New-York tribune., 1902-08-10
THE ERA OF THE SPRAGUES
HOW THEY ONCE RULED RHODE ISL
AND. FINANCIALLY. POLITICALLY
AND SOCIALLY.

Providence. r L. Aug tSpecial)-The death ot
Amasa Sprague serves TO recall TO many PeoPe
Of Rhode Island one Of the most remarkao!e
rsriods In the financial and political history OF
The state The rise Of the great manufacturing
bo,,se Of A &. w Spraeue TO the summit OF finan-
cial greatness which it reached was In the Gays
in which It hourshed, a phenomenon Its fan was
rouch more than disaster; II was hhahCial
cataclvsm The story Of the rise and fall OF this
great house is the tale OF much more than a
financial episode in the history Of Rhode Island;
IT is the story Of epoch Its story begins with
the early years ot the last century "heh TWO
brother. Arnasa and William Sprague. began to
attract the notice Of the business world by thelr
success in the manufacture Of cotton. It was then
that the original firm Of A. d ". Sprague was
formed. The elder of the brothers. Amasa Sprague'
was murdered in the town Of Cranston where
he lived and where some of his most important
interests were centred. 1t believed that the
Iiouor interests were responsible for his death.
Mr. Sprague having been an ardent advocate OF
the prohibition OF the sale OF spirituous liquors IN
the town. HIS supposed murderer was tried, con-
yicted and hanged. being the last victim of the
gaIIows which Rhode Island knew. After the exc
c,,t4or the belief became general that the man
who was hanged, although perhaps cognzant or
the crime was the actual murderer. The re-
suit was the abolition of capital punishment IN
the State and the substitution Of the punishment
OF life imprisonment Tor capltal ou'hces Ia"
which is still in force.
The death of Amasa Sprague and that OF his
brother William. threw upon their sons the bur
den of the business responsibilities. already be
come great The elder brother left two sons,
yKy,l,{arp and Amasa the younger, one, Byron.
For some years the three Spragues remained
business partners. continuing the original firm
name But IN the course of time Byron Sprague.
having acouired a competence withdrew from the
srr, ,ybicb about this time became incorporated
as the A & W. Sprague Manufacturing Company
The withdrawal of Byron Sprague was followed
by the great of expansion In the history OF
the house of Spra que. It's original, and, IL may ue
said legitimate business was that OF the manu-
facture of cotton cloths. TO which had been added
MOT or the manufacture of prints. the great
esta blshment of the Cranston Print Works. The
mills OF the company were situated at the villages
Of Natick Arctic and Quidnick, In Rhode Island;
Baltic In Connecticut with interests also at Ken
nebunk Me. Imnatent for financial power. the
snrac11es now began throw out many collateral
branches interests attracted their attention,
and one by one the Rhode Island Horse Shoe Com
many the Spragua Moving Machine Company and
the Point Street Iron Works either added
to their holdings originally established by them
Next they turned their attention to transporta-
ton interests. and the Providence and New-Iork
Steamship Company, formerly known the Nep-
t,,ne Line. was added to their properties. Then
the street railway franchises of Providence and
outIying towns fell into their hands. and not only
did the iinglng horsecars OF the city proclaim
the power Of the Spragues, but boxcars were ire
ouently seen in the streets, conveying the output
of the print works of the Spragues at Cranston
to the wharf of the New-York steamers. In which
the Spragues owned a controlling interest How.
YOU ask could this be, that Il private corporation
should be allowed to transport freight over street
car lines through the streets OF Providence? Some
may be uncharitable enough to say that the fact
that the brother-in-law of the Spragues for
all these years the Mayor of the city had some
thing to do with it. But those who recall the
fnancial and political power of the great house
OF Sprague this time will remember that few