PlistoriosLl 3R,e*v-ie"W"

The State Historical Society of Missouri COLUMBIA, MISSOURI COVER DESCRIPTION: The front-cover illustration is a reproduc­ tion of George Caleb Bingham's portrait of John Woods Harris. Moving in 1817 from Madison County, Kentucky, to Thrall's Prairie in western Boone County, Missouri, Harris became a prominent merchant and agriculturalist. Harris experimented in agriculture and continually enlarged, improved and developed his farm. In 1873 the St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Association awarded Harris's farm the title of "Model Farm of Missouri." Harris also engaged in the mercantile business in Columbia, Rocheport and Middle Grove. He won election as Boone Coun­ ty's representative to the Missouri legislature in 1860 and 1864. Harris also served on the University of Missouri's board of curators. George Caleb Bingham, a friend of Harris, completed this portrait in 1837. Mrs. William Jackson Hendrick, a daughter of Harris, presented the portrait to the State Historical Society in 1923. The Harris portrait, along with fourteen other portraits, one landscape, two genre paintings, four engravings, two litho­ graphs and numerous sketches presently are being displayed in the Society's Art Gallery. This exhibit commemorates the 100th anniversary of Bingham's death. The State Historical Society Art Gallery is open to the public 8:00 A.M.-4:30 P.M., Monday-Friday, excepting legal holi­ days. MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW

Published Quarterly by THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI COLUMBIA, MISSOURI

RICHARD S. BROWNLEE EDITOR

MARY K. DAINS ASSOCIATE EDITOR

JAMES W. GOODRICH ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Copyright © 1979 by the State Historical Society of Missouri Hitt and Lowry Streets, Columbia, Missouri 65201

The MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW (ISSN 0026-6582) is owned by the State Historical Society of Missouri and is pub­ lished quarterly at 201 South Eighth, Columbia, Missouri 65201. Send communications, business and editorial correspondence and change of address to the State Historical Society of Missouri, Corner of Hitt and Lowry Streets, Columbia, MO. 65201. Second class postage is paid at Columbia, Missouri. VOLUME LXXIV The REVIEW is sent free to all members of The State Historical Society of Missouri. Membership dues in the Society are $2.00 a year or $40 for an individual life membership. The NUMBER 1 Society assumes no responsibility for statements made by con­ tributors to the magazine. OCTOBER 1979 THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI The State Historical .Society of Missouri, heretofore organized under the laws of the State, shall be the trustee of this State—Laws of Missouri, 1899, R.S. of Mo., 1969, chapter 183, as revised 1973.

OFFICERS 1977-1980 WILLIAM R. DENSLOW, Trenton, President •RUSSELL V. DYE, Liberty, First Vice President MRS. Avis TUCKER, Warrensburg, Second Vice President REVEREND JOHN F. BANNON, St. Louis, Third Vice President SHERIDAN A. LOGAN, St. Joseph, Fourth Vice President MRS. VIRGINIA YOUNG, Columbia, Fifth Vice President DR. NOBLE E. CUNNINGHAM, Columbia, Sixth Vice President ALBERT M. PRICE, Columbia, Treasurer RICHARD S. BROWNLEE, Columbia, Director, Secretary and Librarian

TRUSTEES Permanent Trustees, Former Presidents of the Society WILLIAM AULL III, Lexington RUSH H. LIMBAUGH, Cape Girardeau ELMER ELLIS, Columbia GEORGE A. ROZIER, Jefferson City LEO J. ROZIER, Perryville

Term Expires at Annual Meeting, 1979 JAMES W. BROWN, Harrisonville ALFRED O. FUERBRINGER, St. Louis RICHARD J. CHAMIER, Moberly JOHN K. HULSTON, Springfield ILUS W. DAVIS, Kansas City MRS. MARY BANKS PARRY, Columbia WILLIAM R. DENSLOW, Trenton ARVARH STRICKLAND, Columbia

Term Expires at Annual Meeting, 1980 LEWIS E. ATHERTON, Columbia W. W. DALTON, St. Louis ROBERT A. BOWLING, Montgomery City * RICHARD B. FOWLER, Kansas City FRANK P. BRIGGS, Macon VICTOR A. GIERKE, Louisiana R. I. COLBORN, Paris MRS. JEAN TYREE HAMILTON, Marshall

Term Expires at Annual Meeting, 1981 FRANCIS M. BARNES III, St. Louis W. WALLACE SMITH, Independence ROBERT S. DALE, Carthage RONALD L. SOMERVILLE, Chillicothe GEORGE MCCUE, St. Louis JOSEPH WEBBER, St. Louis ROBERT M. WHITE, Mexico

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The twenty-seven Trustees, the President and the Secretary of the Society, the Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, President of the University of Missouri and Chancellor of the University of Missouri-Columbia constitute the Executive Committee.

FINANCE COMMITTEE Five members of the Executive Committee appointed by the President, who by virtue of his office constitutes the sixth member, compose the Finance Com­ mittee.

WILLIAM AULL III, Lexington, Chairman LEWIS E. ATHERTON, Columbia ELMER ELLIS, Columbia WILLIAM R. DENSLOW, Trenton GEORGE A. ROZIER, Jefferson City LEO J. ROZIER, Perryville Christmas (lifts

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The gift membership serves a multiple purpose. It extends interest in Missouri's proud history, adds members to the Society, expands the influence of the REVIEW, and provides the recipient with an esteemed magazine rich in facts about Missouri and Missourians, which conveys pleasure throughout the entire year.

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The editorial staff of the MISSOURI HISTORICAL

REVIEWV asks that members of the State Historical So­ ciety of Missouri, who are moving or have moved to a new location, please inform the Society of changes of address, as soon as possible.

To remail a returned issue of the REVIEW under new postal rates is very expensive. In addition to elim­ inating this costly procedure, the immediate notifica­ tion of a change of address will enable the member to receive the REVIEW at an earlier date.

Changes of address should be sent to:

State Historical Society of Missouri Corner of Hitt and Lowry Streets Columbia, Missouri 65201 THE FLOYD C. SHOEMAKER HISTORY AWARD

The State Historical Society of Missouri takes pleasure in announcing the seventh round of compe­ tition for the Floyd C. Shoemaker History Award. This $250.00 annual award was created by the late Mr. Shoemaker, the long-time secretary of the Society, for the advancement of Missouri history in the universities, colleges and high schools throughout the state. The annual award alternates every other year between junior class students in Missouri colleges and universities and senior high school students. The 1980 award of $250.00 will be presented for the best article written by a fully enrolled junior classman in a Missouri college or university. The award will be presented at the 1980 annual meeting of the Society in Columbia. Articles nominated for the award must relate to the history of Missouri, either to events or person­ alities. The maximum length of an artiole is 5,000 words, and a bibliography must be included. Each college or university must select a panel of judges to nominate its best article. Only one article may be submitted from each college or university. Articles may be submitted from each branch of the University of Missouri. Each article will be judged against other nomina­ tions by the Department of History of the University of Missouri-Columbia. Articles submitted for this award will become the property of the State His­ torical Society of Missouri. The prize-winning article will be considered for publication in the MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW. The final date for submission of articles is July 1, 1980. They must be sent to the State Historical So­ ciety of Missouri, Room 2, Elmer Ellis Library, Hitt and Lowry Streets, Columbia, Missouri 65201. CONTENTS

THE DECLINE OF RADICALISM AND IT'S EFFECT ON PUBLIC EDUCATION IN MISSOURI. By Arthur E. Lee 1

MISSOURI AND MONOPOLY* THE 1890S AS AN EXPERIMENT IN LAW ENFORCEMENT. By Steven L. Piott ...... 21

THE WORLD OF MAKE-BELIEVE: JAMES MILTON TURNER AND BLACK MASONRY. By Gary R. Kremer 50

EARLY MOVIES AND THEIR IMPACT ON COLUMBIA. By Joe E. Smith 72

HISTORICAL NOTES AND COMMENTS

News in Brief . 86

Local Historical Societies 88

Gifts 103

Missouri History in Newspapers 109

Missouri History in Magazines Ill

Erratum 115

In Memoriam 116

Editorial Policy 117

BOOK REVIEWS 118

BOOK NOTES 121

SALEM UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST Inside Back Cover The Decline of Radicalism and Its Effect On Public Education In Missouri

BY ARTHUR E. LEE*

The election of 1870 marked a watershed in Missouri politics. Since the Civil War, the Radical Republicans had controlled the executive as well as the legislative branch, and laws dating from that period reflected Radical thought. By 1870, however, a group of moderates within the party had become vocal in its attempts to liberalize Republicanism. Unsuccessful in their efforts, these Republicans, led by St. Louis publisher Carl Schurz, bolted and nominated their own slate of candidates in 1870. Headed by B. Gratz Brown, this slate received the endorsement of the nearly defunct Democratic party, and Brown easily won election over the incumbent, Joseph McClurg. Instead of coalescing with the

•Arthur E. Lee is an instructor of American History at Madison High School, Madison, Nebraska. He has the B.A. degree from W7ayne State College, Wayne, Nebraska; the M.S. from Mankato State University, Mankato, Minnesota; and the Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia. 1 2 Missouri Historical Review liberal Republicans, however, the Democrats fielded their own slates at the local level, and succeeded in seating five congressmen to the Radicals' three and the Liberals' two. Between them, the Democrats and the Liberals controlled the state legislature after 1870.1 Brown's administration produced no significant changes in the Missouri school code. Only one education bill passed both houses of the legislature in 1871, and that dealt with the remunera­ tion of attorneys hired by the State Board of Education to prose­ cute delinquent tax claims.2 The governor, in an address to the adjourned session of the Twenty-sixth General Assembly, endorsed the existing public education program, asserting that "thus far, progress has been eminently propitious."3 Brown revealed, in the address, his own cautious attitude toward altering the school code by admonishing, "Under present circumstances, it becomes a mat­ ter of some delicacy to undertake revision of the law governing common schools, lest more injury than good result."4 He also must have been aware of a newly manifested trend of popular opposi­ tion to the school system, for he observed, "Complaint is now freely entered against extravagance in buildings, excessive taxation, double commissions, and other grievances. . . ."5 Various explanations have been offered for the spirit of dis­ satisfaction with the public school system in the early 1870s. His­ torian Maynard Gregg Redfield posits: The most important single factor in producing an un- progressive support of the public educational system was the persistence of what is often called the "Southern Atti­ tude" toward education. This attitude was characterized by a belief that public schools existed only for the children of paupers and that education of the poor at public ex­ pense was a type of charity.6 Indeed some evidence supports Redfield's assertion that a "South-

i Eugene Morrow Violette, History of Missouri (Boston, Mass., 1918) , 419-423. See also Thomas S. Barclay, The Liberal Republican Movement in Missouri, 1865-1871 (Columbia, Mo., 1926), 233-270. 2 Laws of Missouri, Passed at the Regular Session of the Twenty-Sixth General Assembly (Jefferson City, Mo., 1871) , 79. 3 Grace Gilmore Avery and Floyd C. Shoemaker, eds., The Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of the State of Missouri (Columbia, Mo., 1924) , V, 44. 4 Ibid., 45. 5 Ibid., 46. 6 Maynard Gregg Redfield. "Some Social and Intellectual Influences in the Development of Public Education in Missouri 1865-1900" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1956), 72-73. Decline of Radicalism in Public Education 3 em Attitude" did prevail in some circles. In 1871 the Jefferson City Peoples Tribune editorialized, We believe that the state should give an education to all children that cannot without its aid obtain it, but that the state should not attempt to do for its citizens what they can do better for themselves.7 Later in the same editorial the paper modified its stance. It left the impression that the publishers were more dissatisfied with what they termed exorbitant costs and pedagogical inadequacies of the system, than with any theoretical implications.8 Moreover, the school movement tended to become intrinsically associated with the Radical Republican party, and politicians pro­ moted the issue with openly partisan bias. The pro-Republican Boonville Weekly Eagle reported in 1871: As Democratic success and Democratic power depend

7 Jefferson City Peoples Tribune, August 9, 1871. 8 Ibid. The editorial continued: We are not opposed to public schools but we are opposed to the present system .... We have magnificent school houses more costly than our seminaries and colleges were a quarter century ago; we have a corps of teachers whose salaries are larger, in many instances, than those of professors in our most distinguished seats of learning; we have every­ thing in fact but scholarship and discipline.

Governor B. Gratz Brown 4 Missouri Historical Review

upon the ignorance of a large class of citizens, so does Republican success depend upon the diffusion of knowl­ edge among the masses, and this knowledge, to a great extent, depends upon the continued ascendency of the Republican party.9 Republican efforts to be identified with the public education sys­ tem proved so effective that in 1872 the newly elected Democratic Governor Silas Woodson stated defensively in his inaugural ad­ dress: . . . the charge is often made that the Democratic party is opposed to common schools and every system of edu­ cation to enlighten the masses. I think no baser slander, or one with less to stand on, was ever uttered against a great and patriotic party.10 Woodson's remarks revealingly demonstrated the extent to which the concept of public education had become institutionalized by 1872. The Republicans claimed credit for it, and the Democrats hesitated to attack it on theoretical grounds. That the means of implementing the Republican-born school system should come under fire at a time when that party was falling from power was perhaps only natural. Some historians have laid the blame for the anti-public school reaction to the administrative tactics of the Republicans in general and post-war state superintendents in particular. W. T. Carrington has observed, "They [post-war superintendents T. A. Parker and John Monteith] were city men and failed to understand the country folk."11 Claude A. Phillips noted that: "The system was too theo­ retical and centralized to receive the support of the people"1.2 and David D. March concurs, "Although the substantial progress was made in a number of counties, the Parker Laws [school codes of 1868 and 1870] were in many respects too far in advance of the times to receive sufficient support in rural areas."13 Most of the critics directed their complaints at the cost of the system and what was perceived to be an inequitable basis for taxation. In his 1872 report, the superintendent of Jefferson County decried the "scarcity of money, which renders a tax suf-

9 Boonville Weekly Eagle, August 4, 1871. 10 Avery and Shoemaker, Messages & Proclamations, V, 212. ii W. T. Carrington, History of Education in Missouri, Autobiographical (Jefferson City, Mo., 1931) , 40. 12 Claude A. Phillips, A History of Education in Missouri (Jefferson City, Mo., 1911), 19. 7 13 David D. March, The History of Missouri (New York, 1967), II, 1083. Decline of Radicalism in Public Education

Governor Silas Woodson

ficient to procure the best educational means, extremely burden­ some to our people."14 State Superintendent John Monteith, in his report for the same year, acknowledged that, "I am met with the complaint on every hand that the people are overburdened with taxes, and the immediate relief must come from a reduction of the school tax."15 Monteith defended school expenditures by pointing out that education costs amounted to only about one- fourth of the money spent in the state to fence croplands. He also mentioned that taxpayers spent more for the prosecution of crimi­ nals than they did for education, and noted that no one ever com­ plained of this expense.16 The election of 1872 resulted in the Democratic party, led by Woodson, sweeping the statehouse and legislature on a platform of "retrenchment and reform."17 The new governor consistently

14 Report of the State Superintendent of Public Schools, 1872 (Jefferson City, Mo., 1873), 260. 15 Ibid., 24. 16 Ibid., 24-25. 17 The Democratic sweep wTas spectacular coming in the wake of a na­ tional Republican landslide for incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant. Missouri's Gratz Brown had been named Horace Greeley's running mate on a reform platform to oppose Grant. Greeley carried Missouri, but the Republican victory was so impressive at the national level that the pro-Democratic St. Louis Missouri Republican carried the headline on November 7, "We have met the enemy and are theirs." 6 Missouri Historical Review responded to the public demand for austerity and decreased gov­ ernment spending. Strongly endorsing the concept of public' com­ mon schools, he attacked the practice of levying local taxes for school purposes by consent of a mere majority of district con­ stituents. He recommended that schools be funded from the state treasury, and that local supplements for schoolhouse building and repair be permitted only by approval of two-thirds of the district electorate.18 The impact of nationwide financial reverses fostered a popular cry for less government spending and a realignment of tax burdens. Following the war, the country had experienced an inflationary boom, generated in part by expansive programs of railroad build­ ing. Missourians, no less than other Americans, often had voted to obligate themselves to bonded indebtedness to insure the con­ struction of a railroad line through their communities.

18 Avery and Shoemaker, Messages & Proclamations, V, 257-260.

A Macon County rail­ road bond appears at the left. Decline of Radicalism in Public Education 7

Bearing the burden of indebtedness for railroad construction, many citizens looked to state and local governments for tax relief through reductions in expenditures in other areas. School taxes, therefore, became a likely target for a reduction of taxes. In his 1872 report, the superintendent of Lafayette County noted: This country is burdened with an immense railroad debt, and in some districts the people feel compelled to reduce the school tax to an amount much below their desire.19 In the same year Monteith asked rhetorically, "Shall the struggle to pay the interest on fifty millions of county indebtedness, chiefly incurred for the building of railroads, find its relief in a change in the school law?"20 The national recession that has been popularly termed the "Panic of 1873" certainly heightened public concern over the vicissitudes of economic growth. Caused largely by the exposure of widespread corruption on the part of railroad builders,21 the panic created employment layoffs in an expanding industrial so­ ciety. Citizens throughout the country feared the impending de­ pression, but the actual effects of the panic on Missourians seem open to question. Violette states, "It [the panic] hit Missouri very hard; many men were thrown out of employment and many people lost heavily from the failure of banks and other business enter­ prises."22 Some evidence, however, indicates that the recession has been overrated, at least in terms of its duration and practical consequences for Missourians. On November 20, 1873, the Hunts- ville Herald reported pessimistically, The signs of the times are not very encouraging. There will undoubtedly be great destitution and suffering this winter. Most especially will this be true in the case of large cities. Everywhere we hear of hands being discharged and wages being reduced. There are thousands of people out of employment in every large city, and, if matters do not improve soon, we may expect to hear of riots and

19 Report of the State Superintendent of Schools, 1872, 263. In the same year the Cooper County Superintendent reported, "Owing to the heavy taxes for railroads and other purposes, not so much money has been raised for school purposes as should have been." Ibid., 249. 20 ibid., 24. 21 For a detailed, if not exaggerated account of the Credit Mobilier and other scandals of the 1870s see Don Carlos Seitz, The Dreadful Decade (In­ dianapolis, 1926). 22 Violette, Hist, of Mo., 427. Missouri Historical Review

A Sign of More Prosperous Times

trouble with the starving poor. There is absolutely no work for them to do, and they cannot live on nothing.23 But a few weeks later the same paper observed, "The situation in the East is improving considerably, and most of the factories are running on full time."24 The Kansas City Weekly Journal of Commerce, in announcing the reopening of the First National Bank in January 1874, explained definitively its editorial optimism throughout the slump: Our editorial course was dictated from our convic­ tion on three points: (1) that the country was sound in the products of the soil and a rising market at the panic's event; (2) that the currency was all in the country and would not depreciate in value; (3) that the cause of the panic was a mere broker's [sic] scare and did not come from elementary influences. ... So clear was the situation to us that we predicted its duration, using Mr. Seward's expression—"that it would be over in ninety days". It is over, and we begin the new year with only lingering effects—the causes are gone ... .25 In addition to such editorial comments, a study of farm com­ modity market reports for the period 1872-1874 produced no evi-

23 Huntsville Herald, November 20, 1873. 24 ThiA Tannarv 1 1 MA Decline of Radicalism in Public Education 9 dence of a depressed market. Consequently the effect of the panic on the agricultural community must have been minimal.26 Whether the economic prostration was the product of actual deprivation or merely a hysteria induced by psychological factors, the public clamor for austerity intensified throughout Woodson's administration. Citizens particularly targeted the office of County Superintendent of Schools. From Iron County a resident wrote to the St. Louis Republican: The Democrats in the legislature may help us if they will, and I hope that as one man they will unite and pass all bills that will bring relief to taxpayers. I believe I speak the mind of at least four-fifths of our citizens when I say that we want the offices of county superintendent of public schools and state entomologist abolished, and salaries and fees reduced wholesale.27 The Kansas City Weekly Journal of Commerce conceded: "There is apparently a strong disposition here to abolish the office of County School Superintendents."28 Even the Patrons of Husbandry, a group which had experienced some growth throughout the state in the early 1870s, abandoned its usual ambiguous attitude toward education. At least one county Grange openly recommended the discontinuance of the county superintendency.29 Governor Wood­ son must have reflected popular feeling when he criticized the school system on the grounds that it fostered "supernumeraries . . . [who] live without work, [and] who have been foisted upon and connected with the common school system."30 In defense of the critics it can be noted that thirty-two super­ intendents failed to file an annual letter with Monteith in 1872. Five of these did not even submit the minimal county statistics for the state superintendent's yearly report.31 In 1873 the percentage of delinquencies dropped, yet twenty-three counties submitted

26 See St. Louis market reports in Colman's Rural World, August 3, 1872, August 30, 1873, September 12, 1874. For a comprehensive study of agricultural economics and politics in the last two decades of the Nineteenth Century see Homer Clevenger, "Agrarian Politics in Missouri, 1880-1900" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Missouri, Columbia, 1940). 27 Letter from W. A. Delano, Ironton, to St. Louis Republican, February 7, 1874. 28 Kansas City Weekly Journal of Commerce, January 23, 1874. 29 Ibid., February 20, 1874. The Weekly Journal of Commerce reported: All Granges in Clinton County petitioned the Legislature today on the subject of reform and retrenchment. . . . They ask [for] the abolish­ ment of the office of Attorney General, the road and bridge commis­ sioner, and the county school superintendent. 30 Avery and Shoemaker, Messages & Proclamations, V, 212. 31 Report of the State Superintendent of Public Schools, 1872, 233-300. 10 Missouri Historical Review no letter and two of these sent no report at all.32 Although this fact may not impugn the county office in general, it does hint at the evidence of weak rapport among the state superintendent county heads and the public. County superintendents, who reported to Monteith during this period, listed several complaints of their own. In many cases pres­ sure for frugality had been brought to bear on local boards, often with harmful results to schools in general and the quality of in­ struction in particular. Some boards postponed the hiring of teach­ ers until the last minute in the hopes of procuring a candidate at lower cost. This practice particularly galled the superintendents. In 1872 the Cole County superintendent complained bitterly: In quite a number of our subdistricts the directors wait until the eleventh hour before engaging their teachers, thinking, perhaps, they will save fifteen or twenty dollars by making a shrewd turn on some poor person's mis­ fortune; they delay until all the good teachers are em­ ployed or engaged in other duties, then, from necessity, hire an incompetent teacher, and, consequently, squander the entire funds of the district.33 In the same year superintendents of six other counties lodged similar complaints regarding board practices of hiring the cheapest teacher possible.34 By 1873 the number of grievances cited for inadequate teachers' wages rose to nine.35 Of more widespread concern to school officials, as well as parents, was the lack of uniformity in textbooks. Diverse texts for the same subject appeared not only throughout given counties and subdistricts, but often the children in a single school used different sources than their classmates. By 1873 twenty-two super­ intendents commented on the situation in their annual letters to Monteith.36 The Polk County superintendent explained the dilemma which existed in his jurisdiction. School directors created the prob­ lem when they requested copies of publications for examination, and used the sample as a text for his own child. Because of a high rate of turnover in district directors, the superintendent complained that "the next year the same farce is enacted by a newly-elected

32 Report of State Superintendent of Public Schools, 1873 (Tefferson City, Mo., 1874), 223-327. 33 ibid., 1872, 249. 34 ibid., 254, 263, 267, 274, 283, 296. 35 ibid., 1873, 232, 246, 250, 255, 266, 294, 304, 306, 323. 36 Ibid., 223-327. Decline of Radicalism in Public Education 11 officer."37 One Polk County school used four different geography texts as a result of this practice.38 Since the purchase of texts was a parental obligation, complaints from citizens became more fre­ quent. March asserted the charge that texts changed "every, time a new teacher was employed or some persuasive book agent visited the district."39 Obviously cognizant of the criticisms against the school sys­ tem and the mood for retrenchment among state officeholders, Montieth increasingly became defensive in his annual reports of 1872 and 1873. In 1872, sensing the threat of his own offices existence, he discussed the duties of the state superintendent and the advantages of a central office to coordinate efforts and arbi­ trate disputes. He also pointed to the value of the annual state report which he claimed required nearly three months' prepara­ tion. According to Montieth, the superintendent's most effective contribution to public education was accomplished through "direct

37 Ibid., 304. 38 Ibid. 39 March, Hist, of Mo., II, 1087.

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simplicity "^S™"^ And proportion of mn the ratter, i, observed throughout the System. 5. Theoretical analysis, that is of no aid to the practical acquirement of the art, is omitted. 1 The Ruling is simple, open and distinct, with dark blue lines to write npon, and light lines of the "*"*7.C°The Rufing'and Proportions of the letters are beautifully indicated on the Copies by an Engraved 8. ThU Syatem may be used with others or independently. PRICE, PER DOZEN, $1 80. «asT For Introductory Terms, Ac, address HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK, or E. M. AVERY, Aftnl, 706 Chestnut Street, St. Louia. 12 Missouri Historical Review

The Washington School of St. Joseph provides an example of an 1870s city schoolhouse. contact with the people at Teachers' Institutes and popular con­ ventions, and in general public addresses/'40 Turning his attention to school finances in the same report Monteith defended the spending during his administration. To emphasize his point, he published a table of comparative costs of education in different states. Missouri ranked twenty-seventh among thirty-seven states in terms of per capita expenditures.41 Monteith mostly criticized the "abuses of the system" in the collection and disbursal of school funds. He alleged that township treasurers received much more than their legal 2 percent com­ missions, and that their excess remunerations drained $50,000 an­ nually from the school fund. He charged angrily that moneys accruing from "fines, penalties, estrays, forfeitures, etc." were never turned over to the state treasury as prescribed by law. This abuse, he contended, deprived the school fund of about $100,000 annually. He had discovered that some districts illegally charged tuition fees instead of levying a local tax. In some instances the collector, by tacit agreement with his constituents, would simply decline to press for delinquent school taxes.42 Monteith contended that re­ dress could be realized by passing legislation to make the county treasurer the sole repositor of all school funds. The funds could

40 Report of the State Superintendent of Public Schools, 1872, 7-9. 41 Ibid., 23. 42 Ibid., 27-28. Decline of Radicalism in Public Education 13

A Typical District Schoolhouse be recorded and audited by a bonded commissioner who would be appointed by the State Board of Education or a circuit judge, but never by the county court. Perhaps seeing the handwriting on the wall, Monteith suggested creating a county fund commis­ sioner as a replacement for the county superintendent. He also argued for establishment of a general state tax to pay teachers' salaries. This, he believed, would equalize the expenditures re­ quired of various districts, while leaving the costs of buildings and apparatus a matter for local taxation.43 In his report the following year, Monteith again urged the abolition of the office of township clerk. Apparently feeling the doom of the county superintendency he suggested establishment of a county commissioner of public schools. Among the commis­ sioners' duties would be the examination of teachers, guardianship of school funds and collection and filing of county statistics. It also would be his duty to "receive the estimates from the local districts and ascertain the percent necessary to levy on the property valuation, to realize the amount required." Monteith's proposed commissioner would not be required to make school visitations, however. He would be elected at regular annual district meetings to assure that "his election be entirely diverted from political strife."44 Monteith did not mention again the establishment of

43 ibid., 30-35. 44 ibid., 1873,10-11. 14 Missouri Historical Review an appointed county fund commissioner. He did urge that all issues pertinent to education matters be considered at the regular annual district meeting rather than at special meetings, and that decisions should be reached by a majority vote.45 The latter condition proved contrary to Governor Woodson's view that only a two-thirds vote was legal. Concerned with the dissatisfaction over nonuniformity of text­ books, Monteith urged that county school officers, representing all the districts, schedule a meeting to select texts for use through­ out their county. Once materials had been chosen under his plan, no change would be permitted for four years.46 On March 26, 1874, the Missouri General Assembly passed a new school code which, in many respects, marked a sharp de­ parture from the codes of 1866, 1868 and 1870. The new code contained ninety-four sections, and as historian William Floyd Knox has noted, its language was more simple and direct than that of the earlier postwar codes.47 The new law dismantled the existing congressional township unit and organized each subdistrict as a corporate body in its own

45 Ibid., 12. 46 Ibid. 47 William Floyd Knox, "Constitutional and Legal Basis for Public Educa* tion in Missouri, 1804-1875" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Missouri, Columbia, 1938), 221.

This cartoon, "Discussing the School Estimates," appeared in the American Journal of Education, January 1872. Decline of Radicalism in Public Education 15 right. A three-man directorate, each elected for three-year terms on a rotating basis, would control each new district.48 The law explicitly defined the duties of school directors. They were re­ quired to record the proceedings of all official board meetings. The "care and keeping" of the school buildings and grounds, and all apparatus used by the school became directors' responsibility. They also were charged with the maintenance of the "outhouses belonging thereto."49 The law placed upon the board responsibility for the creation and enforcement of all school regulations. The district clerk would receive a written copy of the school regulations and, in turn, would disseminate them to all district teachers. As in the past, the directors hired the teachers, but the new law charged the board with the responsibility for visitation and super­ vision of schools. Clearly the district clerk served at the pleasure of the board. The law also required directors to submit annually an estimate of funds and a school census report to the clerk of the county court.50 The new code predictably abolished the office of county super­ intendent and established in its place the county commissioner of public schools. Elected to two-year terms, the commissioners merely kept records and statistics to be filed with the state super­ intendent, and examined teachers within their counties. The law declared that county superintendents currently in office would assume the position of commissioner until the election of new officers. It provided that citizens of the county, with one hundred signatures could petition for a vote to expand the commissioner's duties, including visitation, organization of institutes, delivering of lectures, and other responsibilities formerly charged to the county superintendent.51 The commissioner's salary was prorated on the basis of county population.52 The law reaffirmed the office of state superintendent and

48 Laws of Missouri, Passed at the Adjourned Session of the Twenty-Seventh General Assembly (Jefferson City, Mo., 1874) , 148. 49 The specific mention of responsibility for outhouses may have been in response to a complaint lodged by Monteith, who had charged: The entire absence of out houses for the necessary convenience of pupils . . . leaves us just where the Commanches are today. . . . Let us reflect that the coeducation of the sexes, to succeed, must erect, at times, certain delicate but relentless barriers of separations. Report of the State Super­ intendent of Public Schools, 1872, 124. 50 Laws of Missouri, Twenty-Seventh General Assembly (1874), 150-151. 51 Only one county, Jasper, took immediate advantage of this provision. See Report of the State Superintendent of Public Schools, 1874 (Jefferson City, Mo., 1875), 9. 52 Laws of Missouri, Twenty-Seventh General Assembly (1874), 155-156. 16 Missouri Historical Review

outlined his duties. Besides his responsibility for an annual com­ prehensive report to the legislature,58 the superintendent was to spend five days a year in each of the state's congressional districts conferring and counseling with board members and teachers, visit­ ing schools, lecturing, ". . . and in short do[ing] what may be in his power to elevate the standard of instruction in the public schools."54 One provision dealt with the textbook question. It stipulated that, beginning in 1875, county-wide meetings of presidents of city and town school boards, and directors of rural districts be called every five years. At these meetings the majority would determine by vote which texts would be adopted. No other texts could be used within the county until a vote at the next five-year meeting.55 The status the annual district meeting received under the new law reflected the quintessence of populism. Much authority that had been wielded by township and subdistrict boards became mandated to the district meeting. The law granted the meetings power to:

53 The legislators may have felt that Monteith and Parker were excep­ tionally wordy, as they wrote into the new law a proviso that no such report should exceed 200 pages of printed matter in ordinary book form. Ibid., 158. 54 Ibid., 157-158. 55 Ibid., 157. Decline of Radicalism in Public Education 17

1. Hold school in excess of four months, although the cost of doing so could not exceed one percent of the as­ sessed valuation of the district; 2. Spend up to twenty dollars per year for books for a district library; 3. Rule on proposed boundary changes; 4. Sell district property that was no longer needed; 5. Direct loans for building projects or debt liquida­ tion; 6. Levy taxes for the building and furnishing of school houses, although the tax levied could not exceed one per­ cent of the assessed valuation; 7. Rule on the location of school building.56 School loans required representatives' decision at the annual meeting. But such loans could not be contracted for a period longer than five years. The amount could not exceed 3 percent of assessed valuation and the rate of interest could not be higher than 10 percent per annum.57 The law clearly stated the rules for changing district boundaries,58 and districts received the right of condemnation to acquire land for school sites.59 Laws relating to the maintenance of schools for blacks, and the organization of central schools remained essentially unchanged

Mlbid., 148-149. 57 ibid., 151. 58 ibid., 151-152. 59 ibid., 161.

Missouri State Capitol, Jefferson City, 1870s 18 Missouri Historical Review by the 1874 code.60 Custody of tax books and responsibility for collections remained in the hands of the county clerk and collector respectively, but the county treasurer was made custodian of all school funds.61 Assessments of the 1874 code vary among historians. Phillips referred to its revisionary nature as "practically a complete demo­ cratization of the schools,"62 while March has claimed that "demo­ cratic principles were being misused to enshrine ignorance."63 No evidence exists, however, that the decentralization of control and austere limitations embodied in the law did not reflect the will of Missouri citizens. Particularly illuminating are Monteith's own reactions, as expressed in his 1874 report. Admittedly, he regretted that the school directors' powers had been eroded and that the county supervisors' role in visitation and direction of institutes had been repealed. Nevertheless, he hailed the act as "an admirable result, all things considered." Referring to the Democrats, many of whom had been disfranchised during the Radical regime, he commented that: "The wonder there­ fore is that when they came again into power they did not lay ruder hands upon the system and utterly demolish it."64 He reacted in a conciliatory manner to the abolition of the county superin- tendency. "The fact is," he asserted, ". . . that the superintendency went down very much by its own weight."65 This attitude un­ doubtedly was based in part on his conviction that county super­ vision would be missed, and the office would be reinstated with more effective results at a later date.66 Monteith submitted his 1874 report as a lame duck superin­ tendent. The election of 1874 resulted in continued Democratic control of the governorship and legislature, and Monteith, a Re­ publican, was defeated in his bid for reelection by R. D. Shannon. The race for the superintendency produced a level of vituperation, in the press at least, that appeared contrary to the nature of both contestants. The Boonville Eagle endorsed Monteith, calling him an "earnest advocate of the system" and an "efficient officer," while pointing out that Shannon was the son of an unpopular

aoibid., 163-165. 61 Ibid., 162. 62 Phillips, Hist, of Ed. in Mo., 25. 63 March, Hist, of Mo., II, 1083. March further charged that the new system was really no system and that it "cost several generations of Missourians dearly." 64 Report of the State Superintendent of Public Schools, 1874, 7. 65 Ibid., 6. 66 Ibid., 6-7. Decline of Radicalism in Public Education 19

R. D. Shannon

Courtesy Robert Bartman, Dept. of Elem. & Sec. Ed. former president of the state university.67 A letter to the editor of the Jefferson City State Journal labeled Shannon a "goodish no­ body" and "utterly unfit for the position to which he aspired."68 The Huntsville Herald painted Monteith as a leader "whose whole administration has been characterized by the eternal hate peculiar to the 'dyed in the wool' Radical."69 Passage of the 1874 school law and the defeat of Monteith formally concluded Radical Republican domination of the public school education system. Missourians in the early 1870s manifestly moved away from the authoritarian policies espoused by Radicals and toward an agrarian populism. Largely because of the Liberal revolt within the Republican party, this shift occurred in less than half a decade. With each change mandated through the regular elective process the orderly transfer of power proceeded. The Democratic party naturally benefitted from the Republican schism and became the dominant political force for the rest of the century.

67 Boonville Weekly Eagle, September 11, 1874. For an account of the elder Shannon's tenure as university president see Jonas Viles, A History of the Uni­ versity of Missouri, 1839-1939 (Columbia, Mo., 1939) , see also George R. Lee, "James Shannon's Search for Happiness," MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW, LXXIII (October, 1978), 71-84. 68 Jefferson City State Journal, October 23, 1874. 69 Huntsville Herald, October 22, 1874. 20 Missouri Historical Review

The school code of 1874 achieved an amalgamation of two ideals held by most Missourians: a dedication to the principle of public education on one hand, and a rejection of centralized con­ trol of the school system on the other. It would be unfair to call the 1874 code reactionary. In a climate of wholesale rejection of Radical policies, the Democratic legislature might have been ex­ pected to dismantle the whole system. Instead, lawmakers decided to keep the system intact, but to make realignments that would insure local control and minimize the power of state and county agents. Significantly legislators, on a local option basis, left the door open to more centralized authority for those counties which might choose it. On balance, it could be argued more easily that the General Assembly saved, rather than decimated the public school system in 1874. Even the most vocal critics of the 1874 law were forced to admit that it eliminated some redundancies and waste. Recognizably, local control has its limitations, and the ad­ vantages of centralization were s aerified in 1874. Abolition of the superintendency destroyed leadership at the county level, and spending ceilings, imposed in the interest of austerity, inhibited the building programs. Statutes diminished the influence of the state superintendent, and superintendent reports for the remainder of the century largely became accounts of efforts to restore co- hesiveness to a state-wide collection of disparate school systems.

Missouri and Missourians Columbia Missouri Herald, June 10, 1898. Missouri school boards are everywhere raising the standard for teachers. Moberly has taken a step forward in deciding that all high school teachers and principals of ward schools must hold state certificates. Every movement looking towards the selecting of better trained teachers deserves commendation.

Nowheres Have I Heard Such A Thing St. Louis Lumberman, August 15, 1904. A lecturer who had a very fine lecture on "The Decadence of Pure English" gave his address before a woman's club. At the close of the talk, a very much overdressed woman of the "fuss and feathers" type came up to him and said: "I did enjoy your talk ever and ever so much, and I agree with you that the English language is decading awfully. Hardly no one talks proper nowadays, and the land only knows what the next generation will talk like of nothing ain't done about it."—Kansas City Independent Plant of the Excelsior Manufacturing Company, St. Louis Stove Makers in 1889

Missouri and Monopoly: The 1890s as an Experiment In Law Enforcement

BY STEVEN L. PIOTT*

In July 1889, the New York World lamented the revolutionary trend toward monopoly in the United States. The process of mo­ nopolization had eliminated the "small industrial proprietor," such as the village blacksmith, tailor, tinsmith, hatter or shoemaker. In fact, monopoly nearly had eliminated the "larger proprietor" who succeeded the independent worker-tradesman of an earlier day. Just as the "manufacturing firm" had moved out the small shop­ keeper, the "corporate manufacturing company" had crowded out the firm. In the last step, the trusts swallowed lesser corporate properties and used their centralized position to regulate produc­ tion and control consumption. The growth of this process brought

•Steven L. Piott is assistant professor of History at the University of Ne­ braska-Lincoln. He has the B.A. and M.A. degrees in History from the Uni­ versity of Utah, Sale Lake City; and the Ph.D. in History from the University of Missouri-Columbia. 21 22 Missouri Historical Review with it the "institution of an arbitrary, despotic, plutocratic, class rule," which governed easily enough through its ability to guide the republican system. To the World, "the problem of the time" was to discover ways to check the spread of monopoly and keep democratic liberties alive.1 During the 1890s policymakers at all levels confronted the problem posed by the World. The legislative answer at the federal level was the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. State-level policymakers, however, motivated in many early cases by Populist legislative activists and later by reform-minded attorneys general and gov­ ernors, ploddingly sought their own trial-and-error remedies. The importance of this second group to the continuation of the anti­ trust movement and to latter day progressives proved crucial. The efforts to preserve older forms of social relationships, to resist the rise of the "plutocracy," and to reinvigorate the ideals of democracy and economic equality began at the state and local level. Popular reaction and journalistic exposure impelled policy­ makers toward legislative enactment and amendment and forced legal officials to initiate judicial prosecution. By the turn-of-the- century the states and people were prepared to confront corporate consolidation. Congress passed the Sherman Act in July 1890, but several states already had enacted their own antitrust measures and had launched an optimistic campaign of enforcement. Missouri had passed its antitrust law (providing for the punishment of pools, trusts and conspiracies to control prices) on May 18, 1889. By July 1890, at least fourteen states had enacted statutory antitrust provisions similar to Kansas's initial effort in 1889.2 The shock of such a burst of legislative activity affected the thinking of businessmen. Immediately after passage of the Mis­ souri antitrust law, concerned St. Louis businessmen reacted defi­ antly. The city's tobacco manufacturers feared that the antitrust law would make it illegal to place an arbitrary price on tobacco. The Liggett and Myers Company sent a circular to its buyers

i St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 29, 1889. 2 The list of states with pre-Sherman Act antitrust laws included the following: Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Tennessee, Michigan, Kentucky, South Dakota, Mississippi, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Texas. At least eight other states without statutory provisions had antitrust clauses in their state constitutions. These included: Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Montana, Washington and Wyoming. Henry R. Seager and Charles A. Gulick, Jr., 1rust and Corporation Problems (New York, 1929), 341-342. See also Lazes of Missouri, Passed at the Session of the Thirty-Fifth General Assembly (Jefferson City, 1889), 96-98. Missouri and Monopoly 23

A. A. Lesueur, Secretary of State

requesting them to keep up the prices previously scheduled by them, as an alternative to risking a depressed market through price cutting. St. Louis coffin manufacturers reacted in much the same way. Immediately upon learning of the law, they called a meet­ ing of the members of the National Burial Casket Association and resigned from the organization. Their anxiety lessened when the national association provided an unwritten guarantee to stand behind its members if court action should develop. The association, and certainly many more businesses, believed the new antitrust law to be unconstitutional and planned to continue their busi­ nesses as usual. It remained to be seen whether the law would be enforced, or even if it could.3 In the fall of 1889, Missouri's secretary of state, Alexander A. Lesueur, started to enforce the law according to its terms. He found special support from the farmers of Missouri who sustained his intentions. The seventh annual session of the Missouri State Grange and the Bates County Farmers' and Laborers' Union both adopted resolutions which endorsed the actions of the secretary of state against corporations violating the antitrust law. They further hoped that the constitutionality and legality of the act

3 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 26, June 16, 1889. 24 Missouri Historical Review could be established. The law provided that the secretary of state prepare a form of affidavit and send it to every corporation doing business in the state. Corporate officials would be required to sign and attest under oath that their corporation was not a party to any trust, pool or combination, "intended to limit or fix the price or lessen the" production and sale of any article of com­ merce, use or consumption, or to prevent . . . the manufacture or output of any such article."4 To assist the secretary, county and city officials compiled a list of some 7,500 corporations that needed to be contacted. A few days before the deadline for returning affidavits, the Post- Dispatch wondered whether the antitrust law would be enforced and suggested that St. Louis would be an excellent place for a test case. Sugar, cotton oil, lead, whiskey, linseed, bagging, burial caskets and insurance interests were all located in the city. At the same time, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Ashley C. Clover ex­ pressed his intention of asking the grand jury to investigate alleged antitrust violations in the city. When the grand jury convened, it was the first such action since the Missouri antitrust law took effect. Thus, its members realized their need to study the new statute before any recommendations could be made. They admitted to being "at sea as to their duties,"5 for to them, the field appeared an entirely new one.6 Several hundred Missouri corporations failed to return affi­ davits to the secretary of state's office, and a contest of the law seemed likely. According to the Post-Dispatch, "opposition to the trust law is strong and bitter, and neither money nor pains will be spared to defeat it when it comes into court."7 But under the law, the duty of enforcement rested with the various prosecuting attorneys in the state. As a result, Lesueur, Attorney General John M. Wood and St. Louis Circuit Attorney Ashley C. Clover met to map strategy. Lawyers for the corporations, seeking a weak point in the law, hoped to challenge the secretary of state's right to revoke corporate charters, as such power should rest with the courts alone. Late in 1889, the secretary of state sued the Sim­ mons Hardware Company for being a member of a pool or trust. The defense argued that the antitrust law violated the U.S. and

4 Ibid., September 26, 1889 5 Ibid., November 12, 1889. GIbid., November 9, September 26, 1889; Jefferson City Daily Tribune, February 12, 1890. 7 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 26, 1889. Missouri and Monopoly 25

Missouri constitutions as it "cripples the obligations of contracts and interferes with the rights of corporations."8 Additionally, the defense argued that the law forced officers of such corporations to become witnesses against themselves. The law also gave to the secretary of state power that belonged to the judiciary and at­ tempted to deprive corporations of their charters without due process of law. After taking the matter under advisement, Judge Daniel Dillon ruled against the state on March 11, 1890.9

8 Ibid., February 22, 1890. 9 The state immediately appealed the decision. The case ultimately went to the Missouri Supreme Court where two years later the lower court's ruling was upheld. Ibid., November 15, 25, December 8, 1889, January 11, February 22 March 11, 1890, March 14, 1892.

John M. Wood, Attorney General

Simmons Hardware Company, St. Louis, 1889 26 Missouri Historical Review

In its initial form, the Missouri antitrust law of 1889 proved a failure. But a renewed undercurrent of popular reaction, espe­ cially strong among Missouri farmers, pressed for its revival. Agrarian hostility towards privileged monopolies and inequitable tax assessments dated back many years. During the 1870s, mem­ bers of the Grange in Missouri joined with other angry midwestern farmers in seeking state control over railroads. Grangers succeeded in securing provisions in state constitutions which allowed for effective legislation. They pressured their legislatures to establish controlling agencies, such as the boards of railway commissioners, and managed to see new railroad laws enacted. As an example of success in one state, the Missouri State Grange, representing some 2,000 local granges and 100,000 farmers, declared for rail­ road regulation in October 1874. The following year, the influence of the Grange on this issue forced the inclusion of Article 12 in the Missouri State Constitution. This provision gave the legislature the apparent power to regulate railroads. As the economic hard­ ships brought on by the depression of the 1870s lessened, how­ ever, the political influence of the Grange diminished along with it.10 In the 1880s, as economic hard times returned, anger and demands for renewed political activity against "monopolies" once

io Solon Justus Buck, The Granger Movement (Lincoln, Nebr., 1963), 53, 100, 103, 121-205; Homer Clevenger/"Agrarian Politics In Missouri, 1880-1896" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Missouri, Columbia, 1940) , 14; Fred A. Shannon, The Farmers' Last Frontier (New York, 1945) , 291-328.

Procession and Mass Meeting of the Grange Missouri and Monopoly 27 again erupted from farmers. In Missouri, as in many other mid- western and southern states, this activity especially was strong within the newly formed Farmers' Alliance.11 As the organizational strength of the Alliance increased, politicians once again became more acutely farm and antimonopoly conscious. When the Missouri legislature convened in 1891, agrarian interests dominated the lower house, and the farmers wasted little time in taking direct action.12 They pushed for corporate tax reassessments on properties belong­ ing to railroads, telegraph, bridge, loan and trust companies. Rep­ resentatives quoted figures to show that those corporations were not paying their portion of the taxation.13 On March 20, 1891, the senate passed the house bill, after amending it to suit the railroad and insurance lobbies. The amendment granted exemp­ tions to those companies and required all foreign corporations doing business in Missouri to incorporate under the laws of the state and pay taxes thereon.14 The "Binder Trust" also provoked the hostility of Missouri's Farmers' Alliance. A $35,000,000 Chicago- based concern, the American Harvester Company, was the specific culprit as it monopolized the binding twine business. Alliance reaction took two forms. Economically, the Alliance sought the cooperative method of retaliation by forming its own binder factory in Missouri. Politically, they applied pressure on a Missouri legis­ lature that realized the need to exhibit some sort of anticorporate action. In an attempt to appease the popular anger towards the Binder Trust and all other combines, the house initiated a new antitrust law to overcome the weaknesses that had been exhibited

ii Agents (deputies) of the National Farmers' Alliance and Cooperative Union organized the first subordinate Farmers' Alliance in Missouri. The earliest activity took place in southern Missouri on October 4, 1887, with an organi­ zational meeting at Poplar Bluff. At the time of the second annual meeting in Nevada, Missouri, on August 21, 1888, 615 charters had been issued and the membership exceeded 13,000. History of the Farmers' Alliance, the Agricultural Wheel, the Farmers' and Laborers' Union, the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Associa­ tion, the Patrons of Industry, and other Farmer Organizations (St. Louis, 1890) , 205; W. Scott Morgan, History of the Wheel and Alliance and the Impending Revolution (St. Louis, 1891), 120-121. 12 In the 36th General Assembly, which convened in January 1891, farmers comprised 32 percent of the legislators in the senate and 59 percent in the house. Alexander A. Lesueur, Official Manual of the State of Missouri, For the Years, 1891-92 (Jefferson City, 1891), 111-115. 13 Figures quoted from the state auditor's report showed that railroads operating in Missouri were assessed at less than $60,000,000, while the report of the railroad commissioners indicated that the gross earnings for such roads in 1890 were in excess of $34,000,000 or more than 50 percent of their assessed wealth. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 14, 1891. 14 A "foreign" corporation was any concern that had its original charter of incorporation under the laws of a state other than Missouri. 28 Missouri Historical Review in the 1889 act.15 The senate accepted the house bill. On April 3, 1891, Governor David R, Francis signed Missouri's second attempt to confront corporate consolidation and the resulting corporate privileges and concentrations of economic power.16 Missouri's new antitrust law, however, suffered from many of the same defects and weaknesses as the first. Prosecutors did not take personal initiative and often failed to carry through on prosecutions. Corporations refused to return affidavits and en­ forcement agencies could not agree on jurisdiction. Secretary of State Lesueur requested annual business reports and signed affi­ davits from corporations stating that they were not part of any trust or pool to fix prices. When they failed to comply with the requests, Lesueur asked the prosecuting attorneys to take action. Circuit Attorney Clover brought sixty suits against such corpora­ tions in the fall of 1891 alone. Once brought into court, most corporations tardily complied with the law, paid the court costs and had the suits dismissed. The judge let off most of the concerns with minor penalty fees. Man)7 delinquents were smaller com­ panies. The major businesses of assumed trust connections regu­ larly returned their signed affidavits. The law had no force unless a prosecutor had proof or voluntarily searched for it.17 Circumstances also hindered the easy enforcement of the Mis­ souri antitrust law in 1891. Popular indignation, which had been

15 The major weaknesses in the 1889 law included the unconstitutional use of judicial power by the secretary of state, the revocation of corporate charters without due legal process, and the return of the affidavit which could be in­ terpreted as forcing an individual to testify against himself. The amended law eliminated the possibility of criminal indictments entirely and required proper proof of antitrust violations by a "court of competent jurisdiction." The penal­ ties under the revised law involved fines and forfeiture of corporate rights and charters. Laws of Missouri, Thirty-Fifth General Assembly (1889) , 96-98; ibid., Passed at the Session of the Thirty-Sixth General Assembly (Jefferson City, 1891), 186-189. 16 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 31, 1890, January G, 13, 14, 29, March 15, 19, 20, April 4, 1891. See also Laws of Missouri, Thirty-Sixth General Assembly (1891), 186-189. 17 As an incentive under the law, prosecuting attorneys received monetary compensation for their services in addition to their salaries. In cases in which no appeal resulted, prosecutors received one-fourth of the penalty collected, which ranged from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $500. The corpora­ tions themselves were susceptible to a $100-a-day fine for each day they con­ tinued to violate the antitrust law. In cases of appeal to a higher court the circuit or proseci ting attorney and the attorney general each received one- eighth of the penalty recovered. Fees, however, were dependent upon conviction, and under an untried law, the precursor of which had failed the constitutional test in court, no one seemed willing to invest the time and effort. Laws of Missouri, Thirty-Sixth General Assembly (1891) , 186-189; St. Louis Post-Dis­ patch, August 25, November 26, December 29, 1891, April 4, 1892. Missouri and Monopoly 29

Governor David R. Francis

building against industrial combinations or trusts since the late 1880s, had not yet been directed against a specific trust or an acute economic grievance. Additionally, severe economic distress had failed to affect a broad cross section of American society, uniting people with common grievances as consumers and tax­ payers. The investigative reporting of a premuckraking news­ paper had not yet expressed itself and thus sharpen civic con­ sciousness, magnify the economic complaints of individuals and assist in providing the proof needed by prosecuting attorneys. A Missouri corporation had yet to expose itself so that, within the limited early antitrust laws, legal demands might most easily be made for information and testimony. Additionally, an energetic prosecutor must vet appear willing to lead an investigation. The depression, which struck the nation in 1893, provided the significant occurrence for uniting people behind the anti­ trust issue. It heightened their sense of civic consciousness. In­ dustrialization and urbanization, which had been growing at such a phenomenal rate, suddenly brought severe unemployment, bur­ densome taxes and consumer pressures. In cities like St. Louis in the late 1880s, people had begun to question violations of their unwritten "civic contract" that promised goods at fair prices 30 Missouri Historical Review and services at efficient operation. They also questioned the role of monopoly in disrupting this contract. These changes prompted Missourians to examine the process of economic growth itself and, as consumers and taxpayers, to forcefully complain about the effects of economic consolidation. In 1893 and 1894 the Kansas City fire insurance rating board, known as the Kansas City Board of Fire Underwriters, made drastic rate increases to its policyholders. Most of the increases ranged from 20 to 80 percent, but in some instances rate increases soared from 100 to 300 percent. The head of the Kansas City board, William J. Fetter, became known widely as the "rate Czar." He, like most fire insurance companies, favored rate increases as a means of keeping the companies solvent during the depression.18

18 William J. Fetter, a native of St. Charles, Missouri, entered the insur­ ance business in St. Louis by providing protection for the steamboat trade. When the railroads destroyed the steamship business, Fetter moved to St. Joseph and became manager for the underwriters association in that city. In 1883 he moved to Kansas City and assumed control of the underwriters association there. The various insurance companies in the Kansas City "territory" employed Fetter, paid his salary, and gave him sole authority to raise and lower fire and tornado insurance rates in and around Kansas City! The rules of the Kansas City Board of Underwriters provided a fine for violations of the rule that all business be written at rates set by Fetter. Kansas City Times, September 3, 1899; Jefferson City Tribune, May 9, 1898. Missouri and Monopoly 31

They also sought to pad their margin of risk should certain pri­ vately owned, fire-fighting water companies go bankrupt. When James R. Waddill, state superintendent of insurance, issued his annual report in 1893, he agreed that fire losses in Missouri had increased, and that many fire insurance companies had lost money. A number of companies actually had withdrawn from the state. Those that remained became more cautious and "considerably advanced the rates of insurance." But the superintendent admitted the existence of "very decided protests, and much dissatisfaction expressed in many quarters at this advance of fire insurance rates."19 One year later, when Waddill again made his report, he referred to his previous evaluation which had justified rate in­ creases, but his opinion had changed somewhat. In 1894 he was "inclined to believe also that in some instances the underwriters took advantage of a necessity for a reasonable increase of rates and raised them unreasonably, and made them quite burden­ some to policy-holders." The superintendent found that rates had been raised on communities and districts where no loss by fire had occurred for years and where the companies had done a profitable business. In his opinion the companies had prejudiced themselves in the judgment of the people.20 People already had stopped listening to explanations and had begun to talk of an insurance combine. According to the Jeffer­ son City Tribune, a general uproar existed all over the state against exorbitant fire insurance rates, and many people believed that there must be just cause for so much complaint. There seemed to be no justice in allowing fire insurance companies to form pools, destroy competition and impose unjust rates upon the public. Editors of the Mexico Intelligencer called the advance in existing rates, "robbery." Rates in Mexico had jumped from 20

19 H. Roger Grant, "Insurance Reform in the United States, 1885-1915" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1970), 112- 115; Twenty-Fifth Annual Report of the Superintendent of the Insurance De­ partment of the State of Missouri, For the Year Ending December 31, 1893 (Jefferson City, 1894), viii. 20 Twenty-Sixth Annual Report of the Superintendent of the Insurance Department of the State of Missouri For the Year Ending December 31, 1894 (Jefferson City, 1895), viii. The insurance department released figures to show that the percent of premiums taken to cover fire insurance losses in 1893 had been an extremely high 90.02 percent. But during the next three years of the depression, as rates continued to go up, the percentage of fire loss declined measurably-1894, 71.14 percent; 1895, 50.28 percent; 1896; 49.51 percent. For exact figures see Twenty-Fifth through Twenty-Eighth Annual Reports of In­ surance Department, 1893-1896. 32 Missouri Historical Review to 80 percent even though the town's taxpayers had spent thou­ sands of dollars building new water works. Many people be­ lieved, that instead of increasing fire insurance rates, there should be a substantial reduction. According to the people of Mexico, the insurance companies benefited chiefly from a water system which cost taxpayers $2,500 a year. The editors of the Intelligencer realized that the increase in rates would be severe on the town property holders, as current rates were already "exceedingly bur­ densome." The editors suggested, as an effective remedy against such an economic injustice, the organization of a local fire insur­ ance company. Aware of the larger problem, one reader complained that the increased rates appeared not only burdensome, but out of proportion to the profits which. regular, legitimate business insures. In all the ordinary lines of business sharp competition has naturally reduced the profits of trade to a close margin. The insurance com­ panies, however, by combination manage to increase their charges.21 One fire insurance agent in Independence agreed with these consumer-taxpayer complaints. Although he felt that rates in his city needed revisions, he characterized the new rates as being "entirely out of proportion."22 The Kansas City Board of Fire Underwriters also could be guilty of corporate arrogance. After raising fire insurance rates nearly 100 percent in some instances, Fetter proposed to reduce rates 10 percent if the city of Mexico would eliminate its insur­ ance license fee. The townspeople adamantly opposed it; "They should pay license [tax] the same as any other business enter­ prise. ... If they do not want to do business here let them get out."23 Consumer-taxpayer problems with the insurance "combine," just like farmers' problems with the Harvester Trust two years before, revealed for Missourians the effects of economic consolida­ tion on their everyday lives.24 The Missouri antitrust law remained an ineffective instrument during the early debate over fire insurance rates. One major weak­ ness occurred because the divided duties of the attorney general and the secretary of state effectively shielded trust organizations

21 Mexico Intelligencer, August 3, 1893. 22 Kansas City Times, October 31, 1893. 23 Mexico Intelligencer, August 31, 1893. 24 ibid., June 1, July 13, August 17, November 31, 1893; Slater Rustler, October 25, 1894. Missouri and Monopoly 33 from prosecution. The secretary of state accepted affidavits with­ out investigation by the attorney general's office. Attorney Gen­ eral Robert F. Walker stood firm in his statements that such responsibility rested with Lesueur. Interviews granted the Post- Dispatch by various state attorneys general indicated that the low pay of those officials and the possibilities of accepting fees from private corporations provided the potential for conflicts of interest. This may well have contributed to the lack of vigorous antitrust enforcement. Appointments, made by such officials, also could favor corporate interests. Evidence materialized which strongly suggested that district attorneys freely engaged in private prac­ tice.25 When Lesueur began his annual affidavit process, the Post- Dispatch balked, explaining it "a matter of notoriety that there are corporations in this State which violate the law and are in trusts and combines."26 According to the editors of the Post, the attorney general would have to be made responsible for enforce­ ment.27 When forty-three St. Louis corporations again failed to return their antitrust affidavits, the anger of St. Louis's major newspaper intensified. "Is it any wonder that anarchy thrives when rich and powerful combines violate the laws and defy State authority with impunity, and when they rob and oppress the people despite re­ straining laws?"28 In October 1894, the Post-Dispatch ran a full, front-page cartoon entitled, "They'll Neither Fish Nor Cut Bait— The Reason Why Missouri's Anti-Trust Law Is Not Enforced." The cartoon portrayed Missouri Attorney General Walker, Sec­ retary of State Lesueur, and Circuit Attorney William Zachritz lounging under a shade tree and smoking Missouri corncobs as their fishing poles (labeled "the law," "the people" and "the press") dangled unattended, Various trust serpents still waited beneath the surface to be caught. The editorial comment accom­ panying the cartoon accused the officials of being blind to the "reptile" trusts swarming in Missouri's "business pool . . . eating up all the little fish," and "fattening up on illegal profits." While these activities remained visible to everyone else, Missouri's legal officials had not hooked a single trust.29 The editors complained that proceedings, when begun at all,

25 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 6, 27, 1894. 26 Ibid., June 17, 1894. 27 ibid., May 6, 27, June 17, 1894. 28 Ibid., October 15, 1894. 29 ibid., October 21, 24, 1894. 34 Missouri Historical Review

Robert F. Walker, Attorney General

involved only small companies, and had not touched the major St. Louis concerns known to belong to the great trusts. As a cynical example they cited the Beckley Cafe Company "which might possibly enter into a combine to regulate the price of quail on toast." Trusts, said to exist in the city, included the Electric Light Trust, Sugar Trust, Cordage Trust, Linseed Oil Trust, Lead Trust, Rubber Trust, Whiskey Trust, Kerosene Oil and Petroleum Trust and the Cotton Oil Trust. According to the Post the "matter is one which is causing no end of comment by the public at large."30 Even businessmen became outspoken in their self-assurance. One remarked that; The truth of the business is that the laws against the trusts are like a sieve and will not hold. I have been in the business for many years, and have closely watched the legislation against trusts, but I have yet to see anyone con­ victed under the laws enacted against them.31 In response to the complaints of major dailies like the Post- Dispatch, and undoubtedly to the embarrassment of its own failure to structure a solid antitrust statute, the Missouri legislature passed

30 Ibid., October 19, 1894. 31 Ibid., November 24, 1894. Missouri and Monopoly 35 its third antitrust law. Governor William J. Stone signed it April 13, 1895.32 The new law improved the earlier statute by authorizing the attorney general to bring suit against companies that neglected to report to the secretary of state. The influence of lobbying tactics in Jefferson City, however, fundamentally crippled the legislation. Just as the railroad lobby dominated the consideration of anti- corporate measures in prior legislative sessions, the insurance lobby showed how easily representative government could be thwarted in 1895. Both political parties introduced antitrust proposals as popular appeals to the entire state and to "an active popular demand."83 When an agent for the Citizens' Fire Association of Mankato, Minnesota, arrived in Sedalia to see about organizing a mutual insurance company, the editors of the Weekly Gazette commented that his arrival promised "relief to property owners from the ex­ tortion of insurance companies. The highway robbery methods of the companies in raising the price of insurance is too well- known to need explanation."34 Rural representatives were determined not to allow fire in­ surance companies to be excepted from the law. Conscious of a hostile public, they asserted boldly on the floor of the assembly "that their people had been robbed until they had arisen in in­ dignant protest."35 Included in the original proposals were provisions which would have placed all insurance companies, doing business through boards of underwriters, under the antitrust law. Two hundred petitioners from Warrensburg and Johnson County strongly supported this idea in a memorial presented to the Missouri legislature. As policyholders, they referred to the recent "arbitrary" ad­ vance in rates and demanded, protection from the importunate greed of foreign insur­ ance companies doing business in this State and which have combined as a trust under the name of the Associa­ tion of Fire Underwriters of Missouri to charge the people

32 Ibid., April 13, 1895; Sec also Laws of Missouri, Passed at the Session of the Thirty-Eighth General Assembly (Jefferson City, 1895) , 237-240. 33 James A. Waterworth, My Memories of the St. Louis Board of Fire Underwriters (St. Louis, 1926) ,135. 34 Sedalia Weekly Gazette, September 11, 1894. 35 Kansas City Times, July 23, 1897. 36 Missouri Historical Review

Governor William J. Stone

of this State excessive rates of fire insurance and deprive them entirely of its benefits.36 Their efforts proved unsuccessful. A powerful lobby, which included a union of two groups, ably controlled the final forma­ tion of the bill. James A. Waterworth, head of the St. Louis Board of Fire Underwriters, led the insurance interests from that city, supported by his board's legislative committee and some sixty prominent St. Louis businessmen.37 W. J. Fetter supplied the lead­ ership for the Kansas City board and Kansas City businessmen. Their efforts resulted in the exemption from the bill of the in­ surance interests based in Kansas City and St. Louis-as "cities of over 100,000 inhabitants." The remainder of the state fell under

36 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 6, 1895. 37 Senator W. F. Lyons told the Kansas City Times that he voted in favor of the exemption in the 1895 legislative session because the insurance lobbv did such a good job in presenting their case. The lobby asserted that no central agency other than the boards of underwriters existed to oversee building regu­ lations, water pressure and main (pipe line) capacity. Large insurers in St. Louis apparently liked this "check" on carelessness. An active board of under­ writers provided protection to a business that did not over-insure. Some busi­ nesses, anxious to burn out, apparently failed to correct faulty chimneys and defective wires. Major businesses probably met the minimum regulations required by the boards and obtained lower rates than overwise. Kansas Citv Times, August 1, 1897. Missouri and Monopoly 37 the new law. Since firms based in the two major cities wrote 75 percent of the insurance business, the new law could not quite be called a triumph for popular government. Apparently, not all people considered the defeat a permanent setback. The initial pressure to include insurance companies within the antitrust law "manifestly grew out of hostility to the companies." Popular clamor over insurance injustices manifestly would persist.38 Missourians easily noted the apathetic response of legal offi­ cials to the investigation of the alleged bridge monopoly in St. Louis in 1895. In February of that year, St. Louisans heard allega­ tions that a corporation, known as the Terminal Railroad Associa­ tion, controlled the two existing bridges (Eads Bridge and Mer­ chants Bridge) linking their city with Illinois and the East. In spite of strong evidence to support the accusations of the St. Louis press, Missouri legislators and legal officials failed to take im­ mediate action. As in earlier instances, the frustrations of the public with their elected representatives, and the embarrassment of those state officials, were heightened when the Illinois legislature ordered its own investigation of the "bridge bandits." After a thorough study the Illinois Senate Bridge Investigat­ ing Committee submitted its report and acknowledged evidence of a pooling agreement. As the bridge combine affected the flow of interstate commerce, any improprieties would be in violation of federal statutes and under federal jurisdiction. As a result, the federal government ordered a grand-jury investigation.

38 Harry Chase Brearley, The History of the National Board of Fire Un­ derwriters (New York, 1916) , 293; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 3, March 12, 14, 20, 1895; Waterworth, My Memories, 134-136; Grant, "Insurance Reform in the United States," 116-117.

Eads Bridge, St. Louis 38 Missouri Historical Review

The composition of the grand jury included a large ma­ jority of men who "were representatives of corporate interests and whose aggregate wealth is established in the neighborhood of $15,000,000."39 The Post-Dispatch found this predominance of wealth to be disconcerting. When the grand jury came within one vote of the three-fourths needed to recommend against the alleged combine, the Post leveled charges of bribery and bias. Illinois State Senator James R. Campbell, chairman of the Illinois investigating committee, commented on the results of the hearings: I don't see how such a thing could be done but cer­ tainly looks bad for the Federal Grand Jury. Why we brought out enough testimony to convict the whole crowd and turned over . . . signed documents that are in them­ selves prima facie evidence of the existence of a pool. They show not only a tonnage combine but a money pool as well. One of these documents shows the percentage each company receives of the joint earnings and if one carried more than another it was obliged to pay it to the company falling below the agreed percentage.40 A member of the St. Louis Manufacturers' Association also appeared exasperated: "Such proceedings make a travesty of justice. If it had been some poor fellow charged with cutting timber on government land he wTould have been in jail long ago."41 The power of consolidated capital, the apparent apathy of their own state officers and what appeared as federal acquiescence to the process of monopolization, served as a reminder to Missourians who struggled to weather the severe economic depression. The fate of the antitrust movement may not have stirred much anxiety in corporate board rooms. The totality of the failure, however, served as an ominous comment on the condition of popular de­ mocracy.42 By the mid-1890s explanations for the failure of national and state antitrust statutes measured the sophistication of the society. Many people believed that the primary reason lay in defective legislation. Others found inadequate enforcement to be a more basic explanation. The Post-Dispatch undoubtedly echoed the sentiments of many. In January 1897, the newspaper editorialized

39 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 5, 1896. 40 Ibid., October 27, 1895. 41 Ibid. 42 ibid., February 13, 21, May 23, October 22, 26, 1895. Missouri and Monopoly 39

Belcher Sugar Refinery, St. Louis that the people sought an antitrust law which the trusts must obey.43 The objective seemed to be a successfully proven (statute enforced) model law, such as those in Texas and Georgia, that all states might copy.44 Between 1890 and 1900 this quest for more enforceable legal instruments increased the number of states and territories which prohibited trusts by law from thirteen to twenty-seven. In addition, many states, like Missouri, continued to pass legislative revisions to their original statutes.45 Not everyone, however, was preoccupied with this "more law" solution. The Kansas City Times acknowledged the popular trend but focused on a different reason for the failure to produce antitrust convictions. According to the Times, the "movement" to improve the law was "largely in response to public sentiment ... and intensified by the continued exactions of conscienceless com­ bines of capital, operating to crush out competition and extort exorbitant prices from consumers . . . ."46 The paper further noted

43 Almost six years passed without a conviction under Missouri's amended antitrust law. Ibid., January 16, 1897. 44 Texas achieved apparent successes against the Standard Oil Company. Georgia seemed to have compelled the Tobacco Trust, the Snuff Trust, the Potash Trust, the Coffee Trust and the Match Trust to abandon contracts that attempted to fix prices and restrain buyers. Ibid., December 12, 1895, February 4, 1897; Kansas City Times, February 4, 1897, 45 Seager and Gulick, Trust and Corporation Problems, 343. See also Laws of Missouri, Passed at the Session of the Thirty-Ninth General Assembly (Jeffer­ son City, 1897), 209-212. 46 Kansas City Times, February 4, 1897. 40 Missouri Historical Review that considerable impetus and encouragement had come from states which had passed "effective" antitrust laws. But the Times quickly stressed its opinion that Missouri already had an excellent law which, "if vigorously enforced," would do away with all trusts operating in the state. As if responding to its own call, the Times took the first steps toward the successful enforcement of the law just six months later.47 The success of Missouri's antitrust law from this point forward is really the story of consolidating corporate power, popular reac­ tion heightened by persistent journalistic exposure, and crusading reform from the Missouri attorney general's office that continued throughout the Progressive Period. On July 23, 1897, the Kansas City Times offered an excellent example of the country's centralized wealth in the hands of a few, and related how Missourians were forced to contribute. The Times reported that in 1896 Kansas Citians paid nearly $800,000 in fire insurance premiums. However, fire losses only totaled about $200,000. In the opinion of the Times, these figures indicated that at least $400,000 had been stolen from Kansas City through exorbitant fire insurance rates. Allegedly Kansas City property holders paid rates almost double those charged in most of Missouri outside the two major cities where the "combine" still operated In St. Louis the situation was reported as being several times more severe.48 Figures illustrated that the profits of the large insurance con­ cerns with a capital stock of at least $1,000,000, in many cases, had ranged from $250,000 to $300,000 in one year. Readers easily saw that these robust profits had been made during what, to most of them, had been depression years. How could the great depression of the 1890s allow the insurance business to amass the largest profits of its history? Missourians formulated their conclusion. An insurance trust had extorted money from policyholders. While the people suffered, the greed of the insurance combine had piled up its profits. Prosperity had been stolen. The raw facts supported the popular conclusion.49 Rising insurance rates contributed just one of the problems facing workers, consumers and taxpayers in Missouri during the depression years of the 1890s. Unemployment, rampant tax in-

47 Ibid. 4&Ibid., July 23, 1897. Under the 1895 antitrust law, cities of 100,000 inhabitants were exempted. The 1897 revision did nothing to remove this con­ dition. Missouri and Monopoly 41 equities and faltering civic services all stirred a rising civic dis­ content. In St. Louis, such organizations as the Single Tax League focused public complaints on taxes. At the same time, the St. Louis Socialist Labor Party emphasized public works for unemployment relief and tax reform to aid small property owners. The year 1895 witnessed the formation of the St. Louis Civic Federation. During its first two years in existence, the organization brought together conservative mugwumps, middle-class reformers and some reform- minded labor leaders from the Central Trades and Labor Union. These segments of St. Louis society joined the list of those con­ cerned about municipal sendees and tax reform. All three groups coalesced around the issue of tax reform and the problem of public utility assessment. Public hostility to the perennial, underhanded manner in which municipal franchises had been given away forced the Mis­ souri legislature to take action. In 1895, legislators passed a law which required all streetcar, gas, water and electric franchises to be sold in open bid. In St. Louis, ex-state labor commissioner Lee Meriwether became the most outspoken political champion of tax reform. As labor commissioner, Meriwether had made a thorough study of street railways in Kansas City and St. Louis. He discovered a drastic underassessment of all municipal street railways. While the assessment for urban property owners averaged a rate of 40 percent, street railway assessment only ranged from 11 to 25 percent. According to Meriwether,

A Kansas City Street Scene Showing Streetcar in the West Bottoms 42 Missouri Historical Review

while some of the officials charged with the duty of col­ lecting taxes have possessed the eyes of a lynx in detecting the sewing machine of a poor seamstress or the tools of a mechanic and selling them for taxes, the same officials have been too blind to see miles of track, and hundreds of cars subject under the laws to taxation.50 As an unsuccessful tax-reform candidate for mayor of St. Louis in 1897, Meriwether polled 20,000 votes in the Democratic pri­ mary. The popularity of the tax-reform issue during the depression gave a good indication of the distress felt by many citizens. The depression had hurt people economically, it had increased their civic consciousness, and, in the process, it had intensified their anger. The crusade for insurance reform both incorporated and augmented this emerging consumer-taxpayer reaction. Missouri's newly elected Attorney General Edward C. Crow smartly sensed the popular mood, and, being reformed-minded like Meriwether, he sought to lead it.51 The exposures of the Kansas City Times aroused the attention of Missouri's attorney general. In announcing his intention to in­ vestigate the alleged fire insurance trust on August 7, 1897, Crow stated that he would take action, in part, because of complaints that had come to him from Kansas City. "It is just as bad all over the State. Every man who has to carry insurance in Missouri is a victim of this trust."52 The complaints of excessive fire insurance rates continued to come from all over Missouri, and many country newspapers vocif­ erously condemned the trust. The Kansas City Times listed sixteen rural newspapers that had written letters to the Times in support of the antitrust crusade initiated by that newspaper.53 The editorial comments from the Mexico Intelligencer appear typical of most of the remarks: For years the insurance combine has ridden rough shod over the property owners of Missouri. They have

50 Eighteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Jefferson City, 1896), iii. 51 Ibid., iii-iv; Jack Muraskin, "St. Louis Municipal Reform in the 1890's: A Study in Failure," Missouri Historical Society Bulletin, XXV (October, 1968) , 38-49; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 22, 1896. 52 Kansas City Times, August 7, 1897. 53 Ibid., September 5, 11, 1897. The list of rural newspapers included: Waverly Times, Dover Democrat, Plattsburg Clintonite, Bethany Democrat, St. Clair County Democrat, Caldwell County Democrat, Glasgow Missourian, Pineville Democrat, Joplin Herald, Chillicothe Constitution, Mexico Intelli­ gencer, Lamar Daily Leader, Stanberry Headlight, Joplin Globe, Monroe County Appeal, Jefferson City Tribune. Missouri and Monopoly 43

conducted their business on the high-handed method which implies, 'the people be damned.' They have made arbitrary rates, in utter disregard of fairness, and have snapped their fingers in the face of the public whenever protest has been made.54 In response to this popular pressure Attorney General Crow, on September 6, filed suits against a long list of insurance com­ panies. He accused them of combining to regulate and fix rates on premiums to be paid for insuring property in violation of the antitrust law. The suits, in effect, embodied two separate con­ tests. First of all, they sought to challenge the constitutionality of the 1895 and 1897 Missouri antitrust statutes which exempted insurance companies in the state's two major cities. In the second suit the attorney general hoped to find the Kansas City Board of Fire Underwriters (the Fetter Bureau) guilty of operating to regulate rates outside of the city.55 Crow's major suit against the Aetna and twenty-two other foreign insurance companies, had been designed to test the con­ stitutionality of the insurance exemption provision in the antitrust law. Formally begun in March 1898, it quickly was submitted to the court. The attorney general charged the twenty-three companies with being members of a trust known as the Western Insurance Union. Sam Davis, appointed by the supreme court to be special commissioner, Attorney General Crow and Superintendent of In­ surance Edward T. Orear formed the court of inquiry and took testimony from members of the Union during the spring and sum­ mer of that year. Crow's hopes for a quick victory ended, how­ ever, on December 14, when the Supreme Court of Missouri denied his writ of ouster and upheld the constitutionality of the law. How­ ever, victory rose from this defeat. Popular support for Crow's actions and the negative response of the court, prompted a vigorous campaign for antitrust revision of the insurance exemption in the 1899 session of the general assembly. Governor Lon V. Stephens gave the insurance issue special treatment during his first biennial message to the Missouri legislature on January 5, 1899. In his speech Stephens called attention to a provision that had been inserted in the amended Missouri antitrust law of 1895 which exempted insurance combines in cities of 100,000 inhabitants. The governor looked upon such a provision as admission that an in-

54 Mexico Intelligencer, September 8, 1897. 55 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 9, 1897. 44 Missouri Historical Review

Edward C. Crow, Attorney General

surance trust existed in Kansas City and St. Louis. He recom­ mended its repeal. The insurance lobby still had a few friends in the house and senate, "but several able and rising Senators now pressed the [amended antitrust] bill. Senators Morton, Major,. McClintic, Far- ris, Dowell, ... all inflamed with the current anti-monopolistic sentiment . . . swept everything before them."56 During the first week in April the Farris antitrust bill emerged from the assembly with the St. Louis and Kansas City boards of underwriters in­ corporated into the general antitrust law. On April 18, 1899, Gov­ ernor Stephens signed the Farris bill, forcing the St. Louis and Kansas City boards to disband.57 The second investigation undertaken by Crow proved far more intriguing. It showed that vigorous enforcement, activated by popular pressure, could make the antitrust law a viable instru-

56 Waterworth, My Memories, 144, 57 st. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 8, December 14, 1898, April 7, 18, 1899; St. Joseph Daily Gazette, March 9. 1898; Kansas City Times, December 14, 1898; Jefferson City Daily Tribune, December 14, 1898; Grant, "Insurance Reform in the United States," 120; Sarah Guitar and Floyd C. Shoemaker, eds., The Mes­ sages and Proclamations of the Governors of the State of Missouri (Columbia, Mo., 1926), VIII, 363-365. Missouri and Monopoly 45

ment against corporate collusion. The attorney general hoped to show that an organization, known as the St. Joseph Social Club, existed for the nonsocial purpose of fixing insurance rates. If this allegation could be proven in a city the size of St. Joseph (less than 100,000 inhabitants and not under the antitrust exemption), the insurance companies involved could be ousted from doing business in the state. Crow and Superintendent Orear, supported by the testimony of insurance agent James J. Garth of St. Joseph, felt they had an excellent opportunity to make a case. They set out to collect further evidence. The inquiry began in St. Joseph on March 11, 1898, and im­ mediately produced results. Testimony revealed that the "social club" consisted only of insurance agents. Daily reports, according to statements made by agent Fred A. H. Garlichs, were submitted to the secretary of the club, showing the business done by all agents (members). The secretary examined the reports to see if they had been written according to the Fetter rate book, the sched­ ule used by the Kansas City Board of Fire Underwriters. Garlichs denied, however, that combine existed. He claimed that the club served merely to simplify the adjustment of claims made by vari-

Governor Lon V. Stephens 46 Missouri Historical Review

Edward T. Orear, Superintendent of Insurance

ous companies that had secured risks on the same plant or build­ ing. Garth, however, challenged the testimony of Garlichs and stated that the members of the club signed an agreement which bound them not to make any rates below those in the rate book. As damaging as Garth's testimony was, the real blow to the insurance trust came from William J. Fetter, the "rate Czar." Under questioning Fetter admitted that the Kansas City Board of Fire Un­ derwriters maintained rates, and that rate reports were sent to him to be checked for conformity. Only he had the authority to raise or lower fire and tornado insurance rates in Kansas City (or in any city using his rate book). As Fetter arrogantly put it, his rates were "not reviewable by any power on earth."58 If an agent vio­ lated the rules of the board of underwriters, he faced a fine and penalty.59

58 Jefferson City Daily Tribune, May 7, 1898. 59 Fetter also testified that in 1894 or 1895 the insurance companies and himself determined that the water pressure in Kansas City was insufficient, and that they raised the rate on every piece of property in Kansas City by 25 percent. By this means the insurance trust forced the city to spend tax dollars to increase water pressure. When this had been accomplished rates were re- Missouri and Monopoly 47

By the time Crow was ready to argue and submit his case to the supreme court, on April 29, 1899, the complete details of the St. Joseph-Kansas City rate combine had been brought out. The suit itself charged the Firemen's Fund and seventy-two other insurance companies with combining to fix rates in violation of the antitrust law. The seventy-three companies held memberships in the St. Joseph Social Club, a rate conforming organization, bound by rules, and operating under the guise of a social brother­ hood. Crow convincingly had shown that the companies employed W. J. Fetter to make rate estimates for all of Missouri outside of Kansas City and St. Louis. The companies paid him nine-tenths of one percent of the premiums on all business, a salary of from $30,000 to $40,000 a year. Fetter carefully did not deal directly with the agents. He induced the St. Joseph club to employ as secretary, E. F. Scott, from Fetter's Kansas City office. Scott made the rates on new risks and suggested changes, but always mailed these to Fetter. Fetter then mailed them to the companies, and the companies sent them to their agents. If agents did not write policies at the Fetter rate, Scott returned the policies to the agents for revision. The agent then paid a $50 fine for the first offense and lost his agency for the second. The companies paid the salary of the secretary and the expenses of the club, which showed that they had knowledge of the arrangements and actions being con­ ducted.60 On June 30, 1899, the Missouri Supreme Court awarded a writ of ouster against the seventy-three foreign insurance com­ panies doing business in St. Joseph. The court found the under­ writers social club of St. Joseph to be "a plain, palpable, but bungling pool, trust, agreement, combination, confederation and understanding organized to evade the antitrust laws of Mis­ souri. . . ."61 This was the first instance of the state's enforcement of the law since the initial legislative enactment ten years before. Two weeks later the supreme court modified its order of ouster and allowed the companies to remain in Missouri if they each paid a $1,000 fine to the state school fund and the costs of litigation. Since the initiation of the suit, fire insurance rates in Missouri dropped 25 percent on all retail lumber yards; 25 percent on all duced, but only 12y<> percent. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 3, 1897; St. Joseph Daily Gazette, March 11, 12, 1898; Jefferson City Daily Tribune, May 7, 1898; Grant, "Insurance Reform in the United States," 118. 60 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 29, 1899; Kansas City Times, April 30, 1899. 61 Jefferson City State Tribune, July 1, 1899. 48 Missouri Historical Review dwellings, private barns, schoolhouses, churches, courthouses and jails; 15 to 25 percent on brick store buildings; 50 percent on tornado and cyclone policies; and 25 percent on all farm risks.62 The conviction, fines and rate reductions proved important to citizens, taxpayers and consumers. However, the deeper sig­ nificance of the case lay in the process that brought about success. As consumers, the people had complained of unjust insurance rates as early as 1895. The Kansas City Times took the complaints seriously and began their own investigation. The exposes of the Times not only provided details of the rate grievances, but also confirmed popular suspicions that insurance corporations had used economic hard times to expand their margins of profit. As a rationale in defense of the rate increases, the trust claimed in­ adequate water pressure or fire prevention agencies. When mu­ nicipalities made these improvements, however, the people found only slight relief as insurance consumers. At the same time, they faced increased hardship as taxpayers (and increased anger as individuals). The revelations of the Times and the complaints of Missouri's rural press, prompted Attorney General Crow and In-

*2St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 30, 1899; St. Joseph Daily Gazette, July 1, 1899; Jefferson City State Tribune, July 1, 1899; Kansas City Times, July 1, 15, 1899; Thirtieth Annual Report of the Superintendent of the Insurance Depart­ ment of the State of Missouri For the Year Ending December 31st, 1898 (Jef­ ferson City, 1899), ix.

St. Louis Mutual Life Insurance Co. \ /

91 I1H| **"—WffI Ljjygj|fcb' • tfO Missouri and Monopoly 49

surance Superintendent Orear to take action. Officials of the attorney general's office traveled over 6,000 miles across the nation, taking testimony from the home offices of the various insurance companies.63 This merging of grievance, heightened awareness and enforcement had proven successful and had established a model for the state antitrust movement and for progressivism.64

63 A list of the cities visited included: New York, Detroit, St. Paul, Quebec, Providence (R.I.) , Atlanta, Erie (Pa.) , Rochester, Syracuse, Philadelphia, Hart­ ford (Conn.), New Orleans, Cincinnati and St. Louis. Kansas City Times, July 1, 1899. 64 Between 1899 and 1913, Missouri successfully utilized its antitrust law against the Beef Trust, the Standard Oil Trust, the Harvester Trust and the Lumber Trust. See Steven L. Piott, "From Dissolution To Regulation: The Popular Movement Against Trusts And Monopoly In The Midwest, 1887-1913" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1978) .

Affaire de Coeur Extraordinary Hannibal Daily Messenger, February 1, 1859. Our city was the scene of the most extraordinary marriage, on Tuesday night. The particulars were about as follows:—One Zachariah Rosenfield, a liquor dealer in this city and late from Ohio, has been in constant corre­ spondence, since his arrival there, with two young ladies, one living in Perts- mouth, named Freidlander, and the other named Freiberg, residing in Cin­ cinnati. Rosenfield in his letters to both urged them to come to this city and marry him—in fact, so desperate did he represent himself to be, that he threatened to take poison or jump into the river if they did not accede to his wishes and come out. Thus things passed until last Thursday, when Miss Freiberg arrived here from Cincinnati. Rosenfield was glad to see her, and fixed the day of nuptials on Tuesday 1st, but Mr. P^osenfield had been too successful with his female admirers, for on last Saturday, astounding to relate, Miss Freidlander arrived from Philadelphia. Here was a dilemma from which most of men could not extract them­ selves; but Rosenfield was equal to the task. He also appeared extremely happy upon the last lady's arrival, and fixed the nuptials with her to take place on Tuesday last, at the same hour at which he was to be united to lady No. 1. At the time appointed lady No. I and lady No. 2 prepared themselves in their bridal attire to await the coming of the bridegroom, but the "oil in their lamp" gin out, or daylight broke upon them, and no Rosenfield appeared, for he had met one whom he liked better than either, in the person of lady No. 3, a Miss Elias, who woed and won him.—The knot was tied, and the gallant Rosenfield and lady No. 3 left town on the yesterday morning's train of cars, husband and wife. Ladies No. 1 and 2 are no doubt as disconsolate as if they were "vidders." We would say to the victims, in a conciliatory mood, "sich is life."—St. Joseph Gazette. The World of Make-Believe: James Milton Turner and Black Masonry

BY GARY R. KREMER*

In 1916, Charleton H. Tandy, a powerful leader of the Mis­ souri black community in his own right, testified before a St. Louis circuit court hearing arguments in the disposition of the recently deceased James Milton Turners estate. The eighty-one-year-old Tandy had lived in St. Louis since 1857, the year that he first met Turner. The court asked the "Old Captain" to confirm the judg­ ment that Turner "was a very prominent man in the country . . . ."

*Gary R. Kremer is assistant professor of History at Lincoln University Jefferson City, Missouri. He has the B.A. and M.A. degrees from Lincoln Uni­ versity, and the Ph.D. degree fiom the American University, Washington, D.C. 50 World of Make-Believe 51

He responded that Turner was "very prominent; [he was] one of the foremost leading negroes in the State of Missouri . . . *1 Tandy's judgment appears accurate, especially if the adjec­ tives "noticeable" and "conspicuous" are considered synonymous for "prominent." And yet, for much of his seventy-six year life, which began in 1839, Turner was a leader without a constitu­ ency. The explanation for his ineffectiveness as a leader involves a somewhat long and complicated story, the ins and outs of which are detailed elsewhere.2 The essence of Turner's problem, however, was that his edu­ cation and socialization as an antebellum free black in Missouri and at Oberlin College in Ohio oriented him toward a set of values quite different from the values of the black masses who emerged from slavery in the 1860s.3 Well-steeped in white middle-class standards, Turner measured success, both his and the black masses, by those standards. After some brilliant successes as a leader of the Missouri black community, especially in the 1870 election, Turner lost his following because he condescendingly snubbed the way of life of the former slaves and because he appeared to be too opportunistic. Likewise, white racism precluded his accept­ ance into white society. This rejection by both the black masses and whites caused Turner to seek membership in an elite black fraternal organiza­ tion—Prince Hall Freemasonty. This organization institutionalized the very type of white bourgeois values and behavior with which

i Testimony of C. H. Tandy, Case No. 2884, Circuit Court of St. Louis, June Term, 1916, Records of the Circuit Court, Division 2, Civil Courts Build­ ing, St. Louis, Missouri. 2 Gary R. Kremer, "A Biography of James Milton Turner" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, The American University, Washington, D.C, 1978). 3 There is an increasing amount of evidence to suggest that free blacks such as Turner viewed the former slaves' life as quite alien to their own. They did not share the same values or goals. They criticized the freedmen's work habits, religious worship and general social conduct. Indeed, as one historian has written, many educated free blacks "saw the freedmen as a primitive social class in need of rehabilitation," William Toll, "Free Men, Freedmen, and Race: Black Social Theory in the Gilded Age," Journal of Southern History, XLIV (November, 1978), 572. For an extensive discussion of the free blacks' perception of slaves, see Leon F. Litwack, Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery (New York, 1979) , particularly 454, 513-514. Perhaps Turner's clearest expression of dissatisfaction with the freed­ men came in 1879, during the black Exodus to Kansas, when he labeled the former slaves as "improvident" and "spendthrifts," who were "without frugal habits" and who reminded him "more of grown up children than of persons of mature mind." Turner, letter to the editor, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, March 23, 1879. 52 Missouri Historical Review

Turner was comfortable.4 Consequently, Masonry provided him with an island of familiarity and friendliness in a sea of hostility and hate. Masonry, as the well-known black sociologist E. Franklin Frazier wrote, offered one method of retreating into "the world of make-believe."5 William A. Muraskin's conclusions about black Freemasonry generally, outlined in his book entitled Middle-class Blacks in a White Society: Prince Hall Freemasonry in America, seem to apply to Turner.6 Muraskin argues that, among other things, Prince Hall Masonry performed significant psychological and social functions for its members. It allowed the black victim of white racism to respond creatively to the limitations placed upon him. It permitted the black person to, create an integrated self-image for . . . [himself] as an up­ standing American citizen; it . . . helped psychologically bind the black Mason to white society by enabling him to identify with the Caucasian middle class; it . . . created a haven within the larger black society where bourgeois Negroes have received protection from the life style of the

4 Helpful articles on various aspects of Turner's life include the follow­ ing: Irving Dilliard, "James Milton Turner: A Little Known Benefactor of His People," Journal of Negro History, XIX (October, 1934), 372-411; Noah Webster Moore, "James Milton Turner, Diplomat, Educator, and Defender of Rights 1840-1915," Missouri Historical Society Bulletin, XXVII (April, 1971), 194-201; Lawrence O. Christensen, "J. Milton Turner: An Appraisal," MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW, LXX (October, 1975), 1-19; Gary R. Kremer, "Background to Apostasy: James Milton Turner and the Republican Party," ibid., LXXI (October, 1976) , 59-75. These articles offer no information about Turner's Masonic career. 5 For Frazier's concept of "the world of make-believe," see his Black Bourgeoisie: The Rise of a New Middle Class (Chicago, 1957; reprint ed., New York, 1962), 153-238. 6 William A. Muraskin, Middle-class Blacks in a White Society: Prince Hall Freemasonry in America (Berkeley, Calif., 1975) . World of Make-Believe 53

nonbourgeois blacks who surround [ed] them; and while having helped to create a positive sense of community among its middle-class adherents, it . . . served to estrange them from the mass of black people.7 Those functions proved important to Turner. He always had been different from the masses of black people and he cherished the difference. He grew up in St. Louis, the son of a free black horse doctor, whose life bore little resemblance to that of the black masses. His family sought to perpetuate and even heighten that differentiation in his own life by sending him to the best schools available. His education, in violation of Missouri law, in white and black Christian schools oriented him toward the bour­ geois values best summed up in E. Franklin Frazier's phrase, "piety, thrift, and respectability."8 Later, as a young adolescent, he attended that hotbed of Christian abolitionism, Oberlin College in Ohio. Subsequently, as a post-Civil War educator, he tried to pass on to the freedmen those same virtues, thereby hoping to alter the value system of the black folk culture that he thought they had inherited from slavery days.9 In the late 1860s, Turner emerged as the most important black educator in the state. The exposure he gained in his work on behalf of black education made him a natural choice for the Radical Union party when it searched for a leader who could coalesce a potentially powerful black vote. By 1870 the Radicals experienced political problems. They needed the black vote and prepared to recruit it through extensive efforts. The motives of the Republicans who aligned themselves with blacks exemplified utilitarianism and short-sightedness. Their support of black causes reflected more the precariousness of Missouri politics than a genu­ ine manifestation of concern for black people.10 Both the Radicals and Turner stood to gain from this align­ ment. Unable to separate his own progress from that of the general population of black freedmen, Turner interpreted the Radicals' overtures as evidence of their commitment to equal opportunity for all blacks. Consequently, he viewed the Republican party as

7 Ibid., 74 8 Frazier, Black Bourgeoisie. 60-85. 9 Kremer, "A Biography of James Milton Turner," Chapter I. J. Milton Turner to F. A. Seely, February 28, 1870, Letters Received, A-F, January- December, 1870, Freedmen's Bureau Records, in National Archives, Washing­ ton, D.C, Educational Division, Microfilm Publication No. 803, Roll 10, frames 428-434. 10 Kremer, "Background to Apostasy," 59-75. 54 Missouri Historical Review an effective vehicle for the advancement of all black people, in­ cluding himself, into the world of the white middle class. So convinced, he actively campaigned for the Radical political candi­ dates in 1870, delivering, according to one contemporary account, 20,000 black votes to their cause. Throughout that campaign, he exhorted the freedmen to adopt the values of industry and frugality so that they could accumulate wealth, which he labeled as the source of all power.11 His almost fanatical commitment to the Radical party, however, had mixed results. On the one hand, the Radicals rewarded his unfailing support by facilitating his appoint­ ment to the position of Minister Resident and Consul General to Liberia. On the other hand, however, a wave of suspicion swelled up around him, raising questions about the purity of his motives.12 Turner carried his bourgeois value system with him to Liberia. He was proud of his position, largely because it gave him status and recognition; in short, it differentiated him from the black masses. He, in turn, continued to identify middle-class values as the keys to success. Indeed, because he found the native African lifestyle so inconsistent with those values, he searched for ways to uplift what he continuously referred to as a barbaric civilization. He earnestly desired to become an instrument for progress and Christianization on the west coast of Africa.13 Ultimately he had little success in the achievement of that goal and in 1878 he returned to St. Louis, hopeful of going on to bigger and better things. Unfortunately, his extremely optimistic expectations proved a far cry from the social reality that he faced upon his return. Post-Reconstruction America was unconcerned about black civil rights.14 Turner tried, in 1878, to reestablish a black political coalition that would allow him to regain power and influence. However, racist Republicans rejected his bid for public office in that year. Moreover, after some initial success with the black masses, many of them began to see his politicking as transparently opportunistic. Hence, he became a focal point of controversy in the late 1870s

11 Columbia Missouri Statesman, May 20, 1870. 12 Jefferson City People's Tribune, May 17, 1871. This article summarized Turner's reception by blacks and whites alike throughout the campaign. 13 Dispatch No. 45, May 25, 1872, "Despatches From United States Min­ isters to Liberia, 1863-1906," Microcopy No. 170, Volume 2, October 24, 1869- January 24, 1872, National Archives, Washington, D.C. 14 J. Milton Turner to Blanche K. Bruce, March 12, 1877, in Blanche K. Bruce Papers, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University, Wash­ ington, D.C. World of Make-Believe 55

Election Scene

and early 1880s when he tried to established an agency to facilitate the movement of Southern blacks to the "promised lands" of Kan­ sas and Oklahoma.15 This effort also failed. Turner, however, discovered another cause to which he could apply his many talents: in 1883, he struck off to right wrongs, and get rich, in the Oklahoma Territory. Having long before become convinced that wealth could buy power and status, he sought to make money. But because he also saw his own destiny inextricably bound to the advancement of black people, he welcomed an opportunity "to do well by doing good." In Oklahoma he engaged in complicated but potentially profitable legal maneuverings on behalf of black freedmen who had been the slaves of Indians in antebellum days.16 Turner worked as an attorney for the freedmen regularly

15 Report and Testimony of the Select Committee of the United States to Investigate the Causes of the Removal of the Negroes from the Southern States to the Northern States, U.S. 46th Cong., 2nd Sess., Senate Report 693 (1880) , Pt. 2, 120-121. 16 Christensen, "J. Milton Turner: An Appraisal," 1-19; Kremer, "A Biog­ raphy of James Milton Turner," Chapters VI and VII. The most recent study of the Cherokee freedmen, including Turner's role, is Daniel F. Littlefield, Jr., The Cherokee Freedmen: From Emancipation to American Citizenship (West- port, Conn., 1978). 56 Missouri Historical Review from 1883 until his death in 1915. Throughout the first decade of that thirty-two-year period he made repeatedly unsuccessful efforts to reestablish the kind of political power that had earned him the Liberian ministership in 1871. He was unable to obtain a following, however, largely because the constituency he courted saw his motives as being self-serving.17 These non-Masonic aspects of Turner's career must be under­ stood if one is to come to grips with one of the most important points about Turner as a Mason: he did not turn to Masonry until he had virtually given up on retrieving his lost status, both in the white and the black community. Turner left behind no explanations about why he waited until 1890, fifty-one years after his birth, to become a Mason. Clearly, although he did not become a Mason until 1890, he had repeated and prolonged contact with Masons for thirty years or more. Masons made up a large part of the leadership of the Missouri Equal Rights League, which came into existence in 1865 and which Turner served as secretary. De­ spite the presence of Masons in Monrovia, Liberia, the small West African city in which Turner lived from 1871-1878, no extant evi­ dence indicates that he became a member. For instance, in 1879

17 The best single example of this is the controversy Turner created when he called together a convention of black Independents and Democrats in Indianapolis in 1888. Kremer, "A Biography of James Milton Turner," 254-266.

Office of Freedmen's Bureau

REO^ World of Make-Believe 57 a committee of St. Louis Masons investigated the status of Masonry in Liberia. Turner had just returned from that country the year before. Certainly he could have been expected to provide informa­ tion if he had been a Mason. Apparently he was not contacted, for his name is not mentioned in the committee's report.18 Turners failure to associate with the Masons during the years of the sixties through the eighties corresponds with his optimism during much of that period of being accepted into the mainstream of white society. Lodges were separate and, consequently, inferior to white society; Turner refused to accept an inferior position in life because of his race. Not, at least, until the frustrations of the eighties had sufficiently dulled his expectations did Turner seek status and solace elsewhere. Prince Hall Freemasonry appeared the logical place for Turner to turn. Institutionally, Freemasonry accepted and endorsed the same bourgeois standards of respectability and morality that Turner had made part of his value system in antebellum Missouri. En­ dorsement of those values meant, by extension, a good deal of emphasis on differentiating Masonic behavior from the behavior of the black masses, a cleavage that Turner had always tried to effect in his own life.19 Turner entered the mysterious world of Masonry slowly, sim­ ply being listed as one of eighty-two members in Widow's Son Lodge of St. Louis in 1890. He did not attend the Annual Com­ munication that year.20 By 1893, however, he had risen to the level of second-ranking officer in Widow's Son Lodge.21 At last he had found a forum for political activity in which he could act out all the roles he had longed to play in the mainstream culture. That, Muraskin argues, was one of the vital functions performed by Masonry. "Free Masonry allows its adherents to act as if they were first-class American citizens," he writes. "If one wishes to be an active participant in the democratic political process and carry out civic responsibilities, one can."22 In 1894, Turner rose to the leadership of Widow's Son. As

18 Official Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Communication of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, A.F. & AM. (Hannibal, Mo., 1880), 27-38. Hereafter referred to as Official Proceedings. 19 For a discussion of the membership of Prince Hall Freemansory, see Muraskin, Middle-class Blacks in a White Society, 43-85. 20 Official Proceedings (1890) , 87. 21 Ibid. (1893), 107. 22 Muraskin, Middle-class Blacks in a White Society, 132. 58 Missouri Historical Review

its Worshipful Master, he represented his lodge at the Twenty- eighth Annual Communication, held at Moberly.23 He actively participated in the election of officers for the Communication, obviously relishing the reality of his ability to once again influ­ ence votes and persuade people. He also took particular interest in two measures designed to preserve the history of black Masonry in Missouri.24 According to William Muraskin, the Masonic sense of history proves crucial to an understanding of the organization. By tracing its foundation to Prince Hall, a free black of the eighteenth cen­ tury, the fraternity "has erased from the mind of the black Mason his actual descent from slaves . . . ." In the process, also, it has given him a new heritage; or, as Muraskin writes, it has allowed the black man, as the inheritor of the Masonic past, to cease "to be a poor, insignificant member of an oppressed group and . . . become a member of the most important and idealistic institution the world has ever seen!"25 Little wonder, then, that Turner, who had so often been maligned and unappreciated, moved to keep the same thing from happening to others in that 1894 meeting. On the first day of the convention an address was delivered by "Bro. W. P. Brooks, one of the oldest Masons in Missouri." Brooks remained the only living charter member of the Grand Lodge of Missouri. He recounted in an "impressive and interesting" fashion the early days of the organization. At the conclusion of Brooks's remarks, G. W. Guy and Turner offered a resolution. Subsequently adopted by the convention, the resolution called for Brooks to furnish a synopsis of the Lodge's early history for publication in the Official Proceedings.26 Another resolution, offered by Joe E. Herriford, G. W. Guy and Milton Turner, followed. It recalled "with pride" the record of Missouri's Most Worshipful Grand Lodge and pointed out the necessity of maintaining an historical record of that proud past. Additionally, it proposed to collect the proceedings of each of the previous twenty-eight Annual Communications, bind them, and place them under the care of the Grand Secretary. Turner offered an amendment to the resolution, calling for a copy of each of the

23 Official Proceedings (1894) , 10, 73, 111. 24 ibid., 37, 39-40. 25 Muraskin, Middle-class Blacks in a White Society, 196-197. 26 Official Proceedings (1894), 33. This resolution also called for Brooks's photograph to appear in the same edition of the Proceedings. World of Make-Believe 59

G. W. Guy (above) Joe E. Herriford (left)

Proceedings to be sent to the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis, and for W. P. Brooks to be a member of the committee formed to carry out that task.27

27 Ibid., 34-35. Mrs. E. A. Stadler, archivist of the Missouri Historical So­ ciety, St. Louis, informed the author in an interview on July 5, 1977, that those records never were made a part of the Society's holdings. She checked the Society's minutes for that period, in my presence, and could find no reference to black Masons, Turner, or W. P. Brooks. She said that in her judgment there were only two possible explanations: 1) the black Masons changed their minds, and decided not to turn over the material; 2) the Society rejected the offer since it was making no effort to collect black materials at that time. It also should be noted that this was not the first time that Turner showed an interest in preserving an account of black historical con­ tributions. In 1882 he delivered a eulogy of Dred Scott upon the occasion of the presentation of a portrait of the latter to the Missouri Historical Society. Turner noted at that time that: . . . the Negro has been with us in felling forests, in redeeming lagoons, 60 Missouri Historical Review

Elected Worshipful Master of Widow's Son Lodge again in 1895, Turner represented his lodge at the Annual Communication in Lexington.28 He continued to participate actively in the routine business of the convention and offered a special resolution for consideration by the entire body.29 The resolution proposed "to establish a Masonic Home for indigent Master Masons, their widows and orphans."30 The Grand Master appointed a committee to carry out the resolution. Perhaps assigning the task to a committee temporarily destroyed it, for the Masonic Home did not come to fruition for another decade. Turner's advocacy of the Masonic Home, nevertheless, can be seen as symbolically significant in two ways. First of all, it came at a time when his disillusionment with white America had reached its height. Convinced that blacks could no longer look to whites for help, he endorsed a plan by which they could take care of their own. That same logic compelled him to support the resolutions offered by the Committee on Masonic Relief, on which he also served. The committee had the responsibility of approving payments to indigent Masons.31 The Masonic Home and the Relief Committee performed another, perhaps more important, function. William Muraskin has indicated that one of the basic goals of orphanages was that "the children in the home were raised to be model citizens, embodying as much as possible all the middle-class virtues in which Masons placed so much faith." In short, the Masonic Home provided Ma­ sons with the opportunity to be frugal, save their money and invest in a project that would ultimately contribute to the advance­ ment of the race. It gave them complete control and it became "an arena for the realization of the ideals of self-help, thrift, hard work, and cleanliness." In the process, it also served as a mechanism

and in building cities where there were waste places. And, I may add, that his toil in our fields of plenteous harvest has aided the ramifications of our substantial commerce. The Negro has been with us from the very beginning of the history of our State, and, indeed, of the nation itself. Surely he must somewhere, at some time and somehow have carved his humble niche in the temple of time. Irving Dilliard, ed., "Dred Scott Eulogized by James Milton Turner," Journal of Negro History, XXVI (January, 1941) , 9. For the original, hand-written version of this eulogy, see Dred Scott Papers, Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, Missouri. 28 Official Proceedings (1895) ,117. 29 Ibid., 46, 60-61 30 Ibid., 14-15. For Turner's parliamentary maneuvers on behalf of the measure, see ibid., 39, 44, 45-46, 51. 31 Ibid., 52-54. World of Make-Believe 61 for differentiating the behavior of black Masons from the black masses.32 That appeared an important distinction to Turner. The Thirtieth Annual Communication occurred in Jefferson City in 1896, the scene of many of Turner's political triumphs more than a quarter of a century before. He attended the meeting, although he no longer served as Worshipful Master of Widow's Son.33 On the second day of the proceedings, Turner, whose status had been enhanced by an appointment to the rank of "Grand Orator," proposed that the lodge appropriate money to buy land for a Masonic Orphan's Home.34 The Committee on Masonic Relief subsequently endorsed Turner's proposal and created a committee "to devise ways and means of founding and maintaining said home." As a matter of procedure, however, the proposal had to be sub­ mitted to all the lodges throughout the state.35 On the third day of the Communication, meetings were tem­ porarily suspended so that the lodge could accept Capital City Lodge No. 9's invitation "to take a drive to the principal points of interest in the city . . . ." Grand Master J. H. Pelham placed the lodge in the hands of Special Grand Marshal J. Milton Turner.

32 Muraskin, Middle-class Blacks in a White Society, 151. 33 Official Proceedings (1896), 66, 99. 34 ibid., 25. 35 Ibid., 42, 45.

W. P. Brooks 62 Missouri Historical Review

Pictured above is the 1905 Board of Masonic Relief. It includes, standing left to right: R. T. Coles, A. R. Chinn and J. H. Pelham; seated left to right: C. G. Williams and W. W. Fields.

The 250 lodge members gathered in the driveway encircling the capitol, where carriages awaited them. The caravan crossed "the great new steel bridge [spanning the Missouri River] connecting North Missouri with South Missouri." It continued on to the prison, then to Lincoln Institute, then to "other points of interest." The institute offered the greatest attraction. The cortege gathered to hear speeches in the institute's newly erected $40,000 building, Memorial Hall, at which point Grand Master Pelham urged "the Brethren" to send their children "to this great institution of learning."36 The tour over and the lodge back in session, Turner offered a resolution of pride in "Lincoln Institute and its manage­ ment." He called attention to the institute as "the magnificent gift of the old soldiers and the generous State of Missouri to the cause of education." Ever consistent in his belief in education as the key to black upward mobility, Turner included in his resolution the assertion that the institute held "great promise for the Negroes of the State of Missouri . . . ." Pie added, "we commend it to the hearty support of the Negro Masons of the State."37

** Ibid., 41. 37 ibid., 42. World of Make-Believe 63

Turner represented Widow's Son Lodge at the 1897 annual meeting and served on three regular committees: "Rules and Order of Business;" "Jurisprudence;" and "Grand Master and Grand Lecturer's Address." The Grand Master devoted much of his ad­ dress to an endorsement of the proposed Masonic Home. He commended his listeners on Masonic progress over the past decade, reporting to them that their efforts had made it possible for $60,000 to be paid to widows and orphans during that period. However, he warned against too much self-adulation. "If it shall transpire," he said, "after all our grand pretentions and phenomenal success, we permit a Negro Mason to die in destitution or in the alms house of the State we shall be disgraced." He urged his fellow Masons to "take immediate steps ... to provide for the wants of our poor and destitute Masons." That, he argued, was the real purpose of Masonry. "As I comprehend its symbols," he said, "this is its teaching, and as I believe in its principles this is its design."38 Inspired by the speech, Turner called for its submission to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat for publication.39 Later, his Com­ mittee on the Address "heartily" endorsed the Grand Master's suggestion "with reference to the subject of Masonic Relief . . ." and resolved "to entirely adopt the language of his address, and

38 Official Proceedings (1897), 9, 21-23. 39 Ibid., 23.

Capital City Masonic Lodge No. 9 64 Missouri Historical Review

to request the M. W. Grand Lodge to set apart a day for a sermon, to be universally preached throughout this Jurisdiction upon the subject of Masonic Relief and Charity." The resolution went on to recommend that the Committee on the Masonic Home be "em­ powered during the ensuing Masonic year, for a reasonable rental or lease to secure premises for such few indigent Masons, their widows and orphans as may be within the financial power of this M. W. Grand Lodge to care for."40 Although a member of Widow's Son Lodge in 1898 and 1899, Turner did not attend the Communication those years. In addition, no further mention of the proposed Masonic Home appeared in either the 1898 or 1899 Annual Communications.41 Perhaps Turner's work among the Cherokee freedmen and a short-lived farm im­ plement business, begun in St. Louis in 1898, kept him too busy during that time.42 No Official Proceedings are available for the years 1900 and 1901, to reveal whether or not Turner returned as an active Mason during those years. He did attend the annual meeting held on

40 ibid., 28-29. 41 Official Proceedings (1898) , 11; ibid. (1899) , 91. 42 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 6, 1898.

An Orphanage World of Make-Believe 65

August 19-21, 1902, at Cape Girardeau. Still a member of Widow's Son, Turner was nominated for the post of Junior Grand Warden. Curiously, he asked that he not be considered for the post.43 The 1902 gathering also witnessed a pathetic, but unexplained, display of self-pity by Turner that apparently moved the entire convention. For whatever reason, Turner obviously sought recogni­ tion. Perhaps his status in the Missouri Masonic community was less than he thought it should be. He might have expected to be named to the Worshipful Grand Mastership rather than to the lesser position of Junior Grand Warden. At any rate, Turner arose ostentatiously during the middle of the convention and asked per­ mission to bid the members of the Grand Lodge good-bye, "be­ cause imperative duties called him away." In his leave-taking, he asked that a special record be made of his desire "that Bros. Chinn, Pelham, Ricketts and Kenner [all high-ranking Masons] be selected to pronounce the Masonic eulogy over his lifeless remains . . ." should "death call him hence before the next session . . . ." Accord­ ing to the Official Proceedings, Turner then said good-bye, "with an impressiveness that lent solemnity to the scene . . . amid the tearful silence of numbers deeply affected . . . ,"44 Whatever the explanation for the strange leave-taking, death did not call Turner before the next meeting, and he returned for the Thirty-seventh Annual Communication, held at Richmond in 1903.45 Whether the result of his impromptu speech of the year before or not, the 1903 gathering conferred upon him an honor reserved for only a select few. For the first time, Turner's photo­ graph appeared in the Official Proceedings, the same uncommon honor that he had recommended for W. P. Brooks nine years earlier.46 In addition, Turner resurfaced as an active participant in the routine business of the lodge and served on several com­ mittees.47 One of those committees assessed the current condition of black people in the country. The committee's report thus offers insight into Turner's view of the status of blacks as of 1903. The report asserted that the conditions confronting black people were "ominous and threatening." It emphasized that the United States was the home of American blacks, recalling Frederick Douglass's

43 Official Proceedings (1902), 36-37, 93. 44 ibid., 47. 45 Official Proceedings (1903), 8-9. 46 Ibid., illustration between 20 and 21. 47 ibid., 8-9, 18,20-22,42. 66 Missouri Historical Review statement, "now that he [the black man] is a free man [he] de­ mands that he be allowed to rest beneath the protecting folds of the stars and stripes."48 Turner had expressed a similar senti­ ment nearly thirty years before when he adamantly opposed Liberian emigration schemes. In 1877, he wrote that the American black man was "as much a foreigner as any other people" to Africa.49 The committee also emphasized that American blacks had been loyal to their government. It recalled how "the pages of history records no more brilliant achievements" than the role played by black men who bore arms in defense of their country from the American Revolution through the Spanish-American War. Black literacy rates, the committee emphasized, had risen from 22 per­ cent in 1880 to 46 percent in 1890 and 64 percent in 1900. In keep­ ing with its bourgeois orientation, the Masonic committee singled out Booker T. Washington as an exemplar of industry and virtue, and identified Tuskegee as "a magnificent testimonial to the capa­ bility and genius of the greatest Negro educator of the age . . . ."50 The committee acknowledged that the country had been pros­ perous during the previous six years. Blacks, it stated, had clearly contributed to and benefited from that prosperity. Despite the efforts and successes of black people, however, the fact remained that "the humiliating conditions attempted to be forced upon the Negro have become more accentuated than at any time since the Negro was clothed with the panoply of American citizenship . . . ." The most appalling example of that "humiliating condition" related to the increase of "the atrocious and indefensible crime of lynch­ ing .. . ."51 Not all of the problems afflicting blacks, the committee ac­ knowledged, emanated from white racism. In words reminiscent of Turner's long-standing criticism of the black masses, it noted that the "moral condition" of blacks needed to be "decidedly im­ proved," adding that "it behooves every Negro [who] desires the prevalence of a better condition of affairs, to bend their whole energies to instill in the masses higher ideals and more wholesome surroundings . . . ." The committee's report on the "State of the

48 -State of the Country," ibid., 59-61. 49 Dispatch No. 273, September 3, 1877, 'Despatches From United States Ministers to Liberia, 1863-1906," Microcopy No. 170, Volume 6, National Archives, Washington, D.C. 50 -State of the Country," Official Proceedings (1903) , 59-61. 51 Ibid. World of Make-Believe 67

Discussion Among the Delegates

Country" concluded with an appeal to all American citizens "to rally to the standard of fair play and equal opportunity . . . ."52 The topic of a Masonic Home was finally revived at the 1905 Annual Communication, after being ignored for nearly ten years. Turner led discussion on the topic, serving as chairman of the Special Committee on the Masonic Home. His report to the Com­ munication argued that Masonic charity remained one of the fundamental principles upon which the Masonic order rested. The best way to demonstrate a firm belief in the importance of "this great human principle" was to create a fund, "for the purchase of a Masonic Home for poor and indigent . . . Masons, their widows and orphans." This could be done, he explained, by assessing each Mason five cents per month. Those present accepted Turner's proposal and authorized the Grand Master and Grand Secretary to select a site. A Masonic Home was in operation near Hannibal by the next annual meeting.53 Turner's name appeared on the Widow's Son Lodge roster in 1905. He played an active role at the meeting that year. The Communication was held in Boonville, the sight of one of Turner's early teaching positions nearly forty years before. The Boonville

52 ibid. 53 Official Proceedings (1905) , 10, 48. 68 Missouri Historical Review

Masonic Home, Near Hannibal mayor greeted the conventioneers with an opening address, to which Turner was asked to respond. He stated that his long ac­ quaintance with the town's residents allowed him to acknowledge "gladly" their "genuine character." He hinted that he wanted to become the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the organization when he pointed out that the last three Grand Masters had been persons identified with the educational interests of Boonville. He went on to assure the mayor and his listeners that "Boonville was the Masonic Mecca, dear to the hearts of all those who aspired to that position," an obvious statement about his own aspirations.54 Brother Turner also served as a cochairman of the Com­ mittee on Complaints and Grievances in 1905.55 This committee acted as an appeals court for Masons dissatisfied with the justice handed out to them by local lodges. It also helped the Masons police themselves and enforce the higher moral standards called for by Turner's committee in its 1903 "State of the Country" mes-

54 Ibid., 4. 55 Ibid., 7. Turner served on similar committees in 1897 and 1903. See Official Proceedings (1897), 37, and ibid. (1903), 18. For the importance of committees such as these in Prince Hall Freemasonry, see Muraskin, Middle- class Blacks in a White Society, 125-126. World of Make-Believe 69 sage. The importance of outward behavior to the Masons demanded that brushes with the civil authorities be treated harshly. In 1905, for example, Turner's committee sustained a judgment by William Henry Lodge No. 45 of Platte City, expelling William Pearson for criminal conviction by the Missouri courts. Likewise, it sus­ tained a similar ruling by True Blue Lodge of St. Louis against Thomas Sanders. It also recommended the indefinite suspension of W. S. Carrion who was found guilty by Wilkerson Lodge "of shooting with intent to kill ... J. R. A. Crossland."56 Masonic records for the years 1906 and 1907 cannot be found. In 1908, however, Turner again participated actively in Masonic affairs when members assembled at Hannibal for the Forty-third Annual Communication. His photograph appeared in the publi­ cation of that year, along w7ith the following notation: Bro. Turner is a national character. He has held, many responsible positions as representative of his people. He is deservingly popular with the craft for his suave manner and unselfish devotion to the elevation of his fellow man.57 Appropriately enough, there also appeared in the 1908 Proceedings a photograph of the new Masonic Home that Turner had been instrumental in establishing.58 The Grand Master, in his annual address, said that "the purchase of property and the establish­ ment of a home for the old and decrepit members of this Juris­ diction" was "the most creditable thing [we] have ever done." He congratulated those present, offering them an invitation to visit the home, a short distance from the convention site.59 Turner participated in other ways as well in 1908. Early in the convention he addressed the entire body, recalling the im­ portance of Masonic history, speaking "eloquently of the sacrifices of the Masonic pioneers with whom he was acquainted." He emphasized, "that we owe to those heroes a debt of gratitude which we should be ever ready to pay."60 Again he participated in the election process, seconding Brother Ricketts's nomination to the office of Grand Master.61 Brother Ricketts, in turn, named Turner as Grand Marshal for the "public parade."62 In addition

56 Official Proceedings (1905) , 31-32. 57 Official Proceedings (1908) , illustration between 124 and 125. 58 Ibid., illustration between 24 and 25. 59 ibid., 18-19. 60 ibid., 23. 6i Ibid., 38, 55-56. 62 ibid., 40. 70 Missouri Historical Review to those activities, Turner also served again on the Committee on Complaints and Grievances.63 Turner appears to have become quite inactive after that 1908 meeting, although the evidence is inconclusive. Official Proceed­ ings for the period 1909 through 1915 are not available, except for 1910. The record of the annual gathering at Hannibal in that year includes Turner's name as a member of Phoenix Lodge No. 78 in St. Louis. He did not, however, attend the annual meeting.64 Likewise, Turner's will, written only a few weeks before his death on November 1, 1915, hints that he had ceased Masonic activities several years prior to 1915.65 Why Turner's Masonic career ended so abruptly cannot be ascertained. Perhaps he had been hopeful of rising to the leader­ ship of the Missouri Masons, as his speech of 1905 suggests, and simply gave up on that hope by 1910. If so, holding the position of Grand Marshal, and having his photograph published in the Official Proceedings, were insufficient recognition when measured against his expectations. Likewise, perhaps status in a segregated

Wlbid., 10, 59-60. Mlbid., 177. 65 Will of J. Milton Turner, Will No. 45591, St. Louis Probate Court, Civil Courts Building, St. Louis, Missouri.

Matthew O. Ricketts World of Make-Believe 71 organization no longer seemed desirable to him. Whatever the reason for his withdrawal, Turner obviously came to feel less eager about being involved in Masonic activities. When he died in Oklahoma in 1915 as a result of injuries suffered in a tank car explosion, the Official Proceedings included a brief obituary, noting his membership in Phoenix Lodge. Significantly, it spoke of Turner as a hero out of the somewhat distant past, identifying him as "for many years Grand Marshal of the Grand Lodge." His name had been a household word among blacks in the early eighties, it said, implying that he had been much less known, if not for­ gotten, after that, and concluded by noting that he was "as an orator . . . gifted as few men this race and country have ever known."66 Turner's name appeared in the Official Proceedings for the last time in 1917. George L. Vaughn, attorney for the Most Wor­ shipful Grand Lodge of Missouri, reported that the lodge had become a litigant in the disposition of Turner's estate. His will had been contested by "persons alleging themselves to be his heirs." Turner had willed $1,000 to the Masonic Home at Han­ nibal.67 That deed provided a fitting end to Turner's relationship with black Missouri Masonry. By 1909 or 1910, Turner virtually had given up on ever receiving what he regarded as his just due, either in white or black society. Not even the Masonic world of make-believe could completely insulate him from what he con­ sidered to be racist whites and unappreciative blacks. However, he had not given up his belief that the values he had internalized early in his life still held the key for the advancement of the black masses. Hence, his support of the Masonic Home, both in life and in death, was a measure of his commitment to passing that orien­ tation on to a new generation of particularly vulnerable blacks. His growing estrangement from Masonic activities after that time period, and his penchant for isolating himself from the political and social activism of his earlier years, were acts of submissive resignation: he knew that, at least for himself, it no longer mattered.

66 Official Proceedings (1916), 18; St. Louis Argus, November 5, 12, 19, 26, December 5, 10, 1915. 67 Official Proceedings (1917), 60-61. Haden Opera House, Site of the First Moving Pictures in Columbia

Early Movies and Their Impact on Columbia

BY JOE E. SMITH*

The city of Columbia, Missouri, almost from the very begin­ ning, possessed an unusually large availability of cultural oppor­ tunity. The city's strategic location, midway between St. Louis and Kansas City on the overland route, allowed traveling theatrical troupes to stop in Columbia on their way between these major cities. Local citizens were conscious of the need to provide recrea­ tional and cultural opportunities. In 1832, they banded together forming a local group of Thespians founded for the purpose of, "performing throughout the season."1

*Joe E. Smith is presently employed in retailing at Moorhead, Minnesota. He has the B.S. degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder; the M.A. from the University of Texas-El Paso; and the Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia. i Columbia Missouri Intelligencer, August 18, 1832. 72 Early Movies 73

This local acknowledgment of the necessity of entertainment, coupled with the professional touring companies, resulted in the construction of a series of buildings suited to theatrical production. These structures culminated in the gilded opulence of the Haden Opera House completed in 1884.2 A contemporary account of the opera house described it as "a building of rare architectural beauty."3 It also represented another step in a heritage of over fifty years of theatrical entertainment. The advent of moving pictures in Columbia caused no par­ ticular reaction for two reasons. First, the motion picture provided entertainment for an audience which Columbia previously had ignored. This group included a sizable student population and the poor. Second, the advent of the movies threatened no established interest group, and therefore, no organized opposition formed. The Haden, designed and built for the legitimate theatre, became the first site of moving picture displays in Columbia. In 1897, the following short item appeared in the "Personals" column on the back page of the Herald: The Vitascope exhibitions at the Haden Opera House this week have proven of unusual interest and attractive­ ness. The graphophone was employed between acts while the pictures shown were presented in fine style.4 The brief article did not attach great importance to the appear­ ance of the Vitascope, and indeed, it seems not to be of sufficient novelty to justify calling the event the first motion picture in Columbia. Some evidence exists that earlier exhibitions may have taken place; however, the first mention of moving pictures in Columbia newspapers occurred in this short notice. Reference to possible earlier showing came from E. B. Hatton, who had been manager of the Haden for eight years. According to Hatton: "The first moving picture show to come to Columbia was given at the Haden Opera House forty years ago [1882] . . . the name of it was The Empire State Fast Express Mail."5 However, assuming Hatton's date as correct, the first motion picture in Columbia would have been a peepshow, since inven­ tion of the Vitascope, one of the first types of projectors, occurred in 1895.6 In fact, the introduction of Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope

2 Columbia Missouri Herald, January 24, 1884. 3 Columbia Missouri Statesman, January 25, 1884. 4 Columbia Missouri Herald, May 28, 1897. 5 Columbia Evening Missourian, June 29, 1922. 6 Benjamin B. Hampton, A History of the Movies (New York, 1931) , 10. 74 Missouri Historical Review peepshows took place in 1889.7 Therefore, motion picture screen­ ings probably never took place in Columbia, "forty years ago." The possibility does exist, however, that moving pictures were displayed in Columbia before the Vitascope mentioned in the 1897 Columbia Missouri Herald. If previous productions occurred, they probably were advertised by handbill and not mentioned in local newspapers. Theatrical productions often went unnoticed in the local press. The next recorded local movie presentation appeared in 1899 when the Haden Opera House management engaged a traveling company, the Edison Projector Kinetoscope Company, for a one day presentation.8 This second movie engagement in Columbia, unlike the first, utilized no projected image. Designed for a single viewer, a cabinet housed the film.9 The final picture show appeared at the Haden Opera House, January 21, 1901,10 about one month before a fire destroyed the Haden on February 23, 1901.11 Marking the passage of the opulent opera house tradition in Columbia, the fire destroyed no moving picture equipment. Tour­ ing companies carrying their own equipment presented all early movie screenings in Columbia. No regularly scheduled motion picture entertainment occurred in this period because of limited film availability and a lack of permanent local projection facilities. Columbia's future theatres were smaller and less elaborate than the Haden, but allowed for permanent installation of movie pro­ jection equipment. Unsuitable facilities for either movies or the legitimate stage created a hiatus in local theatrical activity for several years. Finally, during the summers of 1906 through 1909, the Airdome operated. A covered outdoor theatre, the Airdome was located near down­ town Columbia.12 At first used primarily for legitimate theatre, the Airdome began to present moving pictures occasionally by 1908.13 The same general period saw the advent of Columbia's first permanent structure designed exclusively for motion pictures. In the past, motion pictures had supplemented regular plays, vaude­ ville acts and similar entertainments. By August 1907, the need

7 Ibid., 7. 8 Columbia Missouri Herald, March 31, 1899. 9 Hampton, Hist, of the Movies, 7. 10 Columbia Missouri Herald, January 18, 1901. n Ibid., March 1, 1901. 12 Columbia Daily Tribune, October 6, 1906. 13 Ibid., May 19, 1908. Early Movies 75 for permanent movie facilities became clear, and the Nickleodeon opened for business at 1008 East Broadway.14 The name incorpo­ rated the Greek word for a small theatre (Odeum) and the admis­ sion price. In 1908, a special event graced the Nickleodeon's screen. Re­ quiring a 100 percent increase in price, The Passion Play was screened, and each frame of the film had been "hand colored by European artists."15 Probably Columbia's first color motion picture, it was not the first movie to appear in Columbia with a religious title. In fact, a film with the same title had played the Haden in 1901.16 Possibly repetition of movies with a religious theme offered one way of dealing with potential resistance to the new technology and new kind of entertainment. Later the same year, Columbians witnessed the opening of the Elite Theatre, the town's second establishment intended exclu­ sively for movies. Its manager, S. G. Campbell, offered the follow­ ing statement in a paid advertisement: The Elite is for ladies, children, and gentlemen. The latest moving pictures and up to date illustrated songs will be shown afternoons and evenings. A clean moral, refined

14 Columbia Missouri Statesman, August 16, 1907. 15 Columbia Daily Tribune, May 18, 1908. 16 Columbia Missouri Herald, January 18, 1901.

Billboards in front of the Columbia Theatre ad­ vertise the coming attractions.

t-C.|__ l^fes^ sxaMFv** 76 Missouri Historical Review

show will be given and the patronage of ladies and gentle­ men is solicited. Comfort and enjoyment are guaranteed.17 Approximately two months later, under new ownership, the Nickleodeon announced the special engagement of a film show­ ing "the championship Detroit-Chicago [baseball] game ... on ac­ count of cost of the film it will be necessary to charge an admission fee of 10^. After this the price of a nickel will be charged."18 Several times throughout the period, such notices appeared in the local press. Apparently, success depended, at least in part, upon low prices. Any increase in price by the motion picture houses could only be predicated upon an unusual event such as a color film or films of a World Series. In contrast, the Columbia Theatre, a legitimate theatre which replaced the Haden Opera House, charged 50<^, 75^ and $1.00 for the matinee and 50^ to $1.50 for seats and $2.00 for boxes at evening performances of Brewster s Millions. This production appeared opposite the World Series film.19 A commentary, appearing in 1909 under the headline, "Pinched at the Nickleodeon," provides an estimation of the clientel of movie theatres. Claude Smith, who had been charged by the grand jury with forgery, arrived by train in Columbia. When the sheriff heard of his arrival, the law officers "made the rounds of the Nickle- odeons, as the most likely place to look for Smith."20 After nearly a decade, certain trends in local ideas about motion pictures began to emerge. The Claude Smith incident provided evidence that members of lower or criminal classes fre­ quented motion pictures. The poorer and working class citizens probably could not afford to attend the legitimate theatre. The best seats at the Columbia sold for $2.00 in 1908, and in 1909, the "ten room mod­ ern house . . ." was available for rent at a monthly fee of $35.0().21 The relationship between the expensive rent and the cost of theatre tickets indicates that the legitimate theatre may well have been out of reach for many Columbians. A modern analogy, contain­ ing the same ratio, would be renting a home for $250.00 per month, and paying $14.20 apiece for the best seats at a touring production. Such a price would place the legitimate theatre out of

17 Columbia Daily Tribune, September 19, 1908. 18 Ibid., November 11, 1908. i» Ibid., November 12, 1908. 20 ibid., January 18, 1909. 21 Ibid., August 28, 1909. Early Movies 77

the reach of modern working Columbians. Supposedly, the expen­ sive entertainment of the early 1900s, restricted the live theatre to Columbia's financially successful citizens. Another concern appeared in the spring df 1909, when a group of students from the University of Missouri attempted a bold experiment. They proposed opening a moving picture theatre exclusively for the local black population.22 The lack of a separate facility did not mean that blacks had been denied theatre admis­ sion. The Airdome included a separate entrance for blacks during its 1909 season.23 The Negro Nickleodeon which opened in 1909, experienced a short life. Due to financial failure, it closed in May 1910. A writer for the Missourian theorized that the failure resulted not from inability to pay the admission price, but rather that blacks inherently inferior beings, could not see well enough to follow the rapidly moving images of the motion picture.24 A third development occurred that same spring. The Columbia Daily Tribune sponsored a contest for students in the Columbia Public School system. Some 50 winners received free admission to The Clansman, a movie showing at the Columbia Theatre. This picture told the story of the Ku Klux Klan, "which restored the South to its rightful owners."25 Apparently parents approved of the film as entertainment for the students of the city. By 1909, both the Broadway Odeon and the Nickelodeon advertised three to five films per showing, and their bills changed twice each week. At the same time, the Columbia Theatre en­ gaged touring companies regularly to appear for one night stands every week or two. During the succeeding few years, a variety of nickel theatres opened, expanded, closed and reopened all competing vigorously for the entertainment market in Columbia. No substantial change occurred in the basic pattern, and no major innovations took place in either film content or technology. Even though film length increased, each performance consisted of several titles presented on equipment essentially unchanged since the first Vitascope presentation at the Haden Opera House. In April 1916, two events occurred on the same day which marked a clear divergence in content of the movie industry. First, delegates to the State Parent Teachers Association Convention

22 ibid., March 3, 1909. 23 Ibid., March 10, 1909. 24 Columbia University Missourian, May 17, 1910. 25 Columbia Daily Tribune, March 10, 1909. 78 Missouri Historical Review

BIG THEATRE PARTY, The Daily Tribune Will Entertain Twenty Five School Children at "The Clansman" Matinee

8o« S«U To Boy. And Ofa-U Writing Bc.t ISO Ward Co«n- The CUnaman"

jtaBnCu....- • »'*• T°ur MB*. addreaa, Tour achoel and teacher ?«*»*» Hlgb r" ""• | md mail or at*! aa«. to lkt c

J '»•« k" b»t« appointed lo .„u ,„. '/"her »'»v|C:,,,P0rtti00' M- d,e*4j# '»• P"«« >4.000.0OO AMERICAN THEATRE GOERS

MUa 25 Ti Dtueol '*, " f> '"- •»*» b.inC , Nov On In chotc s •lower f ; « *' ° «»« for "Tit CU0i. tal. la. Bal-onl"" '"' > *""•" ^ " T°U C" •,,U * nlo<1" Dramatic Ensemble of * T™ Prb |"«>r tood oo«po.l,.„ you .„ t tbat faJorit" pr4C,lc*U' ,ur» ol »l»»J»« a prlie 4th a.orite Por injor-atloo 4bou( t,Th( ' Cluima" Ko KUx Klan .« th< 40 ' daily paper.. Mr. Diioo'. booai e •'The Clacaaan'' and -The Leop BECORD Original -Td'a Spoil,•• or your taacher or par- it will be (lad torlr. enough (arte fle# York Productloo - 150.word csBpoeitloe BREAKINC • I Deluding lue ramoui Ku Klux Klan rhii it going lo TOUR id Boat delightful C«v« Sc«n* • party ITII held la thu city = ADdTrocK'f | Thare wiil b« le.erai hundred boyi I |irli preieot repreteoliog ail aofcooli K rou would Ilka to be CALVAKY HORSES of the 25 children «e 107 log the THE noapitallty of Tht Daily Tribooe in

ooe of lb* box,., with . ,p|Mdid new alike rl the play and the audi enct, don't delay writing that COB poiitioo CLANSMAN a eat and reduced rate on * by Tlomai IMaoa, \r. Trom kla two famooa aaTwia,"TM UUiaw" only to grade and bigb "1"T" "'•OPBrt'iBBoU." WfMUM af U»»r|« H BrtDDM PaVICES-M.Ua«*, Mc 75c.ii/X) i»ht, Ste, 7*c iili.ro:, M Si MAR. 18 Sal^'a Start^* ™Monda^y " ^

The Columbia Daily Tribune advertised The Clansman on March 11 & 15, 1909. Early Movies 79 viewed a film of Alice in Wonderland at the Columbia Theatre. The Columbia's manager accommodated the delegates by screen­ ing the film in two shifts, thus allowing them to see the film "around" regularly scheduled convention sessions. The delegates agreed that the film constituted a, worthwhile and meritorious educational experience, and they endorsed such films for the en­ richment of education.26 Another event occurred that same afternoon. About three hundred local women27 attended a "special Ladies only . . . **28 performance of a film entitled Damaged Goods. The film was the first in Columbia advertised for a restricted audience. "No one admitted under fifteen years of age."29 The showing enjoyed con­ siderable success, and over one thousand people attended the initial screening.30 Damaged Goods typified a film genre known as "White Slave." Such a film aroused two contemporary points of view. Some

26 ibid., April 29, 1916. 27 Ibid. 28 Columbia University Missourian, April 27, 1916. 29 Ibid. 30 Columbia Daily Tribune, April 29, 1916.

The Columbia Theatre, Columbia, Mo.

r -««^^^sl#*^ ,^pi"*s^ps**$». 80 Missouri Historical Review viewed it as an educational experience, even though it dealt with a distasteful subject. As Lewis Jacobs suggests: One of the first such films, Traffic in Souls, was a sensa­ tion throughout the country. Widely advertised as having the unqualified approval of the District Attorney's office, the Board of Censorship, and societies crusading against vice—actions since employed with many such films to give them moral standing—Traffic in Souls depicted white slave conditions in New York. . . . The sex theme was so heavily emphasized that many observers maintain it was this film which set the precedent for "sex in movie content." Traffic in Souls was quickly followed by a crowd of such pictures, The Inside of the White Slave Traffic and Damaged Goods being perhaps the most daring.31 Others believed that such films created an opportunity to corrupt young ladies. They sought strict censorship by the states in an effort to control the nature of material made available to the film audience. "The proof by officers of Juvenile Courts, of wardens of penitentiaries, of police officials and of scholars who have made a special sociological study of the influences of that character of picture," all demanded, according to a St. Louis City Council member, strong state censorship laws.32 While the con­ troversy seemed to arouse great emotions on the national level, and even though the response in Columbia to Damaged Goods appeared unusually large, it was not the harbinger of future re­ stricted movies. Columbia movie houses resumed their placid course, and nine years passed before movies became embroiled in smother moral issue. Technological change took place in 1928 when the Hall The­ atre management installed a Vitaphone sound projector. This was the only sound projector in the state outside of Kansas City and St. Louis. Boosters quickly pointed out that such progress would draw many people to the city of Columbia.33 On July 2, 1928, The Jazz Singer, with Al Jolson, opened at the Hall. For the im­ portant event, the First Lady of Missouri, Mrs. Nelle Baker, drove up from Jefferson City to attend a matinee performance.34 The

31 Lewis Jacobs, The Rise of the American Film (New York, 1939), 148. 32 Edward V. P. Schneiderhahn, "Motion Pictures. Influence-Benefits- Evils-Censorship," lecture presented at St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, March 6, 1917, booklet in State Historical Society of Missouri Library, Co­ lumbia. 33 Columbia Daily Tribune, July 3, 1928. 34 Ibid. Early Movies 81

"DAMAGED GOODS"

The picture you have been wanting to see. The picture that has packed theaters wherever it has been shown the picture that made those who saw it glacT they did and those who did not, wish they had.

IT WILL BE SEEN BY PACKED HOUSES HERE NEXT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHTS

This ad for Damaged "Damaged Goods" is a sociological drama, deal- Goods appeared in the Co­ with some of the most vital questions of life. lumbia University Missourian, The picture shows the terrible consequences of April 25, 1916. vice. It shows what the first drink may lead to. It shows that a marriage license should be accom­ panied b\ a health certificate.

Sec the picture. It is a stirring plea for pure life before marriage, in order to make impossible the transmission of hereditary taints to future gener­ ation?*: No one admitted under fifteen years of age. WALNUT STREET THEATRE April 28 and 29-2 Shows 7:30 and 9 p. m.

ADMISSION 25c

Hall Theatre charged a special admission fee of 30^ (matinee) and 50^ (evenings) instead of the usual 15^ and 30^.35 Before the advent of talking pictures, the theatres had be­ come involved in controversy. In 1925, the manager of the Cosy Theatre had announced his intention of showing moving pictures in competition with the local Chautauqua.36 The announcement caused little joy among the local Protestant clergy. Indeed, the Protestant Ministerial Alliance passed a resolution condemning the commercialization of the Sabbath.37 Five local Protestant churches presented their congregations with various resolutions aimed at closing theatres which charged admission on Sunday. In each case, they carefully couched this objection in terms of commercialization of the Sabbath, and not to motion pictures per se. The objecting churches included the Broadway Methodist, the First Christian, the First Baptist, the First Presbyterian, and Wilkes Boulevard Methodist. Each church apparently acted with the sanc-

35 Ibid. 36 Ibid., July 11, 1.925. 37 ibid., August 3, 1925. 82 Missouri Historical Review tion of its membership. The Session (Board of Elders) of the Columbia First Presbyterian Church made their stand official "on a motion duly seconded and unanimously [sic] carried, the officers expressed their disapproval of the operation of a picture show for pay in Columbia on Sunday. . . .'V38 Evidently attendance at the movies was "fairsized . . . /'3i) Since the manager of the Cosy Theatre wished "to learn the sentiment of Columbia people on the opening of Columbia theatres on Sundays . . . the Ministerial Alliance is striving to prove . . . that the sentiment is not in favor of Sunday opening."40 The Ministerial Alliance, reenforced by weak attendance, prevailed, and the issue of Sunday openings dropped from sight for over four years.

38 Meeting of August 2, 1925, in Minutes of Session. Vol. VI, January 1, 1922 April 22, 1926, First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, Missouri, Records, 1828-1965, State Historical Society of Missouri Manuscripts Collection, Columbia. 3« Columbia Daily Tribune, August 3, 1925. 40 ibid.

sf.f .\SliHKAH ALJQLSON jTheJUZ MAYM'AVOY WUNMOUN UMTQt ROJENBUTT

Grrjrr., rn-rrt.irrr ^ S,JC-

\i Ih. Hall Theatre 4 BJ(; STARTING O •*I)AYS MON.JULY*

;Uh 50c Early Movies 83

In late 1929, the issue of Sunday showings appeared again. This time, the battle lines were clearly drawn. The College Theatre Corporation owned all three Columbia theatres, the Missouri, Hall and Varsity. On October 5, 1929, the company announced Sunday movies and on Sunday, the next day, while "hundreds [1500 plus] of towns people and students flocked to the first Sunday Missouri [theatre] movie ever . . ." hundreds more met across the street at the Missouri Methodist Church to object to the showing.41 Opponents resolved to form a petition drive to force the issue to a vote of the people.42 On May 25, 1929, the Missouri Supreme Court had ruled illegal, a Springfield, Missouri, ordinance requir­ ing Sunday movie theatre closings.43 The following evening, the city council met and tabled con­ sideration of the proposed ordinance and referendum until Oc­ tober 9. Some expressed dismay that only about twelve interested persons attended the council meeting.44 However, the council pro­ ceeded to draft an ordinance anticipating possible supreme court objections. The regulation would prohibit not only Sunday movies, but all other forms of Sunday entertainment from wrestling and bowling to dog shows if an admission fee was charged.45 After drafting the ordinance, the council voted and split four to four on the issue.40 Appareutly, the council primarily based their con­ cern upon how the rest of the state would view their actions because Columbia was the site of the state university.47 Eventually, five of the eight council members agreed to abide by the results of a special election. Because the vote was not planned as a ref­ erendum, but as a guide for five of the city council members, Judge H. A. Collier declared it illegal at the behest of Rubey M. Hulen, attorney for the College Theatre Corporation. The judge issued a temporary injunction prohibiting the election.48 The vote, initially perceived as a method of determining the will of the majority of Columbia citizens, appeared to be the avowed goal of the anti-Sunday movie group.49 Their vocal lead­ ership seemed to consist of the ministers of the First Christian,

41 Ibid., October 7, 1929. 42 ibid. 43 ibid. 44 ibid., October 8, 1929. 45 ibid. 46 ibid., October 9, 1929. 47 ibid. 48 Ibid., November 11, 1929 40 ibid., October 7, 1929. 84 Missouri Historical Review

Judge H. A. Collier

First Baptist and First Presbyterian churches. Apparently, the Missouri Methodist Church offered some support since the first October meeting took place at that facility. However, the support of even four churches represented a decline since the 1925 pro­ test, and a minority among the twenty-seven Protestant churches active in the city at the time.50 Members of the city council agreed to abide by the injunction and halt the election. The Reverend J. M. Alexander of the First Presbyterian Church vowed to fight on, but the matter generated little interest after College Theatres won the skirmish. Doubtless, the approaching depression gave Columbians more serious considerations. Commercialization of the Sabbath dominated the issue in both 1925 and 1929. No one objected to the content of the movies or charged that movie patrons were of lesser moral stature. However, Reverend Luther Wesley Smith did point out that, "a wide open Columbia on Sunday . . . will bring a different Columbia. And the change morally and spiritually will be downward/'51 With the decline of organized opposition to Sunday movies, objections to the motion picture in Columbia came to a halt. The

50 Columbia, Missouri City Directory, 1930-31 (Columbia, Mo., [1931]), 19. 51 Columbia Daily Tribune, October 7, 1929. Early Movies 85 lack of protest probably resulted from several factors. A long heritage of theatre in Columbia helped pave the way for the movies. Such entertainment threatened no established business group. The legitimate theatres constituted the only business which could be harmed by movies, and throughout the period, the same person or group owned the movie and legitimate houses. Movies also provided no threat to organized religion as long as there were no Sunday showings. By the time theatres attempted Sunday openings, the movies had become sufficiently entrenched. The small amount of protest could not prevail when Sunday showings proved financially attractive. Finally, protests arose not from the persons who attended the movies. Such entertainment provided for the worker; the churches, primarily involved in the protest, represented the articulate and the elite. Finally, the movies provided an inexpensive form of enter­ tainment for a large segment of the local population for whom such amusement was unknown. Theatre owners received an income from a previously untapped source, and the existence of the movie theatres helped, the "little" man of the area to cope with his surroundings. Because each of these effects proved largely posi­ tive, it did not cause a marked reaction.

Photography Surprising art by which we lend Our countenance to a distant friend MR. T. L. RIVERS Hannibal Daily Messenger, December 8, 1858. Would respectfully inform the citizens of Hannibal and vicinity, that he had returned to this city, with the intention of remaining permanently, and devoting his entire attention to his Daguerrean Rooms. Feeling thankful for the liberal patronage of inviting ladies and gentlemen to give him a call, and those who wish GOOD AMBROTYPES to take a sitting in his Rooms before sitting elsewhere. He can accommodate you with any style of work you desire, from the soft and beautiful Mezzotint to the highly colored picture. It is needless for him to say anything in favor of his work, for he expects a Hannibal public to have a correct taste about pictures. He only invites you to examine specimens, and if his work does not stand the test of your criticism, he asks pardon for intruding. Rooms over Helm's Dry Goods Store, and Mitchell's Jewelry Store, East Main Street, Hannibal, Missouri. Pictures taken without regard to weather. Invalids or deceased persons waited on at their residences. [May 22-bptf] HISTORICAL NOTES AND COMMENTS NEWS IN BRIEF

Noble E. Cunningham, Jr., professor James Compton Home, Clay County; of History at the University of Mis­ New Lebanon Cumberland Presby­ souri-Columbia, received one of the terian Church and School, Cooper first Chancellor's Awards for Outstand­ County; U.S. Customhouse and Post ing Faculty Research. The research Office, Greene County; St. Philip's awards, new this year, "provide spe­ Episcopal Church, Grundy County; cial recognition to UMC faculty who City Hall, Forest City, Holt County; have made outstanding contributions Iron County Courthouse Buildings, in research and/or creative activity, Iron County; Hotel Phillips, the Pro­ who are presently productive and who fessional Building, Trinity Episcopal have great potential for the future/' Church and the Uptown Building and Dr. Cunningham, sixth vice president Theatre, all in Jackson County; Joplin of the State Historical Society of Mis­ Carnegie Library, Jasper County; souri, was cited for scholarship in Quincy, Missouri and Pacific Rail­ the study of American politics and road Station, Lewis County; Hannibal government. He received $1,000 and Old Police Station and Jail, Marion an additional $2,000 for use in pro­ County; the Thomas Gaunt House, fessional activities. Nodaway County; the Harris House, Pettis County; Pulaski County Court­ house, Pulaski County; St. Paul Catho­ Hermann, a German community in lic Church, Ralls County; Ray County Gasconade County, held its 27th an­ Poor Farm, Ray County; St. Stanis­ nual Maifest, May 19-20. The event laus Kostka Church, in the city of featured a "volksplatz/' or mall, with St. Louis; the Payne-Gentry House, booths, refreshments, dancing, bands St. Louis County; the Chicago and and games. Other features of the Alton Depot, Saline County; and the festival included a crafts show, house Downing House, Scotland County. and winery tours, a Maypole dance, parades and a puppet show of German folk tales. Missouri Heritage Trust, with the assistance of Landmarks Association of The Office of Historic Preservation, St. Louis, held its third annual meet­ Missouri Department of Natural Re­ ing and preservation conference in sources, announced additional sites St. Louis, May 11-12. Through the that recently have been entered on courtesy of the National Park Service, the National Register of Historic the sessions w7ere held in the Old Places. The Missouri sites include: Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. Cabins Historic District and Grim The conference featured the follow­ Building, both in Adair County; the ing concurrent sessions: Preservation Albert Bishop Chance House and is Good Business; Preservation Action; Gardens, Chatol, the F. Gano Chance Surveys, Nomination and Tax Act; House and the Missouri Theater, all the St. Louis Central Business District in Boone County; Hall Street Historic Nomination; Restoration Philosophies District, Buchanan County; the Ban­ at the Old Post Office; and, the non Homestead, Cass County; Dr. Restoration of the Old Courthouse.

86 Historical Notes and Comments 87

Dr. Ernest Allen Connally, associate the Honorable Dewey Short, long-time director of the Heritage Conservation United States representative from Ga­ and Recreation Service, Washington, lena and Mrs. Mary Trimble, founder D.C, spoke on current directions in of the Shepherd of the Hills Farm historic preservation. The conference and play near Branson, have been concluded with guided tours of the inducted into the Greater Ozarks Hall Central Business District, Laclede's of Fame. A public reception, July 1, Landing, the Old Post Office and a in the Ralph Foster Museum on the social hour at the Hadley Dean School of the Ozarks campus, Point Building. Lookout, honored the inductees.

On May 5, a group of interested persons established the Missouri State Antique carriages, croquet on the Genealogical Association. Officers of lawn and boating on the lake added the new organization are Kermit B. Victorian accents to Lafayette Square's Karnes, Kansas City, president; Betty 10th annual house tour, June 2-3 and Harvey Williams, Warrensburg, vice 9-10. The tour featured 18 outstanding president; Mary F. Ingman, Kansas homes, restored in both the traditional City, recording secretary; Dorothy A. and contemporary modes. Special Griffith, Overland, corresponding sec­ events in Lafayette Park commemo­ retary; and Joe Menius, St. Louis, rated this anniversary of St. Louis's treasurer. The Association is accept­ oldest historic district. Events included ing charter membership until the end a children's parade, a showing of of 1980. Dues are $10 and may be period fashions, a Victorian high tea sent to J. M. Menius, 4302 Barth and children in costumes of the era Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63125. singing and dancing along the tour route. Participants also enjoyed a band The late Dr. L. E. Meador, "elder concert complete with box supper and statesman of Springfield, Missouri," viewed a collection of antique dolls.

The Precious Gift of Truth Columbia Missouri Herald, December 16, 1898. I regard a sense of humor as some of the most precious gifts that can be vouchsafed to a human being. He is not necessarily a better man for having it, but he is a happier one. It renders him to enjoy his own discomfiture. Blessed with this sense he is never unduly elated or cast down. No one can ruffle his temper. No abuse disturbs his equanimity. Bores do not bore him. Humbugs do not humbug him. Solemn airs do not impose on him. Titles and decorations are but childish baubles in his eyes. Prejudice does not warp his judgment. He is never in conceit or out of conceit himself. He abhors all dogmatism. The world is a stage on which actors strut and fret for his edifica­ tion and amusement, and he pursues the even current of his way, invulnerable, doing what is right and proper according to his lights, but utterly indifferent, whether he does find approval or disapproval from others. If Hamlet had any sense of humor he would not have been a nuisance to himself and to all surrounding him. Missouri Historical Review

LOCAL HISTORICAL SOCIETIES

Adair County Historical Society of Andrew County. Accounts have been Members held their April 26 meet­ established in all the banks of the ing in the First National Bank, Kirks­ county where funds may be sent for ville. The program was presented by the project. The goal of the restora­ Sandra McCarty, assisted by Phyllis tion fund is $71,000. Jones, Betty Floyd, Jody Jones, Joyce Hammons and Nancy Luman, all of Audrain County Historical Society Novinger. They told of plans and On July 28, the Society sponsored projects connected with the Novinger a "country fare" at the museum in centennial to be celebrated August 31- Mexico. The event included sales of September 3. Dr. Mildred Gelbach garden produce, homemade jellies, Orwiler, chairman of the museum jams, bread and other food items. committee, announced that the mu­ Members served barbecued chicken seum recently had acquired a bronze and popcorn. relief of the late Judge Andrew Elli­ A Society committee is making plans son of Kirksville. for a memorial to the Audrain County Fair at the fairgrounds. Charles Stri- Affton Historical Society bling, Frank Kent, Gene Gallagher, The Ladies of Oakland served over Wells VanWyngarden, Bill Williams 400 persons at the July 4 brunch at and Jan Nesheim serve on the com­ Oakland. The event raised approxi­ mittee. Gene Gallagher directs the mately $750. Society project of cataloging county Members of the Society held their cemeteries. July 26 meeting at Oakland. A pot- luck dinner preceded the square danc­ Barton County Historical Society ing exhibition under the direction of The Society met June 3 in the Bar­ caller, Rich Fehrman. The Society's ton County State Bank, Lamar. Larry youth group showed slides on historic VanDeMark spoke on Civil War fire­ preservation during the supper hour arms and showed types of rifles, uni­ and prior to the meeting. forms and other equipment used by The Society reported that it now Civil War soldiers. Early communities has over 700 members. along the northern boundary of Bar­ ton County were recalled by George Andrew County Historical Society Leker. In March 1979, the statue, on top The historical museum, located in of the Andrew County Courthouse the county courthouse, was open 9:00 since 1899 when the building reached to 4:30, Monday through Friday dur­ completion, was removed for safety ing the summer months and other reasons. Since that time, it has been times by appointment. stored in the basement of the court­ house. Members of the Society wrote Bellevue Valley Historical Society letters asking the county court to make Members of the Society set up an plans to restore the dome of the court­ informational booth at the 8th Annual house to its original condition and Bellevue Valley Arts and Crafts Fes­ to replace the statue. As a result of tival, June 9, in Caledonia. The booth this action, the county court asked featured displays, posters and leaflets the Society to start a campaign for concerning the Society's history book Historical Notes and Comments 89

On June 13, the Society held its spring tour of historic sites in north­ regular meeting at the Community eastern Bollinger County. Center in Caledonia. It was reported James Denny of the Office of Histor­ that informational materials detailing ic Preservation, Jefferson City, showed the history book project had been re­ slides at the July 8 meeting in the ceived from Walsworth Publishing Co. courthouse, Marble Hill. Denny took The Society's goal for the next few many pictures of historical interest months is to increase publicity about while in Bollinger County. the project. The Society now has 179 members.

Blackburn Historical Society Boone County Historical Society The Society sponsored a display of The Society held its annual dinner items pertaining to the history of the meeting, April 24, at the University town at the Blackburn centennial of Missouri Alumni Center, Columbia. celebration in June. Items offered for University president, Dr. James C. sale by the Society included centen­ Olson spoke on the place of local his­ nial medallions, postcards depicting torical societies and the importance of historic sites and reprints of the Black­ historical study at the present time. burn Record newspaper, 1883. The Arlen Epperson, a representative from Society entered a horse-drawn carriage the Missouri Department of Natural in the centennial parade. Resources, presented a framed award to the city of Columbia and the Boone Blue Springs Historical Society County Historical Society. This was Members of the Society served some the official recognition that the Maple­ 300 people at the May 19 pancake wood restoration had been entered on day at the Chicago and Alton Hotel, the National Register of Historic 15th and Main. Proceeds from the Places. Columbia mayor, Clyde Wil­ event added to funds for restoration of son accepted the award on behalf of the hotel and the Dillingham-Lewis the city. Maplewood, the historic home Home, both Society properties. Mem­ in Nifong Park, was open for a spe­ bership in the Society totals 363. cial evening tour. The Society's youth group and their supervisor, Martha Bakken, held a fish The following officers were elected: Jfry, June 22, on the lawn of the So­ Dr. Charles Hellem, president; Bill T. ciety's museum, the Chicago and Alton Crawford, vice president; Smiley Her- Hotel. The group recently closed their rin, Jr., treasurer; Mary Helen Jones, charter membership drive with a total secretary; and Elizabeth Kennedy, his­ of 61 members. torian. Members enjoyed a covered-dish din­ Bollinger County Historical Society ner, July 22, on the Rocheport mu­ Kenneth Charles Sample, vice presi­ seum lawn. The program featured a dent-comptroller of First Federal Sav­ visit to the James Hourigan home, the ings and Loan, Cape Girardeau, was Friends of Rocheport museum and the guest speaker at the April 8 meet­ various antique shops. ing in the county courthouse, Marble Brush and Palette Club Hill. He spoke on the subject, "My The club is compiling information Father Was A Carpenter." During the and pictures on folklife of the Her­ business session, Mrs. Mary L. Hahn mann area. was elected to the newly established office of corresponding secretary. Butler County Historical Society On May 19, the Society sponsored a The Society is seeking donations of 90 Missouri Historical Review early 1900s furnishings for the Spur- and friends on June 23. Participants lock Cabin in Hendrickson Park, Pop­ visited the Cupples Mansion, Camp­ lar Bluff. Mrs. Francis Gamblin heads bell House and Eugene Field House the drive to secure donated or loaned and had lunch at Laclede's Landing. items for display. Needed items and furnishings include a well stoop, iron Carroll County Historical Society kettles, a fireplace crane, beds and Some 37 members and guests at­ rockers, shuck mattresses, quilts and tended the Society's carry-in dinner, coverlets, wash stands, wood stoves, March 22, at the Hale Baptist Church. kitchen tables, kitchen cabinets and The program consisted of a compari­ a pie safe. son of early-day doctoring and mod ern treatment of animals. It was pre­ Cape Girardeau County sented by veterinarian Dr. Robert Bell. Historical Society The Carroll County Museum opened Some 90 persons attended the So­ May 2, with visiting hours, 1-5 P.M., ciety's annual banquet, May 26, at Sunday and Wednesday. Admission the Harvest House in Jackson. Rush was $1.00 for adults and 50 cents for H. Limbaugh, Sr., a permanent trustee children. Special group tours may be of the State Historical Society of Mis­ arranged by contacting Katie Marie souri, addressed the group on "For­ Adkins, 209 N. Ely, Carrollton 64623 gotten History of Cape Girardeau or calling (816) 542-0831. County." Mr. Limbaugh is an attorney More than 40 persons attended the in Cape Girardeau. May 24 meeting and carry-in dinner At the September 29 meeting in the at the Wakenda Baptist Church, east Jackson Public Library, Clarence W. of Carrollton. The program, by Fultz presented the program. He Charles Brockmeier, featured "Old and showed scenes of Cape Girardeau New Trends in Farming." Ruth Au- County many years ago and present warter spoke on "Horse and Walking places of interest. Cultivation in Early Days"; Paul West described the "Farms in the Area"; Carondelet Historical Society and Eddie Heins explained the "Place The Society dedicated two historical of the Tractor in Todays Farming." markers in Carondelet Park on May 20. The markers were placed at the Frank Cedar County Historical Society T. Hilliker Memorial Bridge (formerly At the April 30 meeting in the the Kansas Street bridge) and on the Stockton Methodist Church, members Alexander Lacey Lyle House. After heard a program on "Wills." Mrs. the ceremonies, the Society served re­ Margaret Landreth presented the ad­ freshments in the Lyle House. dress. On June 3, 10 and 24, the Society A large number of persons attended Information Center at 6618 Michigan the May 21 meeting in the community Avenue featured exhibits in honor of hall in Jerico Springs. Mrs. Ralph the 75th anniversary of the St. Louis Crawford, assisted by Cleo Brown, told World's Fair. The exhibits included about the history of Jerico Springs. books, souvenirs and memorabilia from Mrs. Erma Jean Pickell showed a the fair. The Society also provided collection of carnival glassware at the free ice cream cones and iced tea to June 25 meeting at the Christian visitors. Church in El Dorado Springs. As­ The Society sponsored an in-town sisted by her husband, Ray, Mrs. bus tour of St. Louis for members Pickell also explained about the dif- Historical Notes and Comments 91 ferent types of glassware. Members Civil War Round Table elected James Landreth and Ralph of the Ozarks Crawford as the Society's new presi­ Dr. William E. Berger, a professor at dent and vice president, respectively. Drury College, Springfield, presented the program at the June 13 meeting in Centralia Historical Society the 89er Restaurant, Springfield. He The Society held its annual meeting, related "One Historian's experience June 14, in the Chance Gardens. The with the Civil War." following officers were elected: Mrs. Harold Miller, president; Jack Chance, Clark County Historical Society vice president; Harry Donnohue, treas­ The Society met on September 25 at urer; and Mrs. Charles Dill, secretary. the Sever Library in Kahoka. Mem­ Meetings are held the third Friday bers enjoyed a country musical pro­ of each month at the historical mu­ gram. seum, former home of the late A. Bishop Chance, founder of A. B. Clinton County Historical Society Chance Company. Mrs. Bernice Cook recalled country- school days at the May 12 meeting Chariton County Historical Society in the American Bank, Plattsburg. Some 50 persons attended the July 15 Over 30 persons attended the So­ meeting in the historical museum, ciety's annual picnic, July 14, on the Salisbury. Mr. and Mrs. Roy Schacke lawn of the museum at Plattsburg. presented the program. They told Members discussed plans for the Fall about New Guinea, where they had Festival and old homes tours to be lived for several years. A display of held in Plattsburg, August 23-25. primitive implements used by the na­ tives highlighted the talk. Cole Camp Area Historical Society The Society's regular meetings in Civil War Round Table April and June and a special work of Kansas City meeting in May focused attention on The Round Table held its regular the study of various old roads, which meeting and ladies night on May 22 no longer exist. The major road under at Twin Oaks Restaurant in Kansas study is the Butterfield Trail/Boon- City. Dr. Dudley T. Cornish presented ville Road which merged in Cole the program on "Negro Troops in the Camp just a block from the present Union Army." Dr. Cornish, a member business section. The Library Com­ of the History Department of Kansas mittee of the Society is platting the State University at Pittsburg, is cur­ location of this route from the north­ rently on sabbatical at the Staff and eastern edge of Benton County to War­ Command College at Fort Leaven­ saw. Various stops on the route, in­ worth, Kansas. cluding Burns Station, also will be documented. The Society plans to de­ Civil War Round Table sign overlays, for use with the current of St. Louis Benton County map, which will show On May 19, the annual ladies night the location of old roads in the Cole at Sunset Country Club concluded the Camp area. 22nd year for the group. Archie Mc­ Donald entertained members and Cole County Historical Society guests with songs of the Civil War. In view of the increasing interest in The Round Table's membership totals genealogy and other historic research, 101. the Society is making a special effort 92 Missouri Historical Review

to acquaint the general public with sented. On February 18, Reverend the material housed in its museum, Mike Christensen and Marita Owen 109 Madison Street, Jefferson City. gave the history of the First Christian The collection includes approximately Church of Maysville. Reverend Glen 2,500 publications in addition to many Lockhead related the Amity Methodist old newspapers and scrapbooks. The Church history on March 18. The library is free to members of the So­ Amity Singers presented special music. ciety and a nominal fee is charged The history of the R.L.D.S. Church for non-member use. The Society has of Stewartsville was given by Frances several persons, versed in research Whitmer at the Society's 10th anni­ work, available to do research. versary meeting, April 22- At that time the Society had over 300 members. Concordia Historical Institute On May 20, the Reverend Charles On June 1, the Reverend Roger Henderson presented the history of Moldenhauer began his duties as Faith Chapel Church west of Mays­ archivist-librarian of the Institute on ville. The congregation was formed the campus of Concordia Seminary in in July 1976. At the June 24 meeting St. Louis. He will supervise the regis­ in Epworth Chapel (Woods) Church, tration and maintenance of the In­ the Reverend Charles Henderson won stitute's collections. Over two and one- the door prize given for Old-Fashioned half million papers and manuscripts, Days. The prize consisted of a church plus books, microfilm, audio-visual plate, created by the Society. materials and museum objects com­ prise the collections. He also will take Excelsior Springs Historical charge of the reference and research Museum services of the Institute until funds The display area of the museum become available to call a reference has been remodeled to make it more and research assistant. Pastor Molden­ attractive and informative. A recent hauer has a rich background of parish exhibit featured mineral waters, a ministry, as well as skills and interests unique part of the town's past. His­ in the German language and American tory books on the mineral waters can Lutheran history. be ordered from the museum, 101 E. Broadway, Excelsior Springs, Missouri Dallas County Historical Society 64024, for $2.00, plus postage. The The Society held a Founder's Day museum is open, free to the public, in the O'Bannon Community Building every Wednesday or by special request in Buffalo, July 6. In a special recog­ on other days. nition program, charter members Ida Garner, Herbert H. Scott and the Friends of Historic Boonville Reverend Earl T. Sechler were pre­ The Friends, i.t collaboration with sented engraved plaques for ten years the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, pro­ of meritorious service. Mary McKown. duced the 4th Missouri River Festival a retired Dallas County teacher, spoke of the Arts, August 17-26, at Thespian on "Our Missouri Heritage." Hall in Boonville. The festival in­ cluded ballet, theatrical and opera DeKalb County Historical Society performances, and orchestra and in­ For the past several months, Society formal musical concerts. Educational members have been studying area opportunities, such as workshops and churches. Each monthly meeting was lecture demonstrations, also were avail­ held at an area church and the his­ able during the festival. Mrs. W. A. tory of that congregation was pre­ Abele and Leron Hill chaired the Historical Notes and Comments 93 festival executive committee and Miss western Missouri in the 1850s. The Lindi Fredmeyer served as festival event also included watermelon eating director. The Kemper Foundations of contests for children and adults and Kansas City provided major funding a shooting contest based upon the for the event. George Caleb Bingham painting, Shoot­ ing for the Beef. A "Mysterious Mis­ Friends of Keytesville sourian" wandered among the crowd, The Friends met on April 19 to dispensing silver dollars to those who prepare the General Sterling Price Mu­ could correctly answer questions about seum for its annual May 1 opening. Missouri history. A general meeting Members heard plans for the renova­ of the Friends and a potluck dinner tion of the three highway markers followed the celebration. which tell about the important sites and people of Keytesville. A report was Greene County Historical Society given on the possibility of receiving In recognition of Springfield's ses- matching funds for repair of the old quicentennial, the May 24 meeting, Presbyterian Church which is listed in the Museum of the Ozarks, Spring­ on the National Register of Historic field, featured a program by Mrs. Places. Marion Bissett Hoblit. A great-grand­ daughter of pioneer William Fulbright Friends of Missouri Town—1855 and "Queen of the Ozarks" in the On June 24, over 75 members at­ city's 1929 centennial celebration, Mrs. tended the meeting on the lawn of Hoblit told about the Fulbrights and "Woodneath," an 1856 homestead in other pioneers. She also showed pic­ Clay County which is listed on the tures of the Springfield centennial. National Register of Historic Places. The Society held its annual picnic, The owner, Mrs. Edwin Crouch gave June 28, at the country home of Mr. members a tour and related the history and Mrs. Harry Howard. Following of the home. Susan and Steve Davis dinner, members visited a nearby provided period music. pioneer church and heard Mrs. Myrtle Fifty delegates to the National As­ Grabeel speak on "Old Mt. Pisgah sociation of Counties Convention in Church and Camp." Kansas City toured Missouri Town on July 17. The delegates, who hold posi­ Grundy County Historical Society tions in county parks throughout the During the week of the North Central country, were guests of William Lan- Missouri Fair, July 23-27, the Grundy dahl and the Jackson County Parks County Museum was open from 2 to Department. The Friends provided 5 P.M., with regular weekend hours of hosts and hostesses for the group and 1 to 5 P.M. served as docents. On August 5, members staged a Harrison County Historical Society celebration, "Hallelujah for Yester­ Members enjoyed a carry-in dinner, day!" in the village in honor of Mis­ at their July 10 meeting in the Beth­ souri Statehood Day. It featured guest any Memorial Park. Guest speaker performances by groups engaged in Loren Reid, of Columbia, related sev­ national heritage preservation—St. An­ eral incidents from his recent book, drew7 Society, Ancient Order of Hi­ Hurry Home on Wednesday. bernians, German-American Citizens The Society voted to reprint the Youth Group, Alliance Francaise and 1876, and 1898 and 1917 Harrison a Black Heritage group. These groups County atlases into one volume. The represent the dominant cultures of book will sell for $18.00 if ordered 94 Missouri Historical Review before publication. The later price information, remained open daily will be $20.00. Sales tax and $1.00 for through October 31. Museum hours handling and shipping should be are 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. On May 27, added. The atlas may be ordered by the museum observed International sending $19.57 to Robert Mcintosh, Museum Day. Treasurer, Harrison County Historical Society, 2013 East Main Street, Beth­ Historical Association of any, Missouri 64424. Greater Cape Girardeau The Association held its annual Phoebe Apperson Hearst meeting and picnic, May 20, on the Historical Society grounds of the Glenn House, Cape Arbor day was observed by mem­ Girardeau. The business meeting fea­ bers, April 22, at Hearst Memorial tured annual reports of the Associa­ Park, near St. Clair. The group tion. Officers elected were Mrs. Betty planted trees in memory of several Lou Ryan, president; Tom H. Ger­ members. hardt, first vice president; Roy Lud- wig, second vice president; Ken Osten- Henry County Historical Society dorf, recording secretary; Mrs. Lin A large number of persons viewed Hall, corresponding secretary; and exhibits at the open house for the Mrs. Joan Jones, treasurer. historical museum, Clinton, on July 4. On June 30, in conjunction with Mrs. T. S. Dickinson is curator of the city's River Fest, the Association the museum, which is open 1-4 P.M., opened the Glenn House for tours. Tuesday through Friday. The Carriage House Craft Shop, lo­ Officers for 1979-1980 are John cated behind the Glenn House, also Brecht, president; Dr. Shelby Hughes, celebrated its 8th anniversary that vice president; Mrs. Dan Miles, Sr., day. recording secretary; and Mrs. Frank Daugherty, treasurer. Historical Society of New Santa Fe Members held their February 27 Hickory County Historical Society meeting in the New Santa Fe Bible Ladies of the Senior Citizens or­ Church, Santa Fe Trail and Belle- ganization have opened a gift shop view7, in Kansas City. The program in the Society's museum, which is open Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from consisted of a slide commentary, "Be­ 1 to 4 P.M. cause It Is There," produced by the Missouri Heritage Trust. It described Historic Florissant historic preservation efforts in Mis­ The group sponsored its annual souri. Julifest at the Myers Farm, 180 Dunn Diane Davidson presented a slide Road, Florissant, on July 28 and 29. program on "Missouri Town-1855," at The festivities included a crafts show the April 17 meeting. and demonstrations, music, refresh­ On June 30, the Society sponsored ments and views from the "widow's a "Chuck Wagon on the Trail." The walk" at the Myers House. event included dinner, watermelon, period-oriented games and a square Historic Hermann dance. On April 1, the Historic Hermann Museum, located in the German School Historical Society of Polk County Building at Fourth and Schiller streets, The May 24 meeting in the museum Hermann, opened for its 23rd year. building, formerly the Polk County The museum, which also offers tourist jail, Bolivar, featured the history of Historical Notes and Comments 95

Southwest Baptist College. Laura Krog, viewed, Missouri: Portrait of a People. from the Public Service Library of The film traced the history of the the college, gave an illustrated talk. state and its people through the works Her slides related the history of the of Missouri artists, sculptors, archi­ college from its first building, erected tects, musicians and writers. in 1879, to the present time. Officers for the coming year are Jackson County Historical Society John McReynolds, president; Oby Jes­ The Society announced that Janet ter, vice president; Clarcie Dechow, Bruce has been appointed director at secretary; Harlene Johnson, treasurer; the 1858 John B. Wornall House, 61st and Dorothy Kissick, program chair­ Terrace at Wornall Road in Kansas man. City. She began her duties at the So­ ciety's historic home on June 5. Historical Society of University City Hazel Graham, coordinator of ac­ The Society was organized at a tivities for the Society and director meeting called by Mayor Joe Mooney of the 1859 Jail Museum for nearly in September 1978. Officers of the 20 years, has announced plans to Society are Julius E. Giebler, presi­ lighten her work load and eventually dent; Constance Lennahan, vice presi­ retire. Mrs. William Coleman Branton, dent; Marilyn Lindsley, secretary; Susannah Gentry and Jerry A. Page Richard Reichman, treasurer; and have been named to a special search Bruce Collins, librarian. committee to employ a museum di­ On April 22, the Society sponsored rector. Mrs. Graham will assume the a reception for Mrs. Dorothy Birk, a title of executive director and con­ member of the Society and the author tinue to coordinate Society activities of the recently published book, The during the transition. Persons with World Came to St. Louis. The recep­ suggestions for the search committee tion was held in Ridgley Hall, a build­ may contact the Society office at 217 ing which was a part of the 1904 North Main Street, Independence, Mis­ exposition, on the campus of Wash­ souri 64050, phone (816) 252-1892. ington University. Jasper County Historical Society Beginning with 17 members, the A program on "Indian Heritage of Society's membership has grown to Jasper County" was presented by Wal­ 124. ter Krummel, at the June 10 meeting in the Sarcoxie Community Building. Holt County Historical Society Krummel related information about On June 25, Alice Kivett presented the Osage, Shawnee, Cherokee and a musical concert at the Society's Delaware, from whom the town of School Museum in Fortescue. Sarcoxie received its name. He showed Mrs. Elwood Derr, of Forest City, slides of Indian sites in the county and serves as the compiler for the So­ displayed artifacts. ciety's planned publication of ceme­ Membership in the Society now tery census material and history notes. totals over 100. The Society plans to complete the project and have the publication for Johnson County Historical Society sale early in 1980. Golda Gauchat, membership chair­ man, reported that the Society has Iron County Historical Society 344 paid members and 107 life mem­ At the July 16 meeting in the First bers. The Society gave special recog­ Baptist Church, Ironton, members nition to Dr. R. Lee Cooper for his 96 Missouri Historical Review efforts in securing many new members War. He and two volunteers wore for the group. uniforms of the Civil War era. The Society recently completed Joplin Historical Society publication of Laclede County Mar­ Marilyn Benton and Barbara J. riage Records, 1849-1881. Ruth Ed­ Fisher received this year's "Rex Plum wards and Gloria Burney had charge Bum" award for their outstanding of the publication project. The book service to the museum and the com­ costs $5.50 and may be ordered by munity. writing to the Laclede County His­ Officers of the Society are Mrs. torical Society, P.O. Box 1100, Leb­ Harry A. Satterlee, president; Mrs. anon, Missouri 65536. F. A. McGuire, vice president; Mrs. Robert Willcoxon, treasurer; William Lawrence County Historical Society Flieshaker, recording secretary; and Some 140 persons attended the So­ Mrs. Eugene H. Hamilton, correspond­ ciety's open house, held May 6, in ing secretary. Jones Memorial Chapel, Mt. Vernon. Dick Keezer, Neosho, presented a Kirkwood Historical Society piano concert for the occasion. A On June 12, the Society held its reception, following the program, hon­ annual Strawberry Festival on the lawn ored Mr. Keezer. Proceeds from the at History House, 549 East Argonne concert added $280 to the Society's Drive. A short business meeting fol­ Adamson log cabin restoration fund. lowed the picnic supper which fea­ The Adamson family recently donated tured strawberry desserts. Members an additional $1,000 for the restoration viewed the recently completed work of the cabin, located on the Memorial on the lawn and flower beds. The grounds. Society's Women's Association and Reverend George Steincross, of the nine Kirkwood area garden clubs fi­ Aurora First Baptist Church, gave the nanced the garden development proj­ program at the July 15 meeting of ect which Joe Godi, a director of the the Society. He discussed present-day Society, supervised. care and interests for the aged. Mrs. Gerhardt Kramer, the Society's mu­ Steincross entertained with two vocal seum director, announced that the solos. Society had been awarded two grants by the Missouri Committee for the Lewis County Historical Society Humanities. The grants will finance Canton Chapter the development of a walking tour of At the May 1 meeting in the Canton historic Kirkwood and construction of Senior Housing Center, Mrs. Mildred a permanent exhibit reflecting Kirk- Glover presented a program on bells. wood's history in government and She read a paper entitled, "History business. The exhibit will complete of Bells," and each member brought the displays in the museum room at a bell and told its history. History House. Macon County Historical Society Laclede County Historical Society Over 50 members and friends at­ The Society held the annual spring tended the June 24 meeting and carry- dinner, April 23, at, Wyota Inn, Leba­ in dinner at Floral Hall in the Macon non. Rick Hatcher, from Wilson's County Park. The program featured Creek Battlefield Park, Springfield, a film on the works of George Caleb presented the program on the life of Bingham, known as "the Missouri the average foot soldier of the Civil Artist." Members discussed the So- Historical Notes and Comments 97 ciety's projects which included plans Neer Dillon, second vice president; and preservation for the Blees Mili­ Mrs. Richard Klein, recording secre­ tary Academy buildings and the tary; Mrs. Louis P. Medler, corre­ restoration of the county courthouse. sponding secretary; Mrs. David W. Brigham, treasurer; and Mrs. Bryant Madison County Historical Society Rich, assistant treasurer. The Society met May 24 at the home The Society has named two new of Paul Skaggs at Fredericktown. The members to the staff. Gary N. Smith host and his mother, Mrs. Ruth joined the Society as curator of mu­ Skaggs, conducted tours through the seum collections. He will be responsi­ garden and the 1848 home and dis­ ble for researching and cataloging played old photo albums. the Society's extensive collections on Meramec Station Historical Society the history and culture of St. Louis Meetings of the Society are held and the westward expansion areas of the third Monday, every other month, the United States. As museum regis­ at the Community Center in Valley trar, Mrs. Marie Schmitz will be re­ Park. Officers are Mrs. Mary Heine- sponsible for maintaining records on mann, president; Eileen, Sherrill, vice more than 800,000 artifacts in the president and archivist; Evelyn James, Society's collection. treasurer; and Joyce Heinemann, sec­ Monroe County Historical Society retary. A program on Old Bethel high­ Missouri Historical Society lighted the June 5 meeting in the The Jefferson Memorial Building, county courthouse, Paris. In a slide- which houses the Society and its col­ illustrated address, Mrs. Juanita Spil- lections, officially has been designated ker, Shelby County, related the history a city landmark. Built as the first of the colony and some of the early national monument to Thomas Jef­ customs. Members discussed the possi­ ferson, the building was constructed bility of obtaining a permanent home with profits from the Louisiana Pur­ for the Society's artifacts. chase Exposition (1904 St. Louis Montgomery County Historical World's Fair) and dedicated to the Society City of St. Louis in 1913. It stands More than 80 persons participated near the site of the former main in a walking tour of Old Providence entrance to the fairgrounds in Forest Cemetery, sponsored by the Society, Park. May 27. The Society's 22nd annual Flea Mar­ ket, May 16-18, on the parking lot at Morgan County Historical Society Stix-Westroads, raised $110,000 to sup­ The Society met in the Motor Bank port the Society's operations, programs of Versailles on June 25. Members and services. made plans for the Society ice cream The Women's Association of the So­ social. Held July 23 on the grounds ciety held its annual meeting, May 24, of the museum on North Monroe in the Jefferson Memorial Building. Street in Versailles, the annual event Mrs. J. C. Horner gave a slide presen­ featured entertainment by the Melody tation, "Memories of 1904," a look at Makers of Stover. the St. Louis World's Fair. Officers During the summer, the Society's elected for 1979 were Mrs. N. Arne museum was open to the public, Mon­ Arneson, president; Mrs. William Cor­ day through Saturday, from 1 to 5 P.M. nell, first vice president; Mrs. P. Mc- Many groups and organizations, as 98 Missouri Historical Review well as tourists visiting the Lake of and Company, entitled Styles from the Ozarks, took daily guided tours 1850 to the Present. Ken Halfon of the facility. Mrs. Omega Hutchison showed the film which presented the supervises the museum. advancement of women's attire over the years. Native Sons of Kansas City Jeff Staples, of Maryville, a student At the January 22 meeting in the of the Experiment in International Alameda Plaza Hotel, Kansas City, Living, presented the program at the the Native Sons honored the Out­ May 18 meeting in the Society's home standing Kansas Citian of 1978. This museum, Maryville. He showed slides year they recognized William H. Dunn, and told of his adventures during his president of Dunn Construction Com­ stay in Uruguay. pany. Mr. Dunn spoke briefly to On June 3, the Society held a quilt the members concerning his personal and needlework fair at the Lamkin thoughts on the greater Kansas City Gymnasium, Northwest Missouri State area. University, Maryville. Proceeds from Newton County Historical Society the event benefited the Society's home The Society met, June 10, at the museum. museum in Neosho. Members approved Over 60 persons attended the annual a proposed amendment to the bylaws. banquet and election of officers, June The revision changed the fiscal year 18, in the Student Union, Northwest and defined and clarified Society and Missouri State University, Maryville. membership regulations. Larry James Following musical entertainment, Jim and Betty Bell presented the program Denny, of the Office of Historic on genealogy. Preservation, Department of Natural Resources, Jefferson City, presented Nodaway County Historical Society the program. He showed slides and The Society held its February 19 discussed styles of architecture in Mis­ meeting at the home of Society presi­ souri. Officers elected were Thomas dent, Tom Carneal, in Maryville. Mrs. Carneal, president; Mrs. Iris Litten, Gayle Bond, head of the Physical first vice president; Wilma Hall, sec­ Therapy Department, St. Francis Hos­ ond vice president; John Fuhrman, pital, Maryville, presented the pro­ third vice president; Edwin Brewer, gram. She related her efforts in tracing secretary; and Cecil Lawson, treasurer. her genealogy. At the March 19 meeting, members Old Trails Historical Society completed plans for a quilt and Eileen Sherrill, a teacher in the Val­ needlework fair. Through the efforts ley Park School District, presented the of the local Business and Professional program at the May 16 meeting at Women's Club and Mrs. Opal Eckert, Jefferson Savings in Ballwin. The a member of the Society, the museum slide-tape presentation, prepared by received a modern display cabinet. the students in the Valley Park history Mrs. I. E. Tulloch hosted over 20 class, featured "A History of Valley members of the Society at the April 16 Park." meeting. Mrs. Tulloch's home in Mary­ On July 18, the Society held its ville is the former residence of two annual family picnic at the home of past governors of Missouri, Albert T. Fran Stuart in St. Louis County. Morehouse and Forrest Donnell. The Officers of the Society for 1979-1980 program featured a film from the are Mrs. Robert J. Hiatt, Jr., presi­ national archives of Sears, Roebuck dent; Mrs. William Broderick, first Historical Notes and Comments 99 vice president; Mrs. Edward W. Keil, Preservation, Jefferson City. He dis­ second vice president; William Brod­ cussed various architectural styles, erick, treasurer; and Mrs. Charles illustrated with slides of Missouri Fischer, Jr., historian. buildings. The Society recently received a fed­ Overland Historical Society eral grant for a historical survey of The Society sponsored its 4th annual old area homes. A part of the money Gala Dinner Dance, March 31, at will be divided among three selected Le Chateau. Members held a book buildings in Perryville. fair-rummage sale at Norman Myers Park in Overland, April 18-20. The Pettis County Historical Society Society placed the "Circulating Log Under the direction of the Society, House," a miniature log cabin, in the castle-like stone lodge, which has various local banks and businesses. intrigued residents of Central Missouri The miniature served as a receptacle and highway passersby for more than for donations. All these projects will 50 years, opened to the public for help fund the restoration of an 1800s tours. Guided tours of Bothwell Lodge log house on a site in Overland. were available May 26 through Sep­ Pemiscot County Historical Society tember 3. Built in stages between At the April 27 meeting in Colonial 1897 and 1928, the lodge was the Savings and Loan, Caruthersville, five creation of John Homer Bothwell, a individuals received the Society's Pio­ Sedalia lawyer, financier and civic neer Heritage Award. Those honored leader. The lodge is located in Both- were Lucille De Reign, Caruthersville; well State Park, six miles north of Mrs. P. B. Acuff, Caruthersville; Clera Sedalia, off U.S. Highway 65. The B. Ferry, Hayti Heights; Agnes Sellers, park, dedicated May 6, has picnic fa­ Pascola; and Mrs. Harry Gaither, Hay­ cilities and a marked nature trail ti. Family or friends prepared biog­ available for public use daily from raphies of the honorees. The program sunup to sundown. featured the reading of the biogra­ phies. Pony Express Members learned about improve­ Historical Association ments to the archives room at the Members held their May 13 meeting May 25 meeting. Officers elected were at Patee House Museum in St. Joseph. Teresa Gallaher, president; Rachel Milton Perry showed color slides of Dawson, vice president; Katherine the excavation of Jesse James's original Hill, secretary; and Carolyn Newton, grave at Kearney and told about the treasurer. remains which were found. Ten members attended the June 22 The Association held training ses­ meeting and shared their reason for sions, May 12, 14 and 15, for summer becoming a member of the Society. volunteers at Patee House or the Jesse For the program Carrie Speer related James Home. Volunteers learned how her experiences in teaching migratory to conduct tours and the mechanics children. involved in meeting the public and selling souvenirs. Perry County Historical Society The June 3 meeting featured the The annual dinner meeting, April annual potluck dinner. Dr. Jim Cor- 17, in the Intersection Restaurant, nett, principal of Hillyard Technical Perryville, featured guest speaker School, gave a slide presentation on James Denny, of the Office of Historic the school's bond proposal. 100 Missouri Historical Review

Pulaski County Historical Society Reverend Vincent A. Heier, president; The Society celebrated its 10th an­ Daniel O. Murphy, vice president: niversary this year by sponsoring an James S. Pope, secretary; and Pete art contest. The 66 entries in seven Poletti, treasurer. categories depicted the old stagecoach stop on the courthouse square in Scotland County Historical Society Waynesville. A watercolor by Don Mil­ The Society met April 23 at the ler was judged the overall winner. Scotland County Library, Memphis. The Society plans to cooperate with Dr. Marian Ohman, from the Uni­ the county Women's Democratic Club versity of Missouri-Columbia, pre­ in finding and marking the old sented the program on Missouri's re­ pioneer roads of Pulaski County. nowned artist, George Caleb Bingham, Members held their July 26 meeting and his paintings. at the Red Kitchen in West Waynes­ The Society reported progress on ville. The group voted on placing restoration work at the Downing markers at six historic sites which House in Memphis. A new cedar roof the Society has recommended to the has been installed and workers have state and the National Register of removed partitions and false ceilings Historic Places. The program featured added to the house in later remodel­ work on the members' genealogy re­ ing. Several fireplaces have been un­ search. covered. Officers of the Society are Marlene Raytown Historical Society Cowell, president; Maxine Adams, vice The Society held its annual picnic, president; Molly Lancaster, secretary; July 25, at the Kupfer Picnic Grounds, Geneva Harvey, corresponding secre­ in Kansas City. Bill Lucas, of Platte tary; and June Kice, treasurer. City, presented the program on the history of By rum's Ford. Members Shelby County Historical Society traveled East 58th Street (Byrum's Members held their annual picnic, Ford Road) to the meeting. The So­ July 15, in the Senior Citizens Build­ ciety reported that the spring auction ing, Shelbina. Helen White showed raised $1,100 for the museum fund. slides of the 1957 Shelbina Centen­ nial Parade. The slides had been taken St. Charles County by the late Stanley Hildmann. The Historical Society "Has Beens" provided musical enter­ Members of Senior Girl Scout Troop tainment. #3319 served as summer tour guides at the Society's Newbill-McElhiney Smoky Hill Railway and House in St. Charles. Historical Society Officers of the Society are Bill On April 13, the Union Pacific Rail Schiermeier, president; Mary Lichliter, road officially presented UP Steam first vice president; Peg Kilby, second Rotary Snowplow 900075 to the So­ vice president; and Terry Rau, secre­ ciety. Ed O'Hara and Dick Lohr repre­ tary. sented the railroad. The ceremony St. Louis Westerners took place at the State Line Yard in On May 16, the Westerners held Kansas City. their annual ladies' night on the Gold- Mr. and Mrs. H. Tom Harter, of enrod Showboat at the foot of the Kansas City, hosted the May 11 meet­ levee in St. Louis. The following offi­ ing of the Society. Members viewed cers for 1979-1980 were inducted: videotapes of several television shows Historical Notes and Comments 101 relating to the Society's museum and June. Mrs. Wilma Hamblin reported railroading. that over 200 copies of the book had Members held their June 8 meet­ been sold. The book costs $18.00 per ing at the museum in Kansas City. copy. The Society also has available W. Hulen Oliver presented the pro­ reprints of the 1887 History of Vernon gram, "Zephyring Through the Rock­ County, Mo. at $30.00 each. Orders ies." He showed a film of the Cali­ for either book may be sent to the fornia Zephyr he had taken in the Society, in care of Mrs. Wilma Hamb­ 1960s on various runs between Denver lin, 127 E. Cherry, Nevada, Missouri and Glenwood Springs. 64772. H. R. Bird, director of railroad safety for the Federal Railroad Ad­ Wellington Historical ministration Regional Office in Kan­ Preservation Association sas City, and members of his staff The Association held a membership gave the program at the July 13 meet­ tea, April 29, at the American Legion ing of the Society. They discussed the Building, Wellington. Jim Burnett pre­ role FRA plays in the operation of sented the program on collectables, the modern railroad system. Staff "Old Things Around the House and members who participated were J. T. Toys." He displayed many old items Hunter, S. H. Stotts, Jr., V. A. Berry ranging from 25 to 100 years old. and L. A. Straight. Pat Thurman and Mrs. Donna Hilker will serve as coeditors of a news­ paper the Association plans to publish. Stone County Historical Society The Society held its regular meet­ Weston Historical Museum ing, April 22, at the Stone County The museum, located in Weston, Courthouse in Galena. Following the reopened, March 1, following a two- business meeting, members visited the month winter closing. Museum hours room in the courthouse where the are 1 to 4 P.M., Tuesday through Satur­ county records are stored. day, and 1:30 to 5:00 P.M. on Sunday. Members met May 20 at the Reeds It is closed on Mondays and holidays. Spring High School Library. Leonard The museum also sponsors Mini- Williams reported on the Society's Tours, a popular way for small groups executive committee meeting with the to visit Weston's historic district. Fur­ Stone County Court regarding preserv­ ther information concerning Mini- ing the old county records. Tours may be obtained by writing to Weston Historical Museum, Box 166, Vernon County Historical Society Weston, Missouri 64098. The Reverend R. E. Highley, of Ventura, California, spoke at a special Westport Historical Society meeting, June 6, in the City-County Members held their May 18 quarter­ Community Center, Nevada. Reverend ly dinner meeting at the Westport Highley, who baptised Jesse James's United Presbyterian Church in Kansas daughter, Mary, in the 1930s and be­ City. Mrs. Bruce Houdek gave a slide came her close personal friend, showed presentation with commentary on an extensive slide set dealing with the "The People's Mansion: A Picture James family and the James outlaw Tour of the Missouri Executive Man­ gang. sion." The Society's publishing project, On May 19 and 20, members staffed The Cemetery Directory of Vernon a booth at the Hyde Park Festival. County, Mo., reached completion in Volunteers also conducted walking 102 Missouri Historical Review tours of Westport on May 19 and graphical Change in an American June 1. Backwoods Region." The Society gave The Society sponsored a veranda special recognition to Elmo Ingenthron sale at the Harris-Kearney House in and presented him with an honorary Kansas City, July 14 and 15. Members membership in the organization. A donated items and brought baked founder, charter member and the first goods for the sale. president of the Society which was organized in 1961, he continues to be WTiite River Valley an active and supportive member. Historical Society Marie Corrington installed the fol­ The Society held its annual meet­ lowing officers: LuciHe A. Brown, ing on June 10 at the School of the Hermitage, president; Kathleen Van Ozarks, Point Lookout. Dr. Milton D. Buskirk, Hollister, vice president; Iona- Rafferty, head of the Department of mae Rebenstorf, Hollister, secretary- Geography and Geology at Southwest treasurer; and Viola Hartman, Kirby- Missouri State University, Springfield, ville, historian. Ruth Asher, Galena, presented a program of slides and was reappointed editor of the Society's commentary on "The Ozarks: Geo­ quarterly publication.

Straightforward Or Categorically?

St. Louis Lumberman, September 1, 1904. An old lawyer tells this story of one of his experiences years ago, in cross- examination. The witness seemed to be disposed to dodge his questions. "Sir," said the lawyer, sternly, "you need not state your impressions. Now, sir, answer me categorically." From that time on he could get little more than "yes" or "no" out of the witness. Presently the lawyer said: "You say you live next door to the defendant?" "Yes." "To the north of him?" "No." "To the south?" "No." "Well, to the west, then?" "No." "Ah," said the lawyer, sarcastically, "we are likely at least to get down to the one real fact. You live to the east of him do you? "No." "How is that, sir?" the astonished attorney asked. "You say you live next door to him; yet he lives neither to the north, south, east nor west of you. What do you mean by that, sir?" "I thought perhaps you were competent to form the impression that we live in a flat," said the witness, calmly; "but I see I must inform you that he lives next door above me."—Pittsburg Gazette Historical Notes and Comments 103

GIFTS

MRS. ELIZABETH RIFFLE ANDREWS, Gravois Mills, donor: "The Birthing of a Town (History of Laurie) ," by donor. R* MR. AND MRS. JOE AUER, Blackburn, donors: Record of Blackburn (Mo.) Fishing Club, 1905-1955, Minutes of Halley School District Farm Club, Blackburn, Mo., 1917-1920, both loaned for copying, M; biographical material on Luman Beebe Curtius, by Benjamin L. Curtius, Jr., loaned for copying, and "A Tribute to Luman Beebe Curtius and His Wife, Colville Curtius," by Duncan Richart. R

SIBYL MCCLANAHAN BAKER, Bedford, Texas, donor: McClanahan Families from Tennessee to Missouri, Parts I and II, by donor. R

DOROTHY BASS, Smithton, donor: "Lake Creek United Methodist Church," by Mrs. Paul Culp, Sr., and Rev. Philip J. Bowline. R

MRS. VIRGINIA BOTTS, Columbia, donor: Material concerning Missouri historic sites and Columbia and Mexico. E& R

MRS. WILLIAM L. BRADSHAW, Columbia, donor: Material relating to Dr. Floyd Shoemaker, the State Historical Society and Columbia. N & R

TRENTON BOYD, Columbia, donor: Material concerning Columbia and the Ozarks. R

ERMA LEE SKYLES BROWN, Salem, Oregon, donor: Texas County (Mo.) Marriages 1876-1888, by donor. R

ISABELLE MARX BUDD, Durham, North Carolina, donor: Program of the Inaugural Ceremonies of Governor John M. Dalton, State of Missouri, 1961. R

MRS. DOROTHY CALDWELL, Rocheport, donor: Four views of Rocheport, loaned for copying. E

CATESBY B. CANNON, Poland, Ohio, donor: Front page of St. Louis Republic (semi-weekly) , July 22, 1895. N

MRS. WALTER E. CASTLE, Otterville, donor: Otterville College Records, 1885-1908, and typescript history of the col­ lege. M

KAREN CHAMBERLIN, Hughesville, donor: Mimeographed article on houses built during the Depression by the Farm Security Administration in northern Pettis County, by donor. R

#These letters indicate where the gift materials are filed at Society head­ quarters: R refers to Reference Library; E, Editorial Office; M, Manuscripts Collection; N, Newspaper Library; A, Art Room; and B, Bay Room. 104 Missouri Historical Review

RANDAL C. CLARK, Jefferson City, donor: Color slides of pre-Civil War home in Texas County, loaned for copying. E

CYRIL CLEMENS, Kirkwood, donor: Program of Centennial Pageant, St. Louis University, 1920. R

DR. JOHN CRIGHTON, Columbia, donor: Publications, clippings and papers relating to the City of Columbia, espe­ cially the Land Clearance and Redevelopment Authority, the Charter As­ sociation and public housing. R, N & M

MRS. MARY K. DAINS, Columbia, donor: 1928 Yearbook of the First Christian Church, Columbia, Mo. R

ADRIAN J. DURANT TRUST, donor, through ROBERT DURANT SMITH, Columbia: Framed watercolor study of magnolia blossoms by Gladys Wheat. A

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER INSTITUTE FOR HISTORICAL RESEARCH, Smithsonian In­ stitution, Washington, D.C, donor, through JAMES S. HUTCHINS: Xerox copy of "Notes on the Missouri River, and some of the Native Tribes in its Neighbourhood," in Analectic Magazine (1820) . R

MRS. DONALD B. EHRLICH, Independence, donor: Photographs of William Hickman Hill and Jacob G. Hill. E

LLOYD EVANS, Carlton, Victoria, Australia, donor: Copies of family records of McWilliam family of Scotland County, Mo. R

M. L. FERGUSON, New Bloomfield, donor, through TRENTON BOYD, Columbia: 15 announcement books of sales of Polled Hereford cattle; Program of 17th annual meeting of the Woman's Missionary Society, Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Missouri Conference, Richmond, Mo., 1929. R

OLIVER F. FINK, Columbia, donor, through FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY: "They Shall Not Starve?", original editorial cartoon by Daniel Fitzpatrick, for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 20, 1938. A

MRS. GLYNDA FLETCHER, St. Ann, donor: The Stone Family 1829-1979. R

BARBARA A. GEISERT, Marietta, Georgia, donor: Klingensmith genealogy. R

MRS. BROWN GLENN, Columbia, donor: Stock Certificate, Mexico, Santa Fe & Peny Traction Co. of Missouri, Mex­ ico, Mo., 1909. M

MRS. HENRY W. HAMILTON, Marshall, donor: Papers of Thomas McMahan, Sr., and Thomas McMahan, Jr., five letters from Mattie A. Bingham (Mrs. George Caleb Bingham) to Louisa Bingham Neff, 1879-1881, affidavit concerning the will of Matthias Bingham and xerox copy from Variety Book, Probate Records, Saline County, Mo., 1821- 1833, M; "Index of Names in 1881 History of Saline County." R Historical Notes and Comments 105

MRS. VIVIAN HANSBROUGH, Columbia, donor: Materials relating to the Boone County Area and Missouri Retired Teachers Associations, R; Missouri Writers Guild Records. M

MRS. YOUNG V. HARPER, Nashville, Tennessee, donor: "Hidden Hendersons of Cocke and Greene Counties, Tennessee." R

MRS. J. R. HENDERSON, Jackson, donor: A Brief History of the First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Missouri 1864- 1964, R; papers relating to the Missouri State Committee and Missouri Council on the Arts, 1962-1967. M

JAMES HIGBIE, Boonville, donor: Photographs of Boonville and Cooper County residents and home in Boon­ ville, loaned for copying. E

EUGENE HUFF, Toledo, Ohio, donor: Memory Trail, by Lewis Francis Gingery. R

RUSH JOHNSON, JR., Marceline, donor: Fire Fighters Association of Missouri: 25 Year History 1954-1979, R

RUTH C. KING, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, donor: Oakland Christian Church 1872-1959, Boone County, Mo. R

DR. GARY R. KREMER, Jefferson City, donor: Lincoln University Black Historic Cultural Sites Survey, Phase I, "the Ville area of St. Louis." R

Lois MITTEN LAIRD, Dighton, Kansas, donor, through MARY RAY, Columbia: Some Kentuckians Move West: Creekmores, Blakelys, and Related Families, compiled by Anna Harman Bowen. R

DR. AND MRS. GEORGE A. LAUGHLIN, Kirksville, donors: Records of Forest-Llewellyn Cemetery, Kirksville, and Pratt Cemetery, in Adair County. R

JESSE LEWIS, Wellsville, donor: New Florence Montgomery County Leader, April 2, 1943, N; postcards of Mineola, Wellsville and Middletown in Montgomery County, loaned for copying, and photograph of St. Louis trolley car. E

MRS. ESTHER J. LONG, Rich Hill, donor: Photograph of Hahatonka Castle and surrounding area. E

GEORGE R. LOUGHEAD, Poplar Bluff, donor: Kiwanis: Fifty Years of Service, Popular Bluff, Mo., 1921-1971; Masonic Di­ rectory, Poplar Bluff, 1931; and Loughead School District No. 41, Putnam County, Mo., by Mary Loughead. R

MRS. DAVID J. MCCARTNEY, Alslip, Illinois, donor: Letter from General John J. Pershing to American Expeditionary Forces in France, February 28, 1919. M 106 Missouri Historical Review

FRANK MCKINNEY, Barrington, Illinois, donor: Advertising flyer concerning the ex-Confederate Home at Higginsville, Mo., written by Mrs. Elizabeth Ustick McKinney. M

MARY M. MCNEAL, LaCrosse, Wisconsin, donor: Various issues of the Maitland Herald, Graham Post and Graham Record. N

THE MANEATER, donor, through DAVID PASZTOR, Columbia: Bound volumes of the University of Missouri-Columbia student newspaper, The Maneater, 1969-1975, 1978-1979. N

MARY CHILTON WINSLOW CHAPTER, COLONIAL DAMES XVII CENTURY, donor, through GRACE STONE, Utica: Fifty Families: A History, by Nancy Chambers Underwood. R

BILL MATTESON, Kansas City, donor: Beyond the Fence Rows: A History of Farmland Industries, Inc. 1929-1978, by Gilbert C. Fite. R

MISSOURI PRESS ASSOCIATION, Columbia, donor, through WILLIAM A. BRAY: Missouri Press Association Papers, 1891-1965. M

MISSOURI VALLEY ROOM, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI PUBLIC LIBRARY, Kansas City, donor, through DAVID BOUTROS: Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, Records, 1798-1839: official documents, military, civil, pertaining to early settlers of the territory. M

MONTANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Helena, Montana, donor, through Ms. LORY MORROW: Postcards of Barry County, Jackson County and the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. E

MRS. LEONA S. MORRIS, Columbia, donor: Two postcards of Hannibal, loaned for copying. E

ARTHUR PAUL MOSER, Springfield, donor: Directories of Towns, Villages and Hamlets, Past and Present of Jeffer­ son, St. Charles and Ste. Genevieve counties, Missouri. R

MRS. G. DESALES MUDD, Webster Groves, donor: Copy of "St. Alphonsus Parish in Millwood, Missouri," thesis by Peter J. Rahill, 1947. R

GLYNDA W. NAYLOR, Fayette, donor: "Pulliam Family Cemetery," Fayette, Howard County, Mo., directory. R

JULIA NAYLOR, GOLAH N. DE WITT AND ROSE MCLEAN, Columbia, donors: Some Favorite Songs of the Naylor-Fleet Family, compiled by Julia Nay­ lor. R

NORTHEAST MINNESOTA HISTORICAL CENTER, Duluth, Minnesota, donor, through DAVID GAYNON: U.S. General Land Office Certificate issued to Matthias Benson, Barry County, Mo., 1845. M Historical Notes and Comments 107

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE, Jefferson City, donor, through EULA HUSS: Various interpretations of the Great Seal of the state of Missouri. E

HAROLD N. PAINTER, Sedalia, donor: "The Gottschalk Family of Pettis County, Missouri, & the Allied Hull Family & Harness Family," by donor. R

HAYSLER A. POAGUE, Clinton, donor: Minutes of the Henry County, Missouri, Council of Civilian Defense, De­ cember 19, 1941 to January 6, 1943. M

RUBY POTTER, Columbia, donor: Letters, writings, papers and photographs of Ethlyn Cockrell of Princeton, Missouri, a Red Cross nurse during and after World War I. M & E

RALLS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, donor, through MRS. FRANCES G. ROSS, New London: "Lick Creek Cemetery at Perry," Ralls County, Mo. R

FREDRIC D. REDEKER, Morrison, donor: Microfilm of village of Morrison, Gasconade County, minutes of the Board of Trustees, 1919-1942, treasurer's ledger, 1899-1919, and misc. ordinances and agreements. M

MR. AND MRS. KENNETH RUTHERFORD, Lexington, donors: Genealogical History of the Rutherford Family, Volumes I and II, by donors. R

MRS. ANNE B. RUTLEDGE, Perryville, donor: Xerox copy of John C. Farrar's diary of overland journey to California and return by water, 1852-1853. M

BERT SHELDON, Chevy Chase, Maryland, donor: Various clippings relating to Missouri people and places. R

JANE H. SILVER, Tigerville, South Carolina, donor: "Fifty Years of Southern Baptist Junior College Education 1927-1977," by donor. R

SOUTH MAIN PRESERVATION SOCIETY, St. Charles, donor, through JOHN R. DENGLER: Program and clippings relating to the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase Transfer, St. Charles. R

MRS. ANNA F. STEVENS, Macomb, Illinois, donor, through HARRY E. FOSTER: Examinations, notebooks, essays, etc., comprising the work of Anna (Frike) Stevens as a student in Salem, Missouri, schools, 1912-1917. M

JOHN STOOKEY, Columbia, donor: Reference books on aerial photographs. R

MRS. LYONE G. TAYLOR, Ste. Genevieve, donor: "The Home of John M. and Adaline Wilson and Wilson Cemetery Located in Jefferson County Missouri Near Grubville." R 108 Missouri Historical Review

EDWARD J. THIAS, St. Louis, donor: Missouri Architect, 1962-1965, and pamphlets relating to architecture in Missouri. R

MRS. ANTON A. TIBBE, St. Louis, donor: A large collection of photographs by Charles Trefts of his family, for his advertising company and of St. Louis people and places, the majority of which are glass negatives and glass slides; material and photographs related to Charles Trefts running in the St. Louis marathon, 1907, loaned for copy­ ing. E

ESTATE OF LOUISE B. TRIGG, Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, donor, through VERNON A. JONES: Postcard and photographs of John William (Blind) Boone and associates, E; medal, "Blind Boone, Champion Pianist of the World," presented by Mr. and Mrs. John Lange on his birthday, May 17, 1887, in beaded pocket- book, R; numerous pieces of sheet music including 10 Boone compositions and misc. clippings and family material relating to Blind Boone. M

ALICE TURNER, Columbia, donor: Photograph of woman in Salvation Army uniform. E

VIDA SURBER VANCE, Mexico, donor: Allied Families of the Kentucky-Missouri Surbers. R

WARREN WOODSON, Columbia, donor: Bible records of Thornhill family. R

A Cow for Sale Columbia Missouri Herald, December 16, 1898. The late Bill Nye once advertised a cow for sale as follows: "Owing to ill-health, I will sell at my residence in township 19, range 18, according to government survey, one plush raspberry-colored cow, aged 8 years. She is a good milker, and is not afraid of the cars or anything else. She is of undaunted courage, and gives milk frequently. To a man who does not fear death in any form she would be a great boon. She is very much attached to her house at present by the means of a stay-chain, but she will be sold to any one who will agree to use her right. She is one-fourth Shorthorn and three-fourths hyena. I will also throw in a double-barreled shotgun which goes with her. In May she generally goes away for a week or two, and returns with a tall red calf with wobbly legs. Her name is Rose. I would rather sell her to a non-resident.

Who, What and Where Cincinnati, Ohio, Family Magazine (1839) , 52. A stranger having entered the apartment, where the emperour Napoleon was shaving himself, when in a little town in Italy, he said, "I want to see your great emperour What are you to him?" The emperour replied, "I shave him." Historical Notes and Comments 109

MISSOURI HISTORY IN NEWSPAPERS Applet on City Journal May 24, 1979—"Reynard School [in Bates County] An Old Landmark," by Aileen (Holt) Mitchel. Brunswick Brunswicker May 3, 24, 31, June 7, 28, July 5, 19, 1979—Old area photographs. May 10—"Old 'Castle' [John Homer Bothwell Lodge, north of Sedalia] Now Open." May 10—"Old Brunswickers on File at [State] Historical Society," by Dorothy Jones. Columbia Missourian May 13, 1979—"Meet Me In St. Louis [at the 1904 World's Fair]," by Sue Kingsley. July 20—"Works now prized [Thomas Hart] Benton art sparked contro­ versy," by Kate Gerwig. Doniphan Prospect-News June 21, 1979—"The Prospect-News Begins 105th Year." Gainesville Ozark County Times May 3-July 26, 1979—"Ozark Reader Fireside Stories of the Early Days in the Ozarks," by S. C. Turnbo. June 7—"[Zanoni] Mill Symbolizes Changes from Pioneer to Modern Times," by Ruby M. Robins. July 26—"Bank [of Gainesville] Opens [on July 24, 1894]," reprinted. Hermitage Index May 3-July 26, 1979—"Hickory County History," a series of old area photo­ graphs. Kansas City Star May 13,1979—"Surprise Gift Placed Her [Mary McAfee Atkins] Among City's Top Benefactors," by Frances S. Bush. May 13—"The Way It Was in '29 Before the Stock Market Crash," by Pa­ tricia Lawson. June 3—"Where did Kansas City get its song?" by Brian Burnes. June 3—"Past Puts Property Value in Perspective [for real estate firm of Moore & Kessinger Co. Inc.]," by Joe Roberts. June 17—"Blood and death at Union Station [on June 17, 1933]," by L. L. Edge. Kansas City Times May 4, July 20, 27, 1979—Postcards from the collection of Mrs. Sam Ray featured respectively: Outlook Tower and Palisades on Kersey Coates Drive; a metal prefabricated filling station manufactured by the Columbian Steel Tank Co.; and the steamboat Chester on the Missouri River. May 7—"[Belleclaire] Apartments Demolished As Architect [Mrs. Nelle E. Peters] Is Honored," by Richard A. Serrano. Kennett Daily Dunklin Democrat September 5-11, 197S—A series of articles on Dunklin County's celebrated black couple, Charles and Bettie Birthright, by Carol Goldsmith. 110 Missouri Historical Review

Lexington Advertiser-^etvs June 21, 1979—"Floyd keeps Boldridge tradition alive [at GEM Barber­ shop]," by Delores Jordan. July 5—"Gen. [Don] Dunford among town's career military men," by Harry Dunford.

Linn Osage County Observer April 4, 11, 25, May 9, 16, 1979—"Before the Advent of Funeral Homes Former Funeral Customs in Osage County," a 5-part series by Joe Welschmeyer.

Marshall Democrat-News June 29, 1979—The Progress Edition featured the 100-year history of the newspaper and several other historical articles.

St. Joseph ISews-Press July 1, 1979—A special section highlighted the 100th anniversary of the newspaper and included numerous historical articles.

St. Louis Globe-Democrat May 12-13, 1979—"WU's [Washington University] honor roll of Nobel win­ ners." May 72-ii—"Washington Us new Nobel laureate [Daniel Nathen]," by Art Kaufman. May 12-13—"Walt Brady ... he tells of his 40 years with the Clydesdales," by Alan W. Akerson, pictures by Dick Weddle. May 19-20—"Soulard ... an extraordinary farmers market," by Richard Goldkamp, photos by Jim Rentz. May 26-27—"First [State Highway Patrol] troopers recall hair-raising epi­ sodes," by Walter E. Orthwein. June 9-10—"Truman's [1948] upset of Tom Dewey didn't surprise Judge [Roy W.] Harper," by James Floyd. July 22—"Ferarae Osage ... a valley where time slows down [in St. Charles County]," by Mary Kimbrough, pictures by Frank Oberle, Jr. July 28-29—"St. Louis: A dying city bounces back," by Ted Gest, reprinted from the July 23 edition of U.S. News & World Report.

St* Louis Post-Dispatch May 13, 1979—' 'Portraits' [of St. Louis homes] From Victorian Albums," by Patricia Degener. June 24—"Wanted: Jesse James' Real Story," by Scott Kraft. July 1 —" 'A Very Fine Place [Old Mutual Bank, 716 Locust] for A Law Office,'" by Robert W. Duffy. July 15—"Soulard Market Celebration."

Waynesville Pulaski County Democrat May 3-July 26, 1979—"Early History Of Pioneer Pulaski County Families By Mrs. [Emma Page] Hicks." June 14—"50 Years Celebrated At Calvary Baptist Church [near Hooker]," by Kathy Bench. July 5—Old area photograph, July 5—"Historical Account Of The Gasconade Bridge Disaster," by Paul J. Hamilton. Historical Notes and Comments 111

MISSOURI HISTORY IN MAGAZINES

American West, March/April, 1979: "The Life of Jessie Benton Fremont," by Pamela Herr. Bittersweet, Summer, 1979: "Bald Knobbers: The Ozark Vigilantes," by Gerry Darnell. Black Perspective In Music, Fall, 1978: "J. W. Postlewaite of St. Louis A Search for His Identity," by Samuel A. Floyd. Bulletin of the Johnson County Historical Society, April, 1979: " 'Commoner' [William Jennings Bryan] Visited Area Twice," by Joseph M. Mazza; "Phones Come To Chilhowee Area," by Dr. S. Hull Sisson; "Small Pox Plagued 1869-70 [Warrensburg City] Council," by Dr. R. Lee Cooper. Carondelet Historical Society Newsletter, May, 1979: "Kansas Drive Bridge," by Donald M. Dates; "[Alexander Lacey] Lyle Mansion," by Donald M. Dates; "A Preliminary Chronological History of Carondelet."

City, May, 1979: "The Legend of Indian Creek [the site of Watts Mill in Jackson County]," by Niki Lewis Shepherd.

., June, 1979: "Weekend Getaways At Old Fashioned Prices [to Weston and St. Joseph]," by Betty Jones. ^, July, 1979: "[Kansas City] Union Station: A Termi­ nal Case?" by Thomas J. Bogdon. Civil War Times Illustrated, July, 1979: "The Life Of A Rising Son [William T. Sherman] Part I: The Failure," by Albert Castel; "[Ulysses S.] Grant From Galena," by the Reverend James L. Crane, reprinted.

Clay County Museum Association Newsletter, June, 1979: "Mount Gilead Church," Part I, compiled by Mrs. S. R. "Bud" Helton, reprinted.

Diggin' History, January, 1979: "Excerpts from 'A History of the Leo Bowlin, Jr. Home'," by Mrs. Leo Bowlin, Jr.

, April, 1979: "Another Historic Home in Savannah [built by William and Elizabeth (Earls) Price]—Now Owned by Lloyd and Donna Field." Farmland News, May 31, 1979: "Jesse James' wild flight across Devil's Gulch," by Kay Hively. Florissant Valley Historical Society Quarterly, July, 1979: "Florissant," from a speech by Mayor Arthur F. Bangert, 1947. Historic Kansas City News, June-July, 1979: "Early Kansas City Architects: Alice G. Jackson," by Sherry Piland. Hobbies, May, 1979: "Mississippi River Train Ferries," by Edison Shrum.

Interim, May, 1979: "Christ Church [Episcopal], Rolla, has 'town and gown' ministry," by Sally White. 112 Missouri Historical Review

-, June/July, 1979: "St. Paul's [Episcopal Church] in Sikeston serves "southeast area," by the Rev. William L. Sharkey. Jackson County Historical Society Journal, July, 1979: "[Irving-Pitt Manufac­ turing] Corporation Grew From Very Simple Idea," by Pearl Wilcox; "Mary Paxton Keeley Recalls Her School Days [in Independence]," by Mary Paxton Keeley.

Jasper County Missouri Journal, May, 1979: "The Story of Historic Kendrick House," Part 2; "Freedom Baptist Church."

Journal of American History, June, 1979: "Modernization and Social Crisis: The Knights of Labor and a Midwest Community, [Sedalia, Mo.] 1885-1886," by Michael J. Cassity. Journal of the West, April, 1979: "Nathan Boone The Forgotten Hero of Mis­ souri," by Wayne T. Walker; "Historic Missouri In Seven Days," by Mary K. Dains.

Kansas City Town Squire, May, 1979: "The Best Historical Landmark The Amaz­ ing Miss Louisa [Johnston and the Alexander Majors house]," by Tom Leathers.

., June, 1979: "And on the Seventh Day They Rested [building Bagnell Dam which began in 1929]," by Ken Hall. -, July, 1979: "The Life & Times of William Reid Royster," by Frances A. Baker. Kansas History, Winter, 1978: "Indian Policy on the Santa Fe Road: The Fitz­ patrick Controversy of 1847-1848," by Robert A. Trennert; "When Kansas City Mo., Came Close To Being A City in Kansas," by Robert W. Patrick.

Keys to Springfield, May, 1979: "A Flower for 'Little Julia' [Hale]," by Wilma McGilvry.

, July, 1979: "Ms. [OUie Roberts Brunson] Before Her Time," by Odessa Brunson Talbert. Kirkwood Historical Review, December, 1978: "Kirkwood's First Newspaper [The Weekly Mail]," by Judge Robert G. J. Hoester; "Local Transportation In Kirkwood Circa 1909," by Guy E Trulock. Lawrence County Historical Society Bulletin, July, 1979: "Early Days of Marion- ville, Missouri," by Mrs. May Slaughter Logan, reprinted; "Neece [family]," by Fred G. Mieswinkel.

Maramec Miner, May, 1979: "Maramec History," a series.

Military History of Texas and the Southwest, Volume XIV, Number 1-Volume XV, Number 1: A series on the Confederate command and organizational structure in the Trans-Mississippi West during the Civil War, by William Royston Geise.

Missouri Archaeological Society Newsletter, June, 1979: "Excavations at Mas­ todon State Park." Historical Notes and Comments 113

Missouri Geographer, Volume 26, 1979: "How Unique Missouri County Names," by Dr. Alfred C. Robertson. Missouri Journal of Numismatics, July, 1979: "Missouri Strawberry Tokens," by Michael Pfefferkorn; "Harrison and Crane, Mineola Merchants"; "Witten­ berg, A Vanishing River Town." Missouri Ruralist, May 12, 1979: "Bethel community [in Shelby County] revives a Special way of life." Montana The Magazine of Western History, July, 1979: "the return of the mandan chief [Shahaka]," by William E. Foley and Charles David Rice. Museum of the Fur Trade Quarterly, Spring, 1979: "St. Louis in 1809 and 1829."

Ozark Graphic, March, 1979: "Memories of School Days [at Sims Valley School, Howell County]," by Maxine Curtis.

Ozarks Mountaineer, May-June, 1979: "Roaming Hogs And Other Blessings [in the Ozarks]," by Kathleen Van Buskirk; "A Changing Ozarks," by Milt Rafferty; "Border Guerrillas and Bushwhackers," by Elmo Ingenthron; "The Man Who Knew Frank James," by Dan Saults; "Brass Bands," by Fred Schmickle; "The Seat of Justice [of Taney County]."

v, July-August, 1979: "The Yokum Dollar," by Phillip Steele; "Star School [Barry County] In New Setting [at The School of the Ozarks]," by Bill Cameron; "Traffic Problems On the Meramec [River]," by Dan Saults; "Warsaw, Mo.—Gunstock Capital Of the World," by Tom Chesser; "Border Guerrillas and Bushwhackers," Part II, by Elmo Ingen­ thron.

Palimpsest, May/June, 1979: "Furlough [for Missouri and Iowa Union troops ended at Centralia raid]," by James Patrick Morgans.

Pemiscot County Missouri Quarterly, April, 1979: "Talk Made by Dr. J. B. Latshaw [on the history of the Pemiscot County Farm Bureau Federation] on Occasion of Dedication Farm Bureau Flag"; "History of First Pente­ costal Holiness Church of Hayti, Mo.," by Rev. Bernal Wells; "How Did 'Shake Rag' Community Get Its Name?" by W. F. James; "History of the Steele, Mo. Church of the Nazarene"; "Postmasters of Pemiscot County"; "The Biography of Louise Cooper," by Roy Cooper, Jr.

,, July, 1979: "Carrie (Franklin) Speer," by Willie K. (Norton) Gill; "The Ward Coppage Mercantile Company," reprinted; "Biography: Emma Brantley"; "Rotarians Hear Program on the History of Club," reprinted. Platte County Historical Society Bulletin, Summer, 1979: "The Halfway House [a tavern between Platte City and Weston]," by Mary B. Aker; "St. Mat­ thew United Church of Christ," by Mary B. Aker; "Dearborn Christian Church," by Mary B. Aker. Quarterly of the National Association and Center for Outlaw and Lawman History, June, 1979: "In Pursuit of the Northfield Robbers," by Chuck Parsons. 114 Missouri Historical Review

Ray County Mirror, June 29, 1979: "Ray-Lafayette Bridge [over the Missouri River]," by Rosemary Hockemeier: "Standard Theatre [in Kansas City]/ Daugherty Auditorium [Farris Theatre in Richmond] How Many Points of Similarity Can You See?"; "Who Knows the Truth About Jack Ass Bend [of Missouri River]?" by Boyd Pigg.

Rural Missouri, July, 1979: "Unscrupulous opportunist [William Clarke Quan­ trill]," by Martin McGrane.

Saddle & Bridle, July, 1979: "The Life and Legend of Lonnie Hayden Some Say 'The Greatest Horseman of Them All!'" by Lynn Weatherman; "Temple Stephens, 'Mr. Temp' Grand Gentleman of the Show Ring Dies."

St. Joseph Magazine, May, 1979: "Happy Tenth [anniversary to Missouri Western State College]!" by Paul Stewart.

St. Louis Bar Journal, Summer, 1979: "James Milton Turner—Advocate for the Freedmen," by Keltner W. Locke.

St. Louis Commerce, May, 1979: "a fond look back [at the St. Louis World's Fair, 1904]," by Rose Ann Collins; "when St. Louis hosted the Olympics [in 1904]," by Arnold Irish.

Show-Me Libraries, April, 1979: "Mills and Covered Bridges of Missouri," by Darla Parkes.

, June, 1979: "A New State Park [Hahatonka in Camden County]," by Pat Timberlake and John D. Finley.

Waterways Journal, May 5, 1979: "The Nashville Made Two Trips to St. Louis," by James V. Swift.

., June 2, 1979: "Diodate Morgan Began His Career on the Missouri The Carrie V. Kountz Was Built for Missouri River," by James V. Swift.

_, June 9, 1979: "The City of Hickman, Boat and Town Recalled," by James V. Swift.

., June 23, 1979: "The MRC [Mississippi River Com­ mission] Celebrates Its 100th Birthday June 28 The Steamer Mississippi Carries a President," by James V. Swift.

-, June 30, 1979: "Two Boats Were Named for Col. William R. King," by James V. Swift.

Webster County Historical Society Journal, June, 1979: "A History of the First Baptist Church Marshfield, Missouri," by J. F. Francis, J. G. McKinney, Rev. Luther L. Rodgers and Martha McGrath; "The Webster Hotel [in Marshfield]"; "The Hoover Family Taken From the Marshfield News Old Settlers Column May 18, 1905"; "Ozarker Joe Haymes Remembered on Album," by Wayne Glenn, reprinted; "Communicaid from Ex-Press Mes- Historical Notes and Comments 115

West Plains Gazette, Spring, 1979: "The GAZETTE interviews Homer Arnett"; "Howell County History: 1865-1899," by Dorotha Reavis; "Parkside: Part I—The [Robert Sanford] Hogan Era," by Michael Cochran; "Receivable in Payment of All Dues [the history of how money has changed hands in West Plains]," by Toney Aid.

Whistle Stop, Winter, Spring, 1979: "[Harry S.] Truman's Books The Post- Presidential Years," a two-part article by Elizabeth H. Safly.

White River Valley Historical Quarterly, Spring, 1979: "The Roller Family of Roller Holler [in Taney County]," compiled by Bill and Vera Wood; "Rantz Mill and Spring," by W. D. Cameron; "McCord Bend [on the James River] — Early History," by Helen (McCord) McCoy.

ERRATUM It has been pointed out that an error occurred in the July 1979 issue of the REVIEW. On page 427, Rollins Bingham is identified as George Caleb Bingham's son by his first marriage. Rollins was born in 1861 to the artist's second wife, Eliza K. Thomas.

Athletics at the Fair St. Louis Mirror, July 14, 1904. It is to be hoped the remaining athletic events to be contested at the World's Fair Stadium will prove more representative of the various states and countries expected to compete than did some of the championships already decided there. The athletic events thus far at the Fair have proven dismal failures, farces in fact. The entry lists have been poor, and there has been little more than local interest taken in the contests. The outlook, however, for the Irish meet, the Olympian games, the regatta at Creve Coeur, the bicycling, golf, tennis and miscellaneous championships is good, and there is reason to believe that the world's best athletes will gather in St. Louis in force to participate in them.

Work on Immortal Minds Hannibal Daily Messenger, January 12, 1859. How true is the following choice paragraph from the pen of Daniel Web­ ster: "If we work on marble, it will perish: if we work on brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples, they will crumble into dust. But if we work up on immortal minds—if we imbue them with high principles, with the just fear of God and their fellow-men, we engrave on those tablets something which no time can efface, but which will brighten to all eternity. 116 Missouri Historical Review

IN MEMORIAM

RUSSELL V. DYE BOWEN, MRS. FAY E., Los Angeles, Russell V. Dye, 72, of Liberty, Mis­ California: March 11, 1892-June 29, souri, first vice president of the State 1979. Historical Society of Missouri and a former foreign diplomatic secretary, CORDRY, EUGENE A., Ft. Worth, Tex­ died July 22, 1979. He served as dip­ as: November 26, 1926-June 2, 1979. lomatic secretary to his father, the late Alexander Vincent Dye, while the elder Dye was head of Foreign CURREY, MRS. A. L., Clayton: Died, and Domestic Commerce in the U.S. July 4, 1978. State Department from 1925 to 1947. Mr. Dye worked for U.S. embassies HOLLIDAY, A. B., Louisiana: Oc­ in Germany, Mexico, Great Britian tober 16, 1898-June 19, 1979. and Argentina. He was chairman of the Clay County Selective Service KASPERSON, M. A., Trenton: Novem­ Board from 1948 to 1972. ber 2, 1898-May 11, 1978. An Army veteran of World War II, Mr. Dye was a past commander of LOECK, DR. W. H., Lake City, Iowa: the Liberty American Legion Post, February 28, 1915-May 18, 1979. a former Chef de Gare of the post's Forty and Eight Society, a former MCCLINTOCK, E. L., Manhattan, president of the Clay County His­ Kansas: December 13, 1889-March 26, torical Society and a deacon of the 1979. Presbyterian Church. Mr. Dye graduated from Dulwich College, England, in 1922; he also NIFDERT, BERNICE, Elvins: January attended the University of Berlin and 25, 1913-April 26, 1979. the University of Mexico. A sister, Mrs. Luisita Dye Whitman, SCHNIDER, MRS. ARNOLD J., Jefferson Atlanta, Georgia, survives. City: April 12, 1896-April 23, 1979. Historical Notes and Comments 117

EDITORIAL POLICY

The MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW is always inter­ ested in articles and documents relating to the history of Missouri. Articles pertaining to surrounding states and other sections are considered for publication when they involve events or personalities having a significant bearing on the history of Missouri or the West. Any aspect of Mis­ souri history is considered suitable for publication in the REVIEW. Genealogical studies are not accepted because of limited general reader interest. In submitting articles for the REVIEW, the authors should examine back issues for the proper form in foot­ noting. Originality of subject, general interest of the article, sources used in research, interpretation and the style in which it is written, are criteria for acceptance for publica­ tion. The original and a carbon copy of the article should be submitted. It is suggested that the author retain a car­ bon of the article. The copy should be double-spaced and footnotes typed consecutively on separate pages at the end of the article. The maximum length for an article is 7,500 words. All articles accepted for publication in the REVIEW become the property of the State Historical Society and may not be published elsewhere without permission. Only in special circumstances will an article previously pub­ lished in another magazine or journal, be accepted for the REVIEW. Because of the backlog of accepted articles, publica­ tion may be delayed for a period of time. Articles submitted for the REVIEW should be ad­ dressed to:

Dr. Richard S. Brownlee, Editor MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW The State Historical Society of Missouri Corner Hitt and Lowry Streets Columbia, Missouri 65201 118 Missouri Historical Review

BOOK REVIEWS

Old Saint Jo Gateway to the West, 1799-1932. By Sheridan A. Logan (St. Joseph, Mo.: John Sublett Logan Foundation, 1979). 466 pp. Illustrations. Bibliography. Indexed. $10.00.

Sheridan A. Logan has written a traditional urban biography of his home town, St. Joseph, Missouri. The volume has two sec­ tions. One is a chronology of St. Joseph history. The other contains sketches of the city's most important businessmen and their families. Joseph Robidoux, an Indian trader, established St. Joseph in 1843, and the California gold rush was the first cause of rapid growth, when the city served travelers as an outfitting center. As in other Missouri towns, St. Louis and Kansas City, the Civil War disrupted St. Joseph's economic development, which was not renewed until the conflict's end. At that point St. Joseph began to grow rapidly as an important midwestern wholesaling center for the entire Great Plains. Its population grew in numbers and wealth as a result of this business. Logan has made a vast amount of detailed information avail­ able on St. Joseph's economic and social development and business­ men. His well-written narrative introduces numerous lengthy quo­ tations from contemporaries concerning various aspects of St. Joseph history that otherwise would not be accessible to the general reader or scholar. At times, however, some of these compilations seem too long and repetitious. Pages 85 to 90 contain an explana­ tion of the causes of the Civil War by Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy. A story from the St. Joseph News Press, De­ cember 15, 1905, concerning the life of Mrs. Susan D. Majors, wife of one of the founders of the Pony Express, has been quoted Historical Notes and Comments 119 filling pages 77 to 80. Much of the latter quote unnecessarily repeated material from the author's narrative. One other comment seems justified. On page 35 fifteen men are cited as leading St. Joseph citizens in 1845; no information, however, is provided to explain why these fifteen were selected. Because of his knowledge of St. Joseph history, Logan, nevertheless, probably was correct in his choices. Old Saint Jo is a beautifully written and illustrated bound volume. There are interesting black and white illustrations repro­ duced from the holdings of the St. Joseph Museum and finely reproduced paintings by John Falter, one of this country's best- known illustrators. Two of Falters six paintings depict Abraham Lincoln receiving a haircut and sitting on the Missouri river bank in St. Joseph in 1859. Unfortunately, only 1,000 copies of this volume have been published which can be purchased at the bar­ gain price of $10.00. St. Joseph residents and scholars will find it useful.

Missouri Western State College Patrick E. McLear

Tennessee Cavalier in the Missouri Cavalry: Major Henry Ewing, CSA, of the St. Louis Times. By William J. Crowley (Co­ lumbia, Mo.: Kelly Press, Inc., 1978). 229 pp. Illustrated. Indexed. $12.50, plus $1.00 postage and handling. William J. Crowley, after years of research, has produced a worthwhile biography of Henry Ewing, Confederate General John Marmaduke's aide-de-camp and editor and owner of the St. Louis Times. Ewing was the great-grandfather of Crowley's wife, Claire Gierman. The author first learned of Ewing when he read an inscription written to Ewing from John N. Edwards, in the latter s colorful and romantic Shelby and His Men. A casual interest soon turned into an avid pursuit of information about the biography's subject. Henry Ewing was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1840. At the age of seventeen he matriculated to Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. After two years of college he returned to Nash­ ville and worked in his father's bank. A year later he began studies at the University of Virginia. On June 14, 1861, Ewing, back in Tennessee, enlisted in Company C, 20th Regiment, Tennessee 120 Missouri Historical Review

Volunteer Infantry. Before the battle of Vicksburg, he had risen to the rank of major in the Confederate army and had become a valuable member of Marmaduke's staff. The major portion of this biography centers around the Civil War years. Ewing is followed from campaign to campaign, battle to battle, particularly as a member of Marmaduke's staff. His war­ time relationships with friends, acquaintances and loved ones pro­ vide additional flavor to the recounting of this perilous time. After the war Ewing faces and overcomes the harsh reality of anti-Confederate feeling in Tennessee. Nevertheless, he eventu­ ally moves to St. Louis where he became a third-owner and within a few years the principal owner and publisher of the St. Louis Times. Illness, resulting in Ewing's death, cut short his journalistic career in June 1873. Crowley's task at preparing this biography was complicated by the lack of letters to and from Ewing. His persistent research in primary and secondary sources, however, allowed him to over­ come much of this obstacle and write an interesting and often entertaining biography.

State Historical Society of Missouri James W. Goodrich

Churning St. Joseph Fruit Grower and Farmer, July 1, 1914. The cream should be strained into the churn to remove any hardened curd. Do not fill the churn more than one-third full, as more will lessen the agitation. If color is to be added, it should be put in the creamer after it is in the churn and before the churn is started. The amount to add varies from none to about an ounce per hundred pounds of butter, depending on the market, season of the year and breed of cow. The churning should proceed in a manner to secure the greatest agitation. If a tight churn in used, it should be opened two or three times to allow the gas to escape. Stop the churn when the granules have reached the size of wheat grains. If the butter is churned into balls, butter will deteriorate quickly.

Eggless, Milkless, Butterless Cake St. Joseph Fruit Grower and Farmer, September 15, 1914. One cup brown sugar, one cup seeded raisins, one cup water, one-third cup lard, one teaspoon cinnamon, one-third teaspoon cloves. Boil the above together three minutes. When cool add one teaspoon soda dissolved in warm water, two cups flour, one-half teaspoonful baking powder, one cup black walnut kernels. Beat thoroughly. Bake in loaf 40 minutes. Historical Notes and Comments 121

BOOK NOTES

A History of Public School Education in Columbia. By Roger A. Gafke (Columbia, Mo.: Public School District, 1978). 185 pp. Illustrated. Indexed. Bibliography. Footnoted. Appendixes. $10.00. In this softback history, Dr. Roger A. Gafke attempts to illus­ trate the development of the education program for the community while providing a description of the program itself. The narration moves chronologically from the creation of the public school system in the first fifty years of Missouri statehood to the expanding options in the course of study in the 1960s through 1975. The book may­ be purchased for $10.00 from the Board of Education, 1002 Range Line, Columbia, Missouri 65201. Address the order to the attention of Dr. Henry K. Fisher.

River Engineers on The Middle Mississippi: A History of the St. Louis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. By Fredrick J. Dobney (Washington, D.C: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978). 177 pp. Illustrated. Maps. Indexed. Footnoted. Bibliography. Appendixes. $7.50. For over a hundred years the St. Louis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has had a major role in the history of our nation. River Engineers On The Middle Mississippi traces the river from a barrier to a gateway of westward expansion and then to a major artery from the U.S. heartland to ports of the world. Illustrated with numerous photographs, maps and diagrams, the history fea­ tures the men, women, machines and major developments which made this progress possible. The book, stock number 008-022-00114-0, may be purchased for $7.50 per copy. Orders may be sent to the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.

The Muny, St. Louis' Outdoor Theater. By Mary Kimbrough (St. Louis, Mo.: Bethany Press, 1978). 158 pp. Illustrated. Ap­ pendix. Not indexed. $14.95. Mary Kimbrough presents, in this hardback volume, a history of the St. Louis Municipal Theater, in commemoration of the Muny's 60th year. Illustrated with numerous excellent photographs, 122 Missouri Historical Review

many in color, the book includes lists of repertory, stars and di­ rectors. The volume may be purchased for $14.95 from The Bethany Press, Box 179, 2640 Pine Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103.

Memories of an Ozarks Mother—The 100 Years of Stella Owen. By Dr. Lyle Owen (Branson, Mo.: Ozarks Mountaineer Press, 1978). 96 pp. Illustrated. Not indexed. $2.95, plus $1.00 for postage and handling. Stella Beatrice Tibbets was born, November 11, 1877, in Gage County, Nebraska. She married Edgar Owen on December 6, 1899. The family homesteaded in Oklahoma, settled for a while in Kansas and eventually moved to Southwest Missouri. The paperback book provides an interesting account of family life in the late 1800s and 1900s. It sells for $2.95, plus $1.00 for postage and handling. The book may be ordered from The Ozarks Mountaineer, Star Rt. 3, Branson, Missouri 65616.

Roaring River Heritage. By Irene Horner (Cassville, Mo.: Litho Printers, 1978). 55 pp. Illustrated. Not indexed. $2.00. This paperback book chronicles the Roaring River area's change from a small grist mill operation in the 1830s to a vacation spot by the 1920s. Stories of a number of unusual persons associated with the Southwest Missouri community are related by the author. Many interesting photographs enhance the study. Roaring River Heritage, which sells for $2.00, may be ordered from Litho Printers, Box 488, Cassville, Missouri 65625.

Independence, Missouri. By Bernd Foerster and the Heritage Commission (Independence, Mo.: Independence Press, 1978). 240 pp. Illustrated. Maps. List of Survey Elements. Sources. $12.00. A history of Independence is related by focusing on the archi­ tecture of the city's homes, businesses and neighborhoods. The book includes over 100 excellent photographs, with maps that pin­ point locations. Each notation features a photograph and relates the name of the site, address, date built, the name of the builder, contractor and/or architect if known, and a brief history. The hardback book sells for $12.00 and may be ordered from Herald House, Drawer HH, Independence, Missouri 64055. HISTORIC MISSOURI CHURCHES Salem United Church of Christ

During the spring of 1848, a group of families in the "German Settlement," located si?i miles southeast of California in Moniteau County, held religious services in their homes. The Rev. Johann Friedrich Kowing and the Rev. August Rauschenbush, missionaries sup­ ported by the American Home Missionary Society of New York, helped organize the North Moreau Evangelical Church. They introduced the Rev. Carl Hoffmeister to the congrega­ tion in August 1848, and he became the first pastor. Since the congregation of 13 families could not support a pastor alone, two laymen arranged for Rev. Hoffmeister to serve the recently organized congregation on Moniteau Creek as well as visit settlements in Cooper County. In 1850, the congregation established a cemetery. The following year, William Peters and Gottliebb Wittland hewed logs for a 20* by 40/ church building. The congrega­ tion also erected a two-room log house for a parsonage. Ernest Hagemeyer, Sr., donated 15 acres of land to the church some years after the completion of this building.

The church's membership grew and a second building was constructed adjacent to the log church and cemetery. This frame church featured a cupola with a rooster weather- vane on top. The rooster served as an emblem, warning against the sin of Peter. The log church became a German church school and in later years was used for social functions and storage.

Following the Civil War, the congregation bought a bell for the church. H. B. Lam- mert, director and organist, organized the first choir in 1878. A large choir has performed for every special occasion at the church. The congregation used the German language exclusively for many years. Eventually one English class was taught in Sunday school, and then one sermon a month featured English. Now the congregation conducts all services in English. In 1897, the old log parsonage burned and destroyed all the church records. The next year, members erected a seven-room parsonage and dedicated it on Thanksgiving Day. The congregation has preserved its heritage while improving the church. In 1912 a new bell replaced the first one. Seven years later, members dedicated an addition to the cemetery. In more recent years the congregation became known as Salem Evangelical and Reformed Church. Members have remodeled and redecorated both the church and parson­ age. Just prior to Salem's centennial celebration in 1948, the congregation added a base­ ment, furnace and electric lights to the church. Some 700 persons attended the 100th anni­ versary celebration which featured three special services, sermons by guest ministers, a basket dinner and a pageant depicting the history of Salem. The congregation commemorated its 125th anniversary with a fellowship dinner and participated in the national bicentennial observance. On November 12, 1978, Salem United Church of Christ, observed its 130th anni­ versary in a special seivice and distributed booklets prepared for the occasion which related the church's history. This rural congregation values its heritage and has preserved its landmarks.