USA > Illinois > Livingston County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Volume I Pt 1 > Part 56
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ELECTION OF 1878 .- Four sets of candidates were in the field for the offices of State Treasurer and Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1878 -Republican, Democratic, Greenback and Pro- hibition. The Republicans were successful, Gen. John C. Smith being elected Treasurer, and James P. Slade, Superintendent, by pluralities averaging about 35,000. The same party also elected cleven out of nineteen members of Con- gress, and, for the first time in six years, secured a majority in each branch of the General Assem- bly. At the session of this Legislature, in Jann- ary following, John A. Logan was elected to the
United States Senate as successor to Gen. R. J. Oglesby, whose ferm expired in March following. Col. William A. James, of Lake County, served as Speaker of the House at this session. (Sce Smith, John Corson; Slade, James P .; also Thirty- first General Assembly.)
CAMPAIGN OF 1850 .- The political campaign of 1880 is memorablo for the determined struggle .. 6 1, 1+ +1. friends of General Grat to ssenre las nomination for the Presidency for a third term. The Republican State Convention, begin- ning at Springfield, May 19, lasted three days, ending in instructions in favor of General Grant by a voto of 399 to 285. These were nullified, however, by the action of the National Conven- tion two weeks later. Governor Cullom was nominated for re-election; John M. Hamilton for Lientenant-Governor ; Henry D. Dement for Sec- retary of State; Charles P. Swigert for Auditor ; Edward Rutz (for a third term) for Treasurer, and James McCartney for Attorney-General. (See Dement, Henry D .; Swigert, Charles P .; Rut:, Edward, and McCartney, James.) Ex-Sena- tor Trumbull headed the Democratie ticket as ils candidate for Governor, with General L. B. Par- sons for Lieutenant-Governor.
The Republican National Convention met in Chicago, June 2. After thirty-six ballots, in which 306 delegates stood unwaveringly by Gen- eral Grant, James A. Garfield, of Ohio, was nominated, with Chester A. Arthur, of New York, for Vice-President. Gen. Winfiell Scott Hancock was the Democratic candidate and Gen. James B. Weaver, the Greenback nomince. In Illinois, 622, 156 votes were cast, Garfield receiv- ing a plurality of 40,716. The entire Republican State ticket was elected by nearly the same plu- ralities, and the Republicans again had decisive majorities in both branches of the Legislature.
No startling events occurred during Governor Cullom's second term. The State continued to increase in wealth, population and prosperity, and the heavy debt, by which it had been bur- dened thirty years before, was practically "wiped out."
ELECTION OF 1882 .- At the election of 1882, Gen. John C. Smith, who had been elected State Treasurer in 1878, was re-electel for a second term, over Alfred Orendorff, while Charles T. Strattan, the Republican candidato for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, was de- feated by Henry Raab. The Republicans again had a majority in each House of the General Assembly, amounting to twelve on joint ballot. Loren C. Collins was elected Speaker of the
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Ilonse. In the election of United States Senator. which occurred at this session, Governor Cullom was chosen as the successor to David Davis, Gen. John M. Palmer receiving the Democratic vote. Lieut .- Gov. John M. Hamilton thus became Gov. ernor, nearly in the middle of his term. (See Cullom, Shelby M .; Hamilton, John M .; Collins, Loren C., and Raab, Henry.)
The "Harper High License Law," enacted by the Thirty-third General Assembly (1883). has become one of the permanent features of the Illi- nois statutes for the control of the liquor traffic, and has been more or less closely copied in other States.
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN OF 1881 .- In 1884, Gen. R. J. Oglesby again became the choice of the Republican party for Governor, receiving at Peoria the conspicuous compliment of a nomina- tion for a third term, by acclamation. Carter H. Harrison was the candidate of the Democrats. The Republican National Convention was again held in Chicago, meeting June 3, 1884; Gen. John A. Logan was the choice of the Illinois Repub- licans for President, and was put in nomination in the Convention by Senator Cullom. The choice of the Convention, however, fell upon James G. Blaine, on the fourth ballot, his leading competitor being President Arthur. Logan was then nominated for Vice-President by acclama- tion.
At the election in November the Republican party met its first reverse on the National battle- field since 1856, Grover Cleveland and Thomas _1. Hendricks, the Democratic candidates, being elected President and Vice-President by the bar- row margin of less than 1,200 votes in the State of New York. The result was in doubt for sey- eral days, and the excitement throughont the country was scarcely less intense than it had been in the close election of 1876. The Green- back and Prohibition parties both had tickets in Illinois, polling a total of nearly 23,000 votes. The plurality in the State for Blaine was 25,118. The Republican State officers elected were Richard J. Oglesby, Governor; John C. Smith, Lieuten- ant-Governor; Henry D. Dement, Secretary of State; Charles P. Swigert, Auditor; Jacob Gross, State Treasurer; and George Hunt, Attorney- General-receiving pluralities ranging from 14,- 000 to 25,000. Both Dement and Swigert were elected for a second time, while Gross and Hunt were chosen for first terms. (See Gross, Jacob, and Hunt, George. )
CHICAGO ELECTION FRAUDS .- An incident of this election was the fraudulent attempt to seat
Rudolph Brand (Democrat ) as Senator i phonof Henry W. Leman, in the Sixth Senatorial Dis- trick of Cook County. The fraud was exposed and Joseph C. Mackin, one of its alleged perp trators, was sentenced to the penitentiary for four years for perjury growing out of the investi a tion. A motive for this attempted fraud wat- found in the close vote in the Legislature fo! United States Senator-Senator Logan being a candidate for re-election, while the Legislature stood 102 Republicans to 100 Democrats and two Greenbackers on joint ballot. A tedious contest on the election of Speaker of the House finally resulted in the success of E. M. Haines Pending the struggle over the Senatorship, two seats in the House and one in the Senate were rendered vacant by death-the decrased Senator and one of the Representatives being Democrats, and the other Representative a Republican. The special (Jection for Senator resulted in filling the vacancy with a new member of the same political faith a- his predecessor; but both vacancies in the House were fillel by Republicans. The gain of a. Repub- lican member in place of a Democrat in the House was brought about by the election of Captain William HI. Weaver Representative from the Thirty-fourth District (composed of Mason, Menard, Cass and Selmylor Counties) over the Democratic candidate, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative J Henry Shaw, Democrat. This was accomplished by what is called a "still hunt" on the part of the Repub- Jieans, in which the Demoerals, being taken by surprise, suffered a defeat. It furnished tho son sation not only of the session, but of special elec- tions generally, especially as every county in the District was strongly Democratic. This gave the Republicans a majority in each House, and the re-election of Logan followed, though not until two months had been consumed in the contest (See Logan; John A.)
OGLESBY'S THIRD TERM .- The only disturbing events during Governor Oglesby's third term were strikes among the quarrymen at Joliet and Lemont, in May, 1885; by the railroad switchmen at East St. Louis, in April, ts86, and among the employés at the Union Stock-Yards, in November of the same year. In each case troops were called out and order finally restored, but not until spy- cral persons had been killed in the two former, and both strikers and employers had lost heavily in the interruption of business.
At the election of 1886, John R. Tanner and Dr. Richard Edwards (Republicans) were resper tively elected State Treasurer and State Superin-
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tendent of Public Instruction, by 34,816 plurality for the former and 29,928 for the latter. (See Tanner, John R .; Edwards, Richard.)
In the Thirty-tifth General Assembly, which met January, 1887, the Republicans had a major- ity in each House, and Charles B. Farwell was elected to the United States Senate in place of Gen. John 1. Logan, deceased. (See Farwell, Charles B.)
FIFER ELECTED GOVERNOR. - The political campaign of 1889 was a spirited one, though less bitter than the one of four years previous. Ex- Senator Joseph W. Fifer, of Mclean County, and Ex-Gov. John M. Palmer were pitted against each other as opposing candidates for Governor. (See Fifer, Joseph W'.) Prohibition and Labor tickets were also in the field The Republican National Convention was again held in Chicago, June 20-25, resulting in the nomination of Benjamin Harrison for President, on the eighth ballot. The delegates from Illinois, with two or three excep tions, voted steadily for Judge Walter Q. Gresham. (See Gresham Walter Q.) Grover Cleveland headed the Democratic ticket as a candidate for re-election. At the November elec- tion, 747,653 votes were cast in Illinois, giving the Republican Electors a plurality of 22,104. Fifer's plurality over Palmer was 12,547, and that of the remainder of the Republican State ticket, still larger. Those elected were Lyman B. Ray. Lieutenant-Governor; Isaac N. Pearson, Secre- tary of State; Gen. Charles W. Pavey, Auditor : Charles Becker, Treasurer, and George Hunt Attorney-General. (See Ray, Lyman B .: P'car- son, Isaac N .: Parey, Charles W; and Becker. Charles.) The Republicans secured twenty-six majority on joint ballot in the Legislature-the largest since 1881. Among the acts of the Legis- lature of 1889 were the re-election of Senator Cullom to the United States Senate, practically without a contest; the revision of the compulsory education law, and the ennetment of the Chicago drainage law. At a special session held in July. 1890, the first steps in the preliminary legislation looking to the holding of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in the city of Chicago, were taken. (See World's Columbian Exposition.)
REPUBLICAN DEFEAT OF 1890 .-- The campaign of 1890 resulted in a defeat for the Republicans on both the State and Legislative tickets. Edward S. Wilson was elected Treasurer by a plurality of 9,847 and Prof Henry Raab, who had been Super- intendent of Public Instruction between 1883 and 1887, was elected for a second term by 34,042. Though lacking two of an absolute majority on
joint ballot in the Legislature, the Democrats were able, with the aid of two members belonging to the Farmers' Alliance, after a prolonged and exciting contest, to elect Ex-Gov, John M. Palmer United States Senator, as successor to C. B. Farwell. The election took place on March 11, resulting, on the 151th ballot, in 103 votes for Pahner to 100 for Cicero J. Lindley (Republican) and one for 1. J. Streeter. (See Palmer, John M.)
ELECTIONS OF 1892 .- At the elections of 1892 the Republicans of Illinois sustained their first defeat on both State and National issues since 1856. The Democratic State Convention was held at Springfield, April 27, and that of the Republicans on May 4. The Democrats put in nomination John P. Altgeld for Governor; Joseph B. Gill for Lieutenant-Governor; William H. Hinrichsen for Secretary of State: Rufus N. Ramsay for State Treasurer; David Gore for Auditor; Maurice T. Moloney for Attorney-Gen- oral, with John C. Black and Andrew J. Hunter for Congressmen-at-large and three candidates for Trustees of the University of Illinois. The can- didates on the Republican ticket were: For Gov- ernor, Joseph W. Fifer; Lieutenant-Governor, Lyman B. Ray ; Secretary of State, Isaac N. Pear- son : Auditor, Charles W. Pavey ; Attorney-Gen- eral, George W. Prince: State Treasurer, Henry 1. Hertz: Congressmen-at-large, George S. Willits and Richard Yates, with three University Trus- tees. The first four were all incumbents nomi- nated to succeed themselves. The Republican National Convention held its session at Minneapo- lis June 7-10, nominating President Harrison for re-election, while that of the Democrats met in Chicago, on June 21, remaining in session until June 24, for the third time choosing, as its standard-bearer, Grover Cleveland, with Adlai T. Stevenson, of Bloomington, III., as his running- mate for Vice-President. The Prohibition and People's Party also had complete National and State tickets in the field. The State campaign was conducted with great vigor on both sides, the Democrats, under the leadership of Altgeld, mak- ing an especially bitter contest upon some features of the compulsory school law, and gaining many votes from the ranks of the German Republicans. The result in the State showed a plurality for Cleveland of 26,993 votes out of a total 873,616 the combined Prohibition and People's Party vote amounting to 45,077. The votes for the respec- tive heads of the State tickets were: Altgeld (Dem.), 425,498; Fifer (Rep. ), 102,659; Link (Pro. ). 25,628;Barnet ( Peo.), 20, 108 -- plurality for Altgeld. 22,808. The vote for Fifer was the high-
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est given to any Republican candidate on either the National or the State ticket, leading that of President Harrison by nearly 3,400, while the vote for Altgeld, though falling behind that of Cleveland, led the votes of all his associates on the Democratic State ticket with the single exception of Ramsay, the Democratic Candidate for Treas- urer. Of the twenty-two Representatives in Congress from the Stato chosen at this time, eleven were Republicans and eleven Democrats, including among the latter the two Congressnien from the State-at-large. The Thirty-eighth Gen- eral Assembly stood twenty-nine Democrats to twenty-two Republicans in the Senate, and seventy-eight Democrats to soventy-five Republic- ans in the House.
The administration of Governor Fifer-the last in a long and unbroken line under Republican Cov- ernors-closed with the financial and industrial interests of the State in a prosperous condition, the State out of debt with an ample surplus in its treasury. Fifer was the first private soldier of the Civil War to be elected to the Governorship, though the result of the next two elections have shown that he was not to be the last-both of lis successors belonging to the same class. Governor Altgeld was the first foreign-born citizen of the State to be elected Governor, though the State has had four Lieutenant-Governors of foreign birth, viz. : Pierre Menard, a French Canadian; John Moore, an Englishman, and Gustavus Koerner and Francis A. Hoffman, both Germans.
ALTGELD'S AADMINISTRATION. - The Thirty- eighth General Assembly began its session, Jan. 4, 1893, the Democrats having a majority in cach House. (See Thirty-eighth General Assembly.) The inauguration of the State officers occurred on January 10. The most important events con- nected with Governor Aligeld's administration were the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, and the strike of railway employés in 1894. Both of these have been treated in detail under their proper heads. (See World's Columbian Exposi- tion, and Labor Troubles.) A serious disaster befell the State in the destruction by fire, on the night of Jan. 3, 1895, of a portion of the buildings connected with the Southern Hospital for the Insane at Anna, involving a loss to the State of nearly $200,000, and subjecting the inmates and officers of the institution to great risk and no small amount of suffering, although no lives were lost. The Thirty-ninth General Assembly, which met a few days after the fire, made an appropri- ation of $171,970 for the restoration of the build- ings destroyed, and work was begun immediately.
The defale, tion of Charles W. Spalding, Tre urer of the University of Illinois, which came to light near the close of Governor Altgeld's term: involved the State in heavy loss (the exact amount of which is not even yet fully knowje, and operated unfortunately for the credit (f t) .. retiring administration, in view of the adoption of a policy which made the Governor more dhectly responsible for the management of the State in stitutions than that purened by most of his prede cessors. The Governor's course in convection with the strike of 189t was also severely criticise 1 in some quarters, especially as it brought him in opposition to the policy of the National adminis- tration, and exposed him to the charge of sympa- thizing with the strikers at a time when they were regarde l as acting in open violation of law.
ELECTION Of 1591. - The election of 1891 showed as surprising a reaction against the Democratic party, as that of 1892 had been in an opposite direction. The two Stato offices to be vacated this year-State Treasurer and Stato Superintend! ent of Public Instruction-were filled by the clee tion of Republicans by unprecedented majorities. The plurality for Henry Wulff for Stato Treas urer, was 133,427, and that in favor of Samuel M. Inglis for State Superintendent of Public Instruc tion, scarcely 10,000 less Of twenty -two Repir sentatives in Congress, all but two returned as clected were Republicans, and these two were unseated as the result of contests. The Legisla ture stood thirty-three Republicans to eighteen Democrats in the Senate, and eighty-eight Repub- licans to sixty-one Democrats in the House.
One of the most important aets of the Thirty- ninth General Assembly, at the following session, was the enactinent of a law fixing the compensa. tion of members of the General Assembly at $1,000 for each regular session, with five dollars per day and mileage for called, or extra, sessions. This Legislature also passedacts making appropriations for the erection of buildings for the use of the State Fair, which had been permanently located at Springfield; for the establishment of two ad- ditional hospitals for the insane, one near Rock Island and the other (for incurables) near Peoria, for the Northern and Eastern Illinois Normal Schools, and for a Soldiers' Widows' Home at Wilmington.
PERMANENT LOCATION OF THE STATE FAIR. - In consequence of the absorption of public atten- tion-especially among the industrial and manu- facturing classes - by the World's Columbian Exposition, the holding of the Annual Fair of the Illinois State Board of Agriculture for 1893 was
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ENGINEERING HALL, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.
VIEW FROM ENGINEERING HALL, ( Looking South), UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.
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omitted for the first time since the Civil War. The initial steps were taken by the Board at its annual meeting in Springfield, in January of that year, looking to the permanent location of the Fair; and, at a meeting of the Board held in Chi- cago, in October following, formal specifications were adopted prescribing the conditions to be met in securing the prize. These were sent to cities intending to compete for the location as tl basis of proposals to be submitted by them Re-ponses were received from the cities of Bloomington, Decatur, Peoria and Springfield, at the annual meeting in January, 1894, with the result that, on the eighth ballot, the bid of Springfield was accepted and the Fair permanently located at that place by a vote of eleven for Springfield to ten divided between five other points. The Springfield proposal provided for conveyance to the State Board of Agriculture of 155 acres of land-embracing the old Sangamon County Fair Grounds immediately north of the city besides a cash contribution of $50,000 voted by the San- gamon County Board of Supervisors for the erection of permanent buildings. Other contri- butions increased the estimated value of the donations from Sangamon County (including the land) to $139,800, not including the pledge of the city of Springfield to pave two streets to the gates of the Fair Grounds and furnish water free, be- sides an agreement on the part of the electric light company to furnish light for two years freo of charge. The construction of buiklings was begun the same year, and the first Fair held on the site in September following. Additional buildings have been erected and other improve- ments introduced cach year, until the grounds are now regarded as among the best equipped for exhibition purposes in the United States In the meantime, the increasing success of the Fair from year to year has demonstrated the wisdom of the action taken by the Board of Agriculture in the matter of location.
CAMPAIGN OF 1896. - The political campaign of 1896 was one of almost unprecedented activity in Illinois, as well as remarkable for the variety and character of the issues involved and the number of party candidates in the field. As usual, the Democratic and the Republican parties were the chief factors in the contest, although there was a wide diversity of sentiment in each, which tended to the introduction of new issues and tho organization of parties on new lines. The Republicans took the lead in organizing for the canvass, holding their State Convention at Springfield on April 29 and 30, while the Demo-
crats followed, at Peoria, on June 25. The former put in nomination John R. Tanner for Governor ; William A. Northeott for Lientenant-Governor; James A. Rose for Secretary of Stato; James S. Mccullough for Auditor; Henry L. Hertz for . Treasurer, and Edward C. Akin for Attorney- General, with Mary Turner Carriel, Thomas J. Smyth and Francis M. MeKay for University - The ticket put in nomine ti i by the Democracy for State officers embraced John P. Altgoll for re-election to the Governorship; for Lieutenant Governor, Monroe C. Crawford; Sex- retary of State, Finis E. Downing; Anditor, Andrew L. Maxwell; Attorney-General, George A. Trude, with three candidates for Trustees.
The National Republican Convention met at St. Louis on June 16, and, after a three days' session, put in nomination William Mckinley, of Ohio, for President, and Garret A. Hobart, of New Jersey, for Vice-President; while their Demo- cratic opponents, following a policy which had been maintained almost continuously by one of the other party since 1860, set in motion its party machinery in Chicago-holding its National Con- vention in that city, July 7-11, when, for the first time in the history of the nation, a native of Illinois was nominated for the Presidency in the person of William J. Bryan of Nebraska, with Arthur Sewall, a ship-builder of Maine, for the second place on the ticket. The main issues, as enunciated in the platforms of the respective parties, were industrial and financial, as shown by the prominence given to the tariff and monetary questions in each. This was the natural result of tho business depre sion which had prevailed since 1893. While the Republican platform adhered to the traditional position of the party on the tariff issue, and declared in favor of maintaining the gold standard as the basis of the monetary system of the country, that of the Democracy took a new departure by declaring unreservedly for tho "free and unlimited coinage of both silver and gold at the present legal ratio of 16 to 1;" and this be- came the leading issue of the campaign. The fact that Thomas E. Watson, of Georgia, who had been favored by the l'opulisis as a candidate for Vice President, and was afterwards formally nominated by a convention of that party, with Mr. Bryan at its head, was ignored by the Chi- cago Convention, led to much friction between the Populist and Democratic wings of the party. At the same time a very considerable body-in influence and political prestige, if not in numbers -in the ranks of the old-line Democratic party, refused to accept the doctrine of the free-silver
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section on the monetary question, and, adopting the name of "Gold Democrats," put in nomination a ticket composed of Jolin M. Palmer, of Illinois, for President, and Simon B. Buckner, of Ken tucky, for Vice-President. Besides these, the Pro- · hibitionists, Nationalists, Socialist-Labor Party and "Middle-of-the-Road" (or "straight-out"") Populists, had more or less complete tickets in the field, making a total of seven sets of candidates appealing for the votes of the people on issues assumed to be of National importance.
The fact that the two great parties-Democratic and Republican-established their principal head- quarters for the prosecution of the campaign in Chicago, had the effect to make that city and the State of Illinois the center of political activ- ity for the nation. Demonstrations of an impos- ing character were held by both parties. At the November election the Republicans carried the day by a plurality, in Illinois, of 141,517 for their national ticket out of a total of 1,090,869 votes, while the leading candidates on the State ticket received the following pluralities: John R. Tan- ner (for Governor), 113,881; Northcott (for Lieu- tenant-Governor), 137,351; Rose (for Secretary of State), 136,611; MrCullough (for Auditor), 138,- 013; Ilertz (for Treasurer), 116,064; Akin' (for Attorney-General), 132, 650. The Republicans also elected seventeen Representatives in Congress to three Democrats and two People's Party men. The total vote cast, in this campaign, for the "Gold Democratic" candidate for Governor was 8,100.
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