan. I2, 1865, and he promptly
subscribed to the fund for the erection of the present
spacious building at the corner of Twenty-third Street and
Fourth Avenue. His eldest son was at that time and for
many subsequent years president of this Association. Mr.
Dodge often spoke on the platform of Association Hall,
both in the interest of the Association itself and for other
religious and benevolent efforts. His broad and practical
views led him to aid regularly the operations of the Inter
national Committee, and he left a bequest of five thousand
dollars to this Committee, " to be applied to work among
the Germans."
Mr. Dodge was one of the New York contributors to
extinguish the debt upon the building of the Y. M. C. A.
of San Francisco ; and when he visited California in the
spring of 1882 he was much surprised and touched by a

234 YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS.
public reception given to him by the Association in their
own rooms. He made a long address on that occasion,
and on the following Sabbath evening spoke again to
young men in one of the large Presbyterian churches of
the city. On the announcement of his death — less than
a year afterwards — a memorial service was held in the
hall of the San Francisco Association, at which resolutions
of respect were passed. One of them reads : —
"The country loses a citizen whose power for good was felt
throughout its length and breadth, whose defence of the sanctity
of the Sabbath, and whose acts of benevolence have endeared
him to Christian people everywhere, and whose life of business
integrity and practical philanthropy has made his example worthy
the emulation of every young man."
Mr. George WUliams, of the Parent Association in Lon
don, writes, Feb. 24, 1883 : —
" WiU you aUow me, as representing the Y. M. C. Associations
of the United Kingdom, to offer our heartfelt sympathy. Mr.
Dodge was with us at our last International Conference, held in
London, October, 1881. He spoke at the reception given by the
Lord Mayor at the Egyptian HaU, and at the large public meeting
at Exeter HaU presided over by the Earl of Shaftesbury. His
words were :
" ' The Y. M. C. A. is one of the most important of aU Christian
organizations. The future of our country depends on the young
men who are rising up to take our places in the church, in the hall,
in commerce, and in politics. He rejoiced that in the Y. M. C. A.
young men had the opportunity of enjoying Christian fellowship
and influences, and he believed thousands had been led by means
of the Association to the Lord Jesus Christ, and were now active,
consecrated, and successful workers in the vineyard, gathering in
the golden sheaves to his glory.'
" We cherish these words from one who was such a bright
example to young men. May his mantle faU upon thousands of
the members of our Associations in various countries of the
earth 1 "

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 235
The "Association Notes" for March, 1883, issued by
the New York Association, contains a reference to Mr.
Dodge by the secretary, Mr. R. R. McBurney : —
" By the death of the Hon. William E. Dodge on the 9th ultimo
New York lost her most public-spirited citizen, and the Association
one of its warmest friends. In every form of Christian and philan
thropic work Mr. Dodge took a lively interest. He rendered an
amount of service on committees and in personal ministry to the
sick in body and soul which was surprising in a man having so
many business interests claiming his attention. The object of his
last visit to the rooms — about a week before his death — was in
connection with a young stranger, addicted to drink, who needed
sympathy. It is a question whether there has ever lived in the
city of New York a man who combined as large means with as
wide Christian sympathies as Mr. Dodge. His Ufe was spent in
giving, and in work for others, to an extent that the public has no
conception of The statements in these respects which have been
made, faU far short of the whole truth. Much that he did was
known only to himself and to his Master. Much of his giving was
of course known to the pubhc ; it could not be kept secret, it was so
universal. Yet we beUeve that most that he did in these regards
was unknown. We have had the privUege for more than twenty
years of seeing him under different circumstances, but always the
same warm-hearted, judicious friend of aU whom by word or money
he could help or cheer. Some who have viewed Mr. Dodge at a
distance may think that he has been praised too much ; those who
had the pleasure of knowing him most intimately, know that it is
very difficult to find words to express the praise which he deserved.
His life and influence were a blessing wherever he went. He
made the most of life in that he lived not for himself, but for
others. For the example of his unselfish Ufe in these times we
have cause to thank God."
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
Mr. Dodge was appointed several times a commissioner
to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church.
Even when not attending its sessions, he always followed

236 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
the proceedings with interest, especially any measures to
bring about larger activity in the work at home or abroad,
or to promote an increase of the piety and benevolence of
the membership. He had a high and loyal regard for the
order and standards of his Church, but no zeal for exclu
sively denominational objects. He could not be partisan
or sectarian.
In an address at the fourteenth anniversary of the Con
gregational Union (1867), he says: —
" I was bom in Connecticut, and joined in early life the Congre
gational Church. I came to New York and united with the Pres
byterian Church, and after a while was, I suppose, cut asunder
from the old party. I found myself one day a member of a Pres
byterian Church caUed the ' New School.' I have never known any
particular difference ; certainly I have not been aware of any
change in my theological sentiments in being a CongregationaUst,
an Old Presbyterian, or a New Presbyterian."
No one hailed with greater joy the proposition for a
reunion of these two dissevered branches of the great Pres
byterian body. Mr. Dodge served upon the Committee
of Conference appointed by both General Assemblies.
Just before the final act of union took place, Mr. Dodge
was associated with the Rev. WilHam Adams, D.D., in
bearing to the Old School Assembly the fraternal greet
ings of the New. They were received with every token of
kindness and respect Immediately afterwards he shared
in the memorable ceremonies at Pittsburg, Pa., Nov. 12,
1869, when the commissioners of the two assemblies met
in procession in the public streets, and joining arm and
arm, entered the church arranged for this glad consumma
tion of plans and hopes that would bring such unmeasured
blessings to the churches connected with these bodies, and
to the world at large. On this occasion Mr. Dodge made
the following remarks : —
" If I attempt to say anything, dear brethren, it wUl be to give
an outburst of my heart in the words of the Psalmist : ' Bless the

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 237
Lord, O my soul, and aU that is within me bless his holy name 1 '
Bless the Lord, O my soul, for the privUege of living to see this
day I My heart bled at the time of separation ; and I thank God
that I am here to-day to unite with you in ascriptions of praise and
glory to him.
" Hereafter our strong men, our honored professors, wiU not
spend their time in attempting to find out whether we differ as a
Church, but in the determination to stimulate us to the utmost
capacity, so that every member of this united Church may go for
ward in the great work of subduing this dying world to Jesus Christ.
I have no doubt we have honestly differed ; but let us forget all
those differences. We are a united country ; and if we would be
united in truth. North and South, and be one great country, we
must forget aU past causes of separation.
" More than twenty years ago two eminent merchants in the
city of New York commenced business together poor, but they
prospered year by year untU each had rolled up a large estate.
Upon one occasion they differed in regard to a matter of policy in
business. The difference grew into anger; they separated, each
beUeving the other intended to do wrong. The very next day
there was a dissolution of partnership ; and for ten long years they
never spoke to each other, their business being settled through
mutual friends. They gi-ew gray in their differences. At last, as
one of them was musing in his library, thinking of the origin of the
separation and of their pleasure in early life, the thought passed
through his mind, ' Can it be possible that I misunderstood him? '
He spent a sleepless night ; and in the morning he went to a friend
of both, and said, ' Go to my former partner, and see if he meant
so and so.' The answer was, ' No ! I never thought of such a
thing.' When the merchant who had sent the message received
this reply he exclaimed, ' Can it be possible that we have suffered
aU this through these many years simply because we misunderstood
each other, or thought we did ? ' A reconcUiation took place, and
the two men were bound together again as long as they Uved.
" Let this union of ours be one that shaU never break. Let us
never separate because we think we differ on certain questions
of policy. What we want now is to aid one another to the utmost
of our abUity. Let aU the past be forgotten, and let us go
forward."

238 THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE.
During the first session of this reunited body a move
ment was made to open friendly correspondence with the
Southern Presbyterian Church. Mr. Dodge, with the Rev.
Dr. John C. Backus and the Rev. Dr. Henry J. Van Dyck,
were appointed a deputation to visit the Southern Gen
eral Assembly, then in session at Louisville, Ky. " They
were received with cordiaUty by the delegates of that As
sembly, and in the presence of a large audience explained
their mission. While they were speaking, the breathless
interest and deep emotion of their hearers gave good hope
of the success of their efforts, and at the conclusion of their
remarks many took them by the hand and thanked them
for coming." To the regret, however, of the body which
had sent them, and of large numbers of Presbyterians at
the North, and also in some degree at the South, this
attempt to establish fraternal relations failed.
The reunited General Assembly at Pittsburg resolved
to raise a memorial fund of five millions of dollars as a
thank-offering to commemorate the auspicious union.
Mr. Dodge became treasurer of this fund. The total con
tributions were reported to be nearly eight millions.
Most of it, however, passed through the treasuries of the
various Presbyterian Boards, or were applied directly to
institutions and individual churches, or other approved
objects. During the efforts to secure this fund, Mr. Dodge
made many addresses in its behalf both in New York and
elsewhere. In September, 1880, he attended, as already noticed,
the Second General Council of the Presbyterian Alliance,
convened at Philadelphia, taking part in the discussions,
and reading a carefully prepared paper on " The Church
and Temperance." THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE
was another organization that appealed strongly to
Mr. Dodge's catholic spirit Its principles and inter-

THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE.

239

national character were in harmony with his own love of
Christian union, his desire to keep in their appropriate
subordination aU minor differences of religious denomina
tions and theological schools, and to bring believers of
every name and land into closer fellowship and co-opera
tion. He had already taken part in organized efforts in
this general direction, having been (before 1848) a mem
ber of the Executive Committee of the American Protes
tant Society, and afterwards a director of the American
and Foreign Christian Union ; but the aim of these bodies
was more limited and specific.
At the formation of the American branch of the Alliance
in 1866, Mr. Dodge became the first president, and retained
the office until his death. He took a prominent part in its
proceedings, and frequently presented its claims before the
churches and the public.
In 1 87 1 he was one of the delegates from the American
branch to join a general deputation from Great Britain
and other countries of Europe for the purpose of present
ing a petition to the Emperor of Russia in behalf of perse
cuted Lutherans in the Baltic provinces. The deputation
was received at Stuttgart by Prince Gortschakofif, repre
senting his sovereign. A letter written by Mr. Dodge from
Paris, Aug. 15, 1871, to the Rev. S. Irenaeus Prime, D.D.,
editor of the " New York Observer," and also a prominent
officer of the American branch, gives an account of the
interview : —
" In your issue of the 20th ultimo I regret to find you have been
misinformed by the telegraphic reports in reference to what took
place at our interview with Prince Gortschakoff; and I am confi
dent serious injury to the cause we advocated wUl result if these
statements remain uncorrected.
" It is there stated that the Imperial Chancellor expressed the
sympathy of his sovereign with the object of the petition, and said
that on his return to St. Petersburg the Czar would attend to the
request of the deputation and introduce religious reforms through-

240 THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE.
out Russia, and that Protestants should be placed on an equal
footing with members of the Greek Orthodox Church, by the
repeal of the coercive laws existing against them.
" I am sure this will strike aU who were present as an unfortu
nate statement of what actuaUy occurred. We were received in
a famiUar, conversational manner, with the distinct understanding
on the part of the minister that the interview was not to be con
sidered official. We remained more than an hour, and were
treated with extreme politeness ; but the skiU of the experienced
diplomatist was shown in the reserve of the Chancellor. He heard
aU we desired to offer, but did not commit himself or his sovereign
to anything further than that he would present our views fairly.
He was most careful to say that, in his opinion, no government
in the world was more tolerant than Russia; not only were aU
religions permitted, but the State paid for their support, as it does
in the case of the Greek Church. He wished it understood, how
ever, that the Emperor could not for a moment admit of interfer
ence ; whatever he did must be the result of his own wise judgment.
The laws were stiU in fuU force which forbid the return to the
Protestant faith of any who have once joined the Greek Church ;
but all who are Protestants have every liberty.
" In these and other remarks during the interview. Prince
Gortschakoff made no statement such as the telegraph reports
have led you to suppose.
"I may add that while we did not secure aU we asked and
desired, we did come away with the strong conviction that much
good might result from this interview ; but if erroneous accounts
of the occasion are circulated and find their way back to Russia, —
as they undoubtedly wUl, — any favorable results wiU be greatiy
hindered." A general convention of the Evangelical Alliance was
held in New York in the autumn of 1873. The list of
delegates presented a membership of over 516, of which
more than a hundred came from foreign countries, and
some fifty additional from the British North American
Provinces. A number of foreign missionaries were also
in attendance.

THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. 24 1
In opening the Convention Mr. Dodge spoke as
follows : —
Fellow-Christians, Members, and Delegates, — It becomes
my pleasant duty, as president of the American branch of the
Evangelical Alliance, to call the Conference to order, that the
necessary steps may be taken for permanent organization.
In response to our invitation, you have come from different
parts of the world to attend this General Conference in a land
to many of you new and strange. In the name of the American
branch of the AUiance, I extend to you again this morning a
cordial welcome to our shores, our homes, and our hearts. We
trust the separation from beloved friends and from pressing duties
— with aU the toils and perUs of travel — may find some compen
sation in the joys of a Christian fellowship that only such an occa
sion can afford, and in the new and riper views of Christian obliga
tion and privilege which such discussions as are now before us
promise to unfold.
To those who have crossed the ocean for the first time there
will also be an opportunity to become more intimately and person
ally acquainted with the life and features of this new world. You
win find here vast numbers from your own lands who have come
to adopt this as a home for themselves and their children ; you
will learn something of the form of civil government which dis
tinguishes this from other countries ; you wUl notice the various
religious organizations seeking no support from the State, but
only demanding protection in the fuU enjoyment of religious lib
erty. You wiU perhaps be astonished at the growth and prosperity
which have been attained in so short a time. The population of
this city in which we are convened has, within the life of men now
upon this floor, grown from seventy thousand to nearly a milUon,
while the United States has increased from six to forty millions.
Americans who travel abroad gaze with interest upon the growth
of centuries, — ancient cathedrals, castles, and cities of historic
fame ; here, we can only point you to what has been accomplished
chiefly during a single century. We hope many of you may visit
our Western States, cross the great inland seas, and witness for
yourselves the marveUous changes in progress there.
We meet as Christian brethren ; and laying aside for the time
i6

242 THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE.
distinctions which separate us into sects and parties, we rejoice
to gi-eet each other as children of a Common Father assembled
to deliberate upon the mighty concerns of his kingdom, and to
consider how we can best promote the great principles that bind
us and aU true believers together. The topics to be discussed are
most timely and important, and we trust the conclusions reached
wiU fully vindicate the wisdom of convening such a body of men.
Permit me to remind you that the summoning of this Conference,
composed of representatives from almost every land, and wellnigh
every department of Christian thought and activity, has awakened
wide interest in our own country, and, I doubt not, in other
lands. I
The eyes of God and of men are watching us. Let us enter
upon our duties with a deep sense of our entire dependence upon
that wisdom which is from above, and with earnest prayer that the
Divine Spirit wUl guide all our deUberations. Animated with such
feelings and blessed with such aid, it cannot be that we shaU
separate without carrying away thoughts and purposes that shaU
redound to the glory of God and the welfare of our fellow-men.
Years hence it may be one of the happiest memories we shaU
cherish, that we were permitted to have even a humble part in the
proceedings and decisions of this Sixth General Conference of the
Evangelical Alliance. May it do much towards preparing the way
for the relief of those stiU persecuted for righteousness' sake in
various portions of the globe ; may it give an impulse to the
growth of religious Uberty everywhere ; and may it bind together
Christians of every name more closely, and help also to strengthen
the growing sentiment in favor of arbitration in the settlement
of international difficulties, and lift up among all people a victori
ous standard in the face of modern scepticism, rationaUsm, the
claims of the papacy, and every other false system.
Let me add that such arrangements as were in our power
have been made for the comfort and convenience of the delegates
during their stay among us ; and again giving you a hearty welcome
in the name of the American branch of the Alliance, I will request
the Conference to proceed at once to a formal organization.
The Conference continued ten days, with crowded audi
ences at every session, overflow-meetings being more than

THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. 243
once necessary. Papers were read on " almost every im
portant theological, religious, and moral question of the
age." Among other friends Mr. Dodge entertained as
guests during the continuance of the Convention, Sir
Charies Reed, M.P., the Rev. John Stoughton, D.D., and
the Rev. J. C. Harrison, D.D., of London, and on one of
the evenings gave, at his residence, a general reception
to the Alliance, — nearly eight hundred being present.
The "New York Evangelist" of Oct 23, 1873, speaking of
this social gathering, says : —
" Mr. Dodge's large mansion on Murray HiU was thrown open,
and saw such a coUection of distinguished strangers as were per
haps never gathered under one roof in this city before. There
were not only Americans and Englishmen, Scotchmen and Irish
men, but French and Germans, Swiss and Dutch, and representa
tives from Spain and Italy, from Russia and Greece and Turkey,
Egypt and India, ' Parthians and Medes and Elamites,' men of
different races and languages, but all united in a common love to
the same Lord. It was an evening not to be forgotten ; and the
social enjoyment gave place to a feeling of stiU deeper interest
when the venerable Dr. Cox, who had been one of the founders of
the Evangelical AUiance twenty-seven years before, spoke a few
words out of a heart full of stirring memories and of glorious hopes
for the future of the Church and of the world, and Dr. Harrison,
of London, closed with a prayer of such tenderness and sweetness
as made all feel that they were united by a stronger tie than that
of country or kindred, — by the same precious faith and the same
immortal hope. It was this beautiful Christian spirit, pervading
alike the public meetings of the Alliance and these less formal
gatherings, that made them so deUghtful."
The Hon. John Jay was Mr. Dodge's immediate suc
cessor as president of the American branch of the Alli
ance, and in 1885 Mr. Dodge's eldest son, Mr. WiUiam E.
Dodge, Jr., was elected to the office.
Efforts to quicken religious life in the city, or to
carry the Gospel to its degraded masses, always elicited

244 THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE.
Mr. Dodge's prompt co-operation. He was active in the
meetings established, under the auspices of the Evangelical
Alliance, during the week of prayer. He was one of the
early promoters of the Fulton Street prayer-meeting,
occasionally leading its daily service, or speaking at its
anniversaries. He aided in the support of the evangelistic
meetings at Cooper Union, and from its beginning was a
firm friend of Jerry McCauley's mission. He often at
tended the gatherings of once drunken and dissolute saUors
and other outcasts in Water Street, and assisted in open
ing the later work at Cremorne Garden, in Thirty-second
Street, among a different, but equally abandoned class.
He left a legacy of five thousand dollars to this mission.
His sympathy also for those without Gospel privileges in
the distant States and Territories led him not only to make
liberal contributions to the work of the Home Mission
Boards, but also frequently to pay the salary of one or
more missionaries for service in special localities, under
the Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church;
and in his wiU he provided for annual payments of ten
thousand dollars to this Board for a period of five years.
His interest in the education of young men for the min
istry was largely in view of the vast and increasing demand
for trained and devoted preachers of the Gospel in the new
sections of the country so rapidly opening for settlement.

CHAPTER XVn.
AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY.
MR. DODGE'S father always manifested a warm
interest in young men studying for the ministry,
and Mr. Dodge himself once cherished the hope that the
way might be opened for him to become a preacher of the
Gospel. These early impulses and influences may have
had some part in developing that zeal for preparing others
for the office — always peculiarly sacred to him — which
became so marked a feature of his Hfe. He not merely
held to the Scriptural provision for an order of the min
istry, he believed profoundly that the world was to be
saved by the preaching of the word ; and as his connection
with missions revealed to him more and more clearly the
vision of a world lying in wickedness, and his operations
as a merchant, and his wide railway interests, made him
increasingly acquainted with the wants of his own country,
the desire to promote distinctly Christian education, and
to add largely to the number of well-equipped and con
secrated ministers, became almost a passion ; certainly
it was always in his mind, and had a chief place in his
benefactions. He never enjoyed personally the advantages of a liberal
education, as he left school at the age of twelve ; but he
had the constant advice of a father who, in his earlier days,
had been an enthusiastic and successful teacher, and Mr.
Dodge when a young man, by careful use of time, espe
cially in the evenings, accomplished an unusual amount of
solid reading in general literature, particularly in history.

246 AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY.
biography, travels, and theology. Throughout life he was
a rapid and eager reader of newspapers, journals, and
magazines, and of books bearing upon mercantile, philan
thropic, and religious topics. He had, moreover, the intel
lectual training which comes from daily and sharp contact
with other minds in the competition of trade, and from
continual grappling with large and intricate problems in
the lines of business or benevolence. This experience
supplied a mental culture and a fund of knowledge as
effective and — in a sense — as ample as any gained from
classical studies or strictly literary pursuits.
But for men who were to assume the solemn responsi
bilities of expounding the word of God and having the
care of souls, Mr. Dodge desired the best preparation pos
sible ; and in most cases, as far as scholarly equipment is
concerned, this was unquestionably to be furnished by the
usual academic and theological courses.
From almost the beginning of his business life he be
came an occasional or regular contributor to a somewhat
extended list of educational societies and institutions, the
preference being usually given to theological seminaries or
to scholarships for the benefit of young men having the
ministry in view. This practice continued and the list
expanded until the close of life. He gave to many institu
tions rather than to one. His sympathies were too wide,
and the applications too numerous and worthy, to allow
him to concentrate his attention and gifts upon a single
enterprise of this character, however deserving; and in
more than one case his timely aid both of means and in
fluence carried a struggling institution beyond the dead
point. He was one of the original subscribers, in 1836, to found
the Union Theological Seminary in New York city, and
he lived to see its present new and spacious buildings ris
ing on Lenox Hill. He loved its work; its successive
officers and professors were his personal friends, and from

AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY. 247
1856 he was a member of its Board of Directors. His
aggregate gifts to this seminary were larger than to any
other institution.
In the Theological Seminary at Auburn, N. Y., he
founded several scholarships, and united with Colonel
E. B. Morgan in erecting a building for the library at
a cost to each of some twenty thousand dollars. The
obituary record read by the Rev. W. J. Beecher at the
meeting of the alumni, May, 1883, contains the following
reference to Mr. Dodge : —
" We desire to put on record here a few heart-felt words of love
for him and of honor for his memory. The names of Dodge,
Willard, and Case are stiU to be read over the doorways of the old
Seminary building, and in the Annual Catalogues of Auburn, from
1 86 1 to 1874, commemorating the munificence of these men
towards the Seminary in the comparatively early days previous to
i860. The name of Mr. Dodge on the Dodge and Morgan library
buUding, and the pleasant, genial-looking portraits of these two
gentlemen, facing each other across the entrance to the alumni
alcove, betoken the fact that Mr. Dodge, like Mr. Morgan, never
lost his generous interest in us. And these public evidences of his
kindness might easily be supplemented by the testimony of a large
number of Auburn alumni whom Mr. Dodge privately helped
and encouraged, both personally and in the prosecution of their
work. " But it is an exceedingly pleasant thing that this man, Uke many
of the other men to whom the Seminary is most largely indebted,
compelled us to think of him less as the benefactor, whose gifts
to Auburn and its work amounted in aU to about fifty thousand
dollars, than as a friend who cherished towards us a thoughtful
and kindly regard. Those who were in the Seminary in 1863 and
1864 have not forgotten the visit he made to the students when he
and Dr. HaU came over to the chapel together from Dr. Hall's
house with a basket fuU of copies of Dr. Wayland's Uttie book,
' The Ministry of the Gospel,' then just published. He presented
us each with a copy, making a pleasant practical address to us on
the importance of cultivating our voices, and of a good manner in

248 AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY.
reading hymns and preaching sermons. The iUustrations with
which he accompanied the address showed that he . himself was
a man of no mean attainments in the art of pubUc reading and
speaking. " We remember him also at the dedication of the library build
ing and on other less public occasions. We recaU the interest he
manifested in the affairs of the Seminary, both in general and in
aU matters of detail. We recoUect the earnestness of his convic
tions as to the desirableness of multiplying weU-qualified ministers
of the Gospel, and the confident enthusiasm with which he looked
forward to the future of the Church and her ministry. And the
more we knew of him, the more he won our esteem and love, as
he won that of other men everywhere."
Mr. Dodge contributed to the building of Reunion HaU
at Princeton Theological Seminary, N. J., and towards the
fund for the president's chair. He subscribed ten thou
sand dollars for the erection of the Yale Theological Semi
nary building at New Haven, Conn., and gave also to
other departments of the. University. He endowed the
president's chair of Williams College, Mass., by a dona
tion of thirty thousand dollars, and aided other objects of
the institution. He contributed sixteen thousand doUars to
Lafayette College, at Easton, Pa. He established scholar
ships at Dartmouth and Hamilton Colleges, and gave to the
general funds of Lane Theological Seminary and the semi
naries at Bangor, Chicago, and California, and to Amherst,
Beloit, Marietta, Oberlin, and other colleges, as well as to
the University of Virginia and a number of institutions in
the South.
When a tornado swept over Grinnell, la., and levelled
the buildings of the college there, the Hon. J. R. GrinneU
sought the aid of friends in New York and elsewhere. He
says of Mr. Dodge: "He invited me to his beautiful
home on the Hudson, and supplemented his other gifts,
which more than two hundred students have shared, by a
donation of five thousand dollars to replace our ruined

AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY. 249
walls." Mr. Dodge also secured the aid of others for the
same object.
His interest in Maryville College, East Tennessee, is
thus described by Prof T. J. Lamar, in a letter written
soon after Mr. Dodge's death : —
" I first met Mr. Dodge seventeen years ago at Willard's Hotel
in Washington, and asked his assistance to resuscitate the coUege,
then prostrate from the effects of the war. He could give me but
littie time, but gave me a hundred dollars. After reaching home
I wrote him a very fuU history of the college ; and from that time
he became interested in it and kept up and enlarged that interest
untU the day of his death. During these seventeen years he has
given on our annual current expenses a total of ten thousand five
hundred doUars, thus making it possible for us to revive the insti
tution and prosecute its work from year to year. I cannot express
the debt of gratitude we feel and owe for his constant help. I do
not see how we could have gone on without him. In 1881 our
Board of Trustees resolved to attempt to raise an endowment of
a hundred thousand doUars. I was released from my professor
ship and appointed to undertake this task. I went to Mr. Dodge
and told him my business. I said that he knew the history, work,
and needs of the college and its prospects of usefulness, and that
if he were not willing to lead off in the subscription I had as weU
go back home at once ; that it was not at all probable I could find
anybody else to start it, for no man in New York or in the East
knew MaryviUe College as he did. His response to this was the
foUowing subscription : — "New York, Jan. 24, 188 1.
" Having been for the past fifteen years contributing to the
annual expenses of MaryvUle College, and having watched with
deep interest the self-denying efforts and success of its teachers,
and being convinced that the time has come when it should have
a permanent enlargement, I hereby subscribe the sum opposite my
name (twenty-five thousand dollars), provided that during the year
the amount is made up to a hundred thousand.
" After my expression of thanks for the generous subscription,
he remarked with a good deal of emotion, ' I hope what I have

250 AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY.
said and done will help you with others.' I at once copied the
subscription and sent it to two others who had of late years been
helping the coUege, and each one gave a subscription of twenty
thousand doUars ; and five thousand dollars more were obtained in
small amounts in the home-field. When the time was about to ex
pire, he extended it, and then renewed it stiU further. Like hun
dreds of others, I honor the name and cherish the memory of Mr.
Dodge. His death is a bereavement not only to our Church and
country, but to aU Christendom. Since the tidings came I have
thought much of his long life, so beautifully rounded out, so grand
and eloquent with good deeds. It ought, and I trust wiU be, an
inspiration to many to live well and nobly for Christ and the good
of the world."
The twenty-five thousand dollars were subsequently paid
by Mr. Dodge's executors.
In many of the institutions enumerated, and in some
others, Mr. Dodge had from time to time one or more stu
dents whom he partially or wholly supported, — all, with
but few exceptions, preparing for the ministry. For sev
eral years he annually assisted in this way from fifteen to
twenty young men, and at no period for thirty or forty
years was he without at least several such beneficiaries.
At Auburn Seminary alone he had at one time nine stu
dents. His efforts in this direction demanded much thought
and a large amount of correspondence. He endeavored to
be most careful in making selections. Letters and testimo
nials from teachers, pastors, and friends were required, and
also a full statement from the applicant himself, giving his
reasons for desiring to enter the ministry. He particularly
sought to ascertain the spiritual qualifications of each one,
and enough of his history to determine whether he pos
sessed the solid and trustworthy traits and had passed
through the religious experience that promised permanent
usefulness. During their course of study Mr. Dodge ex
pected letters and reports from them and from their pro
fessors, showing what progress was being made. He took
a personal interest in each student, and as often as he had

AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY. 251
time, or where he thought it especiaUy needed, he wrote
letters of advice and encouragement.
It was Mr. Dodge's habit also to send occasionally —
and he at times extended the privilege to whole classes of
a theological seminary — some book that would be calcu
lated to instruct or inspire men with such a work in view.
Among these volumes were " The Life of Finney," " The
Life of Chalmers," Pond's " Theology," Dr. Schaff's works.
Bishop Mcllvaine on " Preaching," and President Way-
land's " Letters on the Ministry of the Gospel." He at
tached to the fly-leaf of this last book a short printed letter
of counsel to theological students. It indicates some of
the qualifications he deemed essential : —
New York, September, 1863.
My Young Friend, — In presenting you with a copy of the
letters of President Wayland on the" Ministry ofthe Gospel," let me
request you to read and carefully ponder each letter, and prayer
fully ask yourself if you have properly considered the importance
of the work you have undertaken. I have felt for years the need
of just such a book as this. I fear that many enter the ministry
who have little idea that the great object is to rescue souls from
hell, by leading them to Christ.
Each letter is fuU of valuable suggestions ; but let me caU your
especial attention to the sixth, " On the Manner of Preaching,"
each part of which I commend to your careful consideration.
I might suggest that while I approve of aU the author says about
extemporaneous speaking, yet a carefully written sermon once a
week might be best for a few years ; but if you would reach the hearts
of your hearers, they must feel that yours is so fuU of the love of
Christ that you can tell them of it without a written manuscript.
For many years I have made the subject of the voice and
manner of public speakers one of especial interest, and have been
pained to see how Uttle attention has been given to it in our theo
logical seminaries. Many of our students come out good scholars,
can write weU, are fervent in spirit, and are anxious to be useful.
But having neglected the cultivation of the voice and the manner of
deUvery, they enter upon their work sadly deficient in grace and ease

252 AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY.
of action and in well developed, clear intonations ; and for lack of
these they never attain any considerable standing as preachers,
and much of what they have acquired avails but little, for want of
ability to present it with attraction.
When a youth, I resided in a New England viUage where there
was no place for evening meetings but a schoolroom, in which we
held frequent meetings and enjoyed several revivals. At times
we should have, perhaps, a Methodist preacher with but Uttle theo
logical education, but good natural talents and a fine, full, clear
voice, who, without notes, would deliver a plain Gospel sermon
fresh from the heart, and secure the attention of aU present. And
I was often ashamed at the contrast when one of our young men
from New Haven or Andover would come along to preach, and
I should have to take a band-box and cover it with a towel, and
place it on the table with candles, that he might read off his sermon,
— generally to a sleepy and inattentive audience.
I hold it to be the duty of every man who is preparing to deliver
God's message to dying men to see to it that in tone and manner
it be done in the best way to secure attention.
A person intending to make pubUc singing a profession wiU
study for years to cultivate the voice to give it strength and volume,
so that, if necessary, he can interest the largest audiences. Let
me beg of you to consider the vast importance of a full, clear,
pleasant voice, properly modulated, and without any unpleasant
tone. A beautiful piece of music, performed upon a harsh, dis
cordant instrument, loses all its beauties.
The man who becomes confined to his notes can never make
an attractive speaker. The times demand an easy, off-hand style
of address.
Don't wait untU you can enter the pulpit before you learn to
speak, but in the prayer-meeting and Sunday-school acquire an
easy, familiar style of public address. If you would give the
trumpet a certain sound, you must learn to use it.
May God bless you and prepare you for turning many to
righteousness, is the earnest prayer of
Your friend, William E. Dodge.
At the laying of the corner-stone of the Yale Theo
logical Seminary, in 1869, Mr. Dodge was one of the

AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY. 253
speakers; and his remarks point out some of the reasons
which led him to feel so strongly the need of increasing
the ranks of the ministry, and also one of the practical
causes which in his opinion accounted for the comparatively
small number presenting themselves for this work : —
" It affords me very great pleasure, sir, to be able to-day to
mingle my congratulations with those of the friends of the theo
logical department of Yale CoUege, and to say a few words on this
occasion. It has been my fortune as a business man to become
conversant with all the main railroads built towards the Great West,
and other of the great public works of this country. Undoubtedly
our land has been settled a half century in advance of what it
otherwise could have been but for the agency of our railroads.
Along these lines of railroads capitalists have not been slow in
buUding cities, towns, and viUages to meet the wants of the tide
of emigration sure to follow the iron raU. The founders of these
vUlages and cities may not have founded them with reUgious inten
tions or designs, but they must erect the house and the workshop,
and the pastor must foUow them and be with the van. The con
sequence is, there never was a time when there was such a demand
for Gospel teachers ; and it is sad to see to-day, by looking at the
catalogues of our theological seminaries, that the number of yearly
graduates is not more than adequate to supply the yearly waste
from natural causes. The minds of people who have travelled
West are racked with anxiety on this point. They have asked
themselves how is this want to be supplied ; and the answer is, only
by establishing such institutions as this one, on behalf of which we
are now assembled. On one line of railroad, about four hundred
mUes in length, in which I am interested, there have been estab
lished sixty vUlages and towns, numbering five hundred, one thou
sand, and one of them seven thousand inhabitants. They aU want
able, active, working ministers to come among them and lay the
foundations of what are. to be the future cities and towns of the
West. But where are they to find them?
" Yet there are more young men pursuing classical studies than
ever before. Why is it, then, that so many of them turn away
from what Mr. Beecher has just described as ' the most noble em
ployment of the human mind ' ? Why is it they are looking in aU

254 AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY.
directions, and leaving this work behind? There may, no doubt,
be found a reason in the fact that aU over the country is seen a
want of earnest prayer upon the part of parents, and there are now
stronger attractions outside of the ministry than ever before. But
there are other reasons ; and young men are to a certain extent
responsible for this neglect. Yet part of the blame must rest on
the churches. A young man is asking God, ' What wilt thou have
me do that I may be of most use to my fellow-men ? ' As he looks
at the influences, the responsibUities of the Christian ministry, he
finds that, outside of our large cities and towns, talent devoted to
the ministry and ripened by years of culture is not appreciated.
He knows that young men can come from the country and go into
a counting-room and receive ^1,500 or $2,000 a year, and the
clergyman must be content with a salary of $600, $800, or ^1,000 ;
and he asks, ' Am I called upon to make this sacrifice ? ' He may
look at our home mission work, at our foreign missions, and say :
' I am wUUng to sacrifice my time and risk my health in those
fields ; but am I called upon to make the sacrifice of going to a
town surrounded by men of property, men who Uve at an expense
of thousands annually, and yet who are wiUing to give me but a
thousand a year, and expect me to entertain every minister who
may happen to come through the place ? My wife, perchance (if I
am caUed to a small village), wiU have to carry her child in her
arms whUe preparing victuals and setting the table for meals, because
she cannot afford the wages of a servant.'
"Sir, the miners of a district in Pennsylvania who struck for
wages and stood out for four long months, were receiving at the
time $4 a day, which amounts to ligoo a year for the working
days ; and that is more than a minister is expected to Uve on in
New England. I was in conversation with a minister recentiy who
had met with these troubles of which I speak, and was then stmg-
gUng to send his oldest boy to this institution. I do not say this,
ray young friends [turning to the students], to deter you from the
great work. But I say that the churches are to blame in this matter.
Ask yourselves if this is not one of the reasons why young men are
taking themselves to other professions.
" Young men I there is a nation being bom in the West. Thou
sands not only of our own countrymen are immigrating, but they
are coming from all parts of the world ; and unless there is an

AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY. 255
influence exerted over them, we may tremble rather than be proud
at the rapidity with which the empire of the West is growing. You
may stay the floodgates of infidelity, and raise a community there
that shall bless this growing nation."
Mr. Dodge was so oppressed with the vast spiritual need
of the West, and so convinced that the ordinary methods
could never supply the number and stamp of ministers
demanded, that he urged the selection and more rapid
preparation of men specially adapted to endure hardships
and deliver a simple, direct Gospel message. He held that
in many churches there could be found young men, some
what older than those usually seen in colleges and semi
naries, but who had received a good common-school or
high-school education, and had then entered upon a busi
ness life, — men of vigorous minds and consecrated spirit,
active in the Sabbath-school and church, and enjoying
the confidence of their fellow-members and of the com
munity. Such men he believed possessed already some
of the personal gifts and practical training that fitted them
to be most useful in building up churches and exerting a
strong religious influence in new communities. He thought
that men of this type could dispense with the full college
course, and the long time usually given in theological
seminaries to Hebrew and Greek. Let them confine them
selves to the exegetical study of the Scriptures in Eng
lish, to dogmatic theology. Church history, the preparation
of sermons, and other important branches, and be ready in
perhaps two or three years to enter upon active duty in
the distant States and Territories.
Mr. Dodge had no desire to disparage scholarship in the
pulpit, nor in ordinary cases to encourage any abridgment
of full and exact classical and theological study ; but he
wanted a body of picked men for special service. What
they might lack in scholastic culture would find compen
sation in wider experience, closer sympathy with all classes,
and more intense zeal. His own "letters give frequent

256 AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY.
expression to his views on this subject. In March, 1862,
he writes : —
" My plan is outside of a general course, and is intended to
meet the wants of many parts of our country where a regular and
thoroughly educated ministry cannot be supported. I wish to aid
by a short course men from twenty-one to thirty, of more than
ordinary talent and approved piety, who with a good common
education have learned to take the lead in Sabbath-schools and
prayer-meetings, and are, in fact, the right arms of the pastors.
Such young men often long for the ministry, but feel they are
too old to commence studying for it. I would give them two or
three years of training, and then send them out to increase their
stock as they go, — good practical, common-sense men, who wiU
be a blessing to many a young church in the more sparsely settled
regions. I think a pretty well educated Methodist preacher a very
useful man ; and I have had considerable experience in that direc
tion, as I attended their preaching half of each Sunday for several
years when I was young."
An application for aid to a student brought this reply :
" I am interested in what you say of the young man ; but such
cases do not come under my plan. I am trying to help men
somewhat advanced in age, and who have not in many instances
had a collegiate education. It is not my purpose to assist those
akeady in coUege and intending to go into the ministry. If I
should take such cases, I might have half the young men now pre
paring. I desire to aid, so far as I have the means, men from
twenty-one to thirty years of age, who have had a good EngUsh
education, and who in the churches and Sunday-schools are
known as the active working members, — ' apt to teach,' ready and
acceptable speakers, such as pastors are wUling to send out to form
a new school or conduct the prayer-meetings, and who often feel
that if they had the opportunity they would be glad to prepare
to preach the Gospel. I rejoice to see young men in greater
numbers giving themselves to a thorough course of study; but
I have it in my mind to help those who, though not so well in
structed, have more knowledge of men, are educated to work,
and are disposed and fitted to begin preaching after a few years'
preparation." '

AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY. 257
It was Mr. Dodge's hope that most of these students
would find their field of labor in the West; but he required
no pledge, and did not attempt to dictate in regard to
their future course. Sometimes, however, churches in the
vicinity of a theological seminary would need the occa
sional services of students, and becoming interested in
them, would on their graduation invite them to be their
permanent pastors. In a letter to one of his students who
had accepted such a call he says : —
" I have had the impression that many of the churches in central
New York were reduced in numbers by immigration West, and
were now feeble and inactive. They must not be left to die ; yet
I never like to see a young man settie down over one of these
churches, with the large, old-fashioned buUdings made to accom
modate six or eight hundred, and now not half filled. The effect
is apt to be injurious, and to make a young man himself settle
down in a duU, old-fashioned way, with nothing to caU out his
energy. It has been rather a disappointment to me that so many
whom I have aided have been induced to locate just around the
Seminary. I have fondly anticipated that they would go out West
into some of the new settlements and grow up with the country to
mould and give character to the inhabitants. There is something
inspiring in seeing a vUlage start from the beginning, to welcome
each new-comer, to help buUd the neat little church, and to feel
you know aU the families settling around it. There are many such
places along the lines of our Western railroads. If you read the
' Home Missionary ' you wiU see constant caUs for such help. It
means often more self-denial and hard work, and often less pay,
than in a town Uke that you have selected ; but often more of the
life of religion as weU as of the world. I have, however, no wish
to give direction to those whom I trust God has called into his
service. I only want them to be where they can do the most good."
The "New York Observer" contained (July, 1878) the
foUowing reference to the character and work of one of
those whom Mr. Dodge aided : —
"A few weeks since a new occupant was seen in our pulpit. His
burning words of love and devotion to his Master's cause kindled
17

258 AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY.
anew the flame that was in some hearts growing dim, his zeal in
spired us, his hopeful spirit cheered us, and his eloquence won the
ear of those who were not in sympathy with his subject. When
the service was over a stranger remarked, ' Do these people know
they have had a very smart young man in their pulpit to-day ? '
Of course we knew it ; and better far, we knew also that he was an
earnest, faithful worker, leading many souls to the Saviour, for he
was one of our own village boys, and we had watched his course
with no little satisfaction. When he became a Christian he de
cided at once to go to college ; but, like many other successful
laborers, his resources were limited, and he was obliged himself to
create means for defraying his expenses, which he did by teaching,
and in other ways, during his vacations.
" Just before the close of his course at Dartmouth the late Presi
dent Smith proposed to him the subject of entering the ministry,
going through a regular theological course at Andover; but the
young man replied, ' he had weighed the matter carefully, and
felt it was his duty to go into some other profession ; his parents
needed his assistance, and he could not struggle on with such a
debt during his Seminary life.' But the President was persistent,
and finally asked him if he would consent to go if a part of the
means could be provided, adding that he had a weakhy friend in
New York who had always been ready to lend a helping hand
in such a case as this. The young man at last consented to go ;
and the result was that after a thorough course at Andover he was
settled immediately in a flourishing town in Massachusetts, where
his labors were greatiy blessed. Lately he has been caUed to a
much larger field, while every year he has added to his own
spiritual progress as weU as to the number of those who owe
their conversion to his faithful ministrations. The consecutive
circles of such an influence reach beyond the limits of mortal
vision ; eternity will show their extent in its true proportion.
" The young man and his benefactor have never met ; but some
day when WiUiam E. Dodge is in the vicinity of Boston, if he will
ride out to one of the suburban towns and spend the Sabbath, he
will find that although many of his stocks may have depreciated
and his banks proved insolvent, his ships may have gone down at
sea and his mines failed to yield up their treasures, still here is an
' investment ' that is not only sure to pay good interest, but whose

AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY. 259
' security ' will be unquestioned when the books are opened at
the ' great day of accounts.' "
Among the letters received after the death of Mr.
Dodge none spoke more lovingly and gratefully of his
memory than those from some of his students. One
writes : —
" I was about to give up aU hope of entering the ministry of
Christ, for want of means, when a friend sent my name to Mr.
Dodge, and he came to my relief and aided me through the Au
burn Seminary. The privilege of preaching the Gospel these nine
teen years, and the joy I have had in guiding souls to Jesus, are
due, under God, largely to him."
Another says : —
" Sincere grief came upon the hearts of my wife and myself when
the sad intelligence of his death reached our frontier home. We
owe him a debt of gratitude for assistance rendered while I was a
member of Andover Seminary. I was married and poor. He gave
me a hundred doUars for each of those years of struggling student
life. His only condition was that I ' should preach Christ.' This
I am now doing in a home missionary field."
Another tells also of help opportunely brought to
him: —
" We mourn his loss as a friend and benefactor. When I was
near the close of my second year as principal of an academy in
New York State, a letter came to me from Mr. Dodge, offering to
place nine hundred doUars in quarterly instalments to my account
to enable me to prosecute my studies for the ministry. If it had
fallen from the skies I should scarcely have been more surprised.
No doubt my sainted pastor had something to do with it ; but I
never knew certainly. We wept for joy, for it was the first sun
beam on our path to the ministry ; and yet I hesitated to accept
the generous gift, lest it should rob me of my boasted indepen
dence, for I had struggled through school and academy, and, with
my dear wife, through Oberlin CoUege, besides aiding two sisters
in their course, and aU without financial aid, save an occasional

26o AIDING STUDENTS FOR THE MINISTRY.
loan at high interest. It was not, therefore, until after much care
ful consideration that I wrote Mr. Dodge, accepting his kindness
as from the hand of God. Before the course was completed the
nine hundred dollars grew to twelve hundred and fifty, owing
to the increased cost of living at that time (1863). Perhaps
you will remember a visit to Auburn, en route to the annual
meeting of the American Board. It was the first time I had the
pleasure of meeting Mr. Dodge. He gave every student in the
Seminary five dollars to defray the expense of the trip to Rochester
to enable them to attend the missionary meetings. They wiU
never forget it. Were my own dear brother stiU living, he could
teU, as he often did, of the generous aid for the new church of
which he was pastor, and also of the last thousand dollars in
payment of the debt. How busy Mr. Dodge must have been,
and yet how responsive to every manifest caU of the Master 1
His memory wiU never perish, and his influence wiU extend to
generations." Still another adds, on the day before the funeral : —
" Mr. Dodge, through the many he has aided into the ministry,
wiU preach to-morrow, while his voice is silent, and for years to
come, to a larger congregation than any other one man, — and thus
his works wiU foUow him."
Not all the students aided by Mr. Dodge were Amer
icans. A number were born in foreign lands, and came to
this country, most of them, as children. Nor do those
already referred to, include a considerable body of preach
ers and teachers educated in missionary fields. As will
be seen elsewhere, Mr. Dodge aided in the establishment
or support of several colleges and theological seminaries
in different parts of the world. He contributed likewise
to many institutions at home and abroad, exclusively for
giris. Mention has also yet to be made of the educational in
terests which increasingly occupied his attention during
the later years of his life.

CHAPTER XVin.
WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE.
MR. DODGE always entertained large views of the
future of Africa. He was a warm friend of the
Republic of Liberia, and for twenty-two years served as
a vice-president of the American Colonization Society.
With so many others, he believed that Africa was the
natural and the best home of the colored race, and that
the true policy was to encourage emigration there. This
would prevent complications, perhaps conflict, in the
United States, and would open a new and desirable field of
industry and independence for the negro. It was not until
after the war that Mr. Dodge's views changed. At an
anniversary of the Colonization Society, held before peace
was declared, but subsequent to the Act of Emancipation,
Mr. Dodge made the principal address. It was when the
Liberia CoUege had just been established, and while high
expectations prevailed of its wide usefulness. Mr. Dodge
spoke hopefully of the project, and then entered upon a
consideration of the general condition of the colored race
in this country : —
" What shaU be done for the colored man, is now the chief ques
tion of the day. It underUes all our present troubles ; there is a
universal feeUng of anxiety that some place may be provided where
the black man can go and be elevated. There was a vast amount
of sympathy, effort, and prayer, when it appeared as if he was
beyond our reach ; but now God, in his wonderful providence, has
brought hundreds and thousands of those lately in bondage into
our hands, and we must take charge of them, or their emancipa-

262 WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE.
tion will be a curse rather than a blessing. Are the Northern
States, which have done so much for them, now ready to invite
them to their homes? Does Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, or
New York want them to settie within their limits ? Will Indiana,
Illinois, or Ohio receive them ? Let the laws stiU on the statute-
books of many of these States answer. A few years ago, a pious
and benevolent slaveholder in Kentucky determined to provide
for aU his servants before his death and see them weU settled. He
went into one of the thinly settied portions of Ohio and purchased
a large tract of land, intending to divide it among the families of
his slaves, and then provide each with a comfortable house and
home. But as soon as his object became known, public meetings
were caUed, and the people decided they would have no negro
settlements in their vicinity ; and the good man was compelled to
abandon his plans.
" This country is not the place for the colored man. Do aU
you can for him, and he will still feel that he is not what he might
become under other circumstances. It wiU be a forced effort to
attempt to place him on a par with the white man. I am more
and more convinced that God made Africa to be the home of the
negro ; and of late our attention has been turned to that continent
as never before. What is now wanted is to interest the free col
ored men in looking towards Africa. The National Government
and the States should aid the emancipated slaves to emigrate ; and
before long there will be such evidence of prosperity that we shall
induce thousands of others to foUow."
Still later Mr. Dodge joined in proposing the establish
ment of a line of steamers to run between the United
States and Liberia, to encourage emigration and trade.
But when, in the period immediately following the war,
the magnitude of the problem, " What shaU be done with
the freedmen," began to be fairly encountered, schemes
that looked to the transportation of multitudes to Liberia
were so manifestly inadequate — even if possible, and for
the best interests of a people just thrown upon their own
resources — that practical men turned at once to the task
of helping the negro just where his new condition found

WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE. 263
him. Mr. Dodge stood with those who claimed that
Christian education was the first and comprehensive need.
He promptly began to aid in establishing schools and in
sending colored youth to institutions already in existence
at the North. He especially desired to see intelligent
colored preachers and teachers provided. He had in
deed already become interested in an institution distinctly
founded for this purpose. It was then known as Ashmun
Institute, but afterwards became Lincoln University. It is
in Chester County, Pa., some forty miles from Philadelphia,
and has the honor of being the " pioneer in the liberal
education of colored youth; its charter dating ten years
before emancipation." The Rev. Isaac N. Rendall, D.D.,
president of this institution, writes, Feb. 20, 1883 : —
" Mr. Dodge was elected a trustee in 1862. At that time the
property in the hands of the Board reached a value of about
ten thousand dollars, with accommodations for sixteen students.
It has now, in endowments and buildings, a property worth nearly
three hundred thousand dollars, and there are two hundred and
fourteen students. In all the steps of this development Mr. Dodge
had a most effective part. The dark days of the civil war was a
notable time to enter upon the higher education of the negro. But
it was at that time, when the good design was necessarily an experi
ment, that Mr. Dodge gave to this work the encouragement of his
name and the help of his counsel and of his gifts. The Rev. Dr.
John M. Dickey, founder of the institution, told me that the first
contribution given to build the first edifice here was from Anson
G. Phelps ; and from that time the largest single and aggregate
contributions towards the enlargement of our work have come from
the members of that household, — the total amount being not less
than fifty thousand dollars ; and Mr. Dodge's direct personal influ
ence secured from others as much more. Of his own gifts, twenty
thousand dollars founded the Chair of Sacred Rhetoric, three thou
sand made up a deficiency for the Chair of I.,atin, and a large part
of the remainder has been given for the annual support of students.
It is noteworthy in our experience that the professorship founded
by Mr. Dodge has been the one through which the most appre-

264 WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE.
ciated effects of our system of education have been produced. The
course in rhetoric here is more prominent than in our Northern
colleges for whke students. In our pubUc meetings, held in New
York city and in other places, it has been as practical orators that
our graduates have made the deepest impression upon the friends
of Christian education. Some of the students supported by Mr.
Dodge have become our most influential representatives. The
work he promoted here was an expression of his mature judgment
as to what was needed among the freedmen, and of the sympathy
he cherished for them in their needs. In advancing this work
here and elsewhere, he was self-denying, generous, and indefati
gable. His hope of lifting up the degraded to Gospel heights,
rested on the use of Gospel means ; and hence his preference to
aid in training ministers and Christian teachers. "
For the purpose of calling more general attention to the
character of the education given at Lincoln, Mr. Dodge
arranged for a pubhc meeting in New York, December,
1879, which was addressed by four graduates of the Uni
versity, each one presenting some special feature of the
negro-question. Three of the speakers were among the
students educated by Mr. Dodge.
In an editorial notice of this meeting, the Rev. S. Irenaeus
Prime, D.D., writes in the " New York Observer: " —
" It would be difficult to find in this city four young men, gradu
ates or students of any coUege, who would make four speeches of
equal merit with those made last Thursday ¦ night in Association
HaU by four representatives of Lincoln University for colored
men. " The Hon. WiUiam E. Dodge, a Christian philanthropist of the
best type, has long taken a great interest in this University, has
given largely to its support, and now, when funds are required to
enlarge its usefulness, he would demonstrate to the public its abil
ity and success. To this end he invited the merchants, the clergy,
and the pubUc to come together and hear colored young men
themselves discuss the questions growing out of the negro situation
in the United States. Mr. Dodge said there were now in the insti
tution a hundred and thirty-four students, sixty-four of whom

WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE. 265
were candidates for the ministry; but the students who had re
ceived its benefits were scattered aU over the continent, many of
them occupying prominent positions as lawyers, physicians, and
ministers of religion.
" We Ustened to addresses from Solomon P. Hood, Joseph C.
Price, the Rev. William H. Weaver, and the Rev. WiUiam D. John
son, colored students and graduates of Lincoln University, each of
whom took up some important phase of the great question and
discussed it. We wiU not speak of them separately, for where all
were first-rate, we do not desire to make distinctions. We do not
know what was lacking to mark each and aU of them as remarkable
exhibitions of talent and culture in the arts of public speaking and
composition. Their orations were for the most part written, and
committed to memory. In argument and iUustration, in logical
force, in briUiancy of imagination, flashes of genuine wit, keen
satire, references to history, and intimate knowledge of the subject,
these four addresses were worthy of any class of educated men
from any coUege in the world."
Mr. Dodge was gratified to receive from many others a
cordial indorsement of the results of this meeting. The
Rev. WiUiam Adams, D.D., wrote, Jan. 21, 1880: —
" Since the public meeting in behalf of Lincoln University, I
have thought much on the value of that institution. AU present
on that occasion must have been deeply impressed by the appear
ance and addresses of those colored students. Let a sufficient
number of colored men be as weU educated as those four men
have been, and the negro problem is solved. I wish you aU suc
cess in the laudable work you have undertaken."
The Rev. Marvin R. Vincent, D.D., also says: —
" I feel personally grateful to you for the opportunity of hearing
the four students from Lincoln University on the evening of De
cember 18. The occasion gave me, as I think it did many others,
a deeper impression of the capabUities of the colored man, and a
new sense of the responsibihty of the Church for his proper train
ing. The addresses of the four young men were well thought out,

266 WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE.
clearly and tastefully expressed, without as much florid rhetoric as
may be heard from the commencement platform of any American
college ; showing a clear perception of the nature and magnitude
of the problem with which they dealt, and delivered with remark
able self-possession, dignity, and emotional energy.
" If these are fair specimens of the material which Lincoln Uni
versity turns out, I can only say that it has a substantial claim upon
the sympathy and liberaUty of every one who is interested in the
elevation of the negro."
At a meeting held in Philadelphia in 1879 for the same
object, Mr. Dodge made the foUowing remarks: —
" It has been my privUege to be connected with Lincoln Univer
sity, as one of its trustees, for many years, and I have watched its
progress with a great deal of satisfaction. It was founded for the
liberal education of the Freedmen. I believe that a large portion
of the North, that took such a deep interest in the welfare of the
poor negro when he was a slave, felt as though when they had
knocked off his shackles and elevated him to the position of a
free man, they had nothing more to do but to thank God for this
wonderful deliverance. Yet if we leave him in his ignorance, I am
not sure that we have done anything for his welfare.
" God has laid upon the Christian people of this nation a fear
ful responsibility. We should act at once. This is a thing that
wUl not wait. These black boys and giris are growing very fast.
Children who were five years old at the close of the war wUl vote
in our next presidential election. Unless they are educated, they
wiU be a terrible power against our repubUcan and Christian
institutions. " I have had much to do with the South. I am there every
winter, and have large interests in that section. I have watched
the drift of events since the war with intense interest. What is
wanted there noiu is that in every large city, in every county, there
should be just such men precisely as the four graduates of Lincoln
University who addressed the public meeting in Philadelphia a
few weeks ago. You ought to place intelligent men like them
in every centre of influence, and those are the men we want
educated at Lincoln. We have other institutions that do not go

WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE. 267
as far as Lincoln. They are educating a large number of men
and giving them a g09d plain education, and are sending them
out to teach during the week and preach on the Sabbath, and do
what they can. But they have not the power to exert such an
influence as the graduates of Lincoln.
" Now, what wants to be done is to arouse an interest through
out this country to multiply such instrumentalities. There have
been very large gifts to our classical institutions, and it would be
well if our men of wealth who are giving to colleges could realize
the fact that there is a Princeton for colored men in Lincoln Uni
versity. I believe the negro is capable of as high classical develop
ment as any other race in the world. Lincoln University has
demonstrated that akeady.
" I hope that we shaU, as individuals, wake up to a realizing
sense of our responsibilities and obligations. Here is an institu
tion, as Dr. McCosh says, that is a child of Princeton. The pro
fessors, with one exception, are aU graduates of Princeton ; every
one of them we know and can trust. We ought to send out from
that institution, of such men as we have already sent, not less than
fifty, and after a littie a class of a hundred, every year. There is
no reason why we should not have a thousand students there. I
beUeve that gentlemen who are giving to institutions of learning,
when they come to die will look back with feelings of satisfaction
that they have left a scholarship, or the endowment of a professor
ship, for the education of colored men who wiU exert such influence
upon the masses — the five millions — ofthe freedmen."
Writing to a friend of large means whom he hoped to
enlist in this cause, Mr. Dodge says : —
" For the last thirty years I have felt it my duty to dispose of
my estate and income for such objects as I could see progressing
during my Ufe, and among other efforts I have been permitted to
assist some hundred and fifty young men in their education
for the ministry ; but ever since the emancipation I have felt that
Providence has thrown a great responsibihty upon the white men
of wealth to see to it that the five mUUons of colored people should
have sufficient education to make them competent to enjoy and
exercise the privUeges of free American citizens. In order to effect

268 WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE.
this there must be a certain percentage of the young men educated
to become leaders, instructors, and ministers, and I have therefore
devoted a portion of my means to aid in sustaming a number
of institutions for the higher education of colored young men. In
this way I have assisted, in the past fifteen years, some fifty to
seventy-five colored students, several of whom are now preaching
with great credit in churches in the large cities South, and I am
granted the special pleasure of watching their work and influence.
What the South needs is that out of a hundred students, say,
ten per cent should be in all respects as thoroughly educated as
the best white ministers, so that as they go to the large Southern
cities they may be inteUectually as well trained as the white
pastors there ; then we want perhaps forty per cent who wiU be
able to fill respectably the pulpits of the smaller towns ; and the
remaining fifty per cent should be just weU enough educated to go
among the common plantation hands, and during the week teach
the children, and on Sunday hold a Bible meeting and explain the
simple rudiments of the Gospel. I am at present interested in four
institutions for the education of the blacks, — Lincoln, Hampton,
Atlanta, and Howard, in aU of which I have students.
" I can assure you, from my own experience of the past thirty
years, that gifts to such objects in one's lifetime are a constant daily
satisfaction. I have been permitted during these years to give to the
cause of Christian education more than a quarter of a milUon of dol
lars, and I feel it has been better than to leave double that amount
to be disposed of by others after my death. The pleasure of watch
ing the success of these different institutions is very great. I often
think of dear old Father Cooper as I see his carriage waiting at the
Cooper Institute while he is trying to discover if anything more
can be done to increase the usefulness of his benevolent work.
I am sure it has added ten years to his Ufe."
Mr. Dodge followed his students into their fields of
labor, writing or seeing them from time to time, and often
aiding some special feature of their efforts. His death
was a personal bereavement to each of them.
A letter from the Rev. Solomon P. Hood, who has a
church, a school, and other religious work at Beaufort,
S. C, says : —

WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE. 269
" I see now as never before that Mr. Dodge knew how and
where any young colored man who loves his Master's cause could
make the most of himself; for he always used to say: 'Young
man, go South, and labor for the upbuilding of your race.'"
The Rev. J. C. Price, president of Zion Wesley CoUege,
at Salisbury, N. C, speaking at the anniversary of the
National Temperance Society, June, 1884, said: —
" No one can feel as I do in regard to Mr. Dodge. I believe
that I stand here to-day as the result of his effort ; for I was his
prot6g6 in the Lincoln University, and if it had not been for his
liberality and Christian generosity, I am sure that I should not be
on this platform to-night. I therefore can truly indorse the words
of the President [Dr. Hopkins] when he said that Mr. Dodge,
though dead, yet speaks, not only through the work of this Society,
but by the hundreds of young men and women scattered aU over
the South to-day in the pulpit, in the schookoom, in the medical
chair, and wherever they have to do something, be it ever so
humble, for the upUfting of a long-degraded people, and for the
bearing forward of the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord. For
Mr. Dodge was not only interested in snapping the bonds of
intemperance that fettered the soul, but wherever he saw a de
graded one, whether that degradation came from intemperance or
ignorance, it found his helping hand and his sympathizing heart.
I therefore rejoice in being here to-night, and feel glad that I am
interested in a cause in which he was especially interested, — carry
ing out the purposes he had in view when he bestowed upon me
his generous assistance."
Mr. Dodge was ready to aid in the establishment of Zion
Wesley College, not only on account of his regard for its
presiding officer, but also because it was an effort on the
part of colored men to found an institution that should be
wholly under their own control, and have a faculty from
their own number. He met Mr. Price in England, — where
he had gone to solicit funds, — and introduced him to in
fluential friends there ; after%vards subscribing himself five

270 WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE.
thousand doUars towards the erection of one of the new
buildings. The Rev. William D. Johnson, D.D., who was aided at
Lincoln University for several years by Mr. Dodge, and is
now Secretary of Education of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church, delivered a long and interesting ad
dress upon the character and services of his patron and
friend, at a large memorial meeting held in Columbia,
S. C, April 25, 1883. In the course of his remarks he
said : —
" Mr. Dodge was my benefactor ; and I see those among you —
my classmates,* and perhaps others — who, in common with me,
years ago at Lincoln University, the mother of your own Allen
University, learned to know and to love Mr. Dodge on account of
his magnanimous interest in our education. A good man is the
world's treasure ; and it was always maintained that such a man, of
whatever nationality, was a citizen of the world and the common
property of all its people. He whose long and useful Ufe was
symboUzed at New York in the sheaf of golden wheat laid upon
his casket, is to-day remembered in the opening buds and wild
flowers here in the sunny South ; and we offer them as a tribute
from the heart of his colored feUow-citizens, who stood so much in
need of the recognition he so freely accorded us in his manly words
and princely benefactions."
The Rev. William H. Morris, also one of those who had
been at one time assisted by Mr. Dodge, and now a pro
fessor of Allen University at Columbia, read a poem which
he had prepared for the occasion as a tribute of affectionate
regard. One of the daily papers of the city, " The Columbia
Register," gave a full account of this rare and touching
service. A portion of the notice is quoted : —
" No stronger testimony could be afforded to the influence
which has been exerted by the Christian philanthropist, the late
William E. Dodge, than was furnished by the memorial service at
the African Methodist Episcopal Church last night. It was meet

WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE. 27 1
that among a class of our people towards whom his large heart had
flowed out in earnest sympathy and acts of munificent Uberality,
there should be awakened a grateful recognition of his benefac
tions ; and the meeting last night showed that they were ready to
respond to the sentiment with all the ardor with which the colored
element is wont to show its appreciation of kindness.
" The church was densely packed with an audience numbering
not less than fifteen hundred persons, who exhibited an absorbed
interest in the services from first to last. Bishop Dickerson pre
sided ; and on the platform were assembled the colored clergy
of all denominations in the city. A double quartet of male and
female singers occupied the left of the platform, and furnished
excellent vocal music, with the organ accompaniment.
" Among the resolutions, offered by the Rev. J. C. Waters, D.D.,
was the following : —
" ' Resolved, That we, as representatives of the colored citizens
forming an integral part of this great nation, believe we express
their unuttered sentiment when we say that we shall ever cherish
in our inmost hearts the memory of one who so unselfishly donated
his Ufe to the amelioration of the condition of the neglected and
the unfortunate.'
" The Rev. William H. Morris read a poetic delineation of the
character and labors of the deceased, which contained passages of
great force and poetic beauty.
"After a solo. Bishop Dickerson briefly spoke of the distin
guished dead as the ' ideal man ; ' and introduced the Rev. W. D.
Johnson, D.D., of Marietta, Ga., who delivered an eloquent
portrayal of the features which had so eminentiy distinguished
William E. Dodge as a benefactor of mankind.
" The speaker aUuded to the personal obligations under which
he had been brought to Mr. Dodge by his munificence to Lincoln
University, at which himself, Bishop Dickerson, Prof. Morris, and
Dr. J. C. Waters were educated. His charities were limited by no
sectarian, poUtical, or race distinctions, but reached out to the needy
of all nations and aU creeds with an ever-abounding Uberality.
" The eulogy occupied over an hour, and the services closed
with a quartet, ' Go to thy peaceful rest ! ' and the benediction.
" Such an occasion as this, giving the heartfelt expression of
people of a different race, a different denomination, to their

272 WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE.
appreciation of the character of one of Nature's noblemen, is as
honorable to those who paid it as it is to the memory of the subject
of their eulogy."
A memorial meeting was also held in New Orleans in
St. James's African Methodist Episcopal Church, at which
tributes to Mr. Dodge's services were delivered, and a
series of resolutions adopted.
General S. C. Armstrong, President of the Hampton
Normal and Agricultural Institute, writing of Mr. Dodge's
death in the " Southern Workman," published at the
school, says : —
" Hampton was one among the many side interests to which his
generous hand gave what was little to him but much to them,
especially as it was coupled with what he gave of himself, — his
warm sympathy and joy in giving. He was always to be relied on
to give go to an effort to rouse public interest by word and exam
ple. When it was necessary to raise the funds for our building for
Indian girls, and a meeting was held in New York at which some
of our Indian students appeared, Mr. Dodge was first on his feet
with a subscription. He took the responsibility of the first room
in Winona Lodge ; and half of what was raised for it in New York
was given by him and his immediate family connections, who share
his spirit. He has carried also three scholarships at Hampton,
one for colored and two for Indian students. He was a friend to
whom we with many others could look for moral as well as mate
rial aid."
Mr. Dodge was one of the friends with whom Mr. John
F. Slater consulted confidentially before setting apart his
fund of one million of dollars for the education of freed
men, and especially of colored teachers. Mr. Dodge
became an incorporator and trustee of this fund, and the
board of trustees was first organized in his library. His
eldest son was elected to succeed him.
It was a cherished expectation of Mr. Dodge that the
various institutions for colored people would not only be a
blessing to the race in America, but would prepare men

WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE. 273
for what he saw to be " the wonderful opening in Africa."
Missionaries from among the educated colored people
would come to be the most ardent and efficient agents for
the redemption of their fatherland. One of the earhest stu
dents on his list was a young man of unusual promise, who
began his course of study with this object in view, but died
before completing his theological preparation. Others of
his students are now presidents or professors of theologi
cal seminaries or colleges that will ultimately send forth
men for this vast missionary enterprise, which Christians
of African descent can probably best undertake, and for
which there happily already exists among them a fixed
purpose and a growing enthusiasm.
A few days before his death, but with no thought of the
end being so near, Mr. Dodge said to a friend : —
" I wish to devote much of my remaining strength and a large
share of my income to the education and elevation of the colored
race. I expect soon to go South, and hope to visit Lincoln,
Hampton, Howard, Atlanta, Biddle, and other institutions. I
take special interest in the working out of the objects of the
Slater fund."
The provisions of his will bear testimony to his deter
mination to give some permanent expression to the inter
est he felt in the education of this class. He not only
made bequests to several of the institutions, — ten thou
sand dollars to Lincoln University, and five thousand dol
lars each to Hampton, Howard, and Atlanta, to constitute
scholarships, — but he left a fund of fifty thousand dollars,
" the income to be applied to the education of young men
for the Gospel ministry, and thus," he adds, " to continue
the plan which I have carried on for many years." He
further says : —
" It is my wish that any thus aided shall be prepared for the
ministry according to the denomination to which they belong.
" Having been deeply impressed with the importance of furnish
ing, as soon as possible, men of theu own race to preach to the
18

274 WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COLORED RACE.
colored people of the South, I have for some years devoted much
of my education fund for that class, giving to some of them a
more thorough course of insti'uction, to fit them for the larger
places, and to others a shorter course, to help them reach the
more ignorant and those farther removed from Gospel privUeges.
I would suggest to my executrix and executors that they pursue
the same course."
In closing these references to Mr. Dodge's educational
efforts, it should perhaps be remarked that of all the
young men, white or black, who were aided by his gifts, it
is not known that more than three or four ever proved
themselves unworthy of his confidence.

CHAPTER XIX.
CHARACTERISTICS.
THE prominent traits of Mr. Dodge's character have
perhaps been sufficiently indicated in the narrative
already given; but it may be of interest to make some
more distinct reference to the qualities which, in his case,
seemed to form a peculiarly happy combination of strength
and sweetness. This will be chiefly done by recording
the testimony of personal friends, and by extracts from
articles which appeared in the public journals. First,
however, brief allusion will be made to a few points not
so fully dwelt upon by others.
Mr. Dodge always maintained a singularly affectionate
and minute interest in the affairs of each of his children.
Anything he thought could minister to their advantage
when young was unhesitatingly provided. As they grew
up and began to assume business responsibilities and to
have families of their own, he followed each step with
increasing watchfulness, generally associating them with
himself in some of his own enterprises, and never withhold
ing any personal sacrifice, of exertion or means, to insure
their success. But however much he might do for their
happiness in other respects, they can never recall a time in
the lives of any of them when it was not transparently evi
dent that the supreme desire of their father's heart was
bent upon their religious welfare. In every plan he made
for them, in all his frequent and loving counsels, in the or
dering of the family life, this was the first consideration.

276 CHARACTERISTICS.
The happy Sabbath evenings come back to them when
he was accustomed to gather the children about him, and
make the Westminster Catechism simple and attractive by
his explanations and anecdotes; when both father and
mother would repeat some favorite hymn, and the boys in
turn recite theirs; then all join in singing " Loving-kind
ness," " My Faith looks up to Thee," " The Voice of Free
Grace," " Oh ! could I speak the Matchless Worth," and
always to the old familiar tunes. No music will ever seem
sweeter: the father's rich bass, the mother's clear voice,
and each boy doing as well as he could.
These hymns of Christian faith and joy were all dear to
Mr. Dodge. He had committed to memory numbers of
them as a child, and he could repeat them to old age with
accuracy and delight. He found them a solace when dis
tracting thoughts intruded upon his sacred hours, or when
anxiety or business cares pressed hard upon him. Some
times he said them over to himself as he walked the streets
or rode in the cars, or he would repeat them in the quiet
of a Sunday evening as he sat with his family at home or
in the midst of a few congenial friends with whom he
might be travelling. He loved sacred poetry of every
kind, and in reading or repeating it he endeavored to
bring out the meaning by a distinct and appropriate ut
terance. In some instances, when he met with hymns
not found in ordinary books, and which struck him as un
usually impressive, he had them printed as leaflets for
private distribution. His singing at religious meetings or
in church had a heartiness that was inspiring and con
tagious. It was his habit on Sunday evenings also to
assemble the household for family prayers just before the
hour for tea, and in his petitions each son, beginning from
the eldest, would be specially remembered, with his wife
and children, although no names were mentioned ; and as
soon as the evening meal was ended he would retire to the
room where he was accustomed to have his devotions.

CHARACTERISTICS. 277
When he returned, his tearful eye but shining face would
tell something of the communion he had enjoyed.
In prayer he was not satisfied with mere general peti
tions. He loved, whenever circumstances would allow, to
ask in distinct terms for just what was needed at the par
ticular time ; and his expressions, while simple and direct,
always breathed the spirit of humble, entire, and glad
submission to the Divine will.
Among his papers was found in his own handwriting a
list of " Things to pray for to-day " (some time in April,
1859). His wife was to unite with him. The first was
" For ourselves, that we may be sanctified and forgiven,
and, as parents, be able to know and do our duty to our
children." Then followed several specific requests: for one and
another of his sons, closing with a remembrance for
" Special direction in regard to a change of church re
lations," and a prayer for a friend whose name was given.
Scriptural phrases and verses were blended appropriately
and fervently in his petitions. A prayer which he had
written, apparently for some Sabbath-school occasion, when
the subject was " Heaven, the hope of the child of God,"
will recall to those who used to hear him at religious meet
ings, his earnest manner and words when he prayed in
public, —
Almighty and everlasting God, our Heavenly Father, we bless
thee that thou didst so love the world as to give thy Son to die.
We bless thee that he hath brought life and immortality to light, and
hath passed into the heavens to prepare mansions of eternal rest
for those who love him. We thank thee that amid the cares, anxie
ties, and trials of this world, those who have been washed in the
blood of the Lamb may by faith look forward to a rest of eternal
joy at thy right hand ; and though eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive the things
which God hath prepared for those who love him, yet thou hast in
thy holy word given us some faint glimpses of the golden city and
of its myriads of happy. spirits who worship and praise thee with

278 CHARACTERISTICS.
uninterrupted delight. We thank thee that, having this hope to sus
tain us even here, we may go cheerfully forward in the path of duty,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for
the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is forever set down on his heavenly throne. O Lord, sanctify
our hearts by thy Holy Spirit, and raise our affections above the
world. May the things that are seen and temporal never be per
mitted to blind our eyes so that we cannot, by faith, behold the
things which are unseen and eternal. Help us to Uve so near to
thee that we shaU have no doubt of our reaching the mansions of
the blest, so that we may walk by faith, having our conversation
in heaven, whence we look for our blessed Saviour, who at his
coming shall change our vile bodies, making them like unto his
glorious body ; that when he shall call us to leave this earthly habi
tation, we may with joy look forward to a building not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens. And having this hope in us, may we
purify ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God. Help us to live ever in view of death,
judgment, and eternity, and at last, washed and purified in the
blood of Jesus, may we pass through the gates into the city to
unite in the everlasting song of the redeemed. All which we
ask in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, thy Son and our
Saviour. Amen.
He attached the utmost importance to the persistent
and sacred reservation of the hours for daily prayer and
the study of the word. To a son starting upon a long
foreign journey he writes : —
" I know by experience the difficulty of keeping the heart right
when one is traveUing, and subject to so many changes and excit
ing scenes. Often obliged to be up early and to retire late, and
the poor body demanding rest, there is great danger that we may
not secure for our private devotions the time absolutely necessary
to the enjoyment of religion. You are going into strange countries,
amid persons of different languages and habits from your own, and
you will perhaps have no opportunity for proper retirement. Thus
•there is need of more than ordinary care. You must have your
klaily heavenly food, or you wiU droop and become poor and spirit-

CHARACTERISTICS. 279
less. Redeem the time in some way, and if no suitable place
offers at the moment, the necessity is more apparent for stated
mental devotion. Never have you been in circumstances where
the injunction was more appropriate, ' Watch and pray, lest ye enter
into temptation.' Another important point is, be sure under all
circumstances to maintain proper Christian deportment. I do not
want you to put on any unnatural stiffness, but a consistent be
havior everywhere. Never neglect a chance to speak a word for
the Master you love and serve. By cherishing the idea of daily
doing good in some way to those in your company, or with whom
you come in contact, you wiU keep the spirit of reUgion alive in
your own heart. A word dropped by the way may meet you at the
bar of God in the salvation of some soul you may never meet again
until then. Letting your light shine as a Christian traveUer, is the
best way to keep your own heart right in the sight of God."
Mr. Dodge's attachment to his mother was tender and
strong; and it was his privilege, after the death of his
father, to take her to his own home and cherish her there
until the close of her long and active life. A writer in the
" Illustrated Christian Weekly," soon after the death of
Mr. Dodge, speaks thus of the mother : —
" Most of the notices of the late WiUiam E. Dodge have spoken
of his father, and of his influence in forming the character and
shaping the Ufe of his exceUent son. And aU that was said of that
father was just and well deserved ; for he was known and honored
not only as a man of integrity and standing, but as a faithful and
consistent Christian. But I have nowhere seen allusion to Mr.
Dodge's mother, to whom he was probably more indebted than to
any one else for his early training in the ways of truth and duty, and
for the impressions that led him in his youth to the service of the
Saviour, and prepared him for the eminent excellence and usefulness
of his later life.
" Mrs. Dodge was not only a woman of sound judgment and
remarkably good common-sense, but, above all, an eminentiy faith
ful Christian. Especially she was a praying woman, living very
near to the Throne of Grace, and praying not only for, but with, her
children, and doing all in her power to lead them, in their earUest

28o CHARACTERISTICS.
days, to devote themselves to the Saviour. A friend who knew
her well once said to the writer : ' If there was ever a praying
woman on earth, it was Mrs. Dodge ; and her earnest and con
stant prayer was that her children might be faithful Christians.'
And another said of her that ' she was so deeply importunate in
prayer that at times it seemed as if she would faint in the closet,
and so earnest in pleading with God for her chUdren that, with
Jacob, she seemed to say, " I wUl not let thee go except thou bless
me." ' And her life was fully consistent with her teachings and
prayers, so that by precept and example, with prayer and parental
authority, she led her chUdren to the service of Christ."
No one ever knew Mr. Dodge intimately, or even be
came a transient guest in his family, without discovering
that of all his engaging qualities, the most marked and
beautiful was his daily tender and glowing devotion to
the one who had so long and lovingly stood at his side.
No place could be attractive to him without her presence ;
no joy was complete unless shared with her. Into every
dark cloud of anxiety or grief she entered hand in hand
with him, and the path must be gloomy indeed if her quick
sympathy and devout spirit could not help to find some
ray of heavenly comfort.
They counselled with each other upon every subject of
family or personal concern. They were almost invariably
seen together in public. On his business journeys as well
as all others, she was his constant companion ; and in his
extensive and complicated transactions he was often glad
to have the aid of her sound judgment and ready percep
tion of right. Let the worry and fatigues of his down- town
life be what they might, — and they were frequently ex
hausting beyond the experience of many, — he was sure
to find waiting for him at home a glad smile of welcome
and a loving intuition that understood when to speak of
the known or presumed burdens, or how to make them,
if possible, quite forgotten. This unwearying regard was
warmly reciprocated, and her happiness was his first

CHARACTERISTICS. 28 1
thought in all he did. He observed in his intercourse
with every one the small attentions and courtesies which
help to make common life enjoyable; but to her these
numberless loving services were rendered with a thought
fulness and alacrity that told of a union of heart as nearly
perfect as human experience probably ever knows.
A friend, recalling some of Mr. Dodge's personal traits,
speaks of sitting beside him at a religious celebration in
the Academy of Music. During the interval before the
exercises began, Mr. Dodge was evidently uneasy, rising
from time to time and looking over the audience. At last
he turned to his friend and remarked, " I told my wife
I should watch for her coming." He presently discovered
her in a box above him ; and having caught her eye and
smiled a greeting, he seemed wholly satisfied, and was
ready to enjoy the services of the evening.
Every letter written to her during their occasional sep
arations was certain to contain some tender injunctions
respecting her health and comfort; and to the last his
unceasing and thoughtful care of her always seemed to
their intimate friends like " the ardent devotion of a young
lover." In his will repeated and positive directions are
given that the large provision made for her should have
precedence of all other legacies or interests.
It may perhaps be allowable to give a few extracts from
one of his letters to her, written on an anniversary of their
wedding-day. It is dated Phelps's Mills, Pa., June 24,
1854: —
" Can it be possible that twenty-six years have passed away since
we were united in that blessed bond which made us one ! How
the days have flown ! I cannot realize it. In the retrospect it ap
pears but a very few years ; yet how many have been the changes !
How much cause we have to bless God for his constant mercies I
Ours, it seems to me, has been (more than is the general lot) one
of almost uninterrupted enjoyment of married life. We have had
our seasons of deep affliction ; but even then the sweet confidence

282 CHARACTERISTICS.
which has existed between us has made a kind of joy amid sorrow,
and enabled us to bear each other's troubles. And when we could
go together to pour out our hearts in prayer to our Heavenly Father,
how we have gained strength to submit with cheerfulness to God's
providence, and how has the fact that we had a common God and
Saviour to go to, cemented our love to each other, and given a
character to all our enjoyments they could otherwise never have
had ! Should God spare us half as many more years as these
twenty-six which have now so pleasantly and rapidly passed, where
shall we be, and where will our sons be, if they live ? I shaU then
be an old man of sixty-two /"
Twenty-four years after the date of this letter, Mr. and
Mrs. Dodge celebrated their " golden wedding," — June 24,
1878. Some extracts will be taken from the accounts in
the New York newspapers, and a portion of Mr. Dodge's
own remarks will also be given. He wrote them out be
forehand ; but when he came to speak, his emotions pre
vented him from repeating all he had prepared. Yet the
thoughts he carefully put upon paper reveal the more
clearly how deep and true was his appreciation of the one
who had been his loving companion for fifty years : —
" The boom of guns fired yesterday afternoon from two yachts,
the 'Skylark' and ' Florence Witherbee,' lying at anchor in the Hud
son, off Tarrytown, awoke the inhabitants of that somnolent viUage
to the fact that their most prominent townsman, Hon. WUliam E.
Dodge, was celebrating with appropriate ceremonies the fiftieth
anniversary of his wedding with Melissa Phelps. For weeks the
approaching festivities had formed the one theme of neighborly
gossip, and the day of their culmination was regarded as a sort of
general fete-day for the viUage. Nearly a thousand invitations
had been issued, and guests began to arrive in the eariy morning
from all parts of the country, though the majority of them were
from this city. The Dodge mansion, with its spacious grounds, is
high on the hill-side overlooking the Hudson, and half a mile south
of the village. The view from the veranda is magnificent, embra
cing wide sweeps of the broad river, and the blue western hills be
yond. The grounds are a happy mingUng of close-cut lawn, dotted

-O^'t^ (V-T^'^

CHARACTERISTICS. 283
with groups of noble trees, briUiant beds of flowers, and smooth,
gravelled walks and driveways. The house is of brick, many gabled,
roomy, and comfortable. Its chief beauty is in broad verandas
that completely encircle it. Yesterday it was one mass of flowers
and aromatic evergreens within and without. Flowers were every
where ; they were twined into arches over the doorways, they filled
vases and baskets, and stood in great fragrant bunches wherever
room could be found for them. Many floral designs of exquisite
taste and workmanship, appropriate to the occasion, were scattered
about the house in lavish profusion. The verandas without were
masses of flowers, and the warm air was heavy with their perfume.
Midway down the long drive, between the house and the entrance
to the grounds at the head of a tiny lake, was a triumphal arch of
evergreens, flowers and flags, under which all guests passed on
their way to the hospitable mansion. In immortelles, on either
face ofthe arch, were the figures 1828 and 1878.
" A similar decoration, wrought in roses, was over the steps lead
ing to the main entrance of the house. On the lawn a handsome
marquee had been pitched. Above the wide porch was another
cushioning of green, and here the initials ofthe old-time bride and
groom were worked out in flowers, — W. E. D., and M. P.
" The formal reception-hours were from 2 untU 7 p. m. ; but at
noon the members of the family, relatives, and intimate friends
gathered in the drawing-room. There were Mr. and Mrs. Dodge
and their seven sons with their families. There are fourteen grand
children in all; but yesterday only nine were at the celebration.
The intimate friends present were the Rev. Dr. M. R. Vincent, of
the Church of the Covenant, Mr. Dodge's pastor ; the Rev. Drs.
WUliam Adams and H. Eaton ; E. C. Stedman, who is a nephew
of Mr. Dodge ; Hon. William Walter Phelps ; Mrs. E. C. Kinney,
Mr. Dodge's only surviving sister ; Mrs. James Stokes, Mrs. Charles
F. Pond, Norman White, and Mrs. Thomas Egleston. The last five
persons named were also present at the wedding, which took place,
June 24, 1828, at No. 32 Cliff Street, New York, the home of the
bride. Norman White acted as groomsman.
"The ceremonies of the golden wedding-day began with the
christening of the youngest son of Mr. Dodge's youngest son
Arthur, an infant only six or seven weeks old. It was named
Murray Witherbee, after an old college friend of its father. This

284 CHARACTERISTICS.
ceremony was performed by the Rev. D. Stuart Dodge, an uncle
of the child, the water being held in a sUver vessel by another of
the family. Beside its mother stood its grandfather, ex-postmaster
General JeweU.
"The short but beautiful service was followed by an adjourn
ment to the dining-room, where a collation was spread.
" After the christening-breakfast had been eaten, the famUy party
gathered in the drawing-room again. WUUam E. Dodge, Jr., being
the eldest son, acted as master of ceremonies, and after a few
words of congratulation to his father and mother, asked Dr. Vin
cent to pray ; and then Mr. WilUam E. Dodge, Sr., spare in figure,
with white hair and whiskers, but erect and full of vigor, told the
simple story of the wedding of fifty years ago.
" My DEAR Children, Grandchildren, and Friends,
— We have invited you to join with us to-day in a tribute
of thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father for the special
mercy which has prolonged our lives and permitted us to
look back upon a married Hfe of fifty years.
" Our song this morning is, — ' Bless the Lord, O our
souls, and forget not all his benefits ; ' ' Surely goodness
and mercy have foHowed us all the days of our lives.' We
feel that, under God, we owe all we are to the tender, faith
ful care of our godly parents, who from infancy dedicated
us to God, and by constant Christian watchfulness and
prayer brought us up in his fear, and rejoiced to see us in
early youth consecrate ourselves to his service, — both
uniting with the church the same year.
" The intimacy existing between our families led to an
early acquaintance and interest in each other, which ripened
into an attachment long before the formal engagement
that resulted in our marriage on the 24th of June, 1828.
As we had never known any other attachment, ours was
one of real affection; and we can truly say to-day that
however strong it was then, these fifty years of married life
have only tended to increase it from year to year. It has
grown brighter and brighter to this golden day.
" We have not passed through these long years without

characteristics. 285
our trials. There have been days of darkness and afflic
tion ; but we desire to-day to record our testimony to the
goodness of our Heavenly Father that he has never left
nor forsaken us. We have always found the mercy-seat
our place of resort and refuge, and ' God a present help in
trouble.' " And we say, for the sake of our children and grand
children, that from the beginning of our married life we
have always been frank and open between ourselves in all
our Christian experience, talking freely to each other, and
often praying together for special blessings upon ourselves
and children ; and as we now look back we feel that this
loving Christian confidence has been one of the very pre
cious features of our married life. It may also be proper
on such an occasion to say to our dear descendants that
as we think of these happy fifty years, there has never
been anything in our intercourse which to-day leaves a
dark spot we would wish to forget. It has been a life of
true devotion to each other, so that long since we have
come to act and almost think as one. We early learned
to respect each other's opinions and judgment, and to
avoid all kinds of disputes and contentions for our indi
vidual views, consulting together in regard to all matters
in which each had an interest. We have always watched,
even in little things, to do all in our power to add to each
other's happiness, and never allow even an impolite word
or anything to dampen our mutual respect and love. We
have thus been able to sympathize with each other and
bear each other's burdens ; and in reviewing the past, we
are bound in gratitude to God to state, that while we have
not, as a general thing, had those rapturous seasons of
heavenly anticipations with which some have been favored,
we have for the most part, during all these years, enjoyed
a firm hope and steady confidence, trusting alone to the
mercy of God through Jesus Christ. Our daily Bible and
devotional reading have become more and more precious

286 CHARACTERISTICS.
to US as each year has passed ; and we have found it a
great comfort and joy to talk together respecting the por
tions of Scripture we were reading. Next to my hope in
God, the great blessing of rny life was the providence that
gave me a companion who, by her even, loving, tender
disposition, was just calculated to meet the need of one
naturally earnest, nervous, and driving like myself Fler
affectionate interest in all that concerned me has made
life's cares, which otherwise would have been too heavy
for me, comparatively light. I feel it due to her to say
to-day that in all these fifty years not an unkind word has
ever been spoken to me by my dear wife ; and what I am,
under God, I owe very much to our sweet intercourse
together. "Appropriate remarks foUowed from the sons. Anson G. P.
Dodge, of Georgia, who came North especiaUy to attend the
golden wedding, told of the affection and respect with which the
citizens of that and other States always mentioned his father's
name. The Rev. D. Stuart Dodge alluded with a smile to what
he termed the mythical story of the, descent of the family from the
royal race of the Stuarts. He was quite willing, he said, to take
his patent of royalty from the last generation. Turning to his
mother, he told a story of a little boy who, hearing the adage,
' An honest man is the noblest work of God,' exclaimed, ' No, no !
my mamma is the noblest work of God.' General Charles C. Dodge
spoke of the reverence and affection that had always been felt by
his brothers and himself towards their father. He was followed by
Mr. Arthur Murray Dodge ; and then Mr. William E. Dodge, Jr.,
read a poem written by Mrs. Elizabeth C. Kinney, his father's only
living sister. It was printed in gilt letters, and handsomely framed.
The writer prayed, in closing : —
' Thus may such length of days be given
This pair beloved, revered, that even
Their own lives rounded this side heaven
Complete a century ! '
" Edmund Clarence Stedman, who is a son of the poetess, was
then invited to read a poem he had prepared ; and after adding

CHARACTERISTICS. 287
his tribute to the character and example of his uncle, Mr. Dodge,
he quoted from Bunyan the narrative description of Christian and
his wife. He said that with this as a text he had prepared some
verses, which he read as follows : —
"CHRISTIAN AND CHRISTIANA.
Who has not read — what man that loved
Good English, pious speech, and valiant deed —
The rare old book in which John Bunyan proved
His poet's heart alive beneath his creed ?
Who has not in his fancy travelled long
With Christian on that ancient pilgrimage, —
Shared all his fears, and lifted up the song
After the battles it was his to wage ?
Or with brave Christiana followed on.
Choosing the path her lord had trod before,
Until the Heavenly City, almost won,
Shone like a dream beyond the River's shore ?
Well, 'tis a goodly tale, we think ; and close
The book we have from childhood read, and say :
' The age of miracles is past I Who knows
The joyous saints, the pilgrims of to-day.' '
' No light,' we say, ' like that which was of old I '
Yet still serenely shine the midnight stars ;
And there are wonders left us to behold
If we but think to look between the bars.
Even now before our eyes, his large heart warm
With the fine heat that shames our colder blood.
Stands Christian, in as true and living form
As that in which old Bunyan's hero stood.
Long since this happy pilgrim, staff in hand,
Set out ; yet not alone, for by his side
Went Christiana also toward the Land
Anear whose boundaries they now abide.
Each day less distant from the City's Gate,
Through shade and sunshine, hand in hand they pressed ;
Now combating the foes that lay in wait,
And now in pleasant meadows lulled to rest.

288 CHARACTERISTICS.
Early the Palace Beautiful they found,
Where Prudence, Charity, and Faith abide;
The Lowly Valley little had to wound
Their gentle hearts devoid of scorn and pride.
The darker Valley of the Shadow of Death
They passed ; but with them One they knew was near,
Staid by whose rod and staff the Psalmist saith
The toiling pilgrim shall no evil fear.
And many seasons afterward they dwelt
In Vanity's great city ; there, apart
From all things base and mean, they humbly knelt
With prayer upon their lips and pure of heart.
He too has fought with giants, — those that lurk
In fastnesses of want, despair, and sin ;
By day and night he did his Master's work,
Hoping a house not made with hands to win.
And Christian from the outset took
Sweet Mercy for a guide and bosom friend ;
And sought with her the poor in every nook, —
Giving as one that to the Lord doth lend.
Together thus they climbed above the pass
Where from the Hill Delectable 't is given
To gaze at moments through the .Shepherd's glass,
And catch a far-off, rapturous glimpse of heaven.
Sorrows they knew; but what delight was there,
Led oftentimes where the still waters flow,
Or in green pastures guided unaware
To trees of life that hung their fruitage low I
Now, ere the pilgrimage is ended quite,
Its weariness forgot, they seat them down
In Beulah, in a country of delight.
And rest a season ere they wear the crown.
Here, after half a century, they breathe
Air fresh from Paradise ; and here renew
Their wedding vows, while unseen watchers wreathe
For each a chaplet, sprayed with golden dew.
Blessing and blest, amidst their household group
Christian and Christiana here await
Their summons, knowing that the shining troop
Will bear to each a token, soon or late.

CHARACTERISTICS. 289
And we who gather near, — ourselves too blind
To see undazed the light of Heaven's grace, —
Their well-loved visages behold, and find
A bright reflected glory in each face.

" In commemoration of the day, Mr. Dodge afterwards presented
to his wife a large paintmg by Daniel Huntington, N. A., iUustrat-
ing the story of Christiana and her chUdren.
" The Rev. Dr. WilUam Adams and the Rev. Dr. H. Eaton, of
Palmyra, N. Y., both old friends of Mr. Dodge, tendered their con
gratulations in brief speeches. A poem written by a neighbor,
Mrs. Bottome, read by WilUam E. Dodge, Jr., ended the exercises.
" By this time the friends from the city began to arrive. They
came by a special train, which had left New York an hour before.
" One by one the carriages whirled up the graveUed avenue
under the arch and deposited their gayly dressed loads at the
main entrance of the house. Several hundred persons were soon
scattered about the grounds and in the house. They were gradu
ally collected in the flower-decked drawing-rooms, where, in front
of a great floral screen bearing their names and the date of their
wedding-day, stood the happy pair in whose honor the festival was
given. " At noon the sky had been overcast, and rain was threatening.
But when the guests arrived, fiUing the house and overflowing
through the broad piazzas into the grounds, the clouds had disap
peared, the sky was blue, and the sun shone out brightly. A por
tion of Thomas's orchestra sat under the trees and furnished music.
Relatives and the more intimate friends of the family, sufficient to
make a gay party, remained through the early evening and en
joyed the fireworks from the yachts, the illumination of the groves,
and the open-air concert of the band. During the day nearly six
hundred guests tendered their congratulations to Mr. and Mrs.
Dodge, and wished them long Ufe and continued prosperity."
Referring to this memorable family occasion, the Rev.
Dr. Field wrote in "The Evangelist," June 27, 1878: —
" There are some bright scenes in this world, with aU its sadness
and sorrow ; but not many brighter or happier than was witnessed
on Monday at a beautiful residence on the banks of the Hudson,
19

290 CHARACTERISTICS.
when WiUiam E. Dodge and his wffe celebrated their golden wed
ding, surrounded by children and grandchUdren and a host of
friends who came to offer their congratulations. It was a scene
that must have been to them fuU of tender and grateful memories.
Fifty years before they had stood side by side in the freshness of
their young manhood and womanhood, and begun the journey of
Ufe together. They laid the foundation of happiness, not merely
in their mutual love and trust, but in a common Christian faith and
hope. The Rev. Dr. Gardiner Spring performed the ceremony,
and they were married in the old mansion of Anson G. Phelps,
which stood in Cliff Street, nearly opposite to where the house of
Phelps, Dodge, & Co. now stands. How Uttle they dreamed, when
they went forth from her father's house, of what was before them I
" Few men in this country have had such a long career of pros
perity, and fewer stiU one in which prosperity has brought more of
good to others as weU as to himself. Wealth has not been made
to minister merely to pride and selfishness, but has been used gen
erously to promote every good object, to reheve every form of
suffering and distress, and to help every wise charity and every
object of Christian benevolence.
"During the years of his active business life he has seen the
beginning and growth of almost every enterprise for the good of
the city or the country, or for the advancement of religion ; and he
has had a part in aU. New York has had no more public-spirited
citizen ; he has always been ready to bear his part in the promo
tion of every object which was for the city's good, while in the
Church all have leaned upon him. We doubt if there is an Amer
ican mission in any part of the world wliich has not shared in his
munificence. " We do not violate any confidence when we say, what is knovra
to their intimate friends, that in aU his career of benevolence,
which has hardly a paraUel in this country, Mr. Dodge has had the
constant support of a noble womanly heart which is as generous
as his own. Possessing weakh in her own right, it has been her
deUght to share in every great object of benevolence which en
gaged his attention, while in the relief of the poor and the suffering,
her help has flowed out in a hundred unseen charities. It is this
which, more than great wealth, has made their names so honored
and beloved, which on this day of joy has led thousands to 'joy

CHARACTERISTICS. 291
in their joy,' and made them richer than ever before, as it has
caused to flow in upon them such a tide of love and gratitude.
" Mr. Dodge has already completed his threescore years and
ten, and yet his eye is not dim, nor his natural strength abated.
He is StiU in his full vigor, with erect form and elastic step, and
sympathies as easily moved as ever. Age has not chilled his warm
heart's blood, and we trust that with the partner of his Ufe he may
be spared another decade at least, to celebrate his 'diamond
wedding ; ' and so, as the sUver has akeady turned to gold, and
the gold turns to diamond, the diamond itself may change at last
to what is brighter stUl, — the immortal crown ! "

CHAPTER XX.
PERSONAL HABITS.— BENEVOLENCE.— HOSPITALITY.
— LAST LABORS. — DEATH.
MR. DODGE was always abstemious in his habits,
and consequently enjoyed almost unvarying good
health. Among the personal items in the " New York
Tribune" (Nov. i, 1882), some three months previous to
his death, aUusion was made to his sustained vigor : —
" They talk of a hale old age among public men in England.
Can any one' of them surpass this ? The Hon. WiUiam E. Dodge,
born somewhere near the beginning of the century, and for nearly
sixty years the most conspicuous figure in the temperance cause, of
whose great National Society he has long been the president, an
nounces the following programme of a day's temperance campaign
which would try the stoutest young campaigner. He wiU leave
New York Friday noon ; speak at Port Morris at three ; take a lo
comotive, and speak at Dover at seven ; take a locomotive again,
and speak at Boonton at half-past eight ; and return to town that
night. The object is to give his opinion to the local temperance
societies as to the wisdom of running a separate temperance ticket
in Morris County this year."
Mr. Dodge possessed an unusual capacity for con
tinuous and varied work, and also the somewhat rare
faculty of being able to concentrate his entire attention
upon one topic until he had reached a decision or was
called away, and then to become equally and immediately
absorbed in the next matter in hand. And no doubt the
necessity of turning rapidly from one subject to another in
the management of his extensive interests gave a degree

PERSONAL HABITS. 293
of relief that assisted him to accomplish so much without
apparent overstraining.
But while unsparing in the use of his own strength, he
was prompt to notice when others were exhausting theirs,
and he took special satisfaction in aiding friends, ministers,
or any one in his employ, or connected with the boards or
societies in which he was interested, to have their regular
or occasional seasons of recreation.
He was economical in his personal expenditure, and
always anxious to encourage others in the habit of saving.
At the close of his address upon " Old New York " he
spoke of the elements of success in mercantile life, and
stated it as his conviction that —
" All young men should aim to save something each year, even
at the expense of a Umited wardrobe and many little things which
they think necessary. If there were none but young men here, I
would say that from the first year when I entered a store, with a
salary of fifty dollars, to my last year, when as a salesman I re
ceived, for those days, very large pay, I never failed to save a por
tion of what I received ; and when I started in business that sum
and my experience were all my capital."
In a letter to a young relative, remonstrating at his ex
travagance, Mr. Dodge refers to his own early experience : —
" When I was married and went to housekeeping in the city, our
entire expenses, including house-rent, for the first three years, aver
aged only twelve hundred and fifty dollars a year. I had just
commenced business on my own account with the capital I had
carefuUy saved during my eight years' clerkship, as in all that time
I had been most economical ; and since I was twelve years old
have never had fifty dollars that I did not earn myself."
The habit of loosely running into debt was most repug
nant to Mr. Dodge, but it seemed to him that students and
ministers should especially avoid the practice. He often
preferred, if the circumstances would justify it, to give
part, or all, of a sum needed, rather than lend it. To a
young minister who asked for a loan he replies : —

294 • LETTERS OF ADVICE.
" It wiU not be convenient for me to make you the loan desired ;
but I enclose you a check for a hundred doUars, which you wiU
please accept. I do not Uke to be instrumental in helping a min
ister carry a debt. I trust, by great effort, you wiU be able to pay
off your present obUgations within the next two years, and then,
find it possible to act on the apostoUc injunction, ' Owe no man
anything but love.' "
He thus writes to a young physician who has discredit
ably failed in his last place of practice, and whom he is
helping to go West, chiefly for the sake of a widowed
mother : —
" If you wiU make up your mind hereafter to do your duty and
act like a straightforward man ; resolve to die rather than contract
debt; live in a simple, plain way; give up your fooUsh idea of
dress ; talk but little of yourself, but ' let your works praise you ; '
refuse everything in the way of stimulants ; be honest, truthful, and
industrious, — in six months you can get practice enough to sup
port your family in the manner other country doctors live, and from
that you can advance to occupy almost any position you please.
But go into a place, talk large, live high, run into debt every
chance you can get, and you may depend on the displeasure of
God and the contempt of every honest man."
He gives this frank and wholesome advice (February,
1849) to a young friend who was eager to start for the
gold mines just discovered in California: —
" I regret to find that the fever caUed here ' yellow fever ' has
reached your secluded place. It is the strangest delusion that
ever came over a people. Our streets are crowded with young
men from aU parts of the country, coming to take passage for the
land of gold. I say to you honestly, if you can be sure of potatoes
to eat and straw for a bed where you are, do not think of California.
I beUeve at least half who go there wiU die within a year, and the
balance would give their weight in gold, if they had it, to get back
again. If you are determined, at aU hazards, to go, be certain to
go by sea and take with you not less than five hundred dollars in
gold or silver to keep you alive when you get there, and to pay

BENEVOLENCE. 295
your passage home by the earUest opportunity. Get your Ufe in
sured by all means, and make your policy over to your friends, as
the chances are more than equal that they will have to collect it.
Almost every day we are receiving accounts from those who have
crossed the Isthmus, warning their friends not to come by that
route ; some have already died there. More passages are engaged
from Panama to San Francisco than can be carried, and it is esti
mated that soon thousands wiU be collected at Panama, crowded
together waiting for a steamer, and a large number will die from
cholera and other diseases caused by their situation.
" If, however, on due reflection you stiU decide to go, I wiU do
what I can to secure you a passage, although my conscience wiU
hardly permit me to aid in what appears to me so suicidal a
course. But one of the pecuUar symptoms of this disease is that
the more said against the project, the more men insist upon
going." Mr. Dodge had ample experience of the annoyances
that fall to the lot of a reputed philanthropist. Not a day
passed — at some seasons scarcely an hour — that he
was not called upon by an agent, with the ominous sub
scription-book in hand, or by a needy applicant for that
chronic " temporary loan," or some one to ask assistance
to secure a position in a store, office, society, or Govern
ment bureau, or to present an appeal, state a grievance,
or seek advice, in the familiar form always suggestive of
immediate contributions. Breakfast would hardly be over,
or dinner fairly begun, before a ring at the door would
announce a stranger perhaps, who only desired " a moment
of his valuable time," but would try to absorb an hour.
While at the office, his personal or business engagements
counted for Httle in the eyes of those who had a tale to
unfold, and wanted to insist upon telling it.
It was seldom that a mail failed to bring him at least
one letter with the usual introductory formula : " Permit
a stranger to address you upon a subject of vital import
ance " — to himself; or " You will doubtless be surprised

296 BENEVOLENCE.
to receive this from an entire stranger," — he never was
surprised ; or " Knowing your reputation for being ready
to distribute ; " or " I will begin by asking you to read my
letter to the end," and long before the end he would
naturally discover that the writer, though expressing
" much diffidence, presumes " to ask very distinctly that
" out of your abundance of this world's goods " a mortgage
of two thousand doUars should be lifted from " our house ; "
a life-insurance policy be accepted as security for a loan ;
fifteen dollars be sent " to open a gold-mine on our farm in
Georgia ; " assistance be given to start a saw-mill, or to
enable a promising young man to begin business on his
own account; to provide " an annuity which would not be
much for you to give, but much for us to have ; " to help
establish a military academy in the South, or a " cheap
weekly of high stamp," or " a coffee-room and boarding-
house for sailors ; " to build an artist's studio, on the plea
that he is a foreigner ; to set up a patent-medicine manu
factory; to give a tombstone-cutter a chance to show that
he might be one of the first sculptors in the land ; to advance
" two or three hundred dollars to increase my stock of
candies, nuts, and other articles ; " to relieve " an heiress to
a twelve-hundred-dollar debt;" to make it possible "to
print a thousand copies of my new work ; " to aid a young
lady to sell her first pictures, or a young man from England
to give elocution lessons (original poetry enclosed), or a
father to educate his daughters suitably, or a wife to carry
her invalid husband to Europe for a few months, or per
haps to assist a family in Louisiana whose lands have been
overflowed, or a man wounded in the late war, or just
discharged from the hospital, or from Sing-Sing prison.
Such appeals were the burden of scores and hundreds
of letters, generally from persons wholly unknown, and
often without references or introductions of any kind.
Requests without number came also from charitable
institutions for every conceivable malady of body or mind.

BENEVOLENCE. 297
and from organizations all over the land for objects re
Hgious, social, or national ; but, as might be supposed, by
far the larger number asked donations for some specific
form of church work, — if not to erect the original building,
then for repairs, pulpit-furniture, chandeliers, bells, fences
and flagging, horse-sheds, a parsonage, clergy-house, or
bishop's residence, or perhaps to replenish the Sunday-
school Hbrary, set up a Gospel-tent, or start some new
mission. Ingenuity seemed exhausted in devising pleas that might
prove irresistible. Pious phrases or Scriptural references
— " the cup of cold water," " lending to the Lord," or
other quotations, — were most frequently employed. Early
friendship or some introduction at a meeting or else
where would be pleaded, or the statement that the writer
did not wish to be considered " a common beggar or
vagrant," or — it might be — a challenge " to see if you
are as charitable as you are said to be."
Mention in a newspaper of any donation he may have
made, was sure to swell for weeks the receipt of such
letters ; the notice itself often being inserted, and then the
application presented in view of such " immense liberality,"
" such large ability and larger wilHngness."
Mr. Dodge would not throw aside any letter asking
assistance untU he was convinced that the merit of the
plea was in inverse ratio to its length and importunity. But
to every true manly — or womanly — call for help he rarely
failed to give glad and earnest heed ; and if it concerned
the moral or spiritual interest of an individual, a church
or community, he strove to be all the more conscientious
in examining the claim. From stress of business or other
engagements, an answer might be deferred for days or
weeks, and a dozen or more such letters would accumulate
in his pockets with his other papers, and he would carry
them back and forth from the office to the house, hoping
at one place or the other to find time to reply. And more

298 BENEVOLENCE.
frequently than is supposed, even after careful examina
tion and fuU acceptance of the justness of the call, he was
compelled to say he had already committed himself to so
many good causes that he must refuse in this instance.
Yet the necessity of declining was often perhaps as painful
to him as to the appHcant, and his letter of regret would
be more full of kindness than if it contained a check.
Exaggerated reports of the amounts he gave were
probably as common in his case as with other large
givers. He certainly never estimated the sum total him
self, and it would be impossible for any one else to make
the calculation. He gave not merely because he loved to
give, but he loved to give chiefly from the conviction, always
present with him, that his wealth did not belong to himself,
but to the Master who was willing to intrust his servant
with such responsibility. He endeavored to see his Lord's
guidance whenever he made a donation, and he could then
feel he was in reality " giving to the Lord." He thus
gained both the joy and the habit that belong to the
" cheerful giver."
An instance is mentioned by the Rev. Henry A. Nelson,
D. D., in the " Evangelist," Feb. 22, 1883, which illustrates
one of Mr. Dodge's ways of aiding a worthy cause, and
also the spirit that characterized such acts : —
" Some years ago, while I lived in St. Louis, I visited the East
in behalf of an interest of our Presbjrterian Church greatly im
perilled by the war, and needing a generous loan of several thou
sand doUars to save it. It would be a loan for which there would
be little security except Christian faith. Mr. Dodge took a deep
interest in it, and designated an hour in the evening when he would
meet half a dozen like-minded men at the Bible House, to see
what could be done. When evening came, it was raining about as
pouringly as it ever does. Mr. Dodge was not there at the hour,
and I fek that if he did not come at aU, the rain was a sufficient
excuse. But after a short time in he came, fresh and eager as usual.
He explained that he had had an engagement to speak early in the

BENEVOLENCE. 299
evening at a Mission Sunday-school meeting, and had not been
able to get away earlier. Before he left the room he placed five
thousand dollars at our disposal. I am happy to say that the loan
was repaid to him at the end of three years, although it was made
for five years. What I remember with special interest, is the genial
heartiness with which he did such things, as if it were a favor to
him. He was thankful to any friend who would help him find ways
of domg good with his money, of ' honoring the Lord with his sub
stance.' He would exert himself to improve such an opportunity
as vigorously as he would improve a legitimate opportunity to make
money." Another friend rfemarks in reference to all his bene
factions : —
" It is weU known that he gave with princely liberaUty ; but his
personal efforts and unwearied labors did more for the cause of
Christian benevolence than even his munificent gifts."
Still another writer, in a confidential letter some two
years before he died, observes : —
" I suppose, under God, you are doing more for your genera
tion by showing other rich men what wealth is lent to us for, than
even the great good of your benefactions."
Mr. Dodge was most patient and generous in giving
counsel or assistance to relatives and friends in trouble.
One of them once wrote to him : " You seem to be a kind
of Joseph raised up to keep your brethren from starva
tion." Another says of him, " He was a never-failing
friend." It is certain that a large portion of his time and
no small share of his means found continual employment
in such kind offices.
It was not merely the number of hours he would spend
in hearing long recitals of misfortune and suffering, or in
reading and replying to letters full of distressing details,
that surprised and touched those who knew him most inti
mately, but it was the persistent and tender interest one
so energetic, self-reliant, and indomitable himself, would

300 BENEVOLENCE.
manifest towards poor, weak, shiftless, it may be perverse,
souls, full of good resolutions or sanguine schemes, but
repeatedly relapsing into old habits, or faiUng from utter
incompetency, and then coming back again and again to
roll over upon him their fresh disappointments and sor
rows; and he, in the very spirit of his Master, would once
more endeavor to revive their courage and lift them up on
their trembling feet. Such a one cries to him : " I am not
able to walk alone ; though I feel confident that — pro
vided you wiU keep hold of my hand, and help me over
the rough places a little longer — the time is not far dis
tant when I shall be independent." Or if men tempo
rarily brought into pinching need from no fault of theirs,
came to him for sympathy and help, they rarely went
away without the grateful consciousness of having met a
warm heart and bountiful hand.
He was by no means without the ordinary experience
also of the thanklessness of some who proved unworthy of
his gifts ; but not seldom, in even apparently hopeless
cases, he was permitted to rejoice in the final success of
his efforts. Letters among his papers, and lives to-day
filled with happiness, or that long since closed in the midst
of comfort and in the hopes of the Gospel, bear fragrant
testimony to his Christian faithfulness. He may have been
often deceived, and perhaps have leaned to the side of
mercy more frequently than a sterner judgment might
approve; but if a collection could be presented of the
evidently sincere and overflowing expressions of gratitude
that came to him from a vast multitude of troubled or
despairing hearts in every phase of human want, — from
embarrassed friends, suffering ministers, helpless widows,
the representatives of struggling institutions, and causes of
every character and from every section of the country, —
they would in themselves form a striking memorial. But
beyond aU such records it may well be that his long pros
perity in business, his success in religious work, and his joy

FRIENDSHIP. 301
in Christ, were due, in part at least, to the continual petitions
that arose to the Throne from the grateful lips of so many
who learned to find in him the friend they needed, — certainly
the buoyant happiness that unceasingly flowed into his own
heart was a fresh proof of the sure fulfilment of the promise
that " he who waters others, shall himself be watered."
It was characteristic of him to cling to his friends with
tenacious and outspoken affection. He loved others, and
was loved in return abundantly and by great numbers. It
falls to the lot of few perhaps to have had so wide and
varied a circle of personal and warmly attached friends.
They belonged to every grade and condition of life, and
could be found in foreign lands as well as in every part of
his own country. He met every one cordially and simply,
without any trace of affectation or air of offensive superior
ity. It was not difficult for him to adapt himself to the
company in which he happened to be at the moment. He
could enter heartily and at once into whatever interested
others, and it was not merely because he was fortunate in
possessing an amiable disposition, — he had learned to
forget himself There was also a transparent genuineness
in his character that attracted young and old. It could
be justly said of him : " Profession and inward feeling cor
responded. He was the same at the centre as at the
circumference." He was singularly happy in giving reproof He spoke
or wrote at such times with so much tenderness and deli
cacy, so frankly and yet so utterly without officiousness or
assumption of extraordinary sanctity, that offence seemed
almost impossible. The sting of the accusation was gone.
There was room for little else but confession and self-con
demnation. When he was still a young man he received
a letter acknowledging the justice of some charges he had
felt obHged to make; and the writer closes with these
words : " My sincere prayer is that when you stand before
the judgment-seat of Christ, and the evidences of your

302 • SYMPATHY.
Christian character are required, this letter which you have
written to me in so kind and faithful and Christian a spirit,
may be brought up before angels and men." He was
always anxious to avoid wounding the feelings of others,
and he sometimes seemed to find or make it less difficult
than most men to live up to the Gospel standard of loving
one's enemies. When accusations were brought against
him in public or private, or when he had received any
unprovoked and deliberate injury, he would usually try to
suggest some charitable construction ; and unless justice per
emptorily demanded it, the offender was seldom prosecuted,
while the first honest indication of repentance or desire for
reconcihation saw him ready to extend a forgiving hand.
He was a bright and cheery visitor in the sick-room,
and was himself an admirable nurse. When bereavement
darkened the home of a friend, he was generally among
the earliest to offer sympathy and to carry to those who
were mourning, the comfort born of his own Christian
faith and his frequent personal experience of sorrow.
Shortly after his death, a letter to his wife, conveying
expressions of sympathy, quoted words Mr. Dodge him
self had used to the writer when under a somewhat similar
affliction : —
" I want you, my dear friend, to know how deeply Mrs. Dodge
and myself sympathize with you. May He who has so suddenly
afflicted, grant you the support which none but He can give. Try
and be thankful for all the blessings of the past which you have
unitedly enjoyed, and tmst the same kind Hand (who does not
afflict willingly) for all the future."
It was a pleasure for Mr. Dodge to offer the hospitah-
ties of his home. He particularly enjoyed any opportunity
to entertain Christian friends, and one would continually
find at his table ministers, missionaries, and men and
women engaged in religious and.benevolent work. Friends
from England were often his guests. The Rev. Newman

HOSPITALITY. 303
Hall, LL.B., of London, spent many weeks under his roof,
and was warmly beloved by Mr. Dodge for his personal
qualities, his evangelical spirit and labors, and for his
efforts, emphatically during the late war, to strengthen the
ties of friendship between Great Britain and the United
States. Mr. Dodge co-operated heartily in securing funds
for the erection of Lincoln Tower in connection with Christ
Church, where Mr. Hall preaches to large congregations,
and where such a monument to the martyred President
would honor the cause of freedom and emancipation, and
stand also as a lasting testimony to the true sentiments of
regard existing between the people of the two countries.
The Rev. WiUiam Arthur, D.D., one of the prominent
leaders of the Wesleyan Church in England, and with whom
an acquaintance was formed during an Atlantic voyage, re
mained part of a winter at Mr. Dodge's house in the city,
and prepared there his work entitled " The Tongue of
Fire." On his return home, he wrote from London, Feb. i,
1856: —
" I have no terms strong enough in which to convey my grati
tude and affection to the family circle at Dodge HaU, Murray HiU.
Never shall I forget those deUghtful days of repose, comfort, and
Christian cheerfulness, during which I so steadily rose from feeble
ness to strength. Many a time wiU my prayers go up that peace
may ever crown that cheerful home and the onward way of aU the
younger members ofthe house."
At the country home in Tarrytown, also, Mr. and Mrs.
Dodge welcomed many friends from abroad. Sir Charles
Reed, for many years chairman of the London School
Board, was their guest, both in the city and country, at the
time of the general convention of the Evangelical Alliance
in 1873.
In reply to an invitation to visit Tarrytown once more
before sailing, he writes from Newburyport : " Your kind
ness does not surprise me, and your argument decides me.
I have a yearning to come again under your roof; " and

304 SOCIAL INFLUENCE.
from the steamer, as he was nearing England, he writes
to thank Mr. Dodge for pleasant introductions to fellow-
passengers : " How I sigh for my dear home, you may
imagine. How I regret the parting with dear American
friends, I can never tell. I wish I could think it possible
that in the providence of God I might see Tarrytown again."
The Rev. John Stoughton, D.D., who was a guest at the
same time, writes from London, Oct. 30, 1873 : —
" What shaU I say in return for aU your kindness, love, and
hospitaUty? My heart is overflowing with gratitude to you and
our heavenly Father. May he abundantly bless you and yours,
and return into your bosoms a thousandfold for aU your attentions.
Madison Avenue and Tarrytown wiU always Uve brightly and beau
tifully in my memory. My dear love to your wife and family,
whom I shaU ever prize amongst my most preckjus friends."
The visits of others also from England were cherished
by Mr. and Mrs. Dodge as delightful memories.
A friend from New York, belonging to a different relig
ious body, and who had come out with a party to spend
the day at their home on the Hudson, speaks of the influ
ence Mr. and Mrs. Dodge were exerting in extending such
hospitalities : —
" Do you know how much you are doing in your quiet way to
meUow the spirit of Christian sociability? How strange it is that
in our narrow denominationaUsm we so often fancy that we alone
are of the elect ! To you has been so blessedly given the opportu
nity of exemplifying the ' common salvation ' and the grace that
makes aU one in Him."
Mr. Dodge obeyed, to the fuUest extent, the injunction,
" Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy
might." This was even the more intensified during the
last one or two years of his life, as if the shadows of the
coming night, when earthly work must cease, were uncon
sciously gathering about him. Any duty pressing upon
his mind was discharged at the first opportunity, particu-

HIS "MOTTO." 305
larly if it concerned the spiritual welfare of any one. Two
or three letters on religious subjects, addressed to friends
not long before his death, were written on Sunday even
ings, when, though somewhat exhausted, he felt such a
weight of anxiety that he aroused himself and said, with
characteristic earnestness, " I will' do it now."
A friend temporarily at the South, writing the day after
Mr. Dodge's death, refers to one of these evidences of
affectionate faithfulness : —
" I had received and read the most tender letter from him, and
of such wise admonition that I could but believe it the offering of
a most earnest friend. A short half-hour later, and the message
came that the hand which penned it, had ceased its work. It was
impossible to believe it untU again repeated by telegraph."
In trying to counsel or encourage others, Mr. Dodge,
in his later years, frequently quoted a verse he found in
the corner of a newspaper when he was travelling in the
cars. " It has no name," — he writes to one he was
urging " to try it," — " and it was only a single verse ; but
both wife and I committed it to memory, and have repeated
it many hundred times since, and it has been a wonderful
comfort : — " Build a full, firm fence of faith
All about to-day,
Fill it in with useful works,
And within it stay.
Look not through the sheltering bars,
Anxious for to-morrow ;
God will help, whatever comes,
Be it joy or sorrow."
Among others, Mr. Dodge repeated this verse to the
pastor of a New York mission church in which he was
much interested, and where he was well known. The
incident and verse were referred to in an address to the
congregation ; and so many inquiries were made for it that
it was printed for the benefit of the people, who always
called it " Mr. Dodge's motto."

306 REGARD FOR THE SABBATH.
It was a remark of Bishop HaU that " God will not
glorify himself with cowards. As the timorous shall be
without the gates of heaven, so shall they be without the
lists of God's field." Mr. Dodge could not be classed
among the timorous. He had both physical and moral
courage. Dangers encountered in the path of duty gave
him little anxiety. In his constant travels, and at other
times, exigencies were resolutely faced that some might
have tried to avoid; while in questions that involved
principle, few doubted where he would stand.
When it was announced that the Hell Gate explosion
to remove a reef impeding navigation would take place on
Sunday, Mr. Dodge published in the "Tribune" an open
letter to the engineer in charge, protesting against the
selection of such a day for this public display, pronoun
cing it a needless desecration by an officer of the Govern
ment. A discourteous reply was returned, and considerable
comment was occasioned in the papers, the better senti
ment of the community, however, fully sustaining Mr.
Dodge. The course he pursued in retiring from railroad
corporations that persisted in violating the Sabbath, has
already been mentioned. He joined with others in remon
strating against the opening of public exhibitions on the
Sabbath, and he used his influence to preserve its sacred
character in manufacturing and other companies with
which he was connected. At one time he examined care
fully into the possibility of stopping blast-furnaces on Sun
day. He made extensive iriquiries in this country and in
England, and once offered five hundred dollars to those in
charge of a certain furnace if they would discover some
method by which work could be suspended during that
day. He was finally compelled to accept the conclusion
that, at present, such labor must be regarded as necessary,
although unquestionably much might be done to lessen
the amount of work. He regarded the Sabbath as an
institution resting upon Divine authority and to be

REGARD FOR THE SABBATH. 307
devoted to the worship of God and the spiritual interests of
men ; at the same time he claimed that its due observance
would bring physical and economical profit to all. Yet
his views of the obligations of the day were not such as to
prevent him from doing anything that charity or mercy
clearly demanded, or that might be essential for the public
welfare. The following incident was related after His
death : —
" Colonel Legrand B. Cannon was chief of staff for General
Wool at the outbreak of the war, and did as much as any other one
man in New York to secure the equipment and despatch of troops
to the seat of war. On Sunday, April 28, 1861, a littie over a week
after the assault by the Baltimore mob on the Massachusetts Sixth,
Colonel Cannon went to the house of a friend in Fifth Avenue to
state an urgent case to him. In substance he said to him : ' You
are weU acquainted with WiUiam E. Dodge, — his intimate friend.
Our great need here is arms for our troops. I have found in
Canada twenty-five thousand stand of arms, which we can get
as a loan if we give an indemnity bond for their return, or that they
will be paid for. I can obtain aU the signers I want if Mr. Dodge
wiU sign it. I know he would sign it on Monday, but I know
how strict he is about Sunday. Yet the matter is urgent. If I can
get the bond ready to-night, I can have the arms here in three
days.' The friend undertook to go with him to Mr. Dodge. The
Colonel stated his case there as eloquently as before, and Mr.
Dodge tumed to his desk and signed the bond, saying as he did
so, ' I do not see how I could do a better deed on Sunday.' "
To Mr. Dodge personally, the Sabbath was, in everj'
sense, the chief day of the week. He joyfully welcomed
its dawning ; and when he came down to join the family, his
face usually wore a bright expression of restfulness and
glad expectation. He seemed to lay aside ahogether the
wearisome burdens of the week, and to find inexpressible
relief in entering eagerly upon the privileges and duties of
the day. It was to him no time for mere leisure. At the
common morning supplications he would often use the

308 DEVOTIONAL READING.
words, "This is the day the Lord hath made; we will
rejoice and be glad in it." It is " the holy of the Lord, and
honorable." And he endeavored to honor it by holy
activity and religious services and conversation, and by
such reading as would insure .spiritual improvement. At
the period when two sessions of the Sunday-school were
held, he was present at both, and also at church morning
and afternoon, while the evening was specially devoted to
his children. When he ceased to be a superintendent he
sometimes made addresses at mission-schools or evange
listic meetings in the afternoon or evening. More time
was given to the study of the Bible on that day, with the
aid of Henry Scott, or Barnes, or some other commen
tator. The "Observer" and the " EvangeHst" were sure
to be read, and perhaps a missionary magazine, or some
biography or religious work. His daily devotional read
ing usually included practical and suggestive explanations
of the Bible, such as the Morning and Evening Exer
cises by Jay or Spurgeon. The last book of this descrip
tion he used was entitled " Daily Light," a short collection
of passages from Scripture, illustrating themes suited for
personal meditation and quickening.
During his later years it was the custom of his children
and grandchildren, living in the city, to call at the house
on their way home from morning service ; and these family
greetings on Sabbath noons were greatly enjoyed by Mr.
Dodge, while his glad welcome made it a bright hour for
all. In later years, also, quite as much as when he was
younger, his busy life did not allow much time for the
ordinary literature of the: day ; but he was always glad to
obtain compressed information upon all important ques
tions, and when his father was living as a retired merchant,
with leisure and taste for study, Mr. Dodge would often
bring him a new book and say, " Please read this for me,
and then give me a homoeopathic dose of it." He was
always on the alert for any facts bearing upon subjects

INDIFFERENCE TO FAME. 309
which most interested him, and his pocket-book was apt
to contain a variety of slips from newspapers, with statis
tics relating to iron, lumber, railroads, temperance, Sunday-
schools, and other matter picked up in his daily reading.
Mr. Dodge concerned himself very little about his future
fame. He wished to maintain an honorable standing
among men, and he cherished a generous ambition to
excel in legitimate lines of business ; but he was absolutely
absorbed in the duties immediately at hand. Yet the vivid
sense of responsibility which marked all he did, was not
always consciously present perhaps, certainly not as a
heavy burden or harassing goad. It was a cheerful, glad
service he rendered, and he left the results to his Master.
Whether his prominence in any particular work would be
recognized by men sooner or later, or never, scarcely
seemed to enter his thoughts. Once when importuned for
a gift to some object, the applicant urged the common
plea that the proposed institution should bear his name.
His reply was promptly made : " I want nothing named
after me but my children."
He unhesitatingly and habitually attributed any success
he may have had in worldly matters or in his religious
efforts to the favor of God. Writing to the Rev. Horace
Eaton, D.D. (July 24, 1880), in reply to a letter recalling
their early associations in the Sixth Street Church, he
says : —
"Oh, how God has led us from these small beginnings, and
helped us to do something for the advancement of his cause !
Soon we shaU be done with the earthly work ; but we wiU keep
doing so long as God gives us strength."
However adverse and distracting the circumstances, this
seemed to be the prevailing attitude of his mind, — readi
ness " to do something," whatever presented itself for the
glory of God, accompanied with a firm rehance upon him
for guidance and results.

310 INTEREST IN PRAYER-MEETINGS.
A few days previous to his death, when he was still in
apparently his usual health, he was walking up and down
their long parlors with his wife, and in the conversation
made this remark : —
" Whichever of us should be taken first, let the other show a
cheerful obedience to God's wiU and go on with-our work."
It is noticeable that during the wearisome delays at
Washington, and the vexatious incidents connected with
the contest for his seat in Congress, Mr. Dodge's attention
was much occupied with religious interests at home and
elsewhere. He writes to his wife, Washington, March
17, 1866: —
" Your kind letters, almost daily received, give me real joy, and
make it easier to bear the separation. I am delighted to hear of
the continued interest in the prayer-meetings at our church, and
can but hope it may extend to all the churches. Our dear son is
ever on my mind, and my prayers go up with yours daily that God
would come into our family. I had a letter yesterday from the
President of Dartmouth CoUege. There is a precious work going
on among the students, and his study is often visited by those who
ask what they shaU do to be saved, — one, an infidel, has come out
brightly, and wiU devote his Ufe to the ministry. Two letters from
Auburn, from my students, speak of the great work in Elmira and
other places in western New York."
On the 19th of March he again writes: —
" I am again disappointed and very much tried, but hope I may
stiU submit with good grace. I had every reason to expect the
report would be presented this morning ; but the Democratic mem
ber asked for more time, and I now see plainly that another week
wiU be used up. I attended a very interesting prayer-meeting at
Dr. Smith's lecture-room. A good deal of feeUng was apparent
there, and I talked with two dear girls, one twelve and the other
fourteen, their mother sitting with them. When the meeting was
over, I asked them a few questions ; and they at once became
affected, and Dr. Smith and myself remained and talked and

NO DREAD OF DEATH. 311
prayed with them. They were members of the Sunday-school and
very inteUigent."
Again on the 22d : —
"Let us aU keep near the Mercy-seat, pleading that our dear one
may press forward and at once submit to the Saviour. I long to
be with you, but cannot yet."
Also on the 27th : —
" I am attending the prayer-meetings every evening, and find it
a great comfort when deprived of the privilege at home. The
pastor seems much encouraged by my being among his people,
and I trust God will make me useful. I cannot but hope my case,
which was yesterday reported and ordered to be printed and set
down for Thursday, wiU come up and be decided. One of my
opponent's friends moved to put it off two weeks ; but the House
would not entertain the proposition. I look for a severe struggle,
but leave it for those who now have it in charge, and more
than all in the hands of that kind Providence to whom I have
committed it."
While he had no anxious dread of death, it was far from
his expectation that any sudden summons would come.
Apparently he had anticipated a closing scene in the quiet
of his own chamber and surrounded by those he loved.
He wrote in regard to the Rev. Dr. William Adams,
whom he warmly esteemed : —
" I have felt since his death that I had lost one of my dearest
friends. I had hoped he would have lived to be at my bedside
when caUed to look death in the face ; and I had told my wife
that, next to my own family, I wanted Dr. Adams to hold my hand
and give me his sweet words as I passed away."
The last few months of Mr. Dodge's life saw no abate
ment of his accustomed activity, and the few days previ
ous to the final week of confinement to the house- were
unusually filled with engagements, although there was a
perceptible loss of strength, and what he accomplished was
rather from his habitual and indomitable force of will. In

312 LAST DAYS.
addition to his ordinary business matters, there were just
at that time some questions that required special atten
tion. He was also occupied with his religious and benev
olent efforts. Among other appointments, he attended,
January 29, the annual meeting of the trustees of the
Syrian Protestant College, of which he was treasurer. On
the evening of the 30th he delivered a long address at the
Union Tabernacle in Thirty-fifth Street. The following
day, one of the letters he wrote was an urgent appeal to a
friend in behalf of some of the colored institutions in the
South, and in the evening he was present at a meeting of
the session of the Church of the Covenant. Thursday,
February i, Mr. and Mrs. Dodge held an afternoon recep
tion at their city residence, and it was remarked that he
never appeared more cheerful, active, and entertaining.
He always delighted to greet old friends, and on this occa
sion an unusually large number had gathered. In the
evening of the same day, although evidently fatigued, he
complied with the special request of Mr. Peter Cooper to
aid him in presiding at a great public meeting in Cooper
Union Hall in favor of the protection of American indus
tries. He was at his office the next day, and in the after
noon attended a directors' meeting of a railway company,
but chiefly to assist in securing the promotion of a young
man in whom he was interested. That evening he went
to the preparatory lecture at his own church. Saturday
morning he was occupied at the house with a long consul
tation in reference to one of his largest lumber properties,
and in the afternoon he accompanied his wife to visit the
lately established Home for Inebriate Women. While
there he was seized with violent pain. Remedies applied
by the physician in charge of the institution gave tempo
rary relief, and Mr. Dodge returned at once to his own
house. During the night and for one or two days the severe
paroxysms were repeated at intervals, but they finally ap
peared to yield to medical treatment. He spent most of

LAST DAYS. 313
the time in his library up-stairs, seeing members of the
family and occasional visitors, reading, and giving direc
tions respecting affairs at the office. His last attention to
any business was in connection with the individual prop
erty of his wife. He always made it a rule to keep her
personal pecuniary matters absolutely distinct from his
own, and he took special pride and pleasure in overseeing
their investment and accumulation. He was now anxious
to verify some accounts relating to one of these transac
tions; and though urged to defer so wearisome a task, he
spent three or four hours, aided by one of his sons, in dil
igent examination of the papers. His mind never seemed
more alert, and each calculation was followed with unusual
clearness and rapidity ; but when the final result was con
firmed he was, while much gratified, unmistakably ex
hausted. This was on Wednesday, the 7th instant. Late
that evening there were sharp returns of pain, and the
doctor again administered opiates. The next day he was
much weaker, but took some nourishment and enjoyed
seeing several friends. No special apprehension was felt,
and he himself had no thought of being compelled to re
main at home any length of time. He had already made
social and public engagements for the days immediately
before him. He was anticipating much pleasure in being
present at the dinner to be given, on the 12th of February,
by the Hon. Abram S. Hewitt in honor of Mr. Peter
Cooper's ninety-second birthday. He had been asked to
deliver on the same evening an address of welcome to
Governor St. John at a temperance mass-meeting. He had
promised to repeat, on the 13th instant, at the Calvary
Presbyterian Church, in the upper part of the city, his lec
ture on " Old New York." He had also arranged for a
journey to the South, partly with the object of visiting
some of the educational institutions among the colored
people. Upon retiring, however, he experienced a recur
rence of the former symptoms, but finally passed a com-

314 DEATH.
fortable night, and arose at almost his customary hour,
apparently much refreshed. When nearly dressed, he
asked, in his usual pleasant tone, for "Joseph's coat," — a
morning wrapper to which he gave this title on account of
its many colors. As his wife was looking for it, she heard
him speak her name in a startled, anxious manner. She
hastened to his dressing-room, to find him just sinking to
the floor. Others also heard the call, and a son near at
hand was quickly at his side and raised the fallen head
and form, while his wife ran for restoratives. One bewil
dered look from the fast-closing eyes, as if they sought
once more the beloved face and hand that had so often
brought relief, one or two short sighs, and he was beyond
all need of earthly ministrations.
Physicians were soon at the house, but only to confirm
the too-evident and overwhelming fact. Members of the
family hastily gathered, unable to believe that one so dear
had actually passed away ; and the swift tidings went forth
as a sudden and painful shock to the wide circle of friends
and the community at large.
The immediate cause was declared to be failure of the
heart to act, from exhaustion of vital force ; but this pain
less, almost instantaneous, release was recognized by all to
be a fitting end of such a life. Reference to it was fre
quent in the notices of his death.
" It was a beautiful close of a long, grand, blessed, and blessing
life. Happy, thrice happy man ! Happy in birth, youth, man-
Rev, s. I. hood, old age, and death ! He lives in a noble exam-
Prime, D.D. pje^ and mukitudes in all lands, of many colors and
climes, wiU mention his name with thanksgiving for the life and
works of one who walked with God, and was not, for God took
him." "The very last act of his long, beautiful, and blessed career
was the visit which he paid with his wife to the new Christian
Rev. T. L. Home for Intemperate Women, which was just being
Cuyler, D.D. opened in this city. On that wintry afternoon, for tiie

DEATH.

315

last time, the sweet benediction of that countenance feU upon our
city streets. From that afternoon his face, like the face of his
Divine Master, ' was as though he would go up to Jerusalem.'
When he entered his own doorway, towards the sundown, the sun
of his beneficent life was just touching the horizon.
" On Thursday, February 8, the well-known missionary. Dr.
Henry H. Jessup, called for an interview with Mr. Dodge, and
found him suffering from weakness and spasmodic pains. He said
to his beloved friend Jessup : ' Henry, take warning from me, and
stop overwork.' The next morning Dr. Jessup caUed to inquire
after his condition ; but alas ! the ' overwork ' of the grandest work
man in the land had been ' stopped,' and stopped by the finger of
the Almighty. The workman had been caught up to meet his Lord
in the air, having bequeathed to his country and the Church of
God the inheritance of his liberal gifts, his deeds, his prayers, his
stainless example, and his glorious services to God and his fellow-
men. WiUiam E. Dodge feU at last as a martyr in the cause of
his Master, Uterally worn out in ceaseless, restless, unselfish labors
for the good of others."
" He died as he would have wished, — in harness. He
dropped at his post. He was at the meeting of the session on
the Wednesday evening preceding communion of the Rev. m. r.
first Sabbath in February, and welcomed with joy- '^^'ncent, d.d.
ful tears into the fellowship of the church some young people
who had made profession of faith, and his voice led his brethren
in the closing prayer. He was in his usual place at the pre
paratory lecture on the ensuing Friday evening, Ustening with his
usual attention, and with evidences of deep feeUng. The writer
visited him on the aftemoon before his death. He was recUning
on his lounge; but his eye was bright, and he spoke with his
wonted vivacity, alluding playfully to his having transgressed in the
matter of overwork, and saying that he supposed he had been
providentiaUy stopped in order to give him time to think. He
said he was comfortably sick; and spoke with emotion of the
blessings and solaces with which he was surrounded, responding
heartily to the quotation of the dying Wesley's words, ' The best of
aU is, God is with us 1 ' The messenger found him with his lamp
burning and his loins girded. Only a few weeks before, he was at

3l6 DEATH.
the office of some company with which he was connected ; and
looking around at the portraits of the deceased members which
Uned the room, he remarked that he was almost the only one left
of the old members, and added, ' But I am ready ! ' Several years
ago he said to me, ' By the grace of God I have been entirely
dehvered from the fear of death.' "

CHAPTER XXL
FUNERAL SERVICES AND ADDRESSES.
\ FULL account of the funeral services appeared in
-*^ several of the newspapers, and will be inserted here ;
the addresses being given as they were spoken, only such
passages being omitted as refer chiefly to facts mentioned
elsewhere. " The funeral was held at the Church of the Covenant on Mon
day, the 1 2th of February, at lo a.m., and was one of the most
impressive assemblages that could be gathered from the best rep
resentatives of distinguished worth and large enterprise in aU the
land. The large edifice was thronged in every part, and many went
away, unable to gain admission. The services at the church were
preceded by a short devotional service at the house, led by a
nephew, — Dr. Erskine N. White, of New York. After the rela
tives had looked for the last time on the face of Mr. Dodge, the
cofiin was closed, and was carried by the seven sons to the hearse.
It was then taken to the Church of the Covenant, followed by car
riages containing those who had gathered at the house. The pall-,
bearers were : A. A. Low, Frederick S. Winston, John A. Stewart,
Samuel Sloane, S. B. SchieffeUn, Royal Phelps, Percy R. Pyne, John
Jay, J. D. Jones, W. A. Booth, T. B. Coddington, Samuel D. Bab
cock, James M. Brown, F. H. Cossit, and Charles Butler. They
occupied the front seats in the left aisle ; and behind them sat the
delegations from the Chamber of Commerce, the Union Theological
Seminary faculty and students, and other organizations.
" The services were begun by the Rev. Washington Choate, of
Irvington (where the famUy have their summer residence), who
offered prayer, and was foUowed by the pastor, the Rev. Marvin R.
Vincent, D.D., who gave out the hymn : —

3l8 FUNERAL SERVICES AND ADDRESSES.
" Servant of God, well done I
Rest from thy loved employ ;
The battle fought, the victory won,
Enter thy Master's joy.
" The pains of death are past,
Labor and sorrow cease ;
A life-long warfare closed, at last
His soul is found in peace.
" Soldier of Christ, well done I
Blessed be thy new employ ;
And while eternal ages run,
Rest in thy Saviour's joy.
" The Rev. Dr. S. Irenasus Prime then read from the fifteenth
chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians ; after which he
said : —
" These little books [' Daily Light '] which I hold in my hand
are made up of selections of Scripture for each day in the year.
They are the books which our departed and beloved friend was in
the habit of using ; and I wiU read a portion of the passages for
the day on which he was not, for God took him [February 9] :
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord j they rest from their labors,
and their works do follow them.
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for there is
no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou
goest. I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which
the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that
is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did
from his.
Thy sun shall no more go down ; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself :
for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning
shall be ended.
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away
tears from off all faces ; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from
off all the earth.
These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed
their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are
they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple :
and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger

FUNERAL SERVICES AND ADDRESSES. 319
no more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any
heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and
shall lead them unto living fountains of waters.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain : for the former things are passed away.
" The Rev. Dr. RosweU D. Hitchcock, President of the Union
Theological Seminary in New York, made the first address. He
said : —
" ' Another sudden death ! ' I hear some one say. But this is
not death. Twice our Lord pronounced it only sleep, — once in
Capernaum, as he pitied the Jewish elder weeping over his only
daughter, and again on his way to the tomb of Lazarus in Bethany.
' He slept an iron sleep,' says Homer of a Trojan hero slain by the
hand of Agamemnon. The metaphor was then already current.
But our Lord gave it a new significance ; and straightway the
place of burial became only a sleeping-chamber. ' Cemetery ' is a
Christian word.
" Not only is this not death, neither was it sudden. Nor can
death, in a painful sense, be sudden to any thoughtful Cliristian
man that has passed the mUestone of his threescore years. Paul,
by dying daily, had so rehearsed his martyrdom that surprise was
at last impossible. The gleam of the Roman sword at the Ostian
Gate was Uke the smile of an old and famUiar friend. So of hinn
whose name is on our lips to-day. Quite recentiy, as he stood
looking at some portraits of men whom he had known that have
passed away, he said, not boastingly, but as one who weighs his
words : ' WeU, I am ready.' Yes, he was ready, above most men
that you or I have ever known. Like Barnabas, ' He was a good
man, and fuU of the Holy Spirit and of faith.' For three days now
he has been in what we term ' the other world.' I would give aU
my books and all the studies of my life if I could only know just
now what he has learned in these three days.
" This earthly life just ended so happily, had also a very happy
beginning, full of benediction and of promise. Our departed
friend, who carried himself always so graciously, was of gentle
blood, refined and tempered through generations of outward com
fort and inward culture. The blood was English unmixed, —
Puritan English, New England English. The original American

320 FUNERAL SERVICES AND ADDRESSES.
ancestor of the family was WilUam Dodge, of Dorsetshire, in Eng
land, who came over to Salem in 1629, and was one of the found
ers of the Massachusetts Colony. WiUiam Earl Dodge was in the
seventh generation of this descent. His father, David Low Dodge,
who had been a successful merchant in Hartford, Conn., where
WUliam Earl was born Sept. 4, 1805, came that same year to New
York and established the firm of Higginson & Dodge. They had
houses in Boston, New York, Baltimore, and New Orleans, and
were the leading importers and jobbers of those days. The firm
were large ship-owners, and lost heavily by the embargo, the action
of Napoleon, and the war of 181 2. Withdrawing from the firm,
Mr. David Low Dodge retired for a time to Norwich, Conn., where
he built one of the first cotton-mills in New England. In 1818
he returned to New York, established the new firm of Ludlow &
Dodge, and in 1827 finally retired from business, devoting the rest
of his life to literary and religious work, publishing several valuable
books, and keeping himself well up in the theological controversies
of the day. He was an elder in the old WaU Street Church, and
with Mr. Robert Lenox, father of the late James Lenox, formed the
building committee of the new edifice in WaU Street. His wife,
the mother of WiUiam Earl, was the daughter of the Rev. Aaron
Cleveland, a learned minister and the ancestor of many distinguished
and leading men. Our friend was always grateful for his erudite
and saintly parentage, and always honored it by word and deed.
"Returning to New York with his father in 18 18, WiUiam Earl
Dodge began his clerkship in a dry-goods store, in 1827 set up for
himself, and in 1833 became identified with the firm, which is now
historic, of Phelps, Dodge, & Co. Mr. Dodge had married a
daughter of his senior partner, — which made their business relations
aU the more intimate and agreeable. For judgment, energy, and
devotion to all good objects, Anson Green Phelps stood conspicu
ous. His son, of the same name, and our friend just gone from
us, were brothers indeed. Mr. Dodge took up and carried on
their unfinished work. And so, for more than sixty years, his life
was closely interwoven with the life of this great metropolis, which
he always loved and honored, and which always loved and honored
him. The time has not yet come to Uft the veil that hides the
sacred sweetness and beauty of his cultured and charming home.
And long may it be in coming I

FUNERAL SERVICES AND ADDRESSES. 32 1
" Nor have I time to 'speak of him as patriot and statesman, re-
calUng those days of bitter and bloody civU conflict when his lithe
form stood forth so stoutly, and his voice rang out so clearly,
through the howUngs of the storm. He was elected to the Thirty-
ninth National Congress, carried his Christian character with him to
Washington, and brought it back untarnished and unclouded. For
a business man his reading was wide and varied. Well informed,
wise in counsel, and ready of utterance, he occupied a large and
prominent place in the best Ufe of the city, the nation, and the age.
" His supreme and final reputation wiU be that of the philanthro
pist. I think I have never known a man of wider charity, who
worked along so many Unes, and did so much unheralded and un
seen. No form of human want or weakness, no possibUity of bene
fit to others, in soul or body, seemed alien to him. He served in
the ranks, and was never weary in well-doing. Benefactions so
diversified, so lavish, and so incessant, and yet so sagaciously be
stowed, this city has seldom, if ever, witnessed. For one institu
tion, an institution of sacred leaming, I stand here to speak to-day,
and in its name I bless his precious and princely memory. Others
will speak in the name of other institutions and interests. But
when our voices all are hushed, the half wiU not have been told.
God only knows how much this good man has done.
" One word more. I see in his unselfish Ufe a suggestion in soci
ology which challenges our most earnest thought. With a high
and ever-advancing civilization, equality of outward condition be
comes more and more impossible. But marked inequality of out
ward condition is the angry complaint and greatest perU of our
time. Our civilization is impotent to save itself. Only one thing
can save it. That one thing is wise, patient, unselfish stewardship,
such as we commemorate to-day. God be thanked for another
clean-eamed fortune put to its highest use ; for another eventful
and gracious life well rounded out. WeU done, good and faithful
servant ; thou hast already entered into the joy of thy Lord ! At
the grave's edge we say to thee, ' Good night 1 ' Through the veil
we shout to thee, ' Good morning ! '
"After Professor Hitchcock, the Rev. Dr. Mark Hopkins, presi
dent of the American Board of Foreign Missions, and ex-president
of WiUiams College, spoke as follows : —

322 FUNERAL SERVICES AND ADDRESSES.
" ' Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen
this day in Israel ? ' If we adopt the standard of greatness pro
posed by our Saviour, — ' he among you that wiU be great, shaU be
servant of all,' — if we look at that standard of greatness, where shall
we look in this city, where shall we look on this continent, for a
more princely man, for a man more illustriously great, than he whom
we mourn to-day? He was great in his power of acquisition,
combining integrity with skUl. He was uniformly, through his long
life, successful in business ; and success in business amid the fluctu
ations of this country for so long a period does not come by acci
dent. But acquisition to him was a means, and not an end, — a
means to the manifestation of that greatness which his Master com
mended and commanded, the greatness of service, of giving of the
fountain that overflows, of the sun that radiates Ught and heat.
In the amount of his benefactions he was magnificent, princely.
I do not know what the princes of Europe may do, but I doubt
whether one of them gives from pure beneficence as much as I see
it stated in a paper by one who, I suppose, knows that he gave, —
one hundred thousand doUars, — year by year. I do not know
what the rich men of this country may do, but I doubt whether
there is another who has given year by year as much as that. He
was great not only in the munificence of his gifts, but in the breadth
of his views, in the largeness of his apprehension of the wants of
humanity, and, as has been said, in the judgment with which he
distributed that which he gave, regardless of the limitations of de
nominations or of sects, or of the methods of doing good. And
here it becomes me to speak of what he did (as my brother who
has preceded me has spoken for the institution of sacred leaming)
for me personally, and of what he did for WUUams College ; and
more especially in this connection it becomes me to speak of his
long, faithful, and enthusiastic service in behalf of the American
Board. No one who attended the meeting of that Board at Port
land last autumn, and who remembers the stillness and suspense
which came over the vast audience when an appeal for increase of
funds was made, wUl ever forget the tenderness and the simplicity
with which Mr. Dodge said, ' I wUl double my subscription for the
coming year,' and the rapidity with which the movement passed
over the assembly, caUing forth a similar response. He was re
markable for his combination of business and religion with aU the

FUNERAL SERVICES AND ADDRESSES. 323
amenities of social Ufe. He was remarkable for his zeal in evangel
ical reUgion, without a touch of fanaticism. He was remarkable for
his position on the temperance question, giving without stint for
the promotion of this cause, fully apprehensive of the amazing evUs
connected with the Uquor traffic, himself earnestly and personally
advocating the cause, and everywhere consistent in his example,
and yet with not one particle of denunciation. No man — and
that is not common — ever heard him speak with unkindness of
those who differed from him in regard to means of work ; and the
same is true in his advocacy of that fundamental institution in our
repubUcan govemment, the Sabbath : firm, consistent, but always
Christian in his spirit.
" I particularize these points. There is no time to dwell upon
them. There is no time to mention the multitude of others that
I might mention, for there was in him a wonderful balance and
combination. I mention these, not that I may praise him, for he
would not wish that, but that I may do what I think he would wish
me to do, that I may call the attention of this audience, and as
far as I can or may of others, to that standard of greatness which
our Lord established and commended, — the standard of greatness
for men gi-eat by service, which he so wonderfully illustrated dur
ing his Ufe whUe following Him who came not to be ministered
unto, but to minister, and to give His Ufe a ransom for men. Our
standards are virong, — standards of physical prowess, standards of
miUtary glory, standards of great accumulations, standards of intel
lectual leadership, standards of ostentatious display ; and as long
as the standard is wrong, everything is wrong. The standards of
this world need to be changed ; and that standard of humbly fol
lowing Christ, the standard of the fountain that overflows, and the
.sun that shines, — that is what we need. If the great maelstroms
and the little maelstroms of selfishness could be turned into the
fountains of beneficence, it would change the face of this world in
a year. His lips, if they could speak (and they do speak with
an eloquence which no living lips can utter), would caU upon
this audience to adopt the standard commended and commanded
by our Lord Jesus Christ, — the standard of service.
" I can only add the words which came to me when I heard of
his death: 'The spirits of just men made perfect' Blessed be the
revelation which makes known to us that there is a place of gath-

324 FUNERAL SERVICES AND ADDRESSES.
ering of such men ! It is not for us to assign places to those that
depart ; but I felt in a moment that that must be the place for him.
Through the mercy of God, may we all reach that blessed place !
" The last speaker was the Rev. Dr. T. L. Cuyler, who said : —
" I trust that no one wUl begrudge the few additional moments
that are required for this service of affection, for it wUl be many
a long year before you are called to pay your tribute to another
WUUam E. Dodge. His coffin is here before us ; but this is not
death. This is bursting into life everlasting and all glorious.
When that weary head the other morning was laid in the arms of
one whom he loved better than he loved any being in the uni
verse except his Saviour, it was only the worn-out body that feU
asleep ; the spirit was with Christ, which is infinitely better. And
oh, what a heart that was that ceased its throbbings ! What a Ufe
he took with him up to the Throne !
" Two words mled the life of WUliam E. Dodge : the one was
' conscience,' the other was ' Christ.' When a councU of distin
guished miUtary officers at Fortress Monroe aU reversed their
wine-glasses at the table, it was a tribute to the conscience of our
brother, who was their guest. When a great corporation proposed
to drive traffic on the Lord's Day, and he fearlessly said to his
fellow-directors : ' If you break God's law for a dividend, I go
out,' it was the conscience that echoed on Sinai. And who among
men ever dared to look into that loving and honest eye and call
him a fanatic? The loss of that conscience to this community is
a sorer bereavement even than the loss of that generous purse.
Other rich men give princely benefactions. He gave more than
money. He gave himself — himself to Jesus, himself for Jesus —
to his fellow-men. Trained fifty years ago in the school of com
mercial Ufe, he understood the power of personal effort. He
knew how to lay that great big loving heart of his right alongside
of a fellow-creature, and win that soul to Jesus. There are business
men in this assemblage whose knees have bent through his efforts
in wrestling prayer for their souls.
" So untiringly did he give himself to the great revival work of
1858 that his health broke down, and necessitated a journey abroad
to recruit his physical energies and activity. WeU, what is the se
cret ? What is the secret of the growth of that beautiful banyan that

FUNERAL SERVICES AND ADDRESSES. 325
dropped its limbs into every land ? The secret was, the roots were
washed by daily communion with God. The secret of Mr. Dodge's
power lay in the first hour of every morning. That hour he gave
to God with his Bible and on his knees ; and if he came down
town among you business-men with his face shining with cheerful
ness and loving-kindness, it was because he had been up on the
mount in communion with his Master. Oh, how shaU we miss
him down yonder in that National Temperance Society, of which
he was the father and the founder, and the moving spirit represent
ing its best and wisest counsel ! We feel like orphans. And so
they wiU in so many institutions of Christian benevolence and
activity ; and from the eyes of many a missionary, of many a poor
young man whom he was educating, of many a negro freedman in
Lincoln and Hampton, of many a reformed inebriate up yonder
in his institution, when the tidings come, —
" The tears will flow like rain
For him we ne'er shall see again.
" Would to God that the lips we loved to hear once more had
language 1 Would to God that the voice that pleaded for Jesus
could be heard once more even here in this sanctuary of love !
Would that after three days in glory he could come back, and with
words of Uving flame say to you, his business associates and his
friends : ' This world 's a dream, an empty show. What shaU it
profit to gain it all, if you lose your souls ? What shaU a man give
in exchange for his soul? Be ye also ready — ready for the
summons to go to the Saviour.'
" My beloved brother, being dead, yet speaketh this last loved
message to aU : ' Seek Christ and his salvation.' Ye shaU take up
this slumbering form and bear it out from tbe sanctuary of love ;
bear it tenderly, reverently ; it has been a temple of the Holy
Spirit, and it shaU be fashioned anew by the glorious Father and
Master in the day of his great fruition. For him
" 'T was a glory to live, but a greater to die,
And the best of this world was his path to the sky.
" The Rev. Dr. Marvin R. Vincent then said : —
" We wiU sing the 678th hymn. This is a cheerful hymn, it is
not a dirge ; and we sing it both because it was a favorite with

326 FUNERAL SERVICES AND ADDRESSES.
him who is gone, and because we forget for the moment our own
sense of loss m the deeper sense of his eternal gain, feeling that it
is a joyful thmg when such a one as he has closed a well-rounded
life and has gone up to the rest of his Father and his God.
" The hymn, omitting the third and fourth verses, —
" How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word !
What more can he say than to you he hath said, —
To you, who for refuge to Jesus have fled ?
was sung by both choir and congregation with great sweetness and
power. The former pastor of the church. Dr. George L. Prentiss,
offered a most fervent, touching, and appropriate prayer, and the
benediction was pronounced by Dr. Vincent. The remains were
taken to Woodlawn Cemetery."
Speaking of this occasion not long after. Dr. Cuyler
remarked : —
"At this funeral service were gathered aU the representative
men whom any one thinks of when he thinks of the Empire City.
Great merchants, great ministers, great lawyers, mingled with
humble city missionaries and godly women who toU for the salva
tion of the outcast. In that plain coffin before them — beneath a
handful of white liUes and a sheaf of golden grain — rested the be
loved philanthropist who had worn out a long life in doing good.
" This world is the poorer and heaven is the richer for the
departure of WiUiam E. Dodge. Such another life of blessed
beneficence has not been closed within our memory ; such a ripe
and abundant sheaf has not been carried home by any other
servant of God whose name we can recall. From all parts of our
broad land, from Christians of every denomination, from people
of aU parties, colors, and condition, breaks forth one unanimous
acclaim : ' Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into
the joy of thy Lord ! ' "
And Dr. Prime added (in the New York " Observer " ) :
" Around his remains were gathered good people, — the pious,
praying, benevolent people, men and women who love God and
their feUowrmen, and many, too, who had felt the goodness of their

FUNERAL SERVICES AND ADDRESSES. 327
friend and benefactor now gone to the Saviour in whom he beUeved
and whom he loved. And the ' preachers ' in great numbers were
there, — men of God, whose work it is ' to point to heaven and
lead the way.' They were the intimate friends and companions
of the departed ; and now they stood over his precious form and
spoke of his virtues, his life and example, — how he had walked
with God, loving Him in his feUow-men, doing good unto aU as he
had opportunity, and rejoicing to ' spend and be spent ' in making
others better and happier because of Him. That immense congre
gation were not in tears of sorrow, but of sympathy ; not mourning
as those who have no hope, but Ufted up with the comfort and
glorious hope of the Gospel, as by faith they saw their departed
friend in the presence of God with exceeding joy. As I was going
away from the church, a gentleman said to me : ' Such a funeral
is an event in one's life ; I never attended such a one before.'
" It was an occasion of thanksgiving and praise, not of lamenta
tion and grief : the light and glory of heaven, shining on the dead,
dispelled the gloom, and the coffin seemed a car of victory in
which he was carried to the skies. It was indeed a joyous funeral,
as hope and faith turn mourning into joy, and even the smitten
and afflicted say, ' Blessed be the name of the Lord ! ' "
As one of the affecting incidents of the services at the
church, a friend writes : " When I was sitting quite at the
front, an oldish man came near, and I offered him a seat. He
whispered in my ear: ' Forty-seven years ago he (pointing
to the casket) took me from the deck of a man-of-war, and
rescued me and educated me ; and aU I have in this world
or the next is due to him.' I gathered that he had been
dissipated, and had been saved and educated by Mr.
Dodge, and was now a missionary among the miners of
Pennsylvania. At every tribute to his friend he would
say ' Amen ! ' or ' God be thanked I ' with tears rolling
down his cheeks."

CHAPTER XXIL
TRIBUTES.
TIDINGS of Mr. Dodge's death called forth, both in
this country and across the sea, extended notices.
In some instances sermons were preached and special me
morial services held, while the societies and boards with
which he had been connected, passed more than formal
resolutions of respect and affection. His portrait, with a
sketch of his life, appeared in the illustrated weeklies and
in other papers and magazines. Referring to the num
ber and character of these articles, a Philadelphia weekly
journal remarks : —
" Our New York exchanges of last week have much to say of
the late Mr. Dodge. Rarely indeed do such notices follow a
death. They indicate the remarkable place he held in New York
life." And the " Missionary Herald," published in Boston,
says, in its number for April, 1883 : —
" It has been impressive to watch the tide of eulogy, which,
since his death, has poured forth from all quarters, in memory of
this true follower of Christ. The secular press has vied with the
. religious in commending the life and character of Mr. Dodge.
Neither his large wealth nor his fine intellectual powers gave him
the distinction he confessedly achieved. The secret of his fame is
that he placed his possessions and his talents, in a very simple and
consecrated way, at the service of the kingdom of God on earth.
Both his heart and his purse were open, and his tongue was ready
for any and every good cause. He did not live for himself Even
a selfish world honors him for this. It is an unspeakable blessing

TRIBUTES. 329
when any one exemphfies this law of love and loving service as
was done by this eminent Christian philanthropist. Better even
than his legacies of money is the legacy of his example."
" It is much to say of any man, that he has passed over sixty
years in a great centre like New York, and most of that time in
pubUc Ufe, identified with a great variety of public
movements, and has always been found on the side vmcent, in the
of reUgion, morality, order, patriotism, and philan- independent,
thropy. That, in bnef, is Mr. Dodge s record.
There is, however, a fact back of this, which is the key to the
record. His life represents, beyond everything else, the religion
of the Gospel. That was its basis, its inspiration, its controUing
force. " There are two closely linked Christian principles which find their
iUustration in this long, varied, and useful career. The first of
these is stewardship, a distinctively Christian principle, which for
mulates its law thus : Property is mine to be used for Christ ; while
the world's law is : Property is mine for my own use and enjoy
ment solely. Mr. Dodge, whUe enjoying with Christian modera
tion the privUeges of wealth, regarded himself as a trustee and
administrator of wealth for the service of humanity and the inter
ests of religion. Stewardship was to him not merely a principle,
but a privilege. His must have been in a pre-eminent degree the
blessing pronounced upon the cheerful giver. He held his means
at the caU of the work of Christ, and recognized in the demands of
that work legitimate claims.
" With this principle naturally went the other, — ministry. No
man more clearly recognized service as the staple of Christian life.
Nature made him an active man. He could not be idle ; and if
he had been a bad man he would have been a power in the inter
est of evU, as he .fictually was in the interest of truth and goodness.
It was weU that religion early seized upon this susceptible and
vigorous nature and turned it into the channels of Christian enter
prise and work, where it ran for more than threescore years,
diffusing fruitfulness and beauty. To many who did tiot know him
weU, he is represented mostly by his large pecuniary gifts; but
ministry, in his case, went far beyond mere giving. Many rich
men sheher themselves behind their gifts from the contact and

330 TRIBUTES.
pressure of human need ; but Christ's law of ministry is personal,
including the actual contact of the Christian disciple with the object
of ministry, — and that not merely with a view to the relief of the
suffering or the raising of the faUen, but also to the discipline and
moral development of the disciple. ' Pure religion and undefiled,'
not the conventional sort, but ' before God and the Father, is to
visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.' Mr. Dodge was
liberal in personal, no less than in pecuniary, ministries. His time
and his labor and his presence, no less than his purse, were put at
the service of the poor, the sorrowing, and the degraded. Like
the Divine Master who was his inspiration and his model, he went
about doing good.
" The number and variety of his labors of love it is impossible
to estimate. The aggregate of the services and benefactions, known
only to himself and to the objects of his ministry, would probably
equal if not exceed that of his more conspicuous charities. Much
of his work of this kind could not be done in a corner. He seemed
to have a hand in almost everything that was going on for the weir
fare of mankind. He was known all over the continent as a giver.
Every one of the legion which annually pours into this city to solicit
subscriptions — agents of colleges and seminaries, promoters of
new philanthropic schemes, seekers of aid for feeble churches, to
say nothing of the horde of selfish impostors — went straight to
WiUiam E. Dodge. His door was thronged with applicants, and
he could rarely take a meal without interruption. In his frequent
and extended business journeys he never forgot his Master's busi
ness. Every journey had for him a double purpose. Travelling
almost invariably in company with her who for more than fifty
years has been the sharer of his labors of love, the two were always
on the watch for opportunities of Christian ministry. Among the
Indians on the frontier, and the freedmen of the South, they went
together, sharing the delight of dropping good words, good books,
and charitable deeds by the wayside. Eternity alone wiU reveal
the fruitage of these wayside seeds.
" And yet, after aU, to those who knew him best he is not repre
sented by his gifts, large as they were, so much as by the Christian
personality behind them. His natural affectionateness was elevated
and toned by the spirit of Christian love. His interest in men was
not assumed for the sake of popularity. It reached after their souls,

TRIBUTES. 331
and was inspired by deep and solemn convictions of human duty,
privilege, and destiny. He was a Christian not merely by pro
fession, but in spirit and Ufe. However one might question the
wisdom of his methods or dissent from his opinions, he could not
long be associated with him without feeling that his life was habit-
uaUy impelled by loyalty to God's truth and to. the law of Christ.
His Christian sentiment took little account of denominational lines.
He recognized as a brother any man who sincerely and consistently
followed Christ as Master and Lord, and was ready to lend a hand
to any work, under whatever name, which promised the spiritual
welfare of men.
" He was singularly agreeable in personal intercourse — genial,
vivacious, courteous, sympathetic, and none the less responsive to
wit and humor because of his dominant interest in serious themes.
PhysicaUy he was a remarkably ' well-preserved ' man, as the phrase
goes. Spare and sUght of figure, he was quick in his movements,
and his step retained its elasticity to the very last. Work was his
element, and his wiry frame developed up to an advanced age
extraordinary powers of endurance. The very last week of his
life was marked by a multitude of engagements which would have
daunted not a few younger men.
" As a hearer of the word he was at once reverent and respon
sive. It was a pleasure to preach to him. He drank in the truth
with avidity, and his mobUe face revealed in tears or smiles the
working of the truth upon his heart."
" He is gone to the grave ! In the fulness of his years, after a
life extended beyond the aUotted term of man, — a Ufe fuU of ac
tivity and usefulness, and crowned with honor, — he is j^^^ jj ^
come to the end Uke a shock of corn that is fully ripe, f^i-d, d.d.,
. . J f > intheNewYork
that cometh in in its season.- Evangelist,
" And his departure, though so sudden that it star- ^^^' '5' '^'s-
tied us all, yet was merciful in its instant release from pain and its
swift ascent to a world where sorrow cannot come. It was pre
ceded by no long-lingering sickness, attended by great suffering,
by none of that decay of body or of mind which it is so painful to
witness in those we love ; aU his faculties were unimpaired to the
last, when, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, he was not,
for God took him. Such a death seems like a translation when

332 TRIBUTES.
the Ufe that now is glides so swiftly, with no interval of weakness
and helplessness, into the life that is to come. Surely nothing was
wanted to the completeness of such a life but that it should be
closed by such a death.
" The loss is not to him, but to us ; and that loss remains, and
will long remain : for in truth this great city had hardly another
such man to lose. It had men of equal, some of much greater
wealth ; but not one (unless it be his aged friend Mr. Peter Cooper)
who, possessed of fortune, administered it with such noble gener
osity, with such wise and thoughtful care for the good of others,
and the whole city is left poorer by his death. The history of
such a life and such a character deserves to be written for instruc
tion and example to those who are now coming on the stage.
Such a life is aU the more valuable as a lesson because its success
and its usefulness were not due to advantages which others do not
possess. When this merchant prince came from his New England
home to this city, a boy of thirteen years of age, he had no advan
tages of fortune or powerful friends to help him ; but he brought
with him habits of industry and fidelity, and he brought also the
strong reUgious faith which he had learned at his mother's knee.
From a child he had been taught the Holy Scriptures. He had
the strict habits of his New England home, — of the observance of
the Sabbath, the reading of the Word of God, and the attendance
on public worship. These influences were his safeguard amid the
temptations of a great city. The force of parental instruction and
example led him to seek young men of like principles for his asso
ciates. His marriage brought him into one of the most influential
Christian famiUes of that day, so that all the right dispositions of
his youth were confirmed in his early manhood. And thus was
laid the foundation of one of the noblest characters and one of
the most useful lives of this generation.
" In the conduct of business affairs he soon showed great capa
city. It is the fashion with some to underrate the talent required
for success in business as compared with that shown in the profes
sions or in political life. But the management of a large business
requires as much strength and clearness of understanding, as much
sagacity and judgment, as to ' run ' a department of the government,
— indeed more ; for in State departments there are always the heads
of bureaus, who have been long in the service and know aU the

TRIBUTES. 333
details, so that a department almost ' runs ' itself, without the special
supervision of its chief. But to build up a great commercial house,
to organize its complicated mechanism, to anticipate public wants,
and guard against the dangers which threaten commercial enter
prises, requires a very high degree of administrative capacity.
" But had Mr. Dodge been merely a successful business man he
would have deserved no special honor in life or in death. Busi
ness men are too often content with mere business success. WhUe
they develop a talent for making money, they have no correspond
ing largeness of nature. They grow in fortune, but they do not
grow in manhood. Indeed, often while they increase in riches,
they dwindle as men. The richer they get, the more mean and
miserly they become. New York has many such men, whose for
tune is in the inverse ratio to their manliness.
" But in the present case the effect of prosperity was exactly the
opposite. As the young merchant increased in goods, his first
thought was not to gratify his pride by worldly display, but to use
his means to help others who were less fortunate. Looking round
him, he saw young men, clerks or apprentices, who were strug
gUng as he had been to get a start in life, and it was his chief
pleasure to lend them a helping hand. In many a case a Uttle
timely aid at the right moment was the beginning of a prosper
ous career. He felt the same impulse if he had in his employ
a poor laboring man who had been faithful in his humble sphere,
and who could be made happier by a Uttle encouragement. Some
times a workman would die and leave a family destitute. Then
his generous employer would look after the widow and children.
In the course of years he came to have a great number of such
families as constant pensioners on his bounty. In this way he
was eminently the friend of the friendless, the helper of those who
had no other helper but God. Of him it could truly be said,
' The eye that saw him blessed him, and he caused the widow's
heart to sing for joy.'
"In these countiess private charities, as weU as in his larger
benefactions, he was led by a double influence, — a warm, gener
ous heart, and reUgious principle. His nature was sympathetic ; he
had a heart to feel for the burdens and the griefs of others. Added
to this he had a deep religious sense of responsibUity. Whatever
his wealth, he felt that it was not his own ; that it had been given

334 TRIBUTES.
him by God, and was to be used in His service ; he was but a
steward. So he wrought as
" Ever in his great Taskmaster's eye.
Thus he gave both from feeling and from principle. It was no
self-denial to give ; it was his greatest pleasure.
" Of course the organized charities which relieved poverty and
suffering on a large scale appealed to him, and never appealed in
vain. It is quite safe to say that there was hardly one of our city's
charities to which he was not a contributor, while to the most im
portant he was a regular and a large contributor. The posts of
trust he has held first and last are almost without precedent in the
life of a single individual. And none of these relations were mere
sinecures. He gave them his large, roundabout wisdom in affairs,
his prayers, and as freely of his abundant resources ; thus identify
ing himself thoroughly with them, and imparting just the impulse
which, with the added blessing of God, leads to success.
" If in the multitude of his benevolent gifts he had one cause
nearer his heart than any other, it was that of foreign missions.
Believing, as he did, in the Gospel as not only the power of God
unto the salvation of the individual soul, but as the cure for aU the
woes of humanity, his great desire was to see it preached to all
nations. He was for many years vice-president of the American
Board, and a large contributor to its funds, whUe giving also freely
to our own Presbyterian Board. Visiting, as we have, missionary
stations in different parts of the world, — in Turkey and Egypt, in
India, in China and Japan, — we have never been in one in which
the name of William E. Dodge was not a household word. We
might have found it also in the cabin of every home missionary in
the West. Talk of fame and reputation — what are aU that hu
man ambition can desire, compared with a name thus spoken on
the prairies of America and among the mountains of Asia I
" There is one point to which we feel a deUcacy in aUuding, and
yet which seems necessary to complete the picture of a man whose
goodness made him truly great, — it is the beauty of his domestic
life. In his early manhood he had given to him the best gift
which God gives to any man, — a noble wife, who was his com
panion for more than half a century, and who, instead of checking
his too eager and impulsive generosity, encouraged it, and so

TRIBUTE.S. 335
strengthened in him every kindly instinct, every generous impulse.
WhUe conceding to him aU that was good and worthy of praise in
his very constitution, we do not beUeve it would have been possi
ble for him, or for any man, to become such a pubUc benefactor
but for the presence in his home and the constant inspiration of
one who was in every respect worthy to be his companion. Never
was there a more perfect union of minds and wiUs and hearts.
Hand in hand they walked on in life, feeling alike that the best
use of wealth was to do good. Nearly four years ago they cele
brated their golden wedding at their beautiful place on the Hud
son ; and as they stood in the midst of a large concourse of friends
receiving congratulations, it was the general observation of those
who were present that a union so perfect was as rare as it was
beautiful. We can say of Mr. Dodge what may be said of others
who have been great public benefactors, that next to the grace of
God, it was the angel always at his side that made him what he
was." Dr. Field also delivered, at the Commencement of Wil
liams College, 1883, an address in memory of Mr. Dodge,
as one of the benefactors of the institution. In this tribute
he says : —
" Mr. Dodge was a son of New England. He was bom in
Hartford, Conn., Sept. 4, 1805, of a family that had been settled
in this country for six generations. His ancestor came over to
Salem in 1629, — less than ten years after the PUgrims landed on
Plymouth Rock. With the blood of the Puritans in his veins, he
inherited their principles and habits, their fear of God, their
integrity, industry, and self-reliance. These traits of character,
which came out afterwards so strongly in the man, may be traced
to his New England training; while in his religious faith he
held firmly to his last hour to the lessons which he learned at
his mother's knee.
" But though bom in New England, his life was to be passed
elsewhere. At the age of thirteen his father removed to New York,
and he was placed in a store to learn business, beginning at the
foot of the ladder which he was to cUmb to the top. It is not
necessary to enter into any detaUs of his business career; it is

336 TRIBUTES.
sufficient to say that it was one of distinguished success. When it
is remembered that over ninety per cent of those who embark in
commercial pursuks fail, — or, to be more precise, that not more
than three or four in a hundred go through life without breaking
down, — it is a great deal to say that his house stood strong
through aU the financial revulsions of more than fifty years. The
distinction of Mr. Dodge was, not the possession of wealth, but
the use he made of it,— that he used it to do good to his
fellow-men. " His benevolence may be said to have sprung from a twofold
inspiration, — a warm heart and religious principle. He was a man
of a very sensitive nature. His temperament was sympathetic;
there was in it a feminine element which often goes with manly
strength. He was quick to see and feel the sorrows of others as
he felt his own ; nor could he see them without an impulse to re
lieve them. Wherever there was misery to be relieved, wherever
there were the naked to be clothed or the hungry to be fed, his
heart went out in sympathy. Thus by natural instinct he became
a benefactor of the poor. Of no man could it be more truly said,
' The eye that saw him blessed him, and he caused the widow's
heart to sing for joy.'
" But his benevolence was not merely a matter of impulse, but
of principle. Religion wrought with nature to make him the man he
was. At the time that he was coming to his young manhood the
country was shaken by great revivals under Nettleton and Finney,
the impression of which remains to this day. With these move
ments he was in full sympathy, and the effect was great upon his
own character. They intensified his views of life. It was to him
no mere Vanity Fair, in which men sport their foUies ; it was not
a thing to be played with or trifled with : it was a probation on
which hung immortal destinies. It was a solemn thing to live as
weU as to die ; for over the Ufe that now is, rested the shadow of
eternity. He was not his own; he belonged to One who had
redeemed him by His blood. He was not placed in this world
merely to enjoy himself, but to do good. His wealth was a sacred
trust, — he was but the steward to administer it ; and the more
that was poured into his lap, the greater were his obligations.
There was no plainer duty, as there was no higher joy, than to be
stow upon others some portion of that which the great Giver and

TRIBUTES. 337
Benefactor had bestowed upon him. With such a principle once
settled in his mind and formed into a habit, it was no effort for
him to give away money. It did not cost a struggle with selfish
ness every time he was asked to contribute to a good cause ; on
the contrary, it was a pleasure to give. He sought for opportuni
ties to use his means most effectively. Giving from principle, his
gifts were as regular as his family prayers ; and as he increased in
wealth, they took on increasing proportions, tUl they outran all
precedent. I doubt if our country has furnished another instance
of such princely liberaUty.
" In aU plans for doing good his position was that of a leader.
He did not wait for others, but led the way ; and others, catching
his enthusiasm, followed his example. Thus he was an inspiring
force in aU benevolent enterprises. By his personal interest, and
the wise distribution of his means, he may be said to have multi
plied himself; so that he touched a hundred different points, and
gave impulse to a hundred good causes.
" In the multiplicity of the objects of his benevolence, it would
be idle to attempt enumeration. His private charities were Uterally
endless. His larger benefactions grouped themselves to a great de
gree around institutions of education and religion, — schools and
coUeges and theological seminaries, churches and missions.
" And now this man, whose goodness made him great, whose
life was so fuU of blessings, and the continuance of which seemed
so important and almost necessary, is taken from us. He was
spared the pains of death, and even the infirmities of age. Though
he had passed by some years the aUotted period of human Ufe, his
eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. To the last his
form was as erect, his step as quick, and his eye as bright as ever.
In the fulness of life, — in that happy home where he had lived so
long, which had been the centre of such hospitality, by the side of
that noble woman who had been his faithful companion for more
than half a century, — in an instant he feU asleep, to awake with
God." " So fuUy rounded out with the virtues that adom ^^^ g j p,j,„^
humanity, so free from the imperfections that often o.d., in the New
mar the character of the good, so fuU of usefulness " ^°"""
and honor, crowned with love in public, social, and domestic Ufe,

338 TRIBUTES.
it is hard to say what was his highest excellence, in what depart
ment of the world's work he was the most efficient, and where his
loss wUl be the most sadly felt.
" When he was twelve years old he became a Christian ; and he
carried the Ufe and power of religion into trade, infusing his spirit
into aU its channels, acquking a name that was better than the
riches which flowed in with every revolving year. With the increase
of wealth, his style of Uving was advanced, and his house on Murray
HiU has long been known as one of the best in the city. Here he
surrounded himself with books and works of art and the luxuries
which a sensible and good man enjoys. But, more than all, here
he enjoyed the society of a wife worthy of such a husband, — enter
ing with enthusiasm into all his Ufe-work, sharing every labor of
benevolence, lightening every burden, and making ever bright a
home where seven sons grew up to be pillars about him, wife and
sons surviving the patriarch whose name they bear. In their do
mestic and social life, in their example as Christian workers, neigh
bors, and friends, with all their wealth and influence, Mr. and Mrs.
Dodge so lived as to commend a religious life to those about
them, — giving no occasion for reproach, attracting others to the
Saviour whom they loved, and by their own unostentatious deport
ment and self-denying efforts making it evident that, better than
houses or lands or gold, the service of God was their highest joy.
The religion of Mr. Dodge was therefore of that type which is the
most lovely and the most useful, — combining beauty and utility in
the best proportions to produce the highest results. Cheerfulness
pervaded and commended it; sound principle propped and im
pelled it. He was consistent aU through ; every one knew where
to find him; his word was inviolable; his favor was a tower of
strength; and, like Joseph in Egypt, he was a prosperous man
because God was with him, and everything succeeded to which he
put his hand.
"The Christian benevolence of Mr. Dodge was remarkable even
in this city and this day of large givers. In this one respect he
was far in advance of others who had large possessions, and were
equally free in bestowing their goods upon the poor. Mr. Dodge
personally worked to do good ; Uke his Master, he went about
doing good. He had more ' irons in the fire,' he was a more
busy man, with a greater variety of engagements for each and

TRIBUTES. 339
every hour of the day, than any man we ever knew. Active, wiry,
untiring, even down to old age, he went from one duty to another ;
keeping memoranda of appointments, and a man to remind him ;
despatching business with promptness, but not without careful at
tention. He Uterally gave himself to the world, the Church, the
poor, — to Christ. His large heart took in every good work ; and
no list of his charities, nor of the institutions which he founded or
supported, wiU ever teU the extent or the nature of his deeds of
love. How or where he began this living for others, it may be
hard to say. That it ended only with his life, we know. That it
grew with him as part of his being, becoming a broader range of
existence, more absorbing and diffusive, as means and years and
knowledge of the wants of others were brought into the sphere of
his acquaintance, was evident year by year untU the end.
" First, and before all else, he sought the advancement of per
sonal reUgion, the conversion of men, and the revival and increase
of piety in the Church and community. As a church member, a
ruUng elder, a Sunday-school superintendent and teacher, he was
zealous and indefatigable. Endowed with gifts as a pubUc speaker
unusual in a man of affairs, his voice was always eloquent for Christ.
Among the poor in the city and to the heathen afar he sought alike
to give the bread of Ufe. There is not a comer of this wide earth
where the knowledge of God has gone that has not felt the power
of this good man's charity. . . .
" Mr. Dodge in this country has long held a place in its philan
thropy similar to that held in England by Lord Shaftesbury, — the
president and promoter of everything that promises to exalt
humanity and bring lost men back to God.
" Of aU the men whom I have celebrated as examples to be
usefully imitated, not one has left me richer material for such
use than I find in the Ufe and work of my long-loved friend WiUiam
E. Dodge. In these days of commercial and political defections,
the straightforward, upright, and unobtrusive virtues of such a life
as this make a chapter for the study of the young and the admira
tion of the world. . . .
" WeU-bom, and in youth not dependent on his own exertions for
support and success, he had the good sense to enter early on a Ufe
of industry and frugaUty, working his own way up, step by step, till
he reached what is thought to be the top of the ladder. And I

340 TRIBUTES.
do not know any higher round than that from which he stepped
into glory on high. He attained great usefulness, great honor,
great wealth in money and love. If there is anything else worth
having, I have never heard of it. Some of those things might be
dispensed with, and yet life be a grand success. But when they
are aU won, weU and nobly won, who is more to be envied and
admired ?
"I have often heard him relate his experiences as a boy in a
store, contrasting his duties as the youngest clerk with the work of
boys now. His father was a prosperous man of business, and might
easily enough have brought him up in idleness, — which is supposed
by many fools to be the same as being brought up a gentleman. But
the lad was placed as a clerk in a store, and it was his duty in the
morning to take down the shutters and get things ready for business.
To do this he had to get up before daylight in winter and hurry
down to the store ; and aU day long he was running of errands,
carrying parcels home for customers, and doing anything else that
he was told to do. This discipline he saw was good for him, and
it would be better for boys now if they went through the same sea
soning process. It is good to bear the yoke in youth.
" And as Mr. Dodge grew in stature and years, he grew in favor
with God and man. His life was one of cheerful industry. Noth
ing in the way of duty was irksome, — rather, it was a pleasure to
be enjoyed ; and the smile, so genial and loving, with which his
friends were always greeted, was merely the sunshine reflected from
his glowing heart. Immersed in business that assumed wide range
and vast proportions, he kept his soul serene in the light of heaven,
so that the cares of the world, the love of money, and sordid greed
had no dominion over his buoyant spirit. More than the counting-
room or the presidency of the Chamber of Commerce, he loved
the Sunday-school room, the house of God, the prayer-meeting,
and the chamber of the suffering, whose wants he might reUeve.
His deUght was in making glad the hearts of the poor.
"There are others who have wealth, and are as free to give as he
was. But I never saw or heard of any man of his wealth who
would a'(7 so much for others, besides giving largely. I wrote to him
that a minister of the Gospel, being very poor, was actually in want
of clothes for himself; and I added playfully, ' He is a rasa just
aboitt of your size: The next day Mr. Dodge came up into my

TRIBUTES. 341
third-story room, lugging a bundle much larger round than his
body. I remonstrated with him for taking that labor on himself,
but he said he preferred to do it rather than have his coachman
leave the horses. The bundle was a complete wardrobe for the
good shepherd, and covered him many a time while he preached
the word.
" Mr. Dodge was a temperance man, practising total abstinence
himself, advocating it eloquentiy, but without bitterness towards
them that are without. Neither in public nor private did he say a
hard word of those who did not train in his company. He pre
sided at the Jerry McAuley Mission Anniversary a few short
weeks ago, and an incident there was a beautiful illustration of his
ingenuous nature. One of the gentlemen made an appeal for funds
to support the mission for another year. He said : ' It requires
;?4,ooo ; in the meeting this afternoon we raised ^2,000, and we
want ^2,000 more this evening. We wiU now take your subscrip
tions.' Mr. Dodge said at once, ' Put me down for one tenth of
the sum.' The gentleman exclaimed, ' There ! we have ^200
akeady.' Mr. Dodge responded, ' I said one tenth of the sum,
meaning of the whole sum required for the year ; that is, I400.'
I am incUned to think that some men would have let it pass
without correction ; but that was not his way.
" Mr. Dodge never appeared to better advantage than in his own
house, in the midst of a throng of guests whom he delighted to en
tertain, with an eye to their enjoyment and the accomplishment of
some good work. This is a way we have in New York of pursuing
self-denying labors of love. An evening at Mr. Dodge's will
serve as an iUustration. To enUst a large number in the cause of
temperance or any other good work, he invites by card a hundred
or more inteUigent and prominent gentlemen to his house, the ob
ject being mentioned in the invitation. His house is spacious, with
a large drawing-room on one side of the hall, an elegant hbrary,
fiUed with books and costly pictures, beyond the parlor, and out of
it opens the dining-room. In the midst of these sumptuous sur
roundings, after an hour of social intercourse, Mr. Dodge lays the
subject before the company with ease, clearness, and force, and
calls upon one and another to give their views. The discussion
goes forward with spirit, combining the vivacity of animated con
versation with the energy of pubUc speaking. The hour of ten has

342 TRIBUTES.
come, and an intimation that the banquet-chamber waits for its
guests. Then we take a unanimous vote that Mr. Dodge and his
cause shaU have our enthusiastic support, and we adjourn to sup
per. I have never known a dissenting vote in regard to the merits
of the supper or the cause. The table is bountifully laden with
the best of good things. Conspicuously there is no wine. Our
host is the head-centre of the Total Abstinence Association in the
United States, and he is true to his principles. Whatever is good
to eat or drink, and wUl not intoxicate, is at the service of his
friends. And across the mantel of this dming-haU is carved, in old
EngUsh letters, the significant motto, —
Not mints, but tlftnMntzs mafees tlje feast.
" It was here that I last saw my good friend whUe Uving. We
were walking in the library, having some pleasantry together, which
led him to pass his arm around me, and, laughing heartily, to say,
' My dear friend, I assure you,' etc. The pressure of his arm,
the genial smUe, the word of endearment, are now the last impres
sions made on my memory of his Uving form and manner, and I
did not disturb the pleasant impression by looking on the face of
the dead.
" To young men and old men and men in the vigor of Ufe here
is an example as nearly right as men ever afford. By early in
dustry, persevering diligence in business, with fidelity to every tmst,
he made friends, acquired large possessions, gained honor and
fame, and a good name better than great riches. Then he used
aU to the glory of God for the good of his feUow-men, giving with
unbounded generosity and with self-denying charity. The need
of the age is such men, — devout, honest, active, liberal men, who
fear God and no one else, men of courage and enthusiasm, with
high purposes, pure, unselfish, and true.
" Not long ago there Uved in this city at one time ten Christian
gentlemen whose liberality in giving was remarkable. They are
now aU gone, and their names are recaUed for the purpose of doing
deserved honor to their memory. They were James Brown,
Hanson K. Coming, WiUiam E. Dodge, John C. Green, James
Lenox, Frederick Marquand, Edwin D. Morgan, Christopher
Robert, Alexander Stuart, and Robert L. Stuart. AU these men,
with Mr. Brown, Mr. Dodge, the brothers Stuart, Mr. Robert, and

TRIBUTES. 343
Governor Morgan, gave theur money in thousands and hundreds of
thousands. The whole ten whom I have named were prudent
men, wise men, not one of them lived ostentatiously or gave osten
tatiously. Not one was miserly. They spent their money weU,
enjoying the good things of this Ufe in a manner that commanded
the approval of a good conscience and of their feUow-men. This
is as it should be. It is quite as useful to spend money in buying
labor or the products of labor as to give money away without get
ting anything in return. It is better to encourage honest industry
by giving it a fair reward than to give indiscriminately to every
beggar by the way-side. And these generous men were wise in
their generosity, judicious as weU as generous, and therefore setting
an example worthy of universal imitation.
" They were aU weU spoken of in the Church and the world.
They had their several and marked peculiarities. Some of them
doubtless had faults of character ; at least they did not put in a
claim to perfection, and would have denied it stoutly had they
been praised as perfect men. But every one of them had a ' good
name,' which the good Book saith is better than great riches.
Thus were they doubly blessed in having great riches plus a good
name. It is very easy to give away other people's money ; and
many thought and some said that these men were narrow in the
range of their benevolence, restricting their gifts to one line or a
few Unes of usefulness. But they were giving their own, and might
certainly be aUowed to do good with it according to their own
judgment. Those who give freely are not apt to censure them
that do the same. It is a salve to the conscience of them who do
not give to find fault with the judgment of the generous. There
fore I am quite wilUng that a good man shall have his own way in
the bestowal of his wealth, as it is a matter between him and the
Lord only.
" All of these men received their wealth in honest channels, and
no man ever laid anything to their charge. They were of good
report among men of business, and it might be said of any one of
them, ' his word was as good as his bond.' There was nothing
sUppery about them, and in deahng with them you knew that they
were true and pure men, in whom was no guUe. They were also
Christians, servants of God, lovers of his word, his Sabbaths, and
his people. These aU died in faith, and have entered into rest.

344 TRIBUTES.
Their works Uve after them, the good they did, and will live to the
end of time, — long after the churches, coUeges, seminaries, hos
pitals, asylums, and homes they caused to be built, and which now
stand on the earth, shaU have crumbled.
" It is very remarkable that ten such men as I have named
should have lived at one time, in one city, in the same branch of
the Christian Church, all large givers, aU wise, conservative, solid
citizens, who used their large wealth for the good of others, and
aU died leaving spotless names and fragrant memories that smeU
sweet and blossom in the dust.
" It was never our privilege before to record three such wills as
those of WiUets, Dodge, and Morgan, within a few days of each
other. The aggregate of the sums given to benevolent objects is
not so great as has been given by single wiUs at other times. The
names of Girard, Peabody, and Johns Hopkins and others recur at
once to the mind. But here are three good men, with families and
friends who are well provided for by these wills, and then hand
some bequests are made to important and deserving charities,
which wiU perpetuate the names and usefulness of these bene
factors to the end of time. This is well-doing. It is benevo
lence extending beyond the grave ; post-mortem charity. It is
making a permanent investment yielding large interest for time
immemorial." "The blessed fact about this wealth, however, was, that Mr.
Dodge consecrated it to the Lord Jesus Christ when he conse
crated himself to him. He was an active member of
Congrega- '^^ Church, and he made his money active in its service
tionaUst, Bos- as wcU. Nor was he satisfied with eager and hard
work merely along ecclesiastical lines. He went into
the Sabbath-school. He was a foremost laborer in the temperance
cause. He had great interest in Young Men's Christian Associa
tions. He was most efficient in his working and giving for mis
sions, home and foreign. He favored Moody and Sankey meetings.
In short he —without aiming at it — acquired renown as a philan
thropist. His house, his purse, his hand, his heart, were always
open for every good word and work. Solomon said : ' There is
that scattereth, and yet increaseth ; ' and Mr. Dodge iUustrated and
enforced that declaration.

TRIBUTES. 345
"Simple in his tastes, cordial in his manner, overflowing with
hospitable good-nature, sagacious in judgment, and often shrewd
in his way of putting things, we can hardly think of any man
who could be so much missed from the Christian and benevolent
work of the city where he lived, and the land for which, by his
fine and lofty example, as well as in aU lesser ways, he did so much
so weU.
" Nearly as well known by good men abroad as here, Mr.
Dodge's death wiU stir the hearts of Christians everywhere, and
caU forth such honorable mention as is given, as theur reward,
to few."
" Actively as he was engaged in business, Mr. Dodge gave earn
est and invaluable service to the Church and to these Christian
and charitable organizations, performed an incessant
round of social duties, and was everywhere a genial, christian in-
outspoken, decided Christian. His activity as we look '=i''sencer.
back upon it seems amazing, his unvarying urbanity and courteous
sympathy no less wonderful. His life is a model. Almost to the
last his mind was keen, sprightly, energetic, and at over three
score and ten years he seemed younger than other men at sixty.
This city has lost one of its best citizens in the highest and com
pletest sense, and the Church of Christ is deprived of the presence
of a member and leader of inexpressible value."
" New York has scarcely a citizen whose loss will be more widely
felt than is that of William E. Dodge. Long since old, as years
count, he seemed nevertheless so fresh, so elastic, so
' From the
active, that the first thought is apt to be that he has New York
been cut off untimely — almost in his prime — this '^"'""'=-
young-old man of seventy-eight. He was cheery and busy to the
last. Presiding at a meeting in the Cooper Institute, giving
watchful attention in his office to his private business, attending
a meeting of Delaware and Lackawanna directors to help along
a young man in whom he took an interest, assisting his wife at a
reception at his house, inspecting her Christian Home for Intem
perate Women, — these were his employments through the last
days of last week, and they fairly illustrate his way of Ufe for the last
quarter of a century. In aU New York we scarcely know a man
who has more consistentiy and continuously used larger means

346 TRIBUTES.
more unostentatiously, and often almost secretiy, in absolutely un
selfish efforts to promote the good of others. Orphans protected,
inebriates reclaimed and encouraged, poor young men carried
through coUege, home missionaries on the frontier sustained, —
these are some of the classes of people who can best tell of his
work, and wiU be most saddened by the news of his death. But
aU New York has for half a century known him not only as a sin
gularly able and successful merchant, but also as an upright man,
a pubUc-spirited citizen, and an active laborer in the cause of sound
public morals. He goes to his honored grave mourned by the city,
and without an enemy."
" Among the many shining lessons of his Ufe to the youth of the
land, for whom he did so much and before whom he will doubtless
Gen. s. c. always be held as an example, one of the brightest and
Armstrong, most uscful is the wisdom of Sending your principles
in the South- , . . , ^, .
ern Work- to the front, Carrying your colors flymg. Nobody
man. ^^s cver at a loss on which side to find him. Con
verted to God, as he beUeved, when a mere boy, his first question
was the same as Paul's : ' Lord, what wik thou have me to do 2^
and he thought it answered by the very first opportunity that came
for doing good and doing right. It did not seem to interfere with
his diligence in business or his success to be fervent in spirit, serv
ing the Lord. As soon as he began to support himself, he became
a city missionary, going about in the worst slums of New York
to lift bodies and souls out of the mire of poverty and vice,
picking up here and there a Uttle ragamuffin and giving him his
first chance at a better Ufe. Increasing wealth did not have on
him its frequent effect of hardening the heart and lowering the
moral standards, because he lived up to his principles as he went
along, and increasing wealth only increased his power of demon
strating them."
"A large space, but lately fiUed by a strong, good man, has been
suddenly made vacant in the front rank of human usefulness in
Mr. Edward America. For nearly half a century the name of Mr.
in'thrpadfic, ^°^^^ ^^ '*°°^ *"°' courage, intelligence, industry,
San Fran- ' integrity, sagacity, fidelity, and success in pubUc and
business life, whik godUness, gentkness, patience, be
nevolence, and hospitaUty graced and ornamented his every work.

TRIBUTES. 347
walk, and way among men. Mr. Dodge was emphatically a
business man. He exceUed in planning and working. He began
his business life as a boy, and opened and swept the store of his
employers, going also to the post-office, where he, wkh others,
formed the Uttle line waiting for letters at the one smaU ' deUvery '
of the maU of the infant city of New York. He did this work well,
and with an ever-cheerful and scrupulous fidelity. His seat in
church was never vacant. No Christian duty was neglected.
" Thus and there he laid the foundations of his character, and in
this manner he built it up for threescore and ten years. His life
was an ever-flowing stream of help, wisdom, encouragement, and
love, which touched and made glad despairing hearts.
" His large benevolences, high reputation, and ample means made
him a target for constant appUcations for help. These he carefully
examined, either personaUy or by an able and judicious assistant,
and his generous, faithful heart dealt suitably with them aU. Knav
ery, cupidity, and avarice sometimes levelled both covert and open
attacks, by suit and otherwise, upon the business or resources of
himself and his firm. These he always met with a courage and
calmness born of conscious rectitude, and so he passed on
unscathed. "Mr. Dodge's personal appearance was remarkable and most
attractive ; of medium stature, erect, alert, active, and graceful in
movement, his quick, kindly look, genial, frank smile, and warm,
whole-hand grasp, went straight to the heart of aU good men and
women who approached him. Even in his later years a delicate,
rich color glowed on his cheek, and his face and bearing were
animation itself He looked to be his own junior by a fuU score
of years. He was born in 1805, and so lived weU on towards four
score. In these later years, to visit his home and spend an hour
wkh him and his lovely and excellent wife, was Uke visiting a
shrine; whUe the very house was fiUed with a spirit of instant
and sympathetic co-operation with every form of Christian and
philanthropic activity."
"One of the greatest philanthropists of the age died Friday
morning, Febmary 9, at his residence in New York p^om the Ad-
city. Mr. Dodge was known as a man of sterling vance, Chicago.
character and of almost world-wide benevolence. He had a

348 TRIBUTES.
quick eye to see and a ready hand to help in aU great move
ments for the Christian civiUzation of this age. He was a
Presbyterian; but his thorough loyalty to that denomination did
not prevent a close devotion to the work of all other denomina
tions on this continent. He was a devoted Christian, and in aU
business transactions he exhibited the highest ideal of that pro
fession. As a merchant and congressman, as the president and
director of great corporations extending from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, as a projector of railroads and other corporations, he was
everywhere known as an earnest, conscientious Christian. He was
foremost among the temperance agitators of his day, and in aU
moral reforms William E. Dodge was known as an active helper.
The world has lost one of its best citizens, and the Church one
of its most beloved members.
" His death, which was unexpected by all, found this good man
ready. His Ufe had made him weU acquainted with the land to
which he was going. No earthly possessions or ties ever were
strong enough to anchor his soul to this world. AU his hopes
were in heaven."
" Other distinguished men might have been taken, whose loss
in single directions might have been greater ; but we hardly know
another man whose life touched so many points of
ALE, D.D., in vital interest to the welfare of the city at large as did
DemotrTt!'"^'" *'^ 8°°^ ^^^- Eudowcd with powcis of miud
which made him efficient in every department of his
career, commercial as weU as benevolent, his character was rounded
out so as to fit him for exerting a strong and wide influence for
good in a great variety of directions.
" To refer to a single department of his religious work, in which
we were officially associated for twenty years or more, as corporate
members of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions. It was my privilege frequently to meet him at the
annual gatherings of this Board, and his presence was always an
inspiration and help to his associates and friends of the cause.
" He was always cheerful and hopeful himself, and more than
once have I heard his clarion voice ring out over the vast assem-
bUes when others were in danger of doubt and despondency. He
never spoke without moving others in the right direction, and his

TRIBUTES. 349
wonderful discrimination enabled him always to speak at just the
right time and to utter just the needed words, and with the fuU and
overflowing heart of love which made them felt by others."
" Mr. Dodge's death wiU be deeply felt by hundreds who have
been the unannounced but grateful receivers of his private benefac
tions. He leaves behind him few peers in intelligent,
'^ ° ' From Zion's
practical, and active benevolence and personal re- HeraU, Bos-
Ugious zeal among circles of wealth. "'°'
" He carried his principles with him into the highest social
ckcles of the land. Devoutly pious and pecuUarly happy in the
expression of his piety, he has been a daily and effectual evangeUst
wherever he has moved."
" Thus in a moment passed from earth one of the most active,
persevering, unceasing laborers in every work which pertained to
the glory of God and the good of man. A soldier p^^^ ^^^ p^^
who stood in his place and fought his battle on bytenan Obser-
principle before the Church and in the world for ^"' *"™°™-
fifty years, feU with his armor on, pressing the battle even to the
gate of the enemy, on every moral and religious question which
presented itself to the Christian community, — always in the advance,
always prompt, always in earnest, whether in great or small, at
home or abroad, never so busy that he could not receive a mes
sage sent by his Master even on what appeared a trivial matter,
from the giving of thousands and hundreds of thousands, down to
the cup of cold water, ministering to the comfort of a child by the
wayside. "We have known him intimately since 1866, — beginning in
this way : A poor colored boy, son of an infirm wood-sawyer of this
city, came to get a little help to leam to read. We gave him the
Shorter Catechism, and in a littie while he committed it to memory.
His anxiety to leam increased, and we suggested that if it were
possible he might go to Lincoln University. We wrote a letter on
his behalf, giving an opinion concerning him, to the Rev. Dr. J. M.
Dickey, president of the Board of Trustees of Lincoln University,
then Ashmun Institute. He enclosed the letter to Mr. Dodge, who
wrote back : ' Send the boy on, and give him the whole course, at
my expense.' This was but a Uttle cup of cold water ; but that boy
went through his course with credit, and to-day stands among the

3 so TRIBUTES.
most eloquent and able men of his color in this country. That
was only one instance, but he foUowed it up by dozens and scores ;
and as a trustee from that untU the last time we met, he has been
heartily in earnest, in every way that he could, to buUd up and
advance the institution, attending as regularly as he could the
meetings of the Board, endowing professorships, interesting others
in it to do the same, arranging and attending meetings to awaken
interest among moneyed men, attending at commencements, and
joining and rejoicing in their exercises, repeatedly expressing how
richly he had been paid for every dollar he had given and all the
labor he had bestowed, in aU of which he was seconded most
heartily by his excellent wife.
" We wish to give prominence to the character of the man, the
true realization of his position as a servant and soldier of God.
That 's the highest character that any man can have on this earth,
— a servant of God, a soldier of Christ ! With what Ufe he
would join in singing that hymn, —
" Am I a soldier of the Cross ?
A follower of the Lamb ?
It seemed to enliven him as much as any Christian at a revival
meeting, or a soldier in the army meetings during the war.
" He did not wait to be dunned, to be argued wkh, if the cause
was proper. He seemed to reaUze that the presenting of it to him
was by his Master in the person of the individual, and as if he was
waiting to see how or where he could use his Master's money for
his Master's use. He did not leave it for others coming after him,
as many do who cannot give it out of their hands untU death
is just coming, and then they make great bequests, thinking to
bribe the Almighty with what they kept from him as long as they
could hold it, or leave it to others to make a monument to their
names, by doing what they would never have done with it if they
could Uve. Mr. Dodge realized it was not his, — that it was put
in his hand as a steward to use for his Master, and he literally
labored earnestly to put it to use while he lived. Wise man that
he was, he was diligently laying up treasure in heaven, becom
ing rich towards God. He lived to see and enjoy much of the
heavenly foretaste here in the fruits that had come from his labors ;
but they wiU be showing from generation to generation in many

TRIBUTES. 351
ways from so many fields, as he sowed beside all waters and
at all times.
"The great characteristics of Mr. Dodge were energy and
eamestaess, with promptaess in his business ; but they were all
intensified in his Christian, reUgious Ufe. He was in every sense
of the word a Christian, — having the love of a Christian, the
faith of a Christian, the zeal of a Christian, and all the other
marks of an humble Christian. With him religion was a Uving,
practical matter everywhere, in the use of aU such means as God
put in his power, with an humble dependence upon His Divine aid,
and consciousness of his own nothingness, and a heart that gave
all glory to God."
" One of the great charms of the late WiUiam E. Dodge was
his geniaUty. He was always kindly to those with whom he came
into contact. This was not a manner assumed for a
purpose. It would not have had the fine flavor it „^l^^ j„ the"n-^
possessed had it been put on even with the artful- lu^trated chris-
'^ ^ tian Weekly.
ness of the demagogue. The geniaUty of this good
man was genuine. It grew out of a Christian heart, and was the
expression of a benevolent feeUng towards all mankind.
" His presence and speech at a public meeting were always wel
come. He had seen the population of the city increase tenfold
during his residence here. In an interesting lecture, which he sev
eral times repeated, he gave his reminiscences of ' Old New York,'
and described the smaU city of fifty years ago in contrast with the
great metropoUs of the present day. WhUe he arrogated nothing
to himself, it is not too much to say that he has helped, at least
as much as any other one individual, to form and fashion that
progress. " But the crowning glory of Mr. Dodge's Ufe was his sincere
and simple piety. As has been said, he became a professing Chris
tian at twelve years of age. It was the early consecration to Christ
that had no smaU share in forming the character in its symmetry
and fruitfulness. His piety was of the genial type. The present
writer remembers him as superintendent of the first Sabbath-school
which he attended. His genial bearing, his hearty words, his man
ifest interest in the spiritual welfare of his scholars, are recaUed
over the wide gap of a fuU generation. So, a Uttie later, when he

352 TRIBUTES.
was one of the session of the Fourteenth Street Presbyterian
Church, his ever-cheerful presence, and his stimulating words and
petitions in the prayer-meeting, are gratefully caUed to mind. No
one could know Mr. Dodge and not know that he was a happy
Christian. And yet his piety was not ostentatious or wordy ; it
lay at the very roots of his character, and so shaped and colored,
yes, and vitalized, his whole life.
" It would be hard to find a man who seemed to reaUze the
Scriptural idea of stewardship more thoroughly than Mr. Dodge.
Certainly such men among those whom Providence permits to
accumulate large fortunes are rare indeed. For this good man
wiU be known to coming generations, not so much as the sagacious
business man, the prince among merchants, but as the Christian
philanthropist. His charities have been very great. He was
always giving, — to the poverty-stricken, in aid of young men pre
paring for the ministry, towards church-building, for educational
institutions, for tract-work, for promoting the temperance cause, in
which he was an enthusiastic worker, for Ufting up the faUen, in
promoting missions at home and abroad. Indeed, no worthy
charity appealed to him in vain, though he was discriminating in
his gifts. And he gave not money alone ; he gave his personal
energy and influence."
" There was wisdom in his philanthropy. He did not buUd up
some special institution as a monument, but bestowed his money
The Rev A H ^V°^ hundreds of worthy charities. The world never
Moment, New kucw of ouc half that he gavc away, for his giving was
not ostentatious. He was not only a philanthropist
in his giving, but also in his daUy intercourse with men. Kindly
sympathy and hearty words of cheer he was always ready to bestow
upon those who needed them most."
" Mr. Dodge was generous not merely because he could weU
afford it, but because the very principles of his life involved and
Rev. George J. invoked this generosity. I once thanked him for his
MiNGiNs, New assistance, and, smiUng, he said : ' Make the best use
^'"'^' oi it. It is His as weU as mine.' Mr. Dodge looked
upon his wealth as the gift of his God, and upon himself as God's
steward. He beUeved that in giving he made himself rich, and he
was right. ... He was the most cheerful giver I ever knew. He

TRIBUTES. 353
gave with sympathy, and was not only benevolent, but also benefi
cent. He was a true friend to me, and no one of all his friends
to-night can feel more deeply than I his loss. He was a true
Samaritan, healing the wounds of body, mind, and estate, and was
a true Christian gentleman. His voice was a song, and his advice
an inspiration." " He continued to be a Puritan to the end of his noble life, but
without any sour, severe austerities. The solid rock was weU over
grown with fragrant flowers, but the rock was there.
In an age of increasing laxities on many questions of ^^^- °''- Theo-
. . . 1 , , ,. DORE Cuyler.
Christian practice, and exposed to the peculiar temp
tations of wealth and social prominence, Mr. Dodge the man never
outgrew or even dUuted the ingrained Puritanism of his boyhood.
The world knew him most widely for his munificent gifts of money
to innumerable objects ; but after thirty years of intimate inter
course with him, I was never half so much impressed by his
generosity as by his intense, immovable conscientiousness. So
emotional in his temperament that he cried Uke a chUd under
Cough's stories or Sankey's songs, yet the central trunk of his
religion was conscience. The word ' ought ' always gave the casting-
vote. . . . No one dared to look into his honest, loving eye and
caU him pharisee. A God-honoring conscience was the tap-root
of his character ; and the loss of such a conscience is a sorer be
reavement to this community and the country than the loss of his
bountiful purse.
" ' If aU Christians were like WilUam E. Dodge, more of us
outsiders would be converted to Christianity.' Admitting the
justice of this tribute from an ' outsider ' to the character of that
noble disciple of Christ who has just been translated to his crown,
it leads directly to one most undeniable truth ; namely, that the
glory of Mr. Dodge's character and career was his genuine, un
selfish piety. No one could say more truly, ' By the grace of God
I am what I am.' AU the lustre of that beautiful life was reflected
from the face of Jesus Christ.
" The phrase ' Christian worker ' is used so freely nowadays in
certain quarters that to some it savors of repulsive cant. To our
departed brother it belonged as rightfuUy as it did to Barnabas or
Paul. Presiding at public meetings or sitting in boards of Christian
23

354 TRIBUTES.
benevolence, are the utmost extent of many exceUent men's labors ;
but Mr. Dodge was taught by that master-workman Harlan Page,
fifty years ago, that the true method of winning souls to Christ is
by close personal appeal.
" For many years, and at an early period, when in the sphere of
what is caUed good society to be a total abstainer was to be, much
more than now, deemed fanatical, Mr. Dodge conscientiously but
courteously declined wine on aU occasions, and of course would
not provide it, as a symbol of hospitaUty, for others. In this im
portant respect Mr. Dodge has also on many occasions of great
social distinction been the unconscious but most effective preacher
to many preachers of the Gospel."

The venerable Mark Hopkins, D.D., was elected to suc
ceed Mr. Dodge as president of the National Temperance
Society. Upon taking the chair at the nineteenth anni
versary of this organization, he said : —
" It is no mortification to me, my friends, to find myself here
to-night in the place of one whose place I cannot fiU. There is
no man Uving, as I thmk, who could fiU the place of Mr. Dodge
as president of the American Temperance Society. He was, like
Washington in the Presidency of the United States, its first Presi
dent. There was that in his personality, in the labors which he
had performed for this Society, in his relations to the society of
New York, and in his general benevolence, which gave him spe
cial fitness for the position. He did not come to it with the
narrow and exaggerated view of the partisan of a single branch of
reform. He brought to it the prestige of a sympathizing heart
that felt for every form of human viTetchedness, and also open-
handed and Uberal beneficence that gave freely to every form of
effort that promises to uplift our humanity. StiU, in looking at
the causes which depress humanity, this use of intoxicating drinks
was so promment that he had special interest in this cause of
temperance ; so much so that he made it one of the last labors
of his life to place this Society on a firm footing. He gave
to it most liberally, he made personal soUcitations for it, and
he founded a fund for the continuance of its pubUcations ; and

TRIBUTES. 355
through the Society, and through that fund, he being dead yet
speaketh, and will speak for generations to come.
" Now, it is the work of this Society of which we have just heard,
for which he thus labored, which we are caUed upon to carry for
ward ; and, as I judge, we are to do it in the spirit in which he
carried it forward. In the double work of reform, the tendency
of Mr. Dodge was towards sympathy and helpfulness rather than
combativeness. EvU must be met, wicked men must be opposed,
the stem ' no ' must be said ; but if this was done for the purpose
of uplifting those who are struggUng, for the purpose of building
up some good cause, there is danger that there wUl be a tendency
towards censoriousness and denunciation and fanaticism. And
there are those, I think, who suppose that some of the advocates
of this cause have not entkely escaped such a spirit. But of this
spirit and tendency there was not one particle in Mr. Dodge. He
had nothing of that spirit of the disciples which would call down
fire from heaven upon those who did not follow with them. I never
heard him utter a harsh word ; I do not beUeve he ever did utter
one in regard to those whose methods of work differed from his
own. On the other hand, he welcomed every sincere effort for the
arrest of the progress of intemperance. And this largeness of view,
this kindUness of disposition, was manifested fully in the position
which he held ; and, taken in connection with what I may caU a
heroic example, it gave him that personal influence which is so
essential to those who would reform others.
" I said that Mr. Dodge's example was heroic. It was so
because he had the fuUest means at his command of personal
gratification ; because it was opposed to the example and the
spirit, almost universal, of those with whom he was associated ;
and because it sprang from a heroic motive. There was not in
him a particle of asceticism. No man was more cheerful or joy
ous, or enjoyed more perfectly those tasteful and beautiful influences
which wealth can procure. No ! it was not from any asceticism.
It was because he felt that he thus gained a foothold which would
enable him, when he reached his hand down to Uft up a straggling
brother, to do it more effectually. And it did give such a foot
hold ; and knowing this, it was the very spirit of Christ in him
which induced him to do this. He asked no abstract question ;
but seeing that his influence here and now for good would be thus

3S6 TRIBUTES.
promoted, he adopted at once the principle of the apostle, — that
if meat would make his brother to offend, he would eat no meat
while the world stood."
" A useful life and an honored one, to be pointed at through
all coming time as a guide to the young, as a model life upon
The Hon. Neal which every man may safely form his own, — honor-
Dow. |jjg QqjJ ^jj(J jjjg country, every thought and word
and act intended and calculated to promote the welfare and
happiness of the human family."
" Not long ago Mr. Dodge stood on the platform where I now
stand and pleaded the cause of Christian temperance. There is
The Rev T Da ^'^^ ^ great charity of these cities in behalf of which
wittTalmage, his voice has not been Ufted and his generous hand
opened. A milUonnaire, and yet as unpretentious as
when, a poor boy, he came to New York to win his first dollar.
So genial, so large-minded, so great-hearted, his death is a calamity
to Christendom. When the history of the great Christian and
benevolent enterprises of this century is written, there wiU be no
more honored or beloved name than that of WUUam E. Dodge."
" A noble and beneficent life has been brought to a sud
den close. Of the many items of business and news flashed
Mr. John tay- through the Atlantic cable last Friday, not one wiU
TeraperanreRe" caU forth deeper Sympathy and feeling. Mr. Dodge's
°^^- life was many-sided. What specially concerns us
was his thorough and consistent advocacy of temperance during the
past half century. Not only as one of the pioneers does he take
a foremost place in the history of the temperance reformation, but
by his untiring service and by his generous contributions he must
be regarded as one of its greatest benefactors. But the tem
perance cause was only one amongst many ; for to every phase of'
Christian work he gave most valuable help and encouragement,
notably to Young Men's Christian Associations.
" As in morals, so in business Mr. Dodge was a pioneer. Be
yond and above the making a profit was the intent to aid the indus
tries and develop the resources of his country. Years ago, in the
northwest of Pennsylvania, his courage and foresight sustained the
embryo coal and iron industries of that district, which led to their

TRIBUTES.

357

successful development ; and to him was accorded the honor of
turning the first sod of the Central Railway of New Jersey, con
necting the said northwestern district of Pennsylvania with New
Jersey City.
" By these operations and by his original business as an iron
merchant he acquired considerable wealth, — which no one grudged,
•for he dispensed his riches with a princely hand. His giving was
twice blessed, — the gift and the manner of giving ; and how much
blessing was thus brought to his own soul is beyond what we can
estimate. We cannot give at this time anything like a complete
picture of his life and character ; but this we wiU say, that his was
eminently a happy Ufe. Though not free from trials, he was spe-
ciaUy happy in his family life ; and four years ago he celebrated his
golden wedding amidst a wide and loving circle of children, grand
children, and friends. Mrs. Dodge, who survives her husband, is
Uke-minded with him in her sunny disposition, her loving kindness,
and her active benevolence.
" This happy Ufe of his constitutes a noble lesson, especially to
young men. It did not come by chance. It was not due to his
success in business, but was due rather to his manly piety, to his
thorough unselfishness, to his constant thought of and labor for
others, to his wide-spread sympathies, and the many friends in
both hemispheres attracted by his varied work and his abundant
hospitalities ; due also in great measure to a life healthy through
abstinence from alcohol and all other narcotics, and healthy through
his vigorous industry and active Ufe. Young men should take note
that, discarding those very things that some regard as essential to
the enjoyment of life, he from youth to age enjoyed life to the very
utmost. It seems but a few days since we were with him in New
York and at Tarrytown ; and he was then, as ever, almost boyish
in his activity and Ught-heartedness. * Light is sown for the right
eous, and gladness for the upright in heart.' It is a touching re
membrance, our last farewell to him and to Mrs. Dodge. Decem
ber I, the evening before our return voyage, we had to see a
mutual friend and near neighbor, and afterwards called to take a
final leave. The time for evening prayer drew near, and together
we mingled the note of thanksgiving, commending one another
to the protecting care of our loving Father in heaven. And so we
parted."

3S8 TRIBUTES.
To visitors from the mother-country Mr. Dodge was ever
kind and hospitable. One of these (Dr. Dawson Burns)
writes in the " London Temperance Record : " —
" After presiding with great urbanity over a company of tem
perance friends convened to meet me at the rooms of the Christian
Young Men's Association, Mr. Dodge insisted on my accompany
ing him to Tarrytown, about sixteen mUes from New York, on
the banks of the Hudson. Here, at his beautiful mansion, I met
Mrs. Dodge, then an invaUd, and spent one of the pleasantest
afternoons it is possible to enjoy. He laid himself out to make
me feel at home, and nothing could resist his radiant geniality.
In connection with a charming drive, he called at the house long
inhabited by the late Washington Irving, stiU in the occupancy
of the latter's sisters, and procured me a sight of the library as it
was left by the distinguished writer. Mr. Dodge's only regret was
that I could not prolong the visit, and thus receive multiplied
marks of a friendship that was as unaffected as it was profuse. I
hope no American wiU feel aggrieved by my saying that Mr. Dodge
— who was then (1880), I think, in his seventy-eighth year —
seemed to me the beau-ideal of ' the fine old English gentleman '
celebrated in song, saving the absence of certain Bacchanalian
traits which never have improved any gentleman, old or young.
Among the chief merchants of the second mercantUe city in the
worid Mr. Dodge held a high position ; but as a Christian philan
thropist and a leader of the purest tendencies of his age and
nation, Mr. Dodge occupied a place equalled by few, and perhaps
excelled by none. America wiU be much poorer for his decease,
unless his example is cherished and emulated by the countrymen
he served so weU."
Mr. James H. Raper writes in the same journal : "No one can
regard the announcement of the death of the Hon. W. E. Dodge
with more deep sympathetic interest than I do. I was his guest in
New York for nearly a fortnight at the close of the year 1875, in-
cludmg Christmas week. The courteous provision for my comfort,
and the way Mr. Dodge and his exceUent, now bereaved, lady exer
cised theu hospkality so as at once to gratify their guest and press
forward the temperance cause, was most charming and instructive.

TRIBUTES. 359
On the 2 1 St of December Mr. Dodge presided over a public wel
come meeting in the Young Men's Christian Association, at which
the Rev. Dr. T. B. Dunn, ' Mother Stewart,' Judge Black, Mr.
PoweU, Mr. Stevens, Dr. Chickering, and the Rev. Mr. Corrant took
part in the proceedings, along with their president. This was a
galaxy of true temperance workers ; but it was exceeded in some
respects by the band of influential ladies and gentlemen gathered
by Mr. Dodge a few days later at his residence, Madison Avenue.
The Rev. Dr. Hopkins, of WiUiamstown, the Rev. Dr. M'Cosh, of
Princeton, and others of the leaders of pubUc opinion in New York
and vicinity were brought together to consider the interests of the
temperance reformation on both sides of the Atlantic. During the
World's Temperance Convention I was much with Mr. Dodge in
Philadelphia, and there I saw him amid the princes of philanthropy,
such as Mr. Stuart, standing as their peer. Subsequently, in the
heat of the summer of 1876, 1 was a sojourner at Tarrytown, in Mr.
Dodge's mansion on the Hudson. The merchant-princes on this
side of the Atlantic have reached the happy altitude of good-doing
in aU circles of which I was an eye-witness. His knowledge of
England was great and appreciative, and a warmer sympathizer
with the United Kingdom AUiance is not left among us."
" The president of one of the large banks, and a life-long friend
of Mr. Dodge, said : ' WiUiam E. Dodge and I were young men
together, boarding in the same house, in 1824. He j.„n,theNew
was then with a grocery firm in Maiden Lane, near York Evening
Broadway. He left the boarding-house when he mar
ried Miss Phelps, and soon after went into business with Mr.
Phelps, a dealer in metals and tin-plates. Ten days ago he and I
were at a trustee meeting together, and it occurred to me at the
time that no man whom I know had in a long Ufe changed so littie
in manner and character as he. Fifty-five years ago he was just
what he always was through Ufe, — sagacious, quick to decide,
quick in execution, untiring at work, but carrying into aU his busi
ness operations, large and smaU, the principle of his private life,
which was conspicuously religious. I remember distinctly one
morning, about the year 1828, meeting Mr. Dodge and being
much interested in his account of a meeting of the Young Men's
Bible Society held the night before at the City Hotel, where the

360 TRIBUTES.
Boreel buUding now is. He was fuU of enthusiasm in teUing what
had been done, and what the Society hoped to do. His enthu
siasm for good works never flagged from that day to the time of his
death. " ' Mr. Dodge was famous for the consistency of his religious life
with his business career. He never held stock in a railroad which
ran ks cars on Sunday. He never drank spirituous liquors, no
matter what the occasion. When he was traveUing in Europe he
sometimes found it impossible to get good water to drink ; but in
that case he drank bad water. His death wUl be an irreparable
loss to the many charitable, religious, and temperance associations
to which he contributed money, and advice quite as valuable. The
amount of his gifts for these purposes was very large. I know tiiat
for years he gave away a hundred thousand dollars a year. Mr.
Dodge was the representative of the best type of the old New
York business man. He had enterprise, judgment, and perfect in
tegrity, and gave a large share of his attention to helping others.' "
" It is really remarkable that three distinguished citizens, all to a
greater or less degree interested in the city of Hartford, should be
From the rcmovcd froiii their Ufe-labors within a few days. Wil-
Hartford Uam E. Dodgc, the father-in-law of Governor Jewell's
daughter, died last Friday morning. Governor JeweU
died Saturday morning. Ex-Governor Edwin D. Morgan, who
went from Hartford to New York, died this (Wednesday) morning.
Before one was buried another died, and the three men were warm
friends, with intimate family relations and associations."
"What is consecration in an individual? This can best be
shown by an example. In order to see it in connection with
Rev. R. L. giving money, take the case of the late Hon. WiUiam
rrD7™'he ^' ^°*^g^- H'^ ^^^ i" an eminent degree a conse-
NewYork Crated life. His gifts to benevolent objects ran into
Evangelist. fj^e miUious. But these gifts were a very small part
of that which showed his eminent consecration to Christ. There
were other men in the same city who also gave their mil
Uons, who were not the consecrated men that Mr. Dodge was.
His daily walk showed it, in his conversation, his kindly spirit,
his generous sympathy, his genial smile, his warm handshake!

TRIBUTES. 361
Although immersed in business, his life ran in a spiritual channel.
Nothing so delighted him as being in a revival ; he ' gloried in the
Cross,' was faithful in warning sinners, a grand counsellor to young
converts, the stay and support of ministers. Sit with him in a rail
way-car, and he would give the conversation a religious turn ; and
it was often the same when you met him in the counting-room.
Nothing was more entertaining than to hear him rehearse the inci
dents of former times, during the revivals under Mr. Finney. He
seemed to be in his true element when I met him on the platform
at Oberlin, at the ' Finney Memorial ' gathering, a few months after
the death of that eminent man of God. Mr. Dodge was a man of
religious courage, and his whole consecrated life was based on
principle and iUustrated in a conscientious righteousness. He
showed this where many Christians fail. He stood up for God's
Sabbath, even at pecuniary loss. At his social feasts, surrounded
with guests of most distinguished men, he would not aUow the
wine-cup. His enjoyments were pure. He set a high and health
ful example in aU these things. Would that this could be said of
aU his Christian neighbors, who, like him, gave their mUlions to be
nevolence ! But perhaps the most striking of all his religious
habits, and where the mass of Christian people do absolutely noth
ing to advance the cause of Christ, was in his improving every
favorable opportunity to lead sinners to Christ. His private devo
tions and secret spiritual communion with God prepared him for
this, and for the success which foUowed. It was this personal
devotion to the souls of men which was the prime element in his
' consecration,' and this is consecration anywhere ; and where it is
wanting, religion is littie else than a name, though ;nUlions of money
may be given in benevolence. ' Though I bestow aU my goods to
feed the poor . . . and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.'
"That which was the prime element in putting the stamp of
consecration upon the life of Mr. Dodge, is wkhin the reach of
every disciple of Christ, whether poor or rich in worldly goods."
" It is in his private charities that Mr. Dodge's character has
shown itself pre-eminently. Nine tenths of them never wiU be
known ; but a legion of people, from one end of the Mr. a. g.
United States to the other, wiU to the day of their Steadman.
deaths shower down blessings on the memory of this great and

362 TRIBUTES.
good man. Akhough belonging to a wealthy and honorable fam
ily, Mr. Dodge elected as a young man to enter a business firm in
this city at the bottom of the ladder, as was the general practice
with the sons of wealthy merchants at that time, — a practice,
sad to say, which has almost died out wkh the present generation.
GraduaUy he worked his way up to the most prominent business
position in the city, and finally retired fuU of years and honor.
But not to rest. The work of buUding up a fortune, of surround
ing himself with home comforts, was merely to insure the better
management of his 'Father's business.' From his earUest man
hood to the day of his death, this was the chief end and occupa
tion of his Ufe. As the years advanced, his family wished to keep
away from him the constant applicants for charity ; but so fearful
was he that some worthy case, some deserving person, should be
neglected, that he insisted on seeing them all, — to the evident
shortening of his life. Yet no one was quicker than he to detect
and put to shame the professional mendicant."
" At the International Convention of the Young Men's Christian
Associations in Exeter Hall, London, two years ago, the Earl of
Rev Theo- Shaftesbury and WilUam E. Dodge sat side by side.
DORE L. Guy- Every one recognized them as the two lay-leaders of
. the National evangelical effort in the two great nations they repre-
Baptist. sented. The one was born to a famous title in the
British peerage ; the other began Ufe as an errand-boy in a New
York dry-goods store. Both rose to the head of the Christian
forces in their respective countries, and yet never outgrew their
godly humUky ; both were noblemen of the Almighty. Shaftesbury
StiU lives ; Dodge has gone up higher.
" There are some valuable lessons for young men to be gathered
from the career of our American phUanthropist, who has just been
borne to his grave amid great lamentations for his departure. Let
me hurriedly note some of these many lessons.
" I. The first one is that the richest and most fruitful lives for
Christ begin with early conversation. It took sixty-six years of
incessant devotion to Jesus Christ, and the service of others, in
order to buUd the Ufe of WilUam E. Dodge. He gave his heart to
the Lord at the age of twelve ; and then kept growing, not by
fitful spasms, as in ' revival ' times, but by steady enlargement of

TRIBUTES. 363
spiritual bulk and vigor. He was like one of those cedars which
loom up on Mount Lebanon, above the college which he helped to
buUd in Beirut. He began his career ui a very humble position ;
for those only who are wiUing to start far down are able to reach
far up. Nearly aU our foremost characters, both in the church and
the commonwealth, have been cradled on the rocks.
" 2. A second lesson taught by my beloved friend was the su
preme value and power of a Christian conscience. He has told me
that when he came to New York in boyhood he was beset with the
usual temptations to wine-drinking, theatre, and the other snares
with which so many youthful feet are entrapped. To aU these he
could say, like Nehemiah : ' So did not I.' One of the sweetest,
most courteous and genial of men, he had the backbone of a
Puritan. " 3. The noble lesson of consecration of wealth to the service of
the God who loaned it to him, is one of the most obvious in Mr.
Dodge's long career. He gave for the love of it. During one
year his donations averaged a thousand doUars a day ; and the
sum-total of them during fifty years amounted to several miUions.
He put a brick into hundreds of structures for the weal of his
fellow-men ; to foreign missions, to the education of Southern
freedmen, and to the cause of temperance he gave the most bounti
fully. When a commercial calamity swept from him over a miUion
of doUars, he said to me : 'I feel this loss mainly because it leaves
just so much the less for me to give to our Master.'
" 4. But his consecration of the purse — noble as it was — did
not equal the consecration which he made of himself to the ser\'ice
of Jesus and to personal efforts for the salvation of souls. Trained
by Harlan Page, he had a rare skUl in deaUng with individuals,
whether in an inquiry-meeting or in a private dwelUng. He was
not afraid to talk plainly and lovingly to his wealthiest friends
about their souls ; he often went dovm on his knees with them in
fervent prayer ; and sometimes, when he retumed from attending
the funerals of eminent citizens, he would say with a sort of godly
jealousy : ' Oh, why was not there more said to the unconverted in
that assembly about their own need of Christ?' Mr. Moody
found in him a most efficient helper ; for Mr. Dodge carried a key
to houses and hearts that hardly any one else possessed. Nor did
he confine his personal efforts to people of his own social rank.

364 TRIBUTES.
Down in Jerry McAuley's mission, and at the Home for Inebriates,
and in many another spot where the poor, wrecked victims of sin
appealed to his big, Christ-loving heart, he strove and prayed to
win a soul from death.
" 5. The last lesson to be gathered from that career which has
lately ended in glory, is this : He who would work successfuUyy^^r
Christ must live constantly with Christ. Our brother was emi
nently a man of prayer. He fed and watered his soul every morn
ing with the manna of the word, and at the fountain of communion
with Jesus. No pressure of business ever robbed that Daniel of
his fixed hours of private devotion. That stately tree of philan
thropy and godUness rose so high, and bloomed out into such
beauties of holiness, because it was 'rooted by the rivers,' and
drew its inner life from the inexhaustible sources."
" He showed that religion and business are not incompatible,
' Business ' is a rough, hard trunk, growing out of an earthly soU ;
but it may be vital with Christian faith and principle.
Rev. F. N. . K r 7
Zabriskie, and it may bear heavenly fruitage, fuU of sweetness
Sower '° "'* ^^^ ^^^^^ ^"'^ ^°^^ ^°^ '^^°' ^^'^ ^™S S'°^y ^° ^°^-
" He showed how much business there is for men
who have retired from business. No one in this world, and espe
cially in this age, need be ' out of business.' When Mr. Dodge
became a ' silent partner ' in secular and money-making establish
ments, it was only to become a more active partner in a score of
philanthropic and evangelistic organizations. Vast as were the
sums he gave, they were as nothing compared to the cheer and
influence of his personal presence and the value of the counsel
.and co-operation which he so freely and widely rendered. He
was literally a tower of strength along the hard-fought and often
wavering border-line of light and darkness, Christ and Belial.
" He showed how the sternest principle may be united with the
most genial and sunny temper. Not only when he gave did he
make the donors feel that the privilege was on his side, but in his
firm and uniform refusal to comply with social customs or to be
aUied wkh business methods which were against his conscience
he was so bright, and devoid of pharisaism, that he had the kindly
feeUng as weU as the confidence of all.
" What can the world offer in the way of pleasure, or art depict

TRIBUTES. 365
of the beautiful, compared to the blessedness and beauty of such a
life I One had only to look at Mr. Dodge to see what a happy
man he was. And his happiness arose from the constancy with
which he sought the peace and good of others. It was an im
perial privilege to have such large capacity and resources for aid
ing, cheering, inspiring, and saving the weak, the weary, and the
lost. But the great contest and perfect peace lay not in the mea
sure of his means or of theu results, they were in the benevolent
spkit and motive, which kept his heart and brain and hands
heakhfully astk."
" Hundreds of homes are touched by the sorrow of this death ;
hundreds of men who owe their inteUectual life and thek positions
of usefulness to him must feel that their great bene- Rev.A.c.SHAw,
factor and friend has been taken from them. To °°-' 9'""'.
how many of the missionaries of our Lord and Saviour coureerat'we'us-
have the tidings of his departure carried the grief of ^'"¦°' ^^•
personal bereavement; how many mission-fields, gleaming amid
the midnight of heathendom, are darkened by the shadow of this
afiliction I And this is the death of a man not eminent by virtue
of the office he held, not connected with the world of letters in
such a way as to keep his name before the miUions who read,
a death with which there was no tragic circumstance to shock the
world, — it was the death of a plain citizen, in his own home, in
the ripeness of his years.
" When the heart of WUliam E. Dodge stopped beating, it was
as if a noble fountain, that with countless diverging streams had
made glad the whole Christian world, had suddenly ceased to
flow. " ' Defer not charities tUl death ; for certainly, if a man weigh
it rightly, he that doth so is rather liberal of another man's than his
own.' Mr. Dodge obeyed this rule ; he did not defer his charities
until he could neither use nor enjoy his money. The enormous
sums given by him might have been devoted to purposes of pride
and splendor, or to making himself stiU richer. But he took de
light in doing good with his riches, and had the satisfaction of
knowing where his money went.
" He has done more than to give. Besides fortunes of money,
he has lavished upon these causes the riches of his sympathy and

366 TRIBUTES.
personal affection ; he has, we may beUeve, caUed down upon them
the priceless blessings of his daily intercessions. His heart was in
these celestial endeavors ; they were as much a part of his life as
of any who received his benefactions. No missionary could bring
to him a more honest and genuine interest in the great cause than
that which throbbed in his own bosom. No coUege president more
sincerely desired the best good of his students than did he. And
we may be sure that of the young men whom he ekher supported
or largely assisted in their course of education, — and were they
here in a body, I doubt whether the church could begin to hold
them, — we may be sure that there were few of these men who
did not prize his paternal regard more highly than the generous
sums that with such delicate care for their own self-respect he
bestowed upon them. They were to blame if they were not
ennobled by contact with his great heart.
" There is no man to whom the phrase ' good luck ' is more
improperly appUed than to William E. Dodge. His story from
beginning to end is one of cause and effect; and the cause is
always equal to the effect. He was a model business man. The
man doing business on the most extensive scale, handling miUions
every year, could study him with profit ; and the man whose
business is Umited to a few thousands — even the boy beginner
to whom a thousand is an incredible sum — could not do better
than to study his example. He had all the qualifications which
insure contentment and progress amid restricted means and limited
opportunities ; knew how to live within a smaU income. It was
with the savings from such an income that he laid the corner-stone
of his vast prosperity. He knew how to accommodate himself to the
disagreeable necessities of his lot ; and if he could not do what he
would, he cheerfully and heartily did what he could. It was the
faithful errand-boy who became the great merchant. Not less
could he adapt himself to the largest undertakings and easily bear
up the heaviest responsibiUties. He had all the qualities which
win the regard and retain the confidence of men. In him the
theoretical and practical elements were successfuUy blended ¦ he
could comprehend a vast enterprise, and at the same time perfect
each one of its details, and then bring to the work the ceaseless
vigor, the persistent force, the unresting push that achieved resuks.
Withal he had an originating mind ; he did not wait upon oppor-

TRIBUTES. 367
tunity ; he ' made his own opportunity.' He could see oppor
tunities where others did not see them, and he was bold to
undertake where others saw, but dared not venture. In nothing,
it seems to me, was he more admirable as a man of business than
in the harmonious adjustment and co-operation of his good quali
ties. His enterprise did not outran his judgment, nor his judgment
put shackles upon his enterprise. He had not too much zeal for
his knowledge, nor knowledge at the expense of zeal. He was
not a man who would do exceUently in little New York, numbering
one hundred and twenty thousand, but was out of place in the
great metropoUs ; nor was he one who could prosper in the great
city, and not succeed in a smaU town. He was admkable in
both. " He was a Christian business-man. By this I mean that he
introduced the spirit of the Christian reUgion into his business life.
He did business on the kind, the fair, the honorable, and the
brotherly principles of that religion. There was nothing mean
or cruel in his prosperity. It was not, unless I am mistaken, built
upon the rains of the prosperity of others. It was not the triumph
of the strong over the weak, of the fortunate over the unfortunate.
He honored the old maxim, — Live, and let live ; he prospered
through causing others to prosper ; his good fortune was the certifi
cate of the good fortune of those who had wrought for him. And
as that prosperity roUed in upon him it served only to broaden and
deepen his fraternal sympathy with all who were struggUng with an
adverse lot. Upon all his wealth he could look as that which be
longed to him through the blessing of his Father in heaven. That
wealth had in it no reproaches, no sorrowful accusations, but bene
dictions and only benedictions. This is high praise ; it is saying
much in these days to affirm aU this about a very rich man. It
may be, and must be said of him ; and a stUl higher praise yet
remains. " Mr. Dodge was a Christian. I do not mean by this that he
was a member of a church, or that he caUed himself a Christian ;
I do not refer to the conspicuous positions he held in religious and
philanthropic associations, nor to the pride and joy felt in him by
the best and foremost men. I mean that his Christian character
was his traest, most individual, and personal character ; that amid
all the lights and shadows of life in the great metropoUs, — amid

368 TRIBUTES.
all the turmoU and confusion of these years during which one
noble reputation after another has become tarnished, — he has
kept the light of his Christian profession shining with undimmed
and unmistakable lustre before the eyes of men. I mean that the
word ' Christian ' describes him more accurately than the word ' busi
ness-man ; ' that his religious nature was the inspiring, the authori
tative, the controlling nature ; that the great things in his desire
and purpose were not his mUlions of gold, not his honors among
men, but his obligations and privileges, his joys and hopes as a
child of God. Judge for yourselves. ' By their fruits ye shaU know
them.' Mr. Dodge transacted business in such a way as always
to have time for the demands of personal piety. He began the
day by communion with God in his word and through prayer ;
and enough is known of his domestic life to make us very sure
that if one thing more than another was the glory of his home,
it was the altar of family worship in it.
" William E. Dodge ! Those of us who are in middle life can
hardly remember the time when that name was not a tower of
strength to aU good citizens and to all good men. What multitudes
of persons, for how many years, when any great work of philan
thropy or faith was to be inaugurated, have found that name upon
their Ups I And yet he was so gentle, so familiar, so unpretend
ing, and so near ; was so free from the egotist's vice of ' thrusting
his pampered self ' before us ; he made himself so perfectly one
of us, — that we scarcely recognized how much of a man and how
devoted a Christian he was.
"As we turn from this subject there are two things which
it would be treason to the record he has left us to forget. They
are : First, that the highest success in business is quite compatible
wkh the highest development of the Christian Ufe; that a man
may be immersed in affairs, and stiU maintain the warmest, freshest,
and most vigorous growth of his interest in the things that pertain
to the kingdom of God. A great writer has shown us how a
scholar, when wearied with one intellectual pursuit, may find rest
and recreation in another study. I believe that this merchant
prince, when jaded and worn with the cares of money-making,
found rest and refreshment in the activities of religion. There
was a harmonious and helpful relation between his office and his
closet, between the excitements of the place where men were buy-

TRIBUTES. 369
ing and seUing, and the excitements of the place where men were
worshipping God, or were maturing the schemes of benevolence.
In these things he found a change of air ; a different class of ideas
rushed in to renew his mind, to cheer and strengthen his heart.
His reUgious life made him a sounder and better man of business,
— certainly a pleasanter man to do business with ; his business Ufe
made him a more genuine and practical man of God. By one he
was protected from the corruption of trade and the hardening,
degrading effects of mere trade ; by the other he was protected
from wasting his spirit in mere dreams and sentiments and saintiy
emotions. In the activities of the world he had need of faith, and
in the revelations of faith, as from time to time he came down from
the mountain of vision, he had need of the activities of the world
as vessels to receive the wonders he had seen and to hold the
spirit with which he had been inspked. It was because in him were
combined the lives of the good man of business and of the devout
and earnest man of faith that he rose to such eminence in both,
and lived so long and so well, and as his years multiplied was forever
growing young, until he reached the land of immortal youth."
" Considering the multiplicity and the variety of the benevolent
enterprises in which the late Earl of Shaftesbury engaged with
untiring zeal for so many years, — and the London Rev. f. f.
papers say that he often attended four or five meetings ^'d^Th""'
a day, — one is reminded of a prominent figure which the Foreign
not long since disappeared from among us in this '^^""^'v-
city of New York. We refer to the late Mr. WiUiam E. Dodge,
whose schedule of engagements, as he placed it each morning
in the hands of his confidential clerk, would have presented a
remarkable, and to most business men a very unaccountable,
variety. Meetings of a Bible society, or a missionary board, or
a temperance union, were mixed up with engagements in the
Chamber of Commerce, or meetings of railroad managers or
bank directors. To a mind of less capacity for despatch, it
would have seemed confusing ; and yet, as he once informed us,
he found reUef in the variety which these engagements, systemati
cally met, afforded him. It was no unusual thing for him to write
his signature to a pile of bank-cheques whUe patiently hearing the
story of some minister who had come to ask assistance in buUding
24

370 TRIBUTES.
a church, or an agent who was trying to endow a coUege, or some
poor representative of the colored race who had come to plead for
his impoverished flock. Blessed are the names and influence of
such men, who, with the heaviest engagements, have never aUowed
the fountains of sympathy to dry up, nor abated one jot or tittle of
that deep and abiding interest which is due to the great concerns
of humanity and the claims of Christ's kingdom. We are glad
that a monument has been reared to the memory of Mr. Dodge.
It wiU be a possible incitement to the young merchants of this
city and the country to follow his high example. A noble column
wiU doubtless be reared to the memory of Lord Shaftesbury ; but,
really, Britain and America and the world are fuU of monuments to
the memory of these men. When shall the multitudes of our men
of wealth and influence and power, instead of trying to emulate
some selfish financier in the number of his miUions, or of the raU
roads which he controls, thereby only reaping the hatred of the
masses, find grace to use their opportunities for the glory of God
and the good of mankind, and thus make glad the waste places at
home and abroad with the messages of salvation? "
" Christian men are thankful that a statue of WUliam E. Dodge
has been set up in a pubUc place where many wiU see it in this
From the ^^^V' ^^- Dodgc was a Christian, a hearty and un
christian In- questioning believer in the evangeUcal doctrine. He
e igencer. ^^ ^j^^^ ^^ ^^^ bccausc of the gracc of God, re
ceived through his evangelical beUef. He was not perfect, was
a man of like passions with ourselves, was faUible, and had his
infirmities. If he had been free from imperfections, his Ufe
would be Of Uttie value to us. But he was a good man, emi
nent in vktue ; a sagacious man, a benefactor in a large sense, a
man of worid-wide sympathies. Every endeavor in this city to
reUeve the poor, the suffering, the discouraged, received gifts and
energetic efforts and sympathy from him. And such endeavors
the world over he was not only ready, but eager to help. He man
aged a great business, until k was first of ks class in this country.
It was lucrative, and he expended a large proportion of his share
of the profits in improving the condition of other men, and did
this gladly. The bronze memorial of the man and his Ufe will
speak words of cheer to young men who come to this city witiiout

TRIBUTES. 371
money, but determined to be diligent in business, fervent in spirit,
serving the Lord, resolved to succeed in that way, and in no
other. It wiU speak strengthening words to mature men burdened
with work and care and responsibihty, tried at aU points, and wiU
inspire them with new courage and resolution to be trae to God,
trae to his word, true to humanity, true to themselves. It wUl
speak to old men of Divine promises fulfiUed, of last days that were
best days, of the foretaste and earnest here of the heavenly inheri
tance. Thank God that there is a statue in this city of a Chris
tian merchant ! "

CHAPTER XXIIL
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY.
AS soon as the death of Mr. Dodge became known,
letters of sympathy, addressed chiefly to his wife,
but many also to his children, began to be received from
friends both near and far.
These expressions of affectionate appreciation of the
dead, and of tender regard for the members of his be
reaved family, will ever be most gratefully cherished ; but
they are too numerous, and in most cases contain too
much of a personal nature, to permit of publication even
in a memorial prepared for limited circulation. It would
be impossible, however, to present a just and complete
view of Mr. Dodge's character without, to some extent at
least, transcribing the loving estimate of those who knew
him longest and best. And yet only portions of the let
ters selected can be given ; but the light upon the picture
will come from varied sources, each revealing some distinct
feature or helping to make the whole more luminous.
"Among aU those who have known him, I should indeed be
Mr. A. A. sorry to think that, outside the family circle, there are
Low. any who hold his memory in higher honor than I do.
Would that there were others like him ! But I cannot caU to mind
one who, at home and abroad, in aU the various relations of life,
may claim to be his peer. What a delight it was to know him, and
rejoice in his gladdening smUe, and to feel the cordial grasp of his
hand ! "

LETTERS OF SYMPATHY. 373
" The resolutions [of the Board of Directors of the Delaware,
Lackawanna, & Western Railroad] express tenderly, m,.. samuel
and yet fall short of what we feel. We shaU miss him Sloan.
at our meetings, — the wise counsellor, the prompt and energetic
director. His manly Christian character has left ks impress upon
our whole organization, and wiU, I trust, not be forgotten."
" I have no words to express the sadness I feel at the death
of Mr. Dodge. A most noble Christian Ufe has ,, „,
° Mr.WlLLIAM
closed, — a life that has had a most beneficial influ- a. Booth.
ence upon the world."
"For many years I was in constant communication with Mr.
Dodge, and was forcibly strack with his reliability.
The greater the emergency, the greater the certainty Tavlor
that he would be on hand to assist. That was the J""""""-
saUent point of his character which presented itself the oftenest
to me."
" I have lost my oldest friend. For more than fifty years
we have been associated in intimate relations in so- Mr. f. s.
cial and public affairs, and without a break in the Winston.
friendship which has existed during that whole period."
" I have had such frequent occasion to see Mr. Dodge recently,
and under circumstances which so well illustrate the Mr. John e.
nobUity of his character, that I am pecuUarly impressed Parsons.
by his death. May I be permitted to say how warmly I, in com
mon with aU others, venerated one whose ideal was so high, and
whose whole .Ufe so truly reflected his ideal."
" It is very hard to think of so sudden an end to a life so active
and beneficent, associated always with an untiring and
... 1 . Mr- WiL-
unselfish energy, which seemed in some way to pos- liam allen
sess the secret of perpetual youth. During the many ^"¦^'-^''•
years that I have known him, extending back to my boyhood, he
has always seemed to me the same in his constant activity and
vigor, and in his readiness for every good word and work ; and
now that he has been caUed so suddenly from his finished work
here, there is nothing of intervening debiUty or decay to mar the

374 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY.
image which wiU remain in my recoUection, or to weaken the
force and beauty of his example."
" I feel thankful that I have known him, for his acquaintance
made me better. Earth had nothing more to give him. AU
Mr Charl human inteUigence, with the experience of centuries,
E. White- could uot plan a morc full, complete, and happy Ufe
"^"' on earth ; and we know he has gone to a fuller, more
complete and happy one beyond. Therefore I trast the tender
ness of the past wiU not fade from you, — ¦' that every tone and
look, every word of praise and prayer, may remain fresh to your
ear and memory, and yet the next world seem nearer and brighter
and surer for his having gone on before."
" Engagements made early last week compeUed me to re
main at home when I would most gladly have joined
ardS. the great, loving, sorrowing, yet rejoicing, concourse
ch°'"h'£'h' ' ^^ '•^^ Church of the Covenant, — sorrowing that they
PUgrims, shaU see his face no more on earth; rejoicing that,
Brooklyn. stepping Suddenly over the crystal threshold, he has
found himself in the midst of the saints, in the presence of the
King 1 "
" It seems but yesterday that I saw him, so kind, so strong.
Rev. Henry SO wise and genflc, so full of the grace of the Master !
j.VanDyke, Can it be that the warm heart is stUl, the cheerful
Jr., D.D.,
pastor of voice sUcut SO soon ? But after all there must be a
Church''New great comfort iri the thought that he was spared long
York. sickness and suffering. AU prepared as he was, it was
just closing the eyes, and opening them in heaven. He has seen
the Lord whom he served so faithfully. He is receiving his great
reward." " The sad, unlooked-for tidings came as a sore personal afflic-
Rev Wil- ^^°^- ^° receufly active as ever in his Master's work,
LIAM Ormis- it scarce seems possible that he can have been caUed
Pastor Coi'ie- homc. He wUl be missed long and much in every
giate Church, enterprise, and especiaUy in every work of faith and
labor of love. Who could have been taken for whom so many
wUl mourn aU over our land, and in every branch of the Church

LETTERS OF SYMPATHY. 375
of Christ I But though dead, he stiU speaketh ; he rests, but his
works follow him."
"Men, regardless of age, sect, or condition, have just been
weeping scalding tears over the white face of a man, an apostle
of phUanthropy, who loved everywhere, and stretched
his regal sympathies around the globe ; and whUe his Parkhurst,
precious dust Ues mouldering, his name is an axis ^'^'
around which all conditions of men easily turn, and his dear mem
ory a solvent in which antagonisms readily melt into fellowship."
" What a happy ending, — swift, painless, and unshadowed by
any clouding of the reason or long decay of the powers. ' He was
passing from one room to another ' I read in the ac-
count of his death. Even so, — out of the lower into Henry c.
the upper room. I congratulate you in the inheritance A°sistont- '
of such a memory of his long and blameless and use- Bishop of
ful life. New York is richer because such men as he
have lived in it, and the world is poorer when they go out of it."
" I, who remember his marriage, cannot
. ,.-.., . ., ... R'- Rev. A. Clbvb-
deprive myself of the pnvUege of assuring you land Coxe, d.d.,
of my affectionate sympathy. Many impres- Net" Yo°rk^"'^"
sions of his early Ufe present themselves to
my mind and inspire me with tender emotions."
"I cannot refrain from adding my word of sympathy to those
of hundreds of others. The world has suffered
a great loss in losing so great and good a man. i^^^f ™', co^ege^™'
Thrice blessed were his Ufe and death."
" I cannot yet realize that I am no more to see in the flesh the
genial countenance of that noblest of our citizens. Through aU
his life, in every position and relation he sustained, there
was the flow and the glow of the Saviour's image and jj'e,; ™d!!
spirit. While he bore and honored a denominational st. Mark's
name, he was in heart and mind a fellow-citizen with aU York.'
the saints and of the whole household of God. Such
a Ufe and such an example are of untold value to the Church of
Christ on earth, and no better service can be rendered to the young
men of this land than to put in their possession the record of such

376 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY.
a career of influence and usefulness. The good which this one
man did wiU continue on through aU the ages to come."
" His was, in truth, a noble and enviable career. To have the
means of doing so much good in one's passage through this world,
is the privilege of but few. To have the heart to make
Prof- use of those means with a liberal hand, is the lot of an
fSie^dId., insignificant portion of those whom Providence has
^^'.^Theo- (.jjyg endowed. Mr. Dodge always seemed to me to
Seminary. combiuc mauliuess wkh a genuine warmth of religious
feeling. He did everything in a certain large way.
His example wiU be even more frukful than his labors and benefac
tions. Such a close of such a Ufe can only be contemplated with
gratitude." "There are thousands whom he never knew who are sorrow
ing over his departure from Ufe, — our Ufe. He had
MoRRfs D D lived so long and so well, in the eye of the com-
LaneTheo- mon Church, that his name and person had come
Sraiinary. to be a part of our common heritage. His with
drawal leaves a great vacancy, — a vacancy which
in some sense is never to be fiUed. What shall we all do with
out his example, his counsels, his inspkations ? "
"I sympathize with you deeply in your sorrow and in your
p f A J^y' — ^^ yoyyc sorrow in parting for a season from
fredG. one with whom you have held such sweet feUow-
°^^' ¦ ship for so many years ; in your joy that he has
lived such a noble Christian life, that he has gained the vic
tory over death, and that he has obtained the crown of eternal
life in the presence of the Saviour whom he loved and whom
he delighted to serve and to honor."
" I can scarcely realize that one whom I so greatly loved and
revered has been taken from us. I remember as distinctly as if it
were only yesterday the time — now not far from
m" Baird,'"' fo^'Y years — whcn I had the privilege of bemg a
uXer^r'' scholar in the school of which he was superintendent.
His bright and uniformly cheerful glance, and the sin
cere interest he seemed to take in every boy and girl, even the
youngest, invested the very room with a sort of moral sunshine

LETTERS OF SYMPATHY.

377

that impressed itself indelibly upon the memory; in fact it is
difficult for me to think of him in any other form than that he then
wore, — a man in his youthful prime, buoyant with hope and
health, active and vigorous beyond most men. Much of the same
look he appeared to me to wear stiU when in later years I met
him; he never seemed to grow old."
" Few such Uves have appeared. There are men enough who
have attained -success in business, men who have been great in
intellect and in some one development of power ; but
I may say, without fulsome extravagance, that I have Ellinwoo'd,
never known one who combined in so great a degree ^f presb^erfa^
intellectual and moral worth, and both crowned with Board of For-
love to God and man. So firm an adherence to ster- '*°
ling principle ; so much of well-directed energy ; such marvellous
capacity for work in a thousand directions ; so broad a phUan
thropy and so deep an earnestness in the spread of the Gospel in
all lands ; such a catholic spirit towards Christians of every name ;
and such untiring patience in Ustening to the constant calls of
charity : wljere and in whom have we seen all this equaUed ?
" Men of known weakh and liberality have generally felt obUged
to shield themselves from appeals, and not infrequently have be
come chiUed, or even hardened, under the constant pressure ; but
I have been surprised at the patience, and even enthusiasm, with
which Mr. Dodge took up each new charity. He never seemed
to lose the freshness of his interest. I first knew Mr. Dodge while
I was a pastor in Rochester, and in connection with his liberal sup
port of ten young men in Auburn Seminary. I saw stiU more of
his widespread benevolence during the year I was associated with
him when the ' Memorial Fund ' was secured. I have seen him
again at the meetings of the American Board, as weU as in the
councUs of our own Board ; and now I find myself looking over the
Church and unconsciously asking, 'On whom shall his mantle faU? '
How weU the symmetry of his public life was rounded and com
pleted by his social and domestic Ufe, I need not say. But it is
perhaps rarest of aU that a great man has for a long lifetime pre
sented to the world so beautiful an example as a husband and
father. It is by no means the least of his good deeds that he has
taught this wayward generation so grand a lesson in domestic life.

378 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY.
His influence has beked the globe ; but k was brightest of aU at the
hearthstone." " I have known him for nearly fifty years, and I have never
Rev. X Leighton Wil- knovm One of my feUow-meu for whom I
SON, D.D., secretary of havc had greater regard and affection. The
the Board of Foreign ., , . , j i • •
Missions of the South- savor of his good uamc and his mnumer-
ern Presbyterian Church, ^^g deeds of kindness must be precious to
you as long as you live."
" The ' character of Mr. Dodge might weU be held up before
the young men of our land as a model. God
cItte^, ^' gives but few such men in one generation. He
D.D., presi- jjad great wealth and a high social position, but he
dent of ,,,. TTiri
Lafayette was always the same humble, smcere, and helpful
College. Christian, winning the love as weU as the respect
of aU who knew him."
" Mr. Dodge deeply impressed us as a man possessing the quaU-
ties of excellence which the grace of God produces. He drew
near to God to leam his wiU. He did not follow with
Rev. I. N.
Rendall, majorities. If they were against the right, he could be
dent 'of^"°' 3gairist them. In exigencies when the claims of hu-
Lincoin mauity required boldness in her advocates he did not
niversi y. hesitate to incur the risks of faithfukiess. Another
trait was that he made a difference between pleasing men and
benefiting them. He set the kingdom of heaven first. He made
it his aim to draw men towards it and into it. With him success
did not indicate prosperity where the blessings of religion were
omitted. He tried to help men in their highest interests, and led
them to Christ not merely by exhortations, but made them feel the
attractions of his own example.
" Mr. Dodge also impressed us by his ways as weU as his views.
He did not wish to be a solitary worker in any cause which he
counted good. With a modesty not common among men, he
never claimed for himself the credk of the good he promoted. If
others wrought, he commended and encouraged them. No timid
worker for the right was chiUed by his criticism. No co-workers
for the Master were made cautious lest their success, eclipsing his
credit, should awaken jealousy. AU movements of benevolence

LETTERS OF SYMPATHY.

379

were in his view impulses from God, and the path of duty was a
highway which could not be overcrowded. In it he never placed
any obstraction to hinder the wUling. He rejoiced to see the
work of God advanced by any instrumentaUty.
" And moreover he was constant in his devotion. ' He walked
in the ways of the Lord, and declined neither to the right hand
nor to the left aU the days of his life.' "

" One Uttle incident connected with my last visit to America
weU iUustrated his character, and it wiU never be forgotten. I
never asked him for any money for Robert College
either dkectiy or indirectly, and never expected any- washburn °
thing from him but hearty sympathy and good-wiU, d. d., presi-
which I was sure that I had. I knew how he was con- Robert
nected with the CoUege at Bekfit, and fek that we had College, Con-
° stantmople.
not the slightest claim upon him. But just as he was
starting for Europe he asked me to caU at his office at a certain
hour the day before he sailed. I went, and he gave me twenty-five
hundred dollars for the CoUege, with such words of sympathy and
cheer as gave me new faith in my work and new faith in the per-
fectibiUty of human nature. I think that Mr, Dodge's princely
charities were not, however, the thing which endeared him most to
those who knew him. May I be permitted to say that Mrs. Wash-
bum and myself have spoken much oftener of his thoughtful and
tender, almost chivalric devotion to his wife ? And this same spirit
appeared in aU his relations of life. His sympathy was often worth
more than his money to those whom he helped, and I suspect that
the influence for good which he exerted unconsciously was greater
than that of which he knew. The fact that he has been caUed to
his rest shows that his work was done ; but his works wiU follow
him, and his influence for good wUl not cease whUe the world
endures." " Mr. Dodge was a rare man, and used his jj^^ ruther-
extraordinary talents and opportunities with a devo- fordB.Havbs,
tion to that which is good which wiU keep his name
and life and deeds in our grateful remembrance as long as any of
us shall Uve."

380 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY.
" I knew him so well, and loved him so much for his large-
hearted labors in every good word and work, be-
Hon. Schuyler ... ... . . ,
Colfax, Ex- sides haviug realized so often his earnest, outspoken
Vice-President fj-jgndship, of which I have been so proud, that I
can safely say, of aU the thousands who wiU mourn his loss, none
can feel k more keenly than myself"
" I cannot be mistaken in my beUef that no man has Uved in
this country whose influence and efforts for good have been greater.
No one survives him who has made, or can make^
Justice of u. si so deep an impression upon the life of the Christian
Supreme Court, community everywhere throughout the land. In
estimable is the value of his Christian and business Ufe. What a
rich, a speaking example, now finished, but ever present, we aU
have before us !"
Maj.-Gen. o. o. " How uscful, how uoblc, how persistent in doing
me°n"o£°he°p?attei the Mastcr's wiU has been his Ufe I May we, in the
Omaha, Neb. short years remaining to us, emulate his daily ex
ample, and be, like him, ' epistles known and read of all men.' "
" I desire only to add my testimony to that of thousands upon
thousands throughout the world to the value of his noble Ufe.
What a debt we owe him for the influence upon us of
Hon. JohnW. *^
Foster, u. s. his blameless life, so full of good words and works 1
MinistertoSpain. rj,^^^^^ ^is has finished his course at a ripe old age,
he StiU Uves in the example he has given us of the consistent, liberal,
and active Christian. It is a noble inheritance for his chUdren and
friends, in which I claim a share."
" Others wiU speak to you of his public career, so conspicuous
and honorable ; but I see him at this moment as the noble
Hon H L philanthropist and the true Christian gentieman. As
Dawes, u. s. such the world only has bounded his beneficent labors
Senate. ^.^^ j^j^ benign example. I have known him on two
or three occasions when it seemed to me that God permkted this
wicked world to try him in order that the absolute purity of the
metal might be made manifest to aU. How nobly he bore himself
in those trials, and how triumphant his vindication ! His friend
ship was to me one of the choicest of all my life, and I mourn him
as a dear brother."

LETTERS OF SYMPATHY. 38 1
" A great Ught has gone out, but not in darkness. I beUeve if
any man on this continent lived ready for the final summons, k
was Mr. Dodge. He had a simple, strong, unsuUied "
c '±.^ TT 11 1 1 11 1 . Hon. W. W. Hop-
faith. He belonged wholly to his Master, and pin, Ex-Govemor
walked with him, clung to him, without interruption, °f ^'""*<= ^='*'"''
through sunshine and storm. This whole nation wiU indeed miss
his quick response to the calls of duty, and his bright example and
princely gifts in aid of every good work. There are not many
crowns in heaven more fuU of stars than his; and as his inner
hidden life becomes known, the world will be more and more
astonished at the breadth and greatness of his character. Months
and years may pass away, and the grass grow green over his grave ;
but the Ufe he has lived will be enshrined in the hearts of his
countrymen as a perpetual reminder of how much a generous
nature, filled with the love of Christ, can accompUsh for the good
of mankind."
" I met Mr. Dodge a week ago last Monday evening in a great
crowd ; but he found a way to speak with me very kindly, and im
pressed me with those characteristics which have h n s b c it-
made his life and work so unique. It seems to me tenden. Brook-
that his career wiU become historical. No one ^°'
can ever measure the influence of his spirit and example in
steadily contributing of his words and wealth for the well-being of
mankind." " I knew him for a period of forty-five years ; and during the
first thirty of that time I knew him weU. He appeared always to
be thinking of the welfare of others ; and of this I Hon. j. Watson
wish to relate an instance which occurred to myself ^=^^' ^- ^'"¦''•
only last week. At the great meeting at Cooper Institute on
Thursday evening Mr. Dodge, who as first vice-president was
caUed upon to discharge the duties of our venerable president, sat
upon his right, whUe I was honored with a seat upon his left. At
the commencement of the meeting the room was warm, and I took
off my overcoat. Later a current of cold air made our position
uncomfortable. Mr. Dodge pointed to my coat, and urged me to
put it on. I did so, and took my seat ; when he at once passed
his arm in the rear of Mr. Cooper, and so adjusted the fur collar of
my coat as to protect me from the draught. It was a very simple

382 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY.
act, but k Dlustrated his character through Ufe. He has gone to
his rest, after a Ufe fuU of usefukiess, beloved, honored, and
respected as rai-ely faUs to the lot of man."
" I have no language to express the feeUngs of myself and fam
ily on reading that Mr. Dodge had so suddenly died. To him I
„ „ have no doubt ' sudden death was sudden glory.' It
Mr. George • j.
H. Stuart, is scldom that a death out of my own immediate
Philadelphia, ^^^.j^ ^^ affcctcd me so much as that of my old,
intimate, and highly valued friend. The memory of such a man
wUl be held in everlasting remembrance."
" There is no cause for sorrow, except for the loss to the world,
which he made sweeter and better by his Ufe. I loved him,
though I do not know that he knew aught of it. His
Mr. John ° ... , , , , •
Wanamaker, life was an mspiration to me, and though he is gone
Phiiadeip la. g^^gy^ jjjg influence wiU stiU move me. No one since
Garfield's death has been so mourned."
"The thought that must be uppermost in the minds of aU
who knew Mr. Dodge weU would be, ' Great gain to him, greater
Mr. J. v.far- than our loss by as much as the society and employ-
wELL, Chicago, mcuts of hcavcu are more satisfying to the sons of
God than the very best of earth.' The Press of the Christian
world wiU herald the sad funeral kneU, witnessing the fact that his
shadow, even in death, reaches as far as his money, prayers, and
sympathies did in the active privileges and duties of a weU-rounded
business and Christian life, fuU of energy to the very last day of it."
" He was the friend of aU who knew him ; but he was more than
that to me, — he was my ideal merchant and Christian gentleman.
Mr Tohn f ^^^ *^ ^ ^^^^ attained any reputation as an honorable
rathbone, merchant, and if my Ufe has in any degree been
*"''¦ marked by a desire to Uve an unselfish Ufe and to
make the world better for my livijig in it, I owe it under God to
the advice and example of that noble man. My acquaintance
with him began in 1841, when I commenced my business Ufe.
In 1845, when I established my own firm with little capital save
energy, principle, and an ambition to succeed, he was more than
kkid to me. He encouraged and inspired me by his sympathy
and advice, offered me more credk than I needed, and in all

LETTERS OF SYMPATHY. 383
the subsequent years of my active business life he never changed,
being always the same cheerful, loving friend.
" I do not remember any extended interview with him when
the subject of the higher life was not introduced, and always so
delicately (for he hated cant) ; so that in leaving him I felt that I
not only had accomplished my business, but had been made the
richer in soul and purpose."
" We had known him so long and so weU that we had come to
regard him as the ideal of a high-minded business-man and Christian
gentleman. When we had the pleasure of seeing him „ ™.
here the past summer, he was looking so well we had Blair, cm-
reason to hope that his noble and useful Ufe would be '^^^°'
spared for many years to be a blessing to his family and the world.
The announcement of his death wiU bring sadness to the hearts of
thousands who knew of his generous deeds, but did not know him
personaUy. "In the calamity that befeU our city in 18 71 Mr. Dodge, then
in Europe, was one of the first to respond to the needs of the suf
ferers ; but this was only the natural impulse of one who was ever
on the alert seeking to aid the needy, in imitation of his Divine
Master. It seldom happens that such an ardent, enthusiastic de
sire to benefit others is combined with the abiUty to do so noble
a work in one lifetime. We feel that we are better citizens and
better men for having been permitted to know and love him."
" You know the loving regard in which he was held jj^^ ^ ^
by us, and our deep sense of his loss. As a bark richly Blatchford,
freighted has he reached the heavenly port." "^^^°'
" This great loss is not his ; but it is the desolate home ckcle
and the Church that must especiaUy feel the bereavement and ask
who shaU rise to fiU the vacant place. Mr t p
" A personal acquaintance of thirty years with Mr. handy,
Dodge had endeared him to me as a brother. I can
never forget those warm and cordial greetings always given me,
whether at our missionary meetings or in a more private manner."
"The grandest legacy he has left you is his noble, unselfish
Christian life, — a Ufe in which so much was accom- Mr. h. t. mil-
plished for God and his feUow-men." '•=''¦ Cincinnati.

384 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY.
" One characteristic of Mr. Dodge in aU his conversations was
Mr. George s. his coutuiual dependence upon God, and his ex-
Frost, Detroit, pressed reservation in aU his plans for the future, ' If
God spares my Ufe.' "
" I cannot think of it as a death, but only a stepping upward
into heaven. I have admired and loved him during aU the forty
„ . vears I have known him. He has been to me a sort
Rev. Wilson •' . j t i_ r
Phraner.d.d., of Standard, a model business-man; and 1 nave often
Sing-sing. referred to him, and pointed my people to his
example. I thank God that he gave him to the Church, and to
New York city, and to the nation. Oh that many might catch
the spirit of his life ! Such Uves ought to be chronicled and
remembered." "With a father's loving interest he counseUed me upon my
entering the ministry ; and never shaU I forget his generous offer
„ , „ when he said to me : ' If you are wiUing to give up
Rev. James B. j a a r
Dunn, D.D., your business and devote your whole time to study, I
Boston. ^jjj sustain you.' This I did not see was necessary ;
but the generous spirit I appreciated, and all through my studies
and my subsequent ministerial career he was my fast friend, whose
advice I felt free to seek, and never sought in vain."
" Wherever he went, the grass grew greener, the flowers bloomed
fresher, and the faces of men, women, and children looked happier.
T F c ¦^^ ^^^ ^ special blessing to aU the churches by his
kins, Wellsboro, couuscls and co-opcratiou with the ministers. He
Pa went into our prayer-meetings and Sabbath congre
gations like a beam of daylight. He was kindling-wood to aU our
devotions. If any one was ever happier than he in going from
house to house, into stores and offices, talking and praying with
aU sorts of men, in aU conditions of mind, on the subject of re
Ugion, it has not been my privilege, in a ministry of nearly forty
years, to become acquainted with that man. It would seem as if
his zeal and fidelity could not but have given offence sometimes ;
but I never knew such a case. There was sunlight in his face, and
love in his heart, and often tears in his eyes, that must have
disarmed all opposition.
" The variety of his reUgious mterests was greater and more

LETTERS OF SYMPATHY. 385
evenly balanced than that of any man I ever saw. GeneraUy such
active philanthropists have a specialty or hobby somewhere. His
was anything, anywhere, any man, or church, or society, or enter
prise, by which God's name could be glorified, and the human
race saved from sin and its punishment. He wanted to see men,
communities, and the world grow better and happier. His large
experience and practical ways of doing things seemed to Uft the
chariot-wheels over many rugged places."
" It is seldom that any one is so widely mourned or so gener
ally loved, and perhaps stiU more seldom that one ^^^ henry a
leaves the record of so blameless a life. His name Stimson, Wor-
.... , ,. ..,. , caster, Mass.
wiU long be on many lips as an inspiration and
appeal to young men."
" My heart tells me to offer a word of sincere sympathy in the
great sorrow which has come upon your household, and upon
a larger household, which numbers many thousands
„ ,¦,,., , . , Rev.J. Leonard
aU over this land. And yet let us not speak the Corning, Mor-
word ' death ' in connection with that good man, ""°™' ^- J- ,
whose brave testimony and example wiU be Uving and potent
for generations to come. Such as he the world wiU not soon
forget ; and even should it forget them, it wUl stUl feel the healing
ministry of thek lives."
" I shaU never forget the tears that he shed as he sat by my
dear mother's side on the day of my own father's funeral, and
how affectionately he spoke of the friend he had „ „
¦' '^ ^ Rev. George H.
loved. The same tenderness of Christian sympathy Griffin, Milford,
was shown again when he not only came to my
mother's funeral, but sought us out when the services were over,
that he might extend the friendly hand and speak the loving word.
With great sincerity, I introduced his name at the close of my dis
course last Sabbath aftemoon as an example of my theme, ' Wis
dom in winning souls to Christ.' Surely his crown must be a
bright one, for 'they that turn many to righteousness shaU shine
as the stars for ever and ever.' "
" WUl you aUow the old missionary from Kentucky to mingle
his tears of sympathy and sorrow wkh you and your loved ones
25

386 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY.
in your desolated home ? I have not forgotten, I never can forget
those deUghtful anniversary meetings in the Church of the Cove-
Rev Tohn Mc- ^^^^- 1 ^^.u uow sce the Central figures that I always
cullagh, Hen- lookcd for, just as vividly as when I was speaking, —
derson, Ky. ^^^ pastor. Dr. Prentiss, Brother Dodge the superin
tendent, the venerable Dr. Skinner, Mrs. Dodge, and Mrs. Prentiss,
aU 'stepping heavenward,: ' three of whom have akeady passed
through the pearly gates. I can stiU see the large, loving heart
mount into his face, and hear his ringing and eloquent voice, with
its cheering words, which always put fire into my bones. A fine
likeness of him occupies a prominent place in my room. It has
often cheered me when sad and discouraged. I look at it now
with sadness and sorrow; but it seems to speak still and say,
' Time is short ! Work for Jesus ; then come up higher, and rest in
heaven.' I have never met him without feeUng better, happier,
and nearer our heavenly home, — indeed his whole life was a bene
diction. I wrote him on the 2d of January about our work in
Kentucky, its trials and triumphs. He replied with his accus
tomed promptness and princely Uberality. I had already selected
his missionary, and arranged for a monthly correspondence ,; but he
is called up higher, and has received a starry crown."
" I owe to Mr. Dodge aU I am to-day under God. If I have a
rich and ripe experience in Christian living, I owe it to him as the
Rev. Martin Stimulating powcr, quickened by the Holy Spirk. If
B. Lewis, Red God has showu me his guiding hand, and allowed me
mg, mn. ^^ ^^^ eminent trophies of his abounding free grace,
and the advancement of his kingdom through the children as a
co-worker with him, I owe it to the earnest, enthusiastic words of
Mr. Dodge at Jersey Shore, Pa., when I as a business-man saw in
him as a business-man love for souls and what a business-man
might do to aid the Christian ministry, — when I saw men by the
score professing the name of Christ under his fakhful exhortations.
It was at this time I made my first pubUc profession of faith ki
Christ. A few years after this event I came to the West, and saw
aU about me people not in sympathy with our institutions turning
away from the Holy Sabbath, profaning God's name, falUng into
habits of gross intemperance ; and I began to ask him whose I
was, for the spirit of WilUam E. Dodge. I beUeve that .in .some

LETTERS OF SYMPATHY. 3^7
small degree this was granted, and for twenty-five years he was my
guiding-star and counsellor ki aggressive work for the dear Master
we both loved.
*' In one of his letters to me, written after he had been attending
the General Assembly, convened that year at Harrisburg, Pa., he
adds, ' May God bless you in all your efforts ! Let me say con
fidentiaUy, for your encouragement and mine, and for the glory of
God, that the pastor of the Church where our sessions were held
introduced me to a gentleman who kept a large drug-store there,
and who said he wished to teU me that it was at the meetings in
Jersey Shore, and words that I spoke, which, as he hoped, led him
to choose Christ as his portion. I found he was an active member
of the church and Sunday-school. Let us sow beside aU waters,
praying for a Divine blessing.'"
" My husband and myself wish to say to you that no one has
been taken from our work that we feel their loss so deeply as we
do our dear brother Mr. Dodge. You can never
know what it is to have been encouraged to go on in MlEiVMcAn-
purity and goodness, because you have always been "JEv.Cremome
pure ; but we were not. And when he said to us, by
his kindness and confidence in us, ' God bless you,' ' Go on,' and
took us by the hand, aU we can say is, ' We do mourn our loss,'
and our prayers have been that ' the Everlasting Arms may be
around, about, and underneath you.' "
" I was greatly distressed yesterday morning, before entering my
pulpit, by hearing the sad tidings. I spoke of it before prayer,
and we all sought for you the help of the ' God of all ^^^ newman
consolation.' Many wept in sympathy with you and Hall, ll.b.,
at the loss of one who had been such a friend to our
church. We especially remembered your late visit, lunching with us
in our vestry, your coming up to our house in the evening, and Mr.
Dodge's presence at our school and prayer-meeting. All seems so
fresh 1 And I can never forget all his kindness to me when in
America, — his generous aid to my mission ; and I see him with
his own hands helping to pack my things. He blessed every one
whom he met. How many wUl mourn him I May God so fiU your
heart with His peace that the cloud may lose its darkness in tbe
glory of ks golden lining.'''

388 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY.
(And Febraary 27.) "I enclose the resolutions which were
voted at our Church-meeting last night, and which have been
signed by our elders in behalf of the congregation. They express
our true sympathy with you, and the grateful memories and high
respect we cherish towards the dear friend we have lost. I read to
the people last night Dr. Cuyler's funeral address, and we prayed
lovingly for you and your famUy."
" AU who knew him, loved him ; and those of us who had lived
with him under his own roof, and saw him just as he was, loved
Rev J c ^™ ^'*^ ^ deep, warm, tender love, which death
Harrison, jtself caunot Icsscu. He was SO bright and cheerful,
. ., on on. ^^^ ^^^ ^^ thoughtful aud true-hearted, so thorough a
man of business, and at the same time so faithful a follower of his
Lord, so generous and self-obUvious wherever the cause of Chris
tianity or humanity was concerned, that it is difficult to look
around and discover his match. Never shaU I forget the wel
come which he gave to my dear friend Dr. Stoughton and myself,
nor the thoughtful care with which he arranged aU things for us.
Never can I forget the sweetness of his disposition, and the de
voutness of his spirit, and the interest he showed in everything
good and great. Never can I forget our conversations, our heart-
feUowship, our united prayers. And now aU this is but a mem
ory ; and yet a memory of a deUghtful reality, — a memory which
grows to give substance and reality to an anticipation higher stiU.
We shaU see him transfigured, and aU that was so lovable on earth
made perfectly lovely in the heavenly home."
" How Uttle we know when the last time is the last I Not
withstanding his advanced and rapidly advancing years, I had.
Rev. Henry ^^^^ bidding him fareweU in London, the hope of
Allon, D.D., again Seeing him before very long in America; but
his removal has anticipated the time even then fixed.
He has come to his grave in a good old age, fuU of honors such as
are most to be coveted, — the honors of the wise and good, with
the blessings of many ready to perish evoked by his name. Two
peoples honor him ; for if not so weU known in England as in
America, he was weU enough known to be held in a very general
esteem. He ' hath good report of aU men, and of the trath itself:

LETTERS OF SYMPATHY. 389
yea, and we also bear record." The deatii of such men makes the
world appreciably poorer."
" I beg you to accept my warm, hearty thanks for sending to me
the books which Mr. Dodge had used. Books which have been
prized by a godly man, the thoughts they have sug
gested, the warning as weU as the consolation they Vbenev,''m.p.,
have afforded, aU aid in the difficulties attending men 9'°^''™
. ° House, Buck-
immersed in the world's business, engaged in duties inghamshire,
that cannot be neglected without injury to others, and °^'^'"^-
subject to temptation within and without. I always hoped that it
might be my good fortune to visit the United States, to renew inti
macy with Mr. Dodge, and to make acquaintance with many with
whom intercourse would be agreeable ; but occupations and duties
in England make it difficult to go abroad. I thank you for your
goodness in giving me the detaUs of the departure of my dear and
most highly esteemed friend."
" I had the most profound veneration for him and admiration
for his noble stand on the side of the truth. His „ „
Mr. Hugh ¦
Christian Uberality was a great example. It was with matheson, .
singular pleasure that I met him in London in the ™ ""'
autumn of 1881."
" My wife and I desire to say with what regret and emotion we
received the tidings of the death of Mr. Dodge, and how warmly
and tenderly we feel for you in your time of bereave- p { ^^ t
ment. Thankfulness for the mercies of a lifetime I Blaikie, d.d.,
doubt not predominate in your heart even amid aU '" ^'^ '
the sorrow and desolation. Your happiness in the thought of his
happiness wiU be another blessed feeling, and in the thought that
it pleased God at an early period of his Ufe to draw his heart to
Himself, and to give him the unspeakable privUege of consecrating
himself to His service and of spending time and substance and aU
in endeavors to advance His glorious kingdom."

CHAPTER XXIV.
UNVEILING OF THE STATUE.
THE proceedings at the unveiling of the statue of Mr.
Dodge, Jan. 13, 1886, were published in a small volume
by the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce having in
charge the erection of the monument. The addresses are
reprinted here, together with the introductory statement,
prepared by the Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, D.D.
The statue is of bronze, nine feet six inches in height,
and stands upon a pedestal of polished gray granite. The
pedestal and its surroundings were designed by Mr.
Richard M. Hunt. An engraving provided by the cour
tesy of the Committee gives a correct representation of
the whole. Upon the back of the pedestal the following
inscription appears : —
Erected by Voluntary Subscriptions, under the Auspices
OF THE Chamber of Commerce of the City of
New York, 1885.
It has long been customary in the olden land from which
we derive our language, and many of us our lineage, to erect
pubUc memorials to the men who have been eminent
Dr. Cuyler. ... .. , .,
for lives of philanthropy. The statue of WiUiam Wilber-
force looks down from the summit of a lofty column over the city
of Hull, which he represented in Parliament when he was battiing
for the freedom of the bondmen. The figure of George Peabody
greets the merchants of London every day as they throng around
the Royal Exchange. In the streets oi Kidderminster stands the
statue of Richard Baxter, the eloquent preacher to humble arti-

UNVEILING OF THE STATUE. 391
sans ; and on the Thames Embankment is one of Robert Raikes,
the founder of Sunday-schools. SimUar monuments to careers of
beautiful beneficence adorn other cities of Britain and of the
Continent. In our own younger country this meed of public honor has
hitherto been paid chiefly to those who were eminent in arms or
in statesmanship, in science or in letters. But a genius for doing
good would seem to be as worthy of posthumous gratitude as a
genius for using the sword or the pen or the eloquent tongue.
Deeds of unselfish benevolence deserve a monument as truly as
deeds of patriotism, or the achievements of distinguished states
manship and intellectual culture. Such acts of homage to the
dead are inspirations to the living. The community which places
the highest premium upon largeness of heart and liberality of hand
wUl be the most likely to be enriched by generous benefactors.
The first step in this direction of public and permanent com
memoration of eminent phUanthropy, in the city of New York,
has been taken by rearing this statue to the late Hon.
William Earl Dodge. The precedent thus estabhshed may be
followed, as we trast, by a long line of successors. Mr. Dodge
was not a native of this city. He was born on the 4th of Sept
ember, 1805, at Hartford, in the neighboring State of Connecticut.
Coming hither in his early boyhood, he spent his long, virtuous,
and useful life in this metropoUs. The story of his career in its
most saUent points is set forth in the addresses delivered at the
dedication of this statue. His sudden death, at the ripe age of
nearly seventy-eight, occurred on the morning of Feb. 9, 1883.
Testimonials of grateful respect to his memory were immediately
rendered by a large number of pubhc bodies and of benevolent
societies in New York and in other portions of the land. As his
gifts and labors of beneficence were not hemmed in by sectional
or sectarian boundaries, these testimonials of veneration came from
people of various localities, of all political parties and aU religious
denominations. None of these honest tributes were more touching
than those which were paid by the humblest recipients of his
bounty in this city, by foreign missionaries, and by many of the
negro freedmen of the South.
Soon after his lamented death it was suggested that a permanent
memorial, to commemorate his life-long services to this community.

392 UNVEILING OF THE STATUE.
should be erected by his neighbors and fellow-townsmen. To
carry out this suggestion a number of his personal friends met at
the rooms of the Chamber of Commerce (of which he had been
the president for several years) on the 3d of March, 1883. At
this meeting a Committee was appointed to consider and devise a
plan which would most fittingly meet the wishes of the public.
This Committee recommended that a bronze statue, of life size,
with a suitable pedestal, should be erected, by voluntary con
tributions, in some prominent part of the city. The recommen
dation was unanimously adopted at an adjourned meeting on the
1 2th of March. The Committee who were appointed to carry out
this project were Messrs. WiUiam H. Fogg,^ Samuel D. Babcock,
Samuel Sloan, John A. Stewart, Morris K. Jesup, John Crosby
Brown, and Charles Lanier. Mr. Jesup consented to act as
treasurer, and cheerfully devoted his time and energies to the
undertaking untU its successful completion. Three hundred and
eighty persons contributed their subscriptions of money ; and the
construction of the statue was intrusted to the distinguished sculp
tor Mr. J. Q. A. Ward. The spot designated for its erection was
at the intersection of Thirty-fourth Street, Broadway, and Sixth
Avenue. In recognition of Mr. Dodge's life-long devotion to the
cause of temperance, a beautiful drinking-fountain of pure water
is connected with the granite pedestal. The ceremonies of unveil
ing and dedicating the monumental statue took place on the after
noon of the 22d of October, 1885. A large gathering of eminent
citizens assembled in the hall of the adjoining Armory to listen to
the eloquent and appropriate addresses.
After the completion of the exercises in the Armory .the national
flag, which concealed the statue, was withdrawn, and a concourse
of his feUow-townsmen looked with admiring veneration on the
famUiar features of the good man whom they had known so long
and loved so tenderly. The participants in that day's ceremonies
wiU soon pass away ; the impressive words here recorded may in
time be forgotten : but the imperishable statue wUl endure, and
will speak to coming generations of the eminent pubhc services,
the generous gifts, and the spotiess Ufe of WiUiam Earl Dodge,
the merchant, the patriot, the Christian, and the philanthropist.
1 Mr. Fogg subsequently died, and Mr. A. A. Low was appointed to fill
the vacancy.

UNVEILING OF THE STATUE. 393
Mr. Samuel D. Babcock, president of the Chamber, pre
sided. The ceremonies were opened with prayer by the
Rev. Dr. Theodore Cuyler, after which the Chairman spoke
as follows : —
There is no more agreeable duty, no greater privilege, than
to commemorate in a substantial and fitting manner the lives of
those who have exerted a powerful and beneficent influence upon
society. In recognition of this fact, upon this bright autumnal
day, when Nature so forcibly reminds us of those who have passed
away, we come together to inaugurate the statue of our friend the
late Mr. Dodge. He was neither soldier, statesman, poet, nor scien
tist ; but, better than many of such, he was the living embodiment
of faith, hope, charity, and temperance, and these qualities enabled
him to discharge with rare fidelity his duty to his Maker and to
mankind. To this end he freely used the talents he possessed,
whether of mind, body, or estate. If I were asked to select his
epitaph, I should adopt as most appropriate- the words of the great
Apostle : " Distributing to the necessity of saints ; given to hospital
ity ; not slothful in business ; fervent in spirit ; serving the Lord."
And now, Mr. Mayor, I have the honor, in behalf of the Com
mittee of Arrangements, to present to the city of New York
through you, its acting chief magistrate, the statue of the late
' WiUiam E. Dodge, in the confident hope that the mayor and those
who may succeed him in his high office will take care to preserve
this gift as a perpetual reminder of an upright and influential mer
chant, a useful and loyal citizen, a zealous and tender-hearted
Christian philanthropist, — and in fine, sir, an illustrious type of a
true and lofty manhood.
ADDRESS BY HON. ADOLPH L. SANGER.
(Acting- Mayor.)
Mr. President and Gentlemen, — The pleasing duty has
been assigned to me, in behalf of the people of this city, of
accepting this statue.
The occasions upon which the community has been called
together to honor the memory of the great merchants and philan
thropists of this city have been few indeed.

394 UNVEILING OF THE STATUE.
It is something to have so lived as to deserve public recognition
for good works faithfully performed.
Aside from the honorable reputation which a long and useful
business career had deservedly won for WiUiam E. Dodge, we
must respect his profound religious convictions, as he understood
his duties to his fellow-men, doing all the good which his means
and his zeal permitted. He was identified with some of the most
important charitable enterprises of this city, and witnessed their
growth from smaU beginnings to mature development. He was
proud of his citizenship as a New Yorker, and especially proud of
his connection wkh the mercantUe and financial interests of our
metropolis. His honorable career as an officer of the Chamber
of Commerce is historical.
New York has not been sufficiently generous in its apprecia
tion of its merchant-princes. Whatever may be said of their
indifference to public life, it must not be forgotten that to thek
business integrity and enterprise New York is indebted for much
of its greatness and commercial prosperity.
We congratulate the people of this city upon this work of art ;
and as it is the beginning of the monuments which we hope to
have erected to the memory of its great merchants, let us trust
that an active and generous^ pubUc spirit may lead to the early
completion of simUar honorable mementos, which shaU indicate
how sincerely we appreciate the eminent services they have ren
dered, and which shall encourage the young in honest enterprise
and upright business methods.

ADDRESS OF THE HON. ABRAM S. HEWITT.
New York has not been prodigal of pubhc statues. The erec
tion of such memorials is a privUege which should not be lightly
sought or readily granted. It is the highest honor which can be
paid to a citizen that his memory and features shaU be preserved
in bronze or marble for the reverent homage of future generations.
As a rule, the lapse of time and the favorable judgment of posterity
should decide the claim for such eminent recognition. We have
not yet erected statues to Fulton, who gave us steam navigation,
or to De Witt Clinton, who created the highway of commerce which

UNVEILING OF THE STATUE. 395
has made New York great and rich. AU men wUl agree that too
much honor cannot be paid to the memory of such public bene
factors by the generations which have inherited their glory and
profited by their genius.
Why, then, when Fukon and Clinton stUl remain without the
crowning honor of a public memorial, does the Chamber of Com
merce — under whose auspices this statue to WUliam E. Dodge
has been erected by the voluntary subscriptions of three hundred
and eighty persons, no one of whom inherits his blood — ask the
use of a public square for its permanent resting-place ? Even with
all his virtues fresh in our minds, and with the fraits of his long
and well-spent life in our possession and enjoyment, we cannot
venture to compare his unquestionable merits with the achieve
ments of the great men who laid the foundations of our commercial
supremacy. But there are men who can wait for recognition ; and there are,
on the other hand, characters which demand present recognition,
if recognition is ever to be given. Fulton and Clinton are identi
fied with a development which wiU last as long as the continent
shall endure. Their napies and fame form part of the very struc
ture and growth of the State of New York. Their monuments are
ever before us, and there is no danger that their works or their
genius wiU ever be forgotten.
Not so with Mr. Dodge and the Ufe-work which endeared him
to the community to which he came when a youth, and to the
people among whom he lived for more than half a century. He
began his career of usefulness as the " boy " in a store, whose lot
was by no means so easy as it now is, with the appliances of copy
ing-presses, telegraphs, telephones, and with porters to do the
heavy work of the office. By his dUigence, fidelity, and probity
he made his way with slow and toilsome steps to the head of the
greatest house in his branch of business in the world, owing its
growth and success mainly to his spirit of enterprise, his large intel
ligence, and his sleepless activity. He accumulated wealth with
out exciting the envy or Ul-wiU of his feUow-citizens. He was the
friend and earnest supporter of every beneficent public enterprise.
He showed his public spirit by assisting in the building of canals,
railways, telegraphs, and ocean cables, when it required courage
and self-sacrifice to engage in what were regarded as desirable but

396 UNVEILING OF THE STATUE.
hazardous pubUc enterprises. He was connected with the public
schools, and was the friend of popular education. He led an un
assuming. Christian Ufe, aiding missionary enterprises and building
churches in the waste places. He was the promoter of temperance,
and a munificent donor to aU associations organized for the diffu
sion of knowledge and religion among the young, and especiaUy
among the clerks of New York, of whom he had been one, and in
whom he felt a parental interest. He was the friend of the en
slaved in this and other lands, and freely gave his time and money
for the amelioration of their condition by means of colonization
and other remedial agencies. He took part in every public move
ment in this city for better local government, and was a generous
benefactor to the museums and gaUeries of art designed to refine
and to educate the masses. He tried to prevent the horrors of
civil war ; and in consequence of his high character and patriotic
impulses he was selected by the Legislature of the State of New
York as a member of the Peace Commission, which in vain
attempted to bring about an accommodation and prevent the
impending conflict between the North and the South. When
finaUy the death-struggle came, he entered heart and soul into
every movement for the support of the Government. He was a
member of the Union Defence Committee, and chairman of the
Committee of Conference with other cities to aid in organizing
troops, equipping regiments, and forwarding supplies. His family
nobly seconded his patriotic efforts ; and one of his sons entered
the military service, and returned at the close of the war with the
rank of brigadier-general. He was chairman of the New York
branch of the Christian Commission, which charged itself with the
spiritual welfare of the troops. He took part in the formation of
the Loyal National League, organized to strengthen the Govern
ment in 1863, when the Union prospects were darkest. He de
nounced from the steps of the Sub-Treasury the draft-riots in New
York, at the risk of his life and property, which he considered as
nought so long as the Union was saved and his country restored to
honorable peace.
Subsequently his grateful fellow- citizens honored him with a seat
in Congress, where he not only advocated sound financial meas
ures at a time when error was rife, but resisted his own party in its
reconstraction policy, predicting with remarkable foresight the

UNVEILING OF THE STATUE. 397
lamentable resuks which flowed from its adoption. He decUned a
re-election to Congress for personal reasons, but left on the com
munity the conviction that he was in aU respects a model citizen,
a merchant as honorable as he was eminent, and a good Christian,
who performed his duties without fear and lived a life without re
proach. Above all, the merchants of New York felt an honest
pride in his character, career, and success in life ; and by them he
was held in such repute and honor that for eight successive years
he was elected president of the Chamber of Commerce of the State
of New York, and in all movements of a public nature he was
recognized as thek champion and leader. In him all men saw the
original of the inimitable portrait sketched by Dr. WiUiam Adams
when in his presence he said of the ideal merchant : —
" I know not the man at this period of time who occupies a position more
exalted — above the valor of the soldier or the arts of the politician, with
opportunities more auspicious in their bearing on the well-being of society
— than a merchant, intelligent in mind, honest in principle, cultivated in
tastes, simple in manners, generous in sympathies, liberal in conception,
bountiful in gifts, the accredited friend of letters, science and art, charity
and religion, standing on the ground of commercial success, the honored
almoner of a benignant Providence."
Surely it is a good thing for the community to perpetuate the
memory of such a man, and to hold up for enduring honor the
noble record of such a Ufe, pure, unselfish, and beneficent. But
this has not been the practice of men in this or in any age. The
warrior and the statesman have carried off the honors of history,
whUe the merchant and the philanthropist have been rewarded
with the approval only of a good conscience and the fleeting com
mendation of the time, " WeU done, good and faithful servant I "
But our civilization has entered upon a new era. The potent
forces of modem life are those which regulate its industry and dif
fuse the blessings of unlimited production through the medium of
healthful commerce between nations. Constraction is now held in
higher repute than destruction. At length we begin to compre
hend the significance of the injunction, " Learn to do good and
distribute." Society naturally does honor to the agencies which it
regards as most beneficent. It is a most encouraging and sug
gestive departure, therefore, from the traditions of the past, when
the members of a commercial community are moved to perpetuate

398 UNVEILING OF THE STATUE.
the memory of one of their number whose chief claim to distinc
tion lies in a noble character, a useful Ufe, and, above aU, in the
employment of his means as a trust-fund for the good of his
fellow-men. This monument, then, may be said to represent a new phase
in the progress of human development, in an era not merely of
great physical triumphs, but of higher and nobler intellectual and
moral perceptions, basing the true glory of man upon his love for
his fellow-men and upon the sacrifices which he makes for the
advancement and welfare of the race. Other men before Mr.
Dodge have given Ufe and fortune to good works, and have doubt
less found, as he did, a full reward in the satisfaction of weU-doing.
But they have no pubhc monument to their memory. The encour
aging feature of this event is that society recognizes at length the
duty which it owes to itself of making a public recognition of the
Ufe and labors of such benefactors of the human race. In doing
justice to WilUam E. Dodge the community places itself on a
higher plane of virtue, and establishes a standard of excellence for
this and for coming generations which gives the answer to the
complaint : —
" How seldom, friend, a great good man inherits
Honor or wealth, with all his worth and pains ;
It sounds like stories from the land of spirits
If any man obtain that which he merits.
Or any merits that which he obtains."
But this monument and this occasion have even a greater sig
nificance and a deeper lesson for those who remember how towards
the close of his life, when he stood at the summit of his career, Mr.
Dodge was persecuted, misunderstood, and maUgned. It bears
witness that in this age of general inteUigence, with a free press, it
is no longer possible for an honest man to be crashed by official
oppression ; enforces the fundamental trath that ' government ex
ists for the benefit of the governed ; ' that public officials are the
servants, and not the masters, of the people ; that resistance to
wrong is the duty of every citizen ; and, above all, it presents
to the world an enduring reminder of a good man victorious at
last over malice and calumny, as another justification of Mikon's
triumphant acclaim : " Who ever knew trath put to the worst in a
free and fair encounter?"

UNVEILING OF THE STATUE. 399
ADDRESS BY REV. ROSWELL D. HITCHCOCK, D.D.
It was a keen insight into the subtier forces of history that led
Andrew Fletcher, or some other wise man, to say that if one
were permitted to make aU the ballads, he need not care who
should make the laws of a nation. He might have added " Let me
put up the statues, and I care not who vnrite the biographies."
Most biographies are even more short-lived than the men they
commemorate. Books, for the most part, come and go with the
generations which produce them. Eagerly read at first, and potent
for a time, they retire at last to the dusty alcoves, while bronze
and marble and granke stand out under the stars, defying the
storms and the seasons, and speak on to miUions of people from
generation ^o generation.
It is an old idea that no man should be accounted happy untU
he has died. Not tiU then is character absolutely assured. The
final reputation comes later stiU. Between death and beatification
the Roman Church requires for its saints an interval of fifty years,
after full proof of eminent virtue and weU-attested miracles. For
our friend and neighbor, whose image in monumental bronze we
salute to-day, we ask only the respect, affection, and reverence due
to a modest man who wrought no miracles but such as are pos
sible to us all. A people or an age advertises its own character in
selecting the men set apart for lasting remembrance. In Trafalgar
Square, Nelson is England ; in the Place Vendome, Napoleon is
France ; in the Unter den Linden, Frederick the Great is Prussia.
Not exclusively, but for the most part everywhere in Christendom
mUitary genius occupies the pedestals. Not exclusively, as I have
said ; statesmen and phUanthropists, men of science and men of
letters, — women also, — are commemorated. And among all the
better nations, the exaltation of force and prowess is yielding
steadily to the exaltation of gentleness and charity. Christian
consecration is beginning to get its rights. In the busy commer
cial city of HuU, England, a few weeks ago, I looked up in grati
tude to the towering form of Wilberforce. To her splendid
equestrian statue of Frederick the Great, Prussia proposes to add
an imposing monument to Martin Luther. For our friend so re
centiy taken from us we claim no extraordinary gifts of genius,
no briUiant dramatic career. He was a New England boy, like

400 UNVEILING OF THE STATUE.
many others. He was a New York merchant, like many others.
He was a member of our National Congress, like many others.
And, like many others, he had accumulated a handsome fortune,
for which no man upbraided him. No poor man's curse pur
sued or shadowed it. He was a thoroughly good man, without
a single drop of hateful pride, uncharitableness, or envy cours
ing through his veins. What most distinguished him was his
sense of Christian stewardship as a practical working force in
his daily life. He considered nothing as absolutely his own. AU
his possessions, gained by toil, sagacity, and self-denial, were held
in trast, sincerely and entirely. His personal and famUy expendi
tures, which might easily have been very large, were constantly re
strained by the feeling that he was using money that belonged to
a Being above him, out of sight, yet always near. .His greatest
luxury for many years was the divine luxury of doing good. If
some men whom he respected could not always see things just as
he saw them, it is equally certain that no man whom anybody else
respected ever questioned his ardent, entke unselfishness.
If we had more such rich men, we should have fewer poor
men either justiy or unjustly complaining of their lot. Such men
as he and Peter Cooper are the best friends and defenders of our
present social order.
I have been permitted to see a partial Ust of his contributions to
pubhc objects, — a list kept only for business purposes, and not
intended for publication. I shaU not betray the trust. The aggre
gate is large and princely ; but what most impressed me was the
great variety and wide geographical distribution of his charities.
More of concentration would have made his own name more
prominent. Had one half, or one quarter even, of what he gave
away been bestowed on any single object, he would have built for
himself a monument such as we seldom see.
Educational institutions evidently held a foremost place in his
regard. His own educational opportunities had been very good,
being the son of a successful teacher. But when only twelve years
old he had to begin life for himself in this commercial metropolis
of the country, with scant leisure for mental cultivation, which he
always craved. And yet from the beginning he was an eager and
diUgent reader of aU the best newspapers, magazines, and books.
Histories, biographies, travels, theological treatises, but especiaUy

UNVEILING OF THE STATUE. 401
the more practical religious, ethical, benevolent, and reformatory
books and pamphlets, — aU had a place in his library and on his
table. And he began very early to be, according to his abiUty,
a liberal patron of literary institutions, both colleges and theological
seminaries. The three institutions for which he did most were the
Union Theological Seminary in this city, of which he was for many
years one of the directors, the Theological Seminary at Auburn,
and the Syrian Protestant College at Beirut. But several such in
stitutions abroad, and a long list of institutions at home, all across
the continent, from Bangor to San Francisco, shared in his unstinted
and untiring bounty. Many a smaU college doing good work
under hard conditions in a new country got timely and stimulating
assistance from him. He might not think it weU always to respond
to the numberless appeals, but no properly accredited representa
tive of any institution, however humble, was ever refused a hear
ing. The recently estabhshed institutions of leaming for colored
students commanded especially his attention and patronage.
The interest he took in young men, particularly such as were
straggling to get an education, was one of his most charming char
acteristics. He never forgot that he was once a young man himself,
— perhaps I ought to say, rather, that he himself never ceased to
be young. His first charity was in this direction. When a mere
boy he worked a potato-patch in Connecticut, that a poor
Sandwich Islander named Obadiah might attend school. Nearly
three hundred men are now in the Christian ministry, preaching
the gospel all over the globe, who owe their education in large
measure to his bounty. And the best thing about him always was
the warm, close, personal interest with which he followed every
young man to his self-denying work. I make bold to say that
there are few men, either in heaven or on earth to-day, with per
sonal relationships so numerous and so tender.
What he did for the cause of temperance will be better under
stood when plain common people, who shoulder the pubhc burdens,
and in times of peril bare their bosoms to the shock of war, shall
have been brought to see and feel that the great bulk both of our
poverty and of our crime may be traced directly to the intemperate
use of intoxicating drinks. And I take the liberty to say that
charity is pouring water into a basket until the chief cause of all
our poverty is boldly chaUenged and squarely met.
26

402 UNVEILING OF THE STATUE.
It only remains to say that our friend gave not his money only,
but himself, his time, his strength, his enthusiasm, his whole vitality,
to the great work of doing good. It would take some time to
name aU the benevolent societies which he served as president, or
vice-president, or director, and whose treasuries were frequently
and liberally replenished by him. It is seldom that the death of
any man leaves so many vacancies to be filled. We miss him
sorely. The world is poorer for his having gone^out of it. A littie
more than two years ago we said good-night to him with saddened
hearts. But now we may say good-morning. Not in perishable
flesh, but in imperishable bronze, we have him back again, shed
ding Christian benediction on our busy streets.

ADDRESS BY HON. ALFRED H. COLQUITT.
How precious is the memory of a just man ! FraU as we are,
misjudgkig as we are, human nature asserts its preference for the
good and the beautiful in the inevitable offering of love and
admiration. What distinction can be compared to this? How often is it
that fame is achieved by a suffrage that wiU not bear the Ught of
truth or reason? How much of influence and reputation rests
upon the narrow basis of a selfish ambition? Intense self-love
places its impress upon nearly everything that man hopes for,
struggles for, or wins. And yet when death hath placed its seal
upon the chapter of a good man's Ufe, how unfailing, how spon
taneous, how fervent is the tribute which our better nature instinc
tively pays 1 The heart of this great city to-day is inditing a
chapter in its history that wiU stand forever as an illustration of
this noble trait of our nature.
This concourse here is to inaugurate an imperishable memorial
that shaU preserve the fame of a pure and beneficent life.
Mr. Chakman, those who have preceded me in this ceremonial
have spoken more fitiy than I can be expected to do of Mr.
Dodge's career upon this theatre of his long and active life. The
vrisdom, the integrity, the inteUigence that marked his course as a
ckizen of this city, his complete success in demonstrating the
vktues of a pure life, have already been happily delineated. These

UNVEILING OF THE STATUE. 403
are very properly the subjects of eulogy for those who were nearest
him, and whose privilege it was to inspect his daily walk and con
versation. I come from a distant part of this great country of ours
to bear an humble tribute of respect and love. In common with
you, we venerate his memory. The philanthropy of the man we
honor to-day by this ceremony embraced every color and class in
Georgia ; and here let me say in this presence, where, for the most
part, I am a stranger, that we none the less honor him because he
was not of our own. Virtue is not provincial, it is not sectional,
it is not honored because it is born in one community, but because
of its own intrinsic beauty. His phUanthropy embraced every
class and color in my State, and there was not a human being in
the commonwealth that might not have felt that WiUiam E. Dodge
was his friend and well-wisher. He had a very especial concern
for the condition, the interests, and the improvement of the eman
cipated class in that country. What he did in his gifts to institu
tions, in his aid to individuals, I shaU not attempt to enumerate.
I am glad that our revered friend and brother did make some
special reference to it to-day. But you wiU permit me to refer to
one circumstance which occurred on my journey to this city as
an evidence of how it is appreciated among that class of our fellowi
citizens. That his bounty and his gifts and his beneficence were
not misplaced, is evinced by the character and position of the very
colored man to whom I refer. Learning by chance that I was on
my way here to be present at the ceremony, he gave vent to his
own feelings, writing upon the cars hastily, as we parted, a simple
note ; and as he could not be here to mingle in the throng, he
desired that if it was inappropriate that it should be referred to at
all, I should at least retain it as an evidence of the fact of how
his people appreciated the virtues of Mr. Dodge in their behalf.
It is brief: —
The colored people of the country honor the memory of William E.
Dodge. He was my best friend. William D. Johnson.
But his care and his kindUness were not limited by race, color,
or previous condition. How shall I on such an occasion as this,
at a day so early in the memories of the past, speak of the sym
pathy and consideration he had for those of your feUow-citizens

404 UNVEILING OF THE STATUE.
in the section of the Union which had felt the hand of affliction
so severely laid upon it? While the most rigid requirements of
loyalty and of patriotic feeling were discharged, he at the same
time had for us the word of good cheer and the heart of a brother.
Mr. Dodge was a patriot of broad sympathies. He was so because
of the genuineness of his humanitarianism. Wide as his country
was, diversified as were the interests of all these States, he never
for a moment suffered the thought that rivalries in State policies
could justify estrangement and enmities. Let it be said to his
honor that from the moment the unhappy collision between these
States ended, he stood forth and pleaded for kindliness and for
the restoration of fraternal feeUngs. We felt this, and we prized
it ; and whUe you to-day, feUow-citizens of the city of New York,
are unveiling to the gaze of the world, for all time, a noble statue
of this man, Georgia, so remote, Georgia, ten years ago, in naming
one of her counties, linked his name in perpetual union with her
own. Never have I heard a citizen of my State take exception to
this signal honor, which many native to the soil might have cov
eted. Georgians cherish the name and the fame of her adopted
brother, and they, with you, point to the noble character which
he illustrated.
It wiU be a difficult task in this our day and generation to single
out a man who took a wiser view of life. While others may have
pursued their interests, justified by the habits and usages of society,
it has always seemed to me that Mr. Dodge's own motives and
interests were subordinated to those of the public good and public
welfare and happiness. Oh that men would oftener feel as he did,
— that his successes were but the covenants held by Providence
for a wider and more active pursuit of lofty enterprises, and for a
deeper concern for the good of others I Would to Heaven that
the fortunate of earth were as generous, as sympathetic, and as
warm-hearted ! How enviable ! — no, I wiU not say it is to be
envied ; but in the minds of the men of the worid, what an envia
ble thing do we here contemplate to-day ! A vigilance and care
that overiooked no woridly duty ; a loving-kindness that embraced
aU> mankind; a meek and lowly spirk that in its uttermost trust
relied and rested upon the love of God. It may be that in the
history of the classic ages of the past there is not a single memorial
that has ever been raised to commemorate the death of a good

UNVEILING OF THE STATUE. 405
man. Let it be said to the honor of this imperial city, this city so
regal in commerce and in power of every character, that here, in
the midst of the thriving activities, and in the multitudinous occu
pations of human Ufe, there is a spirit of love, of brotherhood,
and Christianity that illustrates its admiration of the good by the
erection of a monument that shall last forever.
The benediction was pronounced by President McCosh,
of Princeton College.

MONODY
ON THE DEATH OF WILLIAM E. DODGE,
Bv MRS. ELIZABETH C. KINNEY
{Only surviving sister of Mr. Dodge).

O Brother of my heart I
O Brother of the pulsing heart of man I —
For thy rich heart-blood, fertilizing, ran
Through the great arteries of humanity.
Wherever it could life or growth impart —
Shall I so selfish in my sorrow be
As to stay looking down the chasm
Of my deep loss.
Or yield to grief's convulsive spasm,
When I should rise and bear,
In this wide woe, my share, —
Only another and a heavier cross ?
If he could speak earth's language yet, —
Which Angel-tongues forbid, —
How would our murmurs, tears, regret.
By those dear lips be chid 1
That voice.
Might it but pierce the skies.
Attuned to heavenly harmonies.
Would say, " Rejoice I rejoice 1
My labor all is done,
My rest begun, —
The rest of higher work, that wearies not, is won."
In glorious vision now I see
That life sublime, that instant death.
Which, painless, hushed the mortal breath.
To let the Immortal breathe more free ;
That smile, benign in charm,
And outstretched still, that helpful arm.

MONODY. 407
His earth-work is not finished quite,
Only its toil, — that hand yet holds
With love as tender, and with heaven-gained might,
The hand he took in youth.
Pledged by true woman's truth, —
That arm her loneliness enfolds.
And lifts her faith to raptures infinite.
That high example of the perfect man
Stands out against earth's shadows, backward cast,
For sons and sons' sons to behold the plan
Of a whole noble course from first to last.
Nor unto these alone
Is that great pattern shown ;
His sons, his brothers, were the human race
And in his kindly face
Encouragement and guidance beamed for all.
His speech was ever as a rallying-call.
While boldly he stepped out and led the fight.
Combating error in the cause of right.
My Brother,
O my Brother I Who will rise
To take his place, —
In heart so true, in tongue so wise ?
When shall another
So set his dauntless face
Against all evil, standing by all good.
Valiant as Christian hero ever stood ?
Who at the hearth and home.
Who at the hospitable board,
Who at the Table of his Lord,
Under the temple-dome.
Made so the human-love divine.
Divine-love such a heaven on earth,
As he whose countenance will shine
No more by that now shadowed hearth.'
Answer, O heart of mine !
And echo the response, O void within 1
Would it not welcome be if grace might win
For me ere long the Christian's prize.
Sooner to meet again my Loved in Paradise ?

3 9002 00565 5148