Hon. James M. Ashley

Address delivered on James M. Ashley at the Unitarian Churcli, Ann Arbor, January 10, 1897. To speak oL the departed in presence of the living is always a delicate task, but when the life spoken of is one worthy of the highest commendation and praise, the task becomes alike difficult and delicate. To the task which the cotirteous invitation of the pastor of this church assigns me, I bring neither excellency of speech or words of wisdom, and I should do injustice to the memory of a friend whom I honored and esteemed highly, if I attempted either eulogy, or rhetorical display, or omit one word of undeserved praise of Governor J. M. Ashley. But it is not necesaary to do either, because there is enough of grand achievements in lus life to merit more praise than I can bestow in this tribute to his memory. His work and what he did for the world, will be appreciated by future generations, not our own. His achievements, grand as they are, were more for the future than the preseut. The choicest blessings which we possess to-day, either as individuals or as a nation, are not the results of our own efforts but have been bequeathed to us by the efforts of those who have gone before, and are the most precious gifts that have been left us. But the individual, or the people who receive the achievements, glories and benefits of the generations which preceeded them, without adding to tliem themselves, are unworthy of such gifts. Sucb, I take it, was , the thought, the inspiration, or ambition that controlled and directed Gov. Ashley during all the years of his busy and useful public and private life. It is the expressed wish that I should speak of him in his relations to the business world, because it was in this relation that I knew, and was associated with him for a time ; but I shall confine myself to one business enterprise, with which he was connected, and its relations to this city. The world is too great a subject for anybody to discuss in a few minutes. Ii this one connection there is enough to Ilústrate and emphasize the main characteristics of Gov. Ashley. When he left PUBLIC LIFE he was poor in dollars and cents, bu rich in the esteem of mankind for al time. He had consecrated his life t the cause of human freedom, in th interest of a race frotn whom he could not receive, and did not expect any reward, save perhaps their gratitude and appreciation for his services in their behalf ; both of which, he toldme, he received to the fullest extent, as the colored people did everything in their power to honor him while living, and preserve and perpetúate lus memory when dead. They collected a portion of his addresses delivered on public occasions, and caused them to be bound in a beautiful souvenir volume, presenting him with twenty copies for his friends, one of which I possess. This book, to the intelligent and better educated of the colored people, is very precious, and held alrnost sacred. Soon after he retired from public life, the education of his children and fitting them for lives of usefulness occupied his attention, and the place where this could be done to the best advantage, was what first turned his attention to this city. His home was in Toledo, and of course he had known of the university, and inquiry soon convinced him that Ann Arbor was the place to rear and edúcate his children ; in this counection while looking up the advantages, opportunities and possible future of this city, both educational and from a business point, he made an IMPORTANT DISCOVERY. On looking at the railroad map of Michigan, he saw a vast territory extending north and south across the state, a distance of over three hundred miles, rich in varied rescources, and climatic conditions suited to any conditions in life ; with Toledo on the south and some point on Lake an on the north. At the same time ie learned that somebody else liad also nade the same discovery, and had acually begun to take advantage of the pportunity; for an examination of the ailroad records at Toledo disclosed the nportant fact that a Railroad Co. had jeen organized, legally, in connection wth the great Pennsylvania system, ut of that city, and had secured very valuable terminal and depot privileges rom the Pennsylvania Company iuto Toledo; had actually paid for them, and had built a few miles, northward out of the city. Ann Arbor then had only the Michigan Central as au outet, and as few and poor accommodations as that, or any other railroad could give a community that it had, as it suposed, firmly within its grasp, with no jossible hope of relief. Because the ate Hon. J. F. Joy, who was then at he head of the Michigan Central management believed, and boldly asserted, hat no combination of men and capital would ever be found foolish enough to undertake to build a railroad from any direct ion to Ann Arbor; "for," said Mr. Joy, "there is nothing to build a railroad for, but the few students who attend the university." Gov. Ashley was just the man for the occasion. His great mind grasped the advantages of ;he situation, and once a plan was formulated, like Napoleon, prompt and vigorous execution was sure to follow. Fnrther inquiry disclosed the f act that the railroad which had been started out of Toledo was owned by the Pennsylvania Company, and to secure this was the first thing in order. He went at once to Phildelphia, and "Torn Scott," the greatest railroad man that ;he world ever produced, was then at the head of the Pennsylvania system, which under his management and control, becaine and is to-day the greatest and most perfect railroad system in the world. Gov. Ashley went to Mr. Scott's office in Philadelphia in the morning and met him. They had been friends when Mr. Scott was Secretary of War and Gov. Ashley was in Congress. Gov. Ashley told me he never received a warmer, or more friendly greeting in his life than on this occasion, and the entire morning was spent in talking over oíd times, when both were in public life ; Mr. Scott laying aside his vast business demands and refusing to see anybody. When Gov. Ashley apologized for trespassing on his time, Mr. Scott remarked: "Ashley, I will not see anj man while you remain in the city, if you will be my guest, and I want you to stay just as long as you eau." After returning from lunch Gov. Ashley in quired about the railroad that had been started north out of Toledo. Mr. Scot said, "the whole thing, is right there in my safe ;" that he never knew auything about whose crazy notion it was, only that "the stocks and bonds are righ there in my safe." Got. Ashley asked what kind of an arrangement he could make for the purchase of these bonds and stocks, amounting I think to $300,000, and was told by Mr. Scott "any kind of an arrangement you want to." In the language of Gov. Ashley himself , this just suited him, because he had nota dollar to pay for them with. Time forbids my going into the details of this transaction, though it is very interesting. Suffice it to say, that in ten minutes Gov. Ashley had purchased the entire property, without paying a dollar down ; the arrangement in brief being that a new railroad company was to be orgauized, extending as far as Ann Arbor, and an equal amount of th bonds of the new road given to' the Pennsylvania Company for the stocks and bonds of the old company. The striking part of this whole transaction was, that the entire amount of the bonds and stocks were delivered to Gov. Ashley by Mr. Scott, simply on honor, which was just as good as bis bond, and Mr. Scott knew it. Here we have the remarkable instance of a man buying a million and a half dollars worth of property, turning around and paying for it in a few days, with $300,000 worth of the same property. Because the new road was organized and the new bonds issued and turned over to Mr. Scott before one dollar more had been spent, or a rod of additional road built. This was the agreement and both parties lived up to it. Neither of (Continued on 8th Page1) HOI, JAMES M, ASHLEY (Continuefl from lst Page.1 the parties to the transaction had the slightest idea of its vastue'ss or irnportance. Gov. Ashley aaw only the advantages it would be to his road wlien it should be extended north and Mr. Scott thought there never would be a road built any further north than Ann Arbor if it ever reached that city. This was shown by Mr. Scott saying to Gov. Ashley, thathe did not consider the ivhole thing worth 300,000 cents, and advised him not to fooi away his time with it; that lie would find tryiug to build and run a steam commercial railroad very different from running an underground railroad, such as Ashley had been connected with. "Because," saidMr. Scott, "Every time you delivered a colored man in Canada you could declare a dividend." Soon after this arrangement several new roads were built into Teledo, and the trackage and terminals secured by this purchase becaine very valuable, the income from them paying the interest on the whole indebtedness of the road as far north as Owosso, added to its very small earnings at that time. The people of Ann Arbor had long feit the need of an additional outlet, and aided the new road in every possible tnanner. This enterprise never attracted any attention or scarcely noticed in rail road circles, until after it had begun to move north frooi this city. Then its importance began to attract attention, and never did an enterprise encounter more bitter and violent opposition than the Ann Arbor road, when once started northward. And never was a man called on to meet and overeóme more difficulties than Governor Ashley at this time. All the power, the selfishness and greed of the rail roads were combined, and hurled at Governor Ashley to crush him at one blow, by destroying his enterprise, ruining his credit, blackening his good name, and driving him into bankruptcy and financial ruin. But they failed. Like Frederick the Great, if he was ever crushed or defeated, he did notknow it, and kept right on just as 'if nothing had happened. This soon intersected every rail road in Michigan, and entered territory they had long considered their own. To crush and destroy this enterprise and its promoter was the flrst law of the other roads. The good name and fame of Governor Ashley was outrageously assailed. His integrity attacked in the most mean and underhanded manner, in the commercial and financial circles of New York, Boston and Pliiladelphia. But he triumphed over them all, and his efforts were crowned with success. At this particular time a great gency aróse in ene anairs oí viovernor Ashley which shows him to have been a man equal to any crisis. A new enterprise had been started to build a rail road from Lansing, in connection with the Lake Shore via of DeWitt, St. Johns, Maple Rapids, Alma, Mt. Pleasant, and north to Lake Michigan. If successful, of course this destroyed the Ann Arbor enterprise, by taking possession of the territory. To prevent this, it was necessary that the Ann Arbor road get into the territory at once, and strange to say, almost without money, and with the combined opposition of the rail roads fighting him at every point, he started in at Owosso and built north to St. Louis a distance of fifty miles. An achievement unrivaled in the history of any other man who ever undertook to build a rail road. In the meantime the Lake Shore project had been organ - ized, and Mr. A. W. Wright, one of the largest and most influential capitalists in the State, had been interested, and the road was being built from Alma as fast as money would do it, twelve miles having been finished, and trains running, and twenty miles nearly ready for trains. When this stage was reached, the Lake Sliore was then to take hold, and commence work from Lansing north, trains to be running in a few months over the entire line as far north as Mt. Pleasant, a distance of about eighty miles I think. You will pardon a personal mention of myself as I wish to make very clear this crisis in the affairs of Governor Ashley. Mr. A. W. Wright and myself were on our way to Chicago, to meet Mr. John Newall, then at the head of the Lake Shore system, and the late Hon. J. M. Turner of Lansing, to complete the arrange ment with the Lake Shore road. When ■we had nearly reached Chicago, we were advised of the death of Mr. W H. Vanderbilt, and that Mr. Ne wal had left Chicago by special train fo New York, because at this time the most important factor in the afFairs o the Vanderbilts was John Newall. We reached Detroit from Chicago the nex morning, and 1 happened to meet H. W Ashley, whom I had often met in con nection with these matters and esteemed him highly, although I was identiflec ith a rival or hostile interest. Mr. Ashey requested that Mr. Wright and myelf go to New York and see his father nd talk ruatters over, and to pay no ttention to what the rival rail roads or iterests said about him, but to go and udge for ourselves. At this time either Mr. Wright nor myself had ever met Governor Ashley. As I was going to Washington the next day it was greed that I should go to New York, ;udy Governor Ashley and make up my mind what manner of man he was. 'hat evening I went out to Lansing and 'hile there met one of the managers of f one of the great railway systems of f the state, and asked him about Gov. mor Ashley; and if this gentleman ould be believed, there were few worse men outside of state prison ; concluding by saying, "no man was safe in selling him a car load of iron." Were this man alive I would give his name, but he is dead and my lips are sealed. Two days later in the Ebbitt House, in Washington, I met Maj. McKinley. Here again vou will pardon a personal allusion, necessary to properly explain matters. I had a very pleasant personal acquaintance with Maj. McKinley, sufficieut to warrant me in asking for any information I desired, and that it was proper for lihn to give me, and had often done so. He represented the Cantón district in Congress, wliich I think joins the Toledo district, that had been represented by Governor Asliley in Congress, and it occurred to me tnat tms aistinguished gentleman would know Governor Asliley. So I asked bim the question, and be told me he knew him well. I then tokl him my object, and asked him bis opinión of Governor Ashey in coufldence, and he said he reearded him as " one of the grand men of his country ; a man of unquestioned ntegrity, and above doing a mean or disbonest act if he knew it. That he did not know how well fitted he might )e, for couducting great business or commercial enterprises, but any wrong bat might occur, would be the result of ïonest mistakes, because scheming and questionable methods were entirely oreign to his character, and that any man could trust him implicitly." Did time permit I would contrast the difference between selfish, mean, greed or money, and a generous, broad and and fair view of a man's character. The next morning I met Governor Asbley at lis office in New York, for the first ime. After studying the man, finding out all I could about him, I carne back and simply reported to Mr. A. W. Wright and the other gentleman, tbat nstead of "a scheming, dishonest sharper," I found Governor Ashley to be one of the grand men of the world. That ;he motives which prompted Judas to aetray his master, and for the very same object, selfish greed for money, was at the bottom of the slanders of Governor Ashley. In the course of a few weeks, Governor Ashley was master of the situation. We sold him our enterprise and abandoned the Lake Shore project. From that hour Governor Asbley was recognized in the great flnancial affairs of New York, and his enterprise becaine a factor in the great rail road transactions of that city. The Ann Arbor road was soon completed to Lake Michigan, a distance of over three hundred miles, and it seems as if this would have satisfied the ambition of most any man. Not so with him. Just here let me relate an occurrence which is only one of a thousand that might be related. There were two men whom the Governor wished to interest in his road, and as I was familiar with the country and had the details of is resources on hand, he sent me to see one of them first. I went over to the Union Trust Co., and met this gentleman and made a truthful and correct representation of the merits of the enterprise, and concluded by saying: "Dave, you can not do better than invest your money in this enterprise." The gentleman then turned to me and he said: " Brown, do you know ernor Ashley real well ? I said I did. Then said he : "I fully agree with you that the Governor's road will be the best piece of railroad property except the Michigan Central, in Michigan, when it is completed to Lake Michigan. But just as soon as it gets there, Ashley will either tunnel or bridge that lake, and I don 't want to be in a position to have to help fnrnish the money to do it. It is only about a hundred miles across there and that will never stop Ashley." On my return the Governor asked me what my friend said, and I told him. He laughed heartily and said that he proposed to both tunnel and bridge the lake, but he did not know that anybody suspected it, but that it was not going to cost as much money as people would suppose. This was the first time I ever heard of what afterwards really occurred in tuuneling and bridging Lake Michigan. At that time he had evidently conceived the idea of taking whole trains of freight cars across the Lake, this, no man or enterprise ever thought possible, as no man but Governor Ashley would have attempted it. So great was his confidence in what he undertook, that he never faltered or hesitated in the execution. The transporting of whole freight trains across Lake Michigan, was a novel and untried experiment. The magnitude of the undertaking would have caused most any other man to have gone at it cautiously. Not so with him, the greatness of the taking lent a charm to it for him. Instead of one boat to try the experiment, two were ordered, involving an outlay of half a million dollars. By this one daring and fearless experiment, involving the outlay of this snm of money, he completely revolutionized the whole question of the commerce of the northwest, and across the great lakes. It required a man with a sublime courage to do this, hut he had it. To this city he was loyal and devoted, and did everything in his power to honor and benefit it. When he organized his road the name of our city was included, and when the road had reached a stage of importanee, it was named the "Ann Arbor Route." When a new engine was purchased Ann Arbor was painted upon it in large letters; when a private car was purchased its name was Ann Arbor ; and finally when the time carne for reorganizaron, and others had to assume control of the great enterprise, and a new name selected, he requested that the road be named after our city and all others dropped, and it was done. By reason of this great enterprise bearing the name of this city, its commercial and business importanee is given great prominence, so that we are known in every commercial and financial center of the globe. The Ann Arbor road has brought us in closer relations with a portion of the state from which we were before completely isolated. It has opened up and made tributary to us a portion of the state with which we had before no connection. It has brought our great university into closer and more intímate relations with that portion of the state where it has always found its truest friends and ablest defenders, and thousands of students have availed themselves of the university, because of these closer and more intímate relations. It has brought many people to our city to make it their permanent home, and more will follow. And in a thousand ways that I can not take time to mention it has coutributed to our prosperity. For all this honor, and all these benefits, we are indebted to Governor Ashley. The university he regarded as one of greatest institutions of learning in the world because of its equality to all who enter it, and its absolute freedom from caste or any catering to wealth and social position. The presidency of this institution he regarded as the highest and most honorable position any man could occupy, if he discharged the duties of this important office with ability. For the present occupant of this great office he had a most profonnd regard and appreciatiön. He said on one occasion that President Angelí wonld live and be reinembered a thousand years after nearly every president of the United States had been forgotten. When he last visited this city, less than one year ago, he came to leuture, on the name and fame of the man with whoin he had been so intimately associated, whose confidence and friendsliip he enjoyed to the fullest extent- Abraham Lincoln ; and those of us who heard that great lecture will never forget it, and we know that no man could have spoken of auother as he spoke of Abraham Lincoln, except he had sustained to him just the relations that Mr. Ashley sustained to Mr. Lincoln. At this time he was very feeble, although he seenied entirely unconscious of the fact. His son, H. W. Ashley, carne with him from Toledo, and when Judge Harriman and myself met him at the depot it became a serious question in our minds, whether he would be able to appear at all before the audience, though such a thought never entered his inind. That afternoon he laid out more work for the next forenoon for both of us, than I was capable of doiug, strong and healthy as I was. The next morning, knowing bis aversión to riding, I had the carriage around on the side street where it could be called when wanted. We were going over to cali on Judge Cooley and President and Mrs. Angelí first, and he proposed to walk, indeed he rather insisted on it. We drove over to Judge Cooley's and the meeting between these two great men was to me as sad and painful, as it was interesting and instructive. Both had been giants ; both had accomplished great results in their respective flelds of labor, but were now feeble, and I could not help but feel that their life's work was done, and as I had known both of them in the years of their greatest usefulness and power, could not help but ask myself the question as they sat there talking. Why do such uves have a limitation ? Why do they ever end ? Why do the harsh laws of nature bring feebleness to the body when within there is such a mighty force capable of doing so much for the world. But I must not dweil on this subject. As they talked over social, family, university and other pleasant and minor matters, the conversation finally turned to themselves. Gov. Ashley laid down a course of exercise for Judge Cooley to follow daily, and I know it would require the strongest athlete Ann Arbor ever had to carry it out. When the Governor had finished his suggestions on this subject, Judge Cooley, looking out of the window, said to me : "Brown whose carriage is that out there in front of the house?" Before I could answer, the Governor appreciating the keen,humorous sarcasm of the inquiry, answered, lie only accepted the carriage out of courtsey to Mr. Brown ; that he was going to walk, and would have done so except for Mr. Brown. As a matter of fact he could not have walked a single block. The interesting part of this incident is this : Here were two great men, both of them in a weak physical condition, one of them perfectly conscious of his condition, and as I believed very wisely preserving all the streneth he had left; the other utterly unconseious of his physical weakness and regardless of the necessity for preserving himself and the strangest part of it all is, that he thought himself capable of doing just the things he told Judge Cooley to do, because there was no make believe in him ; there were no false pretenses in his composition. Another simple incident will Ilústrate another phase of of his character that I cannot refer to: There was one of the great railway corporations, and its managers, that he thought friendly to him, and doing all they could to help and befriend him. They had his confidence, and I think he often sought their advice and counsel in his troubles. I had not been on Wall street long when I discoveren that this Corporation .and its managers were meaner than the others that were outspoken and bitter in their heartless opposition ; as they were using and betraying his confidence to his detriment and injury. When I succeeded in convincing him that this was really the case, he was almost overeóme, for a few seconds, and I never saw him so before. When he had recovered himself, without a word of comment, he told me this very humorous story of the parrot at the circus: ''The man who stands at the enterance of the circus had a parrot, and as the crowds were pushing and crowding to get in, it was his duty to cali out don't be in a hurry take your time ; plenty of room ; your turn next. One day the parrot was missing from its accustomed perch by the side o its master,and when the crowds had passed into the circus, the owner startec out in search of his bird. He hac not gone f ar when his attention was drawn to about a hundred crows tha were making an awful racket on one o the hill sides near by. As he approached nearer the scène he soon discoverec his parrot, engaged in an awful struggle with the crows. It had already killet more than a dozen, and was saying to the others, "Don't be in a hurry; take your time ; plenty of room ; your turn next." When the parrot was rescued by its owner polley's feather's were nearly all gone, and she was sore anc injured generally. The kind master was doing all he could to relieve the parrot of its injuries and in response x some of his sympathetic attentions polly looked up into his face and said : "well, never mind, I am still in the circus, and those crows are dead, and wliat are living are scared so they will never assail me again.,' I am like that parrot. What would have made most any other man frantic with rage and indignation at such treachery and meanness, only called forth from him a humorous story which perfectly illustrated the situation. But times forbids further mention. My friend, Judge Hrrman, this afternoon, in speaking of this useful and busy life asked me this question: "What has become of this mighty forcé, so capable of accomplishing so much good for the world?" Ianswer: "I do not know." "What has become of this bright light so recently extinguished?" asked my friend. I do not care to know. I know it lives here in the splendid monunients it has left behind, that are enduring as the coming years of distant time. It lives here in a race redeemed from bondage and opperssion and elevated into the sunlight of freedom, clothed with all the blessings of independent manhood and woinanhood, with life liberty and happiness guaranted to them and their posterity for all time, by a change in the organic law of your country and mine. To the accomplishment of these great results this life contributed much, and consecrated a greater part of the years of its usefulness. It lives here in the construction of a great highway of commerce, extending from the inland waters of one great commonwealth on the south to the sliores of the inland seas of another, on the north, a distauce of three hundred miles ; it lives in the great ships that it caused to be launched in the inland seas, revolutionizing the commerce of the great lakes ; it lives in all the pleasant memories and associations that it has left behind . The people and the community which Gov. Ashley did so much to benefit and honor, would be ungrateful did they not honor his memory. The Ann Arbor Courier.