USA > Kansas > Kansas; a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence, Volume II > Part 16
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Lerado, an inland hamlet in the southern part of Reno county, is located 27 miles southwest of Hutchinson, the county seat, and 8 miles southeast of Langdon, whence its mail is distributed by rural route. The nearest railroad station and shipping point is Olcott, 4 miles south- west on the Kingman & Larned branch of the Missouri Pacific. The population according to the census of 1910 was 70. The little town was laid out in 1888, and is the central trading point for Bell township.
Le Roy, one of the principal towns of Coffey county, formerly the county seat, is located 8 miles southeast of Burlington, the county seat, at the junction of two lines of the Missouri Pacific R. R. and is con- nected with the Missouri, Kansas & Texas at Le Roy Junction, a short distance west of Le Roy proper. Le Roy has banking facilities, a flour mill, a vitrified brick plant, weekly and semi-weekly newspapers, excel- lent schools and substantial church buildings, a number of first class stores, telegraph and express offices, and an international money order postoffice with three rural routes. The population in 1910 was reported by the government census to be 861.
Le Roy was founded by Gen. John B. Scott, on land preempted for him by Frederick Troxel, who sold out his interest to Thomas Crab- tree. The first house was built by Thomas Crabtree and Isaac Chatham in the fall of 1855. The first justice of the peace, John B. Scott, received his commission in that year. He was also the first postmaster. In 1857 Jerome A. and P. H. Smith opened a general store in a log building.
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The same year two sawmills were set up, one by Futhey, Harvey & Co., and the other by Smith & Murden. The former attached a flour mill to their plant in 1859. A hotel was built by a Mr. Fisk that year, and a good school house was built. A brick building was erected by Dr. George W. Nelson, the bricks having been burned by John Cotting- ham. Until 1870 Le Roy was the largest and best town in the county. The first newspaper (the Le Roy Pioneer) was published in 1866 by William Kent and William Higgins.
Levant, a hamlet in Thomas county, is located in Hale township on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 8 miles west of Colby, the county seat. It has a general store, a grain elevator, and a money order postoffice with two rural routes. The population according to the . census of 1910 was 25.
Lewelling, Lorenzo D., twelfth governor of the State of Kansas, was born at Salem, Henry county, Ia., Dec. 21, 1846. His ancestry came from Wales, the name in that country having been spelled "Llewellyn." His father, William Lewelling, was a minister of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, and died in Indiana in 1848 while engaged in missionary work in that state. The mother was accidentally burned to death in 1855, after which Lorenzo for a time made his home with an older sister. He then worked at such employment as he could obtain until the break- ing out of the Civil war in 1861, when he enlisted in an Iowa regiment. This was contrary to the religious tenets of the Friends, and the fact that he was not of legal age enabled his relatives to secure his discharge. However, he was with the quartermaster's department for some time, and later was employed with a government bridge building corps about Chattanooga, Tenn. In 1865, just after the close of the war, he taught a negro school, under guard, at Mexico, Mo., being employed for that purpose by the Freedmen's Aid Society. Then, after attending a busi- ness college at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., for a short time, he worked as a tow-path boy on the Erie canal; as a carpenter in Toledo, Ohio; as a section hand and bridge-builder for several railroad companies, after which he returned to his native town and entered Whittier College, where he graduated about 1868. Upon finishing his schooling, he became a teacher in the Iowa state reform school. On April 18, 1870, he mar- ried Miss Angeline M. Cook, a teacher of Red Oak, Ia. In 1872 he was made superintendent of the girls' department of the reform school, his wife at the same time being appointed matron, and this position he held for fourteen years. He then spent about two years in founding and editing the Des Moines Capital, an "anti-ring" Republican newspaper, at the end of which time he returned to the reform school. His wife died while matron of that institution, leaving three daughters, and subse- quently Mr. Lewelling married Miss Ida Bishop. In 1887 he removed to Wichita, Kan., where he engaged in business. While in Iowa Mr. Lewelling held several positions of trust and responsibility. He was several times a delegate to the national congress of charities; was one of the board of directors of the state normal school, and was president .
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of the board at the time of his removal to Kansas. While engaged in newspaper work he became a student of economic and political ques- tions, and upon removing to Kansas he ceased to affiliate with the Republican party. He was one of the pioneers in the organization of the Farmers' Alliance, and in 1892 was nominated by the Populist party for governor. The Populist state convention of that year was held in Wichita and Mr. Lewelling appeared as a private citizen to welcome the delegates to the city. W. J. Costigan, an intimate friend of Gov. Lewelling, says: "Up to that hour scarcely a delegate in that convention had ever seen or heard of him. His address stirred the convention to its inmost fiber, and within the next twenty-four hours he was its candi- date for governor." The Democrats indorsed his candidacy and he was elected. In 1894 he was renominated, but the platform declared in favor of woman suffrage, which alienated Democratic support, and this, together with the recollections of the stormy scenes attending the opening days of his administration, encompassed his defeat. In 1896 he was a delegate to the Populist national convention that nominated Bryan and Watson, and the same year was elected to the Kansas state senate, which office he held at the time of his death. He died of heart disease at Arkansas City, Kan., on Sept. 3, 1900, while on his way home from Geuda Springs. Gov. Lewelling was prominent in Masonic circles, especially while a resident of Iowa, where he was twice master of his lodge, deputy grand master of the state, and grand orator for both the grand lodge and the grand commandery, Knights Templars. He was also a noble of the Mystic Shrine, and belonged to several other societies.
Lewelling's Administration .- Gov. Lewelling was inaugurated on Jan. 9, 1893. The dogmas of the People's party were reflected in his inaugu- ral address, as the following extracts will show: "If it be true that the poor have no right to the property of the rich, let it also be declared that the rich have no right to the property of the poor. It is the mission of Kansas to protect and advance the moral and material interests of all her citizens. It is her especial duty at the present time to protect the producer from the ravages of combined wealth. National legislation has for twenty years fostered and protected the interests of the few, while it has left the South and West to supply the products with which to feed and clothe the world, and thus to become the servants of wealth. . . . The purchasing power of the dollar has become so great that corn, wheat, beef, pork and cotton have scarcely commanded a price equal to the cost of production. The instincts of patriotism have naturally rebelled against these unwarranted encroachments of the power of money. Sectional hatred has also been kept alive by the old powers, the better to enable them to control the products and make the producer contribute to the millionaire. And thus, while the producer labors in the field, the shop, and the factory, the millionaire usurps his earnings and rides in gilded carriages with liveried servants.
"To check and change these conditions for the good of all, Kansas
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steps forth to-day. . . . There must be change, and change must be exaltation and progress. .. . Under the peaceful revolution that comes to Kansas to-day, let us hope there may also come a spirit of renewed devotion to the interests of the people, a spirit of sympathy for those who struggle, and an awakening to the greatness and responsibility of citizen- ship.
"The state is greater than the party, but the citizen is greater than the state, while the family is the priceless jewel of our civilization. The problem of to-day is to make the state subservient to the individual rather than to become his master."
On the 10th, the day following the delivery of this address, the legis- lature convened in regular session. The senate was composed of 25 Populists and 15 Republicans, and organized without difficulty, Lieut .- Gov. Percy Daniels presiding. The house of representatives was not so fortunate. Certificates of election had been issued by the state board of canvassers to 63 Republicans, 58 Populists, 3 Democrats, and I Inde- pendent. . In one district, owing to irregularities, the board had issued the certificate to the Republican candidate, who refused to accept it because his Democratic opponent had received a majority of the votes cast at the election. In thirteen districts the Populists contested the seats of the Republicans who had received the certificates of election. Before the legislature was convened, members of each party had made their boast that the other party would not be permitted to organize the house.
When the members of the house were assembled, Russell S. Osborn, secretary of state, appeared and made the statement that he could not deliver the roll of members as certified by the state board of canvassers until the house was organized. A motion that the secretary preside temporarily was objected to, and he left the hall, taking the membership roll with him. The Republican members then proceeded to organize the house by electing George L. Douglass speaker. At the same time, and in the same hall, the 58 Populists holding certificates of election and some of those contesting the seats of Republicans organized another house with John M. Dunsmore as speaker. Prentis says : "Both speakers occupied the same desk, and during the first night slept under the same blanket on the floor in the rear of the speaker's desk, each one with a gavel in his hand."
For several days the two contending bodies continued to hold their sessions on different sides of the hall. On the third day of the term Gov. Lewelling officially recognized the Populist, or as it was popularly called, the "Dunsmore" house, and the succeeding day the senate took the same action, the Republican senators formally protesting. After awhile an agreement was reached by which one house held its sessions in the forenoon and the other in the afternoon. Prominent citizens from all parts of the state visited Topeka and exhausted every effort to effect a settlement, but without avail. On the 17th the governor sent his mes- sage to each house, where it was read, and the Dunsmore house ordered it printed.
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The greater part of the message was devoted to a discussion of the state's finances and the condition of the public institutions. He made a number of recommendations, the most important of which were as follows: 1-The enactment of law authorizing a thorough revision of the general laws of the state; 2-The creation of an intermediate court of appeals, which should have final jurisdiction upon appeals from the district courts in civil actions where the amount in controversy did not exceed a given sum ; 3-A careful revision of the election laws; 4-That the "gold clause" in mortgages and securities should be absolutely pro- hibited; 5-A constitutional amendment to provide some method of determining controversies growing out of contested seats in both branches of the legislature. The last named recommendation was prompted by the conditions then existing. "The right of a constituency," said he, "to be represented in the legislature by the person receiving a majority of the honest votes cast is sacred, and should not be vitiated by fraud, nor trifled away by a throw of dice or the chance of a lottery."
To understand this allusion it is necessary to explain that, in the elec- tion of 1892, there was a tie vote in one of the representative districts, and in deciding the result by lot the Republican candidate was suc- cessful.
On the subject of election reform he offered some sound suggestions. "Marvelous reforms," said he, "have been witnessed in the United States in the last few years in the methods of exercising the elective franchise, and all tending, it is confidently believed, toward purer elections. It is a matter of regret that Kansas has fallen far behind in these reform measures, and now stands almost alone among her northern sisters. The method of reform generally adopted is that known as the Australian system, and there is no doubt but some modifications of this system should be adopted in Kansas."
The use of free passes on railroads came in for severe denunciation. On this question he said: "The liberal bestowal of free passes upon cer- tain classes of our citizens is pernicious and corrupting in its tendency and should be prohibited. At the recent general election, and the cam- paign which preceded it, great scandals arose by reason of the plenitude of railroad passes as a potent factor in securing attendance at certain conventions, and transporting voters."
No change occured in the legislative situation for several weeks, the two houses continuing to hold their daily sessions, each ignoring the acts of the other. Finally the elections committee of the Douglass house summoned L. C. Gunn, a prominent business man of Parsons, to appear and testify as a witness in one of the contests. Mr. Gunn refused to obey the summons and was arrested by a sergeant at arms of the Repub- lican house. He promptly instituted habeas corpus proceedings, and in this way the question of the legality of the Douglass house was brought before the supreme court. On Feb. 14, while the Gunn habeas corpus case was still pending, two deputy sergeants at arms of the Republican house arrested Ben C. Rich, the chief clerk of the Populist house. After
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a short but sharp struggle, Mr. Rich was released by some of his friends. and in a short time appeared in the Populist house wearing the air of a conqueror. Fearing further trouble, the governor directed the adju- tant-general to call out a company of militia. On the night of the 14th the officers of the Populist house took possession of the hall of the house of representatives and barricaded the doors. When the Republican members went to the capitol on the morning of the 15th, they found guards stationed at the several entrances of the state-house. A short consultation was held, when, led by Speaker Douglass, the legislators brushed aside this outer guard and hurried to the hall, only to find the doors closed against them. A heavy sledge hammer, wielded by a brawny Republican, soon effected an entrance, the Populists were ejected, and the Republicans in turn barricaded themselves in the hall.
Gov. Lewelling then called out several companies of militia; arms were supplied from the state arsenal; a squad of artillerists with a Gat- ling gun was brought from Wichita; and the capital grounds soon wore the aspect of a military encampment. On the other side, Sheriff Wilker- son, who had refused to obey a summons from both Gov. Lewelling and Speaker Dunsmore, declared himself the only legally constituted cus- todian of the peace in Shawnee county, swore in a large number of deputies, and with this force joined the Republican sergeants at arms in the capitol. For the next forty-eight hours after they forcibly took pos- session of the hall, the Republican members of the legislature, with Sheriff Wilkerson and his deputies, were practically in a state of siege. Friends on the outside of the building brought them food, which was at first drawn up through the windows in baskets, though later supplies of this nature were permitted to "pass through the lines." The city of Topeka stood on the brink of a smoldering volcano, so to speak, and only the slightest spark was needed to start an eruption. Everything moved under high pressure. The city was filled with visitors from all parts of the state, and "nearly every man carried a gun." Wise counsel and self-restraint carried the day, however, and serious trouble was averted.
On the afternoon of the 16th Gov. Lewelling requested those occupy- ing the hall of representatives to turn it over to him until the next morn- ing, but the request was refused. A committee of citizens urged Mr. Douglass and his followers to make the concession, fearing a contest with the militia, though without success, the Republicans evidently believing in the old saying that "Possession is nine points in law."
The siege was raised on the 17th, when an agreement was reached by which the militia and deputy sheriffs should both be withdrawn ; the pro- ceedings against Mr. Rich to be dropped; the Republicans to continue to hold the hall, and the Populists to hold their sessions elsewhere. The south corridor of the capitol was fitted up with desks and seats and the Dunsmore house met there until the 25th, when the decision of the supreme court in the Gunn habeas corpus case was handed down. The opinion, an exhaustive review of the entire case, was written by Chief
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Justice Horton and was concurred in by Justice Johnston, Justice Allen dissenting.
After reviewing all the facts and evidence in the case, and citing numerous authorities, Justice Horton closed his opinion as follows : "From all that we have said, our conclusion is, and must imperatively be, that the house known as the Douglass house is the legal and con- stitutional house of representatives of the State of Kansas, and, being such house, it has the power to compel witnesses to appear and testify before it or one of its committees in election contests arising in that body. It has full power to punish for contempt any witness who refuses to appear when personally subpoenaed in an election contest or other proper proceedings pending. It has also the power to protect itself from disorder, disturbance or violence. It has never been destroyed, ousted or dissolved since its organization. It is a body, or house, having authority to commit. The petitioner is remanded."
Justice Horton received letters from Judge Brewer of the United States supreme court, Thomas M. Cooley, J. Sterling Morton, and other eminent lawyers and jurists, complimenting him upon the soundness and comprehensiveness of his decision.
On the 26th, the day following the decision of the court, the Populist house appointed a special committee, consisting of the speaker, R. H. Semple and J. M. Doubleday, to prepare a protest against the decision. This protest, with an address to the people of Kansas, was submitted and adopted on the 27th, which was the last session this house ever held as a separate body. At 10 o'clock a. m. on the 28th, the members assembled, and under the Stars and Stripes marched into the hall of representatives and took their seats, recognizing for the remainder of the session the Douglass organization.
While the disorder was at its height, Gov. Lewelling ordered Col. J. W. F. Hughes, commanding the Third regiment of the state militia, to eject from the hall of representatives Nicholas Kline, the certified member from Jackson county. Hughes refused to obey the order and was subsequently relieved of his command, but not until after one of the most notable trials by court-martial in the military history of the country.
On Jan. 24, the time required by law, each of the two houses and the state senate took a ballot for United States senator. In the senate John WV. Ady received 15 votes; Frank Doster, 10; John Martin, 6; J. W. Breidenthal, 6; J. D. McCleverty, B. P. Waggener and S. S. King, I each. In the Dunsmore house the vote stood as follows: 19 for J. W. Breidenthal; 14 for Frank Doster; 9 for John Martin; 3 for S. S. King; II for M. W. Cobun; I for Charles Robinson; I for W. C. Jones, and I for J. M. Senter, a total of 59 votes. Sixty-six votes were cast in the Douglass house, of which John W. Ady received 62; Ed O'Bryan, 2; Ed Carroll, I, and B. W. Perkins I.
A joint session was held at noon on the following day. When the roll of the senate was called 24 of the Populist senators voted for John (II-10)
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Martin and I for M. W. Cobun. The 15 Republican senators were present, but did not vote. The roll of the Dunsmore house was then called. John Martin received 62 votes; M. W. Cobun, 3; W. S. Hanna, S. H. Snider, Fred Close and Frank Doster, I each. Fifty-six members of the Douglass house were present but did not vote.
According to the journal of the Republican house, the joint session adjourned to noon on the 26th. At the adjourned session Speaker Douglass presided. Mr. Hoch offered a series of resolutions, the pre- amble of which set forth that 160 members holding legal certificates of election were present in the joint session of the 25th; that 77 of these members were denied the right to vote, and had they been permitted to vote, no one would have received a majority of all the votes cast as required by law. It was therefore
"Resolved, That there has been no election of a United States senator by the Kansas legislature at this session.
"Resolved, That we enter our solemn protest against this revolutionary and illegal transaction, and instruct the president of this joint assembly to appoint a committee, to consist of three members of the house and two members of the senate, to prepare a formal statement and emphatic protest to the senate of the United States, to be signed by the members of this assembly, protesting against the seating of John Martin as sena- tor from this state."
The resolutions were adopted, and Speaker Douglass appointed Repre- sentatives Hoch, Cubbison and Hopkins, and Senators Baker and Will- cockson on the committee. The protest and memorial presented by the committee and signed by 77 members, stated that in the joint session of the 25th the clerk omitted from the roll call Io members holding certificates and called the names of 10 persons holding no certificates; that 9 of these pretended members voted for Mr. Martin and one for Mr. Hanna; that Senator Baker asked permission, on behalf of himself, 14 members of the senate and 65 members of the house, to vote for senator, but Lieut .- Gov. Daniels, who presided over the joint assembly, denied them the right to do so; that the lieutenant-governor then announced the whole number of votes cast as being 93, of which John Martin had received 86; M. W. Cobun, I; Fred Close, I; W. S. Hanna, I, and S. H. Snider I, and declared Mr. Martin duly elected.
After the adoption of this statement and protest, a vote was taken for United States senator, in which John Martin received 26 votes and John W. Ady 77. All this was without avail, however, as the United States senate admitted Mr. Martin to a seat for the unexpired term of Senator Plumb.
The legislature adjourned on March II. So much of the session had been taken up with the "Legislative War," as this untimely incident has been called, that but little beneficial legislation was enacted. Among the most important laws were the Australian ballot law; the creation of a board of World's Fair managers ; a law annulling the "gold clause" in mortgages; and granting to the regents of the state university the
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authority to erect on the grounds of that institution the "Spooner Library" building. A proposition to amend the constitution so as to give women the right of suffrage was ordered to be submitted to a vote of the people at the general election of 1894.
On Sept. 12, 1893, Gov. Lewelling delivered an address at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, this being one day of "Kansas Week" at the exposition. His address was a good presentation of the growth, wealth and products of the state, and incidentally he referred to the recent political disturbances.
"If the statistician," said he, "seeks a solution of our occasional dis- content, and asks why we are constantly making explorations in the domain of political economy, we point with pride to more than 9,000 school houses which nestle upon our prairies. If he asks why we are the vanguard of political and moral reform, we tell him of our district and normal schools, our colleges, our great university, and of the spires . which rise from 4,500 churches. These are the institutions which mold the sentiments and shape the destines of an ambitious people."
The industrial depression of 1893 affected Kansas in common with other states, particularly those in the West. Several banks were forced to close their doors and numerous business concerns failed. In every one of the larger cities, and in many of the principal towns, a large number of workingmen were unable to find remunerative employment. The hard times continued into the following year, when many of the unemployed in various parts of the country joined the "Commonweal Army," a movement that was originated by Jacob Coxey of Ohio, and marched to the national capital to urge Congress to take some action that would relieve the situation. (See Commonweal Army.)
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