Vol. 55 THE GRANITE MONTHLY No. 7 JULY 1923 THE MONTH IN NEW HAMPSHIRE THE chief news event of the month of June, 1923, in New Hampshire, was the conflagration which, on Saturday, the 2nd, devastated the village of Canaan. Children playing with matches in a hay barn kindled the blaze and a high wind took it with almost incredible. All in all the manner in which the Canaan disaster was met and is being overcome increases one's faith in the survival among us of the old New England virtues. The Burroughs Memorial Fund speed through the business section of ANOTHER good deed of the month the village, literally burning it flat. Help was summoned and came with all speed from points as distant as Concord, but to little avail because of the lack of an effective water supply and other adverse conditions. The scene of blackened desolation created by the fire has been a point of attraction for thousands of motorists throughout the month. Inspiring was the spirit of resolute courage with which the people of Canaan faced the disaster and heartwarming was the manner in which sympathy and substantial aid poured in on them from all directions. The New England Red Cross at once made an appropriation for the relief of suffering and sent its agents to assist in the administration of that and other funds which came by the thousands of dollars from the cities and towns of New Hampshire. Arrangements were made for the immediate payment of insurance losses; banks made liberal provisions for aid in rebuilding the burned section and in resuming business there; the town authorities took action to lay out the new village on better lines than the old. was the raising of $50,000 as a permanent fund for the work of the New Hampshire Children's Aid and Protective Society. By securing this amount from its friends the Society receives an additional $50,000 from Hon. Charles H. Greenleaf of Franconia and thus assures the continuance and perpetuation of its indispensable social, moral and physical service to the unfortunates among the children of the state. An Important Meeting ANOTHER agency which is accom plishing much good was called to the public attention during the month by a meeting in the state Hall of Representatives of the New England Congress on diseases of cattle. Commissioner Andrew L. Felker of the department of agriculture and Dr. Robinson W. Smith, state veterinarian, arranged a splendid program, with the co-operation of the other New England states and of the federal government, and all phases of the work of the congress were ably and fully presented. It was good to hear that the work of eradicating bovine tuberculosis is making excellent progress and the public health thereby guarded and benefitted to an extent not generally realized. Commencement and Flag Day AS S usual in the sixth month of the year brides and bachelors (of Arts, Letters and Science) held the public eye in New Hampshire, as elsewhere. The first degrees given by the University of New Hampshire at Durham were received by a larger class than ever graduated from its predecessor, the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. Dartmouth College at Hanover at the close of its 154th academic year also graduated the largest class in its history. Dartmouth's list of recipients. of honorary degrees this year included Governor Fred H. Brown, Master of Arts; Rev. Chauncy C. Adams of Burlington, Vt., and President Myron W. Adams of Atlanta University, Doctor of Divinity; John Drew, distinguished actor, Prof. Fred L. Pattee and Prof. Nathaniel W. Stephenson, Doctor of Letters; Louis Bell (posthumously) and William Hood, Doctor of Science; Governor Channing H. Cox of Massachusetts, John W. Davis, former ambassador to Great Britain, and Secretary of State Charles E. Hughes, Doctor of Laws. At the alumni luncheon on Commencement Day Secretary Hughes was at his best in an address upon the subject of the World Court and the participation therein of this nation. Some notable addresses were given at various places in the state on Flag Day, June 14, the local lodges of Elks being in most cases entitled to the credit for arranging the observance. In the proclamation of Governor Brown calling for the celebration of the day he said: "Love of country is a virtue, lacking which nations perish and civilizations decay. The flag of our country is the symbol of its authority and its achieve ments, its protective ments, its protective might and its helpful aspirations. As the Star Spangled Banner passes by we should stand at attention, respectful to its dignity and power. We should thrill with emotion at its beauty and meaning as it flies in the breeze. To foster in our state these feelings and manifestations of patriotism I hereby proclaim Thursday, the 14th of June, as Flag Day in New Hampshire. Let the National Banner be widely displayed among us on that day; and let us all, as we give it due reverence, renew therewith our active allegiance to our beloved country and to its great and good ideals." Appointments to State Offices DURING the month the governor and council accepted with regret the resignation of Rev. Harold H. Niles, because of his removal from the state, as a member of the board of trustees of the state prison. Mr. Niles, who has built up the Universalist church in Concord wonderfully during a five year pastorate, goes to Denver, Colorado, to take charge of the work of his denomination there. Twice chaplain of the legislature, in 1919 and 1921, Mr. Niles has an unusually wide acquaintance throughout the state and his departure is universally regretted. In his place on the state prison board Levin J. Chase of Concord, well known publicist, has been appointed. Rev. Fr. John J. Brophy of Penacook has been continued by the same appointing power for another term on the state board of charities and corrections. Figures made public by Secretary of State Enos K. Sawyer during the month showed that legislative agents engaged to promote and oppose various measures in the 1923 session of the New Hampshire General Court received a total compensation of $32,522, the largest amount since the law was enacted requiring the filing of such agents and their fees. The contest over the proposed 48-hour law caused the heaviest expenditure, -H. C. P. TH Mt. Washington from the Intervale: It is this part of the White Mountains which Whittier especially loved. AS THE ROAD UNROLLS Some Impressions of an Early Summer Motor Trip 99 HE summer boarder is our best and biggest crop in these parts.' The remark is quoted from a magazine published before the beginning of the century and the shrewd old countryman who spoke did not live long enough to see much more than the beginnings of the influx of summer tourists which has been brought about by the coming of the automobile and the development of New Hampshire's roads. If the summer boarder was a big crop in those days, how are we to describe it now, when the records of each year are consistently smashed by each new harvesting? We started on our trip through the mountains early this year, the first week of June. Spring comes slowly in New Hampshire, and along the road farmers were busy with their planting. From all indications the summer tourist crop was also in the plowing and planting stage. The great hotels, especially those. which are really up in the hills, were shuttered and barred. Some showed signs. of preparation-lawns being trimmed, painters and painters and carpenters at work,but most of them proclaimed with eloquent silence that the time of the harvest. was not yet. We stopped one night at the Hotel Monadnock in Colebrook, a well equipped, newly remodeled hotel which normally accommodates many travelers, and we were the only guests. The experience was a pleasant one, especially because of the real hospitality shown by "mine host," but it showed us one |