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Hon. ALEXANDER HAMILTON RICE, LL.D.
By Daniel B. Hagar, Ph.D.
[Principal of the State Normal School, Salem.]
Massachusetts merchants have been among the most prominent men in
the nation through all periods of its history. From the days of John
Hancock down to the present time they have often been called by their
fellow-citizens to discharge the duties of the highest public offices.
Hancock was the first governor of the State. In the list of his
successors, the merchants who have distinguished themselves by honorable
and successful administrations occupy prominent places. Conspicuous
among them stands the subject of this sketch.
Alexander Hamilton Rice, a son of Thomas Rice, Esq., a well-known
manufacturer of paper, was born in Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts,
August 30, 1818. He received his early education in the public schools
of his native town and in the academies of the Reverend Daniel Kimball,
of Needham, and Mr. Seth Davis, of Newton, a famous teacher in his
day, who is still living, in vigorous health, at the venerable age of
ninety-seven years. As a boy, young Rice was cheery, affectionate, and
thoughtful, and a favorite among his companions. His earliest ambition
was to become a Boston merchant. After leaving school he entered a
dry-goods store in the city. He there performed his duties with such
laborious zeal and energy that his health gave way, and he was compelled
to return to his home in Newton, where he suffered many months' illness
from a malignant fever, which nearly proved fatal. About two years later
he returned to Boston, and entered the establishment of Messrs. J.H.
Wilkins and R.B. Carter, then widely known as publishers of music books
and of dictionaries of various languages, as well as wholesale dealers
in printing and writing papers. Three years of service in their employ
laid the foundation of the excellent business habits which led to his
ultimate success.
During this time he was a member of the Mercantile Library Association,
in company with such men as Edwin P. Whipple, James T. Fields, Thomas R.
Gould, afterward the distinguished sculptor, and many others who were,
active participants in its affairs, and who have become eminent in
literature or in public life. Young Rice was a careful student in the
association, though sharing less frequently in its exercises than some
others. His decided literary tastes finally led him to resolve upon the
enlargement of his education by a collegiate course of study. He
accordingly entered Union College, Schenectady, New York, then under the
presidency of the venerable Dr. Eliphalet Nott, where he was graduated
in 1844, receiving the highest honors of his class on Commencement Day.
His classmates bear testimony to the fact that his career in college was
in the highest degree honorable to himself and to the institution of
which he was one of the most respected and popular members.
At the time of his graduation his purpose was to study law and to pursue
it as a profession; but soon afterward delicate health interposed a
serious obstacle, and a favorable offer of partnership in business with
his former employers induced him to join them in the firm which then
became known as Wilkins, Carter, and Company, the senior member of which
was a graduate of Harvard College, and, at one time, a member of its
Faculty. The present firm of Rice, Kendall, and Company, of which he is
the senior member, is its representative to-day, and is widely known as
one of the largest paper-warehouses in the country.
In 1845, Mr. Rice married Miss Augusta E. McKim, daughter of John McKim,
Esq., of Washington, District of Columbia, and sister of Judge McKim,
of Boston, a highly-educated and accomplished lady, who died on a
voyage to the West Indies, in 1868, deeply lamented by a large circle of
acquaintances and friends, to whom she had become endeared by a life of
beneficence and courtesy.
After his graduation from college, Mr. Rice, having again engaged in
mercantile business, pursued it with great earnestness, fidelity, and
success. These qualities, together with his intellectual culture and his
engaging address, eminently fitted him for public service, and early
attracted favorable attention. He first served the city of Boston as
a member of its school-board, in which capacity he gave much personal
attention to the schools in all their various interests. To his duties
in connection with the public schools were soon added those of a trustee
of the lunatic hospital and other public institutions.
In 1853, Mr. Rice was elected a member of the common council, and a year
later he was president of that body. In 1855, he received, from a large
number of citizens of all parties, a flattering request that he would
permit them to nominate him for the mayoralty of Boston. He reluctantly
acceded to their request, and, after a sharply-contested campaign,
was elected by a handsome majority. His administration of city affairs
proved so satisfactory that he was re-elected, the following year, by
an increased majority. By his wisdom, energy, and rare administrative
ability, Mayor Rice gained a wide and enviable reputation. He was
instrumental in accomplishing many reforms in municipal administration,
among which were a thorough reorganization of the police; the
consolidation of the boards of governors of the public institutions,
by which much was gained in economy and efficiency; the amicable and
judicious settlement of many claims and controversies requiring rare
skill and sagacity in adjustment; and the initiation of some of the most
important improvements undertaken since Boston became a city. Among
these may be mentioned the laying out of Devonshire Street from Milk
Street to Franklin Street, which he first recommended, as well as the
opening of Winthrop Square and adjacent streets for business purposes,
the approaches to which had previously been by narrow alleys. The
magnificent improvements in the Back Bay, which territory had long been
the field of intermittent and fruitless effort and controversy, were
brought to successful negotiation during his municipal administration,
and largely through the ability, energy, and fairness with which he
espoused the great work. The public schools continued to hold prominence
in his attention, and he gave to them all the encouragement which his
office could command; while his active supervision of the various
charitable and reformatory institutions was universally recognized and
welcomed. The free city hospital was initiated, and the public library
building completed during his administration.
Endowed with gifts of natural eloquence, his public addresses furnished
many examples of persuasive and graceful oratory. Among the conspicuous
occasions that made demands upon his ability as a public speaker was the
dedication of the public library building. On that occasion his address
was interposed between those of the Honorable Edward Everett ard the
Honorable Robert C. Winthrop, both of whom were men of the highest and
most elegant culture, possessing a national reputation for finished
eloquence. The position in which the young Boston merchant found
himself was an exceedingly difficult and trying one; but he rose
most successfully to its demands, and nobly surpassed the exacting
expectations of his warmest admirers. It was agreed on every hand that
Mayor Rice's address was fully equal, in scope and appropriateness of
thought and beauty of diction, to that of either of the eminent scholars
and orators with whom he was brought into comparison. It received
emphatic encomiums at home, and attracted the flattering attention of
the English press, by which it was extensively copied and adduced as
another evidence of the literary culture found in municipal officers in
this country, and of American advancement in eloquence and scholarship.
At the close of Mr. Rice's second term in the mayoralty of Boston, he
declined a renommation. While in that office, he was faithful to the men
who had elected him, and abstained from participation in party politics
farther than in voting for selected candidates. Originally, he was an
anti-slavery Whig, and, upon the formation of the Republican party, he
became identified with it.
When he retired from the office of mayor, in January, 1858, it was his
intention to devote himself exclusively to business; but an unexpected
concurrence of circumstances in the third congressional district led to
his nomination and election to Congress by the Republicans, although
the partisan opposition was largely in the majority. He continued to
represent the district for eight consecutive years, and until he
declined further service. He entered Congress just before the breaking
out of the Civil War, and became a participant in the momentous
legislative events of that period. He witnessed the secession of the
Southern members from the two houses of Congress, and served through the
whole period of the war and through one Congress after the war closed,
embracing one half of President Buchanan's administration, the whole of
Lincoln's, and one half of Johnson's. He served on the committees on the
Pacific Railroad, on the District of Columbia, and on naval affairs, of
which last important committee he was chairman during the two closing
years of the war. In this last position he won much reputation by his
mastery of information relating to naval affairs at home and abroad, and
by his thorough devotion to the interests of the American Navy. Mr. Rice
did not often partake in the general debates of Congress, but he had the
confidence of its members to an unusual degree, and the measures which
he presented were seldom successfully opposed. When occasion called,
however, he distinguished himself as a debater of first-class ability,
as was shown in his notable reply to the Honorable Henry Winter Davis,
of Maryland, one of the most brilliant speakers in Congress, in defence
of the navy, and especially of its administration during the war period.
Notwithstanding his arduous labors as chairman of the naval committee,
Mr. Rice's business habits and industry enabled him to attend faithfully
to the general interests of his constituents, and to many details of
public affairs which are often delegated to unofficial persons or are
altogether neglected. All of his large correspondence was written by
himself, and was promptly despatched. Governor Andrew used to say that
whenever he needed information from Washington, and prompt action, he
always wrote to the representative of the third district.
At home Mr. Rice has filled many positions of prominence in business
and social life. He was for some years president of the board of trade,
and of the National Sailors' Home. He was president of the great
Peace Jubilee, held in Boston in 1869, the most remarkable musical
entertainment ever held in America, embracing an orchestra of twelve
hundred instruments, and a chorus of twenty thousand voices. The opening
address of this jubilee was made by Mr. Rice. He was also the chairman
of the committee to procure the equestrian statue of Washington for the
Public Garden in Boston, and of the committee that erected the statue of
Charles Sumner. He delivered an appropriate address at the unveiling
of each of these works, and also at the unveiling of the statue of
Franklin, erected during his mayoralty in front of the City Hall. He has
also been president of the Boston Memorial Society, and of the Boston
Art Club, as well as of many other associations.
Mr. Rice was elected governor of Massachusetts in 1875, and was twice
re-elected. His career as governor was characterized by a comprehensive
and liberal policy in State affairs. While he was always ready to listen
to the opinions and wishes of other men, his administration was strongly
marked by his own individuality. His messages to the Legislature were
clear and decisive in recommendation and discussion, and his policy in
regard to important measures was plainly defined. He never interfered
with the functions of the co-ordinate branches of the government; on the
other hand, he was equally mindful of the rights of the executive.
Always ready to co-operate with the Legislature in regard to measures
which the welfare and honor of the Commonwealth seemed to him to
justify, he did not hesitate to apply the executive veto when his
judgment dictated, even in relation to measures of current popularity.
He thoroughly reorganized the militia of the State, thereby greatly
improving its character and efficiency, besides largely diminishing its
annual cost. His appointments to office, though sometimes sharply
criticised, proved, almost without exception, to have been judiciously
made, and in many instances exhibited remarkable insight into the
character and aptitude of the persons appointed.
Although elected a Republican, Governor Rice was thoroughly loyal to
the best interests of the State in the distribution of patronage. Every
faithful and competent officer whom he found in place was reappointed,
regardless of his politics, and the incompetent and unreliable were
retired, though belonging to his own party. It is, however, but fair
to say, that in making original appointments and in filling absolute
vacancies, he gave the preference, in cases of equal character and
competency, to men of his own party.
During the centennial year, 1876, the special occasions, anniversaries,
and public celebrations were very numerous, and added greatly to the
demands upon the governor's time and services in semi-official
engagements, in all of which he acquitted himself with high credit to
himself and the Commonwealth.
In 1877, he escorted President Hayes to Harvard University to receive
the degree of Doctor of Laws, an honor which had been conferred upon
himself the previous year; and in 1878 he also escorted Lord Dufferin,
governor-general of Canada, to the university, on an occasion made
memorable by the visit of that distinguished statesman.
During his whole administration, Governor Rice took a deep interest
in the cause of education in the State, as president of the board of
education, and in visiting schools and colleges for personal inspection.
He also carefully watched over the several State institutions for
correction, for reform, and for lunacy and charity, encouraging, as
opportunity offered, both officers and inmates, and, at the same time,
unsparing in merited criticism of negligence and unfaithfulness.
In a word, Governor Rice's administration of State affairs justly ranks
among the administrations that have been the most useful and honorable
to the Commonwealth.
In 1881, Mr. Rice was elected honorary chancellor of Union University,
his _alma mater_, and at the commencement anniversary of that year
he delivered an elaborate oration on _The Reciprocal Relations of
Education and Enterprise_, which was received with the highest favor
by the numerous statesmen and scholars who honored the occasion by their
presence, and was afterwards published and widely circulated.
Mr. Rice is still actively engaged in business, and still maintains an
undiminished interest in the affairs of public and social life.
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