USA > Indiana > Centennial history and handbook of Indiana : the story of the state from its beginning to the close of the civil war, and a general survey of progress to the present time > Part 19
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The immediate result of this was a general law authorizing "free banks," passed by the first Legislature after the convention, and the "free bank era" that followed would seem to be one of the lessons of history. Within six months after the passage of the law fifteen banks had
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been organized and seventy-four others followed (Esarey). In spite of the constitutional safe- guards as to "ample collateral security" under the control of State officers many of the bankers were irresponsible adventurers and a goodly per- centage of these seem to have been deliberate rascals and grafters. According to one writer, "a thousand or two of cash only was needed to start a bank in those halcyon days of paper cur- rency. All that was needed was enough to pay for engraving the bills. An embryo banker would go to New York with a thousand or two dollars, order an engraver to make a plate and print him $50,000 in bills. He would then visit a broker and negotiate for $50,000 worth of the bonds of some State. The next step was to send the printed bills to the State auditor of Indiana and instruct the broker to forward to the same place the bonds negotiated for, to be paid for on receipt at the auditor's office. The auditor would countersign the new money, pay for the bonds, and a new bank would be set going, and the en- terprising banker would receive the interest on the $50,000 worth of bonds. Thus one man, with $10,000 in money, bought bonds and established banks until he had in circulation $600,000 of paper, and was drawing interest on that amount of bonds" (W. H. Smith).
This may be drawing it a little strong so far as the general conditions were concerned, but at any rate the "wildcat" banks and the speculators who made the most of them brought about a gen- eral derangement of money affairs and the dis- tress that goes with an inflated, depreciated cur- rency.
Bank of the State of Indiana; Changes In- volved .- This was the situation in 1855 when a bill was passed chartering a new bank to be known as the Bank of the State of Indiana. The State sus- tained no relation to it, though its name conveys the idea that it was a State bank. Conformably with article xi, section 2, of the constitution, it was a bank with branches that were mutually responsible, but otherwise it was unrestricted. There was considerable opposition to it by rea- son of the possibilities for abuse that the charter offered, and from the first there were charges of chicanery and corrupt politics. Governor Wright was bitterly opposed to it, and vetoed the bill, but it was passed over his veto. In his mes-
sage of 1857 he attacked it anew in drastic lan- guage. "The means and appliances brought to bear to secure the passage of this charter," he said, "would, if exposed to the public gaze, ex- hibit the darkest page of fraud and corruption that ever disgraced the Legislature of any State." This severe arraignment, amplified by further detailed charges, resulted in an investi- gation by a select committee of the Senate. The report of the examination of numerous witnesses in the case make a good-sized book .* The con- clusions of the committee were that there had been chicanery and that the investigation "clearly uncovers to the public gaze a fraudulent and successful encroachment upon the rights of the people. . . . A great franchise of the State," the report says, "which the constitution intended to be granted only for the public good and to be equally open to all, has been scrambled for, won, and sold to the highest bidder." In short, the committee thoroughly discredited the bank as a colossal instrument of graft ("Bank Frauds" report, pp. 432-436) and advanced ar- guments for the revocation of the charter, but no such step was taken. Its management, after the stirring up, passed into good and competent hands, with the noted financier Hugh McCul- loch, as its president, and James M. Ray, one of the best citizens of Indianapolis, as cashier. It ran successfully until 1865, when it was sup- planted by the national banking system, most of its branches becoming national banks (W. H. Smith). Its branches were at Lima, Laporte, Plymouth, South Bend, Fort Wayne, Lafayette, Logansport, Indianapolis, Richmond, Conners- ville, Rushville, Madison, Jeffersonville, New Al- bany, Bedford, Vincennes, Terre Haute, Muncie and Lawrenceburg (Esarey).
THE NEW EDUCATIONAL MOVEMENT
Educational Status in Latter Forties .- In spite of the constitutional provisions, the various school laws and the private seminaries, acad- emies and other schools that sprang up over the State the educational status in Indiana through- out the period of the first constitution was very, low. To quote Professor Boone ("Education in
* "Bank Frauds: Journal, Testimony and Reports." Pub- lished by Joseph J. Bingham, 1857.
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Indiana") : "As yet [prior to 1849] there was no system. . . . Elementary education was chiefly conspicuous through neglect of it, while all other was more or less antagonized. Free schooling of any grade was thought by many to be danger- ous to the State and subversive of the highest individual good." Nor was this condition on the mend, for whereas in 1840 the State stood sixteenth in the scale of literacy "in less than ten years it fell to the twenty-third place," and among the free northern States it stood lowest. About one in every seven was unable to read or write, taking the State over, while some counties reported one-third of their adults as illiterates.
Caleb Mills .- The most notable pioneer edu- cator to wage a crusade against this benighted condition was Caleb Mills, a New Hampshire man and a graduate of Dartmouth college and An- dover Theological Seminary, who came to Craw- fordsville in 1833 to take charge of the school that was to become Wabash college. It was not until thirteen years later that he began his fa- mous systematic campaign that entitles him to an honored place among those who have truly served Indiana.
Mills' "Messages."-The feature of this "campaign" was a series of appeals to the Legis- latures and to the constitutional convention which extended over a period of six years. They be- came known as "messages" to the Legislature by "One of the People," the identity of Mills being concealed under that signature. Presented as the gratuitous or volunteer messages of a lay- man on the one subject of education they ap- peared in the Indiana State Journal in 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, at the beginning of the legislative ses- sions of those years. Four letters to the members of the convention appeared in the Indiana States- man in 1850, and the sixth and last "message" was laid on the desks of the legislators of 1852- the first to convene under the new constitution.
In these various addresses Professor Mills dealt with the problem of illiteracy and what it meant to the State, dwelling analytically and ex- haustively upon facts that previous Legislatures had ignored. "Shall we," he asked, "dig canals and build railroads to transport the products of our rich soil to market, and leave the intellect of the rising generation undeveloped and undis- ciplined? Is matter more valuable than mind ? We have borrowed," he said, "millions for the
physical improvement of our State, but we have not raised a dollar by ad valorem taxation to cultivate the minds of our children." He cited statistics to show the increased industrial effi- ciency that resulted from education, and pointed out the benefits from the viewpoint of material prosperity alone. He also discussed the question of ways and means-of resources and taxation and methods, and made clear the inadequacies of the existing system with its low standards, its poor teachers and its lack of equipment. In brief, he threshed out the question from every side with the masterful power of an expert in a field where experts were few, and his unwearying persistence made an impression that was the be- ginning of a new educational order. The effect on Governor Whitcomb, indeed, was immediate, and following Mills' first address he spoke for the first time in his own message of the educational needs. "One of the People" was widely read and discussed, and by the time the last of the six appeals was laid before the Legislature that body thought enough of it to order 5,000 copies printed for distribution.
Effect of the Addresses .- Mr. Charles W. Moores* says that "the six messages have long been considered the basis of the Indiana system of common schools. Their influence, although they were published anonymously, was felt at once, and that influence is still a controlling one in the educational growth of the State."
Contemporary with these addresses and largely inspired by them, seemingly, there sprang up a general agitation of the educational question. On May 26, 1847, there was a school convention held at Indianapolis which was in session for three days and in connection with which we find the names of a number of well-known citizens of the State. This was the first of a series of such meetings which worked on public sentiment, and helped clear the way against ignorance and the opposition of false notions for a better law, which finally, in 1849, found its way into the stat- ute book. The distinctive feature of this law was that it authorized, for the first time, a direct and general tax levy for the support of public schools, whereas previously the reliance had been on the inadequate returns from the permanent
* "Caleb Mills and the Indiana School System," by Charles W. Moores; Ind. Hist. Soc. publications, vol. iii. The fullest and best study we have of this chapter in our educational his- tory.
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school fund. It also changed the machinery of school administration, as organized, and intro- duced more of a system .*
The free school principle which, under the old constitution, was subject to the shifting notions of public opinion and of successive Legislatures, was fixed in the new constitution by a mandatory provision that there should be "a general and uniform system of common schools, wherein tui- tion shall be without charge, and equally open to all." This was an immense advance gained by the advocates of free and universal education, and one step toward the "general and uniform system" was the further provision for election by the voters of the State of a State superintend- ent of public instruction as head of the whole educational plan.
Law of 1852; Beginning of New Regime .- The first Legislature under the new constitution, that of 1852, passed a law that went a step farther in the direction of a uniform and efficient system, though in the general re-arrangement under new conditions it had many problems to contend with. It has been said that "the dawn of our present common school system began in 1852. . . . The law embodied the principle that the property of the State should educate the children of the State and that all the common schools should be open to pupils without charge. It provided for the consolidation and gen- eral management by the State of all the per- manent school funds and for the better investment of the school funds" (W. H. Smith). It also provided for the election of a State super- intendent of public instruction and for the estab- lishment of a State Board of Education.
A distinctive feature of the law that proved to be, virtually, its undoing was the authorization of school corporations in cities and towns inde- pendent of the township corporations that had previously comprehended the whole system, and the further authorization of local taxation at the option of the people supplemental to the general fund. This opened the way in the centers of population for graded, superior schools, and un- der the stimulus of it many cities levied the extra
tax and proceeded to develop something larger and better than the country schools of the town- ship system.
The Perkins Decision .- In 1855 this new prog- ress received a serious check. Many still opposed taxation for educational purposes as a coercive policy. The constitutionality of the law was questioned, and in a suit brought in the city of Lafayette by one William M. Jenners, which found its way to the Supreme Court, the conten- tion of the plaintiff was sustained by Judge Sam- uel Perkins, and the law overthrown. The result of this court decision was a discouraging set- back to the cause of education. Professor Boone says that "most city schools were classed as pub- lic schools, the houses rented to private parties and superintendents and teachers dismissed, not a few of the best of both classes leaving the State ;" and again : "This condition gave Indiana through a decade of years, a reputation that re- quired another decade to wipe out." In other words, the restricting of the educational work to the returns from the permanent fund and the general State tax of ten cents on each hundred dollars' worth of property, threw the schools back on a revenue so insufficient that the school term was reduced to two or three months, or less, and in 1859, for example, "the entire school rev- enue of every kind, distributed to the schools, averaged but 94 cents per child-only $68 to each of the 6,500 schools" (Boone).
The detrimental effects of this adverse decision of Judge Perkins was felt for a dozen years, dur- ing which time a revival of private schools of va- rious kinds was the educational salvation of the State. In 1867 another local tax law was passed and public sentiment, by this time, was so favora- ble to it that its constitutionality was not ques- tioned until eighteen years later. In 1885 a test case was made in the Switzerland county circuit court, similar to the one in Lafayette thirty years before. It went to the Supreme Court and this time Judge Byron K. Elliott laid the ghost by de- claring constitutional the controverted section of the law.
AGRICULTURAL ADVANCEMENT
A New Impulse .- During this decade there was a very decided movement toward agricul- tural advancement. From the beginning, indeed,
* Prior to the Legislature of 1849 a popular vote was taken on the free school question and it carried by more than 16,000, but the forty-three counties constituting the south half of the State returned a majority of 1,634 against free schools while the forty- seven counties north of an east and west line drawn along the south boundary of Marion county gave a favorable majority of 18,270. (Boone.)
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farming had been considered as the mainstay of the country, but attempts to improve its status by organized effort had been, at the best, spo- radic. As early as 1835 a State Board of Agri- culture had been created, but for years it had only a nominal existence ; and the same seems to have been true of various county societies. The first step toward a more efficient order may be found in the message of Governor Wright, de- livered December 31, 1850. Wright, although fun has been poked at him, and his political op- ponents facetiously accused him of advising the farmers to buy hydraulic rams for the purpose of improving the breeds of sheep, is nevertheless justly honored among the governors as a patron saint of husbandry.
State Board of Agriculture .- In his message referred to he advised the re-establishment of a State Board of Agriculture and suggested feat- ures of a plan that were incorporated in a law which followed. This law, "An Act for the En- couragement of Agriculture," approved February 14, 1851, and re-enacted with some modifications on February 17, 1852, provided, in the first place, for the formation of county societies, for the en- couragement of which, under certain conditions, there was granted all moneys collected as licenses for the exhibitions of menageries, circuses, the- atrical performances or other shows. It also "created a body corporate, with perpetual suc- cession . under the name and style of the 'Indiana State Board of Agriculture,'" which was to receive reports from the various country societies, deliberate with delegates from such societies "as to the wants, prospects and condi- tions of the agricultural interests throughout the State," and to make an annual report to the Gen- eral Assembly. This board was given "power to hold State fairs at such times and places as they may deem expedient" and, having entire con- trol of the same, could fix the amount of the va- rious premiums offered.
The Board of Agriculture organized and held its first meeting May 28, 1851, with Governor Wright as president; John B. Dillon, secretary, and Royal Mayhew, treasurer. The question of a State agricultural fair was discussed, some members urging such an exhibition, and others holding that the conditions, both as to transporta- tion facilities and public sentiment were not yet quite ripe. In deference to the latter argument,
it seems, the fair project was postponed for a year and a half.
County Societies .- The formation of county societies progressed from the first, and by 1852 there were forty-five of them in existence, and the reports of these organizations incorporated. along with other matter, in the annual report of the State board, present, from 1852, an excellent record of the agricultural progress of the State.
First State Fair .- There doubtless was a re- lation between the establishment of a State fair and the existence of the railroads which made practicable the transportation of live stock and exhibits from various parts of the State. The first of these fairs was held in Indianapolis, Oc- tober 20, 21 and 22, 1852, on the grounds now known as Military park, west of West street. It was an event of great popular interest. The newspapers devoted a quite unusual amount of space to it and the people, both exhibitors and visitors, rallied to make it a success. It was re- garded as an important forward step in the State's progress. To quote from a paper of the day : "A just pride in the utility and greatness of their pursuits will be generally infused among our farmers, mechanics and manufacturers. Standards of excellence in stock, of utility in machines, and of true taste in the elegant articles of comfort and luxury will be fixed in the minds of all. Progress in their respective pursuits will take the place of indifference in their minds. A laudable ambition to have the mantel decorated with a silver cup will actuate all, and thus feel- ing and acting, who can calculate the ultimate re- sult ?"
There were 1,365 entries, with quite a showing of improved agricultural machinery, and a large exhibit of live stock, chiefly hogs, sheep and cat- tle. Of the latter the Durham were most in evi- dence, though Devons, Herefords and Ayreshires were also represented. As shown by the treas- urer's report, premiums to the amount of $1,026 were distributed among about 160 entries. The out-of-town attendance taxed the capacity of both the fair grounds and the city's facilities for accommodations,* and the total gate receipts at 20 cents a head amounted to something over $4,600, which, according to the local papers, de-
* The estimated attendance the first day was 15,000; on the second, 25.000, while on the third there were "more people in town than the grounds could hold."
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frayed expenses and allowed the return of $2,000 that had been borrowed from the State.
Fair Week in Indianapolis .- Incidentally, this was undoubtedly the liveliest week that In- dianapolis had ever known. The place was filled with side-shows and catch-pennies. A vaudeville troupe, under the management of the once-fa- mous "Yankee" Robinson, gave three perform- ances daily in a tent near the fair grounds. Wells' minstrels were another attraction. A man named Dichl put up what he advertised as an "enormous pavilion" near the State House, where he gave pyrotechnic displays, and there was a "grand exhibition of the world's fair," being illuminated views of the London Crystal Palace exposition ; also "Beard's Hoosier Panorama of Paradise Lost," showed at one of the churches. Then P. T. Barnum came along with his museum and menagerie, and, added to all, the Democrats had a big torchlight procession which was to close with speaking at the Wright House, where the New York store now stands, but the whigs gath- ered to howl down the speakers, thus contribut- ing to the pandemonium which the good citi- zens of Indianapolis had to endure for that week.
Original Policy a Shifting Fair .- The orig- inal intention, out of deference to the other leading towns of the State, was to shift the fair from place to place, giving Indianapolis every third year. In accordance e with this idea Lafayette had it in 1853 and Madison in 1854. At both these places it was a financial failure. Then it was kept at Indianapolis for four years. In 1859 New Albany tried it, but again it was a financial failure, and after that it remained per- manently at the capital, the grounds being changed from Military park to a thirty-six-acre purchase at the north edge of the city, now built over and known as Morton Placc.
ROADS
The Plank Road Era .- An innovation in road- making during the fifties constituted what is sometimes called the "plank road cra."
The plank road appears to have originated in Russia, to have found its way thence into Canada, and from there into parts of the United States lying contiguous to Canada. In a country where timber was not merely abundant, but an actual encumbrance, the conversion of this tim-
ber into a solid road as smooth as a floor was a captivating proposition, and the fever caught and spread. In no place was there better reason for its spreading than in Indiana, and accord- ingly for nearly ten years (through the fifties) we had the plank road era. The promise of im- mediate returns was, presumably, sufficient to attract capital, and the State very wisely handed over the new movement to the capitalists. From 1848 we find laws authorizing corporations to take possession of the existing roads, to con- vert them into plank roads, and to erect and maintain toll-houses for revenue along the same. In 1850 one of these companies, organized to build a plank road from New Harmony to Mount Vernon, in Posey county, sent Robert Dale Owen to western New York to investigate the roads already in operation there, and the result was the publication of a small book containing a mass of information upon the subject .* There were va- rious widths and methods of laying in the con- struction of these roads, but that recommended by Owen was eight feet wide, formed of planks two and one-half to four inches thick laid cross- wise on long mud sills, and well spiked down. The cost of this material he estimated at $938.08 to $1,689.60 per mile, according to thickness of planks. The labor involved a party of twelve or fourteen hands with teams for ploughing, scrap- ing, rolling, etc., and these could lay from thirty to forty rods per day, at an expense of perhaps $200 per mile. The approximate total cost of a road built of three-inch white oak planks was given as $2,000 per mile.
While Owen, with the bias of an advocate, per- haps, figures that a white oak road would do good service for at least twelve years, as a matter of fact those constructed in this State would seem to be much shorter of life. Within ten years the decadence had plainly set in, for a law of 1859 prohibits the collection of tolls on roads that are not kept up, and about this time plank road legis- lation disappears from the statutes. The diffi- culty was not only decay, but the warping and working loose of the planks.
Introduction of Gravel Roads .- In 1858 we find the first statutory mention of gravel roads, and the introduction of this material, presum- ably about that time, was the beginning of a possible permanent excellence. Why it was
* Owen on "Plank Roads," New Albany, 1850.
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Caution Signal south of Rossville, Ind
Scene near Cambria, Ind.
Scene near Rossville, Ind.
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"A Mile a Minute" near Radnor
7 : T / The Hoosier near Frankfort, Ind. Scenes 'on the. Monon Route Showing Automatic Block Signals
First Signal south of Oakley, Ind.
CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
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not earlier used is not easy to learn, but it is probable that prior to the clearing up of the country, when the drift-choked, forest-en- vironed streams flowed with a fuller volume, gravel bars were at once much less in evidence, and much less accessible than at a later day. Con- struction with this new material went on under private enterprise, the State became well traversed with toll-roads, and the ubiquitous little toll-house, with its long sweep pole, is still fresh in the memories of most of us.
The next turn in legislation was a provision (as early as 1879) for the county control of free turnpikes and the authorization of tax levies for that purpose. Under these laws the improved roads have, one by one, been bought up by the several counties, and the abolishment of the toll- gate is becoming general .*
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