USA > Arkansas > The aftermath of the civil war, in Arkansas > Part 21
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"Imagine our surprise, therefore, when on the 17th instant the locomotive with a train of cars and a num- ber of laborers arrived at the end of the track, and the work of taking up the iron was commenced,-the iron for which they have succeeded (I will not say with the connivance of the State authorities) in drawing from
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the public treasury of the State the sum of $750,000. Upon inquiry we were informed that the iron was to be taken up and laid on the Mississippi, Ouachita, and Red River Railroad,-possibly to draw another $750,- ooo from the plethoric and overflowing coffers of the State."
The facts in the case were that the Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and New Orleans Railroad Company's line from Pine Bluff to the Mississippi River ran all the way through the bottom lands of the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers, and the almost imperceptible grade admitted of light mo- tive power; hence lighter rails were used than were re- quired on the Mississippi, Ouachita, and Red River Rail- road, where in places the grades were considerable. The two roads had in New Orleans a joint agent, who had purchased and erroneously consigned the rails in question to the Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and New Orleans Railroad, upon which they were laid. It was only to correct this error that the rails were taken up and delivered to the company to which they belonged, and the proper rails substituted.
That story was used for all it was worth, and its cir- culation was persisted in for years after its thorough and complete refutation. And Mr. Fishback, the historian (?), rehashed it, when any investigation of the law would have disclosed its untruthfulness.
That the reader may understand the falsity of his charge in paragraph four,-that certain levee bonds were "fraudulently" issued to the Mississippi, Ouachita, and Red River Railroad Company,-I quote from the law relating thereto, which fully authorized such action :
"Any railroad company that shall construct a road- bed through any portion of this State which shall answer
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the purpose of a levee for the protection of any lands of the State from overflow, or shall cause the draining of the same by any continuous line of ditches, shall be entitled to receive an amount of the warrants of the Audi- tor, authorized to be issued by this act, equal in amount to the expense of protecting the same lands from over- flow by levees or drains made by the State, which amount shall be determined by the Commissioner of public works and internal improvements. " 11
As to the Chicot County Bonds mentioned by him, they, like others of a similar character, were issued under the provisions of the following act :
"The Board of Supervisors of any county is au- thorized and empowered to issue bonds of such county in any sum necessary, not greater than ten per cent, in- clusive of all other bonded indebtedness of the assessed value of the taxable property of said county, for the purpose of aiding in the construction of railroads, or other works of internal improvement." 12
Therefore this power was lawfully exercised by the county authorities.
His statement that "every road receiving State Aid was so crippled that its completion was delayed for years and that the State received only injury instead of benefit" is erroneous in each respect. On the contrary, it gave enormous impetus to the construction of railroads, re- sulting in the building by State Aid alone of 445 miles of road in five years, while it took the Democrats, after they came into power, with all their resources, eight years to build as many miles.
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MR. FISHBACK'S CHARGE OF "CARPET-BAGGERS" IN ARKANSAS
Mr. Fishback in the caption of his article charac- terized the Republican Rule in Arkansas as the "Carpet- Bag Era," and throughout his article in speaking of the Government and its officers he frequently used the ex- pression "carpet-bag" and "carpet-bagger." From the Century Dictionary I quote the following definition of the word "carpet-bagger":
"An opprobrious term applying properly to the class of adventurers who took advantage of the disorganized condition of the political affairs in the early years of reconstruction to gain control of the public offices and to use their influence over the negro voters for their own selfish ends."
I believe that this applies more nearly to the Ar- kansas conditions than the definitions given by any other dictionary, and therefore I shall adopt it as the basis for my discussion of the question.
The names of the officers who composed the so- called "Carpet-Bag Government" were obtained from the report of the Secretary of State, Ark., 1907-8;13 and I procured additional reliable data concerning them by extensive correspondence with old citizens of the counties or localities where they served. I have been careful to exclude all information that I did not consider suf- ficiently definite, and the results are presented in the fol- lowing general statements :
EXECUTIVE STATE OFFICERS
Governor .- Powell Clayton. When mustered out of the United States Army in 1865 he married one of Ar- kansas' daughters,-a young lady of Confederate par-
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entage,-and immediately thereafter purchased and set- tled on one of the largest plantations on the Arkansas River, having,-with his brother W. H. H. Clayton (who invested $5,000 in the venture),-paid therefor over $53,000 in cash. He continuously resided upon this plan- tation until ill treatment by his ex-Confederate neigh- bors became so pronounced as to cause him to take a po- litical stand for the preservation of his life and property.
Lieutenant-Governor .- James M. Johnson was a na- tive of Virginia, and he came from that State to Arkansas in 1836. When elected to office he was a physician prac- tising medicine in Madison County, Ark.
Secretary of State .- Robert J. T. White came to Ar- kansas from Virginia several years before the civil war.
Auditor of State .- James R. Berry was a native of Alabama, and he settled in Arkansas in the year 1841.
Treasurer .- Henry Page was an officer in the Union Army. He came to Arkansas during the civil war. When he was mustered out he decided to remain, and as early as 1866 he was engaged in the culture of cotton.
Attorney-General .- John R. Montgomery was a Northern man, and he settled in Arkansas at the close of the civil war.
Commissioner of Immigration and State Lands .- Dr. James M. Lewis came to Arkansas from Massachusetts as an Army officer; when mustered out he settled at Lit- tle Rock, engaged in the practice of his profession, and in 1870 was reported as being engaged in the building of a fine residence in Little Rock for his own use.14
Superintendent of Public Instruction .- Thomas Smith was a Northern man; he settled in Arkansas at the close of the war. I have no other reliable information con- cerning his settlement in the State.
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CIRCUIT SUPERINTENDENTS OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
I remind the reader that in Chapter X it is abundantly shown that the native Arkansan was entirely deficient in the qualities necessary to organize and manage the school interests of the State; hence, in the selection of these of- ficers I regarded efficiency and experience as outweigh- ing all other considerations. The result was that a ma- jority of them were Northern men, from such States as were renowned for the excellence of their public school systems.
Seven of the ten Circuit Superintendents were from the Northern States, but they had, however, settled in Arkansas prior to the enactment of the Reconstruction Measures. Of the other three, Major Chrisman had served throughout the war as an officer in the Confeder- ate Army. E. E. Henderson's nativity I am unable to state, but he settled in Arkansas the last year of the war and engaged in the real estate business. Rev. W. H. Gillam was a native of Arkansas.
THE JUDICIARY
W. W. Wilshire, Chief Justice, a native of Illinois, came to Arkansas as an officer in the Federal Army, and at the close of the war settled in Little Rock, where in partnership with Judge English he engaged in the prac- tice of law.
Associate Justice .- Thomas M. Bowen came from Iowa to Arkansas as the Colonel of a Federal regiment. During the last year of the war he retired from the service, married the daughter of a prominent Southern man of Van Buren, Ark., and engaged in agricultural pursuits.
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CIVIL WAR, IN ARKANSAS
Associate Justice .- Lafayette Gregg was a native of Alabama and settled in Arkansas in 1835.
Associate Justice .-- W. M. Harrison was a native of the State of Maryland; he came to Arkansas and lo- cated there in 1840.
Associate Justice .- John McClure was a native of Ohio. In partnership with his brother-in-law, Mr. Rice, then a Congressman from one of the Ohio Districts, he rented a large plantation on the Arkansas River in 1866, and engaged in the cultivation of cotton. Later he moved to Little Rock and purchased the home in which he has continued to reside until the present time.
Chancellor of Pulaski Chancery Court .- T. D. W. Yonley's nativity I do not know. However, he settled in Arkansas in 1859 and engaged in the practice of law.
Solicitor-General .- M. W. Benjamin was the Adju- tant of my old regiment, the 5th Kansas Cavalry. That regiment's term of service having expired before the close of the war, he was mustered out, then he located in Little Rock, and in partnership with his brother-in- law, B. F. Rice, engaged in the practice of law.
The large brick building nearly opposite the State House, known as the Benjamin Block, was built by him. He also built and owned a very handsome residence in the western part of the city-a residence which he occu- pied until his death, and which was the home of his fam- ily thereafter.
Before the war he was a citizen of Iowa, but the State of his nativity I do not remember.
JUDGES OF THE CIRCUIT COURT
Of the ten Circuit Judges six were originally from the North, but all settled in Arkansas before or at the close of the civil war. E. D. Ham's nativity is unknown
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to me, but he settled in Arkansas before the civil war. The remaining three were natives of the South and all settled in Arkansas between the years 1850 and 1852.
PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS
Four of the Prosecuting Attorneys were natives of the South, and one of them, Gen. E. W. Gantt, was at the close of the war a Brigadier-General in the Con- federate Army. The other three either came to Arkansas prior to or during the civil war. The nativity and set- tlement in the State of N. J. Temple, J. R. Page, C. B. Fitzpatrick, and D. D. Leach I have been unable defi- nitely to ascertain, but they all located in the State prior to the passage of the Reconstruction Measures of Con- gress. J. McL. Barton was a native of Maine, and he settled in Pine Bluff in 1867. W. A. Inman was a native of Indiana. I am not able to give the date of his settle- ment in the State except that it was prior to the enact- ment of the Reconstruction Measures.
THE SEVENTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The first General Assembly that convened after the passage of the Reconstruction Measures was composed of 104 members,-24 in the Senate and 80 in the House of Representatives. The Little Rock Gazette, of April 4, 1868, makes the following statement relative to the Senate: "One negro, a large number of Southern men, and a few Northern men compose the Senate."
For information relative to the House of Representa- tives, I give the following account from the Little Rock Republican, of July 16, 1868, the correctness of which has never been questioned :
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"CARPET-BAGGER
"In looking over the Roster of the Senate and House of Representatives, it occurred to us to apply a few figures to see how far the charge of 'Carpet-bagger' would be sustained thereby. A stranger in the country reading the Gazette alone would infer that the legislature was made up of a swarm of Yankees who had come down here crowding the 'decency,' respectability, and intelli- gence of the State to one side, took possession of the Government and were running the same without regard to the feelings of the aforesaid 'respectability,' 'decency,' etc. The roster before us contains the names of eighty members [the entire body] of the House of Representa- tives, with their nativity. Kentucky, 7; Ohio, 5; Mis- souri, 2; South Carolina, 2; New York, 3; Arkansas, 4; Tennessee, 20; Indiana, 6; Virginia, 1 ; New Hampshire, I; Georgia, 5; Pennsylvania, 4; Louisiana, I; District of Columbia, I ; Illinois, 3; North Carolina, 3 ; Alabama, 3; Vermont, 2; Massachusetts, 2; Michigan, I; Eng- land, 1; Canada, I; Germany, I. Occupations,-Law- yers, 6; Physicians, 7; Editors, 1; Farmers, 42; Mer- chants, 8; Ministers, 2; Saddlers, 1 ; Civil Engineers, I ; Machinists, I; Blacksmiths, 1; Miscellaneous, 10.
"Members from the Southern States, 48; Members from the Northern States, 27; Members from District of Columbia, I; Members from foreign countries, 3; showing almost two-thirds of the House natives of the Southern States. The average residence in the State is twelve years. What now becomes of the Gazette's, and other pro-rebel luminaries', charge of 'carpet-bagger,' as applied to the members of the present Legislature! Rather venerable 'carpet-baggers' it occurs to us,"
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THE EIGHTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
In the Senate of the 18th Legislature, which convened January 2, 1871, there were twelve members who had held over, and, with the exception of two negro mem- bers instead of one, it was practically of the same po- litical complexion as that given by the Gazette for the preceding Legislature.
The composition of the Lower House of the 18th Legislature, with its addition of nineteen Democratic members, no one of whom Mr. Fishback would charac- terize as a "carpet-bagger," goes to prove my assertions.
COUNTY OFFICERS
I now present an abstract showing the nativity of the officers in the sixty counties of the State, based upon such correct information as I have been able to obtain. The names of all these officers can be found in the Report of the Secretary of State, Ark., 1907-8.15 They were elected for a term of four years, but in some instances they served only two years, and were replaced by of- ficers who served the remainder of their terms, which accounts for there being a larger number of officers than there were counties.
JUDGES
Of the 64 county Judges, 15 were natives of Arkan- sas; 9 came to the State in childhood, 16 came prior to the civil war, 2 during the war, 6 immediately there- after, and 2 in 1867. As to the remaining 12, I have been unable to get reliable data, but 6 were from Demo- cratic counties and 6 from Republican.
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CIVIL WAR, IN ARKANSAS
CLERKS
Of the 67 county Clerks, 16 were natives of Arkansas, 5 came to the State in childhood, 13 came prior to the civil war, 6 during the war, 9 immediately thereafter, and 6 in 1867. Concerning the remaining 10 I have not been able to ascertain, but 6 were from Democratic and 4 from Republican Counties.
SHERIFFS
Of the 67 county Sheriffs, 20 were natives of Ar- kansas, 7 came to the State in childhood, 14 came prior to the civil war, 2 during the war, 6 immediately there- after, and 3 in 1867. As to the remaining 13 I have not been able to procure reliable information. However, 8 were from Democratic and 5 from Republican Counties.
TREASURERS
Of the 64 county Treasurers, 17 were natives of Ar- kansas, 12 came to the State in childhood, 13 came prior to the civil war, 3 during the war, I immediately there- after, and I in 1867. As to the remaining 15 I have no reliable information except that 9 were from Democratic and 6 from Republican Counties.
From the counties of Lafayette and Van Buren I have been unable to obtain reliable information concerning any of the county officers. The majority of the counties in which I am lacking in full information were Democratic. but it is not supposed that Mr. Fishback had in mind the officers of such counties when he spoke of "carpet- baggers."
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I would have the reader keep constantly in mind that the Democrats completely controlled the State Govern- ment from 1866 until the State Constitution was adopted under the Reconstruction Measures in 1868, a period of two years. Therefore the few officers above mentioned who came to the State as late as 1867 did so when the Democrats were in full power, and before the officers to be elected or appointed, together with their salaries and emoluments, had been fixed by the State Constitution.
With a very few exceptions, the Northern men who settled in Arkansas came there with the Federal Army, and during the period of their services in the State were so much impressed with its genial climate and great nat- ural resources as to cause them, when mustered out of the army, to make it their future home.
A number, like myself and my brother William, had contracted matrimonial ties.
Many of them had been away from home so long as practically to have lost their identity in the States upon the muster rolls of which their names were carried. These were the reasons that influenced their settlement in Arkansas at the close of the war rather than the existence then of any political expectations.
Perhaps the reader will think that I have devoted too much time to the refutation of a single person's asser- tions, but it should be understood that it is not only Mr. Fishback I am answering, but also the entire Democratic party, for which he was spokesman.
The things here discussed and many others of a simi- lar character have been told by the Democrats and so drilled into the masses of Arkansas that, in spite of their absolute falseness, many persons have come to believe them to be true.
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CIVIL WAR, IN ARKANSAS
THE SCARECROW OF NEGRO DOMINATION
From the following sample of the tabular form used in obtaining the foregoing information, it will be seen that it also requested the names of the colored county officials, if there were any. This illustration of the re- plies received gives the county officers of Pulaski, the Capital County of the State, and was furnished by Hon. H. L. Remmel, member of the Republican National Com- mittee, and Chairman of the State Central Committee.
Name
Office
White or Black
Nativity or Date of Immigration
Politics
Length of Service
David Reeve
Co. Judge
White
§ Michigan
1863
Republican 1868-1872
G. McDiarmid Co. Clerk
White
1865
Republican
1868-1872
W. S. Oliver
Sheriff
White
1865
Republican
1868-1874
John Reigler
Co. Treas.
White
Old Citizen
Republican 1868-1874
(Signed) H. L. Remmel.
Although Mr. Fishback does not mention Negro Domination in his publication,-or perhaps, more prop- erly speaking, negro balance of power,-the Gazette and other publications exhibited this scarecrow to the best advantage for their purposes. From the information ob- tained from the circulars sent out, and from other sources, it developed that two negro members of the Senate and about a half dozen of the House were all the negro office- holders in the State, except a few below the rank of County Judge, County Clerk, Sheriff, and Treasurer.
When you remember that the Census of 1870 shows that the ratio of the negro population in Arkansas was only twenty-five per cent. of the entire population, it will be seen how groundless the charges were of threatened negro domination, and when you consider how utterly
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helpless the negro population was as to educational fa- cilities, labor conditions, money, and arms, and espe- cially when you consider the terribly repressive efforts of the Ku Klux nightriders, it is not saying much for the chivalry of Arkansas to talk of Negro Domination !
To show the real purposes of the Ku Klux Democracy, I quote the following from the Gazette, of August 8, I868 :
Things have come to such a pass that it be- hooves the white people of the country to consider reso- lutely how the danger which threatens them is to be met, and it is not out of place to recommend to the ne- groes the consideration of their perilous situation, if they continue to act upon the counsels of their wicked advisers. In this connection we cannot say anything more to the point than to adopt and re-publish the following extract from an article in the Richmond Inquirer :
" 'Are we then indeed to have a war of races? Then let us prepare for it! We sound the note of warning to the people and bid them be on the alert. Preparation may be prevention, but if in spite of preparation the con- flict be precipitated upon us, it can have but one conclu- sion. The negro element in the South is like a gangrene upon the body politic, and the first drop of blood shed in a servile war will be the signal for the extermination of the whole race. The white men of the Southern States will not always permit their land to be the scene of the successive depredations of Yankee bummers, carpet-bag- gers, and truculent negroes, and they must some day be relieved of the horrible ills which for years they have patiently borne. .
" 'The South wants peace, and if it is now to be re- quired to wade through a sea of blood to reach it, the sooner commenced the sooner ended.' "
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In other words, the Democrats used this unsupported charge of Negro Domination, for all it was worth. to play upon the timidity and helplessness of the negroes by threats of extermination, and to justify their extreme Ku Klux outrages upon them. I hope the reader will not lose sight of the fact that this article from the Gazette was published in the midst of the very exciting and bloody presidential campaign of 1868, and was clearly intended so to terrify the negro voters as either to cause them to remain at home on election day or to vote the Democratic ticket.
The information I have set forth as to the negro office-holders in the State is corroborated by a speech de- livered by a prominent colored Democratic orator, of which the Gazette, in its issue of September 27, 1868, gives the following report :
"THE SPEAKING
"As we announced in Saturday's issue, John F. Har- ris, of Tennessee, the colored orator, who has recently been making a tour through the northeastern part of the State, where he has been doing good work for the Democracy, addressed a crowd of about 2,000 people,- white and colored,-in front of Theatre Hall, on Friday night. .
"He reverted to the fact that not a single colored man had been appointed to any office of honor, trust, and profit in the State. . . " "
The fact is that the negroes generally were not clam- oring for offices. They only wished to be unmolested. and they were always for peace. This is shown from the following facts: When the Democrats came into power in 1874 there were eight counties along the Mis-
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sissippi River,-where the large plantations were located, --- in which the negro population was largely in the ma- jority. In those counties it would have been possible to elect a large percentage of negroes to office. But this would have seemed to justify the Democratic charge of negro domination and would have furnished them an excuse for Ku Klux depredations. Therefore it was con- sidered more desirable to enter into a compromise.
The plan was to have the Republicans and Demo- crats hold their Conventions on the same day and each appoint a committee of conference to nominate a ticket which would divide the county offices equally between the two parties, and over which there would be no contest.
I was visiting my brother John on my plantation when the question was brought up, and I advised him to adopt the plan. The Democrats gladly agreed to the compromise, and it was applied to all the negro counties, except perhaps Phillips.
This agreement was honorably kept by the negroes, and because of the existence of the Enforcement Act, which protected the negroes in their rights, it was also kept by the Democrats.
But the day came when, through some evil influence, this Enforcement Act was repealed by Congress. Did the Democrats continue to respect the agreement that during all these years had been unbroken by the negroes ? To their discredit, they did not! With one accord, re- gardless of every consideration of honor, they seized every office in sight.
FOOTNOTES FOR CHAPTER XIII
1 Publications of the Arkansas Historical Association, Vol. I, P. 319.
2 Information was obtained from the War Department, Washington, D. C.
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3 Described in Chapter II.
4 Letter in my possession from Treasury Department, Wash- ington, D. C., under date of March 17, 1914.
5 See pp. 358-360.
6 On file in Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.
7 See "Why the Solid South, or Reconstruction and Its Re- sults," Chapter XI, Arkansas, pp. 294-295.
8 Published in Memphis Evening Post, January 8, 1869.
º Dated June 3, 1913.
10 Arkansas Laws, 1868, p. 151, Sec. 6.
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