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 74
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A town company was organized in 1859, but failed to incorporate the village. It was incorporated by another company in 1874, as a city of the third class, and became a city of the second class in 1906.
Sacramento Cannon .- At the battle of Sacramento, near Chihuahua, Mex., Feb. 28, 1847, one of the actions incident to Col. Alexander W. Doniphan's conquest of northern Mexico, ten pieces of artillery were
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captured by the American troops. Subsequently Col. Doniphan joined the army under Gen. Wool, who presented him with the guns captured at Sacramento. After the war the guns were taken to Missouri via the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and presented to the state. Some of the pieces were kept in the arsenal at Liberty, the home of Col. Doniphan, until the war between Kansas and Missouri over the slavery question began. Then some zealous Missourians pil- laged the arsenal to secure arms and munitions of war for the subjuga- tion of Kansas, and among other things brought off one or more pieces of artillery. The one known as "Old Sacramento" was captured by the free-state men from the Missourians and at the close of the border war it was buried on the farm of Maj. Thomas Bickerton near Lawrence, where it remained until Jan. 29, 1861, when it was dug up to be used in celebrating the admission of Kansas into the Union. After that the old cannon was always brought out on state occasions, was given a promi- nent place in all parades, and never failed to participate in its modest way in all big events.
"Old Sacramento" finally ended its usefulness in the following man- ner: Some citizens were drowned in the Kansas river and the cannon was taken down to the banks of that stream to test the theory that the concussion caused by the discharge of artillery would cause the body of a drowned person to rise to the surface. The gun was loaded heavier each time until the recoil wrecked the carriage. Then a charge of three pounds of powder was placed in the cannon and gunny sacks, wet grass, wet clay, etc., were hammered in on top of the powder with a sledge- hammer. When the match was applied the gun exploded, the largest piece being blown through the wire mill, while smaller pieces were thrown clear across the river. The main part of the cannon is now in the museum at the University of Kansas.
Saffordville, one of the thriving villages of Chase county, is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. in Toledo township, 10 miles east of Cottonwood Falls, the county seat. It is also on the Cotton- wood river. It is a shipping and receiving point for a large and pros- perous agricultural district. All the regular lines of mercantile activity are represented. It has a bank, telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population, accord- ing to the census of 1910, was 200.
St. Benedict's College, located at Atchison, was founded in 1858 by the Benedictine Fathers. It is a Catholic school for boys, incorporated under the laws of the state and is empowered to confer academic honors. In 1876 the college, which had existed only as a priory, was erected into an abbey and the Rt. Rev. Innocent Wolf was installed as abbot. A few years later the school outgrew the abbey and new build- ings were erected. Additions have since been made as the increasing attendance demanded. The college possesses two distinct libraries- one of which is for the use of the students and contains 3.750 volumes, and the other is for the special use of the professors, containing about
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17,000 volumes and 5,000 pamphlets. It also possesses a natural history museum. The plan of instruction embraces two courses, the classical and commercial. The students are divided into four departments, eccle- siastics, scholastics, commercials and minims. The minim department is for boys from twelve to fourteen years of age. The commercials receive a thorough business course, upon satisfactory completion of which the pupil is given a certificate recommending him as a competent accountant. Only such boys are admitted to the ecclesiastical depart- ment as intend to study for the priesthood. They have special instruc- tions and exercises adapted to the vocation of which they aspire. The scholastics are those young men in the Scholasticate, established as a separate institution in 1907 "for those students who feel themselves called to serve God as religious in the Order of St. Benedict. They pur- sue the regular classical course of studies. The discipline and the spe- cial instructions in the scholasticate are calculated to lead the aspirants to a proper understanding and appreciation of the religious life."
The college is situated in the northeastern part of Atchison, on a 30- acre plat of ground, which extends to the river, and it has a faculty numbering 25 and an enrollment of 300 students. In connection with the school of the Benedictine fathers, may be mentioned the academy conducted by the Benedictine sisters. It is called Mount St. Scholas- tica's Academy and is delightfully situated upon a tract of 28 acres in the suburbs of Atchison. The course of instruction embraces "every useful and ornamental branch of education suitable for young ladies."
St. Clere, a village of Pottawatomie county, is located on Cross creek in St. Clere township, almost on the east line of the county and 25 miles from Westmoreland, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, and a large local retail trade. The population in 1910 was 102.
St. Francis, the judicial seat of Cheyenne county, is an incorporated city of the third class, located on the Republican river and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy R. R. It has 2 state banks, a weekly newspaper (the Herald), schools and churches, all lines of retail establishments, telegraph and express offices, and an international money order post- office with two rural routes. It is in the midst of a large area of land adapted to farming and stock raising, for which it is the receiving and shipping point. St. Francis was founded in 1887 by the people of a town known as Wano, about 2 miles to the southwest. There was some difficulty in obtaining a good title to the town site of Wano, and it was resolved to move. Dec. 5, 1887, was the day set to begin occupy- ing the new site. Collins Bros. and James W. Midgley were the first to start improvements. On the 6th three buildings had been moved and the migration kept up until the end of the month. The bank was moved and its name changed. The postoffice was moved and became known as St. Francis. The city of Wano had been incorporated and had a full corps of officials. The last ordinance passed was to prohibit the leav- ing of any cellar or opening on the old town site in such a condition that animals or travelers by night might fall into it. On the new site
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there was no city government apart from the township. In 1888 some $50,000 was spent in improvements in the way of buildings. By an elec- tion held on Feb. 26, 1889, St. Francis was made county seat. The town was incorporated as a city of the third class in April, 1903, and the fol- lowing were the first officers: Mayor, L. E. Harrison ; city clerk, L. D. Hotchkiss ; councilmen, A. E. Smull, G. A. Benkelman, C. E. Burnham, H. B. Bear, J. J. Armstrong and I. S. Hall. In 1905 the legislature passed an act making the incorporation legal and also making the ordi- nances Nos. I to 16 valid.
St. George, a little town of Pottawatomie county, is located in St. George township on the main line of the Union Pacific R. R. and on the Kansas river, 16 miles south of Westmoreland, the county seat. It has express and telegraph offices and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 149. The first town of St. George was platted in 1857 and the ambition of the promoters was to have their town connected with St. Joseph, Mo., by a line of railroad which should be a great southwest thoroughfare. In 1879 the town was moved about a mujle in order to be on the railroad. One of the early settlers was Jacob Emmons, who was afterward probate judge, county commissioner, clerk and surveyor. For many years he consti- . tuted all the law there was in that section of the country and in the absence of any knowledge of legal lore based his decisions on common sense and honesty. He advanced $200 for books for the first public records. St. George was the first county seat.
St. John, the judicial seat of Stafford county, is located on the Atchi- son, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. in the central part of the county. It has a county high school, 2 national banks, 2 flour mills, a grain elevator, 2 newspapers (the County Capital and the News), a large number of retail establishments, a telephone exchange, a hotel, telegraph and ex- press offices, and an international money order postoffice with six rural routes. It is an incorporated city of the third class, with a population in 1910 of 1,785, which is more than twice the population in 1900.
The town which originally occupied this site was called Zion Valley, and was founded by the Mormons. Just before the county was organ- ized. a town company purchased the land and platted it for a town which they called St. John, in honor of the man who was then governor, in hope that it would influence him to name it as the temporary county seat. The first building was erected by Henry Rohr in 1879. The first store was opened by John Fish. In 1880 the Zion Valley postoffice was changed to St. John and C. B. Weeks was the first postmaster. The first child born in the new town was St. John Cox, son of Frank Cox, in Sept., 1880. A savings bank was established in 1879, and a weekly newspaper, the Advance, was started in 1880 by T. C. Austin.
St. John County, so named for John P. St. John, then governor of the state, was created in 1881 and the boundaries were described as follows: "Commencing at a point where the east boundary line of range 32 west crosses the 2d standard parallel south; thence west on said standard
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parallel to a point where the east boundary line of range 38 west crosses the said 2d standard parallel south; thence south on said range line to a point where said range line crosses the 3d standard parallel south ; thence east on said standard parallel to a point where said standard parallel crosses the east boundary of range 32 west ; thence north on said range line to the place of beginning." The name was changed to Logan (q. v.) by act of the legislature, approved Feb. 24, 1887.
St. John, John Pierce, 8th governor of the State of Kansas, was born at Brookville, Franklin county, Ind., Feb. 25, 1833, a son of Samuel and Sophia (Snell) St. John, the father a native of Orange county, N. Y., and the mother of English extraction. He was educated in the log school house of that period, and in 1852, at the age of nineteen years, crossed the plains to California. There he was engaged in various pur- suits from mining to merchandising, and participated in the wars with the Indians in northern California and southern Oregon in the years 1853-54, being twice wounded. He then visited the Sandwich islands, Mexico, Central and South America. While working as a miner in California he decided to study law, and after his travels as above men- tioned entered the office of Starkweather & McLain, of Charleston, Ill., in 1860, where he completed his studies, being admitted to the bar the following year. At the breaking out of the Civil war he enlisted as a private in Company C, Sixty-eighth Illinois infantry, and served with that regiment in Virginia until it was mustered out in Nov., 1862. He was then commissioned captain and placed in command of troops ren- dezvoused in camp at Mattoon, Ill., until the One Hundred and Forty- third Illinois infantry was organized, when he was commissioned lieu- tenant-colonel of the regiment and continued to serve with that rank until the close of the war. Returning to Charleston, he formed a part- nership with Judge McLain, the surviving partner of the old firm with which he had studied, but a few months later removed to Independence, Mo., where he opened a law office and made his debut into the political arena. In May, 1869, he located at Olathe, Kan., where he formed a partnership with M. V. B. Parker for the practice of law, under the firm name of St. John & Parker. This association lasted until 1875, when it was dissolved by mutual consent. In 1872 Mr. St. John was elected to the Kansas state senate, but declined a nomination for a second term. On May 3, 1876, the state temperance convention tendered him the nomination for governor, but the Lawrence Journal says that "On ac- count of his unsatisfactory acceptance of the honor nothing was meant to be said about it until some action could be taken by the state central committee." He was a candidate before the Republican state conven - tion for governor the same year, but was defeated by George T. An- thony. In 1878 he was nominated for governor by the Republican party and was elected; was reëlected in 1880, and was nominated for a third term in 1882, when he was defeated at the polls by George W. Glick. Gov. St. John was an ardent temperance advocate and was the Prohibi- tion candidate for president in 1884. The amendment to the Kansas
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constitution, prohibiting the manufacture, importation and sale of intox- icating liquors within the state, is probably due as much to his influence as to that of any other one person. It is said that in sixteen years he traveled 350,000 miles, made 4,000 speeches, mostly on the subject of the liquor traffic, and never missed an appointment. Upon retiring from the office of governor he became interested in mining operations in Mis- souri. In 1900 he supported Mr. Bryan for president.
St. John's Administration .- The administration of Gov. St. John com- menced with the opening of the second biennial session of the general assembly, which convened on Jan. 14, 1879. Lieut .- Gov. Lyman U. Humphrey, by virtue of his office, became the president of the senate, and Sidney Clarke was elected speaker of the house. Gov. St. John's inaugural message did not depart from established precedent in review- ing the state finances and institutions. The most noteworthy utter- ances were those relating to temperance and railroads.
"There are," says the message, "about 2,300 miles of railroad in oper- ation in Kansas, the assessed value of which, as shown by the report of the auditor of state, is $15,525,033.25. While it is true that these railroads have contributed largely to the wealth, prosperity and prog- ress of our state, it is also equally true that not only our people, but the state and general government, have contributed liberally toward their construction and support.
"The railway corporations of Kansas derive their powers from, and the capital invested therein is entitled to and receives protection at the hands of the state. Their income arising from earnings, is derived mainly from the patronage of the people of Kansas, and the people in return have the right to demand that such limitations, restrictions and regulations touching fares and freights be imposed, as will fully protect their interests, and at the same time do no injustice to these cor- porations.
"Our present law, in my judgment, is wholly inadequate; Section 56, of Chapter 23 of the general statutes of Kansas, prohibits railway cor- porations from charging over six cents per mile for transporting pas- sengers. Such a limitation affords no protection to the traveling public. Nor is it practically any restriction on the corporation, for but few, if any, railroads now in this country charge six cents per mile, even where there is no limitation. Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the same chapter, relat- ing to the classification of, and charges for carrying freight, are less restrictive, if possible, than said Section 56. Besides, by these sections, the classification of freights being left entirely at the discretion of the railroad company, the restrictions and limitations therein attempted to be imposed are ineffective.
"I therefore suggest that this law be so amended as clearly to define the limitations, restrictions and regulations relating to charges for fares and freights, and that such limitations, restrictions and regulations be made to do, as nearly as possible, equal justice to the railroads and to the people, and thus have the rights of both parties touching this question definitely settled."
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Although this quotation from the message is somewhat lengthy, it has been given because at that time the transportation question was, and had been for some years previous, one of great importance to the people west of the Mississippi river, and the suggestions and recom- mendations of Gov. St. John were in harmony with the suggestions of governors of, and the legislation enacted by other western states. At the present time-thirty years after that message was submitted to a Kansas legislature-when the prevailing passenger rate in most of the western and central states is two cents a mile, it sounds like an echo from the Middle Ages to read that Kansas once had a law restricting the fare to six cents. No legislation restricting the fares and freights of railroad companies was passed by the session of 1879, but the agitation started about that time was kept up and culminated a few years later in the creation of a railroad commission.
Gov. St. John's views on the temperance question were well known before his election, and his utterances on that subject in his first mes- sage to the general assembly are not at all surprising. "I fully realize," said he, "that it is easier to talk about the evils flowing from the use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage than it is to provide a remedy for them. If it could be fully accomplished, I am clearly of the opinion that no greater blessing could be conferred by you upon the people of this state than to absolutely and forever prohibit the manufacture, importa- tion and sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage. But many people insist that a prohibitory law could not, or at least would not, be en- forced, and that any law that cannot be enforced is worse than no law at all."
The legislature seems to have been in full sympathy with the gover- nor on this question, and on March 8, four days before the close of the session, he approved senate joint resolution No. 3, submitting to the peo- ple an amendment to the state constitution, adding Section 10 to Article XV, to-wit: "The manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors shall be forever prohibited in this state, except for medical, scientific and me- chanical purposes."
Two other propositions were also submitted to the people-one an amendment to the constitution relating to taxation (See Constitutional Amendments), and the other the question of holding a constitutional convention. The assembly adjourned on March 12. During the session acts were passed making appropriations to pay the expenses of the rail- road strike and for testing the title to the Cherokee Neutral Lands; defining the boundaries of a number of counties; authorizing a commis- sion to audit the Indian claims of 1878; providing a contingent fund for aiding settlers on the frontier who lost property by the Indian raids; establishing a state reform school; extending for seventy-nine years the railroad charters granted by territorial legislatures; creating an execu- tive council ; providing for the completion of the west wing of the state- house, and for a coal shaft at the penitentiary ; and regulating the prac- tice of medicine.
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As the term of United States Senator John J. Ingalls was about to expire, it became the duty of the legislature of 1879 to elect his suc- cessor. The first ballot was taken on Jan. 28, and resulted in no elec- tion. The balloting continued daily until the 31st, when Mr. Ingalls was reelected, receiving 86 of the 169 votes cast. Albert H. Horton received 80 votes; John R. Goodin, 2; and D. P. Mitchell, I. Imme- diately after the election charges of bribery were made, and on Feb. 6 the house adopted a resolution authorizing the appointment of a com- mittee of five members to investigate the charges and report. Accord- ingly A. M. F. Randolph, John Hall, A. W. Callen, J. H. Keller and R. D. Hartshorne were appointed on the committee, and on March 7 three reports were returned to the house. The majority report, which was the one adopted, declared "That no acts of bribery and corruption con- nected with the late senatorial election, nor any charges of corruption in office, are proven against John J. Ingalls."
The report further stated that, "Concerning each and all the other late senatorial candidates, there is nothing in the testimony taken which touches the honor of integrity of any one of them."
This report was adopted by the house by a vote of 60 to 44 on March Io, and Mr. Callen, of the committee, introduced the following resolu- tion :
"Whereas, The testimony taken by the investigating committee, dis- closes the fact that certain members of this house did, during the late senatorial contest, take special pains to place themselves in position to be offered money to influence their votes and in some instances actually did receive money, though not from either of the senatorial candidates; therefore be it
"Resolved, That the conduct of all such members is deserving of, and this house does administer upon them its severest censure, committing them to their constituents for that ultimate condemnation which they so justly deserve."
The resolution was adopted by a vote of 51 to 48. (See House Jour- nal of 1879, p. 1,291.) Subsequently a committee of the United States senate investigated the charges against Mr. Ingalls and made a report completely exonerating him. A full review of the case may be found in the Topeka Commonwealth of Feb. 18, 1880. This was the end of bribery charges in connection with Kansas senatorial elections, which prior to this time had been an unpleasant feature of so many contests.
During the border troubles, when it was a mooted question whether Kansas was to be a free or a slave state, a large number of adventurous characters were attracted to the territory by the exciting scenes that were there being enacted. When the state was admitted into the Union, many of these men began to take an active interest in political affairs, not so much for the public good as for their own personal ag- grandizement or political preferment. The methods of such men are not always scrupulous, and it is not surprising that corruption and bribery became a part of the early political history of the state. But
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after twenty years of statehood a better class of people gained control, and the political adventurer practically disappeared, greatly to the credit and advantage of Kansas and her institutions.
The year 1879 is somewhat noted for the beginning of the tide of negro immigration to Kansas. (See Negro Exodus.) In the fall of that year the state was honored by a visit from Rutherford B. Hayes, president of the United States, and Gen. William T. Sherman, who arrived at Fort Scott on Sept. 24. The distinguished guests then visited Parsons, Neosho Falls, Hutchinson, Larned, Kinsley, Dodge City and Emporia, and arrived late on the 26th at Topeka, where they were that evening given a public reception. On the 27th they visited Lawrence and Leavenworth, and made their last stop in the state at Atchison on the 29th. In a speech at Parsons President Hayes said: "Kansas is the best advertised state in the Union; and you come up to the advertise- ment. When you go anywhere the people naturally show you the best thing they have. In some cities it is fashionable to take you to the cemetery. I was in a city a few weeks ago where they took me to see the pin factory. I wondered what would be the best thing you would show me here. You took me to see your school house. There is no better advertisement for a city or state."
In the course of his remarks on the same occasion, Gen. Sherman said: "I don't know what mystery has brought about the rapid develop- ment of Kansas, except the mystery of education and industry."
It frequently happens that speeches by prominent persons, in visiting a city, are more complimentary than truthful, but in this case neither the president nor the head of the army paid the State of Kansas a com- pliment that she could not and does not sustain. The "Kansas spirit" is noted throughout the country for its disposition to promote education and industrial development, and it is to this spirit that the state owes its almost marvelous advancement. The decade from 1870 to 1880 was one of great progress. In 1860, the last year of the territorial regime, Kansas had 41 counties, only 32 of which were organized; in 1870 there were 54 organized counties; and in 1880 there were 105 counties, 80 of which were fully organized. Drought, locusts and hostile Indians had failed to check more than temporarily the growth of the state. The census of 1880 showed a population of 996,096, a gain of 631,697, or more than 170 per cent. over the population of 1870. The corn crop of 1880 amounted to 101,421,718 bushels, and the wheat crop was over 27,000,- 000 bushels. At the close of the year there had been 79,961 homestead entries, embracing 10,762,353 acres, and there were over 3,000 miles of railroad in operation. And all this in a region designated by Maj. Stephen H. Long only sixty years before as "The Great American Desert."
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