Radio Script #464

Little Talks on Common Things

September 11, 1960

Tonight marks the beginning of the thirteenth consecutive year of this program, Little Talks on Common Things. In November will occur the fourth presidential election since we first went on the air. Much water has run down the Kennebec in these twelve years, and what eventful changes they have brought in American life. They saw our nation engaged in the first war it never finished to victory. the Korean conflict. They saw the first satellites orbit through outer space, the continuance of cold war between the Communist nations and the western world, the collapse of a long awaited summit conference.

And now, as time draws near for the leading political event in America, that comes only once in every four years, we are again reminded of the familiar ways of politicians that our grandfathers knew so well. If members of the Governor’s Council nowadays violate the fish and game laws, so did leaders of both major parties flaunt the prohibitory law a century ago. In 1860, when Neal Dow’s experiment was less than ten years old, two opposing candidates for major office each accused the other of voting dry and acting wet.

The Republican said the Democrat had operated a free bar in a room at the Augusta House, and the Democrat said the Republican had distributed hundreds of potent bottles to prospective voters in Bangor. The notorious count-out election in 1879 was so notorious for corruption on both sides that historians have not yet been able to sift all the facts. It is remembered that it took the militia, commanded by Maine’s hero of Gettysburg,

Gen. Joshua Chamberlain, to quell the riots and bring order in Augusta, but which side was most to blame is hard to say, for both sides had stuffed ballot boxes, voted names of deceased persons, and falsified the counting. One thing is certain; politics in 1960 is definitely cleaner and more honorably conducted than it was in 1860 or even in 1900. Publicly at least, people got more excited about elections 80 years ago than they do today. In October, 1880 the Waterville Mail made the following comment: “The Republicans of Waterville will have public rejoicing over their recent victory in the state election. They invite citizens of the neighboring towns to join with them tomorrow evening in a grand celebration. There will be a torchlight parade, which will form on Elm Street at the Park. It will start at 8 P.M., going up Elm to Center, through to Pleasant St., down to Mill Street. back to Elm, up Elm to Temple, down to Front Street, up Front to Union Street, up to College Street, up College Street to Chaplin Street, thence through to Main Street, down Main to Silver, down Silver to Gold Street, thence down to Water Street on the Plains, finally up Water and Main Streets to the Town Hall.”

That was quite a parade! Not even the great sesquicentennial parade in 1952 covered so long a route.

The announcement in the Waterville Mail ended with these words: “Republicans are requested to illuminate their houses. Col. Francis Heath will act as marshall.”

That parade marshall was a member of a famous Waterville family that has often been mentioned on this program. Francis Heath and his brother William had recruited a company for the Civil War right here in Waterville and had gone south as its officers. Later they both came to command regiments. William was killed early in the war, at the Battle of Gaines Mill in 1862, but Francis survived, returning to civilian life in Waterville as a prominent citizen and industrial promoter. He organized and for some time managed the mill at Benton Falls. Francis Heath was the grandfather of our present citizens, Walter and Arthur Heath, and Emily Heath Hall, and of his namesake, Francis Heath, an executive of the Sun Oil Company in Dallas, Texas.

Some idea of the importance of Waterville as a business community in 1880 may be gained by a glimpse at the status of the town’s three commercial banks at that time. Yes, in 1880, in addition to the Savings Bank, Waterville had three prosperous commercial banks. The Ticonic Bank had resources of $284,000, with capital stock of $100,000. The Merchants National had resources of $243.000, and also $100,000 stock. The largest was the Peoples National, with $476,000 in resources, and capitalized at $200,000. But perhaps the best indication of the town’s prosperity is the size of commercial — that is, checking — deposits in the three banks. Although the Peoples Bank had almost double the Ticonic’s resources, the Ticonic had larger commercial deposits, $68,000 compared with the Peoples’ $48,000. The Merchants Bank had $32,000 of such deposits. A total of $148,000 in checking accounts was no small liquid fund for a town the size of Waterville in 1880, for then the population numbered only 4,600.

It was a time when national banks issued paper currency in the form of bank notes. Indeed, when I was a boy delivering groceries, it was quite as common to take in payment a bank note as it was to receive paper money payable by the U.S. Treasury. It was common for a bank to have outstanding paper money in the form of its own bank notes that totaled more than its commercial deposits. That was true of each of Waterville’s three banks in 1880. The Ticonic had outstanding bank notes of $89,000 which was $21.000 more than its deposits. The Peoples’ bank notes, which it was supposed to be able to redeem in silver or gold, totaled $178,000, an excess of $130,000 over its deposits. The Merchants, whose notes totaled $87,000, thereby exceeded its deposits by $55,000. Altogether in 1880 there were in circulation bank notes issued by Waterville banks amounting to $354,000, more than double the deposits in all three banks.

Of course not all the banks in all the Maine towns, to say nothing of banks in other states, were equally sound. That is why it often happened that bank notes would not be accepted at par a few miles away from the bank that issued them. In the 1880’s Maine newspapers carried lists of out-of-state banks whose notes were not acceptable in any Maine bank. In 1857 a Belfast paper listed seven Maine banks whose notes would not be taken at all by the bank in Belfast.

More common still was the varying discount on bank notes. A Portland bank might, for instance, accept notes of a Calais bank at 5% discount, but demand 10% on notes of an Eastport bank, or it might be vice versa, 5% for Eastport and 10% for Calais. No wonder a lot of workmen insisted on being paid in what they called hard money — that is, silver and gold coins and would not accept the discountable bank notes. During the first decade of this century the fact that any sudden financial depression caused some banks to fail and their notes to become nearly worthless was a major contribution to the ultimate decision to forbid by law the issuance of paper money by banks, and confine that privilege to the U.S. Treasury alone.

It is interesting to note what else was going on in Waterville 80 years ago in that year of 1880. The Mail announced: “A band of Indians is encamped on the Messalonskee, and the braves and squaws are seen on our streets peddling their bright colored baskets. Listen to them as they speak to each other in their native tongue, and learn what a musical language they have.”

For some forty years after the Civil War it was an annual custom for the graduating class at Colby to sponsor a concert at commencement, selling tickets to the public to pay for the concert and other graduation expenses. The Waterville Mail on July 2, 1880 advertised that year’s concert thus: “Commencement Concert, sponsored by Class of 1880, Colby University. At Town Hall, Wednesday, July 28 at 8 P.M. Mme. Chatterton-Bokrer of London, harp soloist; Miss Henrietta Beebe of New York, soprano; E. M. Bagley of Boston, cornet soloist; Earle Eichler of Boston, violin soloist. Also the Schubert male quartette and the Germainer Orchestra in ten pieces. All seats reserved. Tickets 75¢ and $1.00. Sale of tickets will begin July 7 at J. F. Percival and Co., Waterville; also at the usual places in Skowhegan, Fairfield, West Waterville, Vassalboro, Augusta, Hallowell and Gardiner. Special trains, at half rates, will run where necessary.”

The Mail also told its readers that Mr. Crockett of the Waterville Bakery had opened the summer season with two elegant bread wagons designed for extensive routes through Waterville, Fairfield, Winslow and Vassalboro. “The bread and baked beans from Crockett’s”, said the Mail, “have become a standing necessity, especially in warm weather.”

The Mail proudly announced improvements near the College. “By order of the Trustees of Colby University, John Lublow is nicely grading the lot between the MC depot and College Street. Walks are to be laid out upon it, trees planted, and a hedge set along the railroad track, making a nice little park, where waiting passengers may walk about with pleasure.”

Another item concerned a famous Waterville inn. “Landlord Smith of the Williams House has lately brought from Boston a nice new carriage for excursion parties. It is nicely upholstered, light and handsome. Passengers will find it comfortable in any kind of weather, and it will be much in use for excursions to the ponds. It has seats for twenty persons. With a splendid pair of black horses, just purchased to draw it, it is about the best turnout in the State.”

Meanwhile F. S. Chase, under direction of the street commissioners of the town, was grading and repairing Main Street, and was about to continue the job up College Avenue to the railroad crossing. The Mail declared that Chase was widening the road, thus lessening the danger of collisions between passing carriages, and putting in ditches to provide proper drainage.

A change in the outlet of a very old Waterville street was noted, when the Mail said: “The front fence of the College campus has been extended to cover the land which reverts to the college by abandonment of the old outlet of Front Street into College Street, and the fence at the lower end has been set over to mark the line of the new outlet along the railroad track.”

As early as 1880 Squirrel Island had become a favorite summer resort for prominent Waterville citizens. On July 16, 1880 the Mail said: “Mr. S. M. Philbrick of Waterville has attracted attention at Squirrel Island by the quaint work around his cottage there. Now he has carved and gilded a squirrel wrestling with an acorn, which surrounds the pilot house of the dainty steam yacht which has been built at Waterville for the Philbrick family at Squirrel, where she will go in a few days on her trial trip.”

What did Waterville people do for amusement during the summer of 1880? On August 27 of that year the Mail had this story: “A pleasant entertainment was enjoyed by three full carloads of our citizens at Maranacook Lake on Tuesday evening. An excursion from Portland had been advertised for the same evening, to be entertained at the lake with fireworks, boat rides, and dancing to the music of Chandler’s Band, together with brilliant illumination of the building and grounds recently opened to the public. To greet this party George Allen, eastern agent of the Maine Central at Waterville, recruited three carloads of Waterville citizens. Evidently the editor of the Mail was himself a member of the Waterville delegation, for the article concludes thus: “The promised moonlight greeted us at Belgrade, but when we reached Maranacook it was smothered in the more brilliant illumination of rockets, while the music, the torches, and the gliding boats made a charming experience. We left Maranacook in a brisk shower of plain, every-day rain, but the cars afforded complete protection. We reached Waterville just as the clocks struck the midnight hour.”

And with that midnight conclusion to one good time enjoyed by Waterville folk 80 years ago, we must say Good Night for Old Times’ Sake.

Year: 1960