Edmunds High School - Oread Yearbook (Burlington, VT)

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George Franklin Edmunds. When the Hon. George F. Edmunds retired from his enviable position in the United States Senate he was hailed as one of America's ablest statesmeng and his place in popular estimation is shown by the fact that, though a decade has elapsed since he regained what he then termed the liberty of a private citizen, the ideas of few men outside the glare of public life are more eagerly sought in relation to questions affecting our national constitution and other important issues than are those of this distinguished son of the Green Mountain State. To have represented a small commonwealth like Vermont in the highest legislative body in the land and to have made its name synonymous with power in our national councils equal to that of almost any of the largest States, is a supreme test of statesmanship. The early life of this grand man who was destined to take so important a place in the political annals of Vermont, was well calculated to develop those qualities which contributed so materially to his success as a public servant. Born in Richmond, Vt., on February 1, 1828, the son of Ebenezer and Naomi fBrigg:-J Edmunds, and educated in the common schools and by private tutors, he began the study of law at the age of eighteen years, two years of his period of preparation being spent in the office of the famous legal firm of Smalley 8: Phelps, of Burlington. He was admitted to the bar in March, 1849, and he immediately formed a partnership with A. B. Maynard, Esq., of Richmond, his brother-in-law. Two years later he moved to Burlington, which remained his place of residence throughout his public career. Mr. Edmunds legislative experience began with his election as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1854, and he represented his city in that continuously until 1859, serving as Speaker of the House during the last three sessions of that period. He was a member of the Vermont Senate in 1861 and 1682, being honored by selection as president pro lempore and as chairman ofthe judiciary committee at both sessions. In his various positions in the State Legislature he demonstrated the possession of those qualifications which served to distinguish his career at the national capital. Upon the death of United States Senator Solomon Foote, in 1866, Mr. Edmunds was appointed his successor by Gov. Paul Dillingham, and in April of that year began that long period of senatorial service which was to secure for the Green Mountain State marked prestige in the affairs of the nation. At the conclusion of the term for which he was appointed he was re-elected to the United States Senate for the full term, and for a quarter of a century he continued to represent Vermont in the upper branch of Congress. For a number of years he was president pro tempore of the United States Senate and for a considerable period previous to his retirement he was generally recognized as the foremost member of that body. U 16

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'l'lIIE EDMUNDS HIGH SCHOOI I5

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It would be impossible, in an article of this character. to pay proper tribute to the services of Mr. Edmunds as a national legislator, but he is conceded to have made a greater impress upon the congressional legislation of his time than any other senator. Many important measures bear the stamp of his statesmanship. Among them is the famous electoral commission actnof 1876, which settled the controversy between Hayes and Tilden, and in the estimation of leading men of the time, averted civil strife over the Presidency. Other noteworthy acts with which his name is identified are the present law for counting and determining the electoral vote, intended to avoid a repetition of the conditions prevailing in 1876, and a measure changing the presidential succession from the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House and the Chief Justice or senior Associate justice of the Supreme Court to the Secretary of State, and other mem- bers of the cabinet, and assuring the retention of the executive department for four years by the party to which it is voted. He also formu- lated the anti-polygamy law, which, according to the late Senator J. J. Ingalls of Kansas, strangled polygamy to death, and which with other acts caused the latter to call Mr. Edmunds the most practical legislator of the age. But as great as is the legislation standing to the credit of Mr. Edmunds, he is entitled to almost equal distinction for the number of bad bills which he helped to consign to a timely death, the Vermont Senator having been the fear and despair of all lobbyists in the aid of iniquitous measures. The general recognition of his marked ability and his sterling qualities led many members of his party to favor his nomination for the Presidency of the United States in 1880 and again in 1884, but all efforts of this character were made without his solicitation. His name was also frequently associated with the position of Secretary of State, and with a place on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States, but he has courted private life, and since his resignation of his position in the Senate in 1891 he has given his time to his family, to whom he is tenderly devoted, and to his law practice, mostly confined to cases before the chief tribunal of the land. During the course of his public career Senator Edmunds has frequently shown his interest in the cause of education, as well as his con- cern for the city with which he was so long identified. In 1898 he proved his love for Burlington by generously ohfering to present to the city a site for the proposed new High School, donating for this purpose the handsome lot attached to his homestead. The gracious gift was accepted by the city, which decided also to retain the residence on the property in accordance with the terms named by the donor, and the magnificent structure, dedicated to the cause of education, which now crowns the site thus donated, will stand for generations as a monument to his beneficence-the Edmunds High School. 17