USA > Indiana > Public men of Indiana : a political history, 1890-1920, v. 2 > Part 8
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"I shall take your petition into respectful and deliberate consideration ; but before I come to a final decision I should like to know what you and your associates are willing to do for the slaves in my possession, if I should think proper to liberate them? I own about fifty slaves, worth probably $15,000. To turn them loose upon society, without any means of subsistence or support, would be an act of cruelty. Are you willing to raise and secure the payment of $15,000 for their benefit, if I should be induced to free them? The security of the pay- ment of that sum would materially lessen the ob- stacle in the way of their emancipation."
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This placing of a property valuation on human beings, and the fact that both the Whig and Democratic parties were equal contributors to the support of the slave-holding oligarchy led to the formation of a new party of freedom called the Free Soil party that gained such strength in that section of Indiana that George W. Julian, one of its founders, was, in 1848, elected to Congress, and four years later was its candidate for vice-president on its national ticket headed by John P. Hale.
Upon his entrance into Congress in 1850 he availed himself of his first opportunity when the House was in committee of the whole on the state of the Union, of delivering a speech on the slavery question that covers twenty columns of the Con- gressional Globe and in its massing of facts, his- torical quotations, and forceful reasoning is prob- ably unsurpassed by any speech that was ever de- livered in that body on that or any other question. It was extensively circulated in all parts of the United States and found many readers in other parts of the world.
It set forth the causes of the existence and the purposes of the new party of freedom and was a startling revelation of the insidious workings of the slave-holding power in its past and purposed future aggressions, and awakened the country to a realization of existing facts of which it had not pre- viously been informed. It was a fearless indictment against the slave owners and their allies in both the Whig and Democratic parties, and in its counts impliedly included charges against his Indiana col-
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leagues in the House and the State's members of the United States Senate, and at the same time antagonized the well known sentiments of the voters of the State, who were in full accord with slave- holding designs.
The ordinance of 1787 passed by Congress for the government of the territory north and west of the Ohio River contained an unalterable provision prohibiting slavery in that territory, but in the face of that prohibition it is recorded in the annals of the Congress that in 1804 the people of the Indiana territory memorialized Congress to suspend that provision in the ordinance (Hildreth's History, Vol. V, p. 497). If that memorial had been granted both Indiana and Illinois would have come into the Union as slave States, the latter then being within the territory of the former.
Jesse D. Bright, United States senator from Indiana from 1845 until his expulsion in 1862, though a resident of Madison, Indiana, was the owner of a plantation and a large number of slaves in Kentucky and a most obliging accomplice of the slave owners in all their designs. In 1853, on the death of Vice-President King, he became president pro tem of the United States Senate and signified his sentiments by refusing to assign three eminent members of the Free Soil party, John P. Hale, Charles Sumner, and Salmon P. Chase, to any posi- tions on the standing committees of the senate "upon the ground that they were not members of any healthy political organization."
With full knowledge of these conditions and sen-
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timents and doubtless inspired by his knowledge of them, Julian's speech was an argumentum ad hominen, more vigorous than any that had been heard up to that time, and was unsparing in its denunciations of the support that had been given to the slave power both by Congress and the agencies of the general government in yielding assent to its extension of the system into new terri- tories.
In May, 1836, the House of Representatives had adopted a resolution which excluded from being read or considered "all petitions, memorials, resolu- tions and propositions, relating in any way or to any extent whatever to the subject of slavery." Mr. Julian referred to this fact in his great speech, and the great satisfaction he must have experienced in compelling the hearing of his words as the rep- resentative of a liberty loving constituency can well be imagined.
He conceded that it was not within the power of Congress to prevent the people of States from maintaining the system of slavery as a State in- stitution if they desired to, but vigorously denied their right to extend it beyond their boundaries, exclaiming to them, "Take the putreseent corpse of slavery into your embrace, and let your Southern Confederacy encircle it amid the hisses of the civi- lized world, but discontinue your aggressions into free soil."
At the elose of the session of Congress, in Sep- tember, 1850, he delivered another on the subject of the "healing measures of Congress" that in great
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reasoning and instructiveness was only equaled by the first. The combined powers of the Whig and Democratic parties of his district were necessary to defeat him for re-election and for the next ten years he only had the satisfaction of seeing the germination of the seed he had sown that finally grew into the formation of the Republican party that elected him to Congress again in 1860 and for four terms re-elected him.
The few Democrats of Wayne County had as their leader for many years William A. Bickel, of Richmond, and Lafe Develin, of Cambridge City. In later years they were led by Thomas J. Study, one of the ablest lawyers of the State, whose death occurred in 1914. Associated with him in political activities from 1890 for a few years was Thomas J. Newkirk, formerly of Rush County. Samuel E. Perkins, about the year 1840, tried the experiment of publishing a Democratic newspaper at Richmond, called The Jeffersonian, in association with James Elder. It lived until 1864 when Perkins for a time became an editorial writer on the Indianapolis Sentinel. While editing The Jef- fersonian he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court by Governor James Whitcomb. Under the State constitution of 1816 all judges were ap- pointed by the governor. Isaac Blackford, the first of the early judges, served for thirty-five years; was first appointed by Governor Jennings. Judge Blackford looked upon the appointment of Judge Perkins as unfitting and purely as a reward for party service, and Samuel E. Perkins, Jr., a son
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of the judge, was the authority for the statement to the writer that when he went on the bench Judge Blackford refused to speak to him or consult with him, but afterwards became reconciled to an asso- ciation with him. Judge Perkins served as Supreme judge from 1846 until 1865 and was again elected in 1876 for six years, but died before his term ex- pired. Before 1876 he served for a time as one of the judges of the Superior Court of Marion County. Passing to the years of the period covered by this volume the prominent Republicans of Wayne County were Henry U. Johnson, Wil- liam Dudley Foulke, Daniel W. Comstock and Henry C. Starr. Henry U. Johnson represented the county in the State senate as the Republican leader of that body in the sessions of 1887 and 1889. In 1890 he was elected to Congress, re- elected in 1892 and 1894, and was succeeded in Con- gress by James E. Watson in 1896.
In the campaign of 1900 the Democratic party re-adopted its free silver platform of 1896 and added what it termed "Imperialism" as a cause for the defeat of McKinley's second election, and made the latter what it termed as the paramount issuc. This "paramount" issue was based on the conten- tion that it was the purpose of Mckinley, if re- elected, to exercise imperialistic power over Cuba and the Philippine Islands and to deny to both of these countries the right of self-government. Henry U. Johnson had broken with his party because of this so-called imperialistic policy, that was more imaginary than real, and supported Bryan on this
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platform in 1900, and became identified with the Democratic party afterwards in so far as he had any party identification, but refused to accept its nomination for Congress that it tendered him. He was an able lawyer and rapid-fire orator. George W. Julian had nothing on him in vigorous methods of expression.
The ghost of imperialism did not appear in Mc- Kinley's second administration as Henry U. John- son and others had predicted. On assuming the office of President by Roosevelt as Mckinley's suc- cessor, he announced his intention to follow the plans and policies of his predecessor. While his administration as the successor of Mckinley and as his own successor was one of vigor and in which he never shrank from responsibility, the nearest approach to imperialism that occurred was in the matter of the Panama Canal, when the United States, under his direction, acquired the rights that an old French company held in the Isthmus of Panama, together with the right to construct the canal. With Columbia, through whose territory the canal was to be constructed, some troubles arose but they have been adjusted and the construction of the canal is regarded now as one of the great achievements of his administration, but it will not in the opinion of many ever accomplish its designed purposes until a system of interior waterways may be connected with it, and that was declared to be one of the progressive achievements to which the National Progressive party pledged itself in 1912, and its platform implied a criticism of negligence
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on the part of Taft's administration, as the con- servation of the natural resources of the country, and the construction of inland waterways was loudly proclaimed as the policies that he would carry out.
It was never fashionable to be a Democrat in Wayne County, and in fact but few of that faith ever gained a position of respectability in the esti- mation of Republican partisans. The Republicans who at times, but in a very few instances, disagreed with their party could never see their way clear to join the Democratic party, and only went so far as to declare themselves as independents, or by some other name less odious than Demo- crat.
William Dudley Foulke, formerly prominent as a Republican leader, opposed the election of Blaine in 1884 and declared his purpose to support Cleve- land and was at once and by his one choice classed as a "Mugwump," a name given to the class of Republican supporters of Cleveland, among these being the great preacher Henry Ward Beecher and many other "intellectuals" of the country. It was Mrs. Henry Ward Beccher who wrote the letter to Cleveland calling on him to enlighten them as to the Maria Halpin story, which he answered, admitting the facts and told them to "tell the truth."
Foulke was a pronounced, sincere and deter- mined advocate of civil service reform, and prominently identified with civil service reform organizations, and became president of the Civil
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Service Commission by appointment of President Roosevelt.
Cleveland's failure to carry out his promises to give effect to the civil service law, to the extent that Foulke had expected, was a great disappoint- ment to him and he repudiated his administration and became a supporter of General Harrison, both for nomination and election in 1888, believing and probably relying upon his promise to do what Cleveland had in his estimation failed to do, but much to his disappointment and disgust Harrison was about as much a civil service reformer in office as Cleveland had been. And in 1892 he decided to · support and give Cleveland another chance, believ- ing that the influences of the spoils system would not again operate on him, but he found again that Cleveland only had the symptoms of a reformer during his last term. Foulke was elected to the State senate of Indiana to serve at the session of 1883 and at once became the Republican leader at that and the next session, in both of which his party was in the minority.
Under his leadership the Democrats were put on the defensive in their efforts to pass party measures. Among these were a redistricting or "gerry- mandering" bill that they attempted to pass. Another was a metropolitan police bill that was designed to give political police control to them in Indianapolis and other Republican cities. These measures and probably others were defeated by filibustering tactics in speaking to kill time. Foulke was a splendid speaker, an able debater, quick in
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repartee and well up in parliamentary usages, and his experiences in life with the great advantages he had acquired by education, association and travel- ing over the world had provided him with an abundance of resourceful material for use on such occasions, and only absolute physical exhaustion required him on one of these occasions to suspend his remarks for a few minutes following a hemor- rhage of words that it was estimated had gushed forth for twenty consecutive hours. He was, while serving in the State senate, not only determined to defeat vicious party measures proposed by Demo- crats but was equally insistent in putting them in the position of defeating much meritorious legisla- tion that he proposed if he could not persuade them to join him in passing it. The only measure that he succeeded in inducing them to pass was one re- lating to the location of one of the State hospitals for the insane in Wayne County at Richmond, which under the circumstances was a great triumph for him.
He introduced as the first measure of the ses- sion of 1883 a civil service bill similar in its pro- visions to the Federal law and made a speech of some length setting forth the advantages of the competitive system in filling offices. The other senators listened attentively to his speech, but that was all the consideration the measure received. His Republican colleagues had no more intention of voting for its passage than did the Democrats. Their views on the "spoils" system were quite har- monious. Only a few men like Foulke are sincere
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in their pretenses of abhorrence of the spoils sys- tem.
Writing about his experience as a State senator in his splendid book, published in 1922, entitled "A Hoosier Autobiography," he says: "In look- ing over the chronicles of this session and the. ab- stracts of the debates in the Brevier reports I am confronted with a record of remarkable garrulity. I introduced more bills and made a great many more speeches than any other man in the legisla- ture, and at this moment I wonder that my fellow members bore with me as well as they did. That a man of no great experience should be telling a body of that description what it ought to do upon every possible subject is not easily to be endured. They had, however, an effective remedy-they could easily vote me down, which they generally did."
His fascinating autobiography reveals his life in all of its stages, and it has not been without some romantic thrills.
He was born in New York City on November 20, 1848, of Quaker parentage, attended a Friends Seminary in which his father was a teacher, where he prepared himself for entrance at Columbia Col- lege, where he completed a full course and grad- uated with the honors of his class, winning a Greek prize of three hundred dollars. He then took a full law course at the same institution, graduating from it in 1869. In 1870 he went with his father across the continent, where in California he met the young lady who a little later became his wife, a daughter of Mark E. Reeves, a wealthy merchant of Cin-
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cinnati whose family residence was at Richmond. The following summer Mr. Reeves and his family sailed for Europe. He followed and on October 10, 1872, Miss Reeves became Mrs. Foulke, the marriage ceremony taking place at the American Legation in Paris. On their return to New York soon after this occurrence he began the law prac- tice, an occupation not entirely consistent with the Quaker creed of opposition to war slavery, intem- perance and litigation. In this he continued until the year 1876, when he became a citizen of Rich- mond and an associate in his chosen profession with Jesse P. Siddall, an able lawyer of the Wayne County bar. He continued in the active practice until 1885 when he withdrew from it to give atten- tion to his many personal interests that required his attention. His political oscillations already mentioned may justly be credited to indepen- dence of character and sincerity of conviction. His "hobby," if it may be so called, of what is termed civil service reform, that makes the reform depen- dent upon an educational test, may restrict the spoils system to some extent, but its practicability is not generally admitted. If some method of rid- ding the civil service of the bureaucratic system that has grown up could be devised it would be quite as meritorious as the destruction of the spoils sys- tem.
Following his retirement from the law practice he found it necessary to feed his vigorous intellect and trained mind on something other than the dull details of business life and soon became an author
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and publicist of more than local renown, and added to his accomplishments in that line the pleasures and advantages of travel in all parts of the world. He was at a health resort in Germany when the World War began and experienced many incon- veniences and some hardships in getting back to his native land. His return trip was on the ill-fated Lusitania that was later sunk by a German war vessel. In his observations of the invasion of Bel- gium, as related in his autobiography, he places much blame on Belgians for the destruction of cities, cathedrals and universities because of their unnecessarily firing on German troops from roofs and windows, but condemns the German invasion of neutral territory in proper terms. His observa- tions and belief that America would be brought into the war made him a strong advocate of prepared- ness, that he urged in many public addresses soon after his return. His official and personal associa- tion with Roosevelt was so intimate that his ad-' miration of him bordered on infatuation. He approved all of Roosevelt's acts during his admin- istration and became one of the strongest supporters of his short lived Progressive party. His auto- biography is much more than an interesting account of the events of his life. It is in fact a political history of the United States from 1884 to 1921, and recitals from its contents would be far more interesting in book reviews by professional book reviewers than the senseless jargon they usually put forth in their so-called reviews. In its last pages in a retrospective statement he says: "Looking
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back from the age of seventy years, and more, upon the various opinions, political, social, and religious, which I held in earlier times, I find that I have changed very few of them. The abhorrenee of human slavery inculcated in childhood, when our house was a station on the underground railway, has remained through life. My adherence to the Republican party in early manhood still seems to me justified by what that party had done, and my temporary alienation from it, in the support of Cleveland, still appears reasonable and right.
"In my faith in Theodore Roosevelt I have seen no ground for change and continue to regard it as a supreme achievement that I was able to win and to keep the warm and abiding friendship of this great man."
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CHAPTER XX
J AMES P. GOODRICH was elected governor in 1916. He had been prominent in business enterprises and in Republican State and National politics for a number of years. Among others of his business enterprises he projected and con- structed what is now known as the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad of Indiana.
At the time of his election as governor it was imminent that war would be declared by the United States against Germany, and it was declared three months after his inauguration, following which he became very active in support of it, not alone as the executive of the State but as a loyal citizen, and had many difficult and delicate duties to per- form in reference to it, that did not end with the armistice, as related elsewhere. His administration of the affairs of the State in its civil government was marked with an unusual number of important events and achievements. Two regular and special sessions of the legislature of the State were held during his term at which a number of laws of far- reaching importance were enacted and had his . approval, and a number of them were passed upon his recommendation in messages that he delivered to the general assembly. These laws included state-wide prohibition, the enfranchisement of
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women, the creation of highway and conservation commissions, separate banking and insurance de- partments, a revision of tax laws, and the con- solidation of the printed reports of the various State institutions into one annual volume entitled the "Year Book," a number of acts of interest to labor, and others growing out of the necessities for carry- ing on the World War. The inflated costs of liv- ing and extraordinary expenses of carrying on the State government during that period required strict economy in every department, and to reduce ex- penditures he caused the consolidation of the work in them and the dismissal of a number of clerks and other employes. His administration made a new record in the management of the State's penal and benevolent institutions in that the penal institutions made enough money out of their various industries to pay all expenses and to return a surplus to the State treasury.
The State Council of Defense that he created to direct the State's war activities was composed of able men who gave him their full co-operation, with the result that the State led all others in voluntary enlistments in the war in proportion to population. His activities in war events and in dealing with a crisis that bordered on revolution, at its close, are more specifically set forth in other pages of this work.
Other State officials serving during the admin- istration of Governor Goodrich were: Edgar D. Bush, lieutenant governor; Willis A. Roach and Edward Jackson, secretaries of state; Otto L.
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Klaus, auditor of state; U. Z. MeMurtrie, treas- urer of state; Ele Stansbury, attorney general; Patrick J. Lynch, clerk of the Supreme Court; Louis Roark, state geologist; Linnaeus N. Hines, state superintendent of publie instruction. The judges of the Supreme Court eleeted during his term were Benjamin J. Willoughby and Howard L. Townsend, and of the Appellate Court Solon A. Enloe, Chas. F. Remy, Willis C. McMahon and Alonzo L. Nichols.
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CHAPTER XXI
INDIANA IN THE WORLD WAR
F OR a century the people of Indiana have en- gaged in political battles, always contending for the mastery over each other but always yielding their political activities to patriotie fervor when the crisis of war called upon them to manifest their loyalty, no matter what caused the war or what its purposes were.
Many of the State's noble sons volunteered as soldiers in both the Mexican and Civil wars and fought as valiantly in the former that had for its ulterior purpose the extension of slavery as in the latter that exterminated it.
It mattered little to Indiana soldiers that in the wars with Mexico, Spain and Germany they had to invade foreign countries to rescue the op- pressed from their oppressors.
In President McKinley's message to Congress in April, 1898, he asked authority to use the mili- tary and naval forces of the United States to com- pel Spain to evacuate Cuba and based his request upon Spain's inhumanity to Cubans, and not upon the fact that the "Maine" had been sunk in the Havana harbor, as will appear from his message.
In President Wilson's address to Congress on
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April 2, 1917, calling for a declaration of war against Germany, he said: "It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things we have always carried nearest our hearts, for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own govern- ments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free.
"To such a task we can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have with the pride of those who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured.
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