USA > Arkansas > The aftermath of the civil war, in Arkansas > Part 3
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the very agencies that sought to perpetuate it. Indeed 'There is a Divinity that shapes our ends, rough hew them as we may!' I thank God that the work is done, -that the long agony is over,-and that the represent- atives of the people are again permitted peaceably to assemble within the legislative halls of the State under the starry flag of that country that is now indeed and in truth 'The land of the free and the home of the brave.'
"The duties and responsibilities that you have assumed are most difficult and grave. Much is expected of you. The eyes of the friends of civil liberty every- where are fixed anxiously upon you. Many of your hon- orable body have risked your lives upon the battlefield in the service of your country. All have, perhaps, sacri-
ficed much in the same cause. The people will expect you to show the same devotion for the public welfare in the future as you have in the past. With the passions, prejudices, and animosities that have grown out of the civil conflict through which we have passed we should have nothing to do, except to provide for and encourage their allayment. Selfish motives and individual interests should be laid aside, and a desire to promote the public welfare should prompt every official action. An indus- trious and careful application should be given to the public service that undue and hasty legislation may be avoided. In the appropriation of the public funds true economy should be observed, as distinguished from a mean and niggardly policy.
"The evils of past legislation should be at once cor- rected and immediate steps should be taken to preserve the public peace and enforce the laws. The body poli- tic has been prostrated by a terrible malady, and rest and careful nursing are required for a time before the great work of development can be undertaken. In our present weak, disordered, and impoverished condition. is there not danger of too much legislation? After re- pairing and remodeling such parts of the intricate ma-
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chinery of state government as are known to produce friction, let us put it in motion and carefully note its ac- tion. A practical test will doubtless suggest much that theory might overlook or misapply.
"I respectfully suggest that after making such en- actments as the present demands and the new order of things require you take a recess until after the fall elec- tions. This will enable you to act upon the submission of the question to the people of loaning the credit of the State for the encouragement of railroads, to which your attention will hereafter be more fully invited; will permit such of your honorable body as are engaged in agricultural pursuits, upon the success of which so much depends, to give your personal attention to your crops at this critical season, and will enable you to confer with your constituents and properly investigate the great ques- tions of public policy that will require action upon your re-assembling. Should Providence bless us with abundant crops, as the prospects now indicate, and peace and good order be restored to the State, we may safely commence the grand march of improvement.
"Believing that you will adopt this course, I now propose to call your attention to such measures as, in my judgment, require immediate action.
MILITIA
"The fathers of the republic have declared and ex- perience has proved that 'The bulwark of our liberties is our citizen soldiery.' Under the peculiar circumstances of the present, the public safety absolutely demands that you should proceed at once to provide for an efficient and well-disciplined militia. The military force should, in my opinion, be composed of two classes. The first class should embrace such able-bodied electors and young men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one as vol- untarily uniform themselves and offer their services to the State, to be officered, organized, and armed under the
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direction of the commander-in-chief. The second class should embrace all able-bodied electors not organized in the first class, who should be enrolled, and at the dis- cretion of the commander-in-chief, organized and armed.
REGISTRATION AND ELECTION LAWS
"The constitution fixes the qualifications of electors. Steps should be taken to enable all who are authorized to exercise the elective franchise to do so freely and without restraint, and to prevent the improper exercise of that privilege. This must be done through wise reg- istration and election laws, which are both very im- portant, and should receive your early attention.
"I recommend that the county officers having in charge registration be required, in addition to that duty, to enroll the militia. This will save the expense of de- tailing officers for that service, and will be as efficient.
"That the will of the people is the supreme law is a principle of government that underlies our free institu- tions. He, therefore, who would willfully defeat the true expression of that will, by deterring a citizen from the exercise of the elective franchise, or by defrauding him of his vote, strikes a blow at the foundations of the government itself and merits the severe pains and penal- ties of an outraged law.
"In view of the fall elections you should, at an early day, by the enactment of a wise and rigorous election law, put into the hands of the executive officers of the State ample authority for the protection of every quali- fied elector in the free expression of his preference at the ballot box.
IMMIGRATION
"There is probably no question that will affect the future destiny of Arkansas so much as that of immigra- tion.
"Providence has richly endowed our State with those
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elements of wealth that are necessary to constitute an independent and self-supporting community. Yet, in the midst of this great age of progress and improvement, our primeval forests, as of yore, rear their arms to Heaven and seem to defy the hand of man. Millions of broad acres, teeming with fatness and fertile beyond description, patiently await the 'open sesame' that shall unlock and develop their varied stores. Limitless wealth buried under broad hills, concealed in secluded valleys, and hidden in mountain caves awaits the glad advent of the pick and bar.
"Reflecting upon our great agricultural staple, we involuntarily pause to listen for the hum of machinery and the clank of the loom.
"After a patient waiting of half a century the light of a higher civilization has burst upon Arkansas.
"The vast tide of immigration that from across the waters has been moving westward for so many years,- peopling territories, building cities, and creating States with magical rapidity,-only awaits our action to pour itself within the limits of our State.
"We should invite all classes to come here and we should greet everyone with a cordial welcome. Capital should be protected, industry fostered, and over each in- dividual should be extended the strong and protecting arm of the law,-guaranteeing, upon the soil of Ar- kansas, equal rights to all men.
"I confidently expect that at an early period you will establish a liberal and vigorous bureau of immigration ; and I earnestly recommend that you so define the duties of the commissioner and clothe him with such powers in ' relation to his intercourse with the most populous parts of this and foreign countries as shall enable him to cope successfully with the agents of other States, and to di- rect the capital and labor of the North to this more ge- nial climate, and by a thorough diffusion of facts and statistics so to determine the line of immigration from Europe to this State as to make us the recipients of those
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elements of wealth and prosperity from which, by the old order of things, we were effectually debarred.
RAILROADS
"Closely connected with the question of immigration are our railroad interests. The immigrant in seeking and locating his new home is apt to follow railroad lines. And whilst it is true that our noble rivers, which spread over our State like great arteries, afford a natural means of intercommunication unsurpassed by any other State, they are insufficient, and, for travelling purposes, must soon give way to railroad communication.
"The very act of constructing our railroads will bring into our State thousands of laborers, who will soon dis- cover superior inducements to stay among us; and by communicating with their friends will produce a flow of immigration which, once started, will rapidly increase.
"But I need make no arguments in favor of railroads, for I believe your honorable and intelligent body is fully convinced of their great value and importance. They are themselves existing witnesses of their wealth- giving power, for wherever they reach out their iron arms the seeds of prosperity are rapidly disseminated; wherever the shrill voice of the 'iron horse' is heard every branch of industry is stimulated; along the tracks upon which he courses the forests disappear, the rough face of nature is smoothed down, and farms, villages, towns, and cities spring up as if by magic; as each suc- cessive train sweeps by, laden with the varied merchan- dise of every clime, far out to the right and left is dis- seminated information for the people,-information that educates as well as enriches.
"Can we do anything at this time to encourage this great interest that brings with it so many blessings ? There is one important step that I believe we can and we should take in that direction. A railroad bill should be passed before you adjourn that will provide for the loan-
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ing of the credit of the State to such roads as are now, or may hereafter, be incorporated, that shall be shown to be of sufficient benefit to the State to justify such loan, and that may not have received from the general gov- ernment, by grant of lands or otherwise, sufficient as- sistance to insure the completion of the same without the aid of the State. The Constitution of the State wisely provides that the credit of the State shall never be loaned without the consent of the people expressed at the bal- lot-box. The question should therefore be submitted to the people at the fall elections, which will enable you upon your re-assembling to take such action as the re- sults may demand.
"It is not expected that you will create fresh indebted- ness by the issuance of bonds whilst our credit is in its present condition, unless the exigencies of the State gov- ernment should require it.
"Ì am indebted to Gen. M. Brayman, President of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad Company, for an able and concise statement of the history and condition of that corporation. This document will be submitted to you for your information.
OUR PRESENT INDEBTEDNESS
"Whilst every principle of justice and honor demands that we should, at as early a period as practicable, set- tle every honest debt, no matter when contracted, the public interest requires that we should take sufficient time to investigate thoroughly claims that originated so many years ago, and at a period that seems to have been marked by a degree of official corruption and misrule probably unprecedented in the history of any other State. "I shall make the investigation of this important sub- ject my especial duty, and endeavor to gain, as soon as possible, such information as will enable me to lay be- fore your honorable body, at your re-assembling, such facts and figures as will facilitate your action; and I hope
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to be able at the same time to submit such terms of ad- justment as will conform to the interests and honor of the State and satisfy the rights of the public creditor.
EDUCATION
"Your attention is respectfully invited to a question that is perhaps more important than any other you may be called upon to consider. It is that of universal edu- cation. To the ears of the oppressor this is a startling and dangerous subject; for, wherever the ennobling in- fluences of education are felt, the shackles fall from the limbs of the oppressed,-the slave becomes a free- man. To the lover of freedom it is the very 'philoso- pher's stone' that changes the base metal of the ignorant and slavish mind to the pure ore upon which the light of liberty is caught and from which it is reflected to other minds until the whole becomes illumined. To us it is the keystone of the grand arch upon which rests the fair structure of our free government. No State founded upon the principles upon which our government is based can prosper where ignorance prevails. The people can- not rule successfully unless they are educated and in- formed.
"Free schools and free labor are necessary adjuncts -they go hand in hand together. The one produces from the garden of the mind its choicest fruits, the other causes 'the wilderness to blossom as the rose.'
"The wicked and shameful manner in which the ser- vants of the people have neglected their educational in- terests and appropriated to their own selfish uses and the unhallowed purposes of treason the magnificent en- dowment of a generous government subjects them to the merited condemnation of all true patriots. In re- gard to the advancement of the common school interests the question heretofore seems to have been, not how to do it, but how not to do it. A comparison of the condi- tion of common schools in this State,-as shown by Gov-
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ernor Henry Rector's message, delivered to the General Assembly November 15, 1860,-with that of the State of Michigan, which became a member of the Federal Union at the same time with Arkansas, and under circumstances less favorable, is calculated to create a sickening sensa- tion in the breast of one having the interests of educa- tion at heart. In 1855 Michigan maintained 3,255 com- mon schools, and employed 5,078 teachers. In 1860, as shown by the message above referred to, but 25 common schools were organized and kept up in this State from the common school fund. I am unable to give you cor- rect information of the number of common schools now in operation, but for practical purposes it would be safe to proceed as if there were none.
"From reliable statistics obtained from the lists of registered voters made last fall it is shown that thirty per cent of the white and fifty per cent of the entire vot- ing population were unable to write their own names. Nothing but a due sense of my constitutional obligations and an earnest desire to promote the educational in- terests of the State induces me to make this shameful disclosure. Fortunately, after thirty-two years of igno- rance and misrule, a way is at last opened through which the light of intelligence can enter and shed its beneficent rays over the whole State.
"The framers of our present Constitution have placed themselves in enviable comparison with past leg- islators, and merited the approbation and gratitude of posterity by that one act of far-seeing statesmanship that secures to future generations the inestimable boon of education, and gives life and perpetuity to the State by providing the means whereby its future supporters and defenders may be prepared for the proper exercise of the duties of American citizenship.
"You are expected to take up this work that has been so well begun, and at an early day devise and establish a wise system of free schools,-one that will not be out of proportion with our limited means, but will be so
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adjusted as to grow with our growth and strengthen with our strength. After a system is established, the work of execution should be put into the hands of com- petent men, depending more upon efficiency than num- bers. The work that under the present system is en- trusted to nearly sixty officers could, in my opinion, be more efficiently performed by ten. I therefore respect- fully suggest the propriety of abolishing the office of county school commissioner, and creating in lieu thereof district superintendents for each judicial district that is now or may hereafter be established. These district su- perintendents should be charged with the work of or- ganizing school districts and establishing schools; they should have immediate supervision over the school di- rectors of the various school districts and see that said directors perform their duties promptly and according to law; they should examine and license teachers, and organize teachers' institutes; they should provide rules and regulations for the government of schools, and visit the schools frequently for the purpose of ascertaining the efficiency of the teachers, and they should examine the titles of all school lands that have heretofore been dis- posed of and report to the proper officer such, if any, as are illegally held and their condition. In short. they should have full supervision of all matters pertaining to the school interests in their respective districts.
"In addition to these duties, the district superintend- ents, with the State Superintendent as presiding officer, should constitute a board of education, which should meet at the capital yearly, and have conferred upon it such legislative powers as may enable said board to make such amendments in the school system as the applica- tion of theory to practice or the exigencies of the edu- cational interests may demand.
"The present condition of our school interests is un- precedented. A large portion of the community is known to be antagonistic to the principles of universal educa- tion. The prejudices that exist against a certain class
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of the people will tend to embarrass the situation. Ob- stacles will doubtless be thrown in the way where active support should be given.
"The establishment of the school systems of the older States has been the work of years. We cannot expect successfully to apply at once to our State the elaborate plans that they have slowly perfected and adjusted to suit their enlarged views and peculiar localities and con- ditions. Before we can arrive at such a degree of per- fection the people must be educated as well as the rising generation.
BLIND INSTITUTE
"Your attention is called to the reports of the 'Ar- kansas Institute for the Blind.' This institution has been maintained at the public expense. In case you create the educational board, as recommended, I would respectfully suggest that you abolish the board of trustees, and put this institution under the control of said educational board.
"It is believed that the institution should be moved from Arkadelphia and located at the Capital. The rea- sons given for the latter location are that it is more accessible, that supplies can be obtained more conven- iently, and that when the legislature is in session the mem- bers can more readily acquaint themselves with its con- dition. If the expenses of making the contemplated change will not be great, I would respectfully recom- mend it.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
"For the purpose of bringing to light our great min- eral resources and facilitating their development, I re- spectfully recommend that the Executive be authorized to employ a person skilled in the sciences of geology, mineralogy, and mining, who shall proceed upon the data afforded by the able reconnaissance of Prof. David
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Dale Owen to make a thorough investigation of the vari- ous mineral localities of this State. A reasonable sum expended in a scientific investigation of this nature will doubtless bring to light vast resources of hidden wealth, which will not only afford profitable employment to thou- sands of enterprising artisans, but will add very much to the revenues of the commonwealth.
STATE HOUSE AND GROUNDS
"Your attention is respectfully called to the condi- tion of the State House. Strangers visiting our Capital would form a very unfavorable opinion of our common- wealth, I fear, should they happen to stroll into that building. The public interest requires that it should be kept in a state of repair, and common decency demands that the halls, corridors, and grounds should be cleansed of the rubbish that now encumbers them.
"Trusting that your deliberations may be harmoni- ous and redound to the public good, and that nothing may occur to disturb or impair the unity and confidence that should exist between the gentlemen of your department and the executive, I respectfully submit the foregoing for your consideration.
POWELL CLAYTON, Governor."
FOOTNOTE FOR CHAPTER III
1 Arkansas House Journal, 1868, pp. 290-300.
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CHAPTER IV
REGISTRATION
The Law of Arkansas, fixing the qualifications of registered voters, was as follows:
"No person shall be registered who during the late rebellion took the oath of allegiance to the United States, or gave bond of loyalty or for good behavior, unless he shall show by satisfactory evidence that he has ever kept this said oath or bond inviolate, or that he has openly advocated or voted for the reconstruction measures of Congress, or voted for the constitution at the civil polls at the Constitutional election of 1868." 1
Because of the large number of ex-Confederate sol- diers who were thus disfranchised the execution of this law proved to be a source of highly insurrectionary and irreconcilable contentions.
The Board of Registration in each county consisted of three members, one of whom was styled "president" and the others were known as "registrars." For the comparatively short period of their employment these officers were to receive six dollars a dav, and because of the temporary character of the work and of the small compensation, it was almost impossible to secure efficient officers to perform these very unpopular and dangerous duties.
Therefore many registrars practically threw the registration books open to all, while others who rigidly
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performed their duties were subjected to great danger, even to assassination, as in the case of Capt. Simpson Mason, registrar of Fulton County, who, while riding along the road to the place of registration, was fired upon and killed by a body of men in ambush.2
This crime was soon followed by the attempted assassination and wounding of F. A. McClure, registrar of Woodruff County; the severe wounding of Gen. D. P. Upham,3 who was accompanying him to the place of reg- istration (whether in an official capacity or not I am unable to state), and many other outrages against the registrars which caused the registering officers in twelve counties to resign. This action upon their part made it impossible for an election to be held in those counties, as the period between their resignation and the date fixed by the Constitution for the holding of the election was not sufficient to permit the publication and preliminary action required by law.4
To avoid the legal effects of disfranchisement, the Gazette, the organ of the Democratic Party, and other Democratic newspapers in the State, urged those who were disfranchised to overcome all scruples and perjure themselves by taking this oath. In support of this ad- vice they used the most fallacious and illogical arguments, which, if acted upon, would not only have caused the person so acting to commit the crime of perjury. but would have subjected him, under the law then in force, to the penalty of imprisonment in the penitentiary for from two to five years.
To illustrate their advice, I reproduce from a mass of similar matter the following extracts from the Gazette:
"[August 30, 1868. Extract from Editorial.] A 'case of conscience' is thrust upon us by our dissenting
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friends. Let them weigh in their nicest scales of high morality the alternatives as above depicted, and answer if it is not a more monstrous crime to continue the radi- cals in power by refusing the oath than to eject them and install Democrats by taking it?
"Shipwrecked,-an angry sea threatening to devour us,-pirates bearing down upon us to torture and kill, -may we not righteously take any oath that saves from such perils ?
"[August 1, 1868. Extract from Editorial.] Now it has become necessary for self-preservation, a right en- joyed by the lowest of the animal kingdom, for such of our people as can do so to take this oath and vote in the coming election. Our state central committee has so advised. We presume there are none among us who will not see the necessity of this course, and trust that none,-no, not one,-will object to taking this oath. In cases of this sort it has always been conceded that it is right to swear, and violate the pledge at the first tem- ple of justice. We trust that from some of these or like considerations our people will all find it possible to come forward, take the oath, and vote for Seymour and Blair. It is a sacred duty we owe future generations. Nor will it matter for the purposes of the fall election what may have been the individual construction put upon the oath by those who accept it. Any differences of that sort may be settled in future, and need not embarrass the present.
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