\ G^ '. '^■ 'b .*■>' ■"'* A-^ ... ^-^ •°-'' *«> .. ^^ '" **•. <^ °^ '. ^^°^ STATUE OF PRKSIDKNT FRANKLIN I'll.KC F Unveiled at Concord, Ni w IIami'shirk NOVI'-MMI-.K 25, 1 914 ADDRESS OF W ILFIAM E. CHANDLER THE KIMFOKD PRESS CONCORD. N. H. .C4P UX\KlLIX(i ON NOVEMBEK 25, 1014, OF FHE STATUE OF FHAXKT>1X PIERCE, ERECTED I5V THI-: STATE OF XEW HAMPSHIRE. ORDEK OF KXER('ISP:]S Assembling at the Eagle Hotel, the official party and invited guests proceeded to the space reserved in front of the State House yard, where the exercises of unveiling took place. X'nveiling of the Statue Miss Susan H. Pierce, Hillsborough CoM.MEXDATiON OF THE ScuLPTOR Mr. Augustus Lukeman, New York (Made in his absence by the Presiding Officer) The company next proceeded to the State House where, in Representatives' Hall, the exercises were continued. IxvocATiON Rev. George H, Reed, D.D., Concord Address by President of the Day Hon. Clarence E. Carr, Andover DEr.n-KRY of Statue Hon. Frank P. Carpenter, Manchester Chairman of Pierce Statue Commission Acceptance ok Statue His Excellency, Samuel D. Felker Governor of New Hampshire Addre.ss Hon. Edgar Aldrich, Littleton Address H.m. William E. ChandkT, Concord Oration Hon. Oliver E. Branch, Mancliester Address Il,,n. William F. \\hitcii(T, Haverhill Hymn "America" ADDRESS n\ WILLIAM K. CII AX I)Li:iL It would 1)(' iuipossihlc loi- me on this occasion tlic dedication of a statue in the Stiitc House yard at Concord of President l''ranl heart witli irresistible affection. He was a friend of ni> fathei and during the presidential campaign of 1852 when 1 was seventeen years old, he ca!iu> to my bedside in ni\ home on Centre Street in Concord, where 1 was sick with fe\-er. and si)oke to me cheering words. 1 was studying law with John H. CJeorge and Sidney \\'ebster (Cleorge iV Webster) and after the canvass opened we moved over to the law office of General Pierce and his partner Josiah Minot where I worked for General Pierce in collecting the fees to which he was entitled alone for cases tried by him outside of Alerrimack County where Air. Alinot was an ecpial partner with him. I took great interest in this collection. His fees were ordinarily from five dollars to ten dollars per day and expenses outside of Concord! Prior to his going to Wash- ington on March 4, 1853, I think I had managed to collect about five hundred dollars, and my expenses for collection were about fifty dollars. There was one charge of fi\-e hundred dollars which I became exceedingly desirous of collecting through James Bell (later, in 1S55, elected United States senator) who was the senior counsel for the Winnipesaukee Lake Cotton and Woolen Manufacturing Company in a flowage case which had been tried for several weeks. General Pierce gave me a carefully worded letter which I took to Mr. Bell but came home without the money! The claim was, I believe, settled with some deduction before the President went to Washington. In the spring of 1855 1 was in Washington with my friend Isaac Andrew Hill, and Judge Minot took us to the White House up the back stairs where we saw the President and his Secretary, Mr. Sidney Webster, and were invited to tea, on which occasion there were present only the two Concord boys and an old-fashioned Western gentleman of dignity and politeness. The President goodnaturedly reproached Mr. Hill (whose father, Isaac Hill, had been a Jackson democrat and a United States senator), for leaving the Democratic party and becoming a Know Nothing and a free soiler; but he did not complain of me for being a Whig boy from whom he could expect nothing. The White House had been a lonely home by reason of the sudden death by a railroad accident of the boy son, Benjamin Pierce, on January 6, 1853, after his father's election, but before his inauguration. With all these kindnesses from the President I could never have failed to love him and it has always remained certain that the boy he loved and helped would Be to his virtues very kind Be to his faults a little blind. So as time passed I came to praise him for his goodness and greatness. To the Grafton and Coos Bar Association, at Plymouth on January 6, 1888, I said of him from personal knowledge: All my own observation of this brilliant advocate was while I was a law student under seventeen years of age ; but I could even then appreciate the fact and am able now confidently to say, that very few American lawyers have equalled him in ingenuity, tact, grace, eloquence and power before a jury; nor should his ability and success as a jury lawyer obscure the further truth, that, while not a learned lawyer, he had one of the clearest of legal minds, and an unsurpassed faculty of stating and arguing legal principles. I think a stronger impression was made upon my youthful mind })y the arguments which I heard him make on legal questions, than l)y his conduct of jury cases. As a many- sided lawyer, capable of conducting trials of all kinds, it seems to me that he stood facile princeps at the New Hamp- shire bar, not even yielding the palm to the massive and erudite, but eccentric, Ira Perley. Further I said on (Iiat occasion: The fact tlial I'lauklin I'icicc hccanic l'ri'M in June. 1X45, Franklin Pierce and Jolm P. Hal(» h(>ld that memoi;il)le debate in the North Churcli in ('oncoi'd, which was the actual initiatixc in New IIami)shire of the great i)()litical anti-slavery contest, the basis of which made the i)olitical issues of the state and the country for the forty years which followed, whidi had such a controlling influence upon the i)ersonal fortunes of botii these (listinguisli(>d and elociuent men, and which, as to. some of its incidents and outgrowths, has not yet come to an end. The heroic statue of Daniel Webster, whom New Il:imp- shire proudly gave to be the great forensic defender of the Union and the Constitution and who. in spite of his j)olitical and j)ers()nal shortcomings, was the greatest intellect that America has 3^et produced, fitly stands, the gift of a lii>er;d private citizen, in front of the capitol at Concoi-d. To the right and to the left of this massive meniori;il 1 hope to Uve to see erected similar statues of Franklin I'ierce. given by New Hampshire to be president of our re|)ul)Iic. and John P. Hale, the first distinctive anti-slavery United States senator and New Ham])shire's noblest chami)ion in the cause of human freedom. At an Old Home Day Celebration in Concord on .\ugust 24, 1904, I also publicly recorded my opinion of President Pierce and my belief that the peojile of his native state, without forgetting his mistakes and witliout distinction of party, should do him signal honor by erecting his statue m the State House yard. The statue of John P. Hale having been placed in the State House yard on .\ugust 13, 1892, once more 1 ventured to speak in favor of the erection of a statue of PresidiMit Pierce, at a Republican State Convention of September 17, 1908. I introduced and urged this resolution: Resolved, That the l{ep>il>li<':»'> State C.nvent ion desires that the next legislature provide for the erection in the State House vard at Concord of a statue of Frankhn i'lerce. 6 a native and distinguished citizen of New Hampshire, an able lawyer, an elcxiuent orator, a general in the national army, a representati\'e in congress, a United States senator and a President of the United States; and the convention expresses the hope that this movement for the erection of such a memorial statue will receive the approval ajid sup- port of all our citizens without regard to party distinctions. Unwise opposition arose and the report says: Mr. Chandler obtained the floor and stated that he would be unwilling to have the resolution passed by the conven- tion unless by substantially a unanimous vote and therefore that he withdrew the same. On March 4, 1913 — Woodrow Wilson's day — I made my last appeal for the statue, this time to the Democratic legislature of 1913, saying: If the Democrats will all advocate it, enough Republicans will vote for it to make its erection sure. All opposition from Republicans should cease. As people grow old they need not change their opinions, but they ought to moderate their animosities and recognize the good that is in all men. General Pierce in his relations with those he loved and those who loved him was one of the gentlest and most joyous of men; and of the twelve Presidents whom I have known and talked pleasantly with in the White House he came very near to being the most gracious. Equally with Lewis Cass and Daniel Webster, Franklin Pierce is entitled to have the harsh judgments of anti- slavery men moderated, as time passes, through a recogni- tion of the sincerity of their fears of a dissolution of the Union in connection with controversies concerning slav- ery. The strength of this plea in their behalf has been felici- tously shown by Mr. Blaine and distinctly by me as appears in a memorandum ))ublished by me in 1908. I earnestly hope that every citizen of New Hampshire will in the era of the present day give his voice in favor of a statue, ei'ected by the state of New Hampshire and not by any individual, of President Franklin Pierce. It was most gratifying to me and creditable to the people of New Hampshire that without any further mani- lestalioii of |):iit\ :iiiiiii<»sil y tlic Ic^islat iii-c on .\l;i\ |:i, 1913, ])ass('(l a law direct iii^ the ( ioNci'iior and ( uiiiicil to erect the statue and niakinii an a|)|)i(»priat ion tlier«'f(»r; and tlie result of this coinniendahle action stands hefore us in the <»;raceful statue of l''|-anklin IMerce today un\-eiled. A\'e are now here, citizens of |)()th politics, to ^!;i\<' to the President's inonioi-y the |)raise and honoi' which i< implied in the existence of the memorial. On four official occasions it lias been my duty ttatesnieii of the ante-war period. The first was on the reception hy the ( 'onr slavery has been blotted out of existence this reason should be disregarded. The same ol)jection could be made to statues of two other sons of New Hamj)shire — Lewis Cass and Daniel Webster; 8 yet the statue of Cass, f>;iven by the Republican state of ^Michigan to the national gallery, was received by Congress with eulogies participated in by the New Hampshire delega- tion, and the statue of Webster was given by New Hamp- shire to that gallery with appropriate ceremonies, and a like statue of Webster was given to the state bj^ a private citizen, was received by the commonwealth and placed conspicuously in the State House yard and now stands there in company with the statues of John Stark and John P. Hale. On none of these occasions was there any attempt to avoid consideration of the hostihty which had existed against both Cass and Webster; both had been denounced with extreme bitterness, the one as always a pro-slavery man, the other as ha\'ing wholly forsaken the anti-slavery cause. You all know the animosities aroused in those days. But they did not continue to prevail against Cass and Webster. They ought not longer to prevail against Pierce, The real reason why we should not at this late day longer refrain from erecting statues to such men is that their hesi- tancy to make efforts for the abolition of slavery, their will- ingness to make compromises in behalf of slavery, arose from their deep devotion to the union of these states which it was believed would be endangered if controversy over slavery continued. Bear in mind that these men were nearer to the days of the formation of the constitution than we now are after more than one hundred years of national life have passed, and the Union has been cemented and strengthened as the result of bloody war. They felt during the first half of the nineteenth century that the Union, although a very sacred bond, might easily be broken into numerous discordant single states if the love of the Union was not cherished in the hearts of all men and sacri- fices made for its preservation. Upon this point \lr. Blaine shows the I'easons why the utmost allowance should be made for these great men of N(>w Hanii^shii-e who were in favor of yielding much to slavery in order to save the Union and who, although they were mistaken in their conclusions, are still ('ntill(Ml to !)(• icin<'inlii"ic(l and liiMiorccl as li»tii. -i .ukI sincere in tlieir|)iil)li(' ()))iiii()ns and |)atii<)(i<- in their national conduct. Mr. I^laink's MxiM.AN aiion oi Mi{. W i.hstkk'.s Actiun. j\Ii'. lilaiiic in liis "'i'wcnt.N ^(^•^^s of ( 'on{i;ress" (\'ol. 1, page 93) attributes Mr. WChsters pro-slax cry action to sincere sentiments of patriotism, lie sa\s: He belonged with thos(> who could icincmhci- the lirst president, who ])ers()nally knew much of the hardships and sorrows of the Revolutionary period, who were horn to poverty and reared to privation. To these the formation of the federal government had couk^ as a gift from ileaxcn and they had heai'd from the li})s of the li\ing Washington his farewell words that "the Tnion is the edihee of our real independence, the sui)i)ort of our tramiuillity at home, our peace abroad, our prosperity, oui- safet\ and of the very liberty which we so highly i)rize; that for this Tnion we should cherish a cordial, habitual, immovable attachment, and should discountenance whatevei- ma> suggest e\eii a suspicion that it can in any event be abtmdoned." Mr. Webster had in his own lifetime seen the thirteen colonies grow to thirty jiowerful states. He had seen three millions of people, enfeebled and imi)o\-eiished by a long struggle, increased eightfold in number, suii-ounde<| by all the comforts, charms and securities of life. .Ml this spoke to him of the Union and of its jiriceless blessings. lie now- heard its advantages discussed, its i)erj)etuity doubted, its existence threatened. A convention of sla\-eholding states had been called to meet at Nashville for the i)uri)ose of considering the possible separation of the sections. Mr. Webster felt t h:it a genera- tion had been born who were undervaluing their inheritance and who might by temerity destroy it. I'nder motives imposed bv these surroundings, he spoke for the preservation of the Union. He believed it to be seriously endang(M-ed. His apprehensions were ridiculed by many who ten years after Mr. Webster was in his grave saw for the first time how real and how terrible were the perils upon winch th(»se api)rehensions were founded. . . • The thoughtful re- consideration of his severest critics nuist allow that Mr. Webster saw before him a divided duty, and that he cho,«^e 10 the part which in his patriotic judgment was demanded by the sujireme danger of the hour. ]^u( wliile accepting as just, and reiterating as I have on the occasions referred to, this vindication by Mr. Blaine of the '^ Union savers" who were unkindly reproached in their day of debate, it is necessary for me to avow that it is easiei- for me to do this in behalf of the advocates of the compromise measures of 1850 than in behalf of the states- men who four years later devised and carried to a passage through (yongress the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. This repeal was utterly indefensible, even although sustained by the unjust and unfortunate Dred Scott deci- sion, and remains a wrongful act of the American Congress, which was fraught with distressing consequences. Yet, even here, because their public action was, as much as Mr. Webster's, based upon an ''honest motive" Stephen A. Douglas and Franklin Pierce are to be acquitted of unforgiv- able public acts and are to be praised and honored for their careers as a whole of statesmanship and patriotism. Therefore, now so it is, that in my declining years, I find myself unable to harshly criticize and condemn any of the leaders of the first ninety years of American Independ- ence, or to withhold from any of them, by reason of such faults and mistakes as may be developed in any career of prominence, the praises that are due to them for any wise and noble and patriotic deeds. Those of President Pierce were narrated down to 1852 by his Bowdoin College associate and constant friend, Nathaniel Hawthorne, in a most attractive and felicitous campaign biography in that year, and were fully recorded in 1888 in Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography by one who had been a United States senator from New Hampshire Bainbridge Wadleigh, a Republican, in a fair and accurate recital. Franklin Pierce was a scholar of superioi- knowledge, an orator of captivating eloquence, a lawyer of acute learning, a trial advocate of unsurpassed skill and force, a brave 11 soldier on (lie hat ( Iclicld s(> statue in this Stale House yard is lit t iiiiilx' the companion of that of the soldiei- .loh?i Stark and of tliosc of (lie slMtesnion Daniel Wehster and John 1*. Hale. Before future generations theie will continue to stand here this testimonial to IM-esident I'icicc from all the ])eopl(' of his stat(> assei'tin<>; his hiji;h chai'actcr, hi- -plendid acliieNcments and the noble traits which made hitu admired and beloved by his eountrymen. W46 ^^ %/' -^^^ \^«=/ '^^K'^ "^^ rO •'..^ ^^' ^v -^^ o ^ >**(. O > •J ; <^^^'