History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 41

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 756

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HISTORY OF ALABAMA

With the constant growth of the executive branch of the state government, by the estab- lishment of new departments, commissions and boards, there was further urgent demand for adequate space in which to transact pub- lic business. The legislature therefore Feb- ruary 17, 1903, "for the extension, enlarge- ment, or improvement of the present state capitol building; for the acquisition of addi- tional grounds, for the erection or acquisi- tion of any necessary additional building or buildings for the use of the state, and the furnishing of the same," made an appropri- ation of $150,000. A commission consisting of the governor, the attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor, secretary of state, with the director of the department of ar- chives and history as secretary, ex officio, was appointed to determine what extensions, en- largements, improvements, grounds and new buildings should be erected or acquired. The attorney general was required to represent the state in any condemnation proceedings which might be necessary in securing grounds or lands. It was provided further that if "a new building is to be erected or extensive alterations are to be made for the accommo- dation of the supreme court and library," the chief justice and the associate justices should constitute a part of the commission "for the determination of the plans and specifications for such buildings or improvements." The commission organized on June 28, 1904. Steps were at once taken to purchase the south end of the capitol square, then in pri- vate hands. However, an agreement could not be reached, and the attorney general filed condemnation proceedings. Later as a result of several conferences an agreement was reached whereby the sum of $65,000 was paid to the several owners, and thus on - 1905. the state finally came into full possession and ownership of the en- tire plot of ground, constituting what is known as the capitol square. The buildings were removed by the owners, and the grounds filled in and properly laid out. The commis- sion, after many conferences and much inves- tigation. decided upon the erection of a south wing. The architect chosen was Frank Lock- wood, of Montgomery. Upon his advice and that of Charles F. McKim, of the firm of McKim, Mead and White, architects of New York City, who appeared before the commis- sion at the capitol, it was decided that the old capitol building should not be disturbed, and that the addition, proposed to be erected, should in all respects be in correct architec- tural form and proportion, and subordinate to the central or original structure. The contract was let on April 18. 1906, and the work was completed in the fall of 1907. To the south wing were assigned offices for the attorney general. state auditor, and superin- tendent of education, on the first floor; and on the second floor to the department of agri- culture and industries. the department of archives and history and the state tax com- mission. With the erection of the north wing later the offices of the attorney general and the state tax commission were changed.

Still additional enlargements were called for, and on April 13, 1911, an appropriation of $100,000 was made. The several officers, named as commissioners ex officio under the act of 1903 were continued as commissioners under the new act. The commission organ- ized April 27, 1911. Under its direction the north wing was constructed, and the halls of the senate and house of representatives, and various of the rooms and halls of the old building were overhauled and repaired. Floor coverings, screens, shelving and improve- ments in wiring and lighting were provided for the supreme court, the offices of the judges and the library. To the north wing were assigned the offices of the governor and of the secretary of state, on the first floor, and on the second floor the adjutant general, banking department, examiners of accounts, highway department, game and fish depart- ment, state prison inspector and state board of equalization. The old governor's offices were assigned to the attorney general, and the board of convict inspectors was given the old rooms of the secretary of state, both on the first floor of the original building.

See Cahaba; Constitutional Amendments; Governor; Huntsville; Impeachments; Keeper of the Capitol; Legislature; Montgomery; Offices and Officers; St. Stephens; Secretary to the Governor; Tuscaloosa.

REFERENCES .- Constitution, 1901, secs. 48, 78, 115, 118, 122, 133, 134, 141, 173, 193, 277, 284; Toulmin, Digest (1823), index; Code, 1907, secs. 552, 553, 555, 558, 559, 562, 563-566, 793, 2058, 2059, 2429; Acts, 1824-25, p. 136; 1825-26, pp. 12, 88; 1826-27, pp. 3, 5, 115; 1827-28, pp. 8, 10; 1829-30, pp. 14, 76; 1830-31, pp. 3, 70; 1832-33, p. 18; 1844-45, p. 208; 1845-46, pp. 28, 243; 1847- 48, p. 439; 1849-50, pp. 140-141; 1872-73, pp. 129, 534, 536; 1884-85, pp. 177-178; General Acts, 1903, p. 57; 1911, p. 412; House Journal, 1886-87, pp. 164-165; State Capital Commission, Reports, July, 1907, and Sept., 1915; Pickett, History of Alabama (Owen's ed., 1900) ; Hamilton, Colonial Mobile (1910), pp. 438, 467; Alabama Historical Society, Transactions, vols. 2 and 3, index under Cahaba and St. Stephens; Alabama History Commission, Report (1901), pp. 87-92; Garrett, Public Men in Alabama (1872), pp. 416, 460; Brewer, Alabama (1872), p. 208; James B. Simp- son. Alabama State Capital-an Historical sketch, 1898; and John H. Wallace, Jr., The Alabama State Capital, 2nd ed. (1917).

CAPITOL, KEEPER OF THE. The secre- tary to the governor is ex officio the keeper of the capitol. The duties of the office re- quire him "to take care of the capitol, the grounds, inclosures, furniture, and all other property of the State on the premises under the general control and supervision of the governor; and also in the recess of the legis- lature, to have the apartments that are not regularly used and occupied, and the public entries, walls, and stairs in each story well cleaned and ventilated." These requirements are regarded merely as a general part of his duties of secretary, and no distinction is ob- served in their performance. In actual ad- ministration, the duties of the governor with

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regard to repairs or alterations, the purchase of furniture and supplies, the disbursement of the appropriations "for repairing and re- furnishing the capitol buildings and grounds," and the supervision of the servants employed for the capitol, are all actually performed by the secretary, or under his direction.

The secretary of state was made the first custodian of the "statehouse and furniture" by act of January 1, 1823. Prior to that date it is presumed that the governor, as chief executive and representative of the State, as- sumed responsibility. In the revision of the penal code under act of January 9, 1841, it was made a misdemeanor to deface the walls of the statehouse by willfully writing or drawing figures or characters thereon; and it was made "the duty of the person to whom the charge of the statehouse shall be committed by the legislature, or if there be no such person appointed, it shall be the duty of the private secretary of the governor, to cause this section to be printed and placed, and at all times to he kept upon the wall, in at least six public places, in the statehouse."

The care of the capitol remained under the secretary of state until the act of January 9, 1852, which designated the private secretary of the governor as "Keeper of the state house," with an annual salary of $150. The secretary continues the performance of the duties as above outlined, but the special com- pensation was abolished in 1903.

The act of September 10, 1915, constituting the secretary to the governor as purchasing agent, contemplates a careful record of all office furniture, fixtures and supplies in all offices, departments, commissions, bureaus and boards, and in the rooms or apartments of the supreme court, the court of appeals, the State and supreme court library, and of the judges and officers of the courts. The secretary is required to keep an inventory of the foregoing on file in his office, and it is made his duty annually to visit the offices, and to check over the furniture, etc., actually on hand, by the inventories.

No publications.

See Governor; Purchase, State Board of; Secretary to the Governor.

REFERENCES .- Toulmin, Digest, 1823, p. 538; Clay, Digest, 1843, p. 417; Code. 1907, secs. 558-560; Acts, 1840-41, p. 127; 1851-52, p. 38; General Acts, 1915, pp. 372, 937.

CAPITOL BUILDING COMMISSION, THE ALABAMA. See Capitals, The State, under side-title "Capitol Extension."

CAPITOLS. See Capitals, The State.

CARBON HILL. Post office and incor- porated town in the northwestern part of Walker County, on the St. Louis & San Fran- cisco Railroad, about 15 miles west of Jasper. Altitude: 422 feet. Population: 1890-568; 1900-830; 1910-1,627. It was chartered by the legislature, February 14, 1891, with mayor and aldermen, and corporate limits "commencing three hundred feet south of the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Rail-

road to the southeast corner of the said town as platted and surveyed by the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad Com- pany, thence north to the northeast corner of said plot, thence went to the northwest corner of said plot, thence along said section line three hundred feet south of railroad, thence parallel with said railroad to the place of beginning." It has the Citizen's Bank (State), and the Carbon Hill Journal, a Democratic weekly, established in 1913. Its industries are coal mining, sawmills, and general stores.

The town is located in one of the richest deposits in the Alabama coal fields, and takes its name from this circumstance. It was projected in the eighties by the Pratt Con- solidated Coal Co., and the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad Co., as an industrial community. Mining was carried on in a rather primitive fashion, until the property passed into the hands of the Gal- loway Co. At present there are several large corporations in the field whose mines are all operated by electricity, and equipped with modern appliances.

REFERENCES .- Armes, Story of coal and iron in Alabama (1910), pp. 497-498, 500, 501; Ala- bama Official and Statistical Register, 1915.

CARNEGIE LIBRARIES. See Libraries.

CARPETBAGGER. term applied by native citizens of the South to those persons who came from other parts of the country during the War and Reconstruction periods for the purpose of exploiting the States and the people, taking advantage of the disturbed economic, social, and political conditions to gratify their own ambition for political pre- ferment, especially for the holding of lucra- tive offices. Such persons brought with them few possessions, and those few usually were contained in a small satchel, or carpetbag. The peculiar significance of the epithet con- sists in its allusion to this circumstance. The first use of the term to characterize these un- encumbered visitors to the South has been variously credited; to the Montgomery Ad- vertiser, among others. It is not certain who first used the term to apply to northern men temporarily resident in the South; but it is known that it originated before the War, and was applied to the promoters of wildcat hank- ing schemes in the Western States. In the South the expression frequently was some- what loosely used, often being applied to all the northern people who came South during the 10 years following the War. When used with discrimination it signified only those per- sons formerly resident in the Northern States, who came to southern neighborhoods for purposes of exploitation or spoliation. Both in its early and its later usage it was a term of opprobrium. There was quite a large number of such undesirable accessions to the State's population during the latter part of the War and the first few years after its close, although it is not likely that Ala- bama suffered more in this respect than other Southern States.

One of the most conspicuous traits of the

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carpetbagger was an Intense desire to hold public office, and he usually lost no time in busying himself to secure appointment or election. Adopting the readlest and the most certain means to that end, he appealed to race prejudice, using the ignorance and gul- libility of the freedmen to obtain an influence over them which could be made to count in politics. Having no interests in common with the native whites, he frequently went to ex- treme lengths in cultivating negro friendships In the effort to secure political power and financial gain. The activities of these adven- turers, most of them discredited and without standing in the communities from which they came, Increased the friction between the races, whose relations were already tending to become somewhat strained. The southern people resented the interference of these in- terlopers, and regarded them with growing suspicion and dislike. There was only one other class of persons held in such contempt -the scalawag, or native renegade, who, to serve his private ends, or to obtain revenge for fancied slights or wrongs, sided with the carpetbaggers and negroes.

It was generally believed in the South that the negroes, had they been left to themselves, would have given little trouble; and the new relation of employer and employee soon would have been so adjusted as to run as smoothly as had the old relation of master and slave. The carpetbagger sought to prevent this, and constantly stirred up suspicion and hostility between the races, telling the negro that his former master only awaited a favorable oppor- tunity to restore slavery, and that he should look to his friends of the political party which had emancipated him for advice and guidance in his political and personal affairs. The southern people accepted the result of the War, but they realized nevertheless that since the races must live together, they must live peaceably; and they resented the interference of aliens, particularly when it resulted in stirring up conflict between the negroes and the whites.

Much interesting information was elicited from witnesses before the Congressional Ku Klux Committee concerning the precise sig- nificance attaching to the term carpetbagger as used by southern people. There was al- most unanimity in the opinion that it was applied to the adventurer from the North, who obtained office, or undertook to do so, by arraying the negroes against the whites. There was equal unanimity of testimony to the effect that the term did not apply to northern men of character and respectability, who came to live in the South, and identified themselves with the best interests of the com- munity. However, the epithet was often used, particularly in the heat of political con- tests, to stigmatize persons of opposing political opinions who in no wise deserved it, for there was quite a large number of north- ern men who remained In the South and became valuable citizens in every respect. But the carpetbagger, properly so called, demonstrated the appropriateness and the precision of the characterization by leaving

the State very promptly upon the restoration of white supremacy in 1875.

Political Activity .- As a result of the disfranchisement of large numbers of the native citizens of Alabama, especially the more influential men, most of whom had been in some way identified with the Confederacy, the carpetbaggers found it easy to secure political power and install themselves in office. The personnel and character of the conven- tlon which met in 1867 to frame a new State constitution is thus described by Hon. Hilary Herbert:

"The convention to frame a new constitu- tion met on the 5th of November, 1867, and It was a remarkable assemblage. Some of its members were Alabamians intent on the best government that might be possible; many were negroes, for the most part densely ignorant, and many were Northern men, who, having failed in life at home, had come South to seek their fortunes in politics, carrying all their worldly goods in grip-sacks-'carpet- bags.' In a Democratic newspaper, the place of nativity of ninety-seven out of a hundred members of the convention purports to have been given; thirty-one of them being from Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Penn- sylvania, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Canada and Scotland. An over- whelming majority of the constituency of this convention was colored, and it had not been long in session before it became quite clear that the blackman's party was in control.

Likewise a majority of the members of the legislature in 1868 were carpetbaggers, scala- wags and negroes. It was this legislature which proved so friendly to the internal- improvement schemes out of which grew the notorious railroad bond-endorsement frauds. During the next four years, the carpetbagger politicians, with their allies the negroes, by their wasteful policy and extravagant expen- ditures, cost the State of Alabama many mil- lions of dollars. However, in this respect Alabama probably suffered less than some of the other Southern States, notably South Carolina.

As Officeholders .- One of the ways In which the disturbing influence of these alien poli- ticians was most keenly felt by the native whites, was in the administration of the judi- cial system. Carpetbaggers obtained many places on the Alabama bench as well as ap- pointments to Federal judgeships in the State. In these positions they had peculiar oppor- tunities to make themselves obnoxious to the whites, in the adjudication of the numerous petty suits which the negroes were constantly encouraged to bring against the white planters, merchants, and others with whom they had business dealings. In some cases the testimony of negroes of the lowest type outweighed that of one or of several of the most respectable white citizens of a com- munity. The carpetbagger judges seemed to believe that the negroes were helpless, and must be protected against the aggressions of their former masters who would voluntarily respect none of their rights. One of the

GRAVE OF GOV. JOHN SEVIER AT FORT DECATUR, NEAR MILSTEAD, MACON COUNTY, ALA., BEFORE REMOVAL OF REMAINS TO KNOXVILLE, TENN., GOV. ROBERT L. TAYLOR AND STAFF OF TENNESSEE, LEFT; GOV. THOMAS SEAY AND STAFF OF ALABAMA, RIGHT, 1888

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carpetbagger members of the Federal bench who attained considerable prominence in Ala- bama was Judge Richard M. Busteed. Others also attained conspicuous positions. For ex- ample, both the United States Senators elected in 1868, had formerly been residents of the North. Senator Willard Warner was a native of Ohio, from whence he came to Alabama in 1867. Just before leaving Ohio he had served as a State senator. Senator George E. Spencer was born in New York, coming to Alabama in 1867 to serve as register in bank- ruptcy. Both these men were called carpet- baggers. In his testimony before the Ku Klux Committee, Col. William M. Lowe, of Huntsville, gave Senator Spencer as authority for the statement that Senator Warner was a carpetbagger of the worst type, and said that William H. Smith, a former governor of the State, had issued a sworn statement to the effect that Senator Spencer was a carpetbag- ger in its most opprobious significance.

In Congress .- Of the 18 terms as Repre- sentative in Congress from Alabama, 1868 to 1873, 8 were filled by men who not only were not natives of the State, but had come into its borders since the close of the War. These eight terms were served by six representa- tives, Charles W. Buckley having been twice reelected. He was a native of New York, coming to Alabama in 1868 as state superin- tendent of education for the Freedmen's Bureau. In 1867 he was one of the delegates selected under military supervision for the constitutional convention, and was afterward elected by the Republicans as Representative in Congress. F. W. Kellogg, who served as Representative in the Fortieth Congress, was a native of Massachusetts. He had held office in Michigan before coming to Alabama, as collector of internal revenue in 1866, and was elected to Congress by the Republicans in 1867. Benjamin W. Norris was a native of the State of Maine, where he had held several offices before enlisting as paymaster in the Union Army. After the War he became a planter in Alabama, was one of the delegates to the constitutional convention of 1867, and was elected as a Republican Congressman in the same year. Charles W. Pierce was a native of New York, later moving to Illinois, where he enlisted in the Volunteer Infantry. He remained in Alabama at the close of the War, and held various public offices, among others that of Representative to the Fortieth Con- gress, to which he was elected as a Democrat. John B. Callis also was a native of New York, from whence he moved to Tennessee and later to Wisconsin. There he entered the Union Army. After the War he took up his residence in Huntsville, and was elected as a Republican to the Fortieth Congress. At the expiration of his term he returned to Wis- consin, and served there as a member of the State assembly, but later returned to Hunts- ville where he died. Alfred E. Buck was a native of the State of Maine. He served dur- ing part of the War as a lieutenant colonel of colored troops. After being mustered out of service at Baton Rouge in 1866, he came to Alabama and was one of the delegates to

the constitutional convention of 1867, subse- quently being elected as a Republican Repre- sentative in the Forty-first Congress. He also held several other Federal offices, and served as minister to Japan by appointment of President Mckinley.

See Reconstruction; Scalawags.

REFERENCES .- Committee on Affairs In Insur- rectionary States, Report on Ku Klux conspir- acy, Alabama testimony (H. Rept. 22, 42d Cong., 2d sess.); Herbert, Why the solid South! (1890), pp. 29-69; Fleming, Civil War and Re- construction in Alabama (1905), pp. 517, 530, 738, 749, 754, 761, and carpetbag and negro rule, 571, et seq .; and Documentary history of Re- construction (1906), Vols. 1 and 2, passim; New International Encyclopedia; Mclaughlin and Hart, Cyclopedia of American Government.

CARROLLTON. County seat of Pickens County, in the central part of the county, on the main line of the Alabama, Tennessee & Northern Railroad and on the old stage- coach road from Columbus, Miss., to Mont- gomery. It is 1 mile from Lubbub Creek, 10 miles east of Tombigbee River, 30 miles southeast of Columbus, Miss., 40 miles north of Eutaw. Population: 1872-400; 1888- 500; 1900-278; 1910-444. The town was incorporated by the legislature, January 15, 1831, with limits extending 1 mile in every direction from the courthouse. It is now operating under the municipal code of 1907. Its present corporate limits extend 660 yards in every direction from the courthouse. It has privately owned electric light plant, 4 miles of cement sidewalks, constructed in 1914, and public schools. Bonded indebted- ness: $4,400 issued in 1908, for schools, run- ning 20 years, with option of payment in 10 years, and interest at 5 per cent .. Tax rate: 5 mills. Its banking institution is the Bank of Carrollton (State). The West Alabamian, a Democratic weekly, established in 1849, the Pickens County Herald, a Democratic semi- weekly, established in 1904, are published there. Its industries are a planing mill, a cotton gin, a gristmill, a sawmill and planing mill, and a cotton warehouse. It has a public high school and graded schools; and Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches. There is a park and playground consisting of 2 acres, and containing a fine mineral spring.

In 1830, the United States Government gave the commissioners of Pickens County 80 acres of land on which to establish a county seat. Carrollton was built upon this land and named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the Maryland signer of the Declaration of Independence. Among the first settlers were the Van Hoose, Stansel, Stone, Clitherall, Lanier, Davis, Martin, Hill, and Johnston families. Samuel B. Moore, governor of the State in 1831, after the expiration of his term of service, came to Carrollton, and here he died. His remains lie in an unmarked grave in the town cemetery. The Confederate hero, Gen. John Herbert Kelly, killed at the Battle of Franklin, Tenn., was born in Carrollton.

REFERENCES .- Acts. 1830-31, pp. 48-50; Brew- er, Alabama (1872), p. 500 et seq .; Smith,

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Pickens County; Armes, Story of coal and iron in Alabama (1910), pp. 34-55; Northern Ala- bama (1888), p. 213; Polk's Alabama gazetteer, 1888-9, p. 252.

CASISTE. An aboriginal village, probably located on the site of Cahaba, the first State Capital of Alabama, just south of the influx of the Cahaba into the Alabama River, and on the west side of the latter. De Soto ar- rived at this place on October 5, 1540. It is referred to by one of the chronicles as a "small village by the river" (the same river on which Tallasi was located); and by an- other, as a "large town." Numerous evi- dences of occupancy are to-day found one-half mile south of the point where the old State Capitol stood, now on the plantation of Cliff Kirkpatrick of Cahaba. This town was in the province of Talisi, and on the road from that point to Mauvilla.

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History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 41

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869- Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 756

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 756