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11/1/12
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Vermont Marble: America’s Monument Stone
Class Schedule Week 1
18 Sep 12 Week 2
25 Sep 12 Week 3
02 Oct 12 Week 4
09 Oct 12 Week 5
16 Oct 12 Week 6
23 Oct 12 Week 7
30 Oct 12 Week 8
06 Nov 12 Reading Marble
Valley (9-‐38) Proctor (13-‐20)
Marble Valley (39-‐70) Proctor (34-‐53)
FIELD TRIP TO THE VERMONT MARBLE VALLEY
Marble Valley (71-‐86) Proctor (54-‐78)
Marble Valley (87-‐112) Proctor (79-‐87)
Marble Valley (113-‐128) Proctor (88-‐110)
Marble Valley (129-‐156) Proctor (111-‐130)
Proctor (131-‐158)
Video Vermont Marble Trail
Vermont Danby Marble & Removing a Marble Block
Visit the Danby Quarry, Marble Museum & InternaSonal Carving Studio
The Colorado Yule Quarry
Cave Diving in a Rutland Quarry & Abandoned TV Show Clips
Vermont: This Land of Ours (1947)
Discussion Reading Roundtable
Course IntroducSon
Marble vs. Granite
Reading Roundtable
Alice Blount presentaSon on the geology of marble
Reading Roundtable
Colorado Yule Marble Co.
Reading Roundtable
Linda Goodspeed in class
Reading Roundtable
Reading Roundtable
Mike AusSn in class
Reading Roundtable Wrap-‐up
Summary CD
Final Thoughts
23 October 2012
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Word Press Internet Site http://ilead12653.wordpress.com
Reading Discussion:
Hearings in the Vermont House of Representatives (November 1886)
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Petition to VT Legislature September 1886, William
Dillingham filed petition on behave of Proctor to divide Rutland into three towns.
Proctor trusted Dillingham as a brilliant young lawyer & flawless actor in court.
Governor William Dillingham - 1888
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Underlying Facts Rutland chartered in 1751. Area = 30 square miles, largest in
the state. Population = 16,000, largest in
the state. Town hall capacity = 1,500
people. Too small for population?
Division of Rutland Proposal - 1886
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Prior Testimony Testimony before the legislature
leading up to the debate in the House of Representatives was mostly negative to Proctor’s position in favor of the division of Rutland.
Rutland Herald Opposition Proctor blamed Seneca Dorr for
negative comments in Rutland Herald.
Herald held position that Rutland was too small to divide into yet smaller pieces.
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Julia C. R. Dorr
Rutland Herald Opposition Percy Clement’s editorials for the
Herald created a huge wave of sympathy for Hogan and the opposition.
Editorials characterized the division of Rutland as a “blatant grab for power by a cheap political boss (Proctor)”
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Percival Clement
Effects of Rutland Herald Editorials
The situation became irrationally emotional as the issue became associated in people’s mind with injustice of outside authority.
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Vermont Marble Company - 1886 Sales well over $1.0 million. Branch offices in six major US
cities. Immigrants made up most of the
1,200 man work force at VMC. Several hundred more laborers in
the area worked for small marble mills under the influence of VMC.
Vermont Marble Company - 1886 Most workers could not speak,
read or write English. Redfield Proctor was their only
benefactor controlling home, job, church, school, food, sickness, health, death, burial.
The relationship was autocratic and patronizing.
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Vermont Marble Company - 1886 As long as they were not
organized, the employees could be counted on to vote with their employer.
Proctor thus made Republicans out of voters who might be attracted to another party.
Political Climate - 1886 In 1884, the Democrats
attempted to organize the workers.
William Hogan suddenly came to power and got his candidate elected to the the Vermont House of Representatives over Redfield Proctor’s candidate.
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Political Climate - 1886 Organizing laborers began to change
the political landscape. Each town in the state had one
representative in the Vermont House of Representatives.
The Democrats could take away Proctor’s control over Sutherland Falls by organizing labor against him.
Political Climate - 1886 By dividing the town into
Rutland, West Rutland & Proctor, Redfield Proctor was sure he could control the two new towns because all of the people in those towns were VMC employees.
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Proctor’s Interesting Deal Willliam Young Warren Ripley
had inherited half of his father’s marble fortune.
The other half belonged to his brother, General Edward Ripley.
A third brother, Ned, aligned with William when he considered selling the marble business.
William Y.W. Ripley - 1861
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Edward Ripley - 1861
Proctor’s Interesting Deal Ripley met with Redfield Proctor
to discuss getting some cash for his business.
Proctor wanted him to support the proposal to divide Rutland.
Proctor made an interesting proposition to Ripley.
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Proctor’s Proposal Ripley didn’t have enough capital to
make investment in desperately needed equipment.
Ripley had seriously neglected maintenance to the operation.
Ripley lost an important building contract in Boston to VMC’s really low bid, so he had a problem getting a loan without collateral.
Proctor’s Proposal Proctor offered $275,000
contingent on Ripley testifying in favor of the division of Rutland.
Ripley turned him down, but Proctor was sure Ripley would agree in the end.
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The Plan Redfield Proctor came up with a
winning strategy on the proposal. First, they would retain every
lawyer in the county for their position, so their would be no legal representation for the opposition.
The Plan Next, Dillingham was to get a ruling
striking out all opposition testimony on the grounds that it was not rebutting in its character.
Then, Frank Partridge would draw up the purchase contract for Ripley and a note for $275,000 to be hand delivered to Ripley the next day.
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Vote After heated debate, the proposal
to incorporate Proctor passed in the House & Senate on 16 November 1886.
West Rutland’s incorporation was passed the next day.
The division was complete.
Result The division destroyed what had
been the largest and richest town in the state, because no taxable marble deposits were left in Rutland.
Of the 2,163 acres of land in Proctor, valued at $6,773, all but $462 worth of the town belonged to VMC.
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Result The political power of Redfield
Proctor and his fellow Republicans was greatly enhanced.
West Rutland & Proctor each received one seat in the House of Representatives.
Result Proctor was elected unopposed to
the Proctor seat in the House. His close allies were elected to
the West Rutland and Rutland seats.
The three towns were now solidly Republican Proctor supporters.
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Proctor’s Rise in National Power Proctor served as delegate-at-
large to the Republican National Convention in 1888.
Vermont was the only state to support Benjamin Harrison, Proctor’s candidate, on every ballot.
Benjamin Harrison
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Proctor’s Rise in National Power When Harrison was elected
President of the US, he rewarded Proctor by naming him Secretary of War.
Proctor resigned as President of VMC and moved to Washington DC, naming Fletcher as the new president.
Secretary of War Proctor
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Fletcher Proctor
Secretary of War Proctor Proctor’s administration was one of
the ablest in the history of the department.
They improved pay & welfare of the enlisted men.
They reformed the harsh military justice system, cutting the desertion rate by more than half.
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Secretary of War Proctor They streamlined the pension
process. They improved the
professionalism of the officers including a more just promotion system.
Senator Proctor Vermont senator George Edmunds
was convinced to step down early in 1891, and Governor Page appointed Proctor to fill out his unexpired term.
Proctor was elected to full term in 1892, and reelected in 1898 & 1904.
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Senator Proctor
Senator Proctor In 1898, he visited Cuba to
investigate alleged Spanish atrocities in their rule.
He gave one of the most memorable & influential speeches on the senate floor.
His speech made a huge impression on the nation, & the US entered the war with Spain a month later.
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Senator Proctor Redfield was so successful at
promoting his business interests in Washington that marble became the standard construction material for government buildings and monuments.
This continued until the 1920s.
Effects on VMC During the 1890s and early 1900s,
annual sales at VMC grew to more than $3 million and the work force grew to more than 5,000 workers
Fletcher presided over a period of great growth for VMC, thanks to his father’s influence in Washington.
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Proctor Family & Friends - 1886
Proctor Family & Friends - 1886 Left to right: Emily Proctor (Redfield’s Wife) Frank Partridge Emily D. Proctor (Daughter) Redfield Proctor, Jr. Fletcher Proctor Arabella Proctor (Daughter) David Bixler Mrs. Charles Partridge (Frank’s Mother)
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Diving in a Marble Quarry
Marble Valley
Struggle for Control 1888 - 1900
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Political Leaders Most political leaders in
Vermont, Democrat & Republican, traveled in a small social circle, belonging to the same churches, lodges, etc.
Redfield Proctor was the most powerful members of the ruling elite.
New Industry in Rutland The Howe Scale Company moved
from Brandon to Rutland in 1888. The Vermont School Seat
Company was founded. Mosely and Stoddard, a cheese &
butter manufacturer moved from Poultney to Rutland in 1890.
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New Industry in Rutland The F.R. Patch Company, a maker of
cutting & finishing equipment was established.
The Marble City Electric Co. challenged the Rutland Gas Co. for supplying power in the city.
By 1890 Rutland was touted as being on the cutting edge of progress.
“Undesirable Foreigners” The owners & managers of these
enterprises saw danger in the success of worker politics, especially the newer quarry & mill workers
From 1888-1890, Governor Dillingham led the campaign against increasing number of undesirable and potentially radical immigrants.
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“Undesirable Foreigners” Dillingham continued his
campaign when he became a Senator from Vermont in 1900.
He felt that southern and eastern Europeans were inferior and Scandinavians were the purest type of immigrant.
Rutland City In 1892, Rutland’s old guard
leaders got the Vermont legislature to incorporate Rutland as a city.
The new form of government distanced itself from the workers, becoming more representative and less controlled by the citizens.
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Depression Just as Rutland was entering a
new era as a city with a sense of optimism, the nation was plunged into a depression.
From 1894 to 1898, nationwide unemployment stayed at over 10%.
Depression Politics The Workingman’s party fell
apart. The radical workers formed the
Socialist Labor Club, which became politically active against the incumbent Democrats and Republicans.
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Depression Politics The United Workingman party
fell apart in 1892. The radical workers formed the
Socialist Labor Club, which became politically active against the incumbent Democrats and Republicans.
Labor Politics A socialist party, called the
Workingmen’s Party was formed in 1893.
It aligned nationally with the Omaha Platform which wanted to change the existing system to be more in favor of the workers.
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Labor Politics The Workingmen’s Party urged
workers to unite against the elite in the 1894 election. The Republicans swept the ballot.
The severe depression continued in 1894 & 1895, and in 1896 Thomas R. Browne, a Democrat sympathetic to labor, was elected city mayor.
Labor Politics However, the Republicans still
controlled the city council and worked against the new mayor.
The Moon Brook sewer project in 1897 highlighted the division between Mayor and council, as the council approved much of the project, going around the mayor.
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Labor Politics The Mayor kept vetoing
legislation proposed by the council.
The business elite successfully worked together and backed Percival Clement for mayor.
Labor Politics Control of Rutland shifted back
and forth in the next decade among Republicans, Democrats and Labor.
William Y.W. Ripley was elected mayor in 1899.
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C.J.’s Slide Show
Moving Marble Block
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Vermont Marble Quarry – c1935
Vermont Marble Quarry
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Dorset Quarry
Traveling to Work at Danby Quarry
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Tomb of Unknown Soldier at Proctor Shop
Marble Blocks Ready for Shipment
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West Rutland Marble Yard
Rochester Quarry
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Rochester Quarry
Next Week’s Guest:
Mike Austin, author of Stories From Vermont’s Marble Valley
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Vermont Marble: America’s Monument Stone
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