ODE ISLAND HISTORY

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RHOD E ISLAND HISTORY

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Issued Quafl t>rl y a t Providence. Rhod e Island .February. ~ta y , AUR:u,l, and November. Secondcia .... po ..rage paid ;11 (· Im ,idt'nc('. Rhode leland .

T ABLE OF CO STE:"Ii T S

Ed uoria l nffi ces 31 Aldrich Hou se110 Benevolent Slrt"t'lProviden ce, Rhode Island 02906

T ilr R hod.. Isla nd H istorical Sonr ,y assumr .'i ~10

u '.lpom ib l1lf)' fm til r otnnions of contrib utors,

J. Jm t"p h Kru-,e. p restdentAlden ~I . '\ndt'f'.nn . I ',et' p Tt'sidnl l

Frank Lic h r. 1'1(1" p rf'Jldnll

Ric hard F. Slapl t"" .\ f' C1 f' t Q 1)'

Ra r he- l Cu n ha. Guutarlllt'CTt'ta r)'

Kar l F. Ern '''O il , t ft'Q.H H t't

Stephen C. Will i;tm.., as .II.lta'" trt'Qsurn

Alben T . Klybt-rlil; . d irecunC liffor d I' , :\Iollaholl , dHu tor nnnltUj

FELI.OWS O f" T ilE SOCIETY

Carl Briden bau ghAmomene F. Du w nill ll;Sydney \ ' . j ame-s

PV BlI C ATlO:"J S CO M:\t IlT H :

E. Audn-w Mo w bray. chai rma nH enrv L. P, Beckw uh. J r.Dr. Franc is H . Chalt't,Prof. Hnw ani P. C hutla<oflDr. Pauir k T . Co nkyW,'ndd l n. Ga rre llDr. S<'('h<·u J, ColdnwskvR obert Allen GU'('fH '

Pamela A. KI'!lIlt'(lyCharles P. O'Donnel l

Old 8arrier~ and New Opportu nuies:\\'nrki n~ women in Rhode Island .1900-1 9-10by S ha ron Hartm an St rom

Up hill Ba ilie: Lurt us F. C. Garv in ' ,C rusade for Pol itical Reformby Carl (; r rsuIl Y

From rhr- Colit'('lion ,

VOI.UMF. 39 NU M Bt: R 2 MAY 19SO

RU OD F. ISLA N D IIiSTORY ( ISSS 0035 .4619 '

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Old Barriers and New Opportunities:Working Women in Rhode Island,1900-1940

As census-takers and social commentators weremaking their cbeervarions on changes in Americanlife at the tum of the century. they all noticedsomething new: more women were working thanever before. and they were working in a greatervariety of jobs.l Whereas most women in thenineteenth century had bun limited to a narrowrange of jobs. especially in domestic service. thesewing trades. teaching, and mill work. the censusof 1900 reponed women in 295 of the 303 occupa­tions listed. New opponunities for women as secre­taries, nurses. librarians, salesgirls and socialworkers seemed to have appeared overnight, andmore women than ever before worked in manufac­turing. The president of the Women's ChristianTem perance Union. F rances Willard. announcedthat "nowadays. a girl may be anything, from acollege president do wn to a seamst ress or a cashgirl. I t depends only upon the girl what rank sheshall ta ke in her chosen calling," Everybody 'sMagazine in 1908 published an eight part series onfema le workers entitled "T he Woman's Invasion ,"and the ambivalence of that title sum med up boththe excitement an d the reservat ions of manytoward th e growi ng number of working women: ifmo re women found jobs. how many men would beunemployed? How wou ld the employment of worn­en affect traditional relationsh ips between thesexes? Above all, what would happen to theAm erican bomej"

Could. as Willard arg ued. "a girl be anything" by1900? Keener observers perceived that th e lives ofworking women had not changed signi ficantly since

oM... Sucm ;. -.riale profe.or of hmory u the University 01Rhode bI.nd.- She ....,.. 10 thank KIole DunnilAn for aharinl h,.,.rnean:h on WOf'Irinlwomm In Rhode h1and and for helpful critit:isrn01 an Nrli,.,. draft of th;. ~pI!T

by Sharon Hartman Strom"

the nineteenth century. For one thing. as theJournal of the Providence Board of Trade happilyreassured its readers in 1908. women had not madereal inroads into more prestigious. better payingjobs: "It is true that we have women doctors,lawyers, opticians. preachers. dentists, insuranceand real estate agents. architects .. , and undertak­ers: but in none of these vocations have theybecome alarmingly numerous.t't The majority of thefemale work force was still young, mainly fourteento twenty-five years old. and married women werestill only a small part of those employed outside thehome, Women's wages were universally lower thanmen's, and women's jobs did not lead to promotionsor higher level positions . Few pro fessional jobsprovided enough income for a woman to supportherself comfortably. let alone a fam ily. Most singlewomen who were wage earners lived at home andturned all or most of their sala ries over to thei rparen ts ."

Rhode Island in 1900 had an exce ptionally largefemale work force, and in fact had an exceptionallyhig h percentage of women in its population,' NewEn gland textile mills had attracted single women.widows and deserted wives since the mid-nine­teenth century. and by 1900 towns like Lowell andFall River had more white wome n working, inproporti on to population. than any other region inthe United Sta tes.' Ot her industries such as jewelry.rub ber, an d paper boxes also consciously recruitedwomen workers. By the late nineteenth century.Rhode Island produced nearly one- half of all thejewelry and silverware in the United States. an d by

1930 over half of its jewelry wor kers were female.'Compared to other states in the Union, RhodeIsland had fewer men and mo re wom en employedin ma nu facturing industries. Between 1880 and 1920,thousands of immigrants from England, Ireland,F rench Canada, haly, Eastern E urope and Portugalcame to Rhode Island precisely beca use it offeredfactory jobs for women and children that supp le-­mented whatever work men could find. By 1910,seven out of every ten Rhode Island residents wereeither foreign born or the children of foreign born.·

Before World War I. the majority of RhodeIsland women employed in manufacturing workedin textile mills. Between 1860 and 1880 the RhodeIsla nd textile industry expanded rapidly and millowners made fabulous profits. Fueled by a seeming­ly endless supply of workers. many of them chil­dren, the mills kept wages depressed and movedtoward an ever-increasing division of labor.Throughout the nineteenth century, educators andreformers bitterly complained that the sta te's childlabor laws were virtually unenforceable an d thatgirls and boys as young as eight were often found inmills . Leonora Barry, visiting New England in 1887as an organizer for the Knigh ts of Labor, not ed thatthe condition of wage work ers in Rhode Islan d was"truly. , . pitiful ... being for the most part in thecontrol of soulless corporations. who know not whathuman ity me ans."? By the 1890s New England 'ssupremacy in the textil e industry was being chal­leng ed by the growing number of mills in th eSouth, wh ere cotton staples were near-at-hand,child labor even less restri cted than in New Eng­land, and labor unions no nexistent. The growth ofth e Southern textile indust ry, much of it financedby New E ng land money, was phenomenal: there gion expanded its number of spindles from 0.5million in 1880 to 10.4 mill ion by 1908.10

In th e lon g run, New E ngland could not competewith the economic advantages of the South, butbetween 1900 and World War I it ma naged to holdan ed ge. Throu gh mo re efficient work processes,production speed-ups , and re finement of textilemachin ery, the New England states increased th eirproduct ion from 8.6 million cotton spindles in 1880to 15.5 mill ion in 1908; yet in the same period, theproportion s of women and children mill workerssteadily decreased. In 1870 men constituted only31.5% of the wor k force in the cotton industry,children 17.1%. and wom en 51.4%; by 1910 men

were 51.3%, children under sixteen were 10.5%, andwomen were only 38.2% of the total work force . Anumber of factors probably contributed to thistrend. The standard of living and the purchasingpower of the working class did increase between1890 and 1925.11 Many working class familiesprobably found it possible to keep wives, mothersand younger chi ldren at home. The war againstchild labor launched by reformers during theP rogressive period eventually reached Rhode Is­land. and in 1906 a new child labor law set theworking age at fourteen.

While some children lied about their ages andmanaged to start work in factories or mills attwelve or thirteen, the evidence suggests that by1910 most young people began working in the millsat fourteen or fifreen.v One observer noted in 1912that employers were becoming convinced "that theemployment of young children is not profitable."lJ

There is some evidence that in speeding up produc­tion. employers hoped to assign more and some-­times heavier machinery to employees. so adultswere preferable to children. Textile work called fora certain level of physical competence." Mabel gother first job winding skeins in the mills at J. P .Coa ts in 1917, and recalled: "I was a healthy, stron ggirl and a good work er.. . . I was lucky to get thejob and I worked hard to keep it. I remember at firstI was afraid of the machine, but I was particularlyafraid of the woman who I was assigned to wor kwit h. She had a repu tation as a hustler."!'

By the ea rly twentie th cent ury , th en, mos t youngwomen staye d in school un til th ey were fourteen orhad graduated from grammar school. Women re-­callin g wh y they left school in these years oftenremark that they would have liked mo re educationbut had no choice about helpin g to supplement theirfamily incomes." Mary said, "I don 't recall thinkingtwice about leaving school the n; I loved school, butmy mother was always sickly, and when I reachedworking age, I had to go, that was all ." Aliceattended a pa roch ial school in Central Falls andremembered that of twenty-five st udents in he reighth grade class, only th ree wen t on to highschool. A neig hborhood friend of he r mother usedto say "yo u were fourt een on Saturday. had a pa.nyon Sunday, and you'd be in Coats on Monda y."Work was a stage of life, the stage between schoolan d marri age. Going ou t to work signified thatchildhood was left behind and adolescence had

\:") WOR KI :-:r; WO~IF:-: 19()()-I!HO

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begun. Virginia thought "the days were long andhard," but she "en joyed working with her friendsand g~tting away from horne and her mother."Marjori~ lived on a fann in Seekonk and left schoolat fourteen to take a job at the Rumford EasternBolt and Nut Company with two of her friends. Herday began at 5:00 A.M. so she could walk three-and­one-half miles to the state line, where she boarded atrolley to town. It was sometimes "quite a jobdragging a lunch basket through the snow. but it

was better than being on the farm stuck out in themiddle of nowhere."!'

Conditions in the mills were poor: the noise wasdeafening. the floors often s lippe ry, the air filledwith cotton lint. One fourteen-year-old was wor­ried when a relative told her she would soon losehe r " high color" in the mills. Yet there wereconsolations: women oft en worked with friendsand rel atives, and lively teenagers found time forfun during the regimen of the fact ory day. Bertha

'Hi WORKIr'l:G WO .\H::-; 190fl -19·1O

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worked with other adolescent farm girls andrecalled that " we were all poor, and we knew it .So we got along well. There was a lot ofchumming around ." Virginia worked "in thespinning and twisting department wa tc hing 200ends to ma ke sure everything was going well."She was responsible for fixing the broken ones.The part she remembered best, however, waswhen she and her friends " would leave themachines and go to the ladies room to arrangetheir hair and experiment with new looks." Whenthey returned to their machines " the ends ...wou ld be lying broken on the floor and thesupervisor would be in a rage." Eventually thedoor was removed from t he ladies room."

Relations between employers and employeesvaried widely depending on the size of the mill, it sposition in the community, and how wide a gulf

there was between foremen and workers. Ali ceworked as a spooler at J. P . Coats. "Our workwasn't heavy," she recalled, "but it was ve ry fast ... . You had to keep ten t racks filled with the emp­ty spools. In th e back o f the mach ine there werethese big bobbins of thread . You had to string thethread th rough so the empty spools would befilled up. You had to keep the full spools picked upand keep the tracks filled with empty ones, so youwere going all the time.... Some o f the men werereal mean.... If your ma chine broke down orwouldn't ru n right, the spool wouldn't come outperfect . You'd go to the fixer , they called him.That was his job. He wouldn 't have had a job ifsomething didn't happen to the ma chine. You 'dbring t he spool to him and he 'd knock it out ofyo ur hand and I'd be crying, picking 'em up offthe floor... _If there were any spools on the floor

·17 WORKI~(; \\'o~n:~ 1~')() -19·10

ra ise , and won a "mutual concession" from thecompany. The American Federation of Laborcraft unions largely ignored women and conce n­trated on skilled jobs, like mule spinning or loomfixing , most likely to be held by E n glish-speakingmen. These unions were so ir re levant to womenthat a 1910 government survey of 118 women inthe Rhode Is land te xti le industry discovered that83 had " no opinion" about unions." Wom en textileworkers did play an importa nt role. ho wever. inthe Congress of Industrial Organizations stru g­gles of the 19305.

Awa re of trends in women's work. optimistspointed to the decline in domestic se rvice, beli ev­ing this meant new opportunities for women inother fields . Since the late nineteenth century,observers of women's work knew that mostwomen would leave domestic service for almostany other kind of job. especially ones with definedhours . In 1870, 60.7% of all working women weredomestic servants. while in 1900 the numberd ropped to 33'7,;, and by 1920 to 18.2 ~V·

Domestic servants were on call day and ni ght ,their work was demeani ng, and they were iso la tedfrom fami lies and frien ds. In Rhod e Is land. Irishand Afro-A mer ican women were most o ft en em­ployed as domestic servants because o f traditionand beca use they spoke E ng lish.u Irish womenoften came alone to the Un it ed Sta tes a nd ne ededplaces to live. Some ho ped to return to Irelandwith a dowry a nd marry there. One personre called th at wh en an unmarried woman returnedto I re land with a do wry "i t was like a slavemarket . Me n ... would go to the sta t ion to lookher over and dick er with h er family." Othersmarried men in th e United States. though someended up as life-lon g fixtures in the households ofwealthy Am eri cans. Mary ca me to Rhode Islandfrom Ireland in th e 1920s to work in th e home of aformer sch ool teacher. She worked from 7:00 inthe mornin g to 8:00 in th e evenin g, or longer ifher employer entertain ed . She had one afternoonand every other Sunday off. "The lady of thehouse was ... ve ry strict. pa tr on izing , distrustedhe r se rvants, and work ed th em hard." Mary hatedhe r ho usework jo b a nd envied her tw o youngersisters who worked together in a rubber factory.shared an a pa rt ment, and enjoyed " freedo m andindependence from their employer." Mary even tu­ally escaped throug h marriage.a

t hefire

around and ho lle r atfire you, I' m gonna

would come'I'm gonna

the bosswor kers:you.' "19

The pace was somew hat different in the small­er, more paternalistic North Scituate mill whereClara wo rked a loom and he r fat her was aforeman. The mill adjoined a baseball fie ld. a nd ifa ball game was going on the workers would" sneak out the back door and stand and wa tch ...and their looms would be in there thrashing andgoing:' Clara's father would then " go ou t anddrag them back in." telling his daughter to " get inthere and . . keep those looms going: 'l'0

Textile mills in Rhod e Island always had alarge proportion of married women wor kers.Based on an investigation of some Rhod e Islandmills. the federal government reported in 1910that 33.2% of female textile workers over sixt eenyears old were married. widowed. divorced orseparated." Ma ny women tried to work until thei rfirst child was born . Some even mana ge-d to workduring the infancies of their first few children bytaking the night shift so that husbands could be athome with the babies. The more pa ternali st icmills kept places for wom en who wer e out becauseof childbirth. One mother who lived ac ross thestreet from the mills in Scituate had a fr ien dwatch her looms while she we nt ho me to nurseh er child.' 2 For most mot he rs with yo ung chil drenand growing fami lies. ho weve r. work in g in th emills was too ex hausting; a fifty-eigh t hour weeksim ply left no ti me for ho usework or rai singchild ren. Many married wom en in the mills werethus in th eir forti es or fifties, wit h ch ildren oldenough to fend for th emselves . Ma rried women intheir lat e twenties a nd thir ti es often regulatedtheir work hours by doin g jewelry piece work.taking in hom ework or laundry, or renting roomsto boa rde rs.

Through out this per iod . women workers stagedjo b action s and st rikes to protest work ing condi­tions and wa ges . eve n though very few femaleworkers were uni onized . When fift een womenemploy ed in the folding room of the U. S.Finishin g Compa ny went on strike for higherwa ges in 1901, the co mpa ny simply repl aced themwit h ne w workers. But in 1906 ninety women andgi rls wh o wor ked in t he sorti ng department of theUnion Waddin g Compa ny in Pawtucket went onst ri ke for ten days to ga in a one dollar per week

48 WORKISG wo~us 1900-19·10

Black women in Rhode Island faced overtdiscrimination in most factory jobs and thereforebecame a disproportionately high percentage ofthe laundresses, servants and waitresses." More­over, of all ethnic groups. they were the mostlikely to work after marriage. Nursing schoolsand colleges in Rhode Island refused to admitblacks, and those seeking professional traininghad to travel to New York or Philadelphia. Veryfew could find work as clerks or secretaries. Julia,despite a high school diploma and outstandinggrades in French, Latin and mathematics, spenther life working as a waitress and a cleaningwoman: he r best job was in a textile mill duringWorld War II wh en the labor supply was artificial­Iy 10w.1lI

While the number of white women employed asdomestic servants continued to decline after 1900,other job categories showed dramatic inc reases.

/",

Nursing, clerical work, sales and the "women 'sprofessions" such as teaching, social work andlibrary work, all grew during the course of theearly twentieth century. Most feminists saw thisgrowth as a sure sign that women would soonga in economic equality with men. Mrs. R. J.Barker, head of the Tiverton School Committee,declared in 1911 that the woman "accountant.stenographer, telegrapher:" and teacher is " giv­ing of her intellect ... for the advancement of orb­er women." 29

Yet there was a social hierarchy to these jobs,largely tied to the gentility of each occupationand its distance from the working class and recentimmig rants. Nu rsing and sales work were occupa­tions which some working class women couldaspire to as a step up from the mills and factories.Clerical work required training and some highschool education. Social work, teaching and li-

-----

RIH~ 1 .l bt~"

-19 WOR K I~r. w()~n:~ 1900·! !HO

•

brary work all requ ired college training and wereth e domains o f the upp~r middle class and thoseupper-class women who chose to work . Factorywork , on the other hand, continued to be largelythe domain of immigrant women.

A closer look shows that the exigencies of thechanging American economy, not a new equality,had opened these new occupat ions to women. Bythe lat e nin eteenth century, the health business inthe United States was undergoing a revolution intechnique and credibili ty; for the first time in thehistory o f the medical profess ion the averagepatient began to hav e a better ch ance of survivingan illness if he saw a doctor than if he did not. Theincreasing number of operatio ns required hospi­tals for doctors to per form surgery: medicalsch ools all over the country were turning tointernships in the hos pit als as a standard pan of

physician t rain in g. Expectant mothers in r-ecordnumbers were having their babies in hospitalsunder the supervision of doctors instead of mid­wives. As elsewhere in the count ry, Rhode Is­land's cities launched major hospital buildingcam paigns in the last third of the nineteenthcentury. Rhode Island Hospital, St. joseph's.Providence Lying-In, woonsocket Hospital, andNewport Hospital were all established between1868 and 1892. Nurses' training grew in di rectproportion to these ever-burgeoning hospitals.Between 1882 and 1900, Rhode Island Hospitaladded a chil dren's ward, buildings for the treat­ment o f contagious diseases and outpatients, anear, nose and throat in firmary , facilities for sk indiseases and or tho pedic surgery, and a $160,000southwest pavilli on . Wh~rt!as in 1869 the hospitalhad treated 250 parierna, by 1919 the number had

WQRKI S G WO~IES 1900-19-10

risen to 9,000. Seventeen women were enrolled inthe first nurses' training course in 1582; by 1922,181 students were enrclled.w

While hospitals presented their nurses' trainingprograms as an opportunity for women to gain aprofession in the medical field, their main concernwas to recruit a labor for ce. Instructed mostly atbedside. s tudents were required to live at thehospital and work twelve-hour sh ifts, for whichthey were paid small monthly sa laries . The coursewas originall y two years but was extended tothree at t he turn of the century. When theirtraining was over. most graduates became privateduty nurses because hospitals preferred thecheaper labor of trainees. Exactly who becamenurses at the turn of the century is not entirelyclear. In the early years women had to be twenty­one years old to apply, which meant that mostcandidates left other jobs to begin training . Itseems likely that most nurses were native-bornworking class. Rhode Island Hos pital required asound moral chara cter and the ability to speakgood E nglish, bu t did not specify a high schooleducation . By 19~ the hospital administered anentrance exam, but a thorough grammar schooleducation could have provided the average appli­cant with the skills in com posit ion, reading, andarithmetic required (or admittance. Most middle­class families regarded nursing as an occupationthat bordered on the disreputable. and most of anurse' s du ties as glorified housework. One middle­class woman reponed that her parents thought" nursing was a very menial job, " and while theysent her brother to college they enrolled her inbusiness school. She became a telephone operator.Adeline saved two dollars a week from her job asa clerical worker at the Outlet Company to enternursing school, but was told by her grandmother" that I could not go because it was not proper foryoung ladies to leave home." Nursing was inmany cases an opponunity for the adventurousyoung woman. Marion graduated from nurse'straining in 1917, just in time to enter the NavyNurse Corps during World War I. She traveledabroad to treat injured sailors, and when she camehome in the early twenties she became a privateobstetrical nurse and worked in a birth controlclinic."

As the standard of living rose in the latenineteenth century, consumption increased in

Rhode Island. E xist in g department stores ex­panded and new ones o pened in downtown Prov i­dence and other citi es." The number of womenworking in sales inc reased accordingly. Earlydepartment stores, like the Shephard Company,Gladding's, and the Boston Store , catered to themiddle and upper classes. Young women whoworked as salesgirls usually earned less tha nfactory operat ives. but the hours were shorter andworkin g condit ions generally cleaner, At the turnof the century new stores such as the Ou tl etCompany and Woolworth's cater ed to a widerclientele; they offered lower prices but dependedon heavy vo lum e. The Outlet Company's mottowas " more for less," and it outraged the morestaid department stores in Providence by offeringfree trolley transfers so that working people couldsh op downtown." The dime stores paid the lowestsalaries, had high labor turnovers, and hired on apart-time or seasonal basis. Not on ly was a womanunlikely to " meet a milli on dollar baby" in th edime store. she was also unlikely to sit down forhours at a t im e. One young It alian womaninterviewed by the Women 's Bureau in 1921reported that she had worked at Woolworth's forthe previous four years. "For the first two weeksstanding all day made her feet hurt so she couldhardly wait to get home at night and take off hershoes - then she got used to it ." Workers were al ­lowed to sit down when they were not busy but" hardly ever had time.">' By the teens and earlytwenties im migrant women and their daughterswere hired by department stores, for althoughmanagement wanted workers to speak only Eng­lish , they frequently needed translators for Ital­ian, Polish or Russian-Jewish shoppers. Anna'sfather, an Italian, worked as a tailor at the OutletCompany and obtained a job for her there as anerrand girl in 1920. She made only five dollars aweek, however, and asked to be promoted to asalesgirl. The manager told her that she was " tooshan," which led her to conclude that Italianswere discriminated against in Providence. An­other Italian girl " wanted very much to go tohigh school and become a stenographer," but hermother "refused to let her go , saying that herolder brothers and sisters had gone to work and soshould she." She first worked at the RumfordBaking Powder factory and then made babystockings, but quit to take a lower-paying cash-

.')) WOR KISG WO .\I f.S 1900-19-10

ier's job at the Outlet. It seemed like "a mo repleasant and respectable job . It was closer tobeing a stenographer than working in a . ..factory .··ss

Of all th e new opportunities. clerical work wassu rely the most importa nt for women . In 1870 theoffice was the domai n of men; less than I% of allemployed wom en wer e in clerical jo bs. T hen, asAmerican capitalism made the t ransition to itscorporate s ta ge , wom en began to ente r cler icalwor k in large nu m bers. La rger units of prod uctionand business led to more sophisticated methods ofrecord-keepin g. more efficient man a gem ent, andmore extensive advertising and sales.· T h eRhode Island Bureau of Statistics noted withsome amazement that between 1900 and 1910,while the average number of wage earners inmanufacturing had increased only 17% (fa r less

than the growth in population ) , the number ofsa laried officials and clerks had inc reased by 40%.As office work was mechanized, women werehired to type on typewriters , do bookkeeping onthe adding mach ines, and take stenc on dictatingmachines. Men moved up to mana gerial posi tionsor were fire d. By 1920 clerica ls const itu ted about25% of all the employed wo men in the Unit edSt ates. They were 92% of the typists and stenog­raphers, and 49% o f the cashiers, boo kkeepers andaccountants. "

In the early yea rs of th e ce ntury most womenwho became secreta ries quit school in the ninth ortenth grade and then went to an inexpensivebus iness college like Bryant and Stratton. Daugh­ters of both the more sol idly established wo rkingclass and o f the middle class were sent to businesscollege instead o f h igh school because it prov ided

1

52 WO RKI.... G WO~lEN 1900- 1940

training for wh at parents saw as well -pay in g an drespectab le jobs. Until the 1920s cle rical worke rswere ce rtainly in co nstant demand. Lois graduat­ed from Providence High School in 191 8 withhon ors; she excelled in math and science an d hadbee n accepted into a nurse 's traini ng program." H er father, however. had decided that his daugh ­ters would become stenographers, beca use of anopening in the job ma rket: '· T wo young gradu­ates of the Charles Business College lea rneddu ring World War I that "you could get a jobanywhere. . . . Anoth er girl and I. we'd take a jobin the morning, and if we didn't like it we'd quit atnoontime and take another one in the after­noon."" A French Canadian woman who hadst udi ed double bookkeeping got a job at the StateHouse and supported her family all through the19205 and 19305. One woma n who worked as asecretary at Brown and Sharp e in the 19205recalled that "office workers were in great de­mand," but employees were "supposed to bedocile. sweet. and work like a horse"; anyonecould be "fi red for the least infraction of therules." Nea rly all clerica l jobs we re for singlewomen only, and until World War II ma jorcompa nies like Narra gan sett El ectric and NewE ngland Telephone rou t inel y fired women whomarried. The telephone com pa ny was known forits interference in workers' lives: one operato rremember ed tha t before a worker was hired "arepresentative was sent to your home to find outwhat kind o f a , , . family yo u came from and inte r­viewed your paren ts .. .. You were required towear a girdl e and stockings to work at all dmes.v's

By the mid-1920s most high schools in RhodeIsland o ffer ed clerical t raining, and the number ofclerical work ers increased dramatically. The agefor compulso ry sch ool attendance rose to sixteenin 1926, and a depression in th e textile indust rymeant fewer jobs for teenagers in manufacturinganyway." Five times as many yo un gsters attend­ed American high schools in t he mid-1920s as hadin th e 1890s. Economist Paul Douglas argued t hatthe main econo mic funct ion of the hi gh schoolwas to prepare juveniles for cle rica l work andsalaried posit ions. He demon strated that as morewomen entered clerical work the re lative dist an cebe tween clerical and man ufacturin g wages nar­rowed. and he pr ed icted that soon th e chiefadvantage o f clerica l work wou ld be its soci al

pos ition, not its pay rate.vCertainly no woman could move into the middle

class on her sala ry as a clerical worker, althoughso me women were ab le to " marry up" by meetingmen of a higher class at work . By the 1920s and1930s man y women who stayed in high schoolwere pressu red by thei r parents to take secretarialcourses so t hat they could be sure to get jobs.College seemed a distant fri volity to most moth­ers and fathers, although some young womenyearned to go on and had good enough grades todo so. "When Anne was going to Central HighSchool one counselor prodded Anne's mother tolet Ann e take a college preparatory course, buther mother refused, saying ... that Anne had noneed for any education after high school. Annegraduated in the business curriculum bound foroffi ce work, whi ch according to her mother was amore feminine and practical future ." One womanrecalled that " gir ls we re discourged from going tocollege - it was considered a waste of money andeffort. since gi rls should be in a job they couldma ke money in. then leave when they got mar­ried."· )

Mos t wo men who did go to college beca meteachers, wh ich had been one of the chief occ upa ­t ions for women since the nin eteen th century. By1910,80% of all teachers were wom en. T h e Rh odeIslan d State Nor mal School , establish ed in 1854.provid ed a two-year course in teac he r training ,an d by 1905 was one o f th e largest o f its kind inNew En glan d. h s graduates, however, faced st iffco mpetition for jo bs from gra duates of four-yea rprivate colleges, so the Normal Sch ool workedtoward establishin g its own fou r-year curriculum.The Rhode Island College of Education th usappear ed in 1920, and by 1930 the re were so manyapplicants - and so many teachers - thatenrollment was restricted to 600 pla ces." RICEwas swamped with application s fro m women,partly because it was the only place in the statefor working- and middle-class women to g et acolle ge edu cat ion . Pembroke was too expensive,Providence Coll ege was op en on ly to men, theRh od e Island State Coll ege at Kin gston onlyo ffered ma jo rs in ag ricultur e or home economicsto a tiny student body, and the Rhode Isl an dSchool of Design specialized in art t rai ni ng . In1929 the Catholic Teachers College of Prov idencewa s incorporat ed to t rain nu ns wh o wished to

5j WORK1~G WO~fES 1900-19-10

teach in Catholic schools. Entering the conventwas one way for working-class Catholic women toenter the professions.

Women teachers in Rhode Island routinelyearned less than men, and they we re usuallyforced to leave their jobs when they married."Some women became teachers thinking theywould like to remain single, and certainly teach­in g was one of the few occupations that couldprovide an adequate living for a woman in theearly twentieth century. One teacher said herparents "never expected us to marry. My motherknew how hard life was for a married woman andshe would always tell us that there was time toget married," In Newport one woman who taughtin the 19305 recalled that "marriage was unbe­coming [tc ] a ... female teacher. When you gotmarried .. , you could finish the rest of the year. , .Then you had to resign ,., and you might, .. ifthere was a vacancy, .. [become I a permanentsubstitute the next year. If you did you went in atthe minimum. . . . These women had beenpermanent teachers at the top of the pay scaleand when they got married it was like {they] did abad thing. ,. Their time as substitutes did notcount towards retirement." Another woman whohad taught for six years joined the Navy in 1943and was denied a leave of absence from her schooldistrict on the grounds that she had not beendrafted.w

Certainly Willard's claim that women could beanything after 1900 was more fantasy than fact,Nor were the alarmists' (ears - that cha nges inwomen's work would disrupt the Am erican homeor change the traditional relations between thesexes - grounded in reality, While ne w occ upa­tions were opened to women, especially nursing,clerical work and sales, they were available pre­cisely because women were a cheap labor forcealready struggling within a narrow range ofopportunities. While a few women eventually roseto supervise the work of other women, theseoccupations did not lead to positions of real powerin the fields of medicine, business, or the retailtrade. As women entered these occupations inlarge numbers, the usual economic law applied:the more workers, the lower the wages. Onlyoccupations requiring a college education cameclose to providing women with a middle-classincome; most other women, no matter what their

occupation, remained dependent on marriage as ameans of economic survival. Indeed, women'swork was not seen as a stage of economicindependence, but as a transition between depen­de nce on parents and dependence on a husband.Virtually all single working-class and most mid­dle-class women, no matter what their ethnicbackgrounds, gave nearly all their wages toparents; almost none lived alone.

Yet work served an important psychologicaland cultural function in the lives of women whichwe must not overlook. Despite the harshness offactory jobs, the tedium of clerical work, and these rvility of nursing, women enjoyed proving theircompetence, meeting other women, and broaden­ing their experiences outside the home. A feweven withstood the considerable pressures tomarry and remained single. While high schools inthe 19205 and 19305 were, in one sense, vasttraining grounds (or clerical workers. most wom­en enjoyed school and took pride in obtaininghigh school diplomas; the conflicts they werebeginning to have with their parents about enter­ing nursing school or taking "impractical" courseslike French and chemistry showed that bothwo rking-class and middle-class women were try­ing to stretch beyond the narrow ran ge of worklaid out for them.

All earlier vel"lion of this article wu riven u • lecture at the Rhodebland Historical Society on ]lITle 27, 1979

1_ Tltia .-per lIn_ eJ<l~y OlIo the Uniwnil)' of Rhodelal&ndr. Womma Biocraphy Pro;ea for firwt-hand -.nUl of whatwomen though1 about their work. Thia pro;ea (n!'W out of a f;DWV

en1iUed "Women in American Hiatory: which I have been1eachinli: lin« 1974 I have routinely .....ed studtnUl in the c:ount

10 interview oIdeT women. IlIUllIly rnothen Dr ~en Drboth, about their liva. Sin« work is a rna;c.. llIp«I of eachinlerview, I am bt(inning to develop a .... e..ble body 01 rnat..,;.,J onthe cyclea of working women'. bvea in Rhode bland. I h.vealtered the name. of the subjecta to preIerVe their anonymity.

2. Shtila M, Rochman, Woman·. Proper Pbc.: A Jmtr:.y 01~I 100u And PracUc-. '.70 10 the i'rewnf (New York.1971),42, 41; '"The Woman'. InIrMion.~ Enorybody. M.,ume. 19(1901).

5 1 W ORKI :"O G WO .'\I £.:"O 1900-19'10

3. "Satiltia 01 Women at Wor l<; Rhode la!and. la7S to 1905,~

Board 01 T""-' .JourrgJ (~ 190&), 361. Th~ advan« shftta 01th~ 1905 Rhode hland Cftt- .t>awed that wunm w .... milO\I'ft'\lrhlmincly OOflCftlUated in a narrow ra nce of ,iobI. Of 6J.l17employed womeon. 93.6% worked in the foIlowinC occupation&;

T ellti les: 24,968

Laundry-, domntic HI'V1CeWalU_ ... hotl&eke<e~ 13,332

Stenocnph.,.. typist-..eleophane ~aton a clerU: S,IOS

Sewinc trades; .. .....

Teachen (includin C M..oaan. aAnists) 2.893

Sales: 2,460

NW'M'f,: 1.211

4, The ...... .-ful summonn of wom en ', work in th~ earlytwentiflh Century ar c Rcw.aiyn 8uanda1l. Linda Gordon. ,ndSuaan RlO'Yftby, AmH1c.. '. Worm ,. W""",n' A Docuntt-ntM)'History - 16l1O to w PrwwII ( Nt'W York . 1976), 112·222; WElliott BtowniN and Mary M. Br.-nle<e. Woot<'fI .on w ~an

Ea:nomy. A Donunenr.uy H iatory, 167S to 192'9 (N", Haveon.1976) . 184-301; J<-ph A. Hill WotnC'II in G.tmful Oaupotiont ,.roto 1920. Cftt- M.onoCraphf.. IX (Wuhin(ton, D C~ 1929) ; andRobert W. Smutlo, W""",n and Wor" in Anwric.. ( New Yor k. 1971)

S. Ku n Mayet and Sidney Gol"-oein, Migration and EconomicCkvelopm~nt ill Rhode [&land (Providence, 19.\8), 20 and 22-23

6. Se<e Willi.am Hard an d Rheta Childe Door, "The Wom an'.Invasion,~ Pari I , sao, for an in. naling account of wom en millworken in Fall River ,

1. For a dacnprion of workinc condll"" in th ew inocb:tnn...e- the U. S. Wometf , Burea... Womftl in RIto<k hJ.tnd~A S tudy 01 Haws.. W..,.ts and W",*in,. Condrum.. Bulletin '21(Wuhineton. D. C~ 1922) . The Women', Bureau fowld th.tt .herubbet" ind uwy paid WIlmfn the best .....Cft in mamJllCt\Itinc. that;e.v..elry paid th~ WCIr'Il. and th e .utile miU& paid lOm"'h.... inbetwH1l. U..,ful summarits of t h jewelry ind...ry in Rhode blandare NilUl Shapro-PnL "'Th e Pi«lH"at~: CJa. SlnlUle on th eShop Fl00r,~ in Andrew Zimba lial, ed ., C.tu Sludin on Ihe !..t oo.­Prot:_ ( forthcoming); an d CieorCe Frankovich, " Hill ary ofRhode la1and Jewelry and Silvft'Ware Ind uaUy," Rhode Iw ndYNTb<J<:* (1971).

8. Mlyn and Gclld,u';", Mip1frion ... Economic~lopm",r

.on Rhode hJarwJ ; Henry W. Mann, ManlJ1acrurin, in Rhode hJ.tnd.Rhode Ialand Suu' Plannine Board Spccia1 Repo:n No. 13 (Dec. XI,1931), 9. S3; Nil" Carpen1er, Immi~ ... 1Mir ChUdrnt,. /910(Wathin(1On. D. ~ 1927), lO&-J09 For tvfO .wy- of work in theIi_ 01 l talian- Am mcan womm in Rhode Ia1and _ Judith Eo.Smith. ~hahan Mothers. Am mcan D.\IChten: ChanCel in W......and FMtily RoIft,,~ and Sharon Hartman Suom, "Italian Am";·can Women and Their D.\IChlen in Rhode bland: Th~ Adol_eeeee 01 T wo Genff.ttiona, 1900- 1 9so.~ in Betty Boyd Carob,Robert F . H.tmey and Lydia F . Tomasi, eda.. The I l..li..nImmigr..nr Woman in Nonh Am~ri"a (Toronto, 1978), 191·22 1.

9 , For a deu.iled hIStory 01 child labor and .hool attendanc..lefitlation in Rhode Island ""' H F . AndO'non. IPt aL ~Le&itl.t'-'

in RhodO' Ia1and R" Can:li.ne Child Labor and Ihe Pl-oIection 01Women in lndLlllf)' ,~ ( Mimeocraphed. W,P ,A.• n.p. n.d ). BarTy',re port quoxed in Baxandall, IPt al~ Am erJc.l ', Worl<ing Women. 122.

10. U. S. Senat e Document No. 645. Repon on Condi tion ofWomen and Child WaCe Earner!, Vol, I ; Corlon Tutile IndU61ry(W athin ilOll. D. C. 1910). 19

II . COllan Tutile Ind...ry, 19: M..lvin T . Cop..land. TheConan Manufanlll'in,. Indua1ry 01 Ihe UrutN SUIts (CambridC'"M...... 1912). 113; Paul H. DauClaa. R e.t1 Wa, n in lhe Unil..dSUlft" 18\lJ()./9.?fl (Botton and New York. 19X1). For informauon"'CardinC fO'&/ ....g" in Rhode lt1a.nd durinC th ese yean .,..,Mann, M.tn ufanlll'ing m Rhode 15lMJd. S7·sg Manu/aetunnc....Cn in Rhode Island C'OnIittently remained be-Iow th e averagelor the Uni, ed Slain..

12. eolron TeKlile Indualry, 85. The U. S. CeMUI 0/ Ma nu/ac­tlll"etS 01 1905 nlirnated th ai 6% of t he COlton mill employe" inN..,.. En gla nd ....ne undn till t N n. Rhod e Itland and Ma ine wereevidently th e moo.t We of an the N..,.. E nCland .\.t.ts in en /oranglheir compulilOl1' school anend.anc:e laws. Se<e Copelan d Th eConan Manu/ACfUrinl Indutuy, 43, l iS . In 1906 a commisUon wasappointed by the M_ h.-fl1S ....te lelDtla l..,e to lI:udy th e n~for VlX.ttioNJ education in th~ puhUc .hoolt. On e of itt inv-'C.ton., s..... M. Kin pley . tnJdymc th .. empkJymen. 01 jwlPtliJn in. he .It'XIile mcI:Iottry. found .ha. whil e tome mills in ~u. NonhAdams and Nt'W Bedford wn e ...uling 10 hire founH'll- and fiftft'ft­yeu-olda, half of th ne mills prt/ened em ployine young peopl e.... tH1l to tWf'f'lry. Mills elaf"whne hired only a I..,.. children. MiaKin pley concluded thai ~the induwy can thrive withoul chi ldIabor.~ Edward A. K rug , The Shapint 01 Ihe Am eri<-..n H JghSchool. / 8lIlJ./920 ( Mad OOn, Wi&., 1969), 21&.222,

l3. Copeland, The COllon M ..nula<:turin,. IndlBlry. 43.

14, A memorable photoctaph ponrayt a croup of mill .......kena. th~ Royal Wea vinC Company in PawtueklPt .t.tndinC besidetheir th. eackwiRing machines: They an mainly ""'OlneI'I. but _ar c immedJa.~ly IITIKk by how hehy and ........C th..... particularworken ..... Sore Kate Dunniean. He len Keba hian. Laura BRobent and MaW"Hn T aylor . -Wor lcinC Wom en; lmaCn ofWom en .11 W...... in Rhode lt1and, 188/)-19IS.~ Rhode WandHistory. 38 (1979), S,

IS Rhode Itland Wom en', Biography Pro JO'C1 '253. h..ruftncit ed u RlWB.

16. The Women'. Bure au found in 1920 t haI nearly 70% of th ewomen in lheir AlrY"'Y who had left .hool litoed economicn« e-ty u the rCUOl\. W"""", in RhodO' IalMKJ 1ndu.trJn. S6,

17. RIWB ' 2M, ' 16, '247.

18. RIWB ' 24l. ' 16, ' 208.

19, RIWB ' 247.

20 I am indebted to G,jJ Sansbury for thia quol.tlion from oneof her imervie..... wil h reside nts 01 Scit.... le for the film proj«l,"Wat eBhed." In tervi ew with 0 W. on Nov . 2, 1918.

55 WORK I,'I;C WO:\tEN 1900· 19·10

II. Conon T..ztiho lnduwy. 132.

n . Gail Sansbury provickd m.. wlIh t lUl inlotm.1lUon from h,.,................ -nh D . B.• N..... 2. 1971

11. RItodO' hLortd BurN" 0/~ SuohfOC&, 15th AnnualRrpon (Provio..nce. 1!lO2). 119; lOth Annual R~ (~.1907). 1101: Canon Tum..~ 607.

24 Hi ll W...".." in fAinlul lknlp..... J6. R....tlOd occupa­tJcr-. MOdI • wan, in "undry or "'-dO'rt aim declinlOd. a1thou,hth.. number of wai~ 1IlCft-.i

25, Th.. RhodO' bland Stat.. c_ of 1905 IhawIOd lI'..at of 7.4Ol:iunapoocifilOd femal.. ....-varIt$, 3."ll5 dal/,h'en of Irish fath .......Eun. fieur... on Afro-American en ar.. nex avai..b1.. 1itK..they ......... cJ.u.ifilOd U fLiltiV" born, BurNl/ 01 IndunriaJ Sr... l:irtQlOth Annual Repon. Pan IV . *57.

26. RIWB .219

27. My extr.pol.tion of th e 19040 Cmaua fieur'" VI~ thatwhil .. Af....Amt'lican wom..n mad .. "p I.l l o/~ of ,h.. toIa1 ..mpJoylOdf..mal .. worken in Rhod .. laIand., they ....r.. 9,7% 01 th .. ,"""ant$,0,5% 01 le1I\i-tI<iIllOd ..boreR, 0.26% 01 th .. prof..-iorutll.. and only0.13% of the clericals. Thl'Y ...,.,... 0% of th .. femal.. man.aCen andLItiIllOd won:....... Alba M. Edwam., Ccmp.nri.... O:nspotJonSuwria for rM Uniled Sur.... IBlO to I~ (WuhinjttOn. D. C~1943). 191, 201 ,

28 RIWB 1149

29 QuocIOd in n-n.. W, Bick .... ll A H.-.y 01 th .. RItodO'hWtd Norm.J School ( ProWienc... 1911). 95

lO. Th.. best l«'OIIfIa 0/ th.. (T'I'Wth 01 th.. l'MdIcaI prof......and nlOrWinl in th. ptTiod ....... .Jo Ann AInley . H...pw.. PalnTW­..., .. tM Role 01 th .. N_ eN.... York.. 1976); and BubaraEhrenreich and DeOdn Enlliah. For Hrt' Own Good: 1$0 Y........ 0/th.. Mprru· Advino to W"","," (N.... York.. 19711. 29-90. A -n.tI

o'htonolocY of th .. Rhode laIand HoapOtaI may be found in i.. briefpttbbc.ation, n.. Rhotk hLortd Hoapn.J ( Provio..nce. 1911). IHIs.... Charleo Carroll RJxxk Idand· T'hn. C....r~ 01 Democr«y(3 vol&.. N.... York . 1932). IL 1026-1047. lw an .... ..-vi.... ol th ..hi-aory 01 hoapitab and medicin.. in th .. alit..

11. RhodO' WUld Hoapilal. Rill.... .and R..",I",rm. (Providence.11187. 1899 .nd 1910): Prospect ... of lh .. Rhode Ialand HOIlpl rillTrlJnin, School for Nl/ (Providenc... 1904); RIWB '127. '2'00,Mabel "'u th .. .....tiv....bom daui:hl ..r of Scandan",vian immig.anlparent$, She IradUil110d from hlCh oochool and work lOd in hrt'!alh...·••tore until VI...u I. ..nry and old tnOlICh to go 10nuninl IChooI, She worklOd II • n all hrt' lif .. and n!'V..rmarrilOd. RIBW. 'Ill.

32. s..e Suun Pan,.,. 8mAon. M "Th.. O,.,.k1OC SiIt,.,.hoocf:Rationalization and th" Work CWIUr.. of Sale1WUnm in American~mt SIOr'tI, Ill9O-1960.~ RMbc.J A.mmc.a. 12 (19;1). 41·j5,Ber.... • complO'tin1 a Ph.D. m-. on deputrnent ...... won:enand ... kind tnOlIlh 10~ ...... 01 h...... and nDIeo wit:h ......

11 See Cam:>ll Rhode 1Iland. n. 1lQI.925, for '" bnO'l .account 01thO' I"QWIh 01 th.. &ep.rtmenl and. chain lIOreo in Rhode t.la.nd.

J4 Womm'. Bw-0'lI1I, Home Villa Fil.. on Rhod.. hl&ndWorkllll Wom ..... Box II I. R«Ord G"""p 86. National khiv.....WuhlllCton. D . C Th...... 1lI11!1'V1...... ....... comp;]1Od for theWomm·. Burt",,, bullO'tin on Rhode 1aI&nd induMnO'l. See nexe 7•......

15 RIWB 'll. ' 102-

16 s.... MarlOT)' DaVl..... ~Woman·. Plac 1 th .. TypewriterThe F...nu"...,tlQn of th .. Omcal Labor Fore M 1Udic.J Amtric.a. I(1974). 1·29. and Hury Bnv...-man. L.bor Mod MonGIpDiy c.pow:Th .. D..Vdtion 01 Wort in 1M T_lInflh C....nuy ( N.... York..1974) . 29,l.15I. for Ih .. bta an.aIytiI 01 O'....nl ... in ol fice k a, th ..lurn of th .. cm tury

37. .a.m..." of IndustrW Sf.lIr..ua. 24th Annual R..~ ( J'Tovt­dO'nce. 1911). 142: EliubO'th R... Kanl..... M.... .and Worn..n of rh..Corpot-.liot! ( N.... York.. 1977). 2S.26.

1lI. RIWB .281.

39. From an int ..rvie ... by Gail Sa.na.bury wilh H . M.. Sept. 2'l.1971.

40. RIWB '282. • 281, '14.

41 I would lIfcue t ....1 U the lutile indllllr}' conU'lICItd., adwabeCan 10 monopoIiz.. ,ioba onee .vailable 10 I.......Cen and JIOtUICa6u11I. Th .. RhodO' laIand o..panmmt 01 Labor O'hanlOd a steadydtclirt.. of mi~ under 1Iiln....... in tutil.. from 1922 10 1930. with ahanh,.,. dft;1irM: (10 nearly zero) by 1915. Annual Rrpon 0/ theD..p.trunenr 0/ L.bor (ProWienc.. . 1915). 97. Il l . 8O'twffn 1919and 1947 Rhode 1aI&nd ... 24~ 01 ill. jot-. in Inul.... R ..pon onth .. New En,Wtd TertilO' IntA.uy by Commrn.... Appoinred by1M Cont..rnr.. 0/ New EnCWtd~ 1m (Cam bridt...M-.. 19$]). 106

42. RMl W...c.... in 1M United Suorro. ]66.167. DoL.IIM d..I... .milwd that wh il.. manllfaeturill, k.... IlIUIeQ an averaC" 01~ in thO'ir """I.... from th .. IlI90I to th fl'Iid.192011. YlmIOd anddnical ..... plotlyeft ClJnlOd only l~ . H.. . nribut lOd th i. urLII1lincI"O'_ d1nctIy to th .. feminization 01 offic .. work .

4l. RIWB 'lOll, '144.

44 Rothman. Woman '. Pmprr P/«e. 57: Bickn..ll Story of rh..RJxxk lalutd NorrruJ School : Carroll R1loIk Ialand, n. 9l'~

45. For ........lUmpl.......... Sa•• M, AlC..... The Srory of ... Suf>.Pion..... (Providence. 1925). 4&17.

46. R IWB 'Illl.

'"

, ,. ,.} - ~TILL TAL.I(I/H.I

I.,., '''' f . C. r;~n',,, 1",,/(,111 1M ufo.m "tid a.~a,.tM<'''''''1>/''''' '"H.h(}d~ f._llmd </"''''1/ ,Ir, lal, mn,'nnth and ,11..1)' Iwn,unh(.''''.....' .' - IJ"" lIJU H'I/flud b... po"",.!"t R , p" bI" c7l ., and t"t"'!<'·'{>tlf"''' 111,\' o,..."d

57

Uphill Battle: Lucius F. C. Garvin'sCrusade for Political Reform

Early in 1922, an elderly ma n took the floor in theRhode Isla nd Senat e to move for action on a bill toreduce from fifty-four to fony-eight hours the workweek for children under the age of sixteen. Thepresiding officer ruled him out of order, and on a di­vision of the house the motion to bring the bill wasdefeated by a vcte of four ayes to thiny nays. I Ashad been the case on innumerable occasions since1883when he first entered the General Assembly asa representative from Cumberland. Lucius F. C.Garvin was on the losing side of a roll call on a pieceof reform legislation. Desp ite this record, Garvin'sbiography is a remarkable success story .~ He prac­ticed medicine Icr fifty-five years and combined hisministrations to patients with fifty years of politicalactivity. He served twelve years as medical examin­er for Cumberland. th irteen years as state represe n­tative, five years as state senator in th e GeneralAssembly, and two years as governor. T hat hewor ked unceasingly for re form in a period whenpolitical control by conservative interests was al­most complete ma kes Garvin's achievements evenmore remarkable.

Lucius Fayett e Cla rk Garvin came to RhodeIsland by a circu itous route. He was born inKnoxville. T ennessee. on November 21, 1841, toparents who were transplanted New Eng landers.His mother. Sarah Ann Gunn, th e daughter of aphysician from Pittsfield, Messachusen s. was a firstcousin of Edward Dickinson, fath er of Emily Dick­inson. In 1822. at the age of twenty-one, SarahGunn had married Jam es Garvin. Jr.• an Amherstgraduate from Bet hel. vermont . Ja mes. aft er com­pleting his studies at Amherst in 1831. was briefly

· Pro feQOC" G....1,lny iI. m..mb<'r of th .. Inpanm..nt of Socio!o(y.Univ....wi ty of Rhod.. b la nd at KinC_lon .

by Carl Gersuny"

employed in Hanford as an assistant to the editor ofThe Annals of Education. From 1832to 1837 he wasa teacher in Enfield. Massachu~tts. the home townof Sarah Ann Gunn. and in Vermont. In 1838 hemoved to Tennessee with his wife and their firstchild. James Augustus: that same year he wasappointed to the faculty of Easr Tennessee Univer­sity (now University of Tennessee) as an instructorat a salary of four hundred dollars per year. Laterhe was promoted to professor of mathematics andmodern languages at a salary of one thousanddollars. Eventually he held appoi ntments as pro fes­sor of natural philosophy, of chemistry, of na turalhistory, and of experimental philosophy - a versa­tility necessary in a college with a five-memberfaculty . He also taught surveying and bookkeepingin th e preparatory department. and in 1844 he wasappointed libra rian . In his spa re time he calculatedeclipses for an almanac and kept weathe r recordsfor th e Smithsonian In st itution. When Lucius wasfour-and-a-half yea rs old, his fathe r died of "biliousfever" (probably typhoid). The trustees of EastTennesse e Un iversity eu logized him for his talentsand scholast ic accomplishme nts as well as his pietyand gen tlemanly deportment.

Sarah Garvin. with her two fatherless boys,moved to Greensboro. Nonh Carolina. where shetaugh t at a female academy and subsequen tlyre married. Little is known about Lucius Garvin'schildhood. Later he was sent to Sunderla nd. Massa­ch usetts, to attend public school, presumably underthe care of his mothe r's kin. At the age of sixteenhe returned to North Carolina to become a studentat the Friends' Boarding School in New Garden,

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which lat er became Guilfo rd College (the schoolhad been established by the North Carolina Quak­ers "for the purposle of giving their childr en aguarded. reli gious and literary education"). Stu­den ts Wlerle required to atte nd F riends' meetingtwice a wee k and to furnish a Bible, wash basin andtowels. Profanity, card playing and consumption ofalcoholic bevera ges were grounds for expulsion.From the school's 1858 day book we learn thatyoung Garvin acquired a Greek dict ionary for $2.25,Arnold's Com position for $1.00, Xenophon's Anab.1­sis for $U2 1!) . Cicero for $1.00 and a ten centnotebook. From one of his schoolmates Wle getsome glim pses of th e adolesc en t Garvin. Recordinghis recollections forty years lat er, Jo hn GurneyDixon wrote that he and Garvin "together worriedOYler La tin Grammar and struggled with Caesar'sCommentaries and the intricacies of Virgil.,. Heremembered his des k-mare as "a nice. agreeablekind of boy - fond of play but also studious ."

While Garvin followed in his father's footstepswit h respect to "talents , scholas tic acquirementsand gentlemanly de portment." his piety apparentlybegan to wane at an early age. Dixon rememberedthat his sch oolmate's Epi scopalian mother wasextremely pious and "once when I spent a week ofvacati on with Garvin at his mot her's house inGreensboro, she had us going to church andlistening to a lot of Iormslities and rot nearly everyda y. And I remember how we used to pretest(silent ly and to ourselves) a gainst it ."!

Garvin entered Amherst College in 1859. Whilehe was an undergraduate, the Civil War bro ke out.His older brother and his stepfather ned to St. Louisfrom North Carolina to avoid conscription into th eConfederate forces, and his mothe r - with twoyoung ch ildren of her secon d marriage - too kre fuge in Enfield, Massachusett s. After his gradu­ation in 1862, Lucius briefly was a school teacher inWare, Massachuse tts .

In November of that year he enlisted as a privatein Company E. 51st Massa chusetts Volunteer Infan­try, a regiment organized for nine months of serviceto meet the recruitment quota for the Worcesterregion. The regiment boarded the transport Merri­mac at Boston on November 25 and reachedBeaufort, North Carolina, five days later after astormy voyage. Quartered in Newbern. in barrackson the banks of the Trent River, the regiment wassoon decimated by disease. The malarial swamps of

59 r.ucr vs F . c . GA RVI )';

North Carolina took a fearful toll - seven monthsafter disembarking, the regiment had only 275 menfit for duty out of a total enlistment of 879. Fortydied of disease or accident. including seven amongthe eighty-eight men of Company E. Garvin wasstricken with malaria shortly after arrival and couldnot be sworn in until May 26. He spent most of hisarmy time at Hammond General Hospital at Beau­fort; his treatment involved large doses of quinine,which impaired his hearing for the rest of his life.The regiment was mustered out at Worcester onJuly 27. 1863.

Garvin by then had decided on a career inmedicine. He began his medical educa tion as anassistant to Dr. Sylvanus Clapp in Pawtucket, and in1864 he entered Harvard Medical School. Histraining included one year as house surgeon inBoston City Hospital (1866). Upon graduation in1867. he accepted an invita tion from the LonsdaleCompany to establish himself in Lonsdale, RhodeIsland. where he was to practice medicine contin­ously for th e next fifty-five years.

In Lonsdale, a one-company mill village on theBlackstone River, Garvin made a home for hismother and her two children from her secondmarriage. Also residing with the household wasElizabeth Harris. a white servant (formerly anoverseer of women slaves) whom his mother hadtaken along when she fled from North Carolina. In1869 Garvin married Lucy W. Southmayd, and theyhad three daughters - Ethel in 1871, Norma in1874 and Florence in 1876. Lucy died in 1898. andnine years later Garvin married Sarah Tomlinson.She had been blind since the age of six , a result ofmeningitis. and was a friend of Helen Keller fromtheir time together as students at the PerkinsSchool for the Blind . (Miss Keller was a house guestat the Garvin home during at least one of her visitsto Providence.) Sarah bore two children - Luciusin 1908 and Sumner in 1909.

Garvin in 1876 published a trenchant account ofmedical practice in a textile village.- The state ofpublic sanitation, work hazards and housing condi­tions particularly concerned him. Drinking water.he observed. was drawn from the Blackstone River,contained "many impurities," and was "regardedpopularly as the source of much sickness." Heidentified contaminated milk as contributing to the"alarming rate of infant mortality" among millfamilies, where mothers had to stop breast-feeding

in order to get back on the job. The ravages oftuberculosis also greatly concerned him: during thefirst five years of his practice in Lonsdale, heencountered sixty-four cases, of which about eighty­five percent were among mill workers.

The principal hazard to the safety of millworkers was from eXJX>Sed gears and pulleys. Henoted that:the wounds received in cotton mi/ls are peculiar inthat their most frequen t sire, by far, is the hand. . . .Th e mules, the looms, the cards. the speeders. etc.. . . possess in common the mechanism. usually inthe form of gearing. by means of which the variousmovements are comm unicared from the centralpower. Experience shows that these iron cogs.embracing each other so quietly at each revolutionof the wheels upon which they are set. furnish themost prolific source of injury. Catching the side ortip of the operative's finger , without warning, theydraw it rapidly in. while. like a hungry shark, thesecond set , reaching farther on. takes a better holdand again draws in - the first laceration of the skinbeing but a prelude to crushing the bone. l

Describing thirty-six injuries caused by uncov­ered gears. which he treated during his first fiveyears, he noted that nineteen had one or morebones broken. resulting in amputation or stiff joints.While employment of children under twelve wasillegal in Rhode Island. "six of the sufferers bygearing ranged from eight to eleven years old:' Aboy of fifteen had his hand drawn into a picker."which crunched the whole limb to near theshoulder joint." A twelve-year-old boy had all theflesh from the back of his hand stripped to the bone.which left him with minimal use of the hand. Thiscase involved three months of treatment "entailinga heavy expense upon his widowed mother." As formill housing, he wrote that making house calls atnight in attics with several "fully occupied beds"reminded him of "the effluvium which arose fromthe hatchways of ships used for transporting sol­diers during the late war.:"

In this paper. which he had presented at the 1876meeting of the American Public Health Associ ­ation. he recommended a number of remedies. Toinsure mill safety. he called for passage and strictenforcement of child labor legislation. He alsorecommended the installation of covers for gears,pulleys and other sources of danger; a prohibition ofcleaning machinery while in motion; and proper

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60 t.ucn:x ~' . c . C A II.\'!l\

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ins truction in the use of machinery. He argued thatland was plentiful enough that single-family houseswit h yards and gardens could be built to rep lacetenements. Legislation limiting the labor of youngpeople unde r the a ge of sixteen to half a day . andthe establishment of schools for the young as wellas "lectures and lyceums for promoting generalint elligence" were also proposed. Finally, he advo­cated reduction of the work week for adults fromsixty-six hours to sixty.

Late in life he recalled some of the feat ures of hisearly days in Lonsdale. He recalled being "on thego, day and night. answering calls for almosteverything. from a case of sprained thumb to

assisting in arrivals of additions to the population."H e estimated that he had over one thousandobst etric cases from 1867 to 1921. In the beginninghis fee in obstetric cases "was $6 if called during theday time, and only $8 if at night. including two orthree subsequent visits"; his fee for office visits wasfifty cents during the day. one dolla r at night. Hepracticed surgery in his home. "T here was nohospital to which we could send our surgery cases.and had there been one near me. I no doubt wouldhave held close to the theory generally held in theprofession th at it was not wise to send a patient tosuch an institution for fear th at he would notreceive the right attention." A5 for surgical fen. he

ii i l.l :C IlJS F'. C . ( ;A R \'I ~

recalled that minor cases were attended for "a fewdollars," but he had misgivings about chargingtwenty-five dollars for amputating an arm at theshoulder .

Garvin reme mbered that in the days when therewas no te lephone, he was "aroused a t a ll hours ofthe night by some me mber of a family, or somefriendly neighbor who had volunteered to 'fetch th edoctor.' " The roads were poor, unl ig hted. and oftenimpassable in the winter. Families tried to ma ke dowith home remedies but "toward night they becamemore concerned, and the n it was that I was ca lledout of bed. T h e women folks were not easily scaredin those days and the doctors were not called exceptin what the women presumably considered a lastresort. Despite those kindly considerations, t hepractice of the Country doctor was no bed of roses. ";

As late as 1919 Garvi n conducted offic e hours a t577 Broad Street, seven days a week - daily from 2P.M . to J P.M . and Monday through Saturday from 1P.M to 8 P.M . Until 1899 he kept two horus thatalternated pulling h is buggy. Then he got rid of hishorses and re lied on a bicycle for making housecalls. He often went on foot to visit patients, and in1921 he was repon ed to be the only rural physicianin the state who did not use an automobile for hisprac tice.

By his own account, Garvin firs t entered activepolitics in 1872. He had VOted for Lincoln in 1864,but switched to the Dem ocra ts in 1816, and exceptfor his 1912-1916 sojourn in the Bull Moose camp,he remained a Democrat for th e rest of his life .'Around 1881 Garvin first read Progress and Paver­ry by Henry George, a book that advocated a"Single Tax" on la nd (and none on improvements )as a remedy for virtually a ll of the ills of society.This tax, equivalent to the rental value of the land,was to be a son of nationalization of land, based onthe premise that what nature provided should notbe privately own ed. During the next four decades.Ga rvin became a tireless advocate of the "SingleT ax " and many ot her reforms,'

In 1883 Garvin wr ote to Henry George, notingthat "one of the ch ief def ects of our so-calledstatesmen was their ignorance of th e principles ofpolitical econo my, and ... an acquaintance with thelaws of wealth Iwhich are ] a prerequisite to wiselegislation." Comm entin g on George's Progress andPov~rty, he wr ote: "I have en joyed very much thereading of your great wo rk, from wh ich I have

gathered a dearer idea of distribution than fromany standard Poli tica l Economy. Wer e I to makeany criticism, it wou ld be concerning the resultswhich you anticipate fro m the adoption of yourscheme. But wheth er you magni fy the benefits to bederived or not, I suppose ca n only be known whenthe experiment is t ried." 10 Later Garvin himself wasto attribute almost magica l potency to the "Sin gleTax" - a remedy for drunkenness, poverty andexploitation alike. In late r years. Garvi n continuedto advocate the "Single T ax," describing it as "themost vital force for good in the whole world." In1909 he explained why he believed so strongly inthe tax:

Big retorms are radical in th eir nar ure. theycorrect many abuses. . , . The abolition of h ereditaryrulers, the ema ncipation of slaves. the ests blisb ­mem of free educetion, rhe sepa ration ofchurch ands ta re, are exam ples wh ich may be cited. ... So Ier ssI know there are but two plan s which claim toremove the flagram ills of society. On e of th~plans [was} promulgar~ by Karl Marx. the oth erby Henry Georg~. , .. The Marxian theory thatcapital and const!quently in teresr should be com monpro~rty, is not shown to my satis faction to beeith er jusr or expedient. On the oth er hand, HenryGeorge demonstrates beyond a doubt that th e rightof all to the earth is t!qual and that. therefore,ground rental values should be used for publicpurposes.II

Garvin was appoi nt ed to th e General Assemblyin 1883 to fill a vacant seat in th e House ofRepresentatives . Hi s first encounter with legislativeadversity occurred on March 21 of that year, when aresolution he offered on changes in the stateconst it utio n was defeated by a vote of seven toforty-eight. After election to this seat in his ownright in 1884, he introduced a civil rights act , an ac tto establish a Bureau of Labor Statistics and an"Act in Relat ion to Giving Instructions in Physiol­ogy and Hygiene in the Public Schools," the latteron behalf of the Women's Christian TemperanceUnion. He also introduced petitions from constitu­ents supporting a ten-ho ur work day . One of themeasures he supported in 1866 was the "Fi nes andForfeitures Bill," wh ich was designed to protect millworkers from the imposition of arbitrary wagedeductions. He introduced a petition for women'ssuffrage as well as another remonstrance for aconstitutional conventio n . In 1892 he sought passage

62 Ll'CIt.JS F. C . GAR\'!S

of a nine-hour work law."In 1885 Garvin became one of the original

stockholders and a director of the Rhode IslandCooperative Printing and Publishing Company,organized to publish a weekly workers' newspaper,The P«JpJ~. About half of the original stockholderswere Knights of Labor, and the Rhode IslandCentral Labor Union adopted the paper as itsofficial publication. The company was capitalizedfor one thousand dollars in five-dollar shares. withone vote per stockholder regardless of the numberof shares he owned.U

As an ardent reformer. Garvin had a stronginterest in the newspaper and frequently comribut­ed to its columns. News of his varied politicalprojects were featured on many occasions. He wrotearticles about proportional representation, propertyrestrictions on voting, and the need for a stateconstitutional convention. His election as presidentof the Co-operative Association of Lonsdale wasreponed. as were his denunciations of "bribery,corruption, crude legislation, non-enforcement oflaw. costly and uncertain redress through the courtsand other ... political evils ."

The paper also mobilized Garvin supporterswhen he was under attack. On one occasion TheP«JpJ~ warned. " A rumor has been going aroundthat it is the intention of a few would-be leaders ofthe pany to try and defeat Dr . Garvin. Let everycitizen who favors the nomination and election ofDr. Garvin attend and defeat the ring." Later itreported that the expected opposition in the Demo­cratic party failed to materialize, "no doubt owing tothe large attendance li.e.• turn-out Iof the voters.':"

In May of 1888, at a regular meeting of theCumberland Anti-Poverty Society, Garvin gave atalk on "Northern slavery." Describi ng his first­hand experience with Southern slavery during hisyouth in Tennessee and North Carolina, he ob­served that "the effect of chattel slavery was tobrutalize the slave and barbarize the master." Hethen turned to the plight of northern wage earners,arguing that "Northern slavery, although unlikeSouthern slavery in several respects has a resem­blance in that the laborer in neither case receivesthe full fruits of his toil. " Ever the votary of HenryGeorge. he attributed this condition to privateownership of land. resulting in workers receiving"but little more than a bare living." A "Sin gle Tax"equal to the rental value of land. in his view. would

ha ve the same liberating effect on the "Northernslaves" that emancipation had had on the South­e rn,'!

By the late 1880s, Garvin had become a vocaladvocate of wide-ranging reform in Rhode Island.Yet the fight for reform became a bitter contestagainst heavy and prevailing odds. Since the CivilWar. the Republican party - under the leadershipof Senator Nelson W. Aldrich. Henry B. Anthony.and "Boss" Charles R. Brayton - sustained itspowe r and influence by serving the interests ofbusinessmen and manufacturers in return for largedonations to the party; this money. in pan. was thenspent on bribes or on buying votes from theelectorate. The iron grip of the Republicans on thestate was buttressed by the state constitution of1843, which deprived the landless poor of the rightof franchise and perpetuated disproportionate repre-­sentation in the General Assembly, especially inurban areas where population grew steadily fromthe influx of immigrants. As historian William G.McLoughlin explains: "H igh-han ded manipulationof the electoral process kept the Yankee Protestantmajority in power and allowed the employers totreat their workers - men. women. and children ­as mere elements of production . Rhode Island. themost densely populated, most heavily industrializedand urbanized state in the Union . was ruled by asmall minority of business ol igarchs and ruralvot ers.?" Although suffrage was extended in 1888after the ratification of the Bourn Amendment.which dropped the real-property restriction forvoters in state and mayoral elections. the domi­nance of the Republican party continued - ~spe­

dally over city governments - because theconstitutional change did not alter rural malappor­tionment in the state legislature."

But Garvin was not about to sit back and allowthe Republicans to pres~rve their omnipotencewithout opposition. After representing Cumberlandin the state legislature for sixteen terms. includingthree as senator, and after four unsuccessful cam­paigns for Congress. he sought statewide office inthe 1901 gubernatorial election. The Democraticconvention held at the Music Hall was described bythe Providence journal as a "funeral gathering"with fewer than one hundred delegates whose"business was transacted as hastily as possible.rwith I ... a few addresses of the whistling-through·the-graveyard kind." Small wonder that the Provi-

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dence Journal could only find unkind words to sayabout the Democrats - the newspaper, still con­trolled by forme r editor an d owner Henry B.Ant hony, was an official mouthpiece for the Repub­lica n party and was entirely in the pocket of theparty bosses. When Garvin was chosen as theDemocrat's candidate for governor. the ProvidenceJournal pred ictably observed that "defeat will comeas no new experience to most of the nominees:' T heprognosis, of course, was accu rate. Garvin drew only16,589 votes against 23,250 for incumbent GovernorWilliam Gre gory."

Garvin was again a contender for the Democraticgubernatorial nomination in 1902. His rival for thenomination was John j. Fitzgerald. mayor of Paw­tucket. There was a great deal of manipulation andinfighting, but two days before the conv ention theGarvin organization predicted that their man wouldhave the votes of 118 delegates.I' In the quest fordelegates. Garvin showed that he was not alooffrom the tactical concerns of politicking. Writ ing toone of his principal supporters, Patrick HenryQuinn of Warwick , Garvin opposed letting dele­gates vote by sec ret ballot for fear that it wouldfacilitate penetration of the convention by "Boss"Brayton , the potent Republican leader who wasresponsible for dispensing party mo ney for bribesand purchasing VOtes. Garvin, who was concernedthat Brayton's mo ney might buy delegates' votes atthe Democratic convention, believed that the elec­torate should know how their rep resentatives votedfor the party's nominees. Nor was he convinced ofthe expediency of a secret ba llot: " If republicanIparty I money, in any consid erable amount. is to beused in the convention, it Ithe convent ion 1 willprobably go to F itzg erald , however the vote betak en, but it would be less apt to succeed under anopen vot e than a secret ballot . Would it not be wisepolitics. from Brayton 's standpo int . to buy thecc nvennont 'w Not only was there an open vote bythe delegates, but the preconvention delegate countprov ed to be very accu rate, with the no mina tiongoing to Garvin. who won 119 votes to Fitzgerald'sIOl. :1 The P rovide nce. Warwick and NewportDemocratic organizations were opposed to F itzg er­ald. perhaps because of the mayor's alleg ed connec­tion wit h Brayton. and lined up behind theCumberlan d physician.

After the convention Garvin challenged Gover ­nor Charles Dean Kimball (who had succeeded to

office after Gregory had died in December 1901) toa public debate of the issues in the campaign . TheProvidence Journal. undoubtedly knowing morethan its readers at the time, observed that thechallenge probably would not be accepted. addingfacet iously that Kimball's re fusal would "deprivethe cam paign of what might be its principal featureof entertainment. A joint debate between Gov .Kimball and Dr . Garvin would not ... be a period ofmaddening excitement or uncontrollable tension.but there might be some fun in it: 'u The debate. ofcourse, never took place.

While his no minal opponent was Kimball, Garvinseemed to be running against Brayton, who hel dthe political reins of the Republican party. Man ipu­lated by Brayton and the Republican bosses, "thegovernorship of the state .. . became a kind ofho norary office for big businessmen who liked tothink of themselves as cappin g their private careersin 'public service: "U Frustrated with the blatantcorruption of the Republicans, Garvin wonderedhow honest citizens could cast a vot e for anycandidate of Rhode Island's Grand Old Party: "Howis it possib le. that a patriotic citizen of averageintelligence could cast his vote for Republicancandidates for General Assembly ? When it isbeyond dispute , , , that Republican Assemblym en inthe most important matt ers do not exercise theirown judgment, but do as they are told by a corruptboss.'?' Undoubtedly Garvi n knew the answer to hisown questio n - "patriotic" citizens VOted forRepublicans beca use Brayton paid them to do so.

What Garvin did not know, however. was that forthe moment the polit ical winds of Rhode Island hadcha ng ed. T he gubernatorial electi on of 1902 pro­duced a result th at probably surpris ed Garvin asmuch as it did the Republicans . Garvin - miracu­lously, it seemed - was elected governor, an effectof incre ased suffrage made poss ible by tl1e BournAm endm en t , of the wave ring (and usua lly unpre­dictable) vot es of naturalized, foreign-born citizens,and of a campaign that had split votes among fourcandidates. Garvin polled 29,825 votes ag ainst23,467 for Kimball , 1.610 for Bri gh tman (a Prohibi­tionist). and 1,091 for McDerm ott (a Socialist).P leased with his election. Garvin attributed hisvictory to "feeling against the non-enforcement ofthe Te n-Hou r Law," ex pressing the opinion that"Mr. Kimball may not have been to blame .. , buthe was identified wit h the party which passed the

64 LL' CIllS F. C . GARV I:'\;

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legislation and then did not enforce the law."Garvin reported that on election night he had goneto bed at an early hour only to be awakened at 1:00A.M. by a telephone call telling him that Brayton, onbehalf of the Republicans, had conceded the elec­tion ."

Though Garvin had won, he was about to faceonly misery and frustration in office , most of whichwas designed by Republican tacticians. In accountsof the governor-elect during the period before his

inauguration. the Providence Journal paid tribute tohis persistence, faced as he was with numerousRepublican obstacles that were tossed in his path.When Garvin took th e Ooor of the General Assem­bly, the Republicans would walk out for a smoke.When he introduced bills. they pigeonholed themand "sealed up the holes." As the Republican ­con troll ed newspaper reported: "T he majority coulddo lou of things to the representative from Cumber­land, hut to rattle him was not one of these, nor wasto curtail his speeches another." He was describedas "not much given to fuss and feathers. The pompan d van ities of the ga y staff colonel have for him nocharm. He was only a private in the Union Armyranks. He is only a country doctor now. He hasplugged along at the game of politics in theminority squa d." T he effect of this description wasto ponray Garvin as a hayseed, a man wh o lackedleadership and political experience. though theredid seem to be a kind of grudgi ng respect in thenewspaper's account of the newly elected gcver­nor.-

Aft er ta king the oath of office. Governor Garvinpre faced his inaugural address by callin g attentionto the existence of great discontent among a largeproporti on of the population "because the enormousamount of wealth is unequally distributed." Spec ificcondit ions that required remedy were then elaborat­ed. Over-representation of the rural towns - theconst itutional malady that served Republican inter­ests - was at the top of the list . "Inevitably whenone-twelfth of the in habita nts of the State dwellingin small towns controlled politically by petty consid­erations or corrupt influences. possesses more powerin legislation than the remaining eleven-twelfths.unjust laws will be ena cted and many wise acts willfail of passage." Among unjust laws, he singled outa statute that took the power of appointment fromthe governor and vested it in the 'Republican­dominated Senate. (T he statute, known as the"Brayton Act," had been passed in 1901, whenRepublican leaders feared that the Democratsmight have a chance at winning the governorship.)He cal led for restoring veto power to the governor­ship and enacting a constitutional initiative andreferendum to enable 5,000 voters to propose consti­tutional amendments for later submission to theelectorate. He recommended that the state subventsalaries of local school superintendents and appro­priate funds for the College of Agricultural and

6S t vc n-s F. C . GAR\'I ~

Mechanic Ans. He expressed dissatisfaction withthe neglect of law enforcement. particularly withthe performance of factory inspectors. who ought tobe "sufficiently in sympathy with the workingpeople to carry out all the provisions of the law." Abetter-qualified commissioner of the Bureau ofLabor Statistics was needed. Construction of atuberculosis sanatorium was recommended. Reduc­tion of streetcar fares from five cents to three waspro posed. And the re-enactment of a ten-hour workday for st reet car motormen and conductors wasendorsed."

Stripped of vet o power and the authority toappoint political proteges.. the govemonhip underGarvin became largely ceremonial. The Senate"dallied playfully with Gov. Garvin's appoint­menu," rejecting almost all of his choices. Onanother occasion, a Senate session lasting onlytwenty-four minutes was described by the unfriend­ly Providence Journal as a "friendly game of tagwith the Governor's appointments." Garvin. unableto carry out the traditional duties of governor,settled into a routine of political speech-making inwhich his high office gave him the advantage ofreceiving more attention than would otherwisehave been the case." Continuing his medical prac­tice, he set aside an hour a day, three days per week,for official business in the State House, He alsopresided over the Senate, which sometimes ad­journed within ten minutes; the average meetinglasted less than an hour. Although Garvin kept hisdignified demeanor as the farce was played out. thegovernorship of Rhode Island and party politics inthe state had reached a nadir. Brayton was quick tocall Garvin a do-nothing governor whose onlyaccomplishment was the signing of notaries' com­missions, though Brayton neglected to mention thespecific legislation that had effectively tied Garvin'shands. But appearances were damaging, especiallyto those who had little understanding of theRepublicans' strangle-hold on state government.Lincoln Steffens. for instance, visited Garvin at theState House and observed that the governor "sathelpless, neglected, alone in his office, with plentyof time to tell me about the conditions whichdistressed him and to confess his utter lack ofpower.v"

Helpless though he was. Garvin at least was notspeechless. And he did have plenty of time, asSteffens pointed out, to talk about what was wrong

with Rhode Island politics and the Republicanparty. Steffens. in fact. lent a sympathetiC ear andlater used Garvin's comments to support his devas­tating expose of Rhode Island conuption publishedin 1905 under the title, "Rhode Island: A State forSale." · Garvin, however, did not merely complainto visiting muckrakers or to friends. Instead. hebrought his case directly to the General Assembly,and thus to the people of Rhode Island.

In 1903 Garvin sent a special message of condem­nation to the legislature in which he charged thatbribery and vote buying were standard proceduresin elections. He pointed out that cash payments

66 LUCIUS F. C. GARVI~

ranging from two to twenty dollars were common­place and were ridiculously rationalized on thepretext that voters should be compensated forgoing to the polls. Garvin flatly accused thelegislators of receiving pay-offs : "Many assembly­men occupy the seats they do by means of pur­chased votes. . . . Bribery takes place openly ( but] isnot called bribery." Worse, this corruption continued"year after year without punishment." To put anend to bribes and vote buying, Garvin recommendedthe appointment of a commissioner "whose duties itshall be to employ agents to detect the crime ofbribery and to bring to justice offenders." )! Giventhe situation, Garvin's solution was naive. Republi­cans, who controlled both houses of the GeneralAssembly, were not about to take such a proposalseriously. Nor was corru ption limited only to theRepublicans; many Democrats refused to supportGarvin in office, probably because they profitedfrom bribes, while others in Garvin's party regularlybought votes from the electorate when they couldafford to offer mo re than the Republicans. At theheart of the problem was the blissful marriage ofbusiness and politics in Rhode Island, a marriagethat could not be put asunder by appointing acommissioner and field agents to nab offenders.Nevertheless, Garvin did demonstrate personal andpolitical courage by firing his salvo at the membersof the General Assembly, though the legislatorswere hardly affected by the attack.

Unsurprisingly, the Providence Journal could notignore Garvin's accusation that "there are a numberof men in the General Assembly who would be injail if the statutes against bribery were enforced," Inan editorial the newspaper declared: "What otherstate has ever had to bear the stigma of having itsGovernor talk reform from cock crow to sunset,while he deliberately withholds proof that a judgehas sunken so low that he will go among the voters,money in hand, and buy votes for his own election."The Providence Journal accused Garvin of embel­lishing facts "at the expense of accuracy" andconcluded that he "must go on reco rd as the mostlily-livered Executive in the United States." Garvindefended himself by reiterating his views on corrup­tion and he explained that he would not name thejudge who had bought his election because it wouldbe unfair to single out one corrupt official among somany. The governor refused to be intimidated byuncomplimentary accounts in the press. Diligently

he continued his reform crusade, defending theright of workers to strike in a speech beforemembers of a pain ters' union and warning gradu­ates of the State College at Kingston to beware ofthe inordinate political influence of wealthy men.Yet his crusa de, which continued to be an uphillbattle, took its toll. Though he remained true to hisprinciples , he could not help noticing that his strideswere few. The "task of a reformer," he reflected,"seemed well-nigh hopeless.':"

The echoes of the Dorr War had become faintafter six decades, but Garvin at least twice evokedthat event and its eponymous leader. At the twenty­fifth anniversary ceremonies of the Rhode IslandSchool of Design, he rejected the conventionalimage of Dorr. praised him as a great man, andurged that his statue be erected at the State House .At a chowder of the Young Men 's Democratic Club,he spoke of a streetcar conductor who had told himthat "reform could not be gained except by an otherDcrr War ."

He urged blacks to take part in the politicalprocess to improve their condit ion in society. At theCongdon Street Baptist Church, he spoke in favorof proportional representation, telling "the coloredpeople that with their 2,000 votes they might, underthis system, elect the man of their choice to theGeneral Assembly." At a gathering of "coloredcitizens of Newport" on the occasion of the thirty­third anniversary of the adoption of the FifteenthAmendment. he addressed the subject "E mancipa­tion Not Yet Completed." He described his expe­rience as a child on his stepfather's plantation inNorth Carolina and dwelt at length on the benefitsof emancipation, the striving of black people for aneducation, and conditions in the South. He urged hisaudience to avoid exclusive reliance on anyoneparty and advocated the "Single Tax" as the bestremedy for the problems they faced .P

One of the highlights of Governor Garvin's firstterm was a trip to Andersonville, Georgia, for thededi cation of a monument to serve as a memorialfor Rhode Island soldiers who had died at theConfederate prison. The governor and other mem­bers of the dedicating party (among whom werethree veterans who had been imprisoned there)traveled to the May ceremonies by special train.Garvin's speech struck a conciliatory note. His maintheme was a pacifist one:The memories aroused by this spot are sad ones, but

67 r.rcn-s f . C. GAR\"IS

th~ occasion calls for the d~~tgratitude. W~ mayindeed ~ thankful to meet nere. in an unbrokennation - as brothers. once estranged. but now knittogether in the bonds of a common history and acommon destiny. Those of us who. on either side.participated in the Civil War look back upon it as ahorrid dream. . . . The four bloody years serve to re­mind us how small an advance our boasted civiliza­tion has made from barbarism: how little. indeed.we have risenabove the brutes.. Although w~ do notyet SH it. to uttle a dispute by the method ofwar . . . is to place all who are responsible theretoreon a level with the wild bessts. . . . Unlike avolunteer soldiery. a standing anny is a menace tothe pursuits of ~ace. Regular officers. so far astheir influence extends. are tomenters of war. everready to transmute the smiling face of nature intowars horrid visage. . . . I have long wished that thePresidents and th~ Congressmen who are in nesteto enter upon an unnecessary or aggressive warcould be compelled to go upon the firing line. Nodoubt. if such a requirement existed. ~ace would beperpetuet, since these verbal Iire eaters. as a rule,take precious good cere to k~p themselves at a saf~

distance from the hum of shot and shell. ~To serve as chaplain and to give the benedicition.

Garvin had brought along the minister of his owncongregation at Bell Street Chapel, the ReverendClay MacCauley_After memorializing the dead. theReverend Mac:Cauley concluded with a perorationon the consequences of the war. "The control of thecountry's wealth," he said, "has been aggregated ina few hands. The republic, it is true, is notdestroyed. But what intelligent man has not seenthat a genuine government of the people, by thepeople and for the people in the United States is onthe verge of passing under the will of a money­powered oligarchy, developed through the opportu­nities that were made for it by the centralization ofcivil supremacy in the Federal Union:' He conclud­ed with a warning that "in the end. anarchy anddespotism will follow the unrestricted usurpationsof money power and the greed of political empire.";u

After the dedication of the memorial. Garvinlaved the life of a four-year-old boy whose leg wasbroken in a carriage accident. The boy, EdwinCallaway of Americus. was "fast bleeding to deathfor lack of a physician's care. when the Governorheard of the accident. The Governor hurried to thesufferer .. , tied the severed artery and set the

broken leg . , , . The Governor says that if relief hadbeen delayed a few minutes longer the boy wouldhave died : '·

During the 1903 election campaign. Garvin'sRepublican challenger accused him of having "setone class against another." A candidate on theDemocratic ticket, attempting to defend Garvin butsomewhat missing the mark, said that "reporters ofthe Providence Journal have dogged Dr . Garvinfrom one end of the state to the other. and all theycould find was that he does not wear the right kindof hat or the right kind of clothes on publicoccasions." On election eve Providence bookmakersdeclared Garvin a IO-t0-7 underdog in the race. Butclothes and gambler's odds do not a governor make;Garvin won a second term by a 1,587 vote plurality,although the Republicans retained control of theGeneral Assembly."

In his second inaugural address, Garvin tried toconvey the dimensions of the crisis at hand bypointing out that unemployment was rising, wagecuts were widespread. and bank failures frequent,He reiterated the need for the reforms he hadproposed in his first term, all of which had beenignored by the Republican legislature. He alsocalled attention to other issues, proposing that barsshould be closed on election day and that the timehad come for a parole system to benefit deservingconvicts. But as Garvin outlined his proposals andprograms. some Republicans began to grow rest­less. In the midst of Garvin's address. a copy ofwhich was being distributed on the floor of theHouse and in the galleries, a Republican leadermoved that the grand committee be dissolved. Themotion passed and the inauguration was over.e Theabrupt termination of the ceremony was perhaps asignal to Garvin of the kind of treatment he couldexpect from the Republicans during his secondterm.

Thus the pattern of animosity continued: Garvinwould complain about the Republicans. the Republi­cans would complain about Garvin; Garvin wouldbemoan Republican abuses and call for reformlegislation. the Republican bosses would deny thecharges and ignore the governor's appeal for newlaws; Garvin would attempt to carry out his dutiesas head of state, the Republicans in turn wouldattempt to discredit him as best they could. Oneexample of the pettiness Garvin faced while inoffice occurred when the battleship Rhode Island

68 LVCIUS F . C . GARVIS

was launched in May 1904. The ceremony went offwithout a hitch. but only because Garvin had notbeen invited to attend. President Theodore Roose­velt. when told about the incident. ordered aninquiry; a report later sent to Garvin revealed thatthe Navy Department had had nothing to do withthe ceremony - the shipyard had arranged andpaid for the launching festivities."

Despite these local insults and the generalfrustration he experienced as governor, Garvin didreceive some national recognition for his politicalefforts. During his first term his name was men­tioned as a possible candidate for the Democraticpresidential nomination in 1904. William JenningsBryan first proposed Garvin 's candidacy and praisedthe governor on the front page of The Commonerin February 1903:The eastern democrets are looking around for apresidential candidate. Why is it that they ignoresuch timber as that furnished by Rhode Island?Why is it that they pick up men who have never ex­pressed themselves on public question and havenever given any evidence of sympeitiy with thepeople? Why? Because the reorganizing element ofthe party does not want a president who would bedemocratic in office and who would use the greatprestige of the presidency to protect the peoplefrom the encroachment of organized wealth.UJ

Garvin. when asked about this accolade fromNebraska. said he thought it was very nice, butadded: "So far as mentioning me for the presidencyis concerned. Mr. Bryan has done that with others.He seems to be willing to accept anyone rather thanCleveland, and had advanced several names pre­vious to mine.':"

The Providence Journal sarcastically reponedthat the stock market had held firm despite talkabout Garvin's possible presidential nomination andRepublican wits in the State House proposed aProhibitionist running mate for the governor with acampaign platform of "No Taxes, No Rum." Repub­licans in Rhode Island could not take Bryan'sinterest in Garvin seriously. The Providence News,which was also controlled by the Republicans.headlined one story: "Bryan Dotes on Sea Food ­His Partiality to Clams Said to be Behind HisSuggestion of Governor Garvin for Presidency."The newspaper then delivered its joke and thepunchline: "Governor Garvin's boom is said to be incharge of Western clam eaters. He is now spoken of

as the clam eaters' candidate. But Little Rhody israther far down in the roll call of st ates in a nationalconvent ion, and four votes in the electoral collegeare not much of a foundation for the ambition ofclam eaters.':"

The Garvin presidential nomination was takenmore seriously in the midwest than in the east,however slight its prospects may have been. Sixmonths later Bryan again praised Garvin and listedhim among eligible presidential candidates. A fewmonths before the nominating convention. Garvintraveled to Cleveland, Ohio, to discuss his prospectswith Mayor Tom L. Johnson, who was also afollower of Henry George and the "Sin gle Tax."Yet , the expectation that this meeting would befollowed by a Garvin boom proved to be unfounded.As quickly as it had begun, Garvin's candidacyIizaled."

Throughout his second term as governor, Garvinpersistently attacked the politi cal interests that heidentified as undermining state government. At anumber of public events he prescribed the cures thathe believed would lead to recovery. At a YMCAdinner in 1904 he charged that "public life isdeteriorating, public servants are yielding more andmore to the greater temptations put before them;the spoilsmen have gotten hold of our politicalmachinery and are using it for their own emolu­ment." At the South County Fair he said that "weall know that it will not do for one class to governanother, especially when the governing class issmall.'>' Whether or not his audiences took heed ofhis warnings is difficult to measure. SometimesRhode Islanders seemed reluctant to be in any wayassociated with him, even to the point of drawingback when faced with the prospect of shakinghands with a Democrat."

Republicans in the General Assembly had al­ready learned to be wary of Garvin. Presiding overthe Senate, he gained a reputation as a shrewdparliamentarian. He often took an active part infloor fights, sending notes to Democratic senators.One Republican thought at first that the messageswere dinner invitations; he wondered why he wasbeing slighted until he realized that the notes wentonly to Democrats.s

No matter how well Garvin maneuvered Demo­crats in the State House. he still faced formidableodds as he tried to sustain what little power theRepublicans afforded him as governor. The odds

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70 I.VCIUS L c. GAIl,\'I~

became insurmountable when he ran for reelectionin November 1904. This time the Republican rna­chine was well-oiled and Garvin was defeated byGeorge H . Llrter, the Republican candidate. Still,the race was a close one. with Utter winning by only600 votes - a panicularly narrow margin consider­ing the Republican presidential landslide in whichTheodore Roosevelt won a plurality of nearly 16,000votes in the state. The Providence journal attribut­ed the close results in the gubernatorial election toUtter's unpopularity with "various liberal-mindedelements in his own party" and to the "popularstrength of Dr . Garvin: ' though clearly Garvin hadnot been popular enough. Smelling a rat, Garvinhad a different explanation of his defeat, believingthat he had received sulficienr votes to be electedbut that the election had been stolen from him:In Providence through th~ action of the Board ofCanvasuTS and R~gistrationof that dry, supponedby the Stat~ Police Commission, bogus democrsnswere put into n~arly every election offic~ allotted tothat perry; so that Halden admitted to Mr. Com­stock. in privat~ conversation, that h~ had fu11control of .111 election offic~rs in that dry - as healso had in some of th~ wards in Pewtucket. TheSt.1U mecnine. therefore. had fu11 opportunity tomiscount the votes. and if it did not do so. it musthav~ been unnecesssry, which tew democrets be­li~v~."

Garvin believed that the corruption of the Repub­licans would eventually bring their downfall. "Per­haps it is quite as well for the cause of reform," hewrote to Lincoln Steffens, "that the machine shouldhave full swing." Apparently he thought thatsooner or later the Republicans wou ld go too far.Shortly after leaving office, h e told the YoungMen's Democratic Club that the next election wouldbe a good opportunity for the "reform element . ..to make a contest as will overthrow the corruptmachine which rules the State." He called oncemore for an amendment to the state constitutionthat would insure equal senate districts." While hecontinued to speak out publicly against bribery andcorruption, he fed facts and figures to Steffens aboutthe extent of Republican abuses in the state. Hereported. for instance, that eight hundred dollarswas paid in the Senate to kill a child labor billintroduced during the 1904 session of the GeneralAssembly and he quoted a political leader in onetown who declared that votes could be bought

merely by offering voters a cigar.O'lIn 1905 Garvin was nominated to be the Demo­

era tic gubernatorial candidate. Identified as a re­form candidate, he received unqualified supportfrom the weekly reform newspaper. The Stat~:

The peopl~ofRhode Island know that he is a plain ,bonest man. without cam. hypocrisy, sham orsubterfuge. They know that Iew men equal him inthat high personel dignity which aoee not permit:him to be deflected from his straightforward course.or even to be ~t'C'~ptibly annoyed. by tne indecentscurrility and mendscious misrepreeemsuon whichare the chief w~apons ~mployed by those who ar~

set to attack him by the powertul magnates ofmonopoly who dreed him and his far seeinginfluence on the side of popular tights against thegrasping arrogance of ill-gotten weshh.5lI

Despite this endorsement, and despite his earlierprediction of a reform victory, Garvin lost theelection to incumbent Governor Utter.

His politicallosse:s. however, did not diminish hiscommitment to the cause of reform. In 1906 hespoke of the polarization of privilege and powerwhich he perceived as the central issue of the day."The maSS6 of the people," he said. "do not fedthemselves to be really prosperous." On the con­trary, they were "painfully aware that the trusts andkindred monopolies, which are wildly prosperous,have become so by exploitation of the commonpeople." He posed the crucial question facing voters:"How to put a stop to private monopoly with itspower and privilege, and to substitute therefore ajust distribution of the enormous wealth annuallyproduced in the United States - that is the questionto which the minds of the voters are directed." Heplaced his faith in the remedies of election byproportional representation, provisions for reca ll ofelected officials, women's suffrage, and legislationby referendum. Popular sovereignty became one ofhis favorite causes; in a literary allusion to theperfidious schoolmaster in Dickens's novel Nicho/asNickeJby, Garvin remarked that "the people nomore rule in this country than Squire's pupilsgoverned Dotbeboy'e Hall." I I Ever true to his beliefin the panacea of Henry George's "Single Tax,"Garvin predicted the shape of things to come in abit of public fantasizing, reported under the headingof ·'Or. Garvin, State's Champion Dreamer:' Hisnotion of the future included a thirty-hour workweek, free public transponation, free public utilities.

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and a "Single Tax" on land to make it all possible .Defending himself as a reformer and a visionary,Garvi n said : "Governor Utter once called me adreamer, and perhaps that [ am . Dreams .. .sometimes come true."u

But his dreams of winning another election didnot come true. In 1909 he was defeated in a bid fornomination as candidate for the state legislaturefrom Cumberland.JJ The defeat apparently discour­aged him, for during the next few years Garvinremoved himself from the political arena. Alth oughhe continued his attack against the sins of politicalcorruption, he chose not to run for public office." In1912 he considered becoming a delegate to theDemocratic national convention. but finally decidedagainst it.U

It seems th at his lack of interest in the Demo­cratic convention may have been caused by his needfor a change in his political orientation. Althoughhe had been a Democrat since 1876, he decided in1912 to join other progressive'S in the fo~ation ofthe Bull Moose party. Theodore Roose velt hadbolted the Republican convention and had launchedthe third party. Garvin's rationale for switchingparty affiliation was grounded in his perception ofthe Southem domination of the Democratic party,H e thought Woodrow WiI!IOn "was progressivehimself, but . .. the party could not push progressivedoctrines because a great portion of it was recruitedfrom the South, which is by temperment andcustom aristocratic and reactionary."Je Garvin re­ported to Roosevelt that the Progressive Executive

7 2 LUCIUS F . C . G ARV IN

Committee had elected him to fill a vacancy in thedelegation. Roosevelt replied that he was "im­mensely pleased" that Garvin had been added to thedelegation. "Now I hope you will second mynomination," Roosevelt wrote, adding: "I believe inyou with al l my heart .':"

Garvin went to the Chicago convention of theProgressive party as one of four Rhode Islanddelegates. The others were Julius L. Mitchell, ablac k Providence attorney, Edwin F . T uttle, aWoo nsock et insurance agent, and Dr. Edward Har­ris, a Providence physician who was the son-in-lawof James Eddy, founder of the socially-eonsciousBell Street Chapel. At the convention Garvin servedon the resolutions committee, wh ich met for eigh­teen consecut ive hours pouring out a stream ofresolutions. He returned to Lonsdale full of enthusi­asm but tired, reportedly getting only four hours ofsleep in two days.SI

Although Roosev elt lost the election of 1912,Garvin remained active in the local organization ofthe Bull Moose party in Cumberland." By 1916, theparty was ailing as its popula r support dwindl ed, soGarvin returned to the ranks of the Democraticparty. Aft er his long hiatus from serving in publicoffice , he was elected state senator from Cumber­land in 1920, regaining the seat he had won threet imes befo re."

Interwoven with Garvin's medical and politicalcareers was his participation in a variety of organi­zations. The P rovidence Radical Club was, despiteits name, a sedate dining an d lecturing societywhich heard speak ers on such varied topics asfeudalism, socialism, and - a peculiar concern in itstim e - oleomargarine legislat ion . The membershipwas largely middle class . Garvin was on theexecutive committee an d appeared as speak er onseveral occas ions. He also participated in the Peo­ple's Forum, a group formed in 1912 by "SingleT ax" advocates. It met every Sunday to hearinvited speakers, whose remark s were followed byfive-mi nute replies from the organiza tion's mem­bers. Eventually socialists gained influence in thegroup, an d in 1920 Garvin resigned as president inprotest. He once remarked that socialism "wouldnot necessarily be inequitable" but that its prospectswere too remote and its consequences could not beforeseen."

From 1904 until its demise in 1921, Garvin was avice-president of the Anti-Imperialist Lea gue, an

organization that cam paign ed for Philippine inde­pendence and opposed an nexation of overseas terri­tories. The vice-presidency was largely hono rary,and he shared it with such lum inaries as JaneAddams, Andrew Carnegie, Samuel Gornpers. Sam­uel Clemens, William Dean Howells and JohnDewey. In 1906, Garvin addressed the organiza­tion's annual meeting. "To my mind," he said,"imperialism is a symptom rather than a disea se.. , .The disease of which it is a symptom, in my opinion ,is government of the few. I am confident that if wehad in this country what it was aimed to have, agovernment by a majority of the people, thisepisode of imperialism would never have come uponus." Other symptoms of the same disease included"bossism and its kindred evil. graft, in both publicand business life; multi-millionaires and tramps:trusts and strikes." Part of the problem, he ob­served, stemmed from the exclusion of women fromthe fran ch ise as well as the use of grandfatherclauses, poll taxes and rigged tests to exclude blacksfrom the electoral process. As for those who didhave the franchise , Garvin claimed, they were alltoo oft en duped by "the rich men ... wh o governus." He concluded that the way to eliminateimperialism was to establish true majority rule ,armed with initiative and referendum."

Disaffected with his mother's strict Episcopalian­ism in earl y life, Garvin in his adulthood belongedto two nonconforming congregations in Providence- first the Free Religious Society, founded in 1874,and later the Bell St re et Chapel. founded in 1889.Each member of the Free Religi ous Society was"responsible for his opin ions to himself alone" andwas subjected to no "test of speculative opinion orbelief." The state's refusal to grant its ministerpermission to perform marriage ceremonies was amin or cause celebre in 1880. T he Bell St reet Chapelwelcomed all shades of opin ion, "from the most'orthodox' Christia n to the most pronounced 'athe­ist ,' " but stipulated that its ministers "must not be't rinitarians,' must not be believers in 'everlastingpunishment' ... or bound to any system of theology. . . which forbids the subjection of any book , orperson, or historic religion, to the test of scientificcriticism and the judgment of human reason.twFrom 1891, Garvin was active in the Bell St reetcongregation, particularly in its program of lecturesand debates on social issues. At various times heserved on the finance committee and the sociology

7~ LUCIUS r. C. GARV!S

committee, and from 1910 to 1912 he was presidentof th e congregation."

Among his many other activities, Garvin was anaccomplished author who wrote over a score ofarticles on various social issues. His bibliog rap hybegins with "Sanitary Requirements in Factories"(1876) and ends with a pamphlet entitled "TheIndustrial Conflict" ( 1921). While he was governor,he wrote five articles on refonn that were publishedin Century Magazine. the North American Review.and The Independent. These articles helped toattract int erest in his ideas from other reformersouts ide Rhode Island. In one article he invoked acharacter from Sheridan's play. The Rivals (1775)."As soon as a Yankee is elected to any legislative of­fice," he commented. "his ingenuity. like Bob Acres'courage, seems to ooze out at th e end of his fing en.Put him in a shop or a fann and he will find ... abetter and easier way of doing his work; but put himin a legislature, and either he cannot see or will notsee that any improvement is possible." Garvinbelieved that proportional representation wouldalleviate this problem.- In his last publication.concerning industrial relations. he supported theprinciple of collective bargaining. While noting that"labor get less than 40% of the va lue wh ich it addsto the article it produces," he rejected a socialistremedy in favor of voluntary cooperatives."

During the last yean of his life, Garvin continuedto advocate political and social re forms. He sawproponional representa tion as "the only thing thatwill give political liberty to the people." He calledfor a state constitutional convention to eliminateproperty qualifications for vot ing, to establish wom­en's suffra ge, and to provide equal representation inboth houses of the General Assembly. Although hehad earlier supported the war effort in 1917, th reeyean later he presented a resolution on the floor ofthe state senate "urging upon Con gress the duty ofthe immediate disannament of the civilizedworld." "

After his election to a two-year tenn as statesena tor from Cumberland in 1920, Garvin madehouse calls on patients "before goin g to the StateHouse in the morning and following th e session inth e aft ernoon." He was often seen late at nightbicycling to his patients' homes. But age wascatching up with him. He suffered from heartdisease.w

On April 12, 1922, h. submi tted a petition

supporting a forty-eight hou r work bill. The petitionwas referred to committee. Six months later, hedied suddenly in his office.

On October 4, Cumberland schools and townoffices were closed. A large crowd gathered at 577Broad Street to pay its respects to a man who hadhelped usher over a thousand of their number intothe world. had treated their ailments. and hadrepresented them in the political arena. ReverendSamuel G. Dunham. the minister of Bell StreetChapel. praised him as an "unselfish patriot in themidst of a selfish age." The burial at Swan PointCemetery was carried OUt according to the ritual ofthe Grand Army of the Republie.v

A procession of Rhode Island governors. mostbut dimly remembered. have graced the state with avariety of administrative and political philosophies.Among these leaden. Lucius F. C. Garvin wasdistinctive. His tenacious adherence to the princi­ples of reform and his persistent fight against theforces of corruption set the stage for later changesin Rhode Island'. political structure. Garvin was notahead of his time: he simply wanted to instituterefonns that would make Rhode Island part of itsown time, and not pan of a legacy that perpetuatedsocial and political ineq uities. Quixotic in his sup­pan of the "Single T ax ," he was a stem realist in as­sessing the power and domination of Republicanparty bosses. Attacked for his views and denigratedby the press while serving as governor. Garvinmain ta ined his dig nity and unco mp romisingly re­mained true to his beliefs. He once said that he sawno reason for being discouraged wh en people calledhim a crank. for he kn ew th at his commitment tochange could not be swayed by those who believedthat innuendos would stop him." Garvin , like manyof his tim e, saw reform as the path that would leadRhode Island to a better fut ure. Lucius Garvin wascalled a dr eamer by some of his conte mporaries.and Rh ode Islan d is the better for his havingdre am ed he re .

71 LUCIUS F. C . GARVIl'i

I. Journal of Ih~ S~nue , F~b. 2, 1922, Rhod~ IIland StaleAr chives. Providence. A fony·~ight hour work week for childrenunder lillteen did not receive l~gillative unction until the January1928 l ellion of Ihe General Allembly.

2. Unpublilhed biognphical material on Garvin il located inAmhenl Colleli:e Archives. Amher1ot, Mall.; Quaker Colle<:tion.Guilford Colleli:e Library, Guilford. N,C.; Harvlrd UnivenityArchives an d Counlway Library. Harvard Un iverlity; NationalArchivn, Wuhinli:ton D.C.; Town Council Re<:ord• . Town H.ll.Cumberl.nd, Rt. Additional m.teri.l wu provided by Mr1o , EdithParker. Publi.hed biognphical sources include Rhode 1111mdMedical journal, VI ( 1923) . 29f1.; Roben Grieve. IlJu.trat~

Hiawry of PaWfuch. (Pawtucket. RL 1897), 3Z{1-321 ; JamesHerndon, Men ofProgr~ (Bo-Ion, 1896). 34-35; J.mn L. Bowen.M....ch..-tt. in the War, 1861 ·1865 (SprinlfieJd. Mala" 1889),658-661 : T .W. Hiu:inson. Ma...chu.etta in th~ Army and Nnyduring .he War of1861-1865( Bo- to n. 1896).1, 293-294; Cumberlandand Lincoln Dire<:tory. 1911-1922 ; and other SOW"C~I aa noted.

3. John Gurney Dixon to Roxie Dixon White. Mar. 8. 1!X13.Qu.ker Coll .. Guilford College Library,

4. L.F.C. G.rvin. "Sanita ry Requirementl in Factorin: ' Ameri·can Public H~./th Auoci.tion Report.. III (1875·1876) , 68-78 .

5. Ibid., 70.

6 . Ibid., 71-72.

8. Ibid.. July 30, 1911.

9. Ibid .

10. Garvin to Ge<>rge. July 28, 1883, Henry Georli:e ColI., NewYork Public Library.

II. Everybody'. Magarine, XXVI (1912). S19; Providencejournal. Sept. 3. 1909.

12. Journal of the HOUle of Repreuntativn, 1883, 1884, 1886;JO\Irnal of the Senate. 1891, 1892, Rhode IIland State Archivn.

13. Actl o f Inc<Xpontion, May Snaion. 1885. Rhode IllandSt.te Archivn,

14. The People. Mar. S. 12, 1887.

15. Ibid., May 19. 1888.

16. William G McLou.lhlin, Rhode I.land: A Hi.tory (NewYork, 1978) , 149.

17. Ibid., 161-162.

18. Providence journal. Oct. 16. Nov, 6, I!XII.

19. Ibid. , Sept. 19. 1902.

20. Garv in to Qu in n. Sept. 30. 1902. Lincoln SIdle". Paper1o.Columbia Univer.ity Library

22. Ibid.. Oct. II, 1902,

23. Mcloughlin. Rhod~ I./and. 154.

2S. Ibid., Nov . S, 1902.

26. Ibid .. Nov . 6. 19. 1902.

27. Mesuge of Ludu. F. C. Garvin. Governor of Rhode I.land.fa lh~ General Aasembly at i ta january 190J Sewon (Providence,1903) .

28. Providence journ.l. Jan. 7. 21. 1903.

29. Ibid.. Nov . 19, 1902, Mar. 27. 1903; Lincoln Steffenl.Autobiography of Lincoln Steffen. ( New York. 1(31) . 465.

30. Lin coln Steffenl , " Rhod e Ili and , A State lor Sale."McClure'. Magazine. XXIV (l9OS) . aae-asa

31. Providence journal. Mar. II. 1903; Mcloughlin. RhodeI.land. 162-163 .

32. Providence journ.l. Mar, 26. June 23, 1903; June IS. 11Kl4.

33. Ibid .. Apr. 19. 1903; Feb. 9. 1!KH; Apr . 1, May 8. 1903.

34 , Ibid ., May i. 1903.

35. Ibid.

36, New York Tim ... May 1, 1903.

37. Providence joum.l, Oct. 2(1, 27; Nov . 3, S. 1903.

38. Mtl8al/e of Ludua F. C. Garvin. Governor of Rhode II1.nd.fa the General AuembJy a t ill january /904 Seasion (Providence.19(4); The Stue. Dec. 30. 1905.

39. Navy Depa.nment memorandum, May 13, 1904. TheodoreRoosevelt Paper1o. Library of COngr ..... Wuhinli:lon, D.C.

40. The Commoner (Lincoln, Neb .) , F~b. 13, 1903. The"reorli:aniJer1o" were gold Democrata who Wer~ oppoaed to Bryanand 10 th ~ pa.ny platform adopted at Kansal City in 1900. Garvinnm.ined in the Bryan camp throulh 1908.

42. Ibid.; Providence New-. F~b. 16, 19<13,

7., U ; CIlI S F , C , GA RVI N

44. Ibid ,

4S, Su Dlllrid PlllI~n P ipe.., fold~. 133, RIHS Lib'll')' .

46 , Provid~nct' joum.l. M• •. 31, 1904. Whil~ wrYi ng hi. lU I' ~rm ., 'Ill l~ w nllor , Glltvin • • • d..cribeod all " th ~ M1II P"I.lillm~n­

larian in Ih ~ Sllll~ H_ R Ibid .. j an , U . 1922.

47.I"'d.. Nov 10. 1904; Gllrvin to SI ~ ff ~n.. F~b. 6, 1!lOS. St~fI~nsPipe...

49, GlltVln to Slfff~ns. F~b. 10, IIIOS, Sleff~n, Papcn; Slfffnls." Rhod~ Isllnd," 3-41 ,

S2 Ibid .• July. 30. 1911.

S3 Ibid.. Oct. 2, 11109

S4 Garvin acc....-d Ih e R~pol bliun. in 1912 of buying li lll yY<n" In North Smilhli ~ld for IW~nty doill .. I ¥Ole. noting.....rcllltiu lly Ihlll th e a:oina: ri le in Wnt Gr«nWlCh wu on ly fi ,,~

doll .., a "OI~ Ibid.• j uly n , 1912.

$$ Girvin to e.l"in SI ~b"'ns. M••. n. 1912. Amh~..t CollegeLibr ll')'.

$6 , Pro",d~nct' journ.J, July n, 1912.

$7. Gu"in 10 ROOll~"e l l , july 26, 1912:ROOM,,~IIIO G.rvin. July26, 1912. ROOM,,~h Pa pt!'r• .

S9. Glr"in 10 ROOll~ ,,~It , j un~ 10, 1912, ROOllev~lt Pape.l.

60. Prov'd~nc~ j ourn .l. No", 3, 19211.

61, Provid~nc~ R.diul Club Papt'n , RIHS Libral')'; Provid~ncejournlll, j.n. 14, 19211; G.rvin , "So lvin g Ih~ L.bor Probl~m:'A ren•. XXXVI (1906), 12.

62. R~port, of An nual Mntina:' , Anti-!mpt'rillli.t Lucu~,Hou ght on Librlll')' , H.."ard Unin..ily; R~pon of Sih Ann....JMerrinl, An~'·Jm,wmll.r LUlu~ (Bo.ton, 1906 ). 46-SI. Girvinhad Oller d..c.ibood the ailuat ion of hlu lr. a. " Eml nci plltKm NotVel Complfud:' ProvidefKe jOlJm.l , Ap •. I , 11103.

61. G.rvin·, m~rn~..hip in th ~ Fr~~ R~lia:tou. Sori~ly i. cit",in Grin~, JUull••rrd Hg,ory of P.Wfudrrt. 320. H is paniciplltKmin th e 8f,1l Strul Ch-Ipe l ia ._dt'<l in i.. derk '. boolr.. and byMill Glad)'l Dy~•. th~ I"'nent cl~. k.

64 P,eambl~ lind Conllil ution of the Fr~e ReliCiov, Society ofP,ovide nce , 1904, RIHS Library; Anna Gl, lin Spt'ncer, Tt,~

Hi.,ory of lh~ B~II Str~~, Ch.,w' Mov~mem (P.o";d~nc~. 11103). 8.

6S. B~ll Strul Chllp..1 cl ~rlr ·. boolr and Mi.. Glad:yt Dyer.

66, Garvin , "The R~mt-dy for Brib<rry ,R Ar~n.. XXX (11103),173·114

67. Ga.vin. The [ndUl,';.1 Conflict ( Ne. York. 1921), 4. 6. 14

63 ProvidefK~ joumll /. D f'<; , 21. 1918; Aua:. 12. 1910. ForC.rvin', IUppon of the wu effort ~ ibid.. May S, 1917.

69 Ibid., jlln, U. 1922

70. Ibid.. Oct. s. 1922.

71. ''''d . july 30, 1911.

-

76

From (he Collections

TIl(> work was SIU' IllHlUS. tln- hour s lo ng, and th eno ise dt'af('lIin~ £01 th t" m en em p loyed hy th eNic hnhfJll Fi ll' Com pa ny. th e fi rs t successfu lmachine -culli ng fil l' pla nt ill the United States.William T . Nirhol ..on es tabl ishr-d hi.. business in186-l. Busin t"ss wa .. ~()od a nd th e Providencerompa ny expanded rapid ly. Pro speri ty It'd to fur ­rher t'xp'l1lSinll of the company in the latter pa nof the nineu-enrh (('!litH)' . Bt" the 1890s. Nich ol son

OWIlN! plalll s i ll o ther pa rt s o f th e U nited Slates.

Workt'TS in ,hl'st, photogra p hs lak e a b rea k 10 pm efo r a ph olOgraplH:J ' s ca mera sometime around therum of the rcnr urv . The operatives were a roughbreed , whe the r fa{"i ng the grind o fano ther day in the..ho p a .. lilt")' CUI tile .. on Nic holson's mnovar ivemachinery ( f1.~ h t). or ri skin~ some In volous roo l ­cl imbin g .....h ile a photographer snapped a promo­tiona l picture of the pl a n! and its .....o rkers (abOl ~).