Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-27
ONSAL|SBURY HEIGHTS
Lovely View From Senator GAL
fingers Country Home.
PRESIDENT MONROE'S VISIT
Greatest Event in the History Of the
Little Village.
DANIEL WEBSTER'S SCHOOL DAYS
Little Red Building Where Levi p.
Morton Taught-Belief as to
Growth Of Stones.
DANIEL WEBSTER'S SCHOOL DAYS
BY WILLIAM Z. CURTIS.


Special Correspondence The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald.
CONCORD. N. H, July % 1907.
found Senator Gall!nger at his country
home on Salisbury Heights quietly con-
templating from the piazza of his old-fash-
Toned residence. one of the loveliest land
scapes you can imagine. He reminded me
of that well-known poem of n. P. Willis
which begins:
And Abraham sat at the door OF his tent
At the cool of the day
Salisbury is an ancient and somnoeScent
village sitting on the top of a hill. 1t is
gradually decreasing in populations 4 CEN
fury ago it had a population of 1900 at
present not more than 600 people live there.
The rest have gone away, chiefly because
they have found it Improbable to farm the
scenery. Nevertheless, Salisbury has had
lots of history. and has produced more than
it's share of famous men. What other vii
lage of its size has produced two United
States Senators? Thomas w. Thompson,
who served from 1914 to 1917, and with
whom Daniel Webster studied law was one
of them. Dr. Gallinger is the other, and
the church in which Webster was baptiz d
is only few steps from DR.. Gallingers
home.
Col. John H. George. a local Diogenes,
declared the other day that There was
time when the town of Salisbury could
have furnished a President for the United
States and all his cabinet, but now there
isn1 a man in the entire population tit to
be justice of the peace" the significance
of this remark is better understood when
it is known that there are more than 1000
justices of the peace in the state of New
Hampshire.
Sidnly Webster. nephew of Daniel,
son-rn-law of Hamilton Fish, and the man
to whom Edward II. Hartman addressed
his letter about the President, studied
law here, and was partner OF this same
Col. George until 1855, when he went to
Washington as private secretary to Frank
lin Pierce. He has since become one of the
most successful and prominent lawyers Of
New York.
Another famous lawyer who came out Of
Salisbury was Ichabod Bartlett, who gradu-
ated at Dartmouth in 1eOS. went to Con-
gress and made himself conspicuous by
both Clay and Webster. He was consid-
cred at one time the best debater in the
House OF Representatives..
Visit of President Monroe.
The greatest event in the history of Sails
bury was the visit Of President Monroe,
July 20. 1917. He had been received with
honors at Concord; concerts, receptions and
banquets were given in his honor, eloquent
speeches were exchanged, and he attended
public worship in the cd North Congrega
tional Church. He stopped at Salisbury on
his journey to the White mountains 10 see
the home of Daniel Webster and was the
guest Of Squire Bowers, then the leading
citizen of the place. AS the Presidents
visit was unexpected, the people had pre-
pared ceremonies, but the leading mel
of the village got together shortly after his
arrival and appointed committee, of which
Mr.. Greeley, the leading merchant of the
town. was chairman, to extend him cordial
welcome The committee called at the
house of Squire Bowers, were graciousy
received by the President of the United
States, and Mr.. Greeley delivered the mes
sage He said that the people were very
anxious to see President Monroe, and sug
gested that he could most conveniently
give them that privilege by walking up
one side Of the main street and down the
other, leaning on the arm of Squire Bowers.
Mr.. Monroe assented and made the prone
made, while the people gathered in the mid
die of the road and saluted him as he
passed. At the end of the ceremony Squire
Bowers led him to the common in front of
the academy where Webster went to school,
and there Mr.. Monroe made an appropriate
speech and shook hands with ali the in
habitants. He sept that night at the house
of Squire Bowers, and on the following
morning passed on to the White mountains.
Where Morton Taught School.
A mile or SO down the road which leads
to Concord and to Boston is a little red
schoolhouse at which Levi P. Morton, the
famous banker. and once Vice President of
the United States, taught school for two
winters when he was a young man. He
was a son of the Rev. Daniel Oliver Nor
ton, and was born at Shoreham. VT, where
his father was pastor of a Congregational
church for many years. In his speech at
the Chicago convention in 1854 nominating
Mr. Morton a candidate for President Sen
ator Depew described his early life and as
sociations in eloquent terms and said that
his father never received a salary of more
than 500 a year, but was strong in the
faith and powerful in prayer
In 1871, when Mr. Morton was seventeen
years old, he got place as a clerk In the
dry goods store Of w. w. Esterbrook, at
Concord. and taught school at Salisbury
during the winter months. preparing him
self to enter Mddlebury College. But Mr..
Esterbrook. having recognized extraordinary
business ability in the young man, per-
suaded him to abandon his plans and take
charge Of a branch store called the Ton
tine, which Esterbrook had esta blished at
Hanover,the seat Of Dartmouth College. And
1t is an interesting coincidence that while Mr.
Morton was in charge of this store Sena-
tor Proctor was a student at Dartmouth
and frequently traded there. The two young
men formed friendship at that time and
in that way which has never been broken
Mr.. Esterbrook gave young Morton an in
terest in the business and he remained in
charge of the Tontine for six years, when
he went TO Boston TO become a member of
the firm of j. NJ Beebe & Co and lay the
foundation of his enormous fortune.
Senator Gallinger's Spacious Home.
Senator Gallinger's country home is called
the Poplars, because Of long row of that
variety Of trees which lines the old stage
road from Boston to Montreal upon which
1t stands. The trees were transplanted
from Newburyport more than a hundred
years ago. The old stage road is now a
boulevard from Boston to the WnIte noun
tans and an almost continuous procession
Of automobiles is passing to and fro, SO
that the senator is not SO much in solitude
as one would suppose. His house, which
was the ancestral home Of his wife's
family, is very old and was built at the
time when peck Of corn paid for a days
labor. There is no telegraph. no telephone
and only one rural delivery mail carrier
a day. The senator loves the place beyond
all other things on earth because OF its
associations with his wife, and. during his
congressional vacations comes here to loaf
and read and do just enough work to keep
his hand in. He has large airy library
with the walls lined with books, and in
the center is glass case containing a
curious collection of visiting cards and
invitations received by Mrs. Gallinger dur
ing her life in Washington. The house ia
full of interesting relics of colonial DAYS
and heirlooms OF the family. DR.. Gal
fingers bedroom is almost as big as the
Senate chamber. and by putting in cots he
could accommodate most OF his colleagues
If they should come UP here 10 see him
The floor is covered with a rag carpet.