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 90
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No nominations for justice of the supreme court were made by the Prohibition party. The ticket presented to the voters by that party was as follows: Governor, F. W. Emerson ; lieutenant-governor, W. Buffing- ton; secretary of state, George Holsinger ; auditor, S. P. Gould; treas- urer, E. A. Kennedy; attorney-general. F. M. McHale ; superintendent of public instruction, S. H. Wallace ; superintendent of insurance, W. L. Coryell ; Congressman at large, W. H. Ransom.
Encouraged by their showing in 1900, the Social Labor party placed a full ticket in the field with A. S. McAllister as the candidate for gov- ernor; John M. Parr, for lieutenant-governor; J. T. Barnes, for secre- tary of state; W. J. McMillan, for auditor ; J. E. Taylor, for treasurer; G. C. Clemens, for attorney-general; L. R. Kraybill, for superintendent of public instruction ; F. L. McDermott, C. R. Mitchell and F. J. Arnold, for associate justices for the six-year term; H. H. Benson, for the four- year term; Charles. W. Gorsuch, for the two-year term; C. G. Warring .. ton, for superintendent of insurance, and Louis Matignon, for Congress- man at large.
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An element in the People's party, calling themselves the "Middle of the Road Populists," refused to join in the fusion with the Democrats and nominated a ticket of their own, to wit: Governor, J. H. Lathrop; lieutenant-governor, T. B. Wolfe; secretary of state, E. F. Green ; auditor, R. C. Bradshaw; treasurer, P. B. Maxson; attorney-general, Maxwell Thorp ; superintendent of public instruction, W. G. Riste ; asso- ciate justices for the six-year term, J. C. Tillotson (only one nominated) ; for the four-year term, no nomination ; for the two-year term, J. Y. Rob- bins ; superintendent of insurance, A. E. Munch ; Congressman at large, S B. Bloomfield.
At the election on Nov. 4 the entire Republican ticket was elected, the vote for governor being as follows: Bailey, 159,242; Craddock, 117,148; Emerson, 6,065; McAllister, 4,078; Lathrop, 635. Two constitutional amendments were voted on at this election. One providing for an increase in the pay of members of the legislature from $3 a day for a term of 50 days to $500 for the session was defeated by a vote of 140,768 to 92,090, and the other, providing for the election of all county officers at the same time state officers and Congressmen were elected, was carried by a vote of 144.776 to 78,190. With the inauguration of Gov. Bailey at the opening of the legislative session in Jan., 1903, Gov. Stanley retired from the office after four years of an administration which had included nothing of a startling or unusual nature, but in which the chief executive had honestly endeavored to promote the general welfare of the people.
Stanton, one of the oldest towns in Miami county, is located on the Marais des Cygnes river, about 7 miles northwest of Osawatomie, near the western boundary of the county. It was founded in the summer of 1855 and a postoffice was established in 1856, a Mr. Ward being appointed postmaster. He opened a store the same year and in 1857 a steam sawmill was erected. During the border war it was an important village, but as no railroad ever reached it the town has never grown. It has rural delivery from Osawatomie. In 1910 Stanton had a population of 160.
Stanton County, in the western tier, is the second county north from the Oklahoma line. It is bounded on the north by Hamilton county ; on the east by Grant ; on the south by Morton, and on the west by the State of Colorado. It was first created in 1873 and was named in honor of Edwin M. Stanton, former secretary of war. The boundaries were defined as follows: "Commencing at the intersection of the east line of range 39 west with the north line of town 27 south; thence south along range line to its intersection with the 6th standard parallel ; thence west along the 6th standard parallel to the west boundary line of the State of Kansas; thence north along said west boundary line of the State of Kansas to where it is intersected by the north line of township 27 south ; thence east to the place of beginning."
Later the county was obliterated and the territory became a part of Hamilton, remaining so until Feb., 1887, when the original lines were restored. Meantime the lands had been settled and towns established.
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In May, 1887, W. A. Cotterman was appointed census taker. As he went over the county making the enumeration he took a vote on which town should be recommended to the governor as the temporary county seat. A large majority was in favor of Johnson City and Gov. John A. Martin in his proclamation of June 17 designated that place as the temporary county seat. The officers appointed were: county clerk, William H. Quick; commissioners, Charles A. Soper, Frank Woodruff and A. H. Fisher. According to the census there were 2,864 inhabitants, of whom 800 were householders. The number of acres under cultivation was 8.320. The assessed valuation of property was $263,740, of which $145,- 805 was real estate.
At the first meeting of the commissioners at Johnson City the county was divided into 7 townships, Borders, Falkenstein, Liverpool, Mitchell- ville, Roanoke, Robinson and Stanton. John J. Martin was appointed sheriff and L. J. Webb employed as county attorney. The election to select a permanent county seat was held on Sept. 27. The number of votes cast was 1,083, of which Johnson City received 703 and became the permanent county seat. The officers chosen were: county clerk, William H. Quick; sheriff, D. G. Childs; register of deeds, J. Y. Cal- lahan ; treasurer, P. R. Miner; clerk of the district court, J. F. Blanken- ship ; probate judge, J. S. Falkenstein ; county attorney, E. B. Spurgeon ; surveyor, H. H. Flannagan ; superintendent of public instruction, J. H. McMichael; coroner, N. Rector; commissioners, C. A. Soper, F. A. Woodruff and L. M. Julian. C. H. Harrington was elected representa- tive to the legislature.
The year 1887 was the big boom period in the history of Stanton county. Many new settlers were coming in, outside capitalists were interested, and things were moving fast. In one week parties in Wichita invested $50,000 in Johnson City real estate. In the spring lands adjoin- ing the town sold for $117 per acre and a little later for $174. Three years later the population of the county was not half as large as the cen- sus showed at the time of organization. By 1900 it had dwindled to 327 and Johnson City had practically no population. During the next decade, however, the increase was more than threefold, the population for 1910 being 1,034. At that time the county had but 3 townships- Mitchell, Roanoke and Stanton.
The surface is generally level prairie. Bottom lands average one-half mile in width along the streams. Bear creek enters in the west from Colorado and flows northeast into Grant county. The north fork of the Cimarron flows across the southeast corner. A branch of this stream flows directly across the southern portion of the county from the west. Gypsum and magnesian limestone are found in considerable quantities.
The leading crop is broom-corn, which in 1910 brought the farmers $88,606. Milo maize was worth $53,030; sorghum, $34,615; Kafir-corn, $17.760; animals sold for slaughter $11,000. The total value of farm products for the year was $236,789 ; the value of live stock on hand was $469,670, and the assessed valuation of property was $1,704,066.
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Stanton, Frederick Perry, secretary and acting governor of the Ter- ritory of Kansas, was born at Alexandria, D. C. (now Va.), Dec. 22, 1814, a son of Richard and Harriet (Perry) Stanton. The father was a Revolutionary soldier, and after the war worked at the trade of brick- layer, which the son learned with him. Under the instruction of Ben- jamin Hallowell, a Quaker teacher, Frederick was prepared for the Columbian University of Washington, D. C., where he was graduated at the age of nineteen years. He then taught for a time in Virginia, after which he became an instructor in a college in North Carolina. While occupying this position he began to prepare himself for the Bap- tist ministry, but changed to the law, was admitted to the bar, and in 1834 opened an office in Memphis, Tenn. He soon became identified with the Democratic party of Tennessee, and in 1844 was elected to Congress. His Whig opponent, Dr. Christian, chagrined at his defeat, made an attack on Mr. Stanton and severely wounded him by a pistol shot in the neck. After ten years in Congress, Mr. Stanton declined a reëlection for a sixth term, and on April 1, 1857, was appointed secretary of Kansas Territory. He held that office until succeeded by James W. Denver on Dec. 21, of the same year, and twice during his incumbency he was called upon to act as governor. Upon retiring from the office he purchased a large tract of land near Lecompton and built what was at that time the largest and most costly residence in Kansas. When it was thought admission under the Lecompton constitution was probable, he became a candidate for United States senator and was defeated by only one vote. After the admission of the state in 1861, when James H. Lane, one of the United States senators from Kansas, was offered a commis- sion as brigadier-general by President Lincoln, Mr. Stanton was appointed senator by Gov. Robinson, but Lane declined the commission in the army and retained his seat in the senate, hence there was no vacancy for Mr. Stanton to fill. At the beginning of the Civil war Mr. Stanton joined the Republican party, and it is said was seriously consid- ered as a possible member of President Lincoln's cabinet. In 1861 he opened a law office in Washington, D. C., for practice in the supreme court of the United States. He was president of the International Peace League, and was a delegate to the Richmond convention in 1882. In 1884 he visited Kansas, and on Sept. 2 delivered an address at the old settlers' meeting at Bismarck Grove, near Lawrence. The following year he went to Florida for his health, and continued to reside in that state until his death on June 4, 1894. A fine marble bust of Gov. Stanton is among the collections of the Kansas Historical Society.
Stanton's Administration .- Mr. Stanton arrived at Lecompton on April 15, 1857, and the next day succeeded Daniel Woodson as secre- tary and acting governor of the territory. His administration is divided into two periods-the first from April 16 to May 27, 1857, prior to the arrival of Gov. Walker, and the second from Nov. 16 to Dec. 21, 1857. In his inaugural address, delivered at Lecompton on April 17, 1857, he expressed the hope that the constitutional convention about to assemble
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would submit the slavery question to a "fair vote of all the actual bona fide residents of the territory, with every possible security against fraud and violence." He also expressed himself in favor of a general amnesty "with reference to all those acts on both sides, which grew out of the political contest, and which were not corruptly and feloniously committed for personal gain," and to gratify personal spite. To this end he wrote to Lewis Cass, secretary of state, suggesting that President Buchanan issue a proclamation declaring such amnesty.
On the 24th he visited Lawrence, where he made a speech outlining the policy of Gov. Walker and himself. In this address he declared his intention to enforce the laws enacted by the territorial (bogus) legis- lature, and to emphasize his position in this respect he said : "If any man here is prepared to say that he will resist those laws, with that man I declare war !- war to the knife and the knife to the hilt." This radical utterance was received with a sneer by the free-state men present, who did not hesitate to express their open defiance.
The legislature had, on Feb. 19, 1857, passed an act providing for the election of delegates to a constitutional convention to be held at Le- compton. This act authorized the taking of a census during the first ten days of April, the returns to be corrected by the probate judge in each county by May I, when they were to be turned over to the governor, who was to apportion the sixty delegates among the various election pre- cincts, the election of delegates being set for the third Monday in June.
Under the law the register of voters was to remain in the hands of the pro-slavery men, but the day after Mr. Stanton's Lawrence address, some of the free-state leaders wrote to him that they would participate in the election of delegates if the list of registered voters in each precinct could be corrected by one free-state and one pro-slavery man and the judges of election were equally divided between the two parties. To this proposition Mr. Stanton dissented, saying that he must follow the territorial law, which he regarded as the supreme authority. In taking the census in April only fifteen of the thirty-four counties were repre- sented in the returns. Cutler says: "The remaining nineteen, thereafter known as the 'disfranchised counties,' were largely settled by free-state men; and too remote from the border for convenient control of the bal- lot boxes. In every county bordering on Missouri, and in every pro- slavery county, the returns were made."
The free-state advocates therefore knew they had no chance of carry- ing the election, even if it were fairly conducted, and their position in this respect was strengthened when the governor, on May 20, issued his proclamation distributing the sixty delegates among only twenty-one counties. Consequently the pro-slaverites were allowed to elect the del- egates to the Lecompton convention without opposition. Some time aft- erward Mr. Stanton, in a speech in New York, admitted that, had he known the conditions, he would have hesitated before making such an apportionment.
Gov. Walker arrived at Lecompton and assumed the duties of gov-
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ernor just a week after this proclamation was issued, and Mr. Stanton devoted his time to the secretaryship until Nov. 16, when the second period of his administration as acting governor began. At that time there was considerable excitement in the territory over the question of the adoption of the Lecompton constitution, and the opposition began to take definite form when John Calhoun, president of the convention, issued his proclamation calling an election for Dec. 21, at which the peo- ple were to vote for the constitution, not as a whole, but merely whether it should be adopted "with" or "without" slavery. (See Constitution.)
No sooner had this proclamation made its appearance than meetings were held all over the territory to select delegates to a free-state con- vention at Lawrence on Dec. 2. The meeting at Topeka on Nov. 23, C. K. Holliday presiding, declared in favor of setting the free-state govern- ment in operation without delay. At the election in October (See Walk- er's Administration), the free-state men had elected a majority of the members of the legislature, and on Nov. 27 a mass convention at Leav- enworth adopted a resolution calling on the members elect of the legis- lature "to meet at Lecompton. on the 3d day of December next, to sug- gest such measures as the crisis demands." The convention also adopted a petition to the governor, signed by a majority of the members of the incoming legislature, asking him to call a special session of the legisla- tive assembly. This petition was presented to Mr. Stanton on the 28th by George W. Deitzler, John Speer, Lyman Allen and others, and on Dec. I Stanton issued a proclamation calling the legislature to meet in extra session on the 7th, "to consider matters of great moment pertain- ing to the public welfare." Cutler thinks that this proclamation "averted the direst calamity that had thus far threatened the territory, viz., open and organized rebellion against the Federal government which, if once begun, would have deluged the territory in blood, and perhaps involved the whole country in a general conflict, such as came upon it four years later. It was the most important proclamation ever issued by a terri- torial governor."
On the day after this proclamation was issued the great free-state convention met at Lawrence. Among the resolutions adopted was one declaring that the legislature elected on Oct. 5, 1857, was the only legiti- mate law-making body ever elected in the territory, and that its func- tions should not be superseded by any constitution or state government, without a full, fair and impartial vote of the people.
Pursuant to the proclamation, the legislature met on the 7th and organ- ized by electing C. W. Babcock president of the council and George W. Deitzler speaker of the house. The same day the pro-slavery men, un- der the name of "Democracy," held a convention at Lecompton to nomi- nate candidates for the state offices authorized by the Lecompton con- stitution. F. J. Marshall was nominated for governor; William G. Mathias, for lieutenant-governor; W. T. Spicely, for secretary of state; Blake Little, for auditor; T. J. B. Cramer, for treasurer, and Joseph P. Carr for representative in Congress. The convention also adopted a res- (II-48)
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olution declaring "That prior to the advent of Walker and Stanton in our midst, the Democracy of the territory were united and harmonizing; since their arrival all their efforts have been directed to serving disunion in our ranks with a view to further their own ambitious schemes."
On the 8th Mr. Stanton submitted his message to the legislature. The greater part of this message was devoted to the work of the constitu- tional convention and the question of submitting that constitution to a vote of the people. "The law passed at the last session of the legislative assembly," said he, "providing for the organization of a convention to frame a constitution for the government of Kansas, as one of the states of the Union, was adopted at a period, when, unfortunately, the people of the territory were divided by a bitter hostility, resulting from the previous commotion and civil war. In consequence of this embittered state of feeling, and the distrust thereby engendered, one of the parties, constituting a large majority of the people, refrained almost entirely from all participation in the proceedings instituted under the law afore- said. '
"What can be done, in the existing emergency, is a question not with- out difficulty. Some have proposed a repeal of the act under which the convention assembled and performed its functions. But, inasmuch as the law in question has been partially executed, it is doubtful whether an act of repeal would have the effect intended. It is certain that, if the constitution were to be really submitted to the people, and the people should ratify it by their vote, a legislative repeal between the dates of submission and the election, would not affect the validity of the sov- ereign act of ratification.
"The true purpose which, in my judgment, ought to control your leg- islation on the present occasion. . is to provide for the regular and legitimate exercise of the sovereignty of the people in those points in which the convention has attempted to trammel or restrain it-in other words, to provide for a direct vote upon the adoption of the con- stitution. which is to be partially submitted on the 21st inst., under the authority of the convention. There can be no question as to your authority to provide, by a suitable law, for a fair expression of the will of the people upon the vital question of approving the constitui- tion."
This was the course adopted by the legislature, and on Dec. 17 the gov- ernor approved an act providing for an election on the first Monday in Jan., 1858, at which the people were to vote on the question of ratifying or rejecting the constitution as a whole, the governor to appoint three commissioners in each county to establish the voting precincts. It was also provided that the vote should be by ballot, and any officer of elec- tion who should be a party to any frand should be deemed guilty of felony.
In the main the relations between the governor and the legislature were harmonious, though on Dec. 15 Mr. Stanton felt it to be his duty to veto a bill to organize the militia of the territory. His chief reason for
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the veto is thus stated in the message returning the bill : "By the organic act, the governor of the territory is made commander in chief of the militia. The proposed law would virtually depose him from his position, and would place him in the power of a board composed of the general officers of the militia, a majority of which can call out the militia in any emergency."
Although the governor was to be a member of the board, he readily saw that it would not be a difficult matter for the officers of the militia to overrule him, yet, under the organic act, he would be responsible to the general government. The bill was passed at the instigation of Gen. J. H. Lane, who wanted to get control of the militia, and on the 16th it was passed over the veto. The legislature then adopted a memorial to Congress, praying for admission under the Topeka constitution, and on the 17th adjourned sine die.
Gov. Stanton's liberal attitude toward the free-state men, with regard to calling the special session of the legislature, and his position on the question of submitting the constitution to popular vote, as shown in his message, may have been due to events which occurred in the early part of November. On the 9th of that month Mr. Stanton wrote to Gen. Lewis Cass, Buchanan's secretary of state, tendering his resigna- tion, to take effect on Dec. 21. Two days later he wrote to the presi- dent as follows: "Since the date of my letter to the secretary of state, offering my resignation, I have seen various letters and dispatches from Washington to the effect that you and your cabinet had resolved to reprimand the governor and myself for our action upon the Oxford returns. I cannot believe there is any truth in these reports; but if there should be, I beg leave to withdraw my resignation, in order that I may stand upon the merit of the act in question."
It was an open secret that the course of Gov. Walker and Mr. Stan- ton was unsatisfactory to President Buchanan, but in writing the above letter the acting governor took the manly course, in refusing to resign "under fire," and showed his willingness to take the consequences of his official action. On the very day he wrote to the president with- drawing his resignation, Gen. Cass notified Gen. James W. Denver that he had been appointed secretary of the territory, and that Stanton had been removed. On the 16th Mr. Stanton received notice of his removal.
Star, on inland village of Greenwood county, is located about 10 miles southwest of Eureka, the county seat, and about 8 or 9 miles northwest of Piedmont, whence it receives mail. Blodgett, 4 miles south, is the nearest railroad station.
Stark, one of the villages of Neosho county, is located in Grant town- ship on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R., II miles northeast of Eric. the county seat. It has a bank, several stores, telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The popula- tion in 1910 was 191.
State Fairs .- Kansas has never had an official state fair. If any aid has been extended by the state for such purposes the enterprises re-
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ceiving it have been private ones. The earliest of the state fairs were held under the direction of the State Agricultural Society in various towns over the state, Leavenworth having the distinction of holding the first one from Oct. 6 to 9, 1863. This exhibition, held while the Civil war was at its height, was a successful one considering the fact that many exhibitors who usually take an interest in such undertaking's were in the army. The agricultural and live stock display, together with the products of Kansas manufacture displayed at that time, was a very creditable one. The initial fair was well attended and was a suc- cess financially.
No attempt was made to hold fairs in 1864 and 1865, the unsettled condition during the last days of the Civil war being responsible. In 1866 and 1867, the second and third fairs under the auspices of the agricultural society were held at Lawrence. These also were well attended and were considered a success. In 1868 the state fair was held at Leavenworth, followed by others at Lawrence in 1869, Fort Scott in 1870, Topeka from 1871 to 1873, and Leavenworth in 1874. From 1875 to 1880 no state fairs were held. In 1881 the Kansas State Fair Association was organized and the first annual fair under its direction was given at Topeka from Sept. 12 to 17. T. C. Henry, of Abilene, was president; William Griffenstein, of Wichita, vice-president; George Y. Johnson, of Topeka, secretary; Joab Mulvane, of Topeka, treasurer, and T. J. Anderson, of Topeka, general superintendent. This fair was one of the largest ever held in the state. A monster soldiers' reunion was held in connection with it, 41 bands from over the state being a part of the attraction. This association held annual fairs during 1882, 1883 and 1884. The following year no fair was held.
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