Historiogtl Review

The State Historical Society of Missouri COLUMBIA. MISSOURI The George Caleb Bingham portrait of Confederate jS General Joseph O. Shelby, an unlisted painting that had jg| been in the Shelby family for nearly three-quarters of a | century, is a recent gift to the State Historical Society of JS Missouri by General Shelby's grandson, J O Shelby Jersig, ffl Lt. Col. Ret., United States Marine Corps, Clovis, New gj Mexico. y A native Kentuckian, General Shelby is best remem- pi bered as a Missouri manufacturer, farmer and Confederate M cavalry general. Hailed by some authorities as the best cav­ alry general of the South, his Missouri forays were highlights of the Trans-Mississippi Army of the Confederacy. At the time of his death in 1897, General Shelby was United States Marshall for the western district of Missouri. m Shelby's portrait, along with fourteen other canvases, one miniature and drawings, engravings and lithographs by Bingham were prepared for display in the Art Gallery, at m the Society's Sesquicentennial Convention, October 3, 1970, and will remain on display until late summer, 1971. On exhibit in the Society's corridors are the tinted en- JU gravings of Karl Bodmer's illustrations, prepared in the field during 1833-34, for Prince Maximilians of Wied's Travels in j|j the Interior of North America, published in the 1840s. MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW

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OFFICERS 1968-71 T. BALLARD WAITERS, Marshfield, President L. E. MEADOR, Springfield, First Vice President LEWIS E. ATHERTON, Columbia, Second Vice President RUSSELL V. DYE, Liberty, Third Vice President JACK STAPLETON, SR., Stanberry, Fourth Vice President JOHN A. WINKLER, Hannibal, Fifth Vice President REV. JOHN F. BANNON, S.J., St. Louis, Sixth Vice President ALBERT M. PRICE, Columbia, Treasurer FLOYD C. SHOEMAKER, Columbia, Secretary Emeritus and Consultant RICHARD S. BROWNLEE, Columbia, Director, Secretary, and Librarian

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b;ffl!«liS[§l^!g!gii!!§!§i§!§^ CONTENTS

THE FOUNDING OF MISSOURI'S FIRST COLLEGE SAINT MARY'S OF THE BARRENS, 1815-1818. By Stafford Poole, CM 1

SENATOR GEORGE GRAHAM VEST AND THE "MENACE" OF MORMONISM, 1882-1887. By M. Paul Holsinger 23

THE EXCELSIOR SPRINGS ROUTE: LIFE AND DEATH OF A MISSOURI INTERURBAN. By H. Roger Grant 37

THE ST. LOUIS JEWISH COORDINATING COUNCIL: Its Formative Years. Bv Burton A. Boxerman 51

HISTORICAL NOTES AND COMMENTS

Johnson County Historical Society Celebrates 50th Anniversary 72

Views from the Past: College Life Early 1900s 74

News in Brief 76

Local Historical Societies 79

Gifts 91

Missouri History in Newspapers 95

Missouri History in Magazines 100

In Memoriam 103

Editorial Policy 105

BOOK REVIEWS 106

BOOK NOTES 116

FIRST SCHOOLS IN NODAWAY 121

KATE CHOPIN Inside Back Cover

iv The Founding of Missouri's First College

Saint Mary's of the Barrens, 1815-1818

BY STAFFORD POOLE, CM.*

One.evening in September of 1815, a Sulpician priest named Louis William Valentine DuBourg walked into his lodging at the church and college of Monte Citorio in Rome. As he entered the

Walker—Missouri Commerce T a a protective ca„„P ^nTo!rihe ^o„Kf sr^rsSuS* imm^^^^m 2 Missouri Historical Review building, he saw in a hall near the entrance a large crowd of stu­ dents being addressed by a young and obviously eloquent priest. Inquiring who it might be, he was told that it was Father Felix De Andreis, a Piedmontese Vincentian who taught theology at the college for foreign missionaries operated by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. DuBourg sent word to the young priest asking for an interview. Out of that meeting came Missouri's first college and a large segment of the history of the Catholic Church in the nineteenth-century United States.1 Since August of 1812, DuBourg had been the administrator of the diocese of Louisiana, a territory which covered almost all of the original Louisiana Purchase.2 He had come to Rome to enlist clergy for the struggling diocese and while there had been informed of his appointment as Bishop of Louisiana. Since most of his deal­ ings in Rome were with the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, popularly called Propaganda from its Latin name, he found it convenient to lodge with the Vincentian Fathers of Monte Citorio who, since 1802, had acted as spiritual directors and part- time faculty for the Propaganda College.3 The bishop-elect was faced with an almost impossible task. An emigre from the French Revolution, he had been primarily an edu­ cator and had served as president of Saint Mary's College in Balti­ more. As administrator, he had spent the previous three years trying to bring some order and coherence into this vast and unmanageable territory. His jurisdiction included not only the entire Napoleonic cession but also the Floridas, where his authority was contested by the Bishop of Havana.4 In New Orleans, he had only eleven

i Life of the Very Rev. Felix De Andreis, CM., First Superior of the Congregation of the Mission in the United States and Vicar General of Upper Louisiana: Chiefly from sketches written by the Right Rev. Joseph Rosati, C.M., First Bishop of Saint Louis, Mo. (St. Louis, 1915) , 59-66. This is an English translation of Rosati's life of De Andreis made by Father Francis Burlando, CM., with additions by the translator and an unknown editor. Hereafter it is cited as Rosati-Burlando. Joseph Rosati, CM., Memoirs sur l'£tablissement de la Congregatio?i de la Mission dans les Etats-Unis d'Amerique. Photostat of a handwritten manuscript, dated 1840. Photostat in the archives of Saint Mary's Seminary, Perryville. This and all the other facsimilies of documents now lost or in European archives were made by Father Charles L. Souvay, CM., former faculty member of Saint Mary's Seminary and former Superior General of the Vincentian Fathers. 2 An administrator is an interim official who has the jurisdiction of a bishop without actually being one. On Bishop DuBourg, see John Rothensteiner, History of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis (St. Louis, 1928) , I, Book III, Chapters 1 and 2. On his appointment, see Roger Baudier, The Catholic Church in Louisiana (New Orleans, 1939), 264. 3 Ibid., 268. 4 Stephen Vincent Ryan, CM., "Early Lazarist Missions and Missionaries" (address given to the United States Catholic Historical Society, May 8, 1887), in The Founding of Missouri's First College 3 parishes and ten priests, the youngest of whom was over sixty years of age. Here, also, he found his authority contested by the Capuchin, Father Antonio de Sedella, the famous Pere Antoine of Louisiana Church history.5 It was a formidable situation for any man and DuBourg himself did not always manifest the tact and good judg­ ment necessary for such circumstances. In 1815 he had set out for Rome where on September 18 he was officially notified of his appointment as bishop. It was at this point that the future bishop had his interview with Father De Andreis and without much difficulty interested him in the American mission. The young Vincentian had always wanted to be a foreign missionary. Felix De Andreis had been born on December 13, 1778, at Demonte, a small village in the province of Cuneo in Piedmont, Italy.6 Little is known about his youth except that he made his initial studies in his native town and at the age of fifteen went to Cuneo to study rhetoric and philosophy, during which time he manifested a marked interest in and talent for poetry. In Novem­ ber of 1797 he joined the Congregation of the Mission of Saint Vincent de Paul but was obliged to return home in February of 1799 when the houses of that Community in Savoy were suppressed by the French.7 He was able to return in the following December after the French had withdrawn and to pursue his studies at Turin, Italy. However, he was barely established there when that house was again suppressed by the French who had returned in May of 1800 and he was forced to go to the Collegio Alberoni in Piacenza, Italy, a seminary for poor students conducted by the Vincentians.8 Here he continued his studies with conspicuous success, apparently having been endowed with a near-photographic memory and a sharp intellect. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1801. After Three Centuries of Vincentian Missionary Labor: 1617-1917 (Philadelphia, 1917) , 47. Ryan, the second Bishop of Buffalo, came to Saint Mary's Seminary in 1844 and knew some of the early missionaries personally. 5Baudier, The Catholic Church in Louisiana, 209-212, 227-228, 265-266; Rothensteiner, History of the Archdiocese, I, 237ff. 6 Most of this material is taken from Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 5-21; Ryan, "Early Lazarist Missions," 49-57; Alceste Bozuffi, II Servo di Dio Felice de Andreis, Prete delta Missione (Piacenza, Italy, 1929) . This latter is not always accurate as to details and relies heavily on Raffaele Ricciardelli, CM., Vita del Servo di Dio Felice de Andreis (Rome, 1923) . Bozuffi, // Servo di Dio, 5, gives the date of De Andreis' birth as December 12. 1 According to Bozuffi, // Servo di Dio, 20, the date of this decree was January 25, the anniversary date of the founding of the Vincentian Community. 8 Ibid., 120. Originally called the Collegio di San Lazzaro, this school had been founded in 1733 by Cardinal Giulio Alberoni, former minister to Philip V of Spain. See Pierre Coste, CM.,.La Congregation de la Mission, dite de Saint Lazare (Paris, 1923) , 160. Missouri Historical Review

Father Felix De Andreis

Rothensteiner, Hist, of the Archdiocese of St. Louis ordination he taught at Piacenza and gave missions throughout the countryside. Because of his rather delicate health, Father De Andreis had been sent to Rome in March of 1806.9 He lived at the house of Monte Citorio where at first he confined himself to the giving of country missions.10 Eventually he was also assigned to teaching theology to the students at the College of the Propaganda. It was while he was engaged in this that he met DuBourg and was per­ suaded to come to America. Persuasion was one thing, actually going was another. Father De Andreis would have to be released for the Louisiana mission by his Community and this would not be an easy task. The Con­ gregation of the Mission (known in Europe as Lazarists, in the United States as Vincentians) had been founded in 1625 by Saint Vincent de Paul for the purpose of giving missions in isolated rural areas and of training candidates for the diocesan priesthood.11 At the time that DuBourg came to Rome, the Vincentians were still trying to recover from the effects of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic period. The Community had been suppressed entirely 9 Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 22-50. • ii^M°?te Cito,rio was a residence sold by Cardinal Bagni to the Vincentians in 1674. They paid for it with funds supplied by the Duchesse d'Aiguillon niece of Cardinal Richelieu. Expropriated in 1910, it is now an annex to the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Coste, La Congregation de la Mission, 153-154. Saint Mary's Seminary church was originally a one-third scale model of the chapel at Monte Citorio. r ii See Pierre Coste, CM., The Life and Work of Saint Vincent de Paul West­ minister, England, 1952) , I Chapters IX, X, XXI, XXII, XXIII. The Founding of Missouri's First College

Bishop Louis William Valentine DuBourg

in France, most of its members dispersed, and all of its property confiscated. Napoleon had restored its legal existence in France in 1804 because he saw in its educational and missionary activity in China and the Near East an opportunity to enhance French prestige and to spread French influence. However, as a result of a conflict over a question of jurisdiction, Napoleon suppressed the Vincentian Community a second time in 1809. It was not again given legal existence in France until 1816, after the Bourbon res­ toration. During this troubled time, a separatist tendency which had long existed within the Congregation of the Mission and which was based in part on resentment at the French domination of the Community's government began to show itself. In 1815, the Con­ gregation of the Mission was ruled by a divided government, one of which had authority over France, the other, centered in Rome, ruled the Vincentians in the rest of the world. The authority in Rome was in the hands of a papally-appointed Vicar-General who, in 1815, was Father Carlo Domenico Sicardi.12 It was to Father Sicardi that DuBourg went to ask the release of one of the Roman province's outstanding members.13 Not un­ expectedly he was refused. Undaunted, DuBourg went directly to Pope Pius VII and made a personal request for Father De Andreis. The Pope agreed to take the matter in hand and hinted to the Vicar-General that Father De Andreis should be released for the American mission.14 Father Sicardi did not again refuse outright

12 Coste, La Congregation de la Mission, 98-108. 13 Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 61. 14 Father De Andreis also sent a personal memorial to the Pope, offering his services to Louisiana. Bozuffi, 77 Servo di Dio, 106; Rosati, Memoirs, 2. Modeled on the Church of Monte Citorio in Rome, the Tuscan de­ tails of the twin-towered Church of the Assumption at Saint Mary's Seminary were greatly admired by the 41 clergymen who assisted in its consecration in 1837. The cor­ nerstone was laid in 1827. In 1913 the twin towers were removed and the facade changed to one of Ro­ manesque design.

but he did emphasize to the Pope that it was Pius VII himself who had ordered the Vincentians to give missions in the papal states and retreats to the ordinands of the Eternal City and that it was utterly impossible to carry on these works without the aid of De Andreis. Sicardi had apparently carried the day but DuBourg refused to give up. On September 24, 1815, he was formally conse­ crated Bishop of Louisiana in the Church of Saint Louis of the French in Rome and, perhaps, feeling more confident because of his new episcopal character, he enlisted the help of Ercole Cardinal Consalvi, the all-powerful Secretary of State to Pius VII. The Pope yielded and made Consalvi his emissary to Father Sicardi. The demand of the Pope and the diplomacy of the man who had stood up to Napoleon were too much and the distraught Vicar-General, an old man in his mid-eighties, had no choice but to approve.15 DuBourg's plan envisioned the recruitment of a number of priests and students who were to be the nucleus of a diocesan seminary to be located in New Orleans. The priests were to do parochial and missionary work as well as teach in the seminary. Since the Roman Vincentians had no intention of depleting their resources entirely for the American mission, the number of recruits from the Community was carefully agreed on. In addition to

15 Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 62-67; Rothensteiner, History of the Archdiocese, I, 242. The entire Louisiana mission was almost aborted at this time when anonymous denunciations were made about Father De Andreis' orthodoxv. Rosati, Memoirs, 2. The Founding of Missouri's First College 7

Father De Andreis, they included Father Joseph Rosati, a Neapoli­ tan who had studied theology under De Andreis at Piacenza, Father John Baptist Acquaroni, a Father Pereira, and Brother Anthony Boboni. All came from Monte Citorio. Bishop DuBourg also recruited a diocesan student from the Propaganda College, Leo Deys, a native of Bruges in Flanders. Before leaving Rome, the little band had a special audience with the Pope, during the course of which they spoke for almost an hour about the forthcoming work of the American mission.16 As a means of augmenting their slender numbers, Father De Andreis secured from the Pope permission for any student at the Collegio Alberoni in Piacenza to join them, thus dispensing them from the promise that they had made to remain in their own dioceses. They divided into two groups. One was to leave by land, the other by sea and both would eventually meet, first in Toulouse, then in Bordeaux in France, where they would meet DuBourg. The first group, consisting of Father Rosati, Father Acquaroni, and a Father Spezioli, a priest from Recanati, Italy, who had offered his services to the bishop, and the student Leo Deys, left Rome by sea for Civitavecchia, Italy, on October 21, 1815. They went to Marseilles, France, stayed there for two months and eventually made an overland journey which brought them to Toulouse on January 11, 1816, where they awaited the arrival of the second group.17 Father De Andreis remained behind to complete arrangements for his own departure. These included collecting a large number of books for the seminary library, as well as the vestments and fixtures necessary for divine services. He and DuBourg also solicited funds for the project.18 A contract was drawn up

16 This was at Castel Gandolfo. Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 68; Bozuffi, II Servo di Dio, 113. 17 Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 70; Rosati, Memoirs, 4, says that Brother Boboni left with them. He also mentions Brother Francis Boranvanski whom he calls a German (later he calls him a Bohemian) and says that he was a tailleur. Ibid., 3, 6. Bozuffi, II Servo di Dio, 114, italianizes the name to Baranvaschi, while Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 91, calls him Moran- villier. However, Rosati in his Memoirs always calls him Boranvanski. 18 Contributions were made by Cardinal Ruffo, Archbishop of Naples; Ferdinand I, the King of Naples; Ferdinand III, the Grand Duke of Tuscany; and Victor Emmanuel I, the King of Sardinia. DuBourg had an audience at Milan with the Emporer Francis II of Austria but received no help, though the Empress Maria Theresa was quite generous. Rosati, Memoirs, 16. See also Frederick J. Easterly, CM., "The Foundation of the Vincentians in the United States" (unpublished Master's thesis, Catholic Universitv of America, Washing­ ton, D.C., 1938), 6-7. 8 Missouri Historical Review between Bishop DuBourg and the Congregation of the Mission which included many clauses agreed to by Cardinal Consalvi and Father Sicardi. This was signed on November 17, 1815, by Bishop DuBourg, Father Sicardi and Father De Andreis, and then was formally approved by Consalvi.19 This was a cautious and neces­ sary step to guarantee the freedom of action of the Vincentians in America and to prevent their absorption or domination by any diocese or bishop. On December 15, 1815, Father De Andreis left Rome for Bordeaux. With him went a Father Marliani, a diocesan priest of Rome, and two seminarians, Francis X. Dahmen, a native of Duren in the Prussian Rhineland, and Casto Gonzalez, a Spaniard who had been studying at the Propaganda. Shortly after their depar­ ture, they were joined by a Father Berzieres, a Frenchman who had come from Viterbo, Italy, with the intention of joining the missionary band.20 On December 27, they arrived at the Collegio Alberoni where De Andreis was disappointed in his hope of recruiting students to join the Louisiana mission. However, he did enlist Brother Martin Blanca, a Vincentian, who was to prove one of the most valuable members of the group.21 On January 2, 1816, they arrived at Turin and left it on the 5th. The Alps were crossed in the depth of winter and proved to be perilous in the extreme. On the 17th they reached Montpellier, France, where they were able to rest for three days. On January 24 they reached Toulouse and joined the Rosati group.22 After two days of rest together, they again divided and the first group under De Andreis left for Bordeaux, where they arrived on January 30, while the second group under Rosati arrived on February 7. During their stay in Bordeaux, while awaiting further word from Bishop DuBourg, the priests began conducting missions in the city with the approval and blessing of the Archbishop, while the students reviewed their studies. All of them began or continued their study of French, a language which they considered indispen­ sable since they all believed that their seminary would be founded in New Orleans.

19 There is a translation of the contract in ibid., 12-14. 20 Rosati, Memoirs, 13, spells the name Buzieres. 21 Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 72; Bozuffi, // Servo di Dio, 122, says that he was German. 22 Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 78; Rothensteiner, History of the Archdiocese, I, 243. The Founding of Missouri's First College 9

Two more recruits now came forward to join the missionaries, Canon Joseph Carretti and Father Andrew Ferrari, both friends of Father Acquaroni.23 They had come from Porto Maurizio, Italy, in February of 1816 and joined the others in Bordeaux on March 21. The band now consisted of eight priests: Fathers De Andreis, Rosati, Acquaroni, Spezioli, Marliani, Berzieres, Carretti and Ferrari; three students: Deys, Dahmen and Gonzalez; and Brother Martin Blanca.24 They had been waiting for instructions from Bishop DuBourg and these arrived in a letter from Lyons, France, dated April 24, 1816.25 The news he conveyed stunned the small group, because he told them that he did not intend to accompany them to America and that he had decided to change both his residence and the site of the seminary from New Orleans to Upper Louisiana, specifically Saint Louis.26 One result of this change was that the band would have to study English as well as French.27 Another was that some of them became so discouraged that they gave up altogether.28 However, at almost the same time, they were joined by two young

23 They had heard of the mission from a priest who had met the mission­ aries in Genoa. Rosati, Memoirs, 5. 24 According to Easterly, "Foundations of the Vincentians," 10, who cites no sources, Father Pereira left the group at Genoa, saying that his conscience rebuked him for leaving his aged mother. Brother Boboni went to visit his family at San Remo with the intention of rejoining the group in Marseilles but Father De Andreis wrote him to remain at home. He never gave a reason for this. Bishop DuBourg had expressed doubts about Father Berzieres (which he spells Bussieres) in the letter of April 24, 1816, to De Andreis. In the letter he says, "parait avoir une tete un peu chaude." Rosati, Memoirs, 13, says that Berzieres left the group at Valence in order to visit his parents and never returned. Father De Andreis wrote on February 12, 1817, "II Francese e andato a Clermont, sua patria, e con lui siamo undid." De Andreis to Father De Pretis, from Bordeaux, original in the Archives of the Procurator General of the Congregation of the Mission, Rome, facsimile in the archives of Saint Mary's Seminary. 25 Bishop DuBourg to Father De Andreis, April 24, 1816. The original of which was formerly in the Saint Louis Archdiocesan Archives, facsimile in the archives of Saint Mary's Seminary. 26 DuBourg brought up the subject of changing his residence to St. Louis, at least temporarily, in a letter to Cardinal Dunagni, Pro-Prefect of Propaganda, April 11, 1816. The principal reason he gave was the opposition of Pere Antoine who at that time was attempting to have the Louisiana legislature turn control of church property over to lay trustees. The original is in the archives of Propaganda, Scritture Referite nei Congressi: America Centrale dal Canada all' Istmo di Panama. Codice 3, dal 1791 a 1817. Facsimile in the archives of Saint Mary's Seminary. 27 Many years before this, at Piacenza, De Andreis had predicted to Rosati that they would both have to study and use English some day. Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 85; Rosati, Memoirs, 18. 28 Fathers Spezioli and Marliani left at this time, apparently in despair over the prospect of having to learn English. Rosati, Memoirs, 17. 10 Missouri Historical Review

men who expressed a desire to become brothers, John Flegifont and Medard de Latre.29 On May 22, DuBourg arrived in Bordeaux, accompanied by Joseph Tichitoli, a young seminarian from Como, Italy, whom he had met in Milan and who had decided to join the American venture. Preparations were now made for departure and Bishop DuBourg began negotiating with an American sea captain for passage to the United States but this proved fruitless. A short while later, this ship was sunk in a storm and all persons aboard lost.30 Finally, on June 12, a new contract was made with the captain of an American brig called The Ranger. By now the original group numbered thirteen: De Andreis, Rosati, Acquaroni, Carretti, Ferrari, Deys, Dahmen, Gonzalez, Tichitoli, Blanca, Flegifont, Boranvanski and de Latre. Having received the last blessing of the Bishop, they boarded at midnight and when the wind was favorable, set sail.31 These thirteen and a young Quaker from Baltimore were the only passengers. The crew was American and entirely non-Catholic, a novel experience for the European clerics. The clergy quickly turned their shipboard life into that of a religious community, faithfully following a set of rules laid down by Father De Andreis. As a result, the ship came to resemble a floating monastery.32 However, life aboard ship was not always religious. This was brought home to the group in an incident which occurred on July 19, the feast of Saint Vincent de Paul, the founder of the Congre­ gation of the Mission. According to De Andreis: A Negro slave, for relapse into theft and drunkeness, was to undergo the punishment which was customary in such cases, namely, to be thrown into the sea attached to a rope which passed under the ship. When it was drawn up on the other side, the poor wretch was obliged to pass under the vessel, once or several times, at the imminent risk of losing his life in the process. We told the captain that it was a great festival for us and begged him to pardon the unhappy delinquent for the sake of our saint. We had the happiness to succeed in obtaining our request.33 29 De Andreis in his journal, quoted in Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 95, says that all of these eventually gave up their missionary vocation. Medard de Latre did get as far as the Barrens while Flegifont turned back in Balti­ more. 30 Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 89-90. 31 Rothensteiner, History of the Archdiocese, I, 245. 32 Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis. 91-92. 33 De Andreis' journal, quoted in ibid., 98. There were other difficulties also. Trans-Atlantic voyages were dangerous in the nineteenth cen­ tury and this was no exception. A storm terrified the captain and crew as well as the passengers who afterward were delayed by a calm. After more than forty days at sea, during which time they had come within three hundred miles of Bal­ timore without being able to make more progress, the missionaries Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget eventually made a vow to make a novena to Saint Vincent de Paul and to fast on the vigil of his death, September 27. Their prayers were answered and the last leg of the journey into Baltimore was made safely. They landed on July 26 and, said De Andreis, "Our first impulse on landing was to kneel and kiss the ground but the place where we disembarked was so crowded that we deferred doing that." They immediately hurried to Saint Mary's Seminary, the Sulpician foundation, which was on the other side of the city. The only person at home at the seminary was Father Simon Brute de Remur, the rector, later the first Bishop of Vincennes, Indiana, and a good friend of all Vincentians. He helped to arrange for the landing of their luggage and its transportation to the seminary.34 This must have been a considerable task since the missionaries brought with them more than eighty pieces of luggage. The band stayed at Baltimore for a month, during which time they engaged in various missions, heard confessions, and celebrated Mass in the various churches of the city.35 Almost immediately, following a suggestion originally made by DuBourg, De Andreis sent a letter to Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget of Bardstown, Ken­ tucky, informing him of the arrival of the missionaries and asking his advice on how best to proceed to Saint Louis. Flaget, who, like DuBourg and Brute, was a Sulpician, welcomed the new group but advised them to leave immediately for Bardstown via Pitts-

34 Ibid., 106-112; Mary Salesia Godecker, Simon Brute de Remur, First Bishop of Vincennes, (St. Meinrad Ind., 1931), 87-88. 35 Ibid., 88, says that Brute was denounced by some of his confreres to the Sulpician superior general for his acts of hospitality. However, nothing came of it. Some of the group lodged with a Father Moranville (Rosati usually accents the last e), the pastor at Fell's Point, near Baltimore. Rosati, Memoirs, 24. 12 Missouri Historical Review

burgh before winter began.36 Supplied with money and goods by the Sulpicians of Baltimore, they again divided into two groups.37 The first was to consist of Brother Blanca, the two postulants, the baggage, and a young guide, John Baptist Moranville, the nephew of the pastor of Fell's Point, Baltimore.38 They set out on foot on September 3. The other nine stayed at Baltimore for another week and then after Vespers on September 10, left by stagecoach for Pittsburgh.39 The overland journey of two hundred and forty miles from Baltimore to Pittsburgh was harrowing. The roads were dangerous, Acquaroni and two companions became lost at one point, at another a large landslide almost destroyed the coach, and the rain was incessant. The climax came when the stage driver dropped them at an inn and calmly turned back, explaining that the Juniata River was flooded and he would never be able to cross it. The missionaries eventually had to cross the river by canoe and catch another stage on the other side. At Stoystown, Pennsylvania, they were forced to leave the stage and put their baggage in a wagon and continue the journey by foot. Father De Andreis wrote: Then it was that, happening to be alone, and some­ what apart from the rest of the company, in the midst of these frightful mountains, in doubt as to the road and scarcely knowing how to go on, the smiling picture of Rome, its churches, and the friends I had left there, pre­ sented themselves to my mind in glowing colors and like daggers made me experience for an instant all the tortures of melancholy.40 A few days later, they found another stagecoach and arrived at Pittsburgh on September 19. The missionaries had intended to seek shelter with Father William F. X. O'Brien, the first resident pastor in Pittsburgh. How-

36 A description of these events can be found in M. J. Spalding, Sketches of the Life, Times, and Character of Benedict Joseph Flaget, First Bishop of Louisville (Louisville, 1852), 167ff. Spalding never once mentions that the missionaries were Vincentians, though he could hardly have been ignorant of that fact. 37 Brute and another priest, Father Enoch Fenwick, had taken up a col­ lection in Baltimore and Father Grassi, the president of Georgetown University, who never met De Andreis personally, contributed a large number of books as well as money. Rosati, Memoirs, 25. 38 Moranville settled at the Barrens after the seminary had been estab­ lished there and the name is still common in Perry County. Brother Flegifont lost his nerve for the trip while in Baltimore and within a week returned to France. Ibid., 26. 39 Godecker, Brute, 88. 40 De Andreis' journal, quoted in Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 116. The Founding of Missouri's First College 13 ever, he was visiting parishioners in the country and the strangers had to go to a hotel. In the circumstances this amounted to a financial calamity. Eventually a Catholic merchant of the city found them lodgings with some of the citizens who showed themselves extremely hospitable to the visitors from Italy. They also had the consolation of celebrating divine services in the church on Sep­ tember 27, the anniversary of the death of Saint Vincent de Paul and the day fixed for the fulfillment of the vow made at sea. For the first time in their lives, the European clerics found themselves in an overwhelmingly non-Catholic environment and the friendliness and welcome shown by the Protestants of Pitts­ burgh was a revelation to them. Father Rosati wrote:

Everywhere we were treated perfectly well. The Protestants themselves show us respect and in general they indeed respect the Catholic priests more than their own ministers. A few days after we came here, one of the principal gentlemen of the city who, with all his family, is Protestant, wished to have us all (and we are twelve) to dinner at his home and lately he has graciously sent us a present of a provision of beer.41 The little band now made preparations to leave for Bardstown, for Bishop Flaget had warned them of the rigors of winter on the frontier. However they were delayed by the slow arrival of Brother Blanca and the baggage from Baltimore and when they were ready to leave, the river was too low to permit the passage of the riverboats. Since their financial condition was now improved, largely because of a sum of money sent by Father Brute,42 they were able to depart for Louisville on October 26 on a flatboat and, whatever its discomforts, it proved a better means of travel than stage. Progress was slow and the incipient winter cold. At other times, however, they were able to enjoy the autumn and even had the opportunity to go ashore and see some of the unspoiled countryside. Father Rosati especially liked the American birds whose color he admired, though he considered their singing rather unpleasant and inferior to that of European birds. Father De Andreis, on the other hand, tended to worry more about the rattlesnakes. "I saw some of the latter; their tails are provided

41 Joseph Rosati to his brother Nicola, from Pittsburgh, October 25, 1816. Original in the Archives of Sant' Apollinare, Rome, facsimile in the archives of Saint Mary's Seminary. 42 Godecker, Brute, 89-90, says that it totaled $170.00. Some of the money was donated by Father Grassi. 14 Missouri Historical Review

with a set of bony rings, running one into another; when the serpent moves, these rings give warning of his approach and allow the traveler time to put himself on his guard."43 On November 19, the Louisiana missionaries arrived at Louis­ ville. Bishop Flaget had made several journeys to that city to meet them but it happened that he had been called back to Bardstown at the moment of their arrival. But they did find that he had made arrangements for their lodging and that he had left a letter in which he invited them to come to Bardstown as soon as possible. Within a few days De Andreis left by horseback and was soon welcomed by the Bishop. At this time Flaget had his residence next to his seminary of Saint Thomas.44 He urged the missionaries not to attempt the trip to Saint Louis during the winter and suggested that they stay at the seminary. A messenger was sent back to Louisville and the little group soon came to Bardstown.45 This proved to be the last and longest of the delays on the road from Rome to Missouri and it was probably the most advan­ tageous. For almost two years the missionaries used the seminary as their training ground for their work in Upper Louisiana. The seminary was five years old at this time and consisted of little more than a large log cabin. The Bishop had his "palace" in another log cabin at a short distance from the seminary. Fathers De Andreis and Rosati stayed with the Bishop, while the others were lodged in the seminary. There was also a recently completed brick church. For the Vincentians, this was an unparalleled opportunity to watch an American frontier seminary in operation as well as to learn English and something of the manners and mores of the country to which they had migrated. Father De Andreis taught theology and everyone took courses in English, in which language they began to make considerable progress. De Andreis even reached the point of being able to preach and hear confessions in the new tongue which at first he had despaired of ever learning. It seems doubtful, however, that he ever achieved an unaccented fluency. In April of 1817, Father Rosati and one of the Sulpicians were sent to Vincennes to give missions and to attend to the pastoral needs of that remote settlement. At the seminary itself,

43 De Andreis' journal, Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 121. 44 See William J. Howiett, Historical Tribute to Saint Thomas Seminary (St. Louis, 1906). 45 Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 129, says that this was December 3, while Rosati in his Memoirs, 34, says that it was the 4th. The Founding of Missouri's First College 15 the other priests—Vincentian, Sulpician, and diocesan—devoted their time not only to study but also to catechizing and serving the surrounding countryside.46 In May of 1817, Bishop DuBourg wrote that he was leaving France with a second group of priests and seminarians and also expressed his displeasure at the fact that the missionaries had stopped at Bardstown instead of going directly to Saint Louis.47 De Andreis found it necessary to send a long letter of explanation to Father Brute for delivery to the Bishop on his arrival in Baltimore. Bishop DuBourg later asked De Andreis, Rosati and Flaget to go to Saint Louis to prepare for his reception there. The three set out on October 1, 1817, together with Brother Blanca and a Mr. Tucker from the Barrens Settlement (now Perry County, Mis­ souri,) who acted as guide. On October 9, they reached Kaskaskia where they were hospitably received by Colonel Pierre Menard and by Father Donatien Olivier, the pastor of Prairie du Rocher. From Kaskaskia they crossed the Mississippi to Ste. Genevieve where they were the guests of Father Henry Pratte, the pastor. After staying for a few days, they recrossed the river and went to Prairie du Rocher, then to Cahokia, and finally to Saint Louis, then a town of some two thousand inhabitants.48 Their first encounter with Saint Louis was discouraging. "How much was I astonished," wrote Flaget, "to find that they [the people] did not seem more concerned about his [DuBourg's] arriv­ al than about that of the Emperor of China! Moreover, in what a state was the rectory! No doors, no windows, no floor, no furni­ ture.49 The church was still worse, the people filled with prejudices against the bishop whom they had never seen."50 Bishop Flaget was soon able to enlist the help of the local population in repairing the residence and also to dispel some of the suspicions which many of them had entertained against the arrival of the bishop. It was at this point that one of the most important incidents in the history of the Louisiana mission occurred: two deputies, representing the Barrens, a Catholic settle-

46 ibid., 38-39. 47 Baudier, The Catholic Church in Louisiana, 272. 48 Rosati, Memoirs, 40-43. 49 Only Flaget had a bed. The others had to sleep on the floor on buffalo skins. Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 169. 50 The original opposition seems to have centered on the expenses of sup­ porting a bishop. Ibid., 171. The church was on the Rue de l'Eglise, the present corner of 2nd St. and Market. Rothensteiner, History of the Archdiocese, I, 266. 16 Missouri Historical Review

ment to the south of Saint Louis, came to Flaget and made their first offer of land for the site of the proposed seminary. In the twilight years of their occupation of the Mississippi Valley, the Spanish had made some efforts to attract American Catholic settlers to populate the more desolate areas of their terri­ tory. In the period from about 1790 to 1810, a number of these settlers, most of them from Nelson, Marion and Washington coun­ ties, Kentucky, settled in what was called Tucker's Settlement or the Bois Brule, in what is now Perry County, about eighty miles south of Saint Louis. These early settlers were for the most part of English or Anglo-Irish descent and claimed to be descendants of Lord Baltimore's original Maryland colonists. They had migrated from Maryland during the middle of the eighteenth century to escape religious intolerance and had settled in Kentucky. From there individual families or groups of families had migrated to the Tucker Settlement.51 This area was also called The Barrens, a name which is still occasionally coupled with that of Saint Mary's Seminary. The origin of the term is obscure, some saying that it is an English translation of Bois Brule, others that it simply meant uncleared or untimbered land. Rosati translated it by the French sterile. Be that as it may, they were by and large a close-knit, intensely Catholic community who were grieved by the fact that they did not have a resident priest. Though they had built a log cabin church on what is now Sycamore Lane in Perry County, they depended for religious min­ istrations on Father Joseph Dunand of Florissant, the survivor of an ill-fated attempt to establish a Trappist monastery in the Mis­ sissippi Valley, who came to the Barrens once a month.52 It was Father Dunand who, on learning of Bishop DuBourg's plan to erect a diocesan seminary in the Saint Louis area, had suggested to the people of the Barrens that they offer the Bishop a tract of land as a site for the seminary and a church. In that way, the Bishop would have his seminary and the settlers their resident priests. Having made hurried preparations for the purchase of the land, the people sent a deputation to Saint Louis to inform Bishop

51 Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 207-208; Rosati, Memoirs, 50. About 1910-1912, Father Thomas Shaw, CM., a faculty member of Saint Mary's Seminary, interviewed and corresponded with the oldest inhabitants of Perry County in order to preserve their recollections of the early days. This material is in the archives of Saint Mary's Seminary. 52 See Rothensteiner, History of the Archdiocese, I, Chapters 13 and 14 on Dunand, and p. 229 for Dunand's description of the people of the Barrens settlement. Father Stephen Bad in

Flaget of the offer. The latter was acquainted both with the deputation and the settlement, having spent two weeks at the Barrens in 1814.53 Having settled matters in Saint Louis and having received the offer of the Barrens settlers, Bishop Flaget and his companions began the return journey to Bardstown. They stopped at Ste. Genevieve and arranged for Father Pratte to go to Saint Louis to superintend the preparations for DuBourg's arrival, while De Andreis, who was in delicate health and consequently suffered from the winter journey, remained at Ste. Genevieve as parish priest for the next three months.54 Brother Blanca remained with him, while Flaget and Rosati returned to Bardstown. They reached the seminary on November 6. Bishop DuBourg arrived at Bardstown on December 2 with three priests and the following day the rest of his new recruits came. The facilities of the small seminary were now taxed to the utmost but departure for Saint Louis was unthinkable for the whole group at that season. Nevertheless, the Bishop was determined to reach his diocese, even though he could not take his retinue with him. On December 12, Flaget and DuBourg, accompanied by Father Stephen Badin and a seminarian,55 set out for Saint Louis. The journey was made by steamboat and progress was hindered by ice floes on the Ohio and the Mississippi. On December 28, DuBourg set foot in his diocese for the first time as a bishop when the steamboat stopped at Widow Fenwick's landing, a short dis-

53 ibid., 294. 54 Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 174. 55 Francis Niel. See Rosati, Memoirs, 48; and Easterly, "The Foundation of the Vincentians," 33. 18 Missouri Historical Review tance north of the mouth of Apple Creek, in Perry County. Father Badin went on to the Barrens to visit the settlers, most of whom were former parishioners of his from Kentucky while the others pushed on to Ste. Genevieve by boat, where they were welcomed by De Andreis on December 31, 1817. A Te Deum was sung amid great pomp for the new bishop.50 Father Badin rejoined them in Ste. Genevieve and reported favorably on the offer of land made by the Barrens settlers. Du­ Bourg, of course, must have known of this from his first arrival at Bardstown. When DuBourg and De Andreis arrived in Saint Louis cm January 6, 1818, another deputation from the Barrens was waiting for him, consisting of the trustees of the church, Aquila Hagan and Wilfrid and John Layton.57 They brought with them a deed for a tract of five hundred and sixty acres of land which Ignatius Layton had sold to the church together with another eighth part which he donated, making a total of six hundred and forty acres, the standard lot of both the Spanish land grants and the American land sales of that period. The Bishop did not accept immediately, though Father Rosati was able to write on February 7, 1818, that the Bishop had determined to establish his seminary at the Bois Brule.68 The Bishop was now totally engrossed in his work in Saint Louis, repairing his home, preparing to build a new church, and winning over the originally hostile population. It was not until late March or early April of 1818 that he was able to leave for the Barrens in order to inspect personally the offered land. He found a small cemetery and a log-cabin church, shingled and weather- boarded, about forty by forty feet, and a story and a half high. He satisfied himself as to the desirability of the location and then had an open meeting with the parishioners. Though he formed a good initial impression of the people, the meeting apparently became somewhat heated when the question of the actual location of the seminary was raised. Many wanted it near the present town of Apple Creek while the others, apparently the majority, wanted it at the Barrens. DuBourg settled the question in favor of the Barrens while at the same time hinting that he was disposed to

56 Rothensteiner, History of the Archdiocese, I, 265; Rosati, Memoirs, 48. 57 Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 208. 58 Rosati to Father Baccari, Vicar-General of the Congregation of the Mission, February 7, 1818. Original in the Archives of the Procurator General of the Congregation of the Mission, Rome, facsimile in the archives of Saint Mary's Seminary. The Founding of Missouri's First College 19 build another institution at Apple Creek. A contract was drawn up which specified that a tax would be levied on the settlers to pay for the land (which cost $900.00), the people of the parish pledged themselves to personal work on the construction of the building and subscribed $7,500.00 to pay for the construction. The title was in the Bishop's name.59 The undertaking was no small one. The site of the seminary was to be near "an abundant spring" located just northeast of the present administration building. The seminary building was to be sixty feet by thirty-six, two and a half stories, with a basement, plastered within and without. The people began to clear the land, which was entirely wooded, but the actual construction was beyond their capacities. When DuBourg returned to Saint Louis, he hired a man named Badaud to go to the Barrens and supervise the work. He also sent to Bardstown for an architect and some helpers.60 Three months later (July 1818), he returned to the Barrens in order to hasten the construction but he quickly saw that his original intention of having the seminary staff installed by fall was unrealistic.61 It was during this visit that DuBourg purchased a mill on the Saline Creek for the use of the seminary. It was used for many years and its foundations can still be seen. While all this was going on, De Andreis remained in Saint Louis where he acted as Vicar-General for the Bishop and rector of the parish.62 Rosati had returned to Bardstown from Vincennes in November 1817, and continued his classes in theology. At about the same time, the long delays involved in moving the small colony to the Saint Louis area began to cause difficulties. Early in 1818, Rosati himself had believed that the move to the Barrens would begin after Easter but time and again DuBourg delayed the transfer and pushed back the date for moving. Apparently this was too trying for some of the students who took it upon themselves to go directly to Saint Louis and face the Bishop with the accom-

59 Rothensteiner, History of the Archdiocese, I, 295. 60 The architect was Father de la Croix, who designed the residence and church. Some of the work was done by Flemish brothers. Rosati, Memoirs, 52. 61 DuBourg to Rosati, from the Barrens, July 29, 1818. Original formerly in the Saint Louis Archdiocesan Archives, facsimile in the archives of Saint Mary's Seminary. 62 Later in the year, De Andreis was appointed to teach theology in the school for boys established by Bishop DuBourg, the ancestor of the present Saint Louis University. At this time De Andreis was intensely interested in missionary work among the Indians and evidently made great progress in learn­ ing one of the local dialects. His letters of this period are filled with Indian words and translations of prayers. He also began work on a dictionary and a catechism. Rosati-Burlando, Life of De Andreis, 179-181. Father Joseph Rosati was appointed co­ adjutor to the Bishop of Louisiana in 1823 and after DuBourg's resignation in 1826 he administered the dioceses of St. Louis and New Orleans until 1830. He served as bishop until 1840.

plished fact of their arrival. This does not seem to have helped since there was no more room in the Bishop's "palace" and the building at the Barrens was not yet ready. Finally, on August 2, 1818, Bishop DuBourg wrote to Rosati from Kaskaskia, informing him that the time had come for the transfer to the Barrens.63 Since the building at the Barrens would still not be ready before winter, he was arranging to rent accommo­ dations for the entire group in Ste. Genevieve for six months. On September 15, twenty-five priests and students left Bardstown and headed for Missouri.64 On October 1 they reached the Barrens. However, instead of continuing on to Ste. Genevieve, as DuBourg had indicated in his letter of August 2, they were given lodging in the home of a Mrs. Sarah Hayden, a widow of the Barrens settlement.65 Since her house was not large enough for everyone, some had to be boarded with other settlers.

63 DuBourg to Rosati, August 2, 1818, original formerly in the Saint Louis Archdiocesan Archives, facsimile in the archives of Saint Mary's Seminary. 64 Rothensteiner, History of the Archdiocese, I, 296, says twenty-three. This group, of course, included the second band that came over with Bishop DuBourg. 65 The reason for not going on to Ste. Genevieve is not clear. The Founding of Missouri's First College 21

It was a meager beginning and it would be almost two years before the final seminary building would be ready for occupancy but Missouri's first college had found its home. Father Rosati was made the rector of the seminary and classes were begun immediately, not only for the seminarians but also for the children and young men of the area. The seminary was desperate for money which did not exist or which was not forth­ coming and many of the first students left, including two boys from the Barrens, Clement Hayden (Mrs. Hayden's son) and Thomas Layton, who had entered the seminary as soon as it was established at the Barrens.66 However, in January of 1819, another priest, Father Francis Cellini (who was also a physician) and two seminarians arrived from Rome to augment, if not exactly swell the ranks. The construction of the residence hall and new church pro­ ceeded at an agonizingly slow pace, especially when the first fervor of the local people began to wane and their contributions of work grew scarcer. Bishop DuBourg himself found it necessary to come to the Barrens in the summer of 1819 to encourage the residents and to participate personally in the actual labor. By early 1820 a sizeable log residence and a new log church had been completed and the priests and students entered Saint Mary's Seminary at the site where it now stands. In 1822, by what means and at whose incentive we do not know, the state legislature chartered Saint Mary's Seminary, the first college incorporated by the state and later (1831) the first empowered to grant higher degrees.67 It is particularly poignant that the man who had done so much to bring about this establishment never had the opportunity to see it progress.68 Always of delicate health, Father Felix De Andreis died in Saint Louis on October 15, 1820. He is buried in the seminary church of Saint Mary's of the Barrens and his remains are one of the proudest possessions of Missouri's oldest college.

66 Another son of Mrs. Hayden, the Reverend John Hayden, C.M., was the first pastor of Saint Joseph's church in New Orleans and in 1868 was ap­ pointed Provincial Superior of the Vincentians in America. Ryan, "Early Laza- rist Missions," 73. 67 The incorporation can be found in Laws of a Public and General Nature of the District of Louisiana of the Territory of Louisiana of the Territory of Missouri and the State of Missouri up to the year 1824 (Jefferson City, 1842) , I, 945. It was passed on November 28, 1822, and became effective January 1, 1823. Ibid., II, 204, has the law empowering the conferral of degrees. It was passed on December 13, 1830, and became effective January 1, 1831. 68 It has been a long-standing tradition at Saint Mary's Seminary that De Andreis never visited it. Rosati, Memoirs, 61, says quite specifically "il avait ecrit qu' il ne le verrait jamais." The interior of the Church of the Assumption has high Roman arches with two domes, one over the sanctuary and one in the center of the church. The walls are elaborately decorated with mural designs and paintings. Behind the main altar is a h7^id^raf th Murill° * ^S/m?T\°f ^Ur La dy-" There are eiSht other alta^ along the sides of the nave. The body of Father De AAndrei1 s is interred beneath the Chanel of Saint Vincent and a marble tablet marks the burial place. Senator George Graham Vest and The "Menace" of Mormonism, 1882-1887

BY M. PAUL HOLSINGER*

Few men have represented Missouri in the United States Senate so long or perhaps so well as George Graham Vest. From 1879 to 1903, "Missouri's Little Giant," as he was aptly known, championed the Democratic party and the South with a fervor that most of his contemporaries never exhibited. Surprisingly, despite the obvious importance of his career, historians have paid

*M. Paul Holsinger is an associate professor of History at Illinois State University, Normal. He is a graduate of Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, and he received the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Denver, Denver, Colorado.

23 24 Missouri Historical Review

little attention to his overall record.1 Those who have, far too often present a one-dimensional man, a conservative bordering on the reactionary, whose only lasting contribution to the pages of history was his famous "Eulogy to a Dog."2 Forgotten or ignored by almost everyone is the fact that George Vest was one of the leading constitutionalists of his day, a dedicated spokesman for personal liberties for all segments of society and an eloquent op­ ponent of all who would repudiate any of the principles of Ameri­ can government no matter how acceptable their reasons might be. In no other instance is this more true than in the losing battle the senator waged to protect the rights of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints—the Mormons—during the bitter years of the 1880s. Mormonism had never been tolerated for long in any of the areas where its adherents had travelled in the quest for their Zion on earth. From the day of its founding in 1830 by the self-styled modern-day "Prophet" Joseph Smith, the church had been driven successively from New York, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois. After the assassination of Smith and his brother Hyrum at Carthage, Illinois, in 1844, the main body of the Mormons had followed Brigham Young to the Great Salt Lake Valley in Utah in hopes of avoiding further contact with the "Gentiles" in the eastern states. The dis­ covery of gold in California in 1848 and the massive influx of Forty-Niners on their way westward, however, only reawakened the hostility and bitter antagonisms between the Saints and the far more numerous non-church members throughout the United States. In 1857-1858 a senseless so-called "Mormon War" was fought to determine which side would predominate in the govern-

1 Among the best of the meager historical literature on Vest are Virginia M. Botts, "George Graham Vest, United States Senator From Missouri, 1879- 1903" (unpublished Master's thesis, University of Kansas, Lawrence, 1931) : Marian Elaine Dawes, "The Senatorial Career of George Graham Vest" (un­ published Master's thesis, University of Missouri, Columbia, 1933) ; "Missouri Miniatures: George Graham Vest." MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW, XXXVII (October, 1942), 75-80; Edwin M. C. French, Senator Vest, Champion of the Dog (Boston, 1930) ; and Walter B. Stevens, Centennial History of Missouri (The Center State) One Hundred Years in the Union 1820-1921 (St. Louis, 1921), II, 841-844. 2 H. Edward Nettles, author of the brief Vest biography in the Dumas Malone, ed., Dictionary of American Biography (New York, 1936) , XIX, 260, for instance, notes: "His senatorial career, in the main, was characterized by a disinclination to recognize new developments and new issues in American life; he adhered largely to bygone principles and precedents." The story of Vest's tribute to "man's best friend" has been told so often as to become almost a part of American folklore. The best account of the episode which provoked the so-called eulogy is Walter L. Chaney, "The True Story of 'Old Drum'," MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW, XIX (January, 1925) , 313-324. Senator Vest and the "Menace" of Mormonism 25

Brigham Young

ing of the territory. The all-too-certain victory of United States troops and the subsequent appointments of non-Mormons to the governor's chair, the Supreme Court and other local offices only widened the gulf between the two groups.3 Any religious denomination such as the Latter-day Saints which professed a belief in direct revelations from God, Jesus Christ and various other angels was bound to be distrusted and condemned by pragmatic nineteenth-century Americans.4 No tenet of the church, however, so angered the mainstream of Protestantism as the doctrine of plural marriage. Polygamy had been practiced by the leaders in the church from the days in Illinois, but it was not until 1852 that the professed revelation was announced and actively encouraged by Brigham Young and others in the major Council of Twelve. The revulsion of the majority of non-Mormons knew no bounds; protests poured into Congress, innumerable books, pamphlets and articles, often little more than poorly dis­ guised fiction, appeared to condemn the evil,5 and, throughout

3 Of the multitude of scholarly studies on Mormon history now available, the best objective history is Nels Anderson, Desert Saints (Chicago, 1942) . A good introduction to the persecution encountered by the Latter-Day Saints during the church's early years is the popular, though at times inaccurate, Fawn Brodie, No Man Knows My History. A Biography of Joseph Smith (New York, 1945) . The "official" church history by Joseph Smith, History of the Church (Salt Lake City, numerous dates), seven volumes, recounts in much more detail the events from Mormon perspective. 4 An excellent introduction to the philosophic, theological and sociological beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is in Thomas O'Dea, The Mormons (Chicago, 1957) . 5 A recent introduction to early anti-Mormon writings is Leonard J. Arrington and John Haupt, "Intolerable Zion: The Image of Mormonism in Nineteenth Century American Literature," Western Humanities Review, XXII (Summer, 1968), 243-260. 26 Missouri Historical Review

the country, church leaders filled pulpits with invectives against the practice. In 1862, Congress, though engaged in what seemed at times a losing battle to preserve the Union, took time to pass a law against plural marriage in the western territories.6 Yet, buoyed by flourishing immigration in the years immediately following the Civil War, especially from Great Britain and the Scandinavian countries, Mormonism grew even more rapidly than before. The "menace" of Mormonism, as more than one best-selling book called it,7 seemed a threat to an otherwise well-satisfied social code. That it needed to be curbed was, to the overwhelming majority of Americans, unassailable. That Congress was the logical agent to carry out any reduction of Mormon power was only natural. Every president from Rutherford B. Hayes through Grover Cleveland spoke out bitterly against the Latter-Day Saints in the years after Reconstruction and most called upon Congress to enact, as Cleveland said, "further discreet legislation as will rid the coun­ try of this blot upon its fair fame."8 Realizing the obvious political advantage of satisfying its constituents, Congress was quick to act. In 1882 and again in 1886-1887, two repressive and at times almost vindictive acts were rushed through both the House of Representa­ tives and the Senate to punish not only the practice of polygamy but also the practitioners of the doctrine. Few men dared to jeopardize their careers by speaking out openly against such clearly popular legislation. A small minority of congressional leaders, nearly all ex-Confederate military or political leaders, tried hopelessly to stem the tide. One of the few, and certainly the most effective, was George Vest of Missouri. By 1882 it was evident that enforcement of the early anti- bigamy statute was at best haphazard. Mormonism was growing both numerically and geographically as adherents of the faith estab­ lished settlements in Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, California and eastern Oregon. Polygamy seemed unabated. It was at this stage

6 The act is incorporated as Section 5352 of the U. S. Revised Statutes (1890). 7 John Doyle Lee, Mormon Menace, Being the Confession of John Doyle Lee, Danite, An Official Assassin of the Mormon Church under the Late Brigham Young (New York, 1878 and republished many times) ; or H. M. Fal­ lows, Mormon Menace (Chicago, 1905) . Also useful for understanding the flavor of the times are such works as Jennie A. Bartlett, Elder Northfield's Home; or Sacrificed on the Mormon Altar: A Story of the Blighting Curse of Polygamy (New York, 1882). 8 Congressional Record, XVII, Pt. I, U. S. 49th Congress, 1st Session (1885) , 119. Senator Vest and the "Menace" of Mormonism 27

This sketch of a Mormon and his wives appeared in Frank Les­ lie's Illustrated Newspaper, Febru­ ary 11, 1882.

that Senator George Edmunds of Vermont introduced in the Congress the bill which was subsequently to bear his name.9 Edmunds in 1880 had been one of the Republican party's top con­ tenders for the presidential nomination that had eventually gone to James Garfield. As head of the powerful Senate Judiciary Com­ mittee, his influence was extremely great. What the senator pro­ posed was essentially an administrative change in the 1862 law. In place of the normal territorial courts and judges handling the question of polygamy, Edmunds called for the creation of a five- man Utah Commission with unusual powers to investigate any supposed incidence of plural marriage and to bar from voting rights all those persons found guilty of the crime. Any Latter-Day Saint who refused to submit to the commission's findings or its authority to order the dissolution of his multiple marriages was subject to federal prosecution and long-term confinement in the territorial prison. Any attempt made to deny the power of the commissioners was to be met by force.

9 Ibid., XIII, Pt. II, U. S. 47th Congress, 1st Session (1882), 1041. 28 Missouri Historical Review

When Edmunds tried to pressure the Senate into quick acquiescence of his bill, Vest and some, though certainly not all, of his Southern colleagues objected.10 Though it seemed obvious that the Vermonter had the bipartisan support of the majority of his fellow senators, Vest was not above trying to bring some sense into the rush against the Utah-based Saints. In an officially sanc­ tioned biographical article which appeared in 1894, the Missourian was called "one of the national orators" who "can make addresses on vast themes and large occasions, but is a ready and powerful hand-to-hand debater, quick, intense and resourceful ... an aggres­ sive antagonist . . . [capable of] holding his own with the other giants of the senate."11 On February 15, 1882, he sought to make this statement a reality. After having voted a number of times against specific points in the bill, Vest rose to argue for what to him were basic consti­ tutional rights of all Americans. To believe, as some of the bill's supporters seemed to think, that Congress had the power to enact any legislation it saw fit for federally controlled territories was "arbitrary and despotic and unconstitutional."12 The idea, the senator added, "that the Territories are absolute creatures to be governed by Congress as they please, without reference to the Constitution or law or right is, in my judgment, abhorrent to every principle of American freedom."13 A states-right Democrat of the antebellum stripe, Vest called up as authority for his belief the condemned but still in part precedential opinion of Roger B. Taney in the famous Dred Scott v. Sandford case. Taney's decision limiting the power of the federal government contained "letters of gold; letters which declare the essence of the Constitution and the rights of every American citizen." The arbitrary punishment of hundreds of Mormons for devoutly carrying out their religious beliefs was an unprecedented wrong.

10 One of the most outspoken proponents of the Edmunds Act was Augus­ tus H. Garland of Arkansas, a fellow member of the Judiciary Committee. Though some years earlier Garland had had to fight for his constitutional rights in the face of congressional test loyalty oaths against ex-Confederates, he now championed the bill to destroy polygamy and Mormonism as "well- sanctioned by the organic law ... as any bill that has ever received the sanction of Congress." Congressional Record, XIII, Pt. Ill, U. S. 47th Congress, 1st Session (1882), 1158. il "G. G. Vest," National Cyclopaedia of American Biography (New York, 1894), II, 298. 12 Congressional Record, XIII, Pt. II, U. S. 47th Congress, 1st Session (1882) , 1157. 13 Ibid., 1158. Senator Vest and the "Menace" of Mormonism 29

Much as I detest polygamy, much as I believe it to be utterly subversive of all pure society and good morals, I shall never vote for a provision which, in my judgment, subverts the highest and dearest rights of every American citizen.14 In the remaining hours of the day and into the morning of the sixteenth, Vest's arguments were attacked not only by Edmunds and other enthusiastic senators in favor of the bill but by several fellow Southerners as well.15 When Vest got a chance at rebuttal, he re-emphasized, with real emotional fervor, his belief that Congress, by substituting a commission for the regular court system, was doing little more than passing a bill of attainder con­ trary to this nation's usually accepted norms. "If this be not a bill of attainder under the theory of the Constitution of the United States," he charged, there never has been a bill of attainder proposed in all history. Never in the darkest days of the Stuarts or the Tudors, never in any of the darkest days of despotism, I undertake to say here, weighing my words deliberately, was there ever enacted a statute more exactly within the meaning of a bill of attainder than the seventh and eighth sections of this bill.16 Anyone who dared to attack the proposed act, or even the language of the act, was bound to be accused of favoring Mormonism and plural marriage, Vest continued, but for him neither of these things were so. I am not here to defend polygamy; I would resent the imputation as a personal insult from any man at any time or in any place; but where I abhor polygamy . . . , I revere the Constitution of my country and the rights of personal liberty guaranteed to every American citizen. I tell you now, Senators of the United States, pass this bill and you establish a precedent that will come home to plague you for all time to come. The feeling that to-day exists against polygamy may exist to-morrow against any Church, against any class in this broad land. . . .1T Though he himself could be, and often was, highly emotional in his speeches,18 Vest was a coldly logical man. "The waves of 14 Ibid. 15 See, for example, the arguments of Charles W. Jones of Florida or Augustus H. Garland of Arkansas. Ibid., 1158-1159, 1161-1162. 16 Ibid., 1200. 17 Ibid. 18 Maurice Irwin Kuhr, "The Speaking Career of George Graham Vest" (unpublished Doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri, Columbia, 1963) . 30 Missouri Historical Review passion mounting high"19 frightened him and he made it clear repeatedly that he would never vote for a measure that would surrender judicial reason to the prejudice of a five-man commission with unusual extraordinary powers. "Mr. President," he concluded a last effort, "I am prepared for the abuse and calumny that will follow any man who dares to oppose any bill here against polygamy; and yet, so help me God, if my official life should terminate tomor­ row, I would not give my vote for the principles contained in this measure."20 That the bill would eventually pass, however, was clear from the beginning. Now, though others rose to agree with Vest, Ed­ munds steered the bill to its ultimate passage. A number of amendments designed to protect the Mormons from losing various specific constitutional rights were summarily defeated.21 Senator Vest nonetheless tried one more tactic in hopes of committing the Senate to his view of the need for judicial action. Just before final action on the proposal, the senator introduced an amendment which would have prevented punishment unless a conviction had occurred before a proper court of law. That this amendment, like all other substantive ones before it had no chance of passage, must have been obvious; the vote against it, when taken, was 33 to ll.22 A few minutes later, with no roll call, the Senate passed the Edmunds Act and sent it to the House for its approval. The galleries broke into sustained applause for several minutes.23 House approval and the signature of President Chester A. Arthur were quick in coming.24 But the fears of Senator Vest and some of his Southern colleagues were shortly brought out. The commissioners moved with abandon to break up families of polyga­ mous Mormons while ordering the arrest of many and uniformly denying the right to vote to innumerable men and women.25 John

19 Congressional Record, XIII, Pt. II, U. S. 47th Congress, 1st Session (1882) , 1200. 20 ibid., 1202. 21 Ibid., 1214, 1215, 1216, 1217. The only amendment to the bill to pass was a purely political one insisting that no more than three of the five commissioners be from one political party. Even this vote, hardly controversial, passed by the barest of margins, 26-23, with 27 abstentions. Ibid., 1214. 22 ibid., 1217. There were 32 senators who failed to vote on this bill. 23 ibid. 24 The House approved the Edmunds Act on March 13, 1882, by the vote of 199-42 with 51 congressmen not voting. Ibid., 1877. The president signed the bill into law on March 22, 1882. Ibid., XIII, Pt. Ill, U. S. 47th Congress, 1st Session (1882), 2197. 25 The territory of Utah had sanctioned woman's suffrage in 1870, one year after Wyoming Territory, the first to do so. Senator Vest and the "Menace" of Mormonism 31

Taylor, the President of the Latter-Day Saints,26 was forced into hiding to escape imprisonment as were many of the church's top leaders. Few members of the Mormon persuasion, however, re­ nounced their faith or their belief in polygamy as a divinely inspired act. Many, in fact, who might conceivably have surren­ dered their adherence to the doctrine naturally, now, because of the martyrdom of their leaders, became even more convinced of its correctness.27 By late 1885, Cleveland's call for "discreet legis­ lation" seemed to most Protestant leaders, both in and out of Congress, once again an absolute necessity.28 On December 8, 1885, Edmunds, with renewed bipartisan support introduced Senate Bill Number 10 in order to add more pressure to the already beleagured adherents of Mormonism.29 The second Edmunds Act—or more properly, the Edmunds-Tucker Act—was one of the most vindictive pieces of legislation ever passed by Congress. To force a confession of guilt from men suspected of polygamy, fifteen new commissioners were given the power to require, without subpoena, any one to appear in court. Though no Mormon could be forced to testify against himself, a man's wife could be made to incriminate her husband. Homes could be searched for any incriminating evidence at the discretion of the commissioners. Anything found, such as marriage records, could be used as prima facie evidence of guilt. The criminal statutes were expanded to take into consideration a number of new crimes. Woman's suffrage, long approved in the territory, was

26 Brigham Young had died in 1877. Taylor, a long-time leader in the church, had been with Joseph Smith when he was assassinated in 1844. He served in the presidency from Young's death until his own death while in exile in 1887. 27 An extremely popular song of the day in Utah, entitled "Ever Constant" contained this refrain: "They need not think that true affection Can be crushed by cruel deeds Or that a long or constant separation Can turn false the heart that bleeds. A woman's love will never perish While the heart she loves is true; An eternal stream, her love it floweth Ever constant, ever true. Thomas E. Cheney, ed., Mormon Songs From the Rocky Mountains (Austin, Texas, 1968), 83. 28 There were, of course, some leaders of Roman Catholicism who openly attacked Mormonism and polygamy. Most, however, remained silent on the questions involved, apparently convinced of the truth of Vest's statement that prejudice turned on one church today could easily be applied to another tomorrow. 29 Congressional Record, XVII, Pt. I, U. S. 49th Congress, 1st Session (1885), 122. 32 Missouri Historical Review

Senator George Edmunds

Dictionary of American Portraits

now abolished in order to spare the women, so it was argued with obvious tongue in cheek, from the shameful fate of voting as their husbands wished. In many ways most oppressive of all the facets of the new proposal was the plan to destroy the corporate structure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. All property of the church was to be held for redistribution to its original owners if possible; any monies not returnable were to become the federal government's to be used for the schools of Utah Territory.30 Once again the proposed act was pressured through the limited opposition by its chief author, George Edmunds. Only a small handful of Southern Democrats, buoyed now by the staunch sup­ port of Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado, stood in the way.31 Missouri's Vest, if not as repeatedly vocal as four years before, was nonetheless outspoken in his constitutionalism. Nothing troubled him more than the provision dissolving the Mormon corporation. After several attempts to amend the section had failed,32 the senator proposed a revision of his own, suggesting that Congress

30 ibid. (1886), 566-567. 31 Chief spokesmen for recognition of Mormon rights besides Teller and Vest were Wilkinson Call of Florida and John Tyler Morgan of Alabama. 32 Ibid., 516. Senator Vest and the "Menace" of Mormonism 33 not be allowed to appropriate Mormon church monies for any purpose no matter how laudatory. "I can not," Vest told the Senate, "as a lawyer, give my assent to this extraordinary legislation. . . . If there is any parallel to this legislation on the statute-books of the United States I am utterly ignorant of it."33 Edmunds immediately attempted to counter Vest's objection and the two senators were soon engaged in a short and sharp de­ bate. Despite the Vermonter's attacks on the "one-man despot" who ruled the Latter-Day Saint establishment from headquarters in Salt Lake City,34 Vest remained unconvinced. "How a lawyer can look upon [this bill] with anything else than distrust is beyond my comprehension," he commented in the midst of the debate.35 When Senator George Hoar of Massachusetts entered on behalf of the supporters of the bill,36 Vest grew even more firm. He said to seize the church properties, is nothing else but . . . arbitrary. If it can be done in this case it can be done as to any Baptist, Methodist, or Pres­ byterian church in any of the Territories if a majority of Congress thinks it ought to be done. . . . [This] is remark­ able legislation—I confess I know of no parallel to it. . . . When Congress steps in and declares in advance that property shall [no longer be used for its original purposes], it is not due process of law, it is not the law of the land as I understand it.37 The Vest proposal never reached the voting stage. With some careful rewording of the original section by Senator William Evarts of New York, a rewording that only partially met the Missourian's objections, the Senate rushed toward a final vote on the measure. On January 8, after less than three days of debate, the members of the upper house by a crushingly decisive 38 to 7 approved the legislation.38 George Vest was, after his repeated attacks, not among the official minority. Absent all day from the Senate floor, on every roll-call vote dealing with the Mormon question, including the final tally, the senator's colleague from Missouri, Francis Cockrell, announced his repeated opposition to the persecution.39

33 ibid., 517. 34 Ibid. 35 Ibid. 36 Hoar later voted against the entire act because of his belief that woman's suffrage should not have been abrogated from territorial law. In principle he approved all of the other sections. Ibid., 565. 3T Ibid., 518. 38 Ibid., 565. 39 ibid., 563, 565. 34 Missouri Historical Review

That the House of Representatives would easily pass the bill as it had the original Edmunds Act four years earlier was assured. Though a number of delays, unrelated to the question of polygamy and Mormonism, prevented a vote for over a year, passage with but slight modification from the Senate version was overwhelming.40 After a conference committee between the two houses had ironed out the minor disagreements, final approval was put on the new bill on February 17 and 18, 1887.41 Once again, Vest paired his vote, this time with Senator Preston Plumb of Kansas, but he left no doubt how he would have responded had he participated in the final roll-call. After noting that the Kansan supported the legisla­ tion, the senator added emphatically that he would certainly have voted against it had he the chance.42 To the credit of President Cleveland, the bill never received presidential approval; not vetoed, however, it passed automatically into law on March 2.43 The effect of the Edmunds-Tucker Act was almost instanta­ neous. Mormon leaders immediately challenged the constitutionality of the bill in the federal courts but, much to their dismay, found a solid wall of opposition there as well. The federal government, acting through Congress, could pass any form of legislation it wished including revoking formerly held vested rights when dealing with the territories, Mormons were told.44 The courts and the new commissioners now moved rapidly with such carte blanche power to crush out any vestige of polygamy while punishing adherents of the faith for having ever sanctioned the doctrine. Finally in resignation to the inevitable and hoping to avoid any further trouble, church President Wilford Woodruff45 announced in the summer of 1890 his intention to obey the law. In its October general conference, the church adopted President Woodruff's "Manifesto," though reluctantly, and agreed to try to accept federal power. Six years later, after a quarter-century of trying, Utah, now "purified" of evil, was admitted to the Union as the forty-fifth state.46

40 ibid., XVIII, Pt. I, U. S. 49th Congress, 2nd Session (1887), 596. ^Ibid., XVIII, Pt. II, U. S. 49th Congress, 2nd Session (1887), 1882, 1904. 42 ibid., 1904. 43 ibid., XVIII, Pt. Ill, U. S. 49th Congress, 2nd Session (1887), 2667. 44 United States v. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and others (1887) , 15 Pac. 473; United States v. Late Corporation of Church of Latter-Day Saints et al. (1888), 16 Pac. 723; The Late Corporation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints et al. v. United States (1890), 136 U. S. 478, and (1891) , 140 U. S. 592. 45 Woodruff succeeded John Taylor in 1887, serving the church presi­ dency until his death in 1898. 46 A good popular history of Mormonism which contains a careful account of the persecution of this period is Ray B. West, Kingdom of the Saints (New Senator Vest and the "Menace" of Mormonism 35

Senator George Hoar from an Engraving by Alexander H. Ritchie

Dictionary of American Portraits

It has long been questioned whether the Machiavellian politics employed in the two anti-polygamy statutes were justified. The majority of contemporaries had no doubt that they were. Polygamy represented an evil that must be eradicated no matter how severe the punishment. Clearly the end seemed to justify the means. But it was here that George Graham Vest disagreed. He was, as a tribute from the Republicans of Missouri said at the time of his death in 1904, a man of "unquestioned integrity and unsullied honor."47 "Brave, sincere, spirited and straightforward," his long­ time opponent in the Senate, George Hoar, called him.48 Vest could not accept the denial of what he considered guaranteed constitu­ tional principles and, though the result of his opposition was the expected accusation that he was pro-Mormon, he unflinchingly spoke out against both Edmunds Acts. But George Vest was no stranger to controversy in his senatorial career; twelve years later

York, 1957) . A scholarly economic history which focuses on the effects of the church's loss of corporate standing is Leonard J. Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom (Cambridge, 1958) . 47 Quoted in The American Review of Reviews, XXX (September, 1904), 258. 48 Quoted in Walter B. Stevens, Centennial History of Missouri, II, 844. 36 Missouri Historical Review he stood in the vanguard of the few men who spoke out against the spread of American imperialism in the world. George Vest was a man whose dedication to the Constitution made him shun all popular causes that so frequently ignored or twisted that document's provisions. In 1959, Floyd C. Shoe­ maker, the long-time editor of the MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW, in a short article on some of the leading nineteenth-century leaders of the state bar concluded a discussion of Vest's career with the thought that "His accomplishments for the public were lasting and bear time's careful scanning."49 Few historians have concurred in this assessment. If only because of the senator's fight for religious freedom for all men, including the hated and despised Mormons, it is time that a reappraisal began.

49 Floyd C. Shoemaker, "Some Colorful Lawyers in the History of Missouri, 1804-1904," MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW, LHI (April, 1959), 236.

Market Analysis Platte City Landmark, August 4, 1911. The editor was busy when he was asked: "How are the markets?" The man was referred to the office devil, who looked wise and said: "Young men steady; girls lively and in demand; papas firm, but declining; mamas unsettled, waiting for higher bids; coffee, considerably mixed; fresh fish active and slippery; eggs, quiet but expected to open soon; whiskey still going down; onions strong; yeast, rising; breadstuffs, heavy; boots and shoes, those on the market are sold con­ stantly going up and down; hats and caps, not so high as last year, excepting foolscap, which is stationery; tobacco, very low and has a downward tendency; silver close, but not close enough to get hold of."

It Wasn't Encouraging Green Castle Journal, January 3, 1908. One afternoon a couple from an adjoining town presented themselves to a Boston divine and asked to be married just as he was about to enter the pulpit to conduct an afternoon service. The minister replied that he regretted that he could not at that moment comply with their wish, but that immediately upon the conclusion of the service he would take pleasure in performing the ceremony. The lovers after demurring seated themselves in the rear of the church. When the minister had finished the service he made the following announcement: "The parties who are to be joined in matrimony will present themselves at the chancel immediately after the singing of hymn 415, 'Mistaken Souls that Dream of Heaven.' " This view was taken ca. 1917 on south side of Armour-Swift-Burling­ ton Bridge. The center-entrance-type cars were built by the Cincinnati Car Company of Ohio.

The Excelsior Springs Route:

Life and Death of a Missouri Interurban

BY II. ROGER GRANT*

The first decade of the twentieth century witnessed the rise of a burgeoning American industry, the electric interurban railway. Contemporaries believed that newly perfected high-speed electric cars would soon rival or even replace the often slow, dirty and infrequent steam passenger trains as the primary means of inter-city travel. Few saw the automobile as a practical form of long-distance transportation because of its costliness and the poor condition of the country's roads. "Interurban madness" swept the nation during the early 1900s. The popular penchant for interurbans is reflected in the amount of mileage constructed after the return of general

*H. Roger Giant received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Simpson Col­ lege, Indianohi, Iowa, and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Missouri, Columbia. He is currently assistant professor of History at the Univer- sirv of Akron, Akron, Ohio. 37 38 Missouri Historical Review economic prosperity following the depression of the mid-1890s. In 1897 nearly one thousand miles of interurban trackage were in operation. By 1905 this figure had risen to eight thousand miles and in 1915 the nation s interurban network had peaked at slightly more than fifteen thousand miles.1 Missouri, like virtually every other state, became involved in interurban construction. Although the state's electric railway mile­ age never approached that of Ohio, Indiana or Illinois, the heart­ land of the interurban, some one hundred and sixty miles were built in Missouri between 1893 and 1915. Nearly half of this mileage belonged to one company, the Kansas City, Clay County and St. Joseph Railway.2 Traction promoters had long dreamed of constructing an electric interurban between the two leading western Missouri cities, St. Joseph and Kansas City. Shortly after the turn-of-the- century, a succession of promoters began a series of interurban projections between these two points. Ten projects in ten years failed.3 Those desiring a Kansas City to St. Joseph line faced formid­ able obstacles to their construction plans. Since six steam roads already linked both cities and since there were no major intermedi­ ate communities, to be a profitable venture an interurban would have to maximize business by providing the traveling and shipping public with frequent, rapid and low-cost service. It would therefore be necessary to construct practically a straight line between the two cities. Unfortunately for promoters, the territory to be spanned contained hilly terrain, thus making construction costly. By far the greatest difficulty besetting backers of a Kansas City to St. Joseph electric line was the need to bridge the Missouri River at some point. Since no bridge existed over which trackage rights could be secured, one would have to be built. As the Electric Railway Journal, the leading industry trade publication, commented, "The cost of such a project was in itself enough to discourage any real attempt at building the road, and it was this matter of a bridge

1 George W. Hilton and John F. Due, The Electric Interurban Railways in America (Stanford, Cal., 1960), 3, 186. 2 Missouri's other interurban railroads included the Southwest Missouri Electric Railway (1893) , St. Francois County Railroad (1904) , Joplin and Pittsburg Railway (1908) , St. Joseph and Savannah Electric Railway (1911) and the Mexico Investment and Construction Company (1915) . See Hilton and Due, Electric Interurban Railways, 365-369. 3 "The Kansas City, Clay County and St. Joseph Railway," Electric Rail­ way Journal, XLII (August 9, 1913), 212; Dearborn Democrat, May 9, 1913. The Excelsior Springs Route 39

Charles Frederick Enright

that was the real cause of the failure of the majority of the roads that had been projected."4 The event precipitating construction of the long-sought electric road occurred in 1909 when the Armour-Swift-Burlington syndicate began construction of a two-million-dollar bridge to link its twenty- three-hundred-acre townsite north of the Missouri River with Kansas City. The bridge, opened in December 1911, was a major engineering feat of the day. It consisted of two decks, the lower for steam railroad service and the upper for street and interurban cars, vehicles and pedestrians. The A-S-B syndicate also constructed a double-track electric street car line between its North Kansas City properties and Kansas City's Metropolitan Street Railway.5 At last with a Missouri River bridge and access to downtown Kansas City, construction of the Kansas City, Clay County and St. Joseph could begin. The new road, incorporated March 22, 1911, under a 200-year Missouri charter, was to have one division linking Kansas City to St. Joseph and another smaller line from Kansas City to the Clay County spa community of Excelsior Springs.6 The individ-

4 "K.C., C.C. and St. J. Railway," 212. 5 Ibid.; Kansas City Times, December 28, 1911; Kansas City Star, January 24, 1970. 6 Poor's Manual of Public Utilities (New York, 1915) , 96. 40 Missouri Historical Review ual largely responsible for the K.C., C.C. & St.J. was St. Joseph banker and financier Charles F. Enright. Enright, who had helped organize St. Joseph's Missouri Valley Trust Company in 1899, retired from active banking in 1908 to devote full time to pro­ moting the interurban. In seeking financial support for the venture, Enright journeyed east to Wall and State streets where he found capitalists willing to back the project. Equally important, Enright secured franchises and the necessary right-of-way to ensure the interurban's construction.7 In their quest for a new electric line, Enright and his associates found that their project had widespread public support. Like those who lived along interurbans in other areas of the nation, citizens of Buchanan, Platte and Clay counties favored the line's construction for several reasons. Frequent, high-speed interurban service would allow them to utilize more conveniently the economic and cultural opportunities offered by the two metropolitan areas. Shoppers could take advantage of Kansas City and St. Joseph sales; farmers could expect their produce to arrive in city markets in good con­ dition; and those wanting to see a silent film could easily do so. After decades of popular discontent with high and arbitrary rail­ road rates, the possibility of cheap interurban transportation also proved attractive to townspeople and farmers alike.8 Furthermore, construction of the road would mean higher property values for those living along its route. In an article appearing in The Liberty Advance, a sociology student at William Jewell College noted that "land near this line has increased 50%. Farms worth $30,000 previous to the construction are now held at $60,000. Not only has there been a great increase in farm land but also in city property. Vacant houses and vacant lots are greatly in demand."9 Construction of the $5,000,000 line began first on the Excelsior Springs division and soon thereafter on the main Kansas City to St. Joseph segment. Unlike many interurbans, the management of the K.C., C.C. & St.J. decided to build their new road to steam-road specifications. Heavy rail, crushed-rock ballast, minimum grades and curves, and a heavy-duty, 1200-volt power system characterized the new system. High construction standards were to enable the

7 St. Joseph Gazette, May 4, 1913; E. L. McDonald and W. J. King, His­ tory of Buchanan County and St. Joseph, Missouri (St. Joseph, 1915) , 301. 8 Dearborn Democrat, May 2, 1913; Excelsior Springs Weekly Call, Janu­ ary 30, 1913; "We Support the Clay County Interurban, Do You?" n. d., pamphlet in possession of author; see also Lewis Atherton, Main Street on the Middle Border (Bloomington, Ind., 1954) , 234. 0 Liberty Advance, January 10, 1913. The Excelsior Springs Route 41

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^Oldthe

BYIII t1ag*i''ne

company to interchange freight equipment with neighboring steam roads and to provide rapid, comfortable passenger service, both vital to the road's future.10 After more than a year of construction, the company opened its twenty-eight-mile Excelsior Springs line in January 1913. The new route extended in a northeasterly direction from the A-S-B bridge through Avondale and Liberty to Excelsior Springs. Although the road was planned to attract passengers visiting the spas in Excelsior Springs, it was also hoped that it would tap riders from the rapidly growing communities along its line. For example, students from William Jewell College in Liberty were seen as a good potential source of passenger revenue. In May 1913 the fifty-one-mile line from Kansas City to St. Joseph handled its first traffic. Northbound passengers boarded cars at the road's Kansas City terminal located at 13th and Walnut

10 The Public Utility Compendium, I (May 8, 1928), 279; Dearborn Demo­ crat, January 24, 1913; Hilton and Due, Electric Interurban Railways, 366. 42 Missouri Historical Review streets in the heart of the city's retail, theater and hotel district, travelled through the small Platte and Buchanan communities of Camden Point, Dearborn and Faucett, and arrived in downtown St. Joseph at 8th and Edmond streets. Two hours were required for this trip, twenty minutes of which were used to travel the two miles of street car tracks from the downtown terminal to the A-S-B bridge.11 Competition and the desire to maximize profits prompted the "Excelsior Springs Route," throughout most of its history, to provide convenient scheduling. Passenger cars on the Excelsior Springs division ran on an hourly basis between six in the morning and twelve midnight. The company provided similar service on the Kansas City to St. Joseph line. Included in the St. Joseph service were three limited trains which stopped only at Dearborn and Camden Point. For the shipping public, the road offered two daily round-trip freight runs on both the St. Joseph and Excelsior Springs lines and additional service when business required. Express cars, designed to handle less-than-carload freight, often made extra trips or were coupled to regularly scheduled passenger cars.12 To maintain these schedules, the company purchased the best available equipment. From the Cincinnati Car Company the road

u Ibid. 12 Tlie Official Guide of the Railways (October, 1917) , 605; KCCC&StJ Public Timetable, February 25, 1916, in possession of author; J. F. Holman, " 'Better Service' Brings $70,000 Freight Business in Third Year," Electric Rail­ way Journal, L (July 7, 1917), 5-6.

Street Cars at Main and Twelfth Streets, Kansas City The Excelsior Springs Route 43 received five motor-freight units, five express cars and sixteen passenger cars. Due to increases in both freight and passenger business, the road by 1917 had acquired an additional four motor- freight units and four passenger cars.13 A Liberty newspaper, in covering the arrival of the first passenger car to that community, described in detail the road's deluxe passenger equipment: The new car surpassed anything in architectural beauty ever seen in this part of the country before. In all dimensions it is larger than the other interurban cars running out of Kansas City and all of its appointments are more elaborate. It is painted maroon with green trimmings and the interior is elaborately fitted up, the seats in the main compartment being in green plush and those in the smoking end in green railroad leather. Every safety device known in car building is contained in the equipment. The entrance is in the center which divides the two compart­ ments. . . . The car is lighted with 30 tungsten lamps, has four 100-horse power motors in its electrical equipment and the seating capacity is sixty-four.14 The aggressive management of the K.C., C.C. & St.J. continued to improve the quality of the new road. Realizing that high-density traffic could pose serious safety problems, the company installed automatic block signals in 1914. At the time few interurbans had such expensive and sophisticated signal equipment.15 Also in 1914 the company sought to provide passengers with better depot and waiting-room service. In a much-publicized plan the road allowed individuals the privilege of building stations or waiting rooms at points where it lacked such facilities. For their efforts, the new operators got a percentage of the ticket sales and the opportunity to sell concession items to the public. The road, of course, benefited by having more stations than it could otherwise have afforded.16 To provide better freight service, officials of the K.C., C.C. & St.J. developed a union freight and express station for the use of all interurban companies serving Kansas City. Opened

13 "Center-Entrance Interurban Cars for the Kansas City, Clay County and St. Joseph Railway," Electric Railway Journal, XLI (January 18, 1913), 120- 121; Poor's Manual of Public Utilities (New York, 1913), 1729; ibid. (1917), 1031; see also "Interurban Centers and Interurban Cars, Kansas Citv," Brill Magazine, XI (January 15, 1917), 7-8. 14 Liberty Advance, January 3, 1913. 15 Robert P. Woods, "Block Signals on the Kansas City, Clay County and St. Joseph Railway," Electric Railway Journal, XLIV (October 10, 1914) , 766- 767; Dearborn Democrat, January 31, 1914. 16 Ibid., June 19, 1914; Electric Raihvay Journal, XLIII (June 6, 1914), 1304. 44 Missouri Historical Review

Typical Station on the K.C., C.C. & St. J. Railway in October 1917, this facility became a prototype for similar electric freight centers throughout the nation.17 Even though the "Excelsior Springs Route" was one of the best built and best managed interurbans in the nation, the company realized only a modest return on its initial capital investment. During the first ten years of operation, net annual income averaged a disappointing $300,000. Officials, however, seemed encouraged with the road's growth potential. Net earnings rose from $198,483 in 1913 to $455,877 in 1923.18 If this rate of growth had continued, the original $5,000,000 investment would have been returned with healthy interest within fifteen to twenty years. Although officials of the "Excelsior Springs Route" optimistical­ ly interpreted the line's potential for future growth, several factors kept earnings at a disappointingly low level. Competition for passenger and freight business hurt the line's revenue. Although interurban competition forced the Rock Island Railroad to abandon several St. Joseph-to-Kansas City passenger trains, other steam roads improved their services. The Wabash and Milwaukee rail­ roads, for example, added additional trains and new equipment

17 "Union Freight Terminal at Kansas City for Interurban Lines," Electric Railway Journal, L (November 24, 1917), 943. 18 See Poor's Manual of Public Utilities (1913-1919); Public Service Com­ mission Reports of the State of Missouri (Jefferson City, 1934) , 124. The Excelsior Springs Route 45 to woo Excelsior Springs and Liberty passengers away from the electric line. Steam roads showed extreme reluctance to interchange K.C., C.C. & St.J. freight equipment. Only the Chicago Great Western would furnish box cars to the interurban, probably because the CGW's long history of financial difficulties forced it to accept the line's business. Competition became keen, too, for local freight and package-express business.19 Litigation against the company exacerbated still further the road's financial problems. In May 1915, the Interstate Railway Company, one of the numerous proposed Kansas City-to-St Joseph electric lines, filed a $2,000,000 damage suit against the K.C., C.C. & St.J. for usurping its right-of-way options. Two months later the Jackson County Circuit Court awarded the Interstate a $1,500,000 judgment, thus throwing the Clay County road into the hands of a court-appointed receiver. Officials of the road naturally appealed this decision. Before the Missouri Supreme Court would hear the case, Chief Justice Waller W. Graves required the company to post a $3,000,000 appeal bond. After this action had been taken, the high court dissolved the receivership. On October 24, 1917, the court reversed the lower court's decision but forced the K.C., C.C. & St.J. to pay $250,000 in damages to the Interstate.20 While rail competition, uncooperative steam railroads and

19 Dearborn Democrat, November 14, 1913, December 21, 1916, April 5, 1917; Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Public Timetables, 1913-1914; Wabash Railroad Public Timetables, 1913-1915, in possession of author; Hilton and Due, Electric Interurban Railways, 143. 20 Faucett Democrat in Dearborn Democrat, May 4, 1915; St. Joseph News- Press, November 28, 1916, quoted in Dearborn Democrat, November 30, 1916; Electric Railway Journal, XLVI (July 17, 1915), 119; ibid., XLVI (August 14, 1915), 287; ibid., L (November 3, 1917), 832.

K.C., C.C. & St. J. Passenger and Freight Depot Plan, Liberty

Edge of Roof 46 Missouri Historical Review litigation hurt the K.C., C.C. 6k St.J.'s financial position, the most serious threat to its existence came from increased automobile and truck competition. Shortly after the end of the First World War the Missouri Good Roads Association launched a drive in the area served by the interurban to "Lift Missouri Out of the Mud." By 1925 the association could claim major accomplishments in Buchan­ an, Platte and Clay counties, for the state had constructed paved highways between Kansas City and St. Joseph and Kansas City and Excelsior Springs. In both cases these new highways closely paralleled the K.C., C.C. & St.J. With the coming of paved roads, the volume of highway competition naturally increased.21 The management of the "Excelsior Springs Route," however, continued to be aggressive and innovative. In order to meet the financial problems posed by rubber-tired competition the company first responded by raising rates. In April 1921, the Missouri Public Service Commission authorized the line to raise passenger fares by twenty-five percent, the first rate in­ crease in the company's history.22 A year later the road introduced a new "luxury plus service," in order to attract additional passengers. The line's North Kansas City shops converted several of its center- entrance interurbans into deluxe parlor-observation cars. At a surprisingly low cost the K.C., C.C. & St.J. now offered its regular passengers and charter parties a unique type of equipment com­ plete with mahogany lounge chairs and deep-pile carpeting.23 The most important response to highway competition came in 1924 when the company organized a wholly-owned bus affiliate. Known as the K.C., C.C. & St.J. Auto Transit Company, the new bus operation served communities along the interurban's Excelsior Springs division. By coordinating its rail and highway service, the company was able to reduce by one half its more expensive rail operations while still providing the public with essentially the same service. Also, within a few years, this service forced a com­ peting bus line to sell out to the company. In 1927 the K.C., C.C. & St.J. extended its bus operations to include Kansas City and St. Joseph and several intermediate points.24 Although the management of the "Excelsior Springs Route"

21 Dearborn Democrat, December 11, 1919, October 28, 1920; Public Serv­ ice Commission Reports, Mo. (1934), 122-123. 22 Electric Railway Journal, LVII (May 14, 1921), 914. 23 ibid., LIX (April 22, 1922) , 684; William D. Middleton, The Interurban Era (Milwaukee, 1961), 188. 24 Electric Railway Journal, LXIII (June 28, 1924), 1031; ibid., LXX (Au­ gust 6, 1927), 248; ibid., LXX (October 8, 1927), 719. The Excelsior Springs Route 47

Courtesy H. K. Ferrell Excelsior Springs Route Employee H. K. Ferrell, Near Electrical Maintenance Building, ca. 1920, Site Near Campbell's Station in Southern Buchanan County (Between Faucett and Dearborn, Missouri) attempted to boost operating revenues and meet the challenges posed by increased highway competition, their efforts were largely unsuccessful. Passenger revenue continued to decline. In 1923 the company received $1,008,564 from its passenger operations. The next year it amounted to only $796,982 and on the eve of the great 1930s depression the proceeds were slightly over $500,000. Freight revenue also dropped, although less dramatically. The road earned $226,477 for its freight and express service in 1923 and $196,923 in 1929. Net earnings, reflecting the company's financial slump, slipped from $455,877 in 1923 to $119,963 six years later. The depression, however, struck the interurban a death blow. Net earnings of $8,771 for 1930 became a $30,022 deficit in 1931. Not surprisingly the road fell into the hands of a receiver on November 12, 1930.25 The next few years were to be extremely painful for the K.C., C.C. & St.J. As deficits continued to mount, it became clear to the interurbans management that abandonment was close at hand. During the first ten months of 1932 net earnings declined 35.14 percent and passenger revenues 40.22 percent as compared to the same time period a year earlier. On November 26, 1932, a federal district court authorized Robert P. Woods, the line's receiver, to file an application for abandonment with the Missouri Public Service Commission. Woods took this action two days later.26

25 Public Service Commission Reports, Mo. (1934), 123-124. 2QIbid., 122-123, 125. 48 Missouri Historical Review

At Public Service Commission hearings held in Kansas City in December, numerous passenger patrons filed protests against the interurban's proposed abandonment. Many regular riders did not own automobiles and lived in areas not directly served by either rail or bus service. In numerous instances abandonment would cause serious hardships for them. No protests, however, came from shippers of freight. Alternate rail and truck facilities were readily available to freight patrons of the electric line.27 The regulatory commission subsequently approved the company's abandonment application. In its summary of the case the PSC noted, "It is evident . . . that the operation of this line cannot continue. In the evolution of transportation, it is joining the hun­ dreds of miles of interurban electric lines which have been aban­ doned over the United States."28 The authors of the leading study of the American interurban industry have suggested the abandonment of the "Excelsior Springs Route" perhaps came too soon. As they said, "This line without question would have lasted for many years had it not been so severely affected by the depression, or if the owners had been willing to hold out another year or so. This is one of the few cases in which owners deliberately liquidated a road early in the period of decline in order to withdraw as much money as pos­ sible."29 On the contrary, as already shown, the financial condition of the K.C., C.C. & St.J. weakened in the early 1920s. Neither pas­ senger nor freight revenues showed signs of increasing. The initial capital investment had been too great and the hoped-for passenger and freight business had not fully materialized even with agressive and innovative management. What is surprising then about the "Excelsior Springs Route" is not that it was abandoned in 1933 but that it was not scrapped earlier. In no way did the electric line's owners panic with the coming of depressed conditions fol­ lowing the crash of 1929; if anything, they waited too long to make the final decision to abandon. The K.C., C.C. & St.J. refused to die. Even before the company ran its last electric car on March 10, 1933, efforts began to continue its operation. In January a citizens' committee, headed by a former K.C., C.C. & St.J. official, R. S. Mahan of Liberty, organized and began a drive to raise capital to save the electric line. To encourage

27 Ibid., 125; Excelsior Springs Daily Standard, February 24, 1933. 28 Public Service Commission Reports, Mo. (1934), 125. 29 Hilton and Due, Electric Interurban Railways, 366. The Excelsior Springs Route 49 public support, the committee through the news media advertised their reasons for wanting to save the property. They argued with great cogency that abandonment would lower real-estate values in the territory served by the interurban; that many residents relied on the line for commuting to their jobs; and that abandonment would place more than 100 heads of families out of work. The committee subsequently began to promote the sale of stock in a new company that they hoped could purchase and operate the soon-to-be-abandoned road.30 This movement, however, failed. As an Excelsior Springs newspaper observed, "Too many other means of transportation were available that many business men here felt that whether the line ran or not would [not] make any difference in the service."31 As one group seeking to save the K.C., C.C. & St.J. dissolved, another appeared. Ben M. Achtenberg, a Kansas City lawyer, now led a group of interested citizens, mostly suburbanites and former employees, to revive the road. After making an exhaustive study of area freight operations, Achtenberg proposed to rehabilitate the defunct interurban by introducing a revolutionary type of freight service. According to his plan "merchandise would be locked in huge boxes and put onto a flat car and later lifted off to a truck for delivery."32 What he proposed then was a type of rail-highway containerization. Achtenberg also planned the revitalization of passenger service by replacing the twenty-year-old electric cars with new light-weight ones. These cars would be operated by one man instead of the regular two, thus lowering operating costs.83 The major obstacle to Achtenberg's plans centered on raising the $150,000 needed to purchase the road. As in the previous movement to save the K.C., C.C. & St.J., the Achtenberg group marketed stock in denominations of five dollars and up to residents in the area, but the amount publicly subscribed proved disappointing.34 Backers of "Save the Interurban," now calling themselves the Kansas City, St. Joseph, Liberty and Excelsior Springs Railway Company, petitioned the Missouri Public Service Commission to allow resumption of service. On the other hand, five competing steam railroads opposed reopening. During a time of severe national

30 Excelsior Springs Daily Standard, January 13, 15, 30, 1933. 31 Ibid., March 1, 1933. 32 ibid., March 24, 1933. 33 ibid.; see also ibid., April 25, 1934. 34 ibid., May 10, October 17, 1933. 50 Missouri Historical Review

depression, the railroads probably feared the possibility of addi­ tional competition. The PSC, however, granted the reorganization group a certificate of convenience and necessity in July 1934. During the same month a federal district court judge ordered the interurban sold so Achtenberg's group could begin operation.35 Bidding for ownership of the defunct electric line began on August 21, 1934. To the disappointment of many former patrons and employees, Achtenberg's drive to save the road failed because of insufficient financial backing. The Hyman-Michaels Company, a Chicago-based salvage firm, bought the road for $112,525. In September the Union Pacific Railroad's bus subsidiary, the Inter­ state Transit Lines, purchased the K.C., C.C. & St.J. Auto Transit Company, which had remained in operation, for $53,000. This price included both buses and franchises.36 The final chapter in the history of the road occurred during the fall months of 1934 when wrecking crews dismantled the road. Although few physical signs of the interurban exist today, its legacy remains. As the link between the horse and buggy and the automobile and truck, the "Excelsior Springs Route" did much to develop the present-day Kansas City and St. Joseph metropolitan areas. The interurban's frequent high-speed service between the outlying territory and the cities made living in small communities practical for many urban workers. Moreover, as one contemporary observed, "Although this well managed and creative company has failed financially, it has already succeeded in building up several suburban communities. But more importantly, the interurban has furthered the growth of St. Joseph and especially Kansas City as the retail trade centers of western Missouri."37

%?>Ibid., April 24, May 10, July 5 and 9, 1934. 30 ibid., August 17 and 23, September 11, 1934. 3 7 Newspaper clipping, ca. 1934, in possession of author.

She Didn't Need Electricity Paris Mercury, September 30, 1873. An ingenious yankee girl has learned [sic] a squirrel, in its revolving cage, to turn her sewing machine for her.

He Could Be Shot At From Both Sides Kennett Dunklin Democrat, January 2, 1940. A neutral politician is like the old time 1884 Mugwump, he is in the middle of the road and is being shot at, from ambush, from both sides. HITLER'S UNWELCOME GIFT BY DANIEL BISHOP "Reprinted from the St. Louis Star and Times, Issue of March 23, 1933

This editorial cartoon by Daniel Bishop was reprinted in the March 30, 1933, issue of Modern View, a St. Lorais Anglo-Jewish publication. The St. Louis Jewish Coordinating Council:

Its Formative Years

BY BURTON A. BOXERMAN*

When Adolph Hitler came to power in Nazi Germany in 1933, his followers began establishing pro-Nazi, anti-Semitic groups in different parts of the United States. At first, these groups were called the Friends of New Germany, but eventually they were

*Burton A. Boxerman teaches American history and government at Rite- nour Senior High School, St. Louis, and he is a part-time faculty member at Belleville Junior College, Belleville, Illinois. He received an A.B. from Wash­ ington University, St. Louis, and an A.M. and Ph.D. from St. Louis University. 51 52 Missouri Historical Review merged into the German American Volksbund, or simply the Bund. Nazi agents who organized these groups regarded St. Louis, with its large German-American population and central location, ideal as a potential nerve center of Nazi activities in the Midwest.1 Aggressive action, however, was taken by a St. Louis community organization to counteract the Bund and to undertake civic-pro­ tective and antidefamation programs. On January 8, 1934, a special meeting of representatives of the St. Louis Jewish community was held to form the Jewish Advisory Committee. Among those in attendance were some of the community's most noted Jews; Aaron Waldheim, Aaron Rauh, Samuel I. Sievers and Julius Feist.2 This committee continued to meet on an irregular basis, but finally ceased its activities when it found that its members could not agree on a program of unified action. Sievers, however, for many years the B'nai B nth Anti-Defamation League Commissioner for District Two, and initiator of the committee, continued to carry on civic defense activities with the cooperation and assistance of many interested individuals and organizations.3 Each Jewish defense agency, for the most part, continued to follow its own course of action in meeting the problems of Naziism, abroad and at home. In some cases they received directives from their respective home offices in New York which did not apply to the local situation. In addition there was confusion because no one agency spoke for all Jews. Alfred Fleishman, one of the city's most active workers for Jewish causes, summarized conditions in the 1930s. He stated that each group had its own ideas and techniques and was not concerned with the opinions of other groups. The American Jewish Congress and the American Jewish Committee, for example, were often at odds because of their con­ flicting ideologies. B'nai B'rith, according to Fleishman, thought it was the only organization having the prerogative to speak for St. Louis Jewry. The Jewish War Veterans in turn, believed that since they had fought for their country, they should be the ones to fight for the defense of the Jews at home. It was their belief, Fleishman asserted, that no group was militant enough to perform

i H. W. Salz, "St. Louis Fights the Nazis," Jewish Record, XXV (Septem­ ber 2, 1938), 5-7. 2 Minutes, Advisory Committee of Special Activities, January 8, 1934, in the files of the Jewish Community Relations Council, St. Louis. Hereafter cited as JCRC. 3 Interview with Thelma Abrams, December 29, 1966. The St. Louis Jewish Coordinating Council 53 this function except the veterans themselves. This, then, was the general condition of the Jewish community in the 1930s.4 In the midst of this confusion, there was a national attempt to solidify all Jewish defense agencies through a committee called the General Jewish Council, but this failed because it could not agree on priorities and methods.5 Between 1937-1938, however, when the Jewish situation deteriorated both in Europe and locally, it became evident that the Jews had to act. In 1938, Edgar Kauf­ man, president of the Kaufman Department Stores in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, developed the idea of getting the major defense agencies together and creating a national defense agency that would expand activities in American communities. This idea was similar to the General Jewish Council plan. Communications were sent to leaders in Jewish communities throughout the nation. Irvin Bettman, Sr., president of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, re­ ceived the communication. At the time, the Bund was still very active in St. Louis; for example, the Saengerbund, a German sing­ ing society, was attempting to stage a parade with full military regalia, including the flying of the Swastika.6 Bettman promptly called a meeting to outline Kaufman's plan. Among those present were Samuel Sievers and Alfred Fleishman of the B'nai B'rith and William S. Cohen of the American Jewish Congress. Cohen concluded that Bettman wished to create not only a defense agency, but a community relations council which would be a single voice in the community and could act for the community as a whole.7 Ultimately several meetings were held and representatives from the following organizations attended: the American Jewish Committee, the B'nai B'rith and the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Congress, the Jewish Federation, the Jewish War Veterans, the Rabbinical Association, the Zionist Organization, the Jewish Labor Council and the Vaad Hoir (Orthodox Jewish Com­ munity ). By December 1938, this group, under the guidance of Bettman, agreed on a unified program and a constitution was written. The preamble of the constitution of the Jewish Coordinat­ ing Council clearly expressed its purpose and intent: "To coordi­ nate the activities of various organizations engaged in safeguarding

4 Interview with Alfred Fleishman, January 18, 1967. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Interview with William S. Cohen, September 30, 1966. 54 Missouri Historical Review

Irvin Bettman, Sr.

and defending the civil and religious rights of the Jews in St. Louis and in general, to promote the welfare of the community."8 By the end of 1938, the combined Jewish organizations issued a proclamation to the St. Louis Jewry informing them of the formation of the Council. In essence this proclamation stated that the Jews of America were deeply concerned with the steady growth of racial and religious intolerance in America fostered by the Nazi government of Germany. This government had sponsored many domestic agitators who had used the immemorial appeal of anti-Semitism to achieve their aims.9 The proclamation continued by stating that hitherto in St. Louis, as in other communities, Jews had been divided into a number of groups—each one of which strove independently to defend freedom and democracy, as well as Jewish rights. It was finally realized that the hour had come for unity of action. Therefore, the Jews of St. Louis, including organi­ zations representing all segments of the Jewish population in the area, were determined to unify their forces in defense of American democracy and liberty for all citizens and were also determined

8 Preamble, Constitution Jewish Coordinating Council, December 1938, in JCRC. 9 Proclamation to St. Louis Jewry by Jewish Coordinating Council, De­ cember 1938, in JCRC. The St. Louis Jewish Coordinating Council 55 to safeguard the political and religious rights of the Jewish people.10 In conclusion, the proclamation urged the Jews of St. Louis to present any problems they might have to the council, and, that in all cases, proper steps for the highest welfare of the com­ munity would be taken.11 According to the constitution of the newly formed organization, the council had the right to consider and act upon proposals and plans for safeguarding and defending Jewish civil and religious rights. Composing the council would be two members from the following groups: the American Jewish Congress; the American Jewish Committee; the Zionist Organization of St. Louis; the Jewish War Veterans; and the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. One member each from the Vaad Hoir of St. Louis, the Anti-Defamation League, the Anti-Nazi League, the Missouri Lodge of B'nai B'rith and the Eben Ezra Lodge of B'nai B'rith, completed the initial composition.12 New members would be admitted if five-sixths of the council voted in the affirmative.13 During the month of May in each year after 1939, the annual meeting of the council was to be held. At that time officers (a president, an undetermined number of vice presidents, a treasurer and a secretary) would be elected.14 Each representative was en­ titled to one vote and an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total number of the representatives was required for a decision.15 Such decisions, having been made, were to be binding upon the members of the council.16 It was also decided that each constituent member of the group was responsible for electing members to send to the council, and also responsible for their recall if necessary.17 On December 28, 1938, the constitution was formally adopted, and signed by the representatives of these organizations: Ernest W. Stix and Charles M. Rice for the American Jewish Committee; William S. Cohen and M. J. Slonim for the American Jewish Congress; Samuel I. Sievers for the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith; Harry I. Gale for the Anti-Nazi League; Harry Turken for Eben Ezra Lodge of B'nai B'rith; Hyman S. Gale and Samuel

io Ibid. il Ibid. 3 2 Constitution Jewish Coordinating Council, Article IV. 13 Ibid., Article IV, Section 1. 14 Ibid., Article VI, Section 1. 15 ibid., Article III, Section 1. ivibid. 17 Ibid., Article XIII, Section 3. 56 Missouri Historical Review

C. Klein for the Jewish War Veterans; Alfred Fleishman for the Missouri Lodge of B'nai B'rith; Morris Shapiro for the Vaad Hoir; and David Berenstein and David Reiss for the Zionist Organization.18 The next hurdle was the ratification of the constitution by the entire membership of the constituent groups. It was not the general philosophy of the council nor even the question as to whether a council should exist, but rather that of representation on the council which presented the most difficulty to ratification. Each group felt it should have more representation than the other groups. This obstacle, however, was overcome. On January 12, 1938, the Jewish War Veterans announced in a letter from Morris Stone to Sievers that Post 127 of the Jewish War Veterans had accepted the constitution and had appointed Morris Stone and Samuel C. Klein as council representatives.19 Approximately two weeks later, William S. Cohen of the American Jewish Congress informed Sievers that his organization had approved the constitution and was sending Cohen and Slonim as its representatives.20 Earlier in the month, Berenstein, president of the Zionist Organization, wrote to Sievers that his organization unanimously approved the constitu­ tion, adding that "like Mr. Bettman our organization hailed it as a great historic accomplishment by the Jewish community in St. Louis."21 One of the earliest to accept the constitution was Eben Ezra Lodge of B'nai B'rith. In a letter to Sievers, Harry Turken, president of the lodge, appointed Irwin Cohn as delegate, and said: "We are happy to be one of the original signers of this history-making document for the Jewry of St. Louis."22 At a council meeting on Febraury 7, 1939, Sievers announced that all constituent member organizations had accepted and ratified the constitution, and that the organization was duly constituted and authorized to function. The following week press notices were released to the daily papers and to the Jewish and Anglo-Jewish papers in the city, stating simply that the council was ready to function. It also re­ iterated the reasons for organizing the group, namely to oppose subversive influences, such as Communism, Fascism and Naziism,

18 Ibid., Article XVIII. 19 Morris Stone to Samuel Sievers, January 12, 1939, in JCRC. 20 William S. Cohen to Samuel Sievers, January 21, 1939, in JCRC. 21 David Berenstein to Samuel Sievers, January 4, 1939, in JCRC. 22 Harry Turken to Samuel Sievers, December 29, 1938, in JCRC. The St. Louis Jewish Coordinating Council 57

This photograph of Samuel I. Sievers appeared in a 1933 issue of Modern View.

and to correlate the activities of Jewish organizations in the city insofar as they dealt with these problems and the defense of Jewish rights. Sievers emphatically declared that the council was not political and would not engage in political activities.23 In one of its first actions, on February 17, 1939, the council passed a unanimous resolution in honor of Irvin Bettman, Sr., who had played such a prominent role in the founding of the organiza­ tion. The resolution asserted that the establishment of the council had been primarily due to the untiring efforts of Bettman. It urged that public expression of the above sentiments be made at the Annual Meeting of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, on Feb­ ruary 19, 1939, in order to enlighten the entire community about the progressive leadership of Bettman as president of the federation.24 Shortly after the council was formed, it became evident that there was enough work to merit a full-time secretary, and Mrs. Thelma (Marcus) Abrams was hired. In describing its early weeks, Mrs. Abrams said that the council was quite busy getting material into the hands of leaders of public opinion in the community, because "many Jews needed educating on the conditions of the

23 St. Louis Globe-Democrat, February 19, 1939. 24 Resolution in Honor of Irvin Bettman, Sr., February 17, 1939, in JCRC. 58 Missouri Historical Review

Jews in the nation and the city."25 When the council first organized, she said, it was thought that everytime someone slandered the name of the Jews, the council had to rush out with an answer. "After we got experience in the field, we realized that this was not necessary. We found out we could not possibly answer all the charges."26 Commenting further on the early days, Mrs. Abrams riotecl that the council was long on workers but short on experience. "Talking about the problems was one thing, but action was another. Our agency got training as it went along. We learned through experience and traded experiences with agencies similar to ours around the country. We also learned from national agencies; we would write to other councils, and through this way information would be exchanged."27 At the time the council was formed, the German-American Volksbund was still in existence in St. Louis, although it was losing strength rapidly. Since it was an anti-Semitic group, the council followed the activities of the Bund in the daily papers as most of their meetings were covered by the press. To combat the Bund, the council attempted to show that the organization was an enemy of not only the Jews, but of the entire community as well. Informa­ tion about the evils of the Bund went to public libraries. A speakers' bureau was initiated to warn both the Jewish and non- Jewish communities about Bund activities. Refutations of articles or books written by anti-Semites were distributed. Community leaders were asked to send out letters to their friends, warning them about the dangers of the Bund to the community. In general, the council provided information to the community to illustrate the un-American activities of anti-Semitic individuals and groups.28 While the council continued to function in the early months of 1939, one major problem remained concerning its scope. The question was whether it should be more than a mere advisory board. A committee chosen to solve this problem met and heatedly debated the issue. It was the opinion of Sievers, the first president, that in order for the organization to function effectively, it should pursue a policy which coordinated and bound the individual mem­ bers to a single plan of attack. This policy was finally adopted

25 Interview with Mrs. Thelma Abrams, December 29, 1966. 26 Ibid. 27 Ibid. 28 Ibid. The St. Louis Jewish Coordinating Council 59 but it came about only after many compromises on the part of the constituent organizations and their representatives.29 Throughout the spring of 1939, the council was busily engaged in hearing alleged cases of anti-Semitism and discrimination. One such case involved a St. Louis movie house that was using in its newspaper advertisements of the movie, "Dr. Mamlock," a Star of David pitted against the Nazi Swastika. The council felt that this form of advertisement was objectionable and sent a communication to that effect to the officers of the movie house. The advertising was changed.30 In another instance, the council heard complaints from a person who stated he was dismissed from his job at a local radio station because of his religion. Upon investigation, it was learned that the dismissal was brought about because of reasons having nothing to do with religion.31 In still a third instance, council members received information that a dude ranch in outstate Missouri had used advertising copy objectionable to Jews. The matter was referred to the Anti-Defama­ tion League Committee, which the council felt could best handle that particular problem.32 At the end of six months of operation, the council received praise from a source which previously had criticized its organiza­ tion and publicly had expressed dissatisfaction with its work. Early in 1939 an editorial in the Modern View, a local Anglo-Jewish magazine, expressed dissatisfaction with the action of Jewish leadership in defending the good name of the Jews throughout the nation. Approximately six months later, the Modern View reversed its position by calling to the attention of St. Louis Jewry, the fine work being accomplished by the Coordinating Council. It stated that the organization had "coordinated and effectively gone to work on the job of counteracting subversive activities in this com­ munity in a militant and constructive manner . . . ."33 Near the end of 1939 Alfred Fleishman, secretary of the council, compiled a booklet entitled, "Jewish Coordinating Council of St. Louis—Organization, Structure, Objectives," which was mailed to all major Jewish organizations in the St. Louis area, even those

29 Minutes, Meeting Plan and Scope Committee, February 27, 1939, in JCRC. 30 Minutes, Jewish Coordinating Council, March 6, 1939, in JCRC. 31 Ibid., June 13, 1939, in JCRC. 32 ibid. 33 Modern View, LXXVII (June 22, 1939), 3. 60 Missouri Historical Review not represented on the council. In it, Fleishman wrote the aims of the organization were to solve present day problems and not to concern itself with receiving plaudits or praises.34 He reported that the chief motive for forming the council was to meet the demands made by the Jewish community for some intelligent, cooperative and militantly effective action in defense of Jewish rights, both civil and religious, against the new forms of anti-Semitism which had arisen in America. "They constitute," he asserted, "a very serious and dangerous menace."35 After giving a general history of the council since its inception, Fleishman praised Irvin Bettman, Sr., for his outstanding contribu­ tion to the Jews of St. Louis, and in particular, for his role in helping form the council. Fleishman then reiterated how agreement ultimately had been reached, and how a constitution had been written and ratified, noting that the makeup of the first member­ ship was indicative of the cross section of interests represented. There had been four attorneys, one retailer, two real-estate men, two wholesalers, two manufacturers, two investment bankers, one college professor, two men working in governmental service, one secretary to a fraternal order, one editor, one rabbi and one labor union official.36 Fleishman contended that the representation on the council reflected nearly all the different Jewish opinions.37 As an example of the council's functions, Fleishman told about the following incident. Near the end of 1939, the council, after a careful study, had reached the same conclusion as that of the major national Jewish defense agencies—namely that Father Charles E. Coughlin was definitely anti-Semitic. Coughlin was a Catholic priest from Royal Oak, Michigan, who, during the 1920s and the 1930s, broadcasted a series of radio religious talks liberally sprinkled with politics and economics. He also founded a weekly publication called Social Justice. His radio speeches and other utterances were carefully studied and analyzed; his Social Justice magazine was read from cover to cover and the inescapable conclusions were that he represented a very real and genuine danger to the Jews and to democratic government.38 The question was—what to do about him? Fleishman noted that many views had been offered.

34 Alfred Fleishman, Jeivish Coordinating Council of St. Louis—Organiza• tion, Structure, and Objectives, 1939, 1. 35 Ibid., 2. 36 Ibid., 4. 37 Ibid. 38 Ibid., 5. The St. Louis Jewish Coordinating Council 61

Some advised that there should be no answer at all to the utterances of the man; others insisted that an answer should be made, but that the answer should be made by non-Jews; and still others militantly asserted that not only should an answer be made but that that answer could best be made by Jews. During early 1939 the General Jewish Council published an extensive booklet entitled Father Coughlin—His Facts and Argu­ ments, which treated his addresses in great detail. The St. Louis Jewish Coordinating Council decided to mail copies of this booklet to Jews and non-Jews nationally and locally. Along with the book­ let went a letter pointing out to the non-Jewish recipients that Father Coughlin had made some very serious charges against the Jews and that the council had great faith in the American people who must, in the final analysis, be the judges of the merits or demerits of the man.39 Speaking for the council, Fleishman was pleased to state that the responses had been highly favorable and that enough expressions had been received from non-Jews in all walks of life to give renewed faith and courage in the bitter fight against the forces which sought to inflict anti-Semitism on America.40 Summarizing the activities of the council in 1939, Fleishman pointed out some of its other constructive accomplishments. In February 1939, Colin Ross, Nazi propagandist, was scheduled for a speech at the German House and to show motion pictures of Nazi Germany. Investigation proved that Ross was a high official in the Nazi Institute for Germans Living Abroad, with headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. The Jewish War Veterans, a constituent member of the council, in cooperation with the American Legion, exposed the true purpose of the meeting by establishing the fact that the meeting had been arranged and paid for by the local Nazi consul. As a result of the ensuing newspaper publicity, the German House refused a hall for the meeting and Ross moved on to New York.41 In still another action during 1939, it was reported that the movie "Confessions of a Nazi Spy," which played at a downtown movie house, had been publicized by having two fully uniformed Nazi Storm Troopers march up and down the street in front of the theatre carrying signs advising persons not to see the picture. The

39 Ibid. 40 Ibid. 4i Ibid., 7. 62 Missouri Historical Review council was called in by a resident of the community, and repre­ sentatives of the council went to the theatre to investigate the circumstances. After talking with the manager, it was discovered that the "troopers" were employed by the management. The council pointed out to the manager that this form of publicity was danger­ ous and could arouse hostile feelings since the average person did not realize that it was a mere publicity stunt. The theatre authori­ ties decided to withdraw the "troopers."42 On September 21, 1939, a meeting of the Missouri Friends of Social Justice was held in the gymnasium of St. Louis University in order to discuss neutrality. As the audience filed out of the gymnasium many of those in attendance were shocked to see copies of the notoriously anti-Semitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and William Dudley Pelley's anti-Semitic book, The Dupes of Judah, openly offered for sale. Several Catholic priests who were present objected to this kind of propaganda. A special committee of the council was appointed in order to discuss the matter with the university. The committee met with the president of St. Louis University, Father H. B. Crimmins, and a full discussion of all phases of the matter took place. As a result, Father Crimmins issued a statement which appeared in both the Modern View and the Jewish Record in which he apologized for the incident stating that the literature had been displayed without the authority or knowledge of the school's administration. Father Crimmins re­ marked: "I deplore the fact and condemn it without qualification as utterly indefensible and unworthy of an intelligent person. Per­ sonally, I knew nothing of the affair until a week after its occur­ ence."43 Sievers received a similar reply from Bishop Christian H. Winkelmann, Auxiliary Bishop in charge of the local diocese in the absence of Archbishop John Glennon, and from Father Thomas M. Palmer, Provincial of the Redemptionist order.44 In late March 1940, Sievers, council president, gave his first report to the group. He felt that the members had in the past year made great strides in creating mutual respect and understanding among themselves in spite of differences in ideology and plans.45 In addition, it was Sievers' contention that the council had become a clearing house and an open forum for discussion and examination

42 Ibid., 10. ±zibid., 13. 44 Ibid. 45 President Samuel I. Sievers, "First Annual Report, Jewish Coordinating Council," March 25, 1940, in JCRC. The St. Louis Jewish Coordinating Council 63

THE BISHOP'S HOUSE SAINT LOUIS October 7, 1939 Dear Sir: With you we sincerely regret the course of events that trans­ pired in connection with meetings held under the auspices of The United Christian Front—Missouri Friends of Social Justice.

Monsignor Steck has been most intimately associated with me in Church programs and projects for the last five years and during that time he has given evidence of a disposition which at all times has been most charitable and christianlike. I am confident that Mon­ signor Steck was not aware that pamphlets which do a great injus­ tice to you and which we all detest and abhor, were being sold at these meetings. I believe that you will agree with me that neither Monsignor Steck, nor any one, can be held responsible for the actions of one individual who in his fanaticism avails himself of the ready opportunity to sell literature, over which an organization or its officers have absolutely no power or control

I am sure it will please you to be apprised of the fact that Dr. R. Emmet Kane just a week or so ago, showed me copies of the pamphlets which are indeed an outrageous libel against a race with whom we are all endeavoring to live in harmony and peace. We sincerely regret that in connection with these meetings this outrage has been perpetrated against our Jewish friends in the City of St. Louis, and I pray and hope that an affair of this kind will never again come to pass.

In view of the fact that the Most Reverend Archbishop, Mon­ signor Steck's superior, as well as mine, will be home during the coming week, I should deem it advisable that you arrange, perhaps a week after his homecoming, to interview him in regard to this matter which we all realize is a source of grievance to you. With sentiments of respect ,believe me to be, Yours very truly,

To SAMUEL I. SIEVERS, CHRISTIAN H. WINKELMANN (Signed) Jewish Coordinating Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis Council of St. Louis

A copy of Bishop Christian H. Winklemann's letter to Samuel I. Sievers, appeared in the October 12, 1939, issue of Modern View. 64 Missouri Historical Review

of many problems. Decisions were arrived at by common accept­ ance of that which was best in any given situation, and that which might have been objectionable, was eliminated. He added: "This has been the watchword and the policy of the officers throughout the year and in my opinion has contributed much to the success of the Council."46 However, Sievers warned the members that much remained undone, for he felt that the council could go far in solving the many problems still facing the city of St. Louis.47 In addition to acting as a defense agency coordinating the work of other defense agencies in the city, the council was equally concerned that the Jews did not go to the other extreme and see all organizations which did not agree with them as anti-Semitic. They also did not want them to interpret every incident in which Jews were maligned as anti-Semitism. The most notable example in the St. Louis area was the "Wotka Case." Thomas J. Wotka, his wife Emma, his son Hubert, and his son's wife, operated a bakery at 6403 Clayton Road. The Wotka family were naturalized Americans; Wotka, an Austrian, had re­ ceived his final papers in 1920. They belonged to many bakers' societies, and Wotka was also a member of the American Legion. In the early 1930s rumors were started that the Wotkas were Nazi agents, Hitler-lovers and members of the Bund.48 The rumors, by 1933, had become so widespread and so vicious, that the matter had been brought to the attention of Sievers, at that time local representative of the Anti-Defamation Commission of B'nai B'rith. Sievers promptly turned the matter over to Emil Mayer, one of St. Louis' most prominent attorneys. In December 1933, Mayer, after careful investigation, sent a letter to the major Jewish organi­ zations in St. Louis stating that the rumors were false and a great injustice had been done to the Wotkas. Mayer further remarked that rumors of this sort should be carefully weighed and con­ sidered.49 As a result of Mayer's investigation, the rumors died down to some extent. Again it was alleged that the Wotkas admired and supported Hitler. Also, it was rumored that Thomas Wotka had visited Ger­ many for the purpose of donating money to the Fuehrer.50 Amidst

46 Ibid. 47 Ibid. 48 Alfred Fleishman, "The Wotka Case," Comtemporary Jewish Record, IV (December, 1941), 598. 49 ibid., 599. 50 ibid. The St. Louis Jewish Coordinating Council 65 other reports of Wotkas alleged membership in anti-Semitic or­ ganizations, such as the Bund and Pelley's Silver Shirts, it was also rumored that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had raided the bakery and had taken more than fifty members of the Bund into custody. Others insisted that Wotka and his son-in-law, Armin Schwarz, had been imprisoned for Nazi activities, while Mrs. Wotka was reputed to have said: "I can't help it if my son and husband are Nazis; I am not."51 As rumor after rumor concerning the Wotkas appeared, the effect on the Jewish community became apparent. Everywhere that Jews gathered, the Wotka affair was a constant source of gossip. A schism was threatening the Jewish community; those who believed the stories felt they had to justify their positions; those who did not believe them argued just as vehemently. By the end of the summer of 1940, what at first had seemed a minor issue, threatened to become a major controversy.52 Eventually the matter reached the council. The Jews of St. Louis believed that the Wotka case was a major problem which the council had to settle. Finally, the council agreed that for the sake of peace and harmony, something would have to be done.53 The council sent men to trace every known rumor about the Wotkas. Anyone having pertinent information was visited, and in each case, a complete record was made of every charge, who re­ peated it, where it originated, and under what circumstances. When the incident was followed up, a record of the investigation pointed out the falsity of the rumor to the person who repeated it and emphasized the injustice being done innocent persons.54 For example, a reporter for the Associated Press had pur­ portedly witnessed an FBI raid on the Wotka bakery. After con­ tacting both the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Globe-Democrat, the council discovered that the man who had introduced himself as a representative of the Associated Press was not known to either of the two daily newspapers. The council then contacted the FBI's local office and inquired whether it had any record of a raid on the Wotka establishment. The reply was: "The FBI has no record of having made a raid at anytime, nor have they any information on Wotka which would lead to a raid."55

51 Ibid. 52 ibid., 600. 53 Ibid., 601. 54 Ibid. 55 Ibid., 604. 66 Missouri Historical Review

Finally, the man who inferred he was with the Associated Press was located and upon questioning admitted that he was with a correspondence school of journalism. He also changed his story and said that instead of being an eye witness to the incident he was "near the place." When pressed further, he confessed that he had not seen the raid or even been in the vicinity. He admitted that he had only heard the story from another person who was supposed to have seen the raid. The "other person" was out of town, but as soon as he returned, the alleged reporter promised the authenticity of the rumor would be verified. When this other person was identified and contacted he indignantly denied knowing anything whatsoever about a raid on Wotka's Bake Shop. There the story ended, and the council received a retraction in writing from the rumor-monger.56 One final action was taken by the council. It composed a letter summarizing the case, and stressing the danger to American unity of such indiscriminate rumor-mongering. Copies of the letter were then sent to the heads of every Jewish organization in St. Louis. The letter stressed the fact that the council wished to quash any existing rumors about the Wotkas, because after a thorough investigation, only one possible conclusion could be reached: "The reports, rumors, and gossip are without foundation in fact."57 Throughout the winter of 1940 and the spring of 1941 the council continued to unite in common effort to combat anti-Semitism wherever it existed. Sometimes it was accomplished indirectly, as in the case of Charles Lindbergh. In a speech in 1941, Lindbergh accused the Jews, the British and Franklin D. Roosevelt of having led the nation into war. It was expected that this speech would produce an immediate rebuttal, but, after deliberation, the council decided to do nothing. Fleishman explained that since the speech had attacked the British and President Roosevelt as well as the Jews, if the council answered these charges, the problem would become strictly a Jewish one. The council, he continued, felt that the Roosevelt administration should answer Lindbergh.58 After the outbreak of the war, Sievers feared that with some of the anti-Semitic organizations disbanding, many would think there was no longer a need for the council. In a letter to constituent members, Sievers urged them not to hold this opinion. He con-

56 Ibid. 57 Modern View, LXXI (September 9, 1940), 7. 58 Interview with Alfred Fleishman, January 18, 1967. The St. Louts Jewish Coordinating Council 67

Righting A Wrong The following letter has been sent to the Presidents and Secretaries of the Jewish Organizations of St. Louis

To the Presidents and Secretaries of Jewish Organizations: As Jews we are deeply interested in creating good will and better under­ standing in group relations. To that end every effort should be made to remove causes of friction and misunderstanding. The favorite technique of "fifth col­ umnists'' is to create and spread vicious rumors and libels in an effort to create suspicion, misunderstanding and confusion. They may emanate from various sources and have many labels. They all have one objective: namely, to weaken our democracy. It is obvious that such activities are un-American and an* helping to create the very situation that our enemies want. This is the method of "divide and defeat." The Council is of the opinion that it is our duty to protect victims of such subversive activities as it is to uncover and expose "fifth columnists" in our midst. For that reason we are writing this letter, the contents of which we regard as being of the greatest importance to all of us. We request that this letter be read to your membership at its next meeting. For the past several years reports, rumors and gossip have persisted with reference to alleged Nazi and un-American activities of the owners of Wotka "s Tasty Hake Shop at 6403 Clayton Road. As a result, the Anti-Defamation League investigated these rumors sev­ eral years ago and reached the conclusion that there was no foundation for these despicable accusations, and responsible leaders have since used their best efforts to inform the public of these facts. However, in spite of the previous investigation, these reports, rumors and gossip from time to time crop up again. Recently the situation became so aggravated that the officers of the Council felt that in the interests of the welfare of our community a further investigation of this matter was imper­ ative To that end the officers of the Council and the members of its staff have devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the task of running down these reports, rumors and gossip and securing any possible proof. We can assure you that we have made a thorough investigation. As a result of this investigation, only one conclusion is possible: namely. that the reports, rumors and gossip are without foundation in fact. It is obvious that the repetition and circulation of them is a grave injus­ tice to innocent people. It should be clearly understood that the Jewish Coor­ dinating Council is not concerned with Wotka's I Jake Shop from a financial or business standpoint. Our sole interest was to ascertain the truth or falsity of the charges being eireulated. As stated above, we find them without justification. Keeausc the Jewish people have been the victims and ™^™"y"^ from false and slanderous libels and charges, we are deeply mm ed uhen an> person or group suffers likewise, regardless of the nature of the cause or ,h, fdenmy otFthe perpetrators of these vicious and unjust attacks, in this hour ,7worklcr sis. we believe that as Jews we ean do our part in sa.nruanlinu our democracy and in preserving ouomr America•- n institution^ i:^,.,,^,,s by ,condemn... .,,,,1 susm, and exposing all those vwh "o attempt to sow the seeds ot dissension ail susp.- cion among our citizens aud to create friction and misunderstanding between groups We are confident that th< • investigation of the Council will now permaii- ently dispose of these groundlles s and vicious rumors. Respect fully. JKWISH COORDINATING Col'NCII I'resident . IIfred l:leisltiiuui. Secretary Samuel I. Sicters

A copy of the Jewish Coordinating Committee's letter concerning the Wotka's appeared in the Dec. 18, 1941, issue of Modern View, 68 Missouri Historical Review

tended that the organization had even more work to do, for he felt that undemocratic and anti-Semitic organizations were carrying on underground and were making attempts to divide the nation. In actual fact, the outbreak of the war did not mean the end of anti-Semitism, nor of anti-Semitic propaganda. Father Coughlin's magazine, Social Justice, was still being distributed, although by the spring of 1942, United States Attorney General Francis Biddle announced that the Justice Department had barred the sending of the magazine through the mails. This brought an immediate re­ sponse from members of the council, who, in a personal capacity, wrote the attorney general expressing their pleasure in the decision. Typical of the reaction were these words of Morris Stone, repre­ senting the Jewish War Veterans: "Surely we have the right to protect ourselves from those propagandists who are forcing us to waste valuable time and energy fighting them at home, when we ought to be putting all our efforts into the prosecution of the war with Hitler and Japan."59 During the mid-1940s, one of the major problems facing the St. Louis Jewish community was Gerald L. K. Smith, founder of the Christian Nationalist Crusade. This organization blamed the Jews for leading the nation into war and for causing many of the troubles in the country. Smith was an especially perplexing problem for the Coordinating Council. When it was announced he would visit St. Louis, making speeches and holding meetings, a sharp division grew within the council as to the best method of dealing with the propagandist. The basic question was whether a great deal of publicity should be distributed in opposition to Smith, or whether a quarantine method ought to be followed, giving com­ plete silence to all his activities. Sam Elson, a member of the coun­ cil during the middle 1940s and its president from 1947-1951, said that many meetings were held behind closed doors and over an ex­ tended period of time to determine the best policy. The quarantine method was decided upon, and the council made contact with non-Jewish communication media in order to seek their aid.60 Fleishman felt that not only was the quarantine method the best to use against Smith, but the most effective. To illustrate this point, he stated that when Smith was holding meetings, a prominent merchant, obviously greatly alarmed at Smith's utterances, con­ tacted Fleishman at the council office, inquiring about the council's

59 Morris Stone to Attorney General Francis Biddle, April 16, 1942, in JCRG 60 Interview with Sam Elson, October 15, 1966. The St. Louis Jewish Coordinating Council 69

Alfred Fleishman

intentions. Fleishman replied by asking the merchant how he would deal with Smith. The merchant suggested that the council go to the daily newspapers and have them print in detail Smith's activi­ ties and his specific charges against the Jews. Fleishman, however, believed that by doing this, the Jews would be doing Smith's work for him by publicizing his charges. He answered the merchant by pointing out that the Post-Dispatch had a circulation at that time of about 300,000 copies, whereas Smith was fortunate if he drew two hundred to his meeting. Thus Fleishman maintained that the quarantine policy was the best the council could follow.61 During the winter of 1944-1945, an event of importance on the national Jewish scene had an important local effect. This was the founding of the National Community Relations Advisory Council (NCRAC) which consisted of national Jewish defense agencies; American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Anti- Defamation League, Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish War Veterans, Union of Hebrew Congregations, and over one hundred and eighty local community councils, including the St. Louis Jewish Coordinating Council. Organized to coordinate defense activities and to make national planning in this field easier, the

01 Interview7 with Alfred Fleishman, January 18, 1967. 70 Missouri Historical Review

NCRAC had gone far in carrying out its objectives. It was instru­ mental in eliminating duplication of activities, in initiating new projects, and in assisting the various groups to mutual understand­ ings. It put the Jews on the road to some semblance of "Jewisn unity." In the opinion of Mrs. Abrams: "The Coordinating Council ought to be proud that it had a part in the founding of the NCRAC and in the shaping of its policies."62 In her 1945 annual report, Mrs. Abrams stated that the most important accomplishments of the NCRAC had been its activity directed towards the elimination of un-American statements and activities during the November 1944 elections. As a result, not only had Jewish organizations acted effectively and in unison but the leaders of all major political parties had issued statements con­ demning un-American practices, and the mayor of nearly every large city had done the same. Political leaders throughout the nation were put on their guard against anti-Semitism and anti- Semitic statements. It was Mrs. Abrams' belief that this had resulted in materially decreasing the amount of political anti- Semitism in the nation.63 The year 1945 marked a major milestone in the history of the council. During 1945 it acquired the first full-time executive director, Robert Lurie, formerly national director of the B'nai B'rith War Service Department. As director, he was given the task of developing and executing a program which would carry out all the functions for which the council had been organized. His re­ sponsibilities were to coordinate the activities and the individuals in the community in terms of distributing materials, giving talks and conducting seminars.64 Lurie remained as director during 1945. He was succeeded by Myron Schwartz, who served from 1946 to 1963.65 From its inception until 1945, the activity of the council was devoted chiefly to what could be called civic protective work: exposing persons and organizations engaged in anti-Semitic activity, combatting undemocratic propaganda, and conducting a public education program among individuals and organizations in the community. Beginning in mid-October, the council began to embark on a new phase of operation, which was to account for the

62 Thelma Abrams, "Annual Report," March 1945, in JCRC. 63 ibid. 64 Interview with Robert Lurie, October 26, 1966. 65 in 1963 Schwartz was succeeded by the present director, Norman Stack, formerly a regional director of the American Jewish Committee. The St. Louis Jewish Coordinating Council 71 second event of importance in 1945. As Naziism disappeared, the program of the council changed from stressing the defensive aspects to emphasis on the positive aspects. It entered the field of civil rights, and inter group relations; instead of merely waiting to be called in to defend the name of "Jew>" or to react against anti-Semitism, it began to transmit knowledge.66 By a vote of the organization, on October 12, 1945, the Jewish Coordinating Council changed its name to Jewish Community Relations Council, and from its original function as coordinator of the activities of the defense agencies, evolved into an organization deeply involved in community relations.67

66 Interview with Myron Schwartz, June 29, 1966. 67 Ibid.

The High Cost of Living Breckenridge Bulletin, July 26, 1901. Everything in this man's town seems to be going up. Not only the annex to the school building and the price of all vegetables, but the thermometer. The only exception to this rule that we know of is the price of beef which our local butchers have lowered two cents per pound. Best steak can now be had for 13 cents. Eggs are 3 cents per dozen, but by the time the faulty ones are thrown away the remainder generally come at about 3 cents apiece.

The Electrified Cow Linn Unlerrified Democrat, January 24, 1907. A Kansas man has just succeeded in getting a patent on an electric motor fastened on a cow's back the electricity being generated by a dynamo attached to her tail. It strains the milk and hangs up the pail and strainer. A small phono­ graph accompanies the outfit and yells "So!" when the cow moves. If she kicks a hinged arm catches the milk stool and lams her over the back.

Had She Strayed or Was She Stolen Hannibal True American, March 15, 1855. A husband thus announces the departure of his wife from "bed and board": "My wife, Anne Maria, has been strayed or stolen. Whoever returns her will get his head broke. As for trusting her any body can do as they see fit— for as I never pay my own debts, it is not at all likely that I will lay awake nights thinking about other people's." Johnson County Historical Society Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Photo by Lee Hancock Old Courthouse, 1838-1842

The Johnson County Historical Society celebrated its 50th anniversary, July 12 at the Old Courthouse, Warrensburg. Society president Dr. A. L. Stevenson presided over the event. Caroline Anderson presented a history of the organization and charter members were honored. Of the original 102 members when the Society was organized, July 16, 1920, only four are now living. They include Mrs. Joseph L. Ferguson, Longmont, Colorado; Mrs. Ewing Fulkerson Greer, Independence; Mrs. C. A. Phillips, St. Louis; and Mrs. A. Lee Smiser, Warrensburg. Dr. William Foley, professor of History at Central Missouri State College, Warrensburg, introduced the guest speaker, Dr. W. Francis English, professor of History at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and an authority on Missouri history. Dr. English emphasized the importance of preserving records and papers. Following the address, Representative Frank Wells, a former president of Historical Notes and Comments 73 the Society, presented a bronze tablet on which had been engraved the names of all who contributed $100 or more to the purchase of the Old Courthouse. The tablet and a walnut stand holding a book containing the names of all others who gave toward the project, were unveiled by descendants of two early Johnson County settlers, Holly Houx Smith, descendant of Nicholas Houx, and Michael Rice Marr, descendant of Pleasant Rice. Brief dedicatory remarks were made by Edwin C. Houx, former president of the Society. President Stevenson accepted the tablet and book on behalf of the Society. Presentation was also made of an anniversary publication, Fifty Golden Years, compiled by Mrs. A. Lee Smiser and edited by Professor F. C. Eickleberg. The Society has accomplished much throughout its 50-year history. In 1964 the group purchased the Old Courthouse, made famous by Senator George Graham Vest's "Eulogy to a Dog." Members worked actively to restore the Georgian or Federal style building as a historic shrine. The city of Warrensburg also provided a location in City Hall to house Heritage Library, which contains manuscripts, family histories, legal papers, diaries, rare books and pamphlets, ledgers, pictures and other memorabilia pertaining to the history of the county. In 1968 the Society opened Pioneer Museum which houses heirlooms, early kitchen wares and pioneer equipment used in homes and farms of the area.

God Bless the Grandmothers Canton Press, September 21, 1877. From three to ten thousand assembled with the Old Settlers in a grove near Palmyra on Tuesday Sept. 3d. The ceremonies were introduced by the firing of cannon and the forming of a procession and marching to the grounds. The stands were handsomely decorated with vases of flowers and festoons of cedar and pine. A large number of the Old Settlers both men and women were invited to the stand. . . . Peter Kizer said "the Old Settlers were honest and princely—no man needed a lock or feared a robber, but now the country is over run with tramps and swindlers. Then a man let his neighbors have money without a scratch, but now he has to give a note with all his friends as endorsers and a mortgage on his farm. I say away with your modern improvements and give me the good old time. If you want to see pretty women, look at those old ladies in the stand. They don't wear pin-back dresses and little bonnets. They did not get much school learning because they had sense enough without it. I used to spark them 50 years ago and I say God bless these old Grandmothers" . . . J. C. Risk

How Long Are Angel's Wings? Hartsburg Truth, January 10, 1913. Angels may fly but they cannot fly unless their wings are 15 feet long. We have the word of a great aviator for this. Girls enjoyed a game of basketball at Missouri Valley College, Marshall, about 1902.

VIEWS FROM THE PAST

Professor Isidor Loeb lectures to his class at the University of Missouri, Co­ lumbia.

Students in front of Academic Hall at the State Normal School in Cape Girardeau, 1908 Members of the 1909 University of Missouri Football Team

College Life Early 1900s

Two Stephens College Students in Cooking Class at Columbia in 1922

A University of Missouri Student at His Desk in 1905

*T**"r^# 76 Missouri Historical Review

NEWS IN BRIEF

Missouri Attorney General John C. Burlison of Missouri's 10th District Danforth officially opened the Pierce announced, May 22, that the Louis City centennial celebration August 6 Bolduc House in Ste. Genevieve had with the reading of a proclamation by been selected by Secretary of Interior Governor Warren E. Hearnes, brought Walter Hickel as a National Historic to the city by pony express. A thresh­ Landmark. This places the property ing dinner and entertainment by on the National Register of Historic "Ragtime Bob" Darch were other Places, gives the property safeguards highlights of the opening day of the against damage by Federal undertak­ four-day celebration. Parades; band ings and fulfills one qualification for concerts; Indian dances; square dances; participation in a grant-in-aid pro­ medicine, antique and arts and crafts gram to assist in its preservation. shows; a pony pulling contest; a Other Missouri sites recently in­ muzzle loading demonstration; Polish cluded on the National Register are and German dinners and a Pierce City the Union covered bridge, near Paris, Chamber of Commerce barbecue were and Tavern Cave in Franklin Countv. included in the calendar of events. A Frisco railroad caboose and other A portrait of General John J. railroad equipment were on display. Pershing was presented to the State of Missouri, May 16, at the 16th The raising of an 1870 flag on the annual state convention of the Vet­ city hall flagpole by a delegation of erans of World War I, in Hotel former miners and descendants of Bellerive, Kansas City. The oil paint­ people connected with the mining ing, by Kansas City artist Dan Jacob- industry, a proclamation by Mayor son, was given to Representative Joseph James Shreve and the lighting of the W. Hill by Waldron E. Leonard, Sr., centennial torch by John Williams national vice commander of the Vet­ marked the opening of the July 20- erans of World War I of the U.S.A., August 2 Aurora centennial celebra­ Inc. tion. A parade, an antique show and auction, music by Woody Herman The Trustees and Citizens Division and the Herd, western music, a Lions of the Missouri Library Association Club chicken barbecue and a fiddlers' sponsored a workshop entitled, contest were included in the program. "What's Happening to Library Sup­ Distinguished visitors were U. S. Sen­ port?" at Bel-Air East Motel, St. Louis, ator Stuart Symington and Congress­ on May 25. Senator Thomas Eagleton men James W. Symington and Dur- delivered the introductory addiess on ward G. Hall. On May 9, 1970, the "The Challenge of Changing Institu­ date of the founding of Aurora, a tions." Also on the program was Carl 60-pound birthday cake was cut at T. Rowan, nationally syndicated col­ a party at the city hall and souvenir umnist and former director of the plates were exhibited for sale. A U. S. Information Agency, who spoke wreath was placed on the grave of on "Gaining Support in a Changing the Reverend S. G. Elliott, founder Society." A panel, made up of a gov­ of the town. ernment official, a librarian and a trustee, discussed "Implications of a United States Representative Bill D. Changing Support Pattern." Historical Notes and Comments 77

A bronze bust of former President Mark Twain. The manuscript is in Harry S. Truman as a captain in the form of a letter, written in 1909, World War I, was dedicated at the to novelist William Dean Howells Truman Library, Independence, on describing how Twain allegedly was June 14, Flag Day, and the 65th anni­ swindled by an Englishman and his versary of Mr. Truman's joining the secretary. The work was found in a National Guard. The National Guard shoebox among the papers of an asso­ Association of Missouri provided the ciate of Edward E. Loomis, whose bust and Major General Laurence P. wife was a relative of Twain's wife. Adams, Jr., State Adjutant General, gave the dedication address. James W. Goodrich, associate editor of the MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW, On June 6 the John Sappington Columbia, discussed the formation of Chapter, Daughters of the American a local historical society at a June 29 Revolution dedicated a memorial meeting at the Stockton Country Club. marker at the graves of Revolutionary A group of some 35 persons attended War soldier Mosias Maupin and his and expressed an interest in forming wife, Leah Maupin. Dr. W. Shankland, a Cedar County Historical Society. Washington, spoke at the dedication held at the Maupin Family Cemetery, Tucker Powell Smith, noted writer, Ralston-Purina Wildlife Farm in organizer and Socialist, died June 26, Franklin County. The bronze markers in Ojai, California. A native of Perry were gifts of James Maupin, Joplin, and a graduate of the University of and Charles Maupin, Kansas City. Missouri, Mr. Smith was vice presiden­ tial candidate as a running mate for A historic steam locomotive, Flying Norman Thomas in 1948. Scotsman, was viewed in Mexico, Mis­ souri, June 30. A 6-hour stop was Markers were recently erected in sponsored by the Winston Churchill Hannibal at Melpontian Hall (former Memorial at Westminster College in slave market), Wild Cat Corner, Fulton and the Audrain County His­ Planters Hotel, Stephen Glascock water torical Society, but due to lack of front and the birthplaces of Rear adequate track in Fulton the train was Admiral Robert Coontz and artist routed through Mexico. The Scotsman Carroll Beckwith. The signs were the was used by both Churchill and Gen­ gift of Mrs. Kate Ray Kuhn and the eral Dwight D. Eisenhower as a Charles Hart Sign Company and were meeting place to formalize plans for erected by the Hannibal Junior Cham­ the invasion of France. Five cars of ber of Commerce. the 9-car train were furnished with period replicas and included a histor­ An exhibition by the Fort Osage ical display. Churchill Memorial offi­ muzzle-loaders, old fashioned thresh­ cials presented to Alan Pegler, British ing, pony and tractor pulls were millionaire and owner of the train, a among the events scheduled at the Spode plate, once owned by the Hardin centennial, July 23-26. Antique Churchills, two photographs and a shows and arts and crafts displays Memorial medal. were presented the first three days of the celebration. Items of historical In June, the New York Public interest were displayed in various Library announced the purchase of business windows and persons inter­ an unknown 400-page manuscript by ested in the history of the community 78 Missouri Historical Review

were able to purchase the centennial Mrs. Wiliam R. Gentry, Jr., Uni­ booklet. The celebration ended Sun­ versity City, was named Distinguished day, July 26, with a community Alumna for 1970 by Columbia (Chris­ church service. tian) College, Columbia. Mrs. Gentry, the former Elizabeth Estes of Colum­ The formation of a Lewis and Clark bia, has served as a member of the Trail Heritage Foundation was an­ college's board of trustees since 1958 nounced June 29, after a meeting of and as the first president of the representatives from nine of the eleven Christian College National Alumnae states with territory covered by the Association. She founded the St. Louis famous expedition. Christian College Club in 1930 and The foundation was formed to carry was its first president. Her service to on the activities of the Lewis and the college continues a family tradition Clark Trail Commission, which was begun by her grandfather, the late established by Congress in 1964 and Joseph Estes of Columbia, who also expired in October 1969. Efforts will served as a trustee. Many members of be continued to mark the route of her family have attended the college the explorers. Recreation areas along and a great-aunt was a member of the the route and similar projects will be first graduating class in 1853. considered. State committees will assist the foundation in its work. An estimated crowd of 10,000 per­ sons attended the Gower centennial, The Platte Purchase Antique Barn, July 24-26. Several contests, a carnival,

Sy2 miles southwest of Gower on antique displays, a Centennial Ball, a Highway DD, opened June 17. The Grand Parade and square dancing 60 x 100 foot building is constructed were some of the featured events. of huge beams acquired from the Official souvenirs available during the Armour & Company hide building in festivities were: centennial books de­ St. Joseph. Twenty-two rooms, deco­ scribing the history of Gower, cook rated predominately in Early Ameri­ books and commemorative plates. The can and Victorian design, are the work East Buchanan School Band, presented of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Schuster of a concert during the evening of the Schuster Farms. The barn is open 26th, concluding the 3-day celebration. Wednesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Adams Township, DeKalb County, held its centennial celebration, August Barnard celebrated its centennial, 21-22. Centennial and historical books July 15-19. An estimated 15,000 to were on sale to the general public. A 20,000 persons witnessed the centennial talent contest, teen dance and old parade, July 18, and viewed antique fiddlers' contest highlighted the first displays. Baby contests, sack races and day's activities. watermelon eating contests were fea­ The last day's events included tured. The festivities ended with a square dancing, a parade and log Sunday church service and basket sawing, nail driving and pie eating dinner. contests.

Disillusionment Hannibal True American, February 15, 1855. Cure for love—hide in a closet and listen to a conversation between a couple who have been married a year, while they think themselves unheard. Historical Notes and Comments 79

LOCAL HISTORICAL SOCIETIES

Establishing A Local Historical Museum

Nearly half of all Missouri's local museum work, and gets along well historical societies have established with people. either a museum or historical exhibit Many museums must depend upon to carry out their objectives of pre­ part-time volunteer personnel. Auxil­ serving and disseminating area history. iaries or guilds are often organized to Most societies that do not have a handle the assignments for volunteer museum have long-range plans for hostesses and assistants. Junior mem­ such a project in the future. Consider­ bers, wishing to learn museum tech­ able thought and foresight can prevent niques, can also provide valuable many of the problems that occasionally assistance and, for a specific number arise. of work hours, they may be recognized A museum must have legal status as "Junior Museum Curators." as a non-profit, educational organiza­ A number of society museums are tion, and this may be achieved through housed in restored homes, courthouses, association with an incorporated local jails, business structures and schools, historical society. The board of trus­ usually obtained through outright tees of the museum is made up of gifts or for a small purchase fee. The elected members, who establish mu­ type of building and its location are seum policies and determine fiscal important considerations when accept­ plans. Ideally, the actual management ing a landmark for use as a museum. of the museum is under the control The structure should be large enough of a full-time salaried museum direc­ for a suitable display area with ample tor or curator, who is familiar with space for storage. Future growth and expansion are also to be considered A Country Kitchen in the Mor­ along with necessary work and office gan County Historical Society space. The building should be of Museum sound construction and as fire-resistant Versailles Leader-Statesman, as possible. Its location near the cen­ June 4, 1970 ter of town is convenient for tourists and area residents, as long as it is away from the slums where vandalism may occur. An architect or contractor should examine the prospective struc­ ture and estimate the cost of needed repairs. Income for remodeling and opera­ tional expense is obtained from various sources. Societies may set aside a por­ tion of the membership fees for the museum, and raise funds through such activities as costume balls, fashion shows, home tours, card parties, garage and rummage sales and book fairs which are annual events with many organizations. Private gifts are encour- 80 Missouri Historical Review aged by prominently displaying bronze mals. If the number was 70.38.2, the plaques upon which are engraved the 70 would refer to the year in which names of donors contributing $100 or it was received; the second unit would more. An admission fee is questionable mean that it was the 38th item re­ if the museum is a community project ceived in 1970; and the third unit where area residents work for its bene­ indicates that it was the second of a fit. Placing a box for donations at the number of articles in accession 70.38. door of the museum should suffice. This number is painted, sewed or Selling historical booklets, postcards attached with rust-proof staples in and souvenir-type items is often prof­ some inconspicuous spot on the article. itable. If the building is large enough, The number also appears on all forms, meeting space can be rented to area papers and documents relating to that clubs. gift. Most local historical museums limit Three types of files are necessary their collection to articles having sig­ in the museum. Arranged serially by nificance in area history. When a gift accession number, a document file is presented to the museum its use­ contains the correspondence, legal pa­ fulness and place within this limita­ pers, lists and other items related to tion is carefully considered. If it would articles in the collection. An alpha­ be out of place, it is graciously refused. betized donor file lists the donors' Such determination requires a famili­ names and shows the number of gjtfts arity with the community's history and from each. A museum catalog includes knowledge of the holdings. The legal a card for each object under subject title to the gift is transferred from categories, with registration numbers, the donor to the museum and no con­ descriptions and location. ditions or limitations should be placed A museum display with conventional on it. historic items enables the observer to A practical method of record keep­ visualize customs, activities, episodes ing enables museum officials to locate and personalities of the past. The and identify every item quickly and plans for an exhibit are first outlined accurately. Printed forms help mu­ carefully on paper. Museums should seum officials supply the necessary in­ never display all their collection at formation when a gift is presented. once but arrange a number of similar These forms include the name and objects neatly and attractively to tell address of the donor or previous own­ a unified story or carry out a theme. er; date the item was received; de­ Museums located in restored homes scription of the gift; and complete often display period furniture in a known history of the article. When an number of rooms. item has been associated with area To fill out their collection, museums persons or well-known community can publicize needed items encourag­ events, its historical significance is ing friends to purchase them and enhanced. present them as gifts. Other objects As objects are added to the collec­ can be borrowed on a short-term basis tion they are given an accession or from individual collectors or private registration number, which is recorded corporations and returned as soon as in an accession book. The simplest the display is taken down. Modern such registration is to number each replicas of known authentic pieces article in the order it is received. Some and dioramas fill gaps and add variety museums use a two- or three-unit to the display. registration number separated by deci­ Used glass cases for small, fragile Historical Notes and Comments 81 objects, are often acquired at low cost ticles are often loaned to various from the local store and are ideal after groups or businesses celebrating anni­ they are refinished. Items in the dis­ versaries. Guide service and special play are labeled briefly and accurately receptions may be provided for civic with legible printing. The amount of group programs. Working through history for each will vary and in some school officials and teachers, museums cases research must be done to add often supplement classroom instruc­ essential information. Temporary, tion by providing illustrated talks moveable partitions of wallboard sup­ which display historic items or by en­ ply additional space and break the couraging local children to visit the monotony of the room arrangement. museum exhibits. Museums may help The viewer should be able to progress to identify and to give preservation logically from one area to another to advice to individuals about their obtain a complete story. Changing the heirlooms. display regularly encourages visitors A local museum can be a great to return. source of pride for the entire commu­ Items not on display are stored in nity. Its outstanding reputation should an orderly arrangement on adjustable enhance the prestige of the society, steel shelves or in steel filing cabi­ guaranteeing the success of the society nets. Small objects of similar use and for years to come. material are packed together in labeled drawers or boxes; larger objects are Atchison County Historical Society placed on open shelves and covered Some 43 members attended the with plastic or dust cloths. Clothing June 7 meeting in the Opera House, can be hung on padded hangers or Tarkio. Mrs. Robert Lade of the Tar­ laid flat with tissue paper between kio school system had charge of the the folds, and newspapers and printed program on the county's early history. documents are filed flat in large, Some of the members enjoyed a buf­ shallow drawers. Not only are items fet dinner at the Walnut Hotel, while prmn.ted from dirt and dust, but also others visited the Rankin Mule Barn irom extremes of temperature and theatre where "Guys and Dolls" was playing. humidity and bright sunlight. When articles are received they are The Society sponsored an antique sale and flea market at the community carefully repaired, fumigated if neces­ building in Tarkio City Park on June sary and cleaned. Valuable information 13. Proceeds will be used for additions on the care of items can be obtained to the museum facilities at the Mule from noted museum authorities or Barn. handbooks. Oil paintings are cleaned only by a trained expert whose service Audrain County Historical Society is expensive but invaluable. The Society sponsored a bus tour Though some societies house a to the opera in St. Louis, July 14, to small library in their museum build­ see the musical, "Oliver." Passengers ing, competition can be eliminated by took a sack supper and coffee and depositing books in the local public drinks were furnished by the Society. library. The library in turn can en­ courage the donation of historical Benton County Historical Society artifacts to the museum. The Society has begun renovation Besides displaying and caring for work on the 1886 2-story brick the collection, the museum may offer school building in Warsaw. The build­ other community services. Display ar­ ing will be used as a county historical 82 Missouri Historical Review museum. Plans are to feature a one- basket dinner and meeting, June 26. room country school interior and an at the historic Mt. Gilead Church, old-time kitchen. north of Liberty. Wilbur Zink, Apple- ton City, spoke on the lives and ac­ Butler County Historical Society tivities of the Younger Brothers. Mr. At the July 17 meeting in the Pop­ Zink is the author of a number of lar Bluff Loan and Building Associa­ booklets and papers on the subjects tion, Bob Manns presented an address and has spoken to several historical on Indian lore of the area. The talk groups in the state. was illustrated with slides and many Members discussed area railroads at artifacts collected in the area. Mr. the July 30 meeting in the National Mann is principal of Twin Rivers Commercial Bank of Liberty. J. Met Elementary School at Fisk. Shippee displayed old railroad lanterns and Walter Farris presented to the Carondelet Historical Society Museum a spike from the Union At the May 25 meeting in the Ca­ Pacific tracks near Promontory, Utah. rondelet Branch Library, St. Louis, G. Officers for the coming year Edward Budde spoke on the Lewis are Donald Pharis, president; Edwin and Clark Trail which extends from St. Louis to the Pacific Coast. The fol­ Baume, vice president; Catherine Wil­ lowing officers were elected: Louis H. kerson, secretary; Howard Ferrill, Nicolay, president; Charles H. Reitz, treasurer; and Gerald Barnes, assistant vice president; Mrs. Grace B. Spear, treasurer. recording secretary; Paul J. Rathgeber, Clinton County Historical Society financial secretary; and Richard H. Some 26 persons attended the May Federer, treasurer. 9 meeting in the Community Center, Turney. Clifford Courtney, Gower, Civil War Round Table presented a program on the history Of the Ozarks of Gower. A paper on the Missouri-Kansas border conflict entitled, "Jim Lane: At the July 11 picnic supper in the Kansas Cyclone," was given by the Wallace State Park, Cameron, Dr. Fred DeArmond at the May 13 meet­ H. Roger Grant, assistant research his­ ing in Ramada Inn, Springfield. torian for the Missouri State Historical Lt. Col. Leo E. Huff, assistant pro­ Survey, Columbia, told about federal fessor of History at Southwest Mis­ and state funds which are available souri State College, Springfield, spoke for the establishment and maintenance on "Naval Operations in the Civil of historical sites. War," at the June 10 meeting. Cole County Historical Society Civil War Round Table The Society sponsored a Sketch Day Of St. Louis in Jefferson City, May 8. Some 187 Musical entertainment by Claire advanced art students from the two Condon was a featured attraction for local high schools were assigned his­ the annual ladies night, held May 15 toric buildings to draw. The students at the historic General Daniel Bissell were allowed four hours to complete House, a landmark in North St. Louis their work before they were placed County. on public display in the Central Trust Motor Bank at noon on May 9. The Clay County Museum Association works were judged that morning and The Association held its annual plaques for the first place winners Historical Notes and Comments 83 were given for each category of char­ ing in the courthouse, Maysville, coal, pencil, watercolor, tempera and featured a panel discussion on Grand mixed media. Students receiving sec­ River Township. Those participating, ond, third or honorable mention were Mrs. Alva Mix, Fred Osborn, Burton presented a ribbon and certificate. Slates and Bob Dice, discussed the The sketches were on public display Whiteaker Mill and the towns of until May 18. Irma Canada was gen­ Fordam and Santa Rosa. eral chairman of arrangements for Helen Louise Young of Horton, Sketch Day and Mrs. K. C. Jones, art Kansas, reported on Four Pines Cem­ instructor at Jefferson City Senior etery, south of Clarksdale, at the June High School, was in charge of stu­ 21 meeting. dent participation. The purpose of At the July 19 meeting, members the event was to acquaint young enjoyed a slide program on the Fair- people with architecture styles of the port Centennial parade and the Red­ 1800s and with historic ties of build­ man, Mt. Pleasant, Christian Chapel, ings and sites in their vicinity. Riggs and Irwin cemeteries.

Crawford County Historical Society Dent County Historical Society Some 10 persons attended the June Dr. Thomas R. Beveridge, former 18 meeting at Recklein Auditorium, state geologist, spoke on "The Ozarks" Cuba, and viewed old pictures and at the June 12 covered-dish supper at antiques displayed by Archie Raff and Lake Spring Community Building. C. Willis. It was voted to use the Mrs. Dr. Beveridge is presently chairman Jewell Breuer Memorial Fund to re­ of the Department of Geology and place the doors of the rock building Geological Engineering at the Uni­ in the Recklein Community Center versity of Missouri-Rolla. with new doors containing stained glass and memorial lettering. The Foundation for Restoration of building is a part of the former city Ste. Genevieve school system where Mrs. Breuer was The Foundation acquired space in a teacher for some 25 years. A plaque the old City Hall for use as a tourist and picture of Mr. and Mrs. J. I. information center which was open on Breuer will be placed in the Society's Saturdays and Sundays, May through meeting room. September, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Former Ste. Genevieve resident Wil­ Dallas County Historical Society liam Simon adapted the song, "La At the July 17 meeting in the Guignolee," to music with verses and county courthouse, Buffalo, the fol­ epilogue in both French and English. lowing officers were elected: Mrs. The Foundation has selling rights Grace Southard, president; Mrs. Belva with all profits going to the work of Stafford, first vice president; Mary the organization. The music sold for McKnown, second vice president; and $1.00 per copy. Ida E. Garner, secretary, all of Buffalo. Some 40 members attended the Herbert H. Scott, Windyville, was July 16 meeting at Cafe Genevieve, in elected treasurer. Ste. Genevieve. W. Crosby Brown, A committee was selected to recom­ chief of Historic Sites and Monuments mend area historic sites to the State of the Missouri State Park Board, Park Board for marking. presented an illustrated program on DeKalb County Historical Society preservation in Missouri. The program for the May 18 meet­ Fund raising campaigns have been 84 Missouri Historical Review

set up for restoration of Memorial meeting in the county library. Cemetery and for acquisition of his­ Stanberry. toric buildings when they become Officers of the Society are Mrs. Ora available. Smith, Stanberry, president; Lester Pierce, Stanberry, first vice president; Franklin County Historical Society Chester Burks, King City, second vice For the July 26 meeting, the Society president; Mrs. Chester Burks, King held an old-fashioned basket picnic at City, recording secretary; Mrs. Pearl Meramac Caverns near Sullivan. James Feldman, Stanberry, corresponding sec­ L. Miller, publisher of the Washington retary; Homer Kennedy, Albany, treas­ Missouriafi, presented an illustrated urer; V. C. Humphrey, Darlington, program on the Lewis and Clark parliamentarian; Robert Birbeck, Stan­ Trail. berry, historian; and Mrs. Helen Officers of the Society are Donald Henton, Albany, file clerk. Owens, president; Mrs. W. A. Bruns, vice president; Renee Nouss, secretary; Graham Historical Society and William Strothmann, treasurer. Some 14 members attended the June 9 meeting at the home of Mrs. Friends of Rocheport Billy Bob Medsker. The hostess re­ Mrs. B. C. Gentry, 94, was honored ported on the compilation of ceme­ as Rocheport's oldest citizen at the teries located in Hughes Township, fourth annual Friends Fest sponsored, and members discussed the placing of June 27, by the Friends. Mrs. Ed Ebert the Graham history plaque. Mrs. Ross told of her accomplishments and Miss Martin, Maryville, president of the Sally Russell presented her with a gift Nodaway County Historical Society, and a bouquet of roses. Some 1,500 told about the historical events in the persons attended the day-long celebra­ county and about the dedication of tion. A catfish dinner was served, Hickory Grove Rural School, moved beginning at noon. Among the events from Clearmont to Northwest State were a parade, turtle races, sack races, College campus. A letter from Frank pony and garden tractor pulling con­ Freytag telling about former residents tests, a mule derby, a shaving contest of Graham was read by Mrs. Robert and a costume show. Farm produce Sticken. Mrs. Homer Medsker also read and bakery goods were sold at the an article about the Barnes House country store. The recently restored which was written by Mrs. Wendell Miriam Green Craft Shop was open Lewis. to visitors. Historic tours included the Members held cleanup day for the 1845 Christian Church, 1901 Meth­ jail park on June 25. odist Church, Keiser-Dimmitt Home, At the July 13 meeting in the home Wilcox-Barth Home, Grossman-Barth of Mrs. May Lowrance, members en­ Home and the 1861 Rocheport Com­ joyed a show and tell program. munity Hall. A street dance was held in the evening. Dr. Ed Ebert served as Greene County Historical Society master of ceremonies for the various At the May 28 meeting in the events. Proceeds from the Fest will be Springfield Art Museum, Dr. B. B. used to restore historic landmarks. Lightfoot, professor of History, South­ west Missouri State College, Spring­ Gentry County Historical Society field, spoke on Missouri statehood and A showing of antique mills was the Missouri Compromise. In observ­ given by Lester Pierce at the July 12 ance of Missouri's sesquicentennial, the Historical Notes and Comments 85 program was the first of a series deal­ three excellent taped interviews. One ing with the origin of the state. tape was made in San Francisco by C. Clifton Keller spoke at the June the son of Mrs. Hearst's business 25 meeting in Sycamore Inn, Spring­ manager, Edward H. Clark, Jr. An­ field, on "Agri-Business Relations in other was made in Boston by Harriet Greene County." The talk was based Bradford, a protege and close friend on Mr. Keller's experiences as an Ag­ of Mrs. Hearst. A third was made for riculture Extension Information Agent the Society by California Governor from 1921 to 1960. Ronald Reagan on the 50th anniver­ sary of Mrs. Hearst's death. These Harrison County Historical Society tapes are available for research by The April 9 meeting in the First appointment with Mrs. Earnest Reed, National Bank, Bethany, featured a St. Clair. program of area churches. Mrs. Homer Pyle and Mrs. Leah Carter gave a Henry County Historical Society resume of county churches. Individual Mrs. Mahlon White spoke about the church reports were given by Mr. and writing of county histories at the Mrs. Carlton Baker, Mrs. Floyd Ross April 16 meeting in First National and Mrs. Cecil Davis. A large barbed Bank, Clinton. Mrs. White is a writer wire collection was displayed and ex­ and has published a number of books plained by Garland Stevens and For­ on area history. est Wettle. Hickory County Historical Society The Society recently signed a 20-year The Society met June 2 at the lease and plans to establish a museum courthouse in Hermitage. Members in the near future on the second floor discussed the cleaning of old ceme­ of the city hall, Bethany. The museum teries in the area and President Nan­ quarters were displayed at a "Hunt­ nie Jinkens told about the Turpin er's Stew" supper, held March 21, Cemetery near Fairfield. which helped to raise funds for mu­ seum improvement and operation. A Historical Association of number of items have already been Greater Cape Girardeau collected for display including a spin­ Some 65 persons from the Ste. ning wheel, bound newspapers, books, Genevieve, Poplar Bluff, Dunklin and documents and maps. All cash dona­ Pemiscott counties and Chester, Illi­ tions of $25 or more will be noted on nois, areas attended a regional seminar a plaque in the museum. on historic preservation, April 29, in Members enjoyed a pot-luck supper the Cape Girardeau Holiday Inn. preceding the July 9 meeting in First Speakers included Bob Gunter, Office National Bank, Bethany. State Senator of Government Services; W. Crosby Ronald Somerville then presented Brown, Missouri State Park Board; facts, dates and interesting stories Mrs. Lucille Basler, Foundation for about the county. Restoration of Ste. Genevieve; Mrs. The Society prepared a booth of William Baggerman, St. Charles Coun­ historical items for display at the ty Historical Society; James Quen- Northwest Missouri State Fair in busch, St. Charles Urban Renewal Bethany. Development; Henry Elmendorf, Re­ building and Refurnishing of the First Phoebe Apperson Hearst State Capitol; and Dr. Luciana Iorizzo, Historical Society State University of New York College The Society reports a collection of at Oswego. The talks dealt with res- Missouri Historical Review toration work being done through the ing activity in the area, and Mr, Federal government, the Missouri Mattes, a general contractor, told State Park Board, and on various local about the Zig Zag Mine. Early-day projects. experiences as a guide in Crystal Cave New officers of the Association are were related by Mr. Molloy, a former William B. Eagle, president; Laura St. Joplin postmaster. Ann Keller, first vice president; Tom More than 200 persons attended the Gerhardt, second vice president; Mrs. June 17 meeting in First Presbyterian Robert Naeter, recording secretary; Church, and heard Lew Larkin, Kan­ Mrs. E. E. Sauers, treasurer; and Mrs. sas City reporter, author and historian, C. H. Deneke, corresponding secretary. speak on the "Golden Age of Missouri." Jackson County Historical Society Recently elected officers of the So­ Nearly a thousand visitors toured ciety are Everett J. Ritchie, president; the partially restored Wornall House Stewart E. Tatum, vice president and in Kansas City during five Sunday counsel; Mrs. Ellen Chickering, secre­ afternoons from May 17 through June tary; and Fern Gray, treasurer. 14. To publicize the present drive for Two high school students, under $70,000 toward the restoration, the the direction of Historical Trail Com­ house was opened to the public and mittee members, worked this past contributions reached some $8,000. summer to erect some 25 historical The drive was initiated May 15 with trail markers on privately owned a party given by Mr. and Mrs. L. property in the area. Patton Kline and Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Price, II, to interest friends Kansas City Westerners who had not had a previous opportu­ At the May 12 meeting in Hotel nity to hear of the work which is Bellerive, Frank Vaydik, deputy city carried on by the Society. Wornall manager, Kansas City, presented the House is believed to be the only major program, "A Heritage On Which To antebellum house in Kansas City Build." Mr. Vaydik showed historical which can be completely restored as slides using three screens and projec­ a domestic dwelling. tors depicting three slides simultan­ The Society held its summer picnic, eously. August 1, at Missouri Town 1855, A program on "Kansas City's Wy­ Lake Jacomo. Members enjoyed a andotte Indian Cemetery: Then and catered lunch followed by a review Now," was given by Don D. Ballou, of the program and plans for the site, Kansas City, Kansas, historian, at the given by Charles Kerr, historical cura­ June 9 meeting. tor for the Jackson County Park De­ Posse member W. H. Edwards read partment. Members then toured the a paper on "Custer's Adultery: The town. Sandoz Charge," at the July 14 meet­ ing. The paper was written by Bruce Joplin Historical Society Liddic, a corresponding member of At a meeting of the Mining History Liverpool, New York. Round Table, May 5, in the city hall, W. F. Netzeband, John Mattes and Knox County Historical Society Tom J. Molloy, presented a discussion Some 30 members and guests en­ on the mining boom in the 1890s. joyed a picnic lunch at the home of Mr. Netzeband, retired mining engi­ Junior Wilkerson in Novelty, July 19. neer, spoke on past underground min­ Following a short business meeting, Historical Notes and Comments 87

Mr. Wilkerson gave a history of Nov­ and the personal character of Grant elty and the group toured the town as revealed in his writings. Mrs. Mar­ and visited a number of sites including tha Hombs, Regent of the Troy Chap­ the Novelty Cemetery; Locust Hill ter, Daughters of the American Revo­ Church and Cemetery; Eucebia Church lution, presented the societies with a and Cemetery; and the home of Billy flag of the United States on behalf of Aucutt, known as the Rinehart home. the chapter. The group also viewed the sites where the first town dwelling, Oak Lawn Mercer County Historical Society College and the town of Goodland At the March 17 meeting in East once stood. A history of Locust Hill Pine School House near Princeton, Joe was given during the tour. D. Linn reported on his project of collecting data on county Civil War Lawrence County Historical Society soldiers. Over 900 names have been At the July 19 meeting held at the tabulated. An alphabetized list will Pierce City High School, Dr. Joseph include their name, place and date of Kuklenski, superintendent of Spring­ birth, date of enlistment and discharge, field Public Schools, spoke on the unit served in, date of death and place history and contribution of the Polish of burial. Mrs. Joe Linn read a news­ to the vicinity. Plans for the Pierce paper clipping of May 5, 1915, re­ City centennial were discussed by garding the opening day of the New Earle Staponski, principal of Central Fullerton Hotel in Princeton. School. Mrs. Frank Lowry gave a history of Modena and Madison Township at the Lewis County Historical Society The Society held its July 9 meeting April 14 meeting in the Community in the Opportunity Center, Lewistown. Hall, Modena. A number of interesting Ben Plank presented a program of old items regarding the area were con­ pictures depicting Williamstown, Mon- tributed by those present. Elford Horn ticello and the Lewistown area. Future reported on his new project of gather­ meetings will be held on the third ing information for a history of music Sunday afternoon of each quarter. and musical groups in the county. Some 36 members and guests at­ Lincoln County Historical and tended the June 28 meeting at St. Archeological Societies Paul Church, north of Goshen. A The Societies held their April 16 program on St. Paul Church and meeting at the Galloway Building in neighborhood was related by Mr. and Elsberry with Judge John Taylor pre­ Mrs. C. B. Clamands, Mrs. Frank Low­ siding. Plans for opening a museum ry, Delite Craig, Mrs. Crell Ogle, Mrs. were discussed. Mrs. Jim Mayes pre­ Stella Wickersham, Otto Rockey and sented an illustrated program on "The Arthur Baker. History of the New Hope Community," and an account of "Pioneer Families Mississippi County of New Hope" was given by Moebius Historical Society Gentry. The Society, in collaboration with Dr. Richard S. Brownlee, director a number of local civic groups spon­ of the State Historical Society of Mis­ sored a Dogwood-Azalea Tour in souri, Columbia, was guest speaker at Charleston the weekend of April 26. the July 23 meeting held in the county Some 2,000 persons visited the town. courthouse, Troy. The subject of his Other attractions besides the lawns, talk was the life of Ulysses S. Grant trees and flowers included an antique Missouri Historical Review

car display, art exhibits, music and a the grand opening and doll show at pony pulling contest. the Society's museum, May 31. Some Data on cemeteries and other points 60 antique dolls and old toys were a of historic interest were compiled re­ featured attraction along with an old- cently by the Society. fashioned kitchen, just recently re­ stored. Members, dressed in period Missouri Historical Society costumes, served as hostesses and In mid-May the Society held ground­ guides. breaking ceremonies for an addition to its quarters at Jefferson Memorial, Native Sons of Kansas City St. Louis. The underground wing will A program on the "Historical Back­ provide auditorium space for some ground of the Country Club District" 300 persons, display area and storage was given by Robert Whitmer, director space. It adjoins the southern end of of public relations for the J. C. Nichols the building with an open court above Company, at the May 27 meeting in ground. Wishbone Restaurant. Those participating in the ceremo­ nies were Carroll S. Mastin, retiring Nodaway County Historical Society president of the Society's board of Historic Hickory Grove School was trustees; Charles E. Claggett, the dedicated on the campus of Northwest board's new president; Mrs. John W. Missouri State College, Maryville, Goodwin, president of the Women's June 13. Dr. James Lowe made the Association; and George R. Brooks, formal presentation of the building director of the Society. to Everett W. Brown, assistant to the president of the college. The program An illustrated talk on "St. Louis featured a play, "From Opening Exer­ County Parks Today and Tomorrow" cises to Recess," with Mrs. Neva was presented by Wayne C. Kennedy, Rhodes, teacher. Guests toured the director of Parks and Recreation, at historical school exhibits in the ad­ the May 19 annual meeting of the ministration building and also the Women's Association, held at the Gen­ Hickory Grove rural school building. eral Daniel Bissell House, St. Louis. A pamphlet, Rural Schools of Noda­ A tour of the house, garden and stable way County, was available for a $1.00 followed the meeting. donation. Moniteau County Historical Society The Society held its annual dinner Dr. Richard S. Brownlee, director meeting that evening in the student of the State Historical Society of Mis­ union building, with Orval Henderson, souri, Columbia, spoke on "General historian for the Missouri State Park Grant in Missouri" at the May 18 Board, as the principal speaker. meeting in Masonic Hall, California. Officers of the Society are Mrs. Neva The Society reported that the Rhodes, president; Mrs. Ross Martin, articles in the museum case at the first vice president; John Fuhrman, courthouse were changed, June 14, second vice president; and Mrs. Curtis for the coming year. Brodrick, secretary-treasurer.

Morgan County Historical Society Old Trails Historical Society Histories of the Sims home and At the April 15 meeting in the family were presented by Lee T. Sims Daniel Boone Branch Library, Ellis- at the May 25 meeting in the Bank of ville, Mrs. Dorothy Trinkle presented Versailles. an explanation of heraldry. A large crowd of visitors attended Walter Vesper spoke on the Three Historical Notes and Comments 89

Notch Trail near Ste. Genevieve at Ramada Inn, St. Robert, April 23. the May 20 meeting. A certificate and The following officers were reelected: life membership were awarded to Mrs. Mabel Mottaz, president; George Debbie Feiner for the winning entry Lane, vice president; Clara Ichord, in a contest for the Old Trails seal. secretary; and Sue Rice, treasurer. This past spring the Society spon­ A special project of the Society was sored a project for cleaning the Bacon- the purchase of two historical markers DeFoe family cemetery. The work was to designate Old Fort and a stage accomplished as part of a Modern coach stop. The markers were set on American History class civic project May 16. for ninth grade students at Parkway South Junior High School, under the Putnam County Historical Society direction of their teacher, Mrs. Juan- A report on early railroads of west­ ita McKee. Much of the work was done ern Putnam County was given by Mrs. after school and on Saturdays. The Stella M. Wells at the May 15 meet­ cemetery, located near the school, was ing in the public library, Unionville. given to the Society in 1968. Historical items are displayed in the public library and recently have in­ At a picnic dinner meeting, July 15, cluded clocks, watches, teapots, fans at Love Park, the Society presented and shawls. certificates to the boys and girls who had worked to restore the old ceme­ Ray County Historical Society tery. The Society held its annual ban­ Officers for the coming year are quet, May 21, at the Richmond High Loretta Stevenson, president; Doris School cafeteria. Guest speakers were Fischer, first vice president; Alice Dr. and Mrs. John S. Knight, Kansas Mitchell, second vice president; Helen City, descendents of pioneer Ray Davis, secretary; Til Keil, treasurer; County families. The Reverend Clark and Dorothy Feiner, historian. Hargus, president, reported on sesqui­ centennial plans and the reprinting of Pike County Historical Society the 1881 Ray County history. Members held a covered-dish picnic supper, July 24, at St. John's Episcopal St. Charles County Church, Eolia. James M. Yokem, vice Historical Society president of the Pike County Histori­ Members enjoyed an old-fashioned cal Society in Illinois, spoke on "The "patio picnic," July 23, at the museum History of Atlas Township." Special in St. Charles. music was provided by J. Overton Fry and James Lloyd Duncan. St. Clair County Historical Society Pony Express Historical Association At the May 20 meeting in the Com­ The 5 th annual Heritage of America mercial Hotel, Osceola, President art show and sale was held at Patee James Atteberry presented a program House Museum, St. Joseph, July 26- on the American Company's fur trad­ August 30. The purpose of the show ing posts in the Osage Basin, includ­ was to develop Patee House and to ing Bates County and the upper end offer creative area people a market of Kaw Rapids on the east bank of and show place for their work. the Osage River. Some 30 members and guests at­ Pulaski County Historical Society tended the June 18 meeting in the The Society celebrated its first an­ United Methodist Church in Apple- niversary with a dinner meeting at ton City. Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Zink 90 Missouri Historical Review

showed pictures and told about their College was led by Mrs. Nola Ander­ recent trip to the Holy Land. Items son at the July 14 meeting in the collected on the trip were also on dis­ First Baptist Church. A number of play. A number of guests visited from related historical items illustrated the the Bates County Historical Society program. and the proposed Cedar County His­ torical Society. Webster Groves Historical Society Dr. John J. Sullivan, Osceola, gave The 113-year-old Haw ken House, a program at the July 15 meeting in where the Hawken rifle was developed, Commercial Hotel, on 20th-century was moved, July 2, from Big Bend techniques of discovering historical Boulevard and Grant Road to South­ artifacts through the use of metal de­ west Park on Rock Hill Road. The tectors. He displayed a number of Society plans to open it later as a museum. items he had found in the area. John Mills gave a history of Zodiac Springs Westport Historical Society and noted the decline of several other Some 70 persons attended the May area settlements. 22 dinner meeting at Westport Pres­ byterian Church and heard Louisa P. Saline County Historical Society Johnston speak on the Russell, Majors The Society held its annual picnic, and Waddell overland freighting op­ July 19, at Seminole Court in Indian erations. The speaker is the grand­ Foothills Park. The speaker, Rodney daughter of Alexander Majors. L. Wells, professor emeritus in His­ tory at Missouri Valley College, Mar­ The Society is to be commended for shall, addressed the group on "Mis­ the publication of Volume I, Number souri's Struggle for Statehood." 1 of The Westporter newsletter. H. J. Gunnels is the editor. Shelby County Historical Society A bus tour to Arrow Rock was Some 50 persons enjoyed a carry-in sponsored by the Society, August 2. dinner and short business meeting, The itinerary included dinner at the July 19 at the Shelbina Lake Park. Old Tavern, tour of the town, the matinee performance at Lyceum The­ Webb City Historical Society atre and a visit to Sappington Ceme­ A discussion of former Webb City tery.

The Good Old Days Memphis Reveille, January 21, 1926. Do you know that a good-size potato costs two cents? WTe bought a peck last week, in a spirit of recklessness, and counted them carefully when we got the bag home and behind locked doors. There were 45 spuds in the bag that cost us 90 cents. What puzzles us, is why the grocer did not take our whole dollar when he had his hand on it. We can recall when father bought the winter potatoes from a farmer at 25 cents per bushel. A whole wagonload was delivered and placed in the cellar and the entire bill was only about $3.50. For that amount today, you might get enough potatoes to last a full week if you are careful and do not serve them more than twice a day. Historical Notes and Comments 91

GIFTS

COL. M. E. BARKER, USA RET., Fayetteville, Arkansas, donor; Diaries of Garland Mahan, 1864-1866. M*

GEORGE HUBERT BATES, Jefferson City, donor: Copy of booklet, History of Bates City, Missouri, by the pupils of the Bates City High School, May 1921. R PAUL BECK, Jefferson City, donor: Trinity Lutheran Church, Jefferson City, Missouri Centennial, 1970. R

NORMAN BENEDICT, Columbia, donor: Sixty-eight negatives of Columbia scenes, University of Missouri and Christian College. E

MRS. VIRGINIA BOTTS, Columbia, donor: Transition—100 Years Ago, of Phi Delta Theta, Missouri Chapter. R

MRS. BETTY BROOKS, Rocheport, donor, through MRS. VIRGINIA BOTTS, Columbia: Photographs of University of Missouri, Columbia, California and Tipton, loaned for copying. E

E. J. BUNCH, Charlotte, North Carolina, donor: "A Genealogical Survey and History of a Branch of the Bunch Family," compiled by donor. R

RICHARD J. CHAMIER, Moberly, donor: Report of Criminal Law Revision Committee, Vols. I & II (1953) . R Ordinances and charters of Joplin, Hannibal, Glasgow, Ashland, New Franklin, Columbia, Moberly, Springfield, Huntsville & Kansas City. R MRS. GRACE H. CHANCEY, Tulsa, Oklahoma, donor: The Hendons, later Chitwood, Cemetery, in Barry County. R

CHARLES V. CLIFFORD, St. Louis, donor: St. Louis' Fabulous Municipal Theatre, Fifty Seasons of Summer Musicals, by donor. R

JIMMIE LOU AND PAULINE M. COURTNEY, Gower, donors: "Cemetery Inscriptions of Clinton County, Missouri," Vol. II, compiled by donors. R DEAN CUNNINGHAM, Chillicothe, Illinois, donor: Photographs of Mr. and Mrs. John Henry Cunningham. E

MRS. MARY M. CURRY, Joplin, donor: Laivrence County Missouri Tombstone Inscriptions, Vol. I, published by donor. R

* These letters indicate where the gift materials are filed at Society head­ quarters: M refers to Manuscript Collection; R, Reference Library; E, Editorial Office; N, Newspaper Library; A, Art Room; B, Bay Room; and MC, Museum Case. 92 Missouri Historical Review

DAUGHTERS OF AMERICAN REVOLUTION, ALEXANDER DONIPHAN CHAPTER, donor, through MRS. WILLIAM E. ELDRIDGE, Liberty: Alexander Doniphan letters, 1880, to Jennie Hockaday, Plattsburg. M

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, NEOSHO CHAPTER, donor, through MRS. THOMAS I. STACY, Neosho: Missouri State History of the Daughters of the American Revolution, by Mrs. Frank Sayre Leach (1929) . R

DE SOTO PUBLIC LIBRARY, De Soto, donor: Annals of St. Louis in its Early Days and Annals of St. Louis in its Terri­ torial Days, by F. L. Billon. R

MRS. JAMES DEMARCE, Maryville, donor: "A Tentative Outline of U. S. Easley Lines Primarily to 1800," and geneal­ ogies of the Cheavens, Self, Black, Sutton and Fortney families of Boone County, all compiled by donor. R WILLIAM R. DENSLOW, Trenton, donor: Four Firsts For A Modest Hero—The Autobiography of Paris Swazy Pfouts, edited by Harold Axford. R DR. W. FRANCIS ENGLISH, Columbia, donor: Rural Schools of Nodaway County: Dedication of Hickory Grove School, at Northwest Missouri State College, Maryville. R BELMONT FARLEY, Granada Hills, California, donor: Clippings from Warrensburg Standard Herald, 1940, of historical articles, by Elizabeth Grover, concerning Johnson and Lafayette counties and War­ rensburg. E

FOUNDATION FOR RESTORATION OF STE. GENEVIEVE, Ste. Genevieve, donor: Song, "LaGuignolee," arranged by Wrilliam Simon. R MRS. HAROLD HARWOOD, Brookfield, donor: Collection of William Jenkins, St. Joseph, 1860s. M MRS. LAWRENCE H. HOENIG, Wellsville, donor: "Burtons of Randolph County," compiled by Mrs. William A. Bloom, Jr., and donor. R

WTILLIAM HOLMES, Columbia, donor: Miscellaneous papers concerning court summons and a letter to Braxton C. Gentry, Columbia. M N. WAYNE HORINE, Iowa Falls, Iowa, donor: "Horine Families of America," compiled by Darla Jones. R MRS. JEAN C. HOUSTON, Florence, Kentucky, donor: John Thomas Bever's Letters to Leannah, compiled by Ruthe Muench and donor. M MRS. HALE HOUTS, Kansas City, donor: Special Message of Governor R. M. Stewart with Accompanying Report to the Adjourned Session of the 19th General Assembly of the State of Mis­ souri, 1857, and 26th Congress, 1st Session, Senate Report, Jan. 31, 1840- Feb. 5, 1840. R Historical Notes and Comments 93

THOMAS P. HUDSON, Sedalia, donor: Otterville College receipts, 1904. M

ALLAN S. HUMPHREYS, Springfield, donor: Numerous items concerning the Baxter, Hogg and Headington families. R Copies of the original land grants issued to Quiller Williams and Frederick Gerding, Warren County, 1837 and 1843. R

MRS. VIRGINIA FARRAR JACKSON, University City, donor: Copies of Caldwell-Josiah Harrison Farrar Papers. M

MRS. NANNIE JINKENS, Wheatland, donor: Records of the Cooper Cemetery, east of Hermitage; Cruce-Woods Ceme­ tery, southwest of Wheatland; and cemetery on the Dainley Tuck farm, east of Quincy. R

WALTER E. KASCH, Webster Groves, donor: Newspaper: Jefferson City Missouri Herald, February 3, 1846. N

AUSTIN D. KILHAM, Charlottesville, Virginia, donor: Notes on the Descendants of Austin and Alice Kilham and Related Families, compiled by donor. R MRS. O. O. MCMANUS, Doniphan, donor: Macedonia (Methodist) Church, Ripley County, which includes class books, 1881-1894 and 1897-1953, transcribed by Thelma S. McManus and Grace E. Burlison. R

EDWARD MILLER, De Soto, donor: Photograph of street macadamizing in De Soto, ca. 1900. E

MISSOURI STATE LIBRARY, Jefferson City, donor: Descendants 1763-1966 of John Thomas Klumph (No. 1) 1729-1818 and Early Klumph History, by Richard Amidon Klumph. R

ARTHUR PAUL MOSER, Springfield, donor: "A Directory of Towns, Villages & Hamlets, Past & Present, of Stone County, Missouri." R

MRS. RACHEL OWEN, Columbia, donor: Piatt Genealogy, 1633-1962, compiled by Charles Piatt, Jr. R

PARKWAY SOUTH JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, Manchester, donor, through MRS. JUANITA MCKEE: Scrapbook regarding restoration of the Bacon-DeFoe Cemetery. R

MRS. ANNA KIMBERLING PHILLIPS, Seattle, Washington, donor: "History of Missouri," by donor (ca. 1910) . M

EDWIN R. PICKETT, Sacramento, California, donor: Photograph of Capt. John Grigsby. E

PEGGY PLATNER, Columbia, donor: Research paper, "The Mercantile Library, 'so much for so little to so few'," by donor. R 94 Missouri Historical Review

DR. W. S. PLATNER, Columbia, donor: Mutation, yearbooks for University of Missouri Medical School, 1960, 1966, 1969. R

MRS. H. F. RANDOLPH, Mexico, donor: "Audrain County Cemeteries," compiled by donor, loaned for copying. R

MRS. ELLEN A. SCHEER, Columbia, donor: "Booth Genealogy," compiled by John Booth. R

SCHOOL OF THE OZARKS, Point Lookout, donor: Education in Mountain Grove Missouri 1835-1913, by Paul M. Robinett. R

WILBUR MORSE SHANKLAND, Columbia, donor: Address: "Tribute to Mosias Maupin 1756-1816 & his wife Leah." R

C. K. SHEETS, JR., Montgomery City, donor: Papers on early Missouri families. M

T. R. SHELL, De Soto, donor: Old music book for piano, owned by Susie Gregg. R

MRS. W. GRANT SHOCKLEY, Whittier, California, donor: Several issues of the Forest City, official weekly publication of Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, 1904. R

C. B. SMITH, SR., Austin, Texas, donor: "Portions of the Jones-Smith Family Genealogy," compiled by donor. R

HAROLD T. SMUTZ, Webster Groves, donor: "George Sharp(e) of Virginia and Kentucky and Some of His Descendants in Knox County, Missouri," compiled by donor. R

FELIX SNIDER, Cape Girardeau, donor: Copy of S. L. Clemens letter, 1882. M

JOHN L. SULLIVAN, Flat River, donor: 70th Anniversary of the 1st Baptist Church, Flat River, Mo., 1900-70. R

VELMA WEST SYKES, Garnett, Kansas, donor: Copy of letter from Fred A. Ford, Ottawa, Kansas, concerning Quantrill. R

TED WARD, Vancouver, Washington, donor: Material on the Alexander Ward massacre and Ward descendants. R

MR. & MRS. FRANK L. WILLIAMS, Hot Springs, Arkansas, donors: "John Harrison of 96 District, South Carolina and Botetourt County, Vir­ ginia, Between 1771 and 1808," by Frank L. Williams. R

MELBA WOOD, Godfrey, Illinois, donor: Genealogies of Dean, Matlock, Hale, Gahr, Loper, Keller and Van Meter families, compiled by donor. R Historical Notes and Comments 95 MISSOURI HISTORY IN NEWSPAPERS

Ashland Boone County Journal May 22, 1970—"Boone County Aid To Pro-Slavery Party In Kansas Territory." May 29—"Old French Names For County Creeks," a reprint from the Columbia Statesman, 1869. June 5—"Civil War Events In Cedar Township." June 12—"Columbia Herald Was Thriving in 1895." June 19—"[Thrall's Prairie] The First Settlement of Boone County." June 26—"Founding Of First Boone County Church." July 1—"Early Land Sales in Boone County." July 10—"Booneslick Settlers Fought Indians and Terrain for Survival." July 24—"First Legal Hanging in Boone County." July 3i-"First Paper Mill Established in 1833 at Rock Bridge." July 31— "Two Slaves Hanged for Murder in 1836."

Boonville Daily News June 1, 1970—The article, "Cochran Construction celebrates anniversary," presented a brief history of the company.

Brunswick Brunswicker May 7-July 23, 1970—A weekly picture series of area scenes. June 11—"Fire Eaters Recalled in 'Lost' Record Book [of the Brunswick Fire Department]." July 23—A tornado story of 1904, related by Mrs. Pearl Gehrig.

California Democrat May 21, 1970—A number of historical articles featured area churches.

Carrollton Daily Democrat April 22, 1970-"When Walnut Trees Were Plentiful." July 9—"Calvert Recalls The Old-Time Harvest." Both articles above, by Harold Calvert.

Carrollton Republican Record July 8, 1970—"When Wheat Harvesting Was A Major Project," by Harold Calvert.

Columbia Daily Tribune June 14, 1970—A picture story of the Grossman-Barth Home in Rocheport, photos by Earl Powers.

Columbia Missourian July 26, 1970—"Reminiscences of Past Boone County Fairs," by Susan Hale. July 26—"To Preserve Our Heritage [Missouri State Historical Survey and Planning]," by Susan Pope. July 26—"Senior Citizens [of Rocheport] Recall Effort to Supply Food," by Garret B. Hardin.

De Soto and Bonne Terre Press-Dispatch May 4, 1970—"The Curtain Goes Up for De Soto," Part VI. 96 Missouri Historical Review

May 11, 18, 25—A three-part article, "Frumet and Mammoth Mines." June 1— "De Soto Honors Its World War I Heroes." June 8—"A Quick Way To End Violence," the story of the John Duffy family and the railroad strike of 1886. June 15—"Bad Season for the Railroad." June 22—" 'Peddler Pauline' of an Earlier Bonne Terre." June 29, July 6, 13—A series, "Pearl Cottage, a Jewel From the Past." July 27—"Different Days . . . Different Ways." All the above articles from the column, "As You Were," by Eddie Miller.

Grandview Jackson County Advocate July 23, 1970—"Missouri Once Was Flourishing 'Marijuana' Area."

Jackson Journal May 6, 1970—-"Another Era Recalled by Former Resident [Benjamin C. Sander] In Old Photographs of Home and School." May 6, 27, June 3, July 22—A series of old photographs of area schools and other scenes. May 20—The article "America The Beautiful," incorporated the history of Camp Litz on Goose Creek. This, and the articles below, by K. J. H. Cochran. May 27—A history of Plainview School. June 5-"The Greatest Show on Earth, The Circus-1870-1970." June 10-July 22—A weekly series on historic homes and trees in the county.

Kansas City Star May 2, 9, 16, 30, June 6, 20, 27, July 4, 1970—A series, "Missouri Heritage," by Lew Larkin, featured respectively Jean Wallace, Benjamin How­ ard, Dr. John Sappington, John Woods Harris, Kansas City park system, Joplin, Willard P. Hall and Ku Klux Klan. May 2, 9, 16, June 6, July 11, 18, 25—A series of postcards from the collection of Mrs. Sam Ray featured respectively Ninth Street and Paseo fountain, Sweeney Automobile and Tractor School Building, Roanoke Park, Kansas City interurban railways, Rockhill Park, Brookside Boulevard and Cliff Drive. May 15—"Rich History in [Charles W. Leonard] Family Home." May 19—"Violence Stirs Kansans' Memories [of William Clarke Quantrill]," by Velma West Sykes. May 20—A history, "Women['s Christian Association] Mark Century of Service," by Helen Gott. June 21—"[Interdenominational Home for Girls] Leaves Legacy of Love," by Helen Gott. June 27—"The Last Word in Last Words [tombstone inscriptions]," by Betty Sterett. July 11—A reminiscent account of Verona, "Daily Train Brightened Town's Life," by Howard Brickey. July 18—A short history of the Chariton Baptist Church in Howard County.

Kansas City Times May 1, 1970—A short history of the Kansas City Life Insurance Company. Historical Notes and Comments 97

May 7—Two articles concerning Harry S. Truman, "Comrades Remember Captain Harry," by Eddie Meisburger, and "Where Truman's Campaign Trail Began," by Pauline E. Kemp. May 23, 30, June 20, July 4—A series of postcards from the collection of Mrs. Sam Ray featured respectively Mount Washington Amusement Park, Forest Hill cemetery, seamstresses and Electric Park. May 30—"Tiny Burial Plots Once Dotted Area," by John Edward Hicks. July 11—"Missouri Heritage," by Lew Larkin, featured W. H. Lynch. July 22—The article, "Old Bank Robbery on Books Yet," by Repps Hudson, told of an alleged Jesse James holdup at the Clay County Savings Association in Liberty. July 23—"Funds Lavishly Preserve Holt County Cemeteries," by Margaret Olwine. July 25—"Missouri Heritage," by Lew Larkin, featured Thomas Reynolds.

Lawson Review June 18, 25, July 16, 23—A historical series on Watkins Mill.

Lexington Advertiser-News June 4, 1970—"Restoration of Cannonball [in Lafayette County Courthouse] Recalled by Former County Clerk [G. Hubert Bates]."

Linn Osage County Observer June 4—"History Of Osage County," by Hallie Mantle.

Oak Grove Banner July 1-July 29, 1970—A weekly series, "Lick Skillet," by Dorothy Butler.

Paris Monroe County Appeal May 7-July 30, 1970—A weekly series, "History of Monroe County," re­ printed from an 1884 history of the county. June 11, July 9—A history of area businesses. July 23—"Unearthed 106 Year Old Gravestone in Their Yard in Paris." July 30—"Toured Fox Settlement and Middle Grove Area-First Settlement."

Plattsburg Leader May 15-July 17, 1970—A weekly series, "History of Gower." July 24—"Plattsburg Springs," part of a historical society series, by Minnie Hanks.

Poplar Bluff Daily American Republic May 5, 1970—"Old Club House Recalls Lost Era In Current River Wilder­ ness," by Lucille Masnor. May 11— "Village of Chaonia Forgotten as Agriculture, Timber Center," by Bob Manns. May 23—"Some About Carola, History in an Old Diary," by Line Hinrichs. May 25—"Excerpts From Dad's Old Diary, WThen Poplar Bluff Was One Year Old," by Line Hinrichs. June 10—"Country Music 100 Years Ago, Old Judge Ferguson Loved Music." by Line Hinrichs. June 24—"When Our Town Was Young, The County WTas Rugged," by Line Hinrichs. 98 Missouri Historical Review

July 1— "Butler County History As Told Bit By Bit," by George Loughead. July £—"Missouri Pacific Has Contributed to History of Poplar Bluff Area," by Bob Manns. July 11—"Romance of Rails is Captivating," by Bob Manns. July 13—"100 Years Ago, Ferry Only Way to Cross Rivers," by Bob Manns. July 13, 14, 16—Photographs of area scenes.

St. Charles Journal May 7, 1970—"Local DAR Chapter Formed May 27, 1909," bv Mark C. Lammert. May 14, 21— "Geneology of Luther Hunt," by Peggy Simon. May 28—"Family Tree For Heller Of Augusta," by Pam Plume. June 4—"Life In A German Rural Community," by Pam Plume. June 11—"The Legend of Monsignor [Anthony T.] Strauss," by Leslie Brown. June 18-"St. John's A.M.E. Church Is 4th Oldest West Of The River," by Rolland W. Kjar. June 25—"[Franz] Feldmann House Over Century Old," by Ron Kjar. July 2—"The County Board of Education," by Mary Miner. July 9—"Koenig's Market," by John Naeger. July 23— "Engineer Says Moose Hall Warrants Continued Use." July 23, 30—A series, "The Washboard War," by Judy Gilbert.

Ste, Genevieve Fair Play May 1-July 24, 1970—A weekly series, "History of Our Town," by Mrs. Jack Basler.

St. Louis Globe-Democrat May 9-10—"Henry Armstrong, One of Boxing's Ail-Time Greats," by Reasons and Patrick. May 10, 17, 24—A picture series, "then and now" featured respectively Mercantile Trust Company, Municipal Courts Building and Third Street. May 16-17—"Jefferson Barracks, An Army Post Rich in History," by Allan Hale. May 28—"St. Louis' Great 'Cyclone' [1896]," by Paul Siemer. July 2—" 'Here Rests in Honored Glory,' Grave of Unknown Soldier Recalls Missouri's Role in War Between North and South," by David and Genevieve McClelland. July 3—"Memories of Old Ferguson," by Robert J. Mueller. July 24, 1970-" 'Gem of the 70s' [Old St. Charles Concert Hall] Has a Champion," by Ed Cook.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch May 17—"Lafayette Park, We Are Back," by Mary Duffe, reprinted from St. Louis Commerce. June 13—The steamboat race of the Robert E. Lee and the Natchez, 100 years ago, was recalled in the article, "Fastest Up The River," by Ernest Kirschten, reprinted from St. Louis Commerce. June 18—An article announcing the Friends of Arrow Rock eleventh annual antique auction recalled the history of that village. July 1— "[Old Post Office, St. Louis] Last of General Grant Architecture," by Lawrence Wodehouse, reprinted from Historic Presentation. Historical Notes and Comments 99

July 2—"Flying The Mail In A Jenny," described the second air mail route in the United States between St. Louis and Chicago, by Theodore P. Wagner, reprinted from St. Louis Commerce.

Sedalia Capital May 7, 1970—"McAllister Springs Resort Drew Many Visitors." May 21—"Slater Named After Union Army Colonel." This, and the article above, by Hazel Lang. July 2—"Otterville Grew Up With The Expanding Frontier," by Cathy Binderup.

Springfield News and Leader April 19, 1970—"The Day the Iron Horse Came," by Lucile Morris Upton.

Steelville Crawford Mirror May 28, June 11, 25, July 16, 1970—"Souvenir Photos," a picture series of area scenes. July 16—"History of the Lick Creek School and Community," by Waldo Kitchen. July 30—"History of Iron Ridge School and Community," by J. I. Breuer.

Versailles Leader-Statesman June 4, 1970—"Old Sims Home, Built in 1836, Reminder of Primitive Living," material furnished by Lee T. Sims.

Webb City Sentinel May 1, 8, 25, June 5, 12, July 31, i£70-"Webb City's Past," a series, by Harry C. Hood, Sr.

A Change in Viewpoint Glenwood Criterion, Jan. 20, 1881. "No," the honest farmer remarked in the deepest dejection, "the big crops don't do us a bit of good. What's the use? Corn only thirty cents. Every body and everything's dead agin the farmer. Only thirty cents for corn! Why, by gum, it won't pay our taxes, let alone buy us clothes. It won't buy us enough salt to put up a barrel of pork! Only 30 cents! By jooks, it's a living, cold blooded swindle on the farmer, that's what it is. It ain't worth raising corn at such a price as that. It's mean, low robbery." Within the next ten days that man had sold so much more of his corn than he intended, that he found he had to buy corn to feed through the winter with. The price nearly knocked him down. "What," he yelled, "thirty cents for corn! Land alive—thirty cents! Why, I don't want to buy your farm—I only want to buy some corn! Why, I don't believe there's anybody left in the world but a set of graspin', blood-suckin' old misers. Why, good land, you don't want to be able to buy a national bank with one corn crop. Thirty cents for corn! Well, I'll let my cattle and horses run on corn stalks all winter before I'll pay any such a price for corn as that. Why the country's just flooded with corn, and thirty cents a bushel is a blamed robbery, and I don't see how any man can have the face to ask such a price." 100 Missouri Historical Review

MISSOURI HISTORY IN MAGAZINES

American Jewish Historical Quarterly, March, 1970: "American Editorial Re­ sponse to the Rise of Adolf Hitler: A Preliminary Consideration," by Mar­ garet K. Norden. Arizona and the West, Summer, 1970: "The First Dragoons on the Western Frontier, 1834-1846," by Willis B. Hughes. Bandwagon, September-October, 1969: "A History of the Parker & Watts Circus," by Stuart Thayer. Bulletin, Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, April, 197°' "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," by Richard E. Oglesby; "The Memoirs of Daniel M. Frost," Part III, edited by Mrs. Dana O. Jensen; "John A. Cockerill's St. Louis Years: A Study of the Campaign that Brought Them to an End," by Donald F. Brod; and "St. Louis' 1916 Residential Segregation Ordinance," by Daniel T. Kelleher. , July, 1970: "Eugene Genovese, The Missouri Elite, and Civil War Historiography," by Robert E. Shalhope; "Don Benite Vasquez in Early Saint Louis," by Janet Lecompte; "Kate Chopin and Her Critics: An An­ notated Checklist," by Richard H. Potter; and "Harris Merton Lyon: An Author To Be Reappraised," by Zoe Lyon. Clay County Museum Association Newsletter, May, 1970: "The Overton G. Harris Family," by Sam Laffoon. , June, 1970: "The Sevier Family," by Mrs. Virginia Sevier. , July, 1970: "Judge John Thornton—Clay County's First," by Mrs. William E. Eldridge. Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly, May, 1970: "Reminiscences of Con­ cordia Seminary in the Early Twentieth Century," by George P. Schmidt.

, August, 1970: "Concordia College, Gravelton, Missouri," by Carl S. Meyer; and "The Nature and Function of the Board of Directors of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod from 1917 to 1935," by Alan Birnschein. Filson Club History Quarterly, April, 1970: "Two Letters of Meriwether Lewis To Major William Preston," edited by James R. Bentley.

Florissant Valley Historical Society Quarterly, July, 1970: "Mrs. John Mullan- phy," by Harriet Lane Cates Hardaway; "Ferguson .... As I Knew It," Part 6, by E. R. Schmidt.

Frontier Times, June-July, 1970: "The Puzzle of Baptiste Charbonneau," by Helen Addison Howard; and "Jessie Benton Fremont Appraises [Kit] Car­ son," reprinted from The Land of Sunshine, February, 1897.

Jackson County Historical Society Journal, Summer, 1970: "Early Settlers Named County for Jackson When He Was Battle of New Orleans Hero," by Frank W. Rucker; and "Killed by Indians, June 17, 1867, Treasured Family Letters Tell Story of Curtis Hill's Killing 'Out West'," edited by Nancy M. Ehrlich. Historical Notes and Comments 101

Kansas City Genealogist, July, 1970: "The Civil War In Osage County," by Virgil Muenks, reprinted from the Linn Unterrified Democrat, August 10, 1967.

Kansas Historical Quarterly, Spring, 1970: "The Mail Station and the Military at Camp on Pawnee Fork, 1859-1860," by Morris F. Taylor.

Kirkwood Historical Review, June, 1970: "Woodman, Spare That Tree. . . .,' " by Mary B. Chomeau; and "Illness And Abolition in 1844."

Labor History, Spring, 1970: "The Clergyman and Labor Progress: Cornelius O'Leary and the Knights of Labor," by William Barnaby Faherty.

Lawrence County Historical Society Bulletin, July, 1970: "The Clear Creek Valley is Settled, 1833," excerpt from Centennial Story, Story of Pierce City, by Miriam Keast Brown; "Aurora," by Mrs. Kate Lehman; and "Julia Lurendia Ross."

Missouri Harbinger Magazine, April, 1970: "Aviation in Missouri," by Joe Faith.

Montana Magazine of Western History, July, 1970: "Karl Bodmer, earliest painter in Montana," by Mildred Goosman; "The Prince and the Artist on the Upper Missouri," by John G. Lepley; and "Some reflections on a Threatened Treasure," by Mark H. Brown.

Mormon History, April-May, 1970: "Early Church History," reprinted from The Historical Record, January, 1886.

Nebraska History, Spring, 1970: "Uncovering the Steamboat Bertrand," by Jerome E. Petsche; and "Report On Steamboat Wrecks on Missouri River," by Capt. H. M. Chittenden (1897) .

Ozarker, July, 1970: "Memories of A Newspaper Man," by William Aden French; "The Four Doctors," by Mary "Magog" Goggins; and "The Cur­ rent: Log of the Wilma," Part X, by Ward Allison Dorrance.

Ozarks Mountaineer, May, 1970: "The Charm of Ha Ha Tonka," by Opal Stewart Butts; "History of Price Mill," by Russ How; and "Ozark Sports," by Jim Strimple.

, June, 1970: "[Henry Rowe] Schoolcraft's Ozark Visit," by Deane G. Carter.

, July, 1970: "Aurora's First Hundred Years," Part I, by Bob Lowry, condensed from Aurora's Centennial History; and "How Joplin Got Its Name," by Dr. J. M. Shockley.

Panhandle Magazine, Summer, 1970: "Vanguard of the Prohibitionists [Carry A. Nation]."

Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, April, 1970: "History of the Cape Girardeau Northern Railway: A Transportation Anachronism," by Richard McLeod. 102 Missouri Historical Review

Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, December, 1969: "The St. Louis Catholic Press and Political Issues, 1845-1861," by Jasper W. Cross.

Saskatchewan History, Spring, 1970: "The Adamites [from Missouri]," by Gilbert Johnson.

Smithsonian Journal of History, Winter, 1968-1969: "Union Shipbuilding on Western Rivers During the Civil War," by James M. Merrill; and "[George C] Hale's Tours: Ultrarealism in the Pre-1910 Motion Picture," by Ray­ mond Fielding.

Ticainian, May-June, 1970: "Mark Twain and Dan Beard and Boy Scouts of America."

Westport Historical Quarterly, June, 1970: "California in 1849," by John Hudgins; "The George Asbury House," reprinted from the Kansas City Star; "Meredith Miles Marmaduke," by William A. Goff; "The Harris House Story," related by Frank C. Wornall; "... And Then There Were Two [antebellum structures]," by William A. Goff. White River Valley Historical Quarterly, Spring, 1970: "Four of Ozark County's 5 Mills Preserved, One a Ragged Beggar Dying," by Ruby M. Robins; "Our Friend Family," by Dean Wallace; "The War-Time Experiences, 1 Decem­ ber, 1861, January, 1865, of W. B. Cox, Farrier, Company B., Sixth Mis­ souri Volunteer Cavalry, . . .," annotated by Hardy A. Kemp; and "Mar­ riage Records of Taney County, Missouri, 1885-1900."

Wi-Iyohi, July 1, 1970: "William Massie—Mountain Steamboat Pilot."

Women and Newspapers Ozarks Mountaineer, November, 1952. "Women are like newspapers because .... They have forms. Are made up. Have bold types. Back numbers are not in demand. Carry news wherever they go. Are never afraid to speak. Are much thinner than they used to be. Every man should have one of his own and not borrow from his neighbor." (From an Exchange)

The Muddy Missouri Ozarks Mountaineer, July, 1953. Thomas Hart Benton, the artist, once remarked: "The Missouri River is a little too thick to swim in, and not quite thick enough to walk on." Historical Notes and Comments 103

IN MEMORIAM

TILGHMAN R. CLOUD $1,000 award from the government of Tilghman R. Cloud, deputy secre­ Haiti for an essay entitled "The Con­ tary of state for Missouri died July 27, tributions of Haiti to the Independ­ after suffering a heart attack. Born in ence of the United States, 1776-1826." Pleasant Hill in 1902, he was for After retiring from the Navy, he many years publisher of the Pleasant continued his education at San Diego Hill Times, assuming that position State College where he was graduated upon graduating from the Missouri cum laude in 1949 with a major in School of Journalism in 1924. He re­ history. He served as curator of the mained as publisher of the Times, un­ Junipero Serra Museum in Presidio til the paper was sold, some ten years Park, 1949-1955, taught history at an ago. His value to Missouri journalism adult evening school in San Diego, was attested to by his selection as one and was an organizer of Phi Alpha of the ten original members of the Theta history fraternity at San Diego Missouri Academy of Squires, founded State and of walking tours in Old in 1960 by Governor James T. Blair. Town. In 1963 he was presented an Mr. Cloud received this honor be­ award from the city for his work in cause of his "penetrating editorials in Old Town. His writings on the Civil his own Pleasant Hill Times and War Battle of Athens in Clark County, through republication in many other Missouri, numerous genealogies and papers, have widely influenced Mis­ travel journals are filed in the Refer­ souri thought and opinion." A past ence Library of the State Historical president of the Democratic Editors of Society of Missouri. He died June 27, Missouri and a member of Sigma 1970, at his home in San Diego. Delta Chi, professional journalism fraternity, Mr. Cloud was Governor LEON M. JORDAN John M. Dalton's press secretary be­ Leon M. Jordan, state representative fore his appointment as deputv secre­ from Jackson County, was shot at am­ tary of state. bush, July 15, 1970, as he left the Green Duck Tavern, Kansas City, BEN F. DIXON which he owned and operated. Born Born at Kahoka, Missouri, March in Kansas City May 6, 1905, Jordan 23, 1892, Ben F. Dixon was graduated was educated at Washburn College, from Kahoka High School and at­ Topeka, Kansas, and received a de­ tended Central College, Fayette, for gree in Commerce from Wilberforce three years. He left in 1917 to enlist University, Wilberforce, Ohio. He had in the Navy and spent thirty years in taught school and served as a lieuten­ the Navy Hospital Corps, retiring in ant of detectives. He later served with 1947. He was editor of the Navy Hos­ the 24th infantry in the United States pital Corps quarterly and contributed Army and eight years in the reorgani­ many articles on the history of Navy zation of Constabulary Forces for the medicine. While he was serving in Republic of Liberia, West Africa. In Haiti a hurricane struck the island. Liberia he conducted the preliminary Dixon was given $17,000 and told to flight program of the Liberian Army take care of three towns that had been and Constabulary Pilots. He was dec­ devastated. For his success in this orated with the Legion of Honor for project he was honored in Haiti as a excellence by the French government hero. In 1950 he was honored with a and received the Black Star of Africa 104 Missouri Historical Review

and Knights of Africa Redemption HEAGERTV, C. C, Aurora: March 4, with the rank of commander in Li­ 1896-March 31, 1970. beria. He was serving as president of HEDRICK, R. V., Buckner: July 3, Freedom, Inc., a major Jackson 1887-February 21, 1970. County black political organization at the time of his death. Elected to the HENDREN, DR. GLENN W., Liberty: Missouri General Assembly in 1964, he August 11, 1903-May 30, 1970. was a candidate for a fourth term. HOEHNS, VICTOR E., Smithton: Jan­ FRANK W. MITCHELL, SR. uary 6, 1910-September 10, 1968. Frank W. Mitchell, Sr., publisher LAMKIN, CHARLES F., JR., Kansas and editor of The St. Louis Argus, died City: June 3, 1907-May 11, 1970. June 11. From childhood he had been LEMNER, GEORGE F., Falls Church, associated, in one capacity or another, Virginia: October 3, 1914-August 22, with the Argus, a paper founded by 1969. his father and uncle. Mr. Mitchell was a graduate of Sumner High LONGSTRETH, REV. W. E., Rocheport: School, St. Louis, and attended col­ Februarv 2, 1905-June 25, 1970. lege in Chicago before returning to MARRS, MRS. R. E. L., Carthage: work on the weekly paper as gen­ April 11, 1878-April 26, 1970. eral manager, publisher and finally publisher and editor. He was the first MCCLURE, MARGARET, Springfield: negro president of the Missouri State April 14, 1918-January 10, 1969. Board of Education, holding that of­ OSWALD, R. Z., Melbourne, Florida: fice in 1958 and 1959. March 23, 1894-April 6, 1969.

ACOM, JUDGE O. H., Wardell: March PEPPERS, ORVILLE DEAN, Lawson: 2, 1884-February 24, 1970. October 16, 1913-October 18, 1969.

CHACE, DR. JOHN A., Kirksville: Oc­ POWERS, MARION WRIGHT, Carthage: tober 23, 1919-February 16, 1970. May 1, 1880-July 25, 1969.

COCHRAN, FANNIE F., Marionville: REED, ETHEL, Kansas City: Septem­ May 18, 1885-May 15, 1969. ber 16, 1884-September 19, 1969.

Cox, MRS. EDGAR F., Lexington: Oc­ ROBERTS, RAYMOND, Farmington: tober 13, 1893-January 20, 1970. February 3, 1900-August 1, 1969. ROELS, PATTI, Eldon: August 20, DEGUIRE, OLIVA, Fredericktown: No­ vember 9, 1887-February 25, 1970. 1922-March 6, 1968. RUDDY, EDWARD M., St. Louis: June FAIRCHILD, M. VIOLET, Kansas City: 20, 1899-March 18, 1969. May 27, 1905-July 22, 1969. SISSON, MRS. J. H., Dexter: January FINE, EDWARD A., St. Louis: March 3, 17, 1893-January 2, 1970. 1883-August 24, 1969. THORNBURG, EUGENE, Moberly: Feb­ GALLENKAMP, E. W., York, Pennsyl­ ruary 1, 1903-March 26, 1969. vania: April 8, 1884-February 9, 1970. WATKINS, MRS. JOHN ALBERT, Rich­ GILLESPIE, KENNETT, Farmington: mond: March 16, 1893-Februarv 15, July 15, 1875-October 31, 1969. 1970. GUM, CARROLL, Newtonia: February WHITAKER, E. T., D.O., Moberlv: 2, 1907-June 8, 1969. September 29, 1897-March 18, 1970. Historical Notes and Comments 105 l£i[§ll§ISISI§!S[§l!^^ ® p m p n 1 ® p | EDITORIAL POLICY 1 m si § The MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW is always inter- m g ested in articles and documents relating to the history of g pj Missouri. Articles pertaining to surrounding states and H gj other sections are considered for publication when they d H involve events or personalities having a significant bearing g| M on the history of Missouri or the West. Any aspect of B g Missouri history is considered suitable for publication in S j| the REVIEW. Genealogical studies are not accepted because i p of limited general reader interest. H r^i gj In submitting articles for the REVIEW, the authors pj ^g l should examine back issues for the proper form in foot- g} pi noting. Originality of subject, general interest of the article, jg g sources used in research, interpretation and the style in p H which it is written, are criteria for acceptance for pub- g] | lication. | g is M The original and a carbon copy of the article should |j il be submitted. It is suggested that the author retain a g| H carbon of the article. The copy should be double-spaced gj M and the footnotes typed consecutively on separate pages || H at the end of the article. The maximum length for an m 1 article is 7,500 words. I 1 m M All articles accepted for publication in the REVIEW jg g become the property of the State Historical Society and M H may not be published elsewhere without permission. Only g H in special circumstances will an article previously published H g] in another magazine or journal, be accepted for the pi H REVIEW. gl 1 S p Because of the backlog of accepted articles, publica- |j S tion may be delayed for a period of time. pj m | H Articles submitted for the REVIEW should be ad- g | dressed to: 1 I ® g Dr. Richard S. Brownlee, Editor |j § MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW m | The State Historical Society of Missouri | g Corner Hitt and Lowry Streets jg | Columbia, Missouri 65201 m s s i s 1 s 1 106 Missouri Historical Review

BOOK REVIEWS

A Prologue to the Protest Movement: The Missouri Share­ croppers Roadside Demonstration of 1939. By Louis Cantor (Durham, N. C: Duke University Press, 1969). 204 pp. Il­ lustrated. Footnoted. Bibliographical Note. Indexed. $6.95. Agrarian protests are an old and recurring phenomenon in American history. Bacon's rebellion, Shays' rebellion, the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, a miscellany of protests during the nineteenth century climaxed by populism, and a variety of farm rebellions since 1900 that take their character from inspired leaders and despairing circumstances may be strung as so many beads on the continuum of our agrarian past. The literature of farm protests is now more complete with the appearance of Professor Louis Can­ tor's study of the 1939 roadside demonstration of Missouri Bootheel sharecroppers. While Cantor places his subject within its im­ mediate historic context, and suggests the similarity of the 1939 action to contemporary peaceful protests, his primary contribution is the presentation of a case study of a nonviolent demonstration for social change during the Depression thirties. In an interesting fashion, Cantor's account relates the back­ ground of the Bootheel—the seven cotton-producing counties com­ prising extreme southeastern Missouri—the area's economic paradox of "rich land and poor people," the impact of the New Deal's AAA cotton program upon landowners and the tenants and sharecrop­ pers who worked the land, the efforts of leaders and organizations to ameliorate the plight of the landless poor, the short-lived road­ side protest, and the aftermath of that demonstration. Despite a few lapses in grammar and style, the story Cantor tells is essen­ tially clear, convincing, and informative. Historical Notes and Comments 107

Although the author has considered a large number of per­ sonal and impersonal forces at work in the Bootheei's cotton economy during the depression, his basic interpretation concerns the roadside demonstration as a nonviolent protest against economic deprivation and the injustices of the sharecropping system. The 1939 demonstration was successful, he concludes, by drawing na­ tional attention to the plight of the poor blacks and whites of the Bootheel so that embarrassed state and local officials quickly mobilized to get the demonstrators off the road and out of sight- but not out of mind. The mere threat of a repeat demonstration in 1940, Cantor shows, helped to secure more Farm Security Ad­ ministration benefits for the landless poor of the area. Yet in a larger sense, these benefits were quite small and the economic realities of the region remained essentially unchanged. Thus one may properly question the efficacy of protest as an instrument of social change. This conclusion may be justified and poses still larger questions about the nature of liberal change in a con­ servative society. Professor Cantor has drawn upon a number of manuscripts and published works as well as interviews to document his story, but other available sources would have added important detail to his account. He did not use, for example, the Negro newspapers of St. Louis, and more effective use could have been made of weekly newspapers of the Bootheel. Despite these limitations, this study of the Missouri Roadside Demonstration of 1939 is a solid contribution to the historical litera­ ture of agrarian discontent.

University of Southern California Franklin D. Mitchell

Stephens: A Story of Educational Innovation. By John C. Crighton (Columbia, Mo.: The American Press, 1970). 406 pp. Illustrated. Footnoted. Indexed. $5.00. The history of any institution is of interest to the persons di­ rectly connected with it. Many college histories stop at this point which limits the appeal of the work to students, faculty and staff, past and present. Fortunately, John C. Crighton has produced a history which is more than a recitation of what has happened on the campus. He has placed Stephens in the main stream of higher education for women in the United States where it deserves to be. 108 Missouri Historical Review

Crighton has also avoided becoming over sentimental which has made many college histories deadly reading. He has pointed out failures as well as successes and has not tried to hide the fact that Stephens has, in the past, been educationally as well as finan­ cially bankrupt. He has used his long association with the college to enrich his insight into the life and spirit of the institution. In addition to the Stephens "family," a group of other readers will find this book of interest. The student of higher education for women will find the history of Stephens unique. The residents of Columbia will learn much about their city. The Baptists will have a better understanding of their ventures into higher education in Missouri. The life of the college falls into three periods. The first of these covers the period of the Columbia Female Academy which existed from 1833 to 1855. Whether this institution should be a part of the history of Stephens is a question for debate. Most of the evidence would seem to indicate that it should not. The fact that no claim of connection was made by Stephens prior to 1933 is rather strong evidence that the founders of the Columbia Baptist Female College did not believe themselves to be continuing the former academy. Crighton acknowledges that there "was no legal continuity between the College and the former academy." (p. 51.) The fact that both institutions were women's educational en­ terprises; that one was founded the year after the other ceased to exist; and, that they were in the same town does not constitute continuity. The apparent sudden interest in continuity in 1933 raises an interesting question. What could it profit Stephens to claim to be the descendent of an ungraded elementary and secondary school which had been dead for over seventy-five years? This question is left unanswered. The major fault of the book is that too many questions of this nature are left unasked and unexplored. The second period encompasses the era of Baptist control and domination. Crighton does well in pointing out the virtues and vices of sectarian control of higher education. The Baptists, as was true of other denominations, let their zeal for founding colleges outrun their ability or desire to support them. It was during this period that Stephens was near to closing its doors several times. From its founding to World War I, the college passed from one financial crisis to another with monotonous regularity. The third period of Stephens' history is dominated by the Historical Notes and Comments 109 thirty-five-year (1912-1947) presidential term of James M. Wood. It was during this period that the Stephens College of today emerged. The difference between the old and new Stephens is like the difference between day and night. The title of the book applies only to the last period of the history of the college. There was no educational innovation prior to Wood. He developed an inter­ esting program which combined the finishing school curriculum with the practical education needed by the new role of women in business and society following World War I. Readers should find this book to be interesting reading. Crighton has made a needed contribution to the history of higher education in Missouri.

Drury College William E. Berger

The Cottey Sisters of Missouri. By Elizabeth McClure Campbell (Parkville, Missouri: Park College Press, 1970). 287 pp. Illustrated. Bibliography. Notes on Eads and Cottey Families. Not indexed. $6.68. The story of Virginia Alice Cottey and her sisters reflects the pattern of education for young women in the last half of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries in Missouri. The narrative begins with the decision in 1838 of the circuit-riding grandfather to move from Kentucky to Missouri and concludes with the return of the last of the sisters in 1949 to Cottey College to witness the inauguration of Dr. Blanche Dow as president. The author concentrates on the period from 1884 when Miss Cottey opened her seminary at Nevada, Missouri, to 1929 when she became president emeritus. Written by a daughter of one of the sisters, the account pro­ vides intimate glimpses into the life and thoughts of the five sisters who taught at Cottey and of the mother who exerted a strong influence on their lives. In a day when few women had careers other than homemaking, Alice, the oldest sister, determined to establish a school for young ladies. She saw herself as a second Mary Lyon and noted the parallels in their lives. Both had meager educations. Both had studied Latin grammar without a teacher. Mary Lyon was thirty-seven when she founded Mt. Holyoke. Alice was thirty-five when she persuaded citizens of Nevada to give land on which she built her school. Alice demon- 110 Missouri Historical Review strated imagination in financing her school through the sale of scholarships. Eighty dollars provided tuition for three years in the "Collegiate Department." Half that sum paid the tuition for the same period in the Primary Department. In the early years, the school was a family venture. The first catalog lists Alice as teacher of languages and ethics; her sister, Dora, as teacher of mathematics, elocution, and calisthenics; another sister, Mary, as teacher of painting, drawing, and principal of the Primary De­ partment with the only other teacher being Miss Olive Harrison, who taught vocal and instrumental music. The vision and the remarkable character of Virginia Alice Cottey Stockard is evi­ denced in the development of the seminary into an accredited junior college with a faculty of some distinction at the time of her retirement. The close relationship of the writer to the family makes for interesting disclosures, but at the same time leads to a partial view of events. For example, the author speaks of Cottey as taking front rank with educational institutions in the Midwest in 1909 (p. 201), an evaluation that seems questionable when the college was not yet accredited and many of its faculty had only slightly more education than the students. Perhaps interest in the family also motivates the inclusion of trivia that slows the pace of the story. Not only is Kate's concern about the making of her new underclothes chronicled, but all of Dora's wedding presents with the names of their donors are listed. Such details are often presented at greater length than incidents of more significance. Despite these defects, the book should appeal to a wider audience than alumnae of Cottey College and descendants of the Eads and Cottey families. It reflects much of the color of life and the development of an educational institution in the late nineteenth century. It is attractive in appearance and contains numerous illustrations.

University of Missouri, Columbia Frances L. McCurdy

Reluctant Servant, The Story of Charles G. Ross, by Ron­ ald T. Farrar (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1969). 255 pp. Illustrated. Footnoted. Indexed. $7.00. Charles G. Ross, by birth, employment and association, was a man of Missouri. The lines of his life stretched straight across Historical Notes and Comments 111 the state and on to Washington, D.C. Born in Independence, he was educated at the University of Missouri, worked for newspa­ pers in Columbia and St. Louis, and finally served as press secre­ tary to Harry S Truman. Ronald T. Farrar, associate professor of Journalism at Indiana University, has done a careful job of piecing together the life and influence of Ross. This book grew out of a Ph.D. dissertation Farrar completed at the School of Journalism, University of Mis­ souri, in the mid-1960s. The material was gathered long enough after Ross's death in 1950 to permit proper biographical perspective, yet soon enough to allow Farrar to interview many persons who had known Ross personally. The title "Reluctant Servant" refers to Ross's personality and his relationship with four powerful Missourians whose personalities overshadowed his own. These men were Walter Williams, O. K. Bovard, Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., and, of course, Truman. Each man recognized in Ross a characteristic of creative, yet placid intelli­ gence, and each man singled out Ross to serve as a trusted lieu­ tenant. It could be said that Ross accepted each job "reluctantly," unsure that he was the proper man for the position. His was a case of a "nice guy" always finishing second, rather than last. Ross worked his way through the University as a reporter on the Columbia Herald, edited by Walter Williams. When Williams undertook to esablish and direct the School of Journalism in 1908, he hired Ross away from the St. Louis Republic to become his first faculty member. The young newspaperman thereupon designed courses that later became models for other journalism departments, and he wrote one of the first journalism textbooks, many passages of which are still as valid today as they were sixty years ago. After ten years of teaching at the School of Journalism, he finally ac­ cepted a persistent offer by O. K. Bovard, immortal managing editor of the Post-Dispatch, to establish and head the St. Louis newspaper's Washington bureau. Ross's decision to leave the School of Journalism was a positive act, unlike so many others in his life, and it was precipitated by this incident: He had worked mightily on what he thought was a particularly good lecture, only to have it greeted by what he perceived to be classroom apathy, epitomized by one girl who sat on the front row "staring absently out of the window and munching from a sack of sticky candy." Ross finished the lecture, walked 112 Missouri Historical Review directly to the Western Union office and wired Bovard his acceptance. He was not an agressive newsman, but his articles and columns from Washington furnished sharp, sensitive insights into national politics. Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., was impressed enough with his per­ formance to bring him back to the Post-Dispatch as editor of the paper's editorial page. When Truman ascended to the presidency upon the death of Roosevelt, he asked Ross to serve as his press secretary. Although Ross and Truman had grown up together in Independence as good friends and classmates, there was irony in Truman's offer, for years before Ross had influenced the Post-Dispatch to oppose Truman as a candidate for the U. S. Senate. He had felt that Truman was not his own man in this case, but rather the tool of the Pendergast machine. In one editorial during that campaign, the Post-Dispatch had charged that bossism was elevating "an obscure man scarcely known outside the confines of Jackson County." Truman did not hold a grudge, and Ross, in turn, had come to admire Truman's performance as senator and vice president. Ross died in the White House, where he had been Truman's "reluctant servant" for more than five years. Farrar concludes that one of Ross's greatest contributions in that job was his moderating influence on the volatile personality of Truman. (It is interesting that Truman wrote his famous, intemperate letter to music critic Paul Hume less than 24 hours after Ross died.) A minor, annoying aspect of this publication is one of book design rather than book content. Quoted passages are not indented, and are set in a type size only an infinitesimal degree smaller than the regular body type. The result is frequent reader confusion. But this does not detract from the overall quality and lively writing style of Farrar, who has woven important aspects of Missouri his­ tory into this biography of one of the state's most sterling sons.

University of Missouri, Columbia Ralph L. Lowenstein

First Ladies of Missouri, by Jerena East Giffen (Jefferson City: Von Hoffman Press, 1970). 296 pp. Illustrated. Bibliog­ raphy. Indexed. $9.50. One of them rode about town in a carriage with gold harness and one of them insisted on shopping on foot for her own groceries. Historical Notes and Comments 113

Some were fashion plates and some were plain folk. Some presided over beautifully renovated mansions and others lived in woefully inadequate quarters. One even had to spread wet blankets on the roof to keep her house from being burned to the ground. Many of them knew tragedy and disappointment, but as Jerena East Giffen observes, "No first lady ever abdicated her title as wife of the chief executive of Missouri." Mrs. Giffen's book, First Ladies of Missouri, Their Homes and Their Families, is an absorbing and entertaining account of life in the Governor's Mansion, especially appropriate at this time of Missouri's 150th anniversary. It contains personal data on each of the 43 governors' wives plus the wives of the three territorial gov­ ernors whose terms preceded Missouri statehood. She has done a masterful job of research, not only into the lives of the individuals but into the manners and the times of each administration. One fact stands out. Each woman played a dual role, as the wife of the head of state and also as a private person with the problems of home, children—and husband. Mrs. Gif fen's narrative begins with an account of an Indian princess, daughter of the grand chief of the Missouris who danced for the court of the King of France. She was not exactly a first lady but certainly a feminine representative of the territory. The author sketches the history of Missouri under Indian, French and Spanish rule and recounts briefly the stories of the wives of terri­ torial governors, Ann Biddle, Mary Mason and Julie Hancock. The first wife of a governor after statehood was Marguerite de Reilhe who married Alexander McNair, the 1820 governor. Be­ tween his election and inaugural address, two of their children died of typhoid fever. Governor McNair himself died six years later and the young widow brought up their eight children, age two weeks to eighteen years. She had set high standards for other first ladies to follow. A Catholic, she brought together women of other religions and started the first organized charitable service in St. Louis, hold­ ing its meetings in the executive residence which was then in St. Charles. The next first lady, Nancy Ball Bates, also was widowed at a young age with three young children and a fourth expected. Two bachelors occupied the office of governor in succession and then the seat of office was moved to Jefferson City, a town which Dr. William Carr Lane described in a letter as "a cluster of short steep hills on the Missouri river with deep ravines—over a wide 114 Missouri Historical Review extent of which are scattered 3 brick buildings." One of these was the house which served as capitol and governor's manse. One of the early first ladies was the granddaughter of Daniel Boone, Panthea Grant Boone who married Lilburn W. Boggs. It was she who helped spread the wet blankets which saved the resi­ dence when fire destroyed part of the capitol and all of the early state records. Many families knew personal tragedy. One governor was al­ most assassinated and another ended his life. One governor died in office. The Crittendens lost a nine-year-old daughter. Mary and Alexander Dockery had eight children, all of whom died, six of them in infancy. But if there was sadness, sorrow, tragedy and accident, there also has been gaiety and fun and laughter in the house with the mansard roof. Some of the favorite oft repeated stories are rightfully retold in this book. There is the story about Caroline Crittenden who pressured her husband's poker playing cronies into setting aside their jackpots to buy a bell for her church. One of them later told her sadly that every time the bell tolled ding-dong, it sounded like jack-pot, jack-pot. All of the wives had to cope with domestic details and perform as purchasing agents. Eleanora Park, seated one night at Jerry Dalton's dinner table traced a mended spot on a tablecloth and recalled how she'd thought it an extravagance when she bought it for $35 but now, thirty years later, it seemed a good investment. Some of the women had quiet and simple tastes. Juanita Don­ nelly sewed the pearl beading onto her own inaugural gown. Hilda Donnell did her own grocery shopping. Many of the first ladies were gardeners and quite a few of them restored and refurbished the house, among them Mary Clarissa Honey Fletcher, Katherine Stark, Jerry Dalton and Betty Hearnes. The children were a lively lot who left their mark on the mansion, too. One favorite story is of B. Gratz Brown on his way to an important meeting. Looking back at the mansion, he saw his children precariously walking around the roof. Turning to his companion, he said, "Go on to the capitol while I go back and spank the children." Bringing the account up to date, Mrs. Giffen tells how Betty Hearnes, when her girls were smaller, occasionally left a dinner party to quiet the thumps from the trampoline overhead. Some first ladies have made history. Mrs. Hearnes for example, Historical Notes and Comments 115 sang the national anthem at the Democratic convention. Often, history has repeated itself. There was a governors' conference in Missouri in 1936 and there was one this year. Several governors' daughters, among them Henrietta Park, had their weddings in the mansion and this year it was the turn of Lynne Hearnes Sommerer. Distinctly different from one another, all Missouri first ladies have been a part of history and have made their contribution to it.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Clarissa Start Davidson

The Mourner's Delight St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 23, 1888. There is a cemetery near Carondelet which bears the quaint application of "The Widow's Acre." Probably no cemetery about St. Louis receives so much attention from that class of mourners as does this. They bring hundreds of quaint devices such as tokens to show that the memory of the "dear departed" is still fresh in their minds, and that it still claims some sacrifice from them. The graveyard is located at Bates and Gravois road, and such numbers of women in weeds alight from the South Sixth street cars, that a bus line is kept busy transporting them. The majority of these husband mourners, strange to say, are young women. Some of them are very pretty, and their rosy cheeks, bright eyes and smooth, plump forms almost belie the black robes in which the owners are arrayed, but which seem to enhance their charms to such a degree as to make it almost suspicious that they wear the sombre garb more for effect than anything else. But the groups are not wholly made up of hand­ some, buxom young widows; there are ugly, old widows and fat widows; monu­ ments of flesh, which must count a good deal in the mourning balance, because there is so much there to mourn; thin widows there are in plenty; in short every conceivable type of widow gets out at Bates and South Broadway. There are not wanting characters, either, or widows with histories. Some of their histories are of deep interest and full of sorrow, while not a few cases are pure affectation. Some go in little parties, and the moment the incumbent task of refreshing the little mounds is complete, refreshments are served, and it is a jolly party in black that starts on the return. Many of them, however, weep all the way to St. Louis. I have in mind a case where a young widow has been coming monthly for four years, accompanied by an aspiring lover. To­ gether they water and tend the grave of her husband, who died two weeks after the marriage ceremony. She insists upon postponing the wedding day, though the couple were engaged two years since.

A Use for Banana Peels St. Louis Chaperone Magazine, September, 1903. A good polish for tan shoes is to rub them with the inside of the peel of a banana, and when dry polish with a soft cloth. 116 Missouri Historical Review

BOOK NOTES

Bolivar King of the Hounds in the Kingdom of Callaway. By Hugh P. Williamson (Fulton: Hugh P. Williamson, 1969). 80 pp. Not indexed. $2.00. In this volume the author relates over 20 stories of unusual hunting dogs, almost all from the line of Bolivar. He tells of the famed Bolivar whose ghost may still be seen in the Kingdom of Callaway; Jeremiah, who killed the mad dog to protect the rest of the pack; Grendel, who saved little Meliss from the evil stranger; Raven, who rescued the tinker's daughter from the flood water; and many other heroic exploits. The hunting incidents mentioned in the book occurred in Callaway County between the mid-19th century and the early 20th century. Some were related to the author by Seth Robards, the resident of a remote section of the county. His original dialect is retained. As a hunter himself, the author has known many hunters and their dogs. The characters to which he refers in these reminiscent accounts had their living prototypes, although some of the stories are more legend than fact.

The Golden Years: 50th Anniversary Johnson County Historical Society, 1920-1970. Compiled by Mary Miller Smiser, edited by F. C. Eickleberg (Clinton, Missouri: The Printery, 1970). 151 pp. Illustrations. Maps. Not indexed. $2.50. The Johnson County Historical Society, organized in 1920, was reorganized in 1936 and reactivated in 1955. Organized on July 16, 1920, by Dr. C. H. McClure, professor of History at Central Mis­ souri State Teachers College during the centennial of Missouri's statehood, the society was reorganized December 13, 1936, at the time of the commemoration of the centennial of the organization of Johnson County and the founding of Warrensburg. With the reactivation of the society in 1955 interest was manifested in pre­ serving the historical heritage of the county. In 1956 a historical marker was placed at the site of Columbus, meeting place of the first county court. In 1964 the historic Old Johnson County Court- Historical Notes and Comments 117 house was purchased through volunteer gifts. Since the purchase the society has carried out a planned program of restoring and furnishing the structure in the style of the period in which it was built. In 1967 the society acquired a small cottage on the courthouse square which the following year was opened as a Pioneer Museum. The recent establishment of the Heritage Library in the City Hall insures the preservation of the valuable society archives, which for many years had been kept at the home of Mrs. Mary Miller Smiser. In recent years the Society has published a number of volumes on local history. They are listed, with prices, in this Anniversary Almanac. The most recent publication is the reprint of the 1881 Johnson County history. The Almanac is dedicated to the society's founders, the charter members, the contributors to the purchase and restoration of the Old Courthouse and to citizens and organizations, who have con­ tributed to the establishment and maintenance of the Old Court­ house, Pioneer Museum and Heritage Library. Mrs. Mary Miller Smiser, who for many years has been a leader in the work of the Society, compiled the Anniversary Almanac, edited by F. C. Eickle­ berg. The volume is easy to read because of the brief paragraphs and large-type headings and the format is attractive. The first chapter presents the history of the county, towns, early schools, colleges and churches, and of Pertle Springs, former popular health resort. The second chapter presents a chronology of the history of the county from 1877 to 1970. Although the headings of the chrono­ logical listings are "Dates in Missouri History," the majority of the dates apply to events in Johnson County history.

The Almanac has no formal organization. Chapter Three is entitled "Other Matters." George Graham Vest's "Eulogy to a Dog," a biography of Blind Boone, the noted Negro pianist, a description of the Old Courthouse windows, the history of Electric Springs, a recreational area at the turn of the century, and a collection of old-time recipes are among the diverse items included in the chapter. Rare photographs, maps and drawings enliven the text. The Almanac is an attractive and valuable publication. 118 Missouri Historical Review

Yesterday and Today: Aurora Centennial, 1870-1970. By the 1970 Centennial Committee. (Aurora, Missouri, Aurora Advertiser, Robert G. Lowry, publisher, 1970). 102 pp. Illustrations. Maps. Not indexed. $2.25.

The color cover of this centennial booklet is a montage of Aurora scenes. Color photographs of centennial scenes and the present city officials are included on the inside front cover page. Color photographs of modern homes and businesses, the Aurora High School "Houn' Dawgs," state Class AA football champions of 1969, the "Houn' Dawg" band at the Lions International Conven­ tion, Chicago, in 1968, and aerial photographs of Aurora are included in the back section. Primarily a pictorial history, many different phases of community life in both the past and the present are reproduced on an excellent quality of paper. A history of the town and a picture and biography of Stephen Elliott, founder of Aurora, enhances the historical interest. The booklet is dedicated to those who have been Aurora citizens during the past one hundred years. Maps of the former Aurora mining district and numerous photographs of mining machinery and miners at work are featured. Rare old photographs combined with those of the present day make this a valuable reference source for the community.

A Brief History of Lawrence County, Missouri, 1845-1970. By the Lawrence County Historical Society (Mount Vernon, Missouri, 1970). 144 pp. Table of Contents. Illustrations. Map. $2.50.

The soft-bound booklet, published by the Lawrence, County Historical Society, commemorates the 125th anniversary of the county. A brief history of the society, a description of the geogra­ phy, hydrography, climate, soil and mineral resources and a list of present county officials comprise the introduction to the volume. Articles on general history, Lawrence County government, educa­ tion, communications, religion and the history of water mills are included. Historical sketches of thirty-eight Lawrence County towns were written by Dan H. Stearns, Mrs. Douglas Miller, Der- ald Meyer, Leota Voorhies, Nolan Gunter, Fred G. Mieswinkel and Mrs. Joy Brown. A history of the Missouri State Sanitarium, Mount Vernon, a list of qualified voters of 1870, copies of a Civil War army discharge, an 1870 Missouri House of Representatives reso- Historical Notes and Comments 119 lution concerning a land dispute with the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad and an unofficial 1970 county census conclude the work. The society is to be commended for this cooperative effort.

Adams Township Centennial, 1870-1970; Weatherby, Missouri; August 21-22. By Adams Township Centennial, Inc. (Maryville: Rush Printing Co., 1970). 92 pp. Illustrated. $3.50. The 92-page centennial souvenir booklet contains histories of area businesses, organizations and maps. The history of churches, rural schools, cemeteries and 61 families makes up the major portion of this attractively illustrated booklet. Weatherby, a railroad town and center of the agricultural area, is the only town in Adams Township. It is located six miles east of the county seat, Maysville, on No. 6 Highway. In an attempt to write complete, accurate and informative history, the historical committee researched in the original church records and in courthouse and cemetery records, school minutes, abstracts, diaries of early settlers and old newspaper files, as well as the standard area and Missouri histories. Numerous rare old photographs illustrate the volume which may be purchased through the DeKalb County Historical Society, Maysville.

Pierce City Centennial, 1870-1970. By Miriam K. Brown. (Pierce City: Miriam K. Brown, 1970). 128 pp. Maps. Illustrations. Table of Contents. $2.35. Dedicated to the spirit of the pioneers and to present and future citizens of Pierce City, the booklet presents a comprehensive history of the diverse segments of the life of a local community. History and fiction are intermingled in the account of the first settlement in Clear Creek Valley at the site of present Pierce City. The author, a native of Pierce City, has related this story and others in the idiom of the people with whom she has had a long-time, first­ hand acquaintance. Throughout the work, details of social history, which could only have been noted by one who had lived in the community, enliven the carefully researched historical data. The organization of Lawrence County in 1854, the incorpora­ tion of Pierce City at the time of the building of the Southwestern branch of the Pacific Railroad in 1870 are described in detail. In 120 Missouri Historical Review

1869 Andrew Pierce, vice president of the railroad, offered settlers several sections of land if they would build the town at the spot where it is now situated and name it for him. At first the name was spelled "Peirce City." It was changed to "Pierce City" about fifty years ago. The history of churches, schools, newspapers, the Pierce City National Guard and community improvements is presented in the booklet. A capsule history of the Pierce City post office concludes the work. Better organization, more expert editing and the elimina­ tion of some of the group pictures which clutter the pages would have improved the volume, which is obviously the product of many years of careful research.

Grammatical Smoking Hannibal Missouri Courier, September 27, 1849. As smoking is an innocent indulgence and it is customary with people of all classes to relate the news of the day with cigars in their mouths, the fol­ lowing system is recommended: A single puff serves for a comma, Puff, puff, a semicolon; Puff, puff, puff, a colon: Six puffs, a period. A pause with a cigar kept in the mouth represents a dash—longer or shorter in continuance. With the under lip raise the cigar almost against the nose for an exclama­ tion! and to express great emotion, even to the shedding of tears, only raise, as before, the cigar to the end of the nose. For an interrogation? it is only necessary to open the lips and draw the cigar round the corner of the mouth. Taking the cigar from the mouth and shaking the ashes from the end is a conclusion of a paragraph. And throwing it into the fire is a final and stylish pause. Never begin a story with a half smoked cigar; for to light another while conversing is a breach of politeness.

It Pays to Advertise Sedalia Bazoo Monthly Magazine, June 1922. George Cohan, the greatest advertiser in the theatrical world, in discussing advertising recently, said: "When a duck lays an egg she just waddles off as if nothing had happened. When a hen lays an egg there is a whale of a noise: hence the demand for lien's eggs. Moral: It pavs to advertise," First Schools In Nodaway

[EDITOR'S NOTE. This article is a portion of a letter from P. J. Hainey of Barnard written on October 28, 1901, to the editor of the Maryville Nodaway Democrat.]

My father, James F. Hainey, with mother and the children, came from Pulaski county, Kentucky, and settled about three miles southeast of Guilford, in April, 1851. This was a new country, and thinly settled-land most all belonged to Uncle Sam. Scattering settlers had claims, but very few had entered land. No one supposed there was any hurry about procuring land, thinking seemingly, we would always be on the frontier. Although we had few neighbors they were true ones, and neighbors in the full sense of the word.

Schools were scarce and far between, with about a three months term each winter, held in a log cabin, with a large fire-place, often built of sod, and chimneys almost invariably of sod; the windows were without sash or glass, with only wooden shutters, made of rough native lumber to keep out the winters' cold blasts. The roof was generally made of clap-boards laid on ribs, and weighted down with poles. For writing desks two large auger holes were bored in a log of the building just under where a log had been sawed or chopped out. Large wooden pins were driven into these holes and extended inward from 12 to 16 inches, sloping downward from the window with a notch at inner end to keep the writing desk, or board, from slipping off onto the writers, who at a certain time (guessed at) each day occupied the desk which was from 12 to 15 feet in length. The hour for writing was the most enjoyable part of the day, especially among the larger girls and boys, for there their backs were to the teacher who was generally promenading over the room or hearing lessons of the smaller scholars. While at the writing desk many sweet missives and sweeter smiles, were passed. This was the shortest and pleasantest hour of the day, though it was guessed at by the teacher for neither he nor any

121 122 Missouri Historical Review

scholar had the time. But frequently this choice of hours failed the scholars, for if the cold and chilly wind happened to come in a direction to blow in at the writing desk window, writing for the day was dispensed with, for there were no glass windows there, only a long board of native lumber hung from the outside with leather hinges, which was let hang down so as to make darkness on that side of the room, then the door or other window shutters were opened for light in coldest weather. Some window or door must be opened for light all the time. But often other holes were made between the logs where the daubing had fallen out.

The floor was generally made of puncheons that often did not join up close, and through which the wind came whistling up. The seats were made of long puncheons, hewed on top side to a fairly smooth surface, with four auger holes in which pins were driven for legs. These benches were placed with end to the fireplace, extending towards the rear of the building. .An opening, or alley, three or four feet wide led up to the broad fireplace, that the teacher or a visitor might advance to the fire and warm his shins.

The first big boys that reached the school house in the morning were custom-bound to chop the back-log and other wood, if it had not been done during play hour the day before, and make a fire, and sometimes it nearly broke the heart, as well as the back, to carry the back-log in and get it placed properly.

We did not have much classing of scholars in recitations, and whoever got in the school house first in the morning, was entitled to recite first for the day, but if he did belong to a class he drew the whole class with him in his recitations of the day. The first at school also had choice of seats for the day— if the weather was quite cold he would choose the end of the bench next the jam. Custom of the girls was same in this respect as the boys. The girls and boys sat separately on each side facing the alley and each other, and were privileged to change seats on their respective sides every day, or as often as they pleased, provided their choice had not been taken for the day by an earlier scholar. I remember one morning seeing two big boys approaching the school house from different directions, and on the run as though life depended on who should enter first. One reached the doorstep with his tongue out, the other came up puffing behind and threw his hat over the first boy's head and into the school house, and claimed that his hat being first in it counted the thrower in, and by this claimed the right to choice of seats and to recite first. It ended in a fight and bloody noses. About this time the teacher came up and whipped both boys for fighting.

I have already said that recitations by large classes in that day was not the rule. One reason was, many scholars, on account of living so great a distance from school, or on account of work they must do at home, could not attend regularly, therefore could not keep up with scholars who were regular in attendance. So if a scholar missed a day from school he on returning must begin where he quit off, and was not allowed to skip up to his class, if he had one. However, if he studied well at home, and could stand the test by the teacher as to lessons not recited, he was passed up with the others. But, as the old lady said, every tub must stand on its own bottom, so every scholar must Historical Notes and Comments 123 learn each lesson himself, and was not allowed to skip over unknown ground. In the time I speak of children were taught the alphabet before they were expected to read, write, study geography or geometry. Scholars were not permitted to study more than two or three branches at the same time. When they had learned to spell the old Elementary book through and scarcely miss a word (which was no uncommon thing, for they were trained to spell), and were good readers, they might begin to cipher. By this time many of them were old enough to realize the necessity of "learning to cipher," and they did cipher for all there was in it, while in school, or by an old grease lamp at home of nights. Some of them ciphered through Pile's or Smile's old arithmetics in three months. I often wonder if such ciphering is done now in same length of time.

Common Nodaway folks at that time cared little whether a horse was a noun, verb or adjective, or whether London was in South Africa or elsewhere. But poor as the chance was many did learn something of what was taught— the most essential to people in all walks of life, to wit: spell, read, write and cipher well. . . .

Who Boiled the Eggs? St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 23, 1970. Hannibal, Mo. (AP)—Police in Hannibal are trying to crack two mysterious egg burglaries. Someone broke into the Bridge Cafe before it opened and boiled 30 eggs before he apparently was frightened off. The eggs were found hard boiled in buckets in the kitchen. The owners of the restaurant sold the hard-boiled eggs to a competitor, Marie's Cafe. The next day, someone broke open the windows of Marie's Cafe, put a skillet on the stove and started looking for eggs to fry. The intruder broke open nine eggs—all hard boiled—and apparently gave up. No money was taken in either entry.

Too Many St. Josephs Kansas City Star, December 4, 1965. St. Joseph—Too many St. Josephs and no way to go may have been included in the mixed feelings of a 16-year-old Kansas City youth who arrived here last night for a delivery of flowers at St. Joseph's hospital. But he had been crossed somewhere along the line. Much to his chagrin, he had arrived at the wrong St. Joseph's. The delivery was intended for St. Joseph's hospital in Kansas City. To add to his embarrassment he found he was low on gasoline and had no money to buy enough to return home. The disheartened youth found his way to the police station, where Lt. . . . Brown came through with a loan—permitting him to get his boss's car and the flowers back to Kansas City.

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llpV PRf**?' 4yfiX> W*£ JMEFs ••pwp , i ^fH^y I^MH K*»' Missouri Women •gl I $^P> yll ll^fcA.. M^qflJ?'! *< v IWiliii BE? In History ! •1M •HP ^H HHIIi^p^v j Kate Chopin jllllBlllf* *"*'•'' * "^ KIMI Kate Chopin, who had the insight, independence and sense of artistic form to write a great novel, was stopped mid­ way in her career because of the icono­ iMlli^B clastic views which she expressed in The Awakening, her last major work. Written two decades ahead of its time, the book Louisiana State Univ. Press was violently attacked by critics because of its amoral treatment of sexuality, di­ vorce and woman's urge for individual freedom. She was the first woman in America to write about the emotional life of her own sex with an un­ concern for the sacredness of the strict moral codes of the Gilded Age. The Awakening, published in 1899, was considered a scandalous piece of writing by the reviewers, although they praised the author's artistic genius. She had earlier achieved a national reputation as a local colorist through her in­ terpretations of Creole life in short stories published in leading magazines and later in the collections entitled Bayou Folk (1894) and A Night in Acadie (1897) . She stood alone among her contemporaries and after her death in 1904 she was almost forgotten. Born in St. Louis, February 8, 1851, she was descended on the maternal side from a French family and through her father from an Irish family. In June 1870, she married Oscar Chopin, a native of Louisiana, and lived in New Orleans and Natchitoches Parish. After her husband's death in 1882, she, with her six children, returned to make her home in St. Louis. She was then induced by her friends to take up writing. Although her first novel, At Fault, was amateurish, she soon developed a polished style from her study of the French literary masters. Her stories, written spontaneously and published with little revision, were noted for their characterization and simplicity of form. No biography of her was written until the publication in 1932 of Kate Chopin and Her Creole Stories, by Daniel S. Rankin. Thirty-seven years later Per Seyersted, assistant professor of American Literature at the Uni­ versity of Oslo, in a documented critical biography presented an analysis of her writings which places Kate Chopin in the forefront of pioneer American authors. Seyersted was also the editor of a 1969 complete edition of her works. Born under the sign of the Water-Bearer, in the Age of Aquarius Kate Chopin has received the recognition so long overdue.