Radio Script #333
Little Talks On Common Things
February 24, 1957
Recently we have mentioned a number of the old-time weekly newspapers. As think most of you know, Augusta came to be the home of an unusually large number of those papers. One of those Augusta sheets, which appeared every Friday morning for a number of years, was the New Age. The issue that I have recently perused was dated September 23, 1881, a I ittle more than 75 years ago. The paper’s editor and publisher was Manley H. Pike, and his plant was in the granite block on Water Street, nearly opposite the Augusta Post Office.
Why have particular issues of old newspapers been saved, whi Ie many other issues were thrown away? Of course, complete bound fi les of many papers are avai lable in libraries and publication offices, and in recent years many of the more important fi les have been microfi lmed. But perusal of one of these salvaged copies usually reveals a special reason for its preservation in some fam i I Y co I lect ion. That is indeed the case with the New Age for Sep tembe r 23, 1881 •
Its principal news item is a two-column story announcing the death of President Garfield. Charles Guiteau, a mentally unbalanced, disappointed office seeker, had shot President Garfield at the WaShington rai I road station on July 2. The President I ingered on through the summer and appeared to be recovering when in mid-September his heart became seriously affected, and he died on the 19th.
The editor of the New Age knew very well that Garfield’s death brought to the presidency a man who took office under a shadow. Guiteau, the assassin of Garfield, had himself declared that one reason why he shot the President was that he wanted Chester A. Arthur to have the office. That caused the inevi- table but wholly unjustified’suspicion that Arthur was involved in a horrible conspiracy. It developed that even Arthur’s worst enemies soon became convinced of his complete innocence, but on that grim 19th of September, when Garfield’s life ebbed away, people were not so sure. With that background, let’s see what the New Age sai din its edi tori a I under the headi ng HThe New Pres i dentH.
tlVice-President Chester A. Arthur is now President of the United States, made so in virtue of the Constitution, by death of the elected president. He has a difficult post to fi I I, not only in the face of an opposing party, but with his own party rent by faction and nearly equally divided into two hostile camps. The way is open to President Arthur to inaugurate a civi I service reform and tear up by the roots the viciousspoilssystem with its constant partisan strife. Wi I I Mr. Arthur prove equal to the position and the crisis? Time wi I I te I I .”
To the honor of Chester A. Arthur, we can now say that he did inaugurate the civi I service, starting for the first time a merit system in many government positions. And of course he had to fight his own party to accomplish it. On the whole, the men who have become president because the elected president died in office, have done rather effective work, in spite of the fact that one of them, Andrew Johnson, was impeached, and another, John Tyler, was called the home I i est man who ever lived in the Whi te House.
By the way) do you suppose any of the possible candidates for the presidency in 1960 are superstitious? wonder if they know that, not since James Monroe’s second election in 1820, has any president elected in a year ending in zero lived out his term of office. There have been six such presidents. Wi I liam Henry Harrison, elected in 1840, died a few months after his inauguration.
Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860, was assassinated early in his second term. James A. Garfield, elected in 1880, was also assassinated. Wi Iliam Mc-, Kinley, elected for a second term in 1900, also fel I before an assassin’s bul let. Warren Harding, elected in 1920, died the next year. And the 1940 winner, Franklin Roosevelt, died in office in 1945. Who wants to take a ch ance on 1960 ‘1
Now let us select a few of the short items which the New Age published in September, 1881, under the heading of “State News!T:
“The Port I and telephone connect i on has been bu i I t two miles from Lew; ston. The two cities wi II be connected some time in October.
!?In Aroostook the wheat harvest is now coming off, and a good yield is expected in spite of some rust.
“A convi ct by the name of Leavi tt sca led the wa II s of the Ma ine State Prison last Monday. He had a hook attached to a line, which he threw up and caught on the wal” drawing himself up to the top of the wal I, then jumping down to the ground outside.
‘~hursday afternoon in Bangor, Daniel Bickmore was moving a house through the streets when a sweep to which the house was attached broke and flew back, striking Bickmore on the head and knocking him unconscious. He is a tough fellow, however, and doctors say he wi II recover.
‘~enry Fiske left his home in Enfield early Tuesday morning, to take his cows to pasture. When he did not return, his wife sent the boy to the pasture, where he found the cows inside and the bars up, but no sign of Fiske. In spite of a community search, the man has not been seen since.
“A band of gypsi es have encamped near Eastport. Everyone is on the alert, for their gangs are notorious thieves and cheats. “George Field of Bath had his pocket picked, returning home from Lewiston Fair on the train last Wednesday. Wi I liam Jordan of Auburn also lost his pocket book as he was boardi ng a horse car. The 1880’s saw the hey-day of uncontrolled patent medicines. No food and drug act prevented manufacturers of the simplest concoctions from making the most extravagant c,1 aims. More than two co I umns of the New Age we re filled with patent medicine ads. There was Dr. ~homas’ Electric Oi I, which would cure rheumatism, lumbago, asthma, coughs and colds, toothache and earache. It came in two sizes, 50 cents and one dollar a bottle. Burdick’s Blood Bitters would cure scrofula, erysipylas, boi Is and tumors. The advertiser of Ordway’s Sulphur Bitters hai led it as “the best and greatest medicine. It wi II drive the humor from your sys,tem and make your sk inc I ean and smooth.”
Kidney-Wort was heralded as the great cure for rheumatism. They didn’t call it arthritis in those days, but the ads sounded a lot like today’s television claims for arthritic relief, except that today the announcer adds in a lowered voice aside” nlf pain persists, see your doctor”, insinuating that if you take his advertised remedy” you won’t need a doctor.
The 1880’s were a time when porous plasters were in very common use. The makers of Sanson’s Capsine Plasters proudly announced that their product had been awarded six gold medals. Partridge’s Drug Store in Augusta made their own plasters” which they claimed would “cure lame back, neuralgia, and rheumatism”.
Most of the medicines advertised in this Augusta paper in 1881 have long since been forgotten. One of them” however” has persisted to this day. It was especially advertised for its low price, 35 doses for 35 cents. It was free from morph i ne or any other narcoti c. I t was good for sour stomach, worms, and disordered bowels. It was said to have the largest sale of any article dispensed by druggists, and it was ~mother’s” remedy for sleepless and irritable ch i I dren. You’ve guessed it. The medi ci ne was Castori a.
Now let’s turn to the subject of 0 I d time race horses. Ha I f a century ago” out on the Oakland Road in Watervi lie, just beyond the Memorial Brid ge, was the breeding farm of Hod Nelson, Waterv; lie’s best known breeder and trainer of horses for the sulky tracks. One of today’s ardent fol lowers of the harness races, who has never fa lien for the I ure of the sadd Ie tracks, (which, in the opinion of some of us, have done much to lower the standards and diminish the attraction of the sport of harness racing) — one of those followers of the good, old time sport is Chet Dunlap, proprietor of the Pie Plate ResTaurant near the Keyes Fibre Plant on the Fairfield-Watervi I Ie town line. Chet recently showed me Hod Nelson’s published breeding book issued in 1893. In it Hod said: “Our stall ions represent three fami I ies: Nelson, 2:10; Director Chief, 2:21f, by the Great Director; the Wi Ikes fami Iy by Red Hawk, 2:28*, by Red Wi I kes. They a II have size, color and sty Ie. The i r progeny wi II add fame to the i r fami lies. They compare favorab Iy with any sires in the land. Our brood mares too are producers and track performers. Look at their breeding and what they have produced. Breeding for speed is not a lottery. Just watch how our horses perform on the track in the season of 1893. n
Hod Nelson’s farm offered extensive pasturage and big stables. So his book announced “Young stock kept at reasonab Ie rates. Brood mares boarded i one dollar a week on grass, $2.50 on hay and grain. We give these mares the same care we give our own ina I I respects. A II acci dents and escapes at owner! s risk. I have added another farm to Sunnyside, and at present have 120 box sta lis, sunny yards, and ca-refu I he I p.
The grand pride of Nelson’s stable, and indeed the pride not only of Watervi I Ie but of the whole state of Maine, was his world’s champion racer t Nelson. When Hod Nelson published his breeding book in the spring of 1893, the famous stallion’s mark was 2:10, made at Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1891. Then in the very summer of 1893, a few months after pub I i cati on of the breed i ng book, Nelson raced a mile at Rigby Park, Portland in 2:09, establishing a wor I d record that stood for some time.
Low wheels and pneumatic tires contributed afterwards to a rapid lowering of the trotting and pacing records, as did also the bui Iding of mi Ie; rather than half mile tracks. Nelson’s day was the time of the high wheeled sulkies, and the Centennial History of Watervi lie could proudly proclaim in 1902: :lNelson holds the world’s stallion record to high wheels over oval track and has trotted !lOre fast mi les than any other horse in the world.”
A description of the great horse is given in the breeding book. It says: “He was foaled in 1882, is a rich-colored bay with a blood-like head, large eyes, long, well cut neck, sloping shoulders, short back, powerful quarters, broad flat legs, and feet of the best quality. He has never made a break in a race. He is as near a perfect performer as has yet been produced. He is a model in all his proportions, worthy of being perpetuated in brass or marble.”
Now let us pick up a few interesting items from the Maine State Year Book and Annual Register for 1871. In that year Sidney Perham of Paris was governor.
The attorney gene ra I was Thomas B. Reed, who was I ate r to ga in fame as one of the greatest speakers of the national House of Representatives. The speaker of the Ma i ne House in 1871 was Reuben Foster of Watervi lie. I n the Senate of the United States, Maine was represented by Hannibal Hamlin and Lot M. Morri II. Instead of three representatives to Congress, as we now have in 1957″ there were five 86 years ago. They were Samue I Morri II of Farmington, John Peters of Bangor” Eugene Hale of Ellsworth, John Lynch of Portland, and last” the man who 15 years later came so near being President of the United States, James G. Blaine of Augusta.
It is interesting to see how our Kennebec tOlins voted for governor on Iy six years after the close of the Civi I War. General Joshua Chamberlain, one of the heroes of Gettysburg, had just comp leted two terms as Repub I i can governor, and his successor, Sidney Perham, won over the Democrat Henry Roberts.
Watecvi lie went almost two To one for Perham; Augusta gave him a plurality of 150 votes; Winslow cast 183 for Perham and 118 for Roberts; Vassalboro favored Perham by 243 to 183; and Sidney did likewise 161 to 115. The county was not by any means so lid Iy Repub I i can, even in those days so c lose to the Ci vi I War, when be’j ng a Democrat in Ma ine made one suspected of Southern sympath i es. A 1- bion gave the Democrat Roberts a majority of its votes; Belgrade favored Roberts 184 to 147; fenton went Democrat i c by ten votes; Ch i na went for Robe rts by a slight margin. strangely enough no returns came in from Clinton which, two years earl ier, had voted overwhelmingly for General Chamberlain.
In 1871 there were 60 newspapers pub I ished in Ma ine, most of them weeklies. Many have long since disappeared, but a few remain alive and vigorous today. Among them a re the Oxford Democrat, the Pi scataq u i s Obse rve r, the Be 1- fast Republican, the Ellsworth American, and the Bridgton News. Portland had three dai Iy papers: the Press, – the Eastern Argus, and the Advertiser. The only other dai I ies in Maine were the Lewiston Evening Journal, the Kennebec Journal, the Bangor Whig and Courier, and the Bath Times.
In 1871 Watervi I Ie had a population of 4,852 and a valuation of not quite two mi I I i on do II ars. Both figures inc I uded Oak I and, wh i ch was then West Watervi lie. The population of what is now Waterville was then not much more than 3,500. When we th i nk of the great manufacturi ng interests of Watervi lIe today, it is surprising to note that the only manufactur;.ing plants I isted for Watervi lie in the 1871 Register were C. F. Hathaway and Company, shirts; J. Jfurbish sash and b I i nds; W. H. Dow and Company, furn iture; D. l. Mi II i ken, flour; F. Smith, lumber — a total of just five manufacturers. In contrast, seven are listed for West Watervi lie: Dunn Edge Too I Company, scythes and axes; Bachelder Brothers, chairs and settees; EI lis Saw Company, saws; Benjamin and Allen, agricultural implements; B. C. Eenson, carriages; Hamlin and Carr, shirts; Emery and Stevens, scythes.
Finally let it be known that the entire faculty of what in 1871 was called Colby University consisted of seven persons: James T. Champ I in, the president; Samuel K. Smith in rhetoric; John B. Foster in Greek and Latin; Moses Lyford in mathematics; Charles E. Hamlin in chemistry; Edward W. Hall in French and German; and Julian D. Taylor, tutor.
Year: 1957