The Bay State Monthly, Vol. II, No. 6, March, 1885 by Various

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The house has also produced other illustrated books, of artistic
excellence. Among these Miss Jerome's "One Year's Sketch Book" has been
declared to be without a rival, in its own field, while Miss Miner's
"Orchids" must needs be seen to be appreciated.

But I have reached the limits placed upon this article. I have omitted
to speak of many things of which I should like to say something. But the
warp and woof of the story are here given, and the reader will easily
discover therefrom that no secrets underly the firm of Lee and Shepard
save,--industry at home, and integrity in all their dealings with the
public.

[Illustration: Rodney Wallace (Signature)]

HON. RODNEY WALLACE.

BY REV. S. LEROY BLAKE, D.D.

[Pastor of the Calvinistic Congregational Church, Fitchburg.]

This is not a biography, it is a sketch; possibly I might say it is an
outline. At any rate the life of our subject can not be written till
other chapters are added, and the end comes. May it be long delayed.

The intense culmination of forces in the busy period of a man's life
renders it fruitful in material for a sketch. What a successful man, of
marked force of character, has done, may be an incentive and an
encouragement to others. Perhaps this was Longfellow's chief thought
when he penned the "Psalm of Life:"

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime.

The lives of great men, and conspicuously that of the subject of this
sketch, prove that, in this country, a boy need not be born with a
silver spoon in his mouth, nor with a brilliant speech on his lips, to
reach eminent success, and be held in high honor; but that the noblest
results of a life of industry and frugality, and the highest honors any
worthy ambition can crave, are within reach of the boy who has energy,
courage, integrity of purpose, and purity of character. By their native
energy some of the most conspicuous men of our time have made their way
against obstacles which would have been too much for less sturdy wills.
Whatever deficiencies there may have been in their early training were
largely atoned for by native energy and force of character. Because this
is all true of the subject of this paper, we tell the story in the hope
that some other struggling boy may take courage from his example.

HIS START IN LIFE.

Rodney Wallace was born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, December 21,
1823, and is therefore in the full vigor of manhood. We may infer that
his boyhood was not blessed with the advantages which usually crown the
early life of so many lads, and strew their path with roses, from the
fact that at the age of twelve he left home to work on a farm for wages,
with agreement for limited opportunities for schooling. He is a son of
David and Roxanna Wallace.

It seems likely that the family is of Scotch origin. David Wallace
seemed to think so, since he dropped the spelling Wallis, and adopted
the form in which the name is now written. In 1639, Robert Wallis was
living in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Benoni Wallis, of this family, removed
to Lunenburg and there married Rebecca Morse, of Lynn, July 2, 1755. She
died in Lunenburg August 25, 1790, and he died March 15, 1792. David,
son of Benoni and Rebecca Wallis, was born October 16, 1760. He married
Susannah Lowe, and lived in Ashburnham where he died January 14, 1842.
David, son of David and Susannah Wallis, was born at Ashburnham July 14,
1797. He married July 8, 1821, Roxanna Gower of New Ipswich, where he
lived till he removed to Rindge, New Hampshire, in 1846. He died at
Rindge, May 29, 1857; and his wife died at Fitchburg, February 27, 1876.
He was the first of his family in this country to adopt the spelling
Wallace, instead of Wallis. He had eight children, of whom the subject
of this sketch was the second.

As we have said, at the age of twelve, when most lads are comfortably
cared for at home, young Wallace started out in life for himself. He let
himself to a farmer for forty dollars for the first year, with the
privilege of attending school eight weeks in the winter. It turns out
that the first forty dollars he earned were the beginning of a large
fortune, without a dishonest dollar in it, and that the eight weeks of
schooling of that winter on the farm, was the beginning of a knowledge,
gleaned here and there as opportunity offered, which fits him for
prominent positions of trust and responsibility.

At an early age, sixteen I think, he was charged with the responsibility
of driving freight teams from Rindge to Boston, returning with loads of
merchandise. In the discharge of this trust he displayed the energy,
tact, and trustworthiness which were prophecies of the man. He was
taking his first lessons in the school of business, and proved himself
an apt scholar.

Dr. Stephen Jewett was a somewhat notable physician of Rindge. His fame
in the cure of chronic and acute diseases was wide spread. He was
frequently called upon to make professional visits in Boston and other
New England cities and towns. His medicines attained a wide celebrity.
Their manufacture and sale became a large and lucrative business, and
was carried on after the death of Dr. Jewett, by his son, Stephen
Jewett, Jr. The energy which young Wallace had already shown induced Mr.
Jewett to put the whole business of selling these medicines into his
hands. He entered into this employment in 1843, at the age of twenty,
and continued in it till he came to Fitchburg in 1853. In selling these
medicines he travelled over five of the New England States. He said to
the writer that this was a good school in geography for him, for he
became acquainted with the topography of these states, and the location
of all their important places.

Such were the beginnings of a business career of great prosperity. It
was in these ways that he got his start in life, and in these lesser
employments he proved himself worthy of and equal to the greater tasks
yet before him. Here he showed the same judgment and far-sighted wisdom,
which have marked his career in the larger, more conspicuous circles of
the business world, and won him a name which is everywhere repeated with
respect, and a reputation for integrity and honest dealing which any man
might covet.

HIS BUSINESS LIFE.

In 1853 Mr. Wallace came to Fitchburg and entered upon that period
which, for convenience, I have named his business life. He formed a
co-partnership with Stephen Shepley, known as Shepley and Wallace. They
were wholesale dealers in books, stationery, paper-stock, and
cotton-waste. This firm continued under the name of Shepley and Wallace,
and R. Wallace and Co. till July 1, 1865. On this day the firm
dissolved, and the business was divided. Mr. Wallace took the department
of paper-stock and cotton-waste, which he still carries on. To what
proportions it has grown, under his management, may be judged from the
fact that the business done amounts at least to $200,000 a year.

December 31, 1864, Stephen Shepley, Benjamin Snow, and Rodney Wallace
bought the Lyon Paper Mill and the Kimball Scythe Shops at West
Fitchburg, and began the manufacture of paper under the name of the
Fitchburg Paper Company, Stephen E. Denton was taken into the firm as a
partner soon after. He had charge of the business at the mill. In July,
1865, Rodney Wallace and Benjamin Snow bought the interest of Stephen
Shepley; and the Fitchburg Paper Company was then Wallace, Snow, and
Denton. Mr. Denton died in June,1868. January 7, 1869, Mr. Wallace
bought the interest of Benjamin Snow. January 23 of the same year he
bought the interest of Mr. Denton's estate of his widow, who was at that
time residing in New York. From that date till the present the Fitchburg
Paper Company is Rodney Wallace. He retains the old firm name.

Since becoming sole owner, he has added largely to the original
property. A neat village of dwellings has grown up around his mills,
which deserves a name of its own. Wallaceville would be an appropriate
name. He has put in a substantial stone dam at great expense. In 1878 he
erected a new brick mill, with all the modern improvements, doubling the
capacity of the establishment. It is now capable of producing from
15,000 to 18,000 pounds of paper every twenty-four hours. Just across
the Nashua River is the Fitchburg Railroad. He has a freight station of
his own, where he receives all his freight and ships all his paper.

Mr. Wallace has conducted his business with rare sagacity, with
unblemished integrity, and with an eye to the welfare of his employees,
as well as to his own personal interests. If it were not like praising a
man to his face, since he still lives, many instances might be cited to
prove that it has not been his policy to get the most out of his
employees for the least possible return. But it is enough to say that he
has no difficulty in keeping men in his employ. Somehow he has hit upon
a plan by which he has kept the irrepressible conflict between capital
and labor at a distance.

Aside from his own business, which makes large drafts upon his time,
strength, and thought, he has been closely identified with numerous
other corporate and monetary interests. He has thus had a large share in
contributing to the growth and prosperity of the enterprising city in
which he lives. Its business interests, to a large degree, have enjoyed
his wisdom, and profited by his sagacity. Since 1864 he has been
President and Director of the Fitchburg Gas Company; a Director of
Putnam Machine Company since the same year; a Director of the Fitchburg
National Bank since 1866; a partner in the Fitchburg Woolen Mills since
1877; a Trustee of Smith College since 1878. He is a Director of the
Fitchburg Mutual Fire Insurance Company; a Trustee of the Fitchburg
Savings Bank; a Director of the Fitchburg Railroad; a partner of the
Parkhill Manufacturing Company. Besides these, he has had the settlement
of large and important estates, demanding time, good judgment, and
unbending integrity. We would especially note the large estate of the
late Ephraim Murdock, Jr., of Winchendon, and that of the late Hon. Wm.
H. Vose of Fitchburg. These facts speak for themselves, and show the
esteem in which Mr. Wallace is held by his fellow citizens, as a wise
counsellor, and as a man of integrity and uprightness of character, as
well as of rare good judgment in all matters pertaining to the
transaction of business. Another says, "In whatever enterprise Mr.
Wallace has been engaged, he has not only been fortunate in its
pecuniary interests, but also in the speedy command of the confidence
and respect of his associates. True moral principles have been united
with unquestioned probity, business tact, and liberal, intelligent
management." He has won a large fortune, without parting with his
honesty in earning a single dollar. As his property has increased, his
generous spirit has seen larger opportunities and at once embraced them.
He has not been among those who withhold more than is meet and tend to
poverty. Property in such hands is not a grinding monopoly, but a wide
blessing. Such men can afford to be wealthy. They represent the true
socialistic spirit, which is, that private capital should be held as a
public good.

Largely through the influence of Mr. Wallace various improvements have
been made in Fitchburg, which contribute to its attractiveness. The
business of the city is in no small degree indebted to him for
facilities with which communication can be had with the world outside.
Prominent mention may be made of the beautiful Union Railway station at
Fitchburg in securing whose erection, and in planning which, Mr. Wallace
was largely instrumental.

MR. WALLACE IN POLITICS.

Mr. Wallace has had no ambitious longings for political life. And yet
his fellow citizens would not be likely to let such a man remain wholly
out of public life. So it is true to say that whatever office Mr.
Wallace has held, has sought him. He was selectman of the town during
the years 1864, 1865, and 1867. In 1873 he was representative to the
Genral Court, to which office he was elected in the fall of 1872 by
nearly every ballot cast. He was re-nominated the next year without
dissent or opposition, but declined a re-election on account of ill
health. While a member of the Legislature he was on the Committee on
Manufactures, a position which his ability and experience fitted him to
fill.

The most conspicuous political office he has held is that of Councillor.
While holding that position he represented one of the largest and most
important districts of the State. In it are included the thriving city
of Worcester and the sister city of Fitchburg, which, with their varied
industries, needed a man of large and ripe judgment to represent them.
He served three terms, during the years 1880, 1881, and 1882, or
throughout the entire administration of Governor Long. His election was
so entirely unanimous that for the last two years he had no competitor
in the field, Democrats as well as Republicans supporting him. While on
the Council he was a member of the following important committees: on
Pardons, on Harbors and Public Lands, on Military Affairs, and on
Warrants.

At the close of Governor Long's administration he refused to allow
furthur use of his name for the office he had so ably filled for three
years. He celebrated his retirement from this position as a servant of
the public by a brilliant reception tendered to Governor Long in the
City Hall, Fitchburg, December 7, 1882. He thus gave his fellow citizens
and constituents an opportunity to look Massachusett's popular Governor
in the face and take him by the hand.

The following account of the reception, appeared in the _Fitchburg
Sentinel_ of Friday, December 8, which I quote:

"The reception tendered to Governor Long in City Hall, Thursday
evening, by Councillor Rodney Wallace and wife, was the most
enjoyable and brilliant entertainment ever given in this city,
and will be long remembered with pleasure by all who
participated. The reception was given by Mr. and Mrs. Wallace as
a compliment to Governor Long, with whom Mr. Wallace has been
associated as Councilor for three years, and to give their
friends here an opportunity to spend an evening socially with
His Excellency. Some 450 cards of invitation were sent out,
including about 700 persons, and nearly 600 were present on
Thursday evening. The storm and blizzard-like weather that
reached this city early in the afternoon prevented the
attendance of some of Mr. Wallace's business associates from
abroad. The intention was to give all a pleasant, social
evening, and the result was a full realization of the pleasure
anticipated for some days.

* * * * *

Guests were received at the west entrance over which a canopy
was erected. The steps, hall-ways and stairs were all carpeted.
The Common Council room was used as a dressing room for the
ladies, the Aldermen's room for the gentlemen, and the Mayor's
office was reserved for Governor Long and Councilor Wallace. On
entering the hall the guests were presented to Councilor
Wallace, Mrs. Wallace and Governor Long, who stood in the centre
on the east side--Messrs. Herbert I. Wallace, George R. Wallace,
Charles E. Ware, Jr., Harris C. Hartwell, James Phillips, Jr.,
B.D. Dwinnell, Dr. E.P. Miller and M.L. Gate officiating as
ushers. After the greetings the time was spent socially,
listening to the excellent music furnished by Russell's
Orchestra, fourteen pieces stationed on the stage, and many
enjoyed dancing from 10.30 till about 1 o'clock.

* * * * *

Among the distinguished guests were the following from out of
town: Councilor Joseph Davis and wife of Lynn, Councilor Matthew
W. Cushing of Middleboro, Councilor Nathaniel Wales of
Stoughton, Councilor Rufus D. Woods of Enfield,
Congressman-elect William Whiting of Holyoke, Councilor-elect
Eben A. Hall of the Greenfield Gazette and Courier, Secretary of
State Henry B. Peirce of Abington, Rev. E.A. Horton of Boston
(formerly of Leominster), Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Edwards and Prof.
Henry M. Tyler and wife (formerly of this city) of Northampton,
Dr. F.A. Harris, wife and Miss Gage, Mrs. Glover (Governor
Long's mother-in-law), William B. Wood and wife, Superintendent
John Adams (of the Fitchburg Railroad) and wife, Mr. and Mrs.
Charles H. Shepley, all of Boston; N.D. White and Mr. and Mrs.
Joseph M. White of Winchendon, John S. Baldwin of the Worcester
Spy, J.B. Hall of the Worcester Gazette, Mr. and Mrs. Charles H.
Merriam and daughter of Leominster.

An attempt to describe the hall as it appeared on this occasion
cannot be otherwise than unsatisfactory. To appreciate the
brilliant scene one must see not only the gay decorations and
the beautiful flowers and plants, but also the happy people and
the elegant and tasty dresses of the ladies, in the full light
of the extra burners placed in the centre of the hall for this
reception.

* * * * *

The entire floor was carpeted, and the hall was divided into two
sections--reception room and dining room--by pink and white
bunting. The walls of the entire hall were decorated with
draperies, cottons, pink and white buntings, etc., and festooned
with two thousand yards of laurel and hanging baskets of
flowers, while a splendid collection of pot plants, orange and
lemon trees, and growing grapes, from Mr. Wallace's private
conservatory added much to the grand effect of the designs.

The most elaborate work was in the front of the stage, at the
right of the stage and on the right and left centres of the
hall. Above all, over the stage was a gilt carved eagle
surmounting the State coat of arms. On either side flags were
festooned and ornamented with sprays of holly. In the rear of
the platform were palm trees, while in front dracinas, and
laurel, with a beautiful orange tree in each corner, each
bearing nearly twenty oranges. On the right wall of the hall,
the draperies were surmounted by four medallions representing
the elements--Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. In the right centre
was the large painting representing Crete, above which was the
motto "Amicus inter Amicos." In the foreground was a pedestal
surmounted by a bust of Ariadne, flanked on each side by growing
grapes, with two Roman altars burning incense through the entire
evening.

On the left centre wall was a large painting representing
Antium, the home of Nero and Temple of Fortuna, with the Appollo
Belvidere on a pedestal in the foreground, flanked with two
standing vases with burning incense. Above the painting was the
motto "Gaudeamus Igitur," resting on a gilt lyre and torch.
Medallions representing Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter
surmounted the draperies on this side of the hall.

One of the most admired features of the decorations was the
design on the floor at the right of the stage. A pedestal, some
ten feet high, was surmounted by a beautiful specimen of the
American eagle. On either side of the eagle was a perfect flag
made of natural flowers--violets, carnations and tube
roses--with a shield of similar flowers in the centre. The
entire pedestal was banked by pots of growing plants--including
palms, dracinas, ponisettas in full bloom, etc.

The dining room was also handsomely decorated with flags,
draperies and flowers, while the table itself was elegantly laid
with exquisitely decorated china and silver, and ornamented by
beautiful bouquets, candelabra, and epergnes. Supper was served
through the entire evening, guests entering at the right from
the reception apartment and passing through to the west side of
the hall."

The completeness of all these arrangements were largely due to the taste
and energy of his son, Mr. Herbert I. Wallace, who had the whole matter
in charge.

In 1884 Mr. Wallace was chosen delegate from this district to the
Republican Convention held at Chicago in June, which resulted in the
nomination of James G. Blaine and John A. Logan. Like most of the
delegates from Massachusetts, Mr. Wallace was in favor of Senator
Edmunds of Vermont. But when he saw that Mr. Blaine's nomination was
inevitable, he joined in making it unanimous. He did not go with those
who bolted the nomination, because it was not his first choice, but he
supported it with his purse, his voice, and his vote, as appears from
the following synopsis of a brief address which he made at a
ratification meeting, held in the City Hall, Fitchburg, July 11, 1884,
which I clip from the _Fitchburg Sentinel_ of the next day:

"Ex-Mayor Merriam, Chairman of the committee, called the meeting
to order, and said the audience had assembled to hear the report
of the two delegates to the Republican national convention. The
Chairman then introduced Rodney Wallace, who was most heartily
applauded as he arose to speak.

Mr. Wallace, who was one of the delegates from this district to
the Republican convention, said his first choice for President
was the able statesman from Vermont, Senator Edmunds, and his
second choice was President Arthur, who has given us such an
excellent administration. The Massachusetts delegation, almost
without exception, worked hard to secure the nomination for Mr.
Edmunds, but it was impossible for that convention to nominate
anybody but James G. Blaine. Nobody can describe the enthusiasm
through the entire convention for Blaine. The California
delegation bore a banner inscribed "From Maine to California,
through Iowa, all for Blaine," and, in my opinion now, Mr.
Elaine is the strongest man in the Republican party. When the
motion was made to make the nomination unanimous, not a voice
was raised against it. I believe he will be elected in November
and will give us a strong and safe administration."

The writer does not know whether Mr. Wallace considers his political
life ended. He certainly has no longing, desires, and ambitions in the
direction of public office. It is equally certain that any office which
he will consent to hold, and which the people who know him can give, he
can have without opposition.

MR. WALLACE AS A CITIZEN.

I come now to a part of my story which it is exceedingly pleasant to
relate and of which I am able to speak, to no little extent, from
personal knowledge. It is, after all, what one is as a man among men,
which speaks most for his honor, or his dishonor. What greater
significance generous deeds have, when you know that behind them is no
calculating, grasping spirit, which is figuring out how much it can get
in return, but a noble, generous, self-forgetful manhood. We have a
conviction that the conflict between labor and capital, which just now
has reached a threatening pitch of violence, might have been avoided if
employers had not in so many cases endeavored to reduce men to mere
money-making machines. As a rule strikes do not occur where laboring men
are treated with the consideration due them as free citizens. The
freedom of Fitchburg from strikes is due to the intelligence of the
workmen, and the fairness of the employers. Another says, "nothing does
more to destroy the spirit of socialism and communism and to disipate
envy than to see wealthy men devoting a part of their wealth to public
uses."

This introduces us to the most conspicuous act by which the subject of
our sketch has proved his public spirit and generosity of purpose as a
citizen. I refer to his gift to the city of Fitchburg of a beautiful
public library, which, by vote of the city government, is to be called
by his name. This act of beneficence reaches farther than appears to a
casual observer. It secures to the city, for all coming time, a
"Peoples' College," where the child of the poorest, as well as of the
richest, the toiler as well as the man of leisure, may get a very
important education. This building is to be devoted to art as well as to
literature, and we look to see it exert a refining and cultivating, as
well as an educating influence over the rising generations of our city.
Its very presence, in a most conspicuous position, in the very heart of
the city, will be educational. It will prove itself a most valuable
adjunct to the excellent course of instruction given in our public
schools.

For some years it had been in Mr. Wallace's mind to do something of this
sort. In 1881 he purchased what was known as the Ruggles property,
opposite Monument Park. In the spring of 1884, when he left for his
annual tour in the South, he placed in the hands of Judge Ware, Chairman
of the Trustees of the Public Library, a genuine surprise to his fellow
citizens. I clip from the _Fitchburg Sentinel_ of March 26, 1884, the
following account of the matter:

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