EDWARD B. BUTLER 
 
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 UNIVilKiMY OF 
 
 ILLINOIS LIBRARY 
 
 AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
 
 ILL. HIST SURVEY
 
 EDWARD B. BUTLER 
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 EDWARD B. BUTLER I 
 
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 CONTENTS 
 
 EDWARD B. BUTLER 
 
 SERVICES AT CHURCH 
 
 SERVICES AT CEMETERY 
 
 PRAYER 
 
 SERMON 
 
 RESOLUTION
 
 EDWARD B. BUTLER 
 
 1853-1928 
 
 -^^^ 
 
 IF it be true that ''to live in the hearts of 
 those we love, is not to die,'' then Edward 
 Burgess Butler with his kindly smile, his 
 friendly handclasp, his keen, lively interest in 
 people and affairs — lives on just as surely as 
 he lived before that waning afternoon in 
 February, 1928, when from his winter home 
 in Pasadena the wires flashed back across the 
 country the message of his passing. For Ed' 
 ward Butler loved so many — men, women and 
 children — so great a friend was he to all hu- 
 manity, that the love which flowed so spon^ 
 taneously from his own heart found an answer- 
 ing current in the hearts about him, and the 
 memories of him which still live on are almost 
 
 7
 
 as vital and glowing as was his own vivid 
 personality. 
 
 It is easy for those who knew him in his 
 later years to picture him as a youngster — ro- 
 bust, straight-limbed, rosy-cheeked — absorb- 
 ing much of his sturdiness of body, his strength 
 of soul, from the rigor of the hills of Maine, 
 his boyhood home. It is easy to imagine his 
 delicate appreciation of nature — his fondness 
 for the trees and fields, which was later to mo- 
 tivate his artistic career, fostered by the woods 
 and meadows around the town of Lewiston, 
 where he was born, December i6, 1853. 
 
 His education — schooling, rather, for Ed- 
 ward Butler's education ceased only with 
 his passing — consisted of no more, no less 
 than that of many a son of parents in moderate 
 circumstances. He graduated from Bunker Hill 
 Grammar School, and attended Charlestown 
 High School for one year, working in his 
 father's store before school in the mornings, 
 and following the afternoon sessions. 
 
 8
 
 At the age of i6, his real business career 
 began, when he joined the workers' corps of 
 a Boston wholesale dry goods house as a bun- 
 dle boy. From that niche in the world of mer- 
 chandising, he stepped into the job of traveling 
 salesman, gaining a first-hand experience of 
 "the man on the road'' w^hich was to con- 
 tribute valuably to his own business years 
 later. 
 
 On February i, 1877, he w^ent to Boston 
 where, with his brother, George H. Butler, 
 the firm of Butler Brothers was founded. A 
 year later, another brother, Charles H., was 
 taken into the business, and the modest little 
 wholesale house was moved to larger quarters 
 in Avon Street, Boston. 
 
 Because of the prospering business, still 
 larger space was required in the same year, and 
 accordingly they found new quarters in 
 Chauncey Street, Boston. And from this store 
 w^as sent the first mail order catalogue ever 
 issued in the United States; and from this 
 
 9
 
 store was supplied the stock for the first Five 
 Cent Store known to the business world of 
 America. 
 
 From this modest start, Mr. Butler saw the 
 house of Butler Brothers grow to the largest 
 wholesale business in the world, with large 
 distributing branches today in New York, 
 Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Dallas and 
 San Francisco. 
 
 It was in 1879 that Edward Butler came to 
 Chicago for the opening of the first Chicago 
 store of Butler Brothers and from then on 
 until his retirement from the presidency in 
 1914, he devoted himself assiduously to the 
 development of his great business. 
 
 But a man of Edward Butler's temperament 
 could no more confine his interests strictly to 
 the field of business, than the sun can shine 
 upon one flower in a field, and the altruism of 
 his nature found an early outlet in civic mat- 
 ters. The first important piece of public work 
 he did for the community, in whose develop- 
 
 10
 
 ment he was destined to play so large a part, 
 was in connection with the World's Colum- 
 bian Exposition, when he served as Chairraan 
 of the Ways and Means Committee and as 
 Chairman of the Committee on Admissions 
 and Collections, thus assuming responsibility 
 for the income of the greatest World's Expo- 
 sition of all times. 
 
 As one of the foremost promoters of the 
 World's Fair, and as a staunch believer in the 
 future of his adopted city, it was but natural 
 that Mr. Butler should assume a share of the 
 responsibilities in the development of a plan 
 for Chicago's growth, and in 1905, at a meet- 
 ing of the Commercial Club, of which he was 
 then President, he gave utterance to what 
 proved to be a dynamic impetus to the con- 
 ception and development of the Chicago Plan 
 for a greater and more beautiful Chicago. 
 
 Immediately after that meeting, Frederick 
 A. Delano, Charles D. Norton and Daniel H. 
 Burnham made the first move toward creating 
 
 11
 
 this plan which was to have the backing of the 
 Commercial Club of Chicago, and as Chair^ 
 man of the Club's committee on the Chicago 
 Plan, Mr. Butler for many years devoted a 
 large part of his time to its development. 
 
 Single-handed, and against great opposition, 
 he made repeated trips to the State Capitol, 
 and finally succeeded in securing the passage 
 of an Enabling Act, making it possible for the 
 City of Chicago to reclaim and beautify the 
 lake front; and it was due in a very large 
 measure to his efforts as mediator, that a suc- 
 cessful trade was finally effected between the 
 Illinois Central Railroad Company and the 
 South Park Commissioners, which was the 
 first step necessary to provide for Chicago 
 what is fast becoming the most beautiful 
 water front in the world. 
 
 Closely entwined with his civic activities 
 was his interest in philanthropic movements, 
 and in the latter field his benevolent impulses 
 found divers outlets. Throughout the years he 
 
 12
 
 was an interested director on the boards of 
 many charitable institutions. Practically all 
 of Chicago's worthy philanthropies have been 
 helped through his generous gifts, which 
 reached a total of millions of dollars during 
 his lifetime. But his ''giving sense'' was not 
 circumscribed by an automatic, cut-and-dried, 
 card-file policy. 
 
 The little old lady of the ''third floor back," 
 whose long-past-due room rent was myste- 
 riously paid up-to-date, and even in advance; 
 the struggling art student; the ill and discour- 
 aged inventor; the foreign merchant whose 
 fortune had been swept away by the war — 
 they all turned to thank Edward Butler, not 
 only for monetary aid, but for the upholster- 
 ing of their faith and courage, which is so 
 immeasurably helpful in the crucial times in 
 any man's career. 
 
 Although Mr. Butler's abiding conviction 
 that the possessor of wealth should regard 
 himself as a trustee, accountable to his fellow 
 
 13
 
 man, he never let his right hand know ''what 
 his left hand did,'' and that attitude of unos- 
 tentation was characteristic of the man — 
 not only in regard to his munificent giving, 
 but of everything he did. 
 
 Widely as Mr. Butler was known in busi- 
 ness, civic and artistic circles, the project with 
 which, perhaps, his name was most closely 
 associated, was Glenwood Manual Training 
 School — an educational institution for the care 
 of dependent, underprivileged boys, located 
 twenty-five miles south of Chicago, the presi- 
 dency of which Mr. Butler held for thirty-one 
 consecutive years. He saw Glenwood grow, 
 almost from the time when it was scarcely 
 more than a hope, into a flourishing service 
 to the State of Illinois and the boys whom cir- 
 cumstances have robbed of the natural rights 
 of every child. 
 
 For many years Mr. Butler missed his Sun- 
 day dinner to travel out to Glenwood to talk 
 to the boys; many times he journeyed from 
 14
 
 California to Chicago, to be present at the 
 annual Flag Day Exercises, which constituted 
 Glenwood's red letter day of the year, and to 
 give the address on those occasions. Never 
 was he too busy to see an old Glenwood boy, 
 who might be stopping over in Chicago; never 
 too preoccupied to be interested in the lad's 
 career. 
 
 But business and philanthropic interests 
 alone could not satisfy this enthusiastic 
 searcher for life, for deep in the soul of him 
 was an abiding love for the beautiful that he 
 had carefully nurtured all through his years. 
 As a boy in Boston, he haunted the Art 
 Museum and acquired more than a casual 
 acquaintance with the pictures hung there. 
 Always a lover of nature, it was but natural 
 that he should have turned to a study of the 
 works of artists, and it was significant that the 
 first Christmas he spent in Chicago he indulged 
 himself to the purchasing of a landscape for his 
 very own possession. 
 
 15
 
 It is perhaps common knowledge that the 
 first building erected at Hull House was built 
 by Edward B. Butler — and that building was 
 an Art Gallery housing a branch of the Public 
 Library. 
 
 When he built his home on South Michigan 
 Avenue, it was said that he had built a picture 
 gallery with a house around it — and indeed 
 the picture gallery was the most important 
 feature of the house. 
 
 For many years it had been Mr. Butler's 
 thought to some day take lessons in drawing, 
 though he never aspired to paint, for in his 
 modesty, and with his admiration for the 
 works of the masters, he deemed it almost 
 sacrilegious for a layman to even think of 
 painting a picture. But the time came when he 
 found himself with leisure for the study of 
 drawing, and the opportunity no sooner pre- 
 sented itself than he invited an artist friend to 
 come to his home and give him instructions in 
 sketching with charcoal. 
 
 16
 
 After two sketches in this medium, it was 
 suggested that he go immediately into painting 
 and accordingly he went to work at once with 
 brush and oils. In 1909, a year later, he sub- 
 mitted his first picture, under an assumed 
 name, and had the pleasure of having it ac- 
 cepted and hung by the Art Institute of Chi- 
 cago. Following this honor, he became a 
 successful exhibitor in many galleries through- 
 out the United States. 
 
 The wide publicity given at the time of his 
 first acceptance, to the story of the merchant 
 prince who had become a successful painter of 
 pictures, served as inspiration to other laymen, 
 and out of this inspiration has developed the 
 Chicago Business Men's Art Club, which 
 was the forerunner of a movement now na- 
 tion wide, with contemporary clubs of lay- 
 men painters in many cities throughout the 
 country. 
 
 As a trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago 
 for many years, Mr. Butler was instrumental 
 
 17
 
 in the development of the high place this com- 
 munity holds in the art world, and to him is 
 given credit for the fact that Chicago's Art 
 Institute possesses the most important collec- 
 tion of landscapes extant, by George Inness, 
 the greatest landscape painter America ever 
 produced. It was in 191 1 that Mr. Butler pre- 
 sented this gift to the Chicago Art Institute, 
 and throughout the following years he received 
 many letters from all parts of the country, 
 evincing the perpetual happiness which this 
 rare collection in the Edward Burgess Butler 
 Room, with its ever present bouquet of fresh 
 flowers, was giving to lovers of the beautiful 
 in art. 
 
 Mr. Butler lived a life well rounded with a 
 multiplicity of interests. He fathered and de- 
 veloped the greatest business of its kind in the 
 world. He mastered business and made it 
 respond to the practical, organized genius of 
 his many-sided nature. He turned to civic 
 enterprises and left his influence forever upon 
 
 18
 
 Chicago's "great front door/' He became a 
 friend of dependents, and carried into the lives 
 of thousands of boys opportunities which 
 made them upright citizens. He turned to the 
 aesthetic and interpreted, for millions, the 
 beauty of nature. 
 
 A man of outstanding success in many de- 
 partments of life, Edward Butler needed only 
 to have devoted himself exclusively to the 
 pursuit of wealth to have become, perhaps, an 
 immensely wealthy man. But for the last 
 twenty years before his going, he was known 
 by his most intimate friends never to make a 
 move, having for its sole object the mere mak- 
 ing of money. 
 
 In harmony with this outlook, it was but 
 natural that as early as 1898 he began to devise 
 a method of making his employees partners in 
 his business, and it is a well-known fact that 
 the only holdings of the stock of his great 
 company that Mr. Butler ever parted with 
 were placed in the hands of employees, 
 
 19
 
 which he enabled them to buy on a basis in- 
 volving small monthly payments. 
 
 His wisdom and genius, his great broad 
 sympathies and understanding, his high and 
 noble purpose in every act of life won for him 
 the love and admiration of all who knew him. 
 
 Endowed by nature with a robust figure 
 commanding in appearance, he combined in his 
 remarkably beautiful personality the virility 
 and strength of the most rugged type with a 
 ready sympathy, and an inborn gentleness, 
 that made him the ideal of young and old alike. 
 Mr. Butler was representative of that rare 
 race of men in whom greatness is simplicity, 
 sympathy, modesty and almost superhuman 
 ability. 
 
 20
 
 SERVICES AT CHURCH 
 
 By Dr. Robert Freeman 
 
 at Church of the Flowers, GJendale, California 
 
 February 23, 1928 
 
 I AM the resurrection and the life; he that 
 believeth in me, though he were dead, 
 yet shall he live. ... A good name is 
 rather to be chosen than great riches, and 
 loving favor rather than silver and gold. Let 
 us pray. 
 
 Almighty God, our heavenly Father, from 
 whom Cometh every good and perfect gift, and 
 from whom cometh nothing that is not good 
 and perfect — grant, we beseech Thee, to thy 
 servants today, who find themselves in the 
 valley of the shadow, thy good presence, thy 
 sustaining grace, and the benediction without 
 
 21
 
 which no life can be ,worth the living. Put 
 underneath them the everlasting arms, and 
 speak to them thy word of good cheer — 
 ''Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe 
 in God, believe also in me. In my Father's 
 house are many mansions : if it were not so, 
 I would have told you. I go to prepare a place 
 for you. And if I go and prepare a place for 
 you, I will come again and receive you unto 
 myself; that where I am, there shall ye be 
 also." Let her, whose burden is greatest this 
 day, hear her loved one taking up those 
 words of his Master and speaking them 
 afresh to her: ''Where I am, there shall ye 
 be also.'' Amen. 
 
 Vocal Solo, "Jesus, Lover of My Soul." 
 Let us now praise famous men, and our 
 fathers that begat us. The Lord hath wrought 
 great glory by them through his great power 
 from the beginning. Such as did bear rule in 
 their kingdoms, men renowned for their 
 power, giving counsel by their understanding, 
 
 22
 
 and declaring prophecies : Leaders of the peo- 
 ple by their counsels, and by their knowledge 
 of learning meet for the people, wise and elo- 
 quent in their instructions: Rich men fur- 
 nished with ability, living peaceably in their 
 habitations : These were honored in their gen- 
 erations, and were the glory of their times. 
 There be of them, that have left a name be- 
 hind them, that their praises might be reported . 
 These were merciful men, whose righteous- 
 ness hath not been forgotten. Their bodies are 
 buried in peace; but their name liveth forever 
 more. The people will tell of their wisdom, 
 and the congregation will shew forth their 
 praise. 
 
 The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord. 
 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable 
 to the Lord than sacrifice. He that foUoweth 
 after righteousness and mercy findeth life, 
 righteousness, and honor. The path of the just 
 is as the shining light, that shineth more and 
 more unto the perfect day. 
 
 23
 
 Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in 
 all generations. Before the mountains were 
 brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the 
 earth and the world, even from everlasting to 
 everlasting. Thou art God. 
 
 So teach us to number our days that we may 
 apply our hearts unto wisdom. Oh, satisfy us 
 early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and 
 be glad all our days. Make us glad according 
 to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, 
 and the years in which we have seen evil. 
 
 May the glory of the Lord be upon us and 
 establish Thou the work of our hands upon us. 
 
 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the 
 Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he 
 knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we 
 are dust. As for man, his days are as grass : as a 
 flower of the field so he flour isheth. For the 
 wind passeth over it and it is gone, and the 
 place thereof shall know it no more. But the 
 mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to ever- 
 lasting. 
 
 24
 
 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 
 
 He maketh me to lie down in green pas- 
 tures: he leadeth me beside the still 
 waters. 
 
 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in 
 the paths of righteousness for his name's 
 sake. 
 
 Yea, though I walk through the valley of 
 the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : 
 for thou art with me; thy rod and thy 
 staff they comfort me. 
 
 Thou preparest a table before me in the 
 presence of mine enemies : Thou anoint- 
 est my head with oil; my cup runneth 
 over. 
 
 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 
 all the days of my life: and I will dwell in 
 the house of the Lord forever. 
 
 Edward Butler was a clean man to look 
 upon. The book had a rare binding. The pre- 
 supposition is that if the book has a rich bind- 
 ing there is likely to be something within that 
 
 25
 
 is worth while looking upon. The general tes^ 
 timony of those who knew him best seems to 
 confirm this conclusion. Some years ago, Mr. 
 Shedd said of Mr. Butler that he was the best 
 loved man in the city of Chicago. A rare thing 
 for one prominent business man to be able to 
 say of another, and to find such large confirma- 
 tion of his conclusion in one of the largest 
 cities in the world. It is quite fitting that next 
 Sunday morning Dr. Shannon, in his pulpit 
 (from which he was wont to address Mr. 
 Butler, among others), should speak upon the 
 life and the works of Edward Butler, and 
 should broadcast them so that a million might 
 hear. 
 
 Here is the kind of American Hfe story that 
 ought to be written in a book; and ought to be 
 put in as small a book as possible, I should say, 
 that it might have as wide distribution as pos- 
 sible; that heads of great concerns might put it 
 in the hands of those who are following after 
 them in subordinate positions. 
 
 26
 
 For how many of us had Edward Butler 
 become a kind of hero? To me, among others. 
 How much of a hero must he have been to 
 many business men. Here was a man who had 
 made a name — he had given significant place 
 to a family name; a man of conspicuous talent, 
 who could develop so large an enterprise. 
 
 How much of a hero must he have been to 
 those who were interested in civic affairs. 
 Here was one who could dream dreams for a 
 great city, and never dream small dreams. He 
 knew that all the accomplishing of great things 
 for a city was not in a dream. Dreams had to be 
 followed by endeavors, and endeavors had to 
 be saturated in drudgery. So he took from his 
 busy life much time to go down to Springfield, 
 and, through the drudgery that was necessary, 
 to win the approval of the legislature, in order 
 that they might do their part towards making 
 his city one of the most beautiful in the world. 
 
 How great a hero must he have been to 
 those who were interested in beauty. He had 
 
 27
 
 well learned that all of man's living is not in 
 his doing, not in his pursuing of business en-' 
 ter prises. There are beauties that one must not 
 miss as one goes along. And so, after he had 
 passed his threescore years, he began to busy 
 himself producing the beautiful and giving to 
 some of the rest of us those lovely things that 
 had been in his soul for some time. How like 
 him to set aside that room in the great city, to 
 which many, many do go and shall go, where, 
 in the midst of the Inness collection, they feel 
 their spirits are washed afresh and they them- 
 selves made fit to go out in the world again ! 
 
 How great a hero was he to those of us who 
 are interested in doing things for humanity. If 
 we could ask him what was his greatest pride, 
 I fancy it would not be Butler Brothers; it 
 would not be the Inness room; and it would 
 not be the great enterprise down by the lake 
 front. He would point to Glenwood and to 
 what he had been able to do for thirty-one 
 years for homeless boys, and to the men who 
 
 28
 
 have gone out from that school to show them- 
 selves worthy his faith and friendship. 
 
 He was somewhat of a hero to those of us 
 who are interested in religion; the kind of man 
 who, with all his wide connections and expe- 
 rience, could be satisfied to sing, ''J^sus, lover 
 of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly''; whose 
 life, with all its enrichment, was exceedingly 
 simple. For those who are seeking to develop 
 character, here was a hero. He was not a hero 
 because he was any one of these, but because 
 all these qualities were compacted and de- 
 veloped in this exquisite spirit. 
 
 Yes, Edward Butler was clean to look upon; 
 but the pattern went clear through the pot- 
 tery, and the inside of the cup was the same 
 pattern as the outside. Well may he take his 
 place in the ranks of '' . . . those immortal dead 
 who live again in minds m,ade better b}' their 
 presence: live in pulses stirred to generosity, in 
 deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn for miserable 
 aims that end ivith self, in thoughts sublime 
 
 29
 
 that pierce the night li\e stars, and with their 
 mild persistence urge mens search to vaster 
 issues.'' 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 Almighty God, our heavenly Father, from 
 whom we come, in whom we live and move 
 and have our being, to whom we go, in whose 
 hand are all the issues of life, w^e come before 
 Thee in this hour, free from the slightest 
 shadow of hypocrisy. We come not because 
 we must, or because the conventions of man 
 have decided that such services must be cele- 
 brated over the dead. We come because this is 
 the fitting way to bid our last farewells to one 
 whom we loved and admired. We come be- 
 cause he had committed himself to God in the 
 end, and we, Hke him, would make such com- 
 mittal. 
 
 We come this day. Father, mindful of the 
 mercies that surrounded this life; giving Thee 
 thanks for his length of days, and for all the 
 richness that entered these days; mindful of 
 
 30
 
 thy mercy in sparing him the sudden disable- 
 ments of the body and the impoverishment of 
 the mind by the ills of the body; thanking 
 Thee that he went out in the strength of his 
 manhood, that up to the end he could think of 
 those he loved and give himself to the enter- 
 prises that needed his attention. We give Thee 
 thanks for thy strength to the companion of 
 his days, that she, like him, has the courage 
 of the great adventure, and is more mindful of 
 her mercies than even her sorrows, and will 
 not suffer her mourning to be turned into 
 murmuring or complaining. 
 
 We come with our hearts filled with a great 
 pride (Thou wilt not blame us if this is so), 
 pride in our friend who bore so much of the 
 image of his heavenly Father. We thank Thee 
 for this kind of man, who, in these days when 
 men point the finger at so many in high places 
 and curl the lip as they speak their names, was 
 one who could stand the light and the tests of 
 our judgments; that here was one who might 
 
 31
 
 well be followed by the youth of tomorrow, 
 the man to whom was given talents, and who 
 used his talents in ways to win the approval 
 even of the Most High. 
 
 We bless Thee for his clean business record, 
 which can stand the turning back of the pages 
 without fear. We thank Thee in the name of 
 his city, to which he gave himself so largely, 
 and for his honorable service to her profit. 
 We bless Thee in the name of all those who 
 loved beauty, that he has made it a bit easier 
 for them to see lovely things, to carry about in 
 their souls the vision of beauty. 
 
 We thank Thee in the name of these boys, 
 who are conscious that they have lost a great 
 friend; and in the name of those men who are 
 thanking God that Edward Butler came down 
 their way, speaking to them out of his heart 
 and giving them vastly more than his words. 
 We bless Thee as a group of neighbors and 
 friends for this kind of a clean man, who, even 
 in the moments when his mind controlled not 
 
 32
 
 his speech, uttered only those things that were 
 lovely and kind and of good report. We bless 
 Thee for his friendship, for his example, for 
 his inspiration. We pray Thee, good God, 
 multiply his kind, and grant to us to whom is 
 still given a little while to live, the grace like 
 him to pursue those things that are altogether 
 worthy; the grace like him to earn at the close 
 of the day the glad word from our heavenly 
 Father, ''Well done, good and faithful servant, 
 enter into the joy of thy Lord,'' and the echo- 
 ing word of all those who knew us best, ""Well 
 done, good and faithful servant." 
 
 Hear all our tender prayers for thy mercy 
 upon those to whom this sorrow is most inti- 
 mate. Thou who art the very present help in 
 time of need, who hast promised never to 
 leave us or forsake us, though we pass through 
 the waters and the flames, be their sustenance, 
 we beseech Thee, their constant presence, 
 their keeper, until the day break and the 
 shadows flee away; until they who have known 
 
 33
 
 and loved each other here shall know and love 
 each other in that better land, whence have fled 
 all sorrow and all sighing, all sickness and all 
 death. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 Vocal Solo,''I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say.'' 
 Benediction : Now abideth faith, hope, and 
 love, these three, but the greatest of these is 
 love. Love never faileth. Many waters cannot 
 quench love, neither can the floods drown it, 
 for love is strong as death. The Lord is thy 
 keeper. The Lord is thy shade upon thy right 
 hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor 
 the moon by night. The Lord will keep thee 
 from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The 
 Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy 
 coming in from this time forth and even for 
 evermore. 
 
 Now may the grace, mercy, and peace from 
 God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, 
 peace that passeth all understanding, keep 
 your hearts and minds. Through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 34
 
 SERVICES 
 AT CEMETERY 
 
 Oa\woods Cemetery, April 15, 1928 
 
 -^^^ 
 
 INVOCATION 
 
 OUR heavenly Father, we come to 
 Thee because we need Thee. With- 
 out Thee we are poor and weak. 
 With Thee we can be brave and strong. In 
 death as in life Thou art waiting to bless us, if 
 we will but turn to Thee. Help us to find Thee 
 thus today. 
 
 Lead us from our weakness to Thy strength; 
 from our ignorance to Thy wisdom; from our 
 darkness to Thy light. 
 
 Make us to hear the voice which said, 
 ''Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall 
 
 35
 
 be comforted/' Comfort Thou us, O God, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 SCRIPTURE SELECTIONS 
 
 Reading b^i Dr. Norman O. Hutton 
 
 BLESSED be God even the Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, 
 and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us 
 in all our tribulation, that we may be able to 
 comfort them which are in any trouble, by the 
 comfort wherewith we ourselves are com- 
 forted of God. 
 
 O taste and see that the Lord is good. 
 
 Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. 
 
 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, 
 and delivereth them out of all their troubles. 
 
 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; 
 but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. 
 
 The Lord redeemeth the soul of His serv- 
 ants; and none of them that trust in Him shall 
 be desolate. 
 
 36
 
 God is our refuge and strength, a very pres- 
 ent help in trouble. 
 
 Therefore will not we fear, though the 
 earth be removed, and though the mountains 
 be carried into the midst of the sea. 
 
 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose 
 mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in 
 Thee. 
 
 Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord 
 Jehovah is everlasting strength. 
 
 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, 
 from whence cometh my help. 
 
 My help cometh from the Lord, which 
 made heaven and earth. 
 
 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the 
 Most High shall abide under the shadow of 
 the Almighty. 
 
 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and 
 my fortress; my God; in Him will I trust. 
 
 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 
 
 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; 
 
 He leadeth me beside the still waters; 
 
 37
 
 He restoreth my soul; 
 
 He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness 
 for His name's sake. 
 
 Yea, though I walk through the valley of 
 the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for 
 Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they 
 comfort me. 
 
 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 
 all the days of my life; 
 
 And I will dwell in the house of the Lord 
 forever. 
 
 I am the Resurrection and the Life. 
 
 He that believeth in Me though he were 
 dead yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth 
 and believeth in Me shall never die. 
 
 Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe 
 in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house 
 are many mansions; if it were not so, I would 
 have told you; for I go to prepare a place for 
 you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, 
 I come again, and will receive you unto my- 
 self; that where I am, there ye may be also. 
 
 38
 
 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give 
 unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto 
 you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither 
 let it be afraid. 
 
 For we know that if our earthly house of 
 this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a 
 building of God, a house not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens. 
 
 As is the earthy, such are they also that are 
 earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they 
 also that are heavenly. And as we have borne 
 the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the 
 image of the heavenly. 
 
 As it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear 
 heard, neither have entered into the heart of 
 man, the things w^hich God hath prepared for 
 them that love Him. But God hath revealed 
 them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit 
 searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of 
 God. 
 
 For which cause we faint not; but though 
 our outward man perish, yet the inward man 
 
 39
 
 is renewed day by day. For our affliction, 
 which is but for a moment, worketh for us a 
 far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
 glory; while we look not at the things which 
 are seen, but at the things which are not seen; 
 for the things which are seen are temporal; 
 but the things which are not seen are eternal. 
 
 Who shall separate us from the love of 
 Christ? Shall tribulation or distress? Nay, in all 
 these things we are more than conquerors 
 through Him that loved us. For I am per- 
 suaded that neither death, nor life, nor 
 angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
 things present, nor things to come, nor height, 
 nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able 
 to separate us from the love of God, which is 
 in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
 
 Wherefore, beloved, be ye comforted by 
 these words of the Holy Scriptures, which 
 were written long ago, but written that we 
 might have the comfort of them today. 
 
 40
 
 PRAYER 
 
 By Reverend George M. Butler 
 
 OGOD, Thou hast been our help in 
 all generations. In Thee we live 
 and move and have our being. 
 Thou hast made us and not we ourselves. We 
 are the sheep of Thy pasture, we are the chil- 
 dren of Thine household. 
 
 And now we come unto Thee, our Father, 
 as needy and dependent children. Once again 
 we stand in the presence of life's most ancient 
 mystery and deepest sorrow, and we crave the 
 divine strength, comfort and peace. We thank 
 Thee for life and all that it means to us. We 
 thank Thee for all these precious ties that bind 
 us together in our human experience. For 
 home and for family, for kinship and for 
 41
 
 friendship, for those who love and serve us 
 and whom we love and serve. 
 
 We thank Thee especially today for the 
 gift to us of the life of our beloved kinsman 
 and friend whom Thou hast called home to 
 Thyself. We thank Thee for his character and 
 service to humanity in his day and generation. 
 That he gave himself so generously to the 
 well-being of others and, like the Master, 
 went about doing good in the world. 
 
 And now in our sorrow and bereavement 
 give unto us, we pray Thee, the divine com^ 
 fort. Especially grant courage and faith to 
 those most near and dear to him who has 
 passed from our earthly sight. May they and 
 all of us find anew the assurance of the Chris- 
 tian faith. For we are not here today without 
 such faith. We believe in the immortality of the 
 human spirit. That if a man die he shall live 
 again. That death is but a narrow doorway, 
 leading from life here to life elsewhere. That 
 what is excellent, as God lives, is permanent. 
 
 42
 
 Hearts are but dust. Hearts' loves remain. 
 Hearts' loves will meet us again. That in our 
 Father's house there are many mansions. 
 
 ''We \now not where Thine islands lift 
 Their fronded palms in air. 
 We only J^ow we cannot drift 
 Beyond Thy love and care.'''' 
 
 And so, as by the heart's full love and faith, 
 we follow the spirit of our beloved into some 
 other mansion of Thy wide universe, may we 
 be sustained by our Christian assurance. May 
 it bring to us the peace that passeth under- 
 standing, a peace that the world cannot give 
 to us — neither can it take away. 
 
 That in the days to come we shall have 
 comradeship of the spirit with him who has 
 gone before. And that the memory of his life 
 shall be for us, as for many others, an abiding 
 joy, which nothing can ever destroy. These 
 things we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 43
 
 SERMON 
 
 By Doctor Frederick F. Shannon 
 
 OUR friend, Mr. Butler, wrote some 
 words around which I wish to 
 center our thoughts this afternoon; 
 they are words w^hich were wrought into his 
 heart, mind, and soul, repeated not only by 
 his mouth but emphasised by his life and 
 character : 
 
 ''^ Guide me through another day; 
 Chart my course where love may sway; 
 Keep me free from selfish wrong; 
 Teach me patience, ma\e me strong. 
 Keep me pure in thou^t and deed; 
 Bring me near when others need. 
 Give me wor\ and strength to do, 
 Ma\e me gentle, \eep me true.''^ 
 
 45
 
 Within these simple lines there is high 
 thought and lofty aspiration. Written almost 
 in monosyllables, their very simplicity is in 
 keeping with the sublimity of the manhood 
 breathing through them. Rarely does one find 
 so many words of such noble Hneage so 
 meaningfully strung together in small com- 
 pass, composing, as they do, a kind of rosary 
 told and retold by the deeply meaningful life 
 of Mr. Butler. I looked up the other night at 
 the star-strewn sky. It was a beautiful night, 
 cleansed of all murkiness and brilliant with 
 the clear-shining of countless stars. I look at 
 these lines, also, and I find in them words that 
 are big and bright with a skylike serenity and 
 splendor; they seem to disclose the secret of 
 this strong man's character; they are radiant 
 with the light of his own personality. I 
 wish to pronounce, therefore, a few of these 
 words, which he has left for the enrichment 
 of all who really care for the enriching values 
 "of life. 
 
 46
 
 There is, first of all, the Prayer for Guidance. 
 '''Guide me through another day.'"' He believed 
 that human life is not merely self-directed, not 
 just a highly complicated mechanism, blindly 
 driven round and round, bound for nowhere in 
 particular. Believing in self-direction, he be- 
 lieved, also, that within all human self-direction 
 there is the guidance that is divine. As a mat- 
 ter of fact, his own life was magnificently self- 
 directed. And yet he refused to believe that 
 man is a mere automaton, a bit of delicately 
 wrought machinery. He believed in the maj- 
 esty of the human will to choose the fine things 
 and the high things; that every soul is big with 
 personal responsibility. As a complement to 
 this high creed, he was aware that behind 
 and within human life there is a Providence as 
 minute as it is wise and good. The God who 
 cares for a sparrow cannot be careless for a soul. 
 
 Here, then, was a merchant who, according 
 to his own words and life, paid the bills that 
 life presented day by day. ''Guide me through 
 
 47
 
 another day/' No groper, no stumbler was he 
 through his eventful days and years. I know a 
 little river in that dear New England country 
 where he was born, where the eager feet of 
 his boyhood were wont to run. It is not a 
 celebrated stream. I think you will scarcely 
 find it on any map. Yet it comes singing along 
 and finally flows into the ocean. Twice within 
 each lunar day that little inland river becomes 
 big with the pulsing tides of the great deep. 
 So is it with human life. We direct ourselves ; 
 we believe that this is one of the stamps of the 
 divineness in the mind of man — that he can 
 choose quite definitely and quite largely for good 
 or ill. But we believe, likewise, that these tiny 
 human streams borrow their ultimate signifi- 
 cance from the fact that they are related to the 
 ocean of the Divine Goodness; that the heav- 
 enly tides are ever flowing in to meet our small 
 human streams and make them quiver and sing 
 with the completing purposes of God. There- 
 fore, I cannot refrain from associating that 
 
 48
 
 New England River and the Atlantic Ocean 
 with Edward Burgess Butler's prayer for guid- 
 ance and the lofty prayer-hymn of Tennyson: 
 
 Sunset and evening star, 
 
 And one clear call for me! 
 And may there he no moaning of the bar. 
 
 When 1 put out to sea. 
 But such a tide as moving seems asleep. 
 
 Too full for sound and foam. 
 When that which drew from out the 
 boundless deep 
 
 Turns again home. 
 
 Twilight and evening bell. 
 
 And after that the dar\! 
 And may there be no sadness of farewell. 
 
 When I embar\; 
 For though from out our bourne of Time 
 and Place 
 
 The flood may bear me far, 
 I hope to see my Filot face to face 
 
 When I have crossed the bar. 
 
 49
 
 So has this beautiful stream of human life 
 named Edward Butler come trickling, singing, 
 refreshing, and enlarging with the years, until 
 now it is reunited with the vast Sea of Being, 
 that Ocean of Life whose ever-flowing tides 
 vitalise all the shores of humanity, even that 
 self-conscious Fatherhood which inspired His 
 self-responsible child to pray, ''Guide me 
 through another day." 
 
 Another aspiration is the Prayer for Purity. 
 ''KeejD me pure in thought and deed.'" This, my 
 friends, is a noble petition. There, in the 
 secret treasuries of the mind, where the moods 
 and dispositions have their origin, where 
 actions have their subtle beginnings — keep 
 me pure in the uttermost sanctuaries of 
 thought! Recalling his lovely face, I think his 
 thoughts wrought those fair and fine lines 
 upon his countenance which made us behold 
 it with lingering satisfaction. ''The habits of 
 the mind form the soul,'' said Balzac, "and the 
 soul gives expression to the face.'' Surely, 
 
 50
 
 then, the habits of his mind were good and 
 pure and strong, else that rare face of his could 
 never have issued its unbroken challenge to all 
 considerate souls to guard well this tremen- 
 dous power of thought-sculpture! I think no 
 one could look into his face without under- 
 standing, if he had the inner eye to scan and 
 interpret the deeper literature of the mind, 
 that the shaping forces going quietly and 
 magnificently on within his deepmost nature, 
 were pure and clean. 
 
 Moreover, when w^e measure that pure will 
 in action — w^hen his purposes had become 
 clothed with deeds — what a wonderful record 
 he has left behind! To my mind, one of the 
 finest things in all this human world of ours, is 
 this: Purity in mature life. The other after- 
 noon, in a distant city, I took up with a little 
 child. The day was wearing goldenly on to its 
 close and I was walking out to see the sunset. 
 A child was playing in front of his home and I 
 began to talk with him. Going on my way, I 
 
 51
 
 looked back and there was the little tow-head 
 toddling after me. I said to myself, ''How 
 sweet and innocent childhood is. Here is a 
 little lad who never saw me before and prob- 
 ably will never see me again. Yet, in his inno- 
 cence and inexperience, he takes up with a 
 stranger and wants to go with him.'' 
 
 Well, we are strangely held by the spell of 
 that ever-new snow-white innocence in the 
 heart of a child. But I am convinced that there 
 is something finer still: It is the compeUing 
 and eloquent innocence in the soul of matu- 
 rity. To find a big, strong man, one who has 
 braved all the storms and stains of the world, 
 coming to the end of life wearing the fine 
 linen of creative innocence — this, I repeat, is a 
 sight in the human realm entirely worthy of 
 being matched with that sky-canvas I went to 
 see hung up in the heavens of sundown. 
 
 I was told the other afternoon by a farmer 
 that in a certain section of Ohio the winter 
 wheat has almost entirely failed. I asked the 
 
 52
 
 farmer, through whose field I was tramping, 
 ' 'Ho w do you account for this failure?' ' ' ' Why ' \ 
 he replied, ''there was no covering of snow. 
 We had scarcely any snow here at all. Conse- 
 quently, the cold killed the seed as it lay there 
 in the ground.'' Not only out there in the 
 fields of nature must there be a blanket of pure 
 white if there are to be acres of golden wheat, 
 but there must be whiteness in the invisible 
 fields of manhood, also, if large and generous 
 crops of virtues are to be lifted high and clean 
 above the loam of our humanity. The virtues 
 of our friend are interpretable in the light of 
 his prayer, "Keep me pure in thought and 
 deed." 
 
 Here is another Prayer for Helpfulness. 
 ^^Bring me near when others need." I suppose 
 the most familiar equivalent of this word 
 "need" is service. But in the case of Mr. 
 Butler, it seems to me that helpfulness rather 
 than service is the proper term. It is larger, 
 more inclusive, alive with his rich humanism. 
 
 53
 
 Some men are so busy, so engrossed in public 
 affairs that they forget the personal, the un^ 
 heralded small gives and takes of life which, 
 after all, mean more than words can say. He 
 was amazingly helpful; and there are those 
 here this afternoon in this intimate service 
 who know that what I am saying is true. He 
 was socially helpful on a large scale; but he 
 was individually helpful, also, helpful one by 
 one. 
 
 Through his individual and social helpful- 
 ness, he became one of the formative and 
 creative forces of our city. Coming to Chicago 
 as a young man, he found a community just 
 beginning its unprecedented career. He sowed 
 himself into the beginnings of our civic fur- 
 rows. Quietly, modestly, without cap and 
 bells, but intelligently and persistently he 
 ploughed his life into this Chicagoland he 
 dearly loved. 
 
 Some Sundays ago, I spoke at length in 
 Central Church of his vast services to the city 
 
 54
 
 on the side of education, art, commerce, and 
 civic progress. He was greatly busy through 
 the years answering his own prayer, ''Bring 
 me near when others need/' Unlike the Priest 
 and the Levite in the parable, who passed by 
 on the other side, he had a genius for drawing 
 near. Where wounded causes were, where 
 wounded hearts were, where socially wounded 
 and underprivileged boys were — a kind of 
 spiritual gravity brought him near to these 
 with a skilled and healing brotherliness which 
 made his presence and service a perpetual 
 benediction. 
 
 Finally, there is a Prayer for the Sovereignty 
 of Love. ''Chart my course where love may 
 sway.'' Believing that God is Love, Edward 
 Butler's course was wonderfully charted along 
 the ways of Guidance, Purity, and Helpful- 
 ness. It is not a mere incident that his favorite 
 hymn was, ''Jesus, Lover of My Soul.'' It was a 
 part of the fiber of the man, a part of the dis- 
 position of his will. It was the underlying 
 
 55
 
 secret of the exposure of his soul to the great 
 causes in which he was interested so long and 
 so wisely. Thus it was Love, always Love, 
 that motivated his many-sided nature. 
 
 I have a letter he wrote me last June on the 
 day following the Flag Day Service at the 
 Glenwood School. He had gone on to Battle 
 Creek for a little rest. Beautifully character- 
 istic of him are the words: ''I have been here 
 only four hours, but already I feel quite at 
 home. However, I am quite a conundrum to 
 my associates. I can see them looking at me 
 out of the corners of their eyes and wondering 
 what is the matter with that husky. Well, 
 there is not anything the matter; that is why I 
 can enjoy myself under such peculiar condi- 
 tions.'' 
 
 What a revelation of the self-adjusting 
 power of the man ! Wherever you found him, 
 he was at home. Whether in the great busi- 
 ness, or in the art circle, or in the rising tide 
 for a better citizenship, or for saving the lake 
 
 56
 
 front for the city — wherever he was, he was 
 readily at home, a tremendously forceful char- 
 acter with astonishing self -adapting genius. 
 
 So, this afternoon, I would like to say to 
 these dear ones who have made the long jour- 
 ney from California, and to you who loved 
 and admired him: I can no more think that 
 Edward Burgess Butler has ceased to be than I 
 can think that I am not now standing in the 
 presence of your sorrow and appreciation. 
 He was finer than any picture he ever painted, 
 or any picture, even, that ever haunted his 
 imagination; because the finest thing between 
 the shining stars and the good green earth is a 
 soul that believes in the guidance that makes 
 for true self-direction; is the soul that keeps 
 itself pure, making itself ever and ever more 
 worthy to think God's thoughts after Him, 
 and through these means becomes of immeas- 
 urable service, unceasingly played upon by 
 the Power, as Dante says, that moves the sun 
 in Heaven, and all the stars. 
 
 57
 
 Brothers to the man who was one of its 
 founders, and who, during all its existence 
 gave to it, not only the best efforts of his 
 mind, but also the inspiration of his great 
 soul. 
 
 The history of Butler Brothers and of his 
 connection with it is preserved in its records 
 and is widely known in the business world. 
 But we, the remaining Directors, desire to, and 
 do hereby place in these records, the expres- 
 sion of our own deep appreciation not only of 
 his great business ability, but also of the high 
 sense of honor with which he exercised that 
 ability. His life proved that sound practical 
 judgment and the highest idealism may go 
 hand in hand to successful achievement. He 
 was kindly, courteous and considerate to 
 everyone, of whatever station. 
 
 Mr. Butler gave millions of dollars to Chi- 
 cago's worth while philanthropies, and he 
 gave not only money, but himself, his time, 
 his energy, and the inspiration of his faith in 
 
 60
 
 mankind. While he was an interested and 
 active director on boards of many charitable 
 institutions, that which was nearest his heart 
 was the Glen wood Manual Training School. 
 He was not merely its active President, he was 
 its very soul, and though he is dead, he will 
 still live in the lives of thousands of boys to 
 whom Glenwood gave manliness, learning, 
 hope and the open door to opportunity. 
 
 Being the man he was, it was inevitable that 
 Mr. Butler should not only be a good citi2;en, 
 but one who would work energetically, and 
 with clear vision, to make his city better and 
 greater, and he did so work throughout all the 
 years of his residence in Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Butler was a patron of the Arts from 
 his early life until its end. As one of its Trus' 
 tees, he was instrumental in the development 
 of the Chicago Art Institute. In 191 1, he gave 
 to the Institute the most important existing 
 collection of landscapes by America's greatest 
 landscape artist — George Inness, and the 
 
 61
 
 Inness room is today a shrine for the lovers of 
 the beautiful from all parts of the land. 
 
 But he was not only a patron of the Arts, he 
 was an Artist himself of recognised ability. It 
 was a source of gratification to his friends that 
 in his later years this man, who so ably and 
 energetically discharged every duty to his 
 fellow men, to his city and to the great busi- 
 ness of which he was the head, added new 
 riches to his life by the serene and happy hours 
 he spent in creating beauty. 
 
 But Edward B. Butler was more than a great 
 business man, more than a high type of citi2;en 
 loyal to every obligation of citi2;enship, more 
 than a philanthropist, more than a true artist 
 — he was a great gentleman in all the finest 
 implications of that word. To this fact was 
 due the unusual distinction of his face and 
 bearing. They were the outward reflection of 
 his inner self. Nature gave him a strikingly 
 tall, robust figure, and he radiated virility and 
 strength of the most rugged type. But there 
 
 62
 
 was a beauty in his face which did not depend 
 alone on well modeled features. Love of his 
 fellow men, broad sympathies and under^ 
 standing, simplicity, the faith of youth, ^ 
 nobility of purpose, and never flagging, but 
 eager, ^eal to do those things which tend to 
 make a better world — all these were written 
 in his face and so illuminated it that no one 
 could look upon it without saying, or feeling 
 — ''here is no common man.'' His wisdom 
 and genius, his broad sympathy and under- 
 standing, his noble purpose in every act of 
 life, won for him the love and admiration of 
 all who knew him. 
 
 We, who were, for so many years, in close 
 contact with him, not only as business asso- 
 ciates but as warm friends, here record, not 
 only our profound sorrow that he is to sit 
 with us on this Board no more, but also our 
 pride in the career and character of him who 
 was our honored chief and our dearly loved 
 friend. 
 
 63
 
 We grieve for his widow and we extend to 
 her our deepest sympathy. In her sorrow, may 
 she find consolation in the knowledge that no 
 man of his time in this community, held a 
 higher place in the respect, admiration and 
 affections of his fellows, and that because he 
 lived, the lives of many have been made hap- 
 pier and richer.'' 
 
 R. R. DONNELLEY i SONS CO.. CHICAGO
 
 ^^tm^m^^wm^mimmimm 

 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILUNOIS-URBANA 
 
 380.0924B976E cOOl 
 
 EDWARDS. BUTLER. 1853-1928 CHICAGO 
 
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