USA > Kentucky > A history of Kentucky > Part 13
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Important changes were made in the three departments of State government, - the executive, legislative, and judicial. Under the first head, a conspicuous alteration is that all officers are debarred from holding the same office two con- secutive terms. Under the second head, special legislation was abolished and necessary provisions in regard to corpo- rations were made. Under the third head, the superior court and all statutory courts were abolished. An increase was made in the number of judges of the appellate court, - not less than five nor more than seven being required, and in the number of circuit courts, one being allowed for every forty thousand inhabitants.
On the Ist of June, 1892, one hundred years had passed since the admission of Kentucky into the Union ; and the people again assembled at Lexington to do The centenary honor to the State's nativity. Here, in the of Kentucky midst of almost unbroken forests, had been organized the first government of the new Commonwealth. All was changed since then : much was lost; much was gained. There were present this day the old grandchildren of those who had taken part in the first celebration, by the side of the young great-grandchildren. The former looked back with wistful pride into the past, with which they were more nearly connected ; while the latter looked eagerly forward to a future brightened by reflections from the heroic back- ground. Philadelphia sent three paintings as an offering to the State. Speeches were made in thanks for these and also to extol, in true Kentucky fashion, the glories of the past and present. At Woodland Park a barbecue was pre- pared ; and under the shade of ancient oaks and elms, burgoo - that mysterious concoction which Kentuckians know how to brew - was served with the finest of beef and ham and Southdown mutton which the country could
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offer. And thus another century of promise was ushered in.
In 1891, John Young Brown, Democrat, was elected gov- ernor; but four years later the Democrats were divided. The currency On June 25, 1895, the Democratic State con- question vention met in Louisville, for the purpose of nominating the various State officers for the election which was to be held the following November. At this time a desolating panic was sweeping the country. Consequently, the thoughts of the people were much occupied with the con- sideration of financial matters. P. W. Hardin, one of the aspir- ants for the governorship, advo- cated the free coinage of silver. Cassius M. Clay, Jr., his oppo- nent, maintained that the money question was not a pertinent issue in a State election. The national administration, under Cleveland, strongly opposed the principle of the free coinage of silver, and the secretary of the treasury, John G. Carlisle, John G. Carlisle of Kentucky, made three speeches in the State, upholding the gold standard. Hardin, however, received the nomination.
The Republican party nominated for governor William O. Bradley, an advocate of the single gold standard. Populist and Prohibition party tickets were also named. Because of the differences in the Democratic party over the currency question, the Republicans elected their entire ticket, and Kentucky had her first Republican governor.
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During Governor Bradley's term as governor much dis- turbance was caused by toll-gate raiders. Many toll-gates were destroyed, and the col- lection of tolls prevented by violence. The property of many turnpike companies was bought by the counties, and order was restored.
The turbulent legislature of 1896 was composed of an even number of Republicans and Democrats, with two Populist members. For United States senator, J. C. S. Blackburn, a Legislature of free silver advo- 1896 cate, was selected as the Democratic caucus nominee for reelection. Eleven gold standard Demo- William O. Bradley crats, however, refused to go into the caucus. W. Godfrey Hunter, a representative in Congress, was the Republican nominee. A few Republicans refused to vote for him. Intense excitement prevailed, and the legislature adjourned without having effected an election.
The silver question in 1896 caused a split in the Demo- cratic party. The regular organization favored the free coin- age of silver, and supported William J. Bryan for the presidency. Some of the Democrats Election of 1896 opposed to free silver voted for the candidates for President and Vice President of the "National Democratic" ticket - Palmer and Buckner. The latter had been governor of Ken- tucky in 1887. The result in the State and in the nation was a victory for McKinley, the Republican candidate.
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At a special session of the legislature in 1897, the con- test over the vacant seat in the United States Senate was Senatorial resumed. The caucus nominees were again
elections J. C. S. Blackburn, Democrat, and W. God- frey Hunter, Republican. Intense excitement and bitter- ness were aroused. Finally W. J. Deboe, Republican, was elected. In 1900, Blackburn was elected senator to succeed William J. Lindsay. Six years later he was suc- ceeded by Thomas H. Paynter. Deboe was succeeded by Ex-Governor James B. McCreary (elected in 1902).
The legislature of 1898 enacted an election bill intro- duced by William Goebel, State senator, and passed it over Governor Bradley's veto. This placed the appointment of elec- tion officers and the canvassing of returns in the hands of a State board of three commis- sioners to be elected by the legislature, and of county boards to be appointed by the State board.
William Goebel
In 1899 the Democrats, after a prolonged struggle in their convention, nominated William Goebel for governor, and J. C. W. Beckham for lieutenant governor. Democrats opposed
to Goebel and to on the verge the new election of civil war
law named an opposition ticket headed by Ex-Governor John Young Brown. The Repub- lican candidates were William S. Taylor for governor and John Marshall for lieutenant governor. Populist, Prohibi-
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tion, and Socialist-Labor tickets were also in the field, as they have been in many elections since. The majority of the election commissioners declared Taylor and Marshall elected, and they were sworn in. The Democrats con- tested the election. Hundreds of armed men came to Frankfort and petitioned the legislature not to depose Taylor and Marshall; for it was believed that the legis- lature was about to decide the contest in favor of Goebel and Beckham. On January 30, 1900, Goebel was shot by an assassin concealed in one of the rooms of the execu- tive building. Governor Taylor declared it unsafe for the legislature to continue its meeting in Frankfort, and by proclamation adjourned it to meet at London, Feb- ruary 6. The Democratic majority of the legislature ignored his act, but were shut out of the State House by militia. Nevertheless they awarded certificates of election to Goebel and Beckham. Goebel was sworn in as gov- ernor, January 31, and on his death was succeeded by Beckham, February 3. Taylor and Marshall refused to give up their offices, until after the case was decided against them by the State Court of Appeals (March 10), and the Supreme Court of the United States declined to interfere (May 21). For three weeks there was to be seen daily the strange spectacle of two different organiza- tions of the State senate both meeting in the same room at the same hour, but each ignoring the presence of the other. Marshall presided over the Republican senators, who after their roll call would adjourn for lack of a quorum. The Democratic majority were presided over by a president pro tem., and carried on business.
Thus from January till May a condition existed which in other lands would have promptly caused a civil war. It is greatly to the credit of Kentucky that nearly all our
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citizens refrained from violence, and quietly waited for the decision of the courts.
Many men were accused of complicity in the murder of Goebel. Of the few brought to trial, some were convicted and some acquitted. Taylor was one of the men indicted, but he fled to Indiana, and the governor of that State refused to honor Governor Beckham's requisition for him, claiming that men accused of Goebel's murder could not obtain a fair trial.
Governor Beckham called a special session of the legis- lature to modify the election law. It was pro- Election law vided that the
State board should consist of two commissioners ap- pointed by the governor, one from each party, J. C. W. Beckham together with the clerk of the Court of Appeals; and that each county board, like- wise, should consist of one commissioner from each of the two chief parties, together with the sheriff.
In the presidential elections of 1900, 1904, 1908, and 1912 Kentucky voted for the Democratic candidates. Politics since In 1900 Acting Governor Beckham was elected 1900 governor for the unexpired term, by a close vote. He was again elected governor in 1903, for the next full term, by 27,000 plurality. Wm. P. Thorne was elected lieutenant governor. In 1907 the Republicans elected their State ticket, headed by Augustus E. Willson for
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governor, and W. H. Cox for lieutenant governor, by 18,000 plurality. The legislature of 1908 had a Demo- cratic majority of 8 votes. Ex-Governor Beckham was the Democratic nominee for United States senator to succeed Senator McCreary, but a few Democrats re- fused to vote for him. The contest was prolonged till February 28, when four Democrats voted with the Republicans for Ex-Gov- ernor Bradley, and elected him.
Much disturbance was created in the State, espe- cially during the years 1905 to 1908, as an outgrowth The " Tobacco of the compli-
War" cated situation that existed in relation to the tobacco industry. Com- Augustus E. Willson panies of men called "night riders" resorted to various acts of violence. By them growing tobacco was destroyed, tobacco barns were burned, and men were assaulted and whipped. In all, many hundred thousand dollars' worth of property was destroyed by "night riders."
The legislature of 1904 appropriated $1,000,000 for a new capitol building, and two years later added $250,000. A new site in South Frankfort was chosen, and there a beautiful capitol, in keeping with the growth and dignity of the State, was erected in 1905-1909.
In 1911, former United States Senator James B. McCreary, Democrat, who had been governor in 1875-79,
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was again elected governor by a plurality of 34,000 votes over the Republican nominee, Judge E. C. O'Rear; and
Edward J. McDermott, Democratic nominee
Democrats
again in power for lieutenant governor, defeated L. L. Bristow, Republican. Ollie M. James, Democrat, representative in Congress, was elected United States senator, to succeed Thomas H. Paynter. His opponent was Edwin P. Mor- row, United States district attorney for the eastern dis- trict. The legislature was largely Democratic.
Many acts of importance were passed by the legisla- ture of 1912. Chief among these are the two following, Recent legis- of a social nature : (1) The County Unit Ex- lation tension Bill is an act to amend the Kentucky statute pertaining to the local option law passed many years ago, under which each county could decide for itself whether or not to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors within its borders. Under the new act the exception made in the old law as to cities of the first four classes was stricken out. A law was also passed in 1912 prohibiting the taking or shipping of intoxicating liquors into such territory, unless upon the prescription of a licensed physi- cian. (2) Another act qualifies and entitles all women able to read and write, and possessing the legal qualifica- tions required of male voters in any common school elec- tion, to vote at all elections of school trustees and other, school officers required to be elected by the people, and to hold any school office, or office pertaining to the manage- ment of schools.
Two other highly important acts that may be defined as laws of a more distinctly political nature were passed in 1912 : (I) A compulsory Primary Law, whereby a'l nomi- nations are placed under state control, Republicans and Democrats being required to select their nominees for all
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elective offices on the same day, with the same machinery, and at the expense of the State ; (2) A Congressional Re- districting Act, creating eleven congressional districts, of which nine are normally Democratic, and two Republican.
On May 23, 1914, Senator William O. Bradley died. Governor McCreary appointed Johnson N. Camden, Demo- crat, for the few remaining weeks of Bradley's term prior to the November election. Camden offered himself, and won, for the short term which ended March, 1915. Ex- Governor Beckham was the Democratic aspirant for the long term. It was a hotly contested campaign, as Beck- ham strongly advocated state prohibition. He won over his Republican opponent, Ex-Governor Willson, by a plurality of more than thirty thousand votes. Only two Republi- cans won in the congressional elections : John W. Langley of the Tenth district, and Caleb W. Powers of the Eleventh.
The prohibition movement has advanced steadily in the State for twenty years, since the law requiring scientific temperance instruction in the public schools Prohibition was secured through the efforts of the Ken- movement
tucky Woman's Christian Temperance Union. In 1915 all but fourteen counties of the State had voted in favor of the abolition of the liquor traffic. There were only twenty- three places in Kentucky where licenses were issued, and all of the rural territory was under local prohibition. A bill offered before the legislature of 1914 by W. M. Webb, representative from the counties of Johnson and Martin, submitting the question of state-wide prohibition, passed the lower house by more than the required vote. It was defeated in the senate by a parliamentary technicality.
Kentucky has made recent marvelous advancement in industrial affairs. Improved methods of farming are now being generally adopted. Since 1880, the annual product
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of her farms has more than doubled in value, as has also that of her manufactures. But the greatest development
Industrial has occurred in her coal industry. In 1915
progress it was estimated that the State had in her two coal fields, the Eastern and the Western, at least one hun- dred and twenty billion tons of available coal, and that Kentucky was fifth among coal-producing states. Her min- ing industry has advanced rapidly since 1900, when her coal output was only five million tons. During 1914 it was more than twenty million tons. The special develop- ment has been on the upper waters of the Big Sandy River and its tributaries. There have also been developments, though as yet less extensive, on the upper waters of the North Fork of the Kentucky River, and on the Cumberland River, as well as in the western part of the State.
In recent years the two Normal Schools for white persons have been placed under a bi-partisan board. Likewise the board of control for charitable institutions, previously par- tisan, was, in 1908, made bi-partisan. The legislature of 1912 abolished the old Prison Commission, and created a board of control to consist of three members appointed by the governor. The legislature of 1914 passed an act pro- viding for the election of six additional members of the Board of Trustees of the State University, to be elected from the alumni, by ballot of the graduates and of those who have received degrees of the institution, one fifth of the governor's appointees being also of the alumni.
The important movement pertaining to good roads in Kentucky, which began about ten years ago, received special impetus during the year 1915 through the project to intersect the State by three great highways, the Dixie, the Jackson, and the Boone Highway. Road building in Kentucky began in 1829, and the State now has a national
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reputation in this relation. She stands fourth among the commonwealths and territories in point of improved roads, having in constant use nearly 9500 miles of turnpike, most of which is surfaced with stone, her roads being valued at nearly $1, 150,000.
At the November election of 1915 the Democratic can- didates for governor and lieutenant governor, A. O. Stanley and James D. Black, defeated by a small plurality the Re- publican nominees, Edwin P. Morrow and Lewis L. Walker.
Several acts of general interest were passed by the Democratic legislature of 1916, among which may be men- tioned a bill appropriating $5000 yearly for two years to the Illiteracy Commission, a bill providing for Sunday closing of saloons, a bill prohibiting fraudulent advertise- ment, and a Pure Food bill that places Kentucky in the lead of all states in this matter. Also a bill was passed making Lincoln's birthday a legal holiday.
In June, 1916, the National Guard was called out, to serve on the Mexican border. A portion of the Kentucky brigade (the old First Kentucky Infantry) was not mus- tered out before the United States entered the world war (April 6, 1917), and was then, with the other parts of the state troops, taken into the Federal service. The Ken- tucky Guard was trained for overseas service at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. A cantonment for the training of National Army soldiers was Camp Zachary Taylor, situated at Louisville, Kentucky.
For the first time in twelve years a special session of the General Assembly was called by Governor Stanley, to convene February 14, 1917. A permanent Tax Commis- sion, to succeed the temporary one appointed in 1916, was created, and a number of bills designed to increase the State's revenues, and to distribute the burden of taxation
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more equitably, were passed. But the most important session of the legislature for twenty years was that of 1918. The National Prohibition amendment was ratified by a vote of 93 to 15, and a bill to submit to the voters at the next general election (November, 1919) the Statewide Prohibition amendment was likewise passed. Also addi- tional reforms in the ancient financial methods of the State were effected, the most important being a bill pro- viding for the Budget System of state appropriations. Appropriations aggregating $1, 150,000 were made.
Ollie M. James, United States senator, the nominee of the Democratic party to succeed himself, died August 28, 1918. Governor Stanley appointed George B. Martin, of Catlettsburg, for the short term, ending March, 1919. Stanley was chosen the nominee of the Democrats by the State Central and Executive Committees, September 5, 1918, and at the November election he defeated his Re- publican opponent, Dr. Ben L. Bruner.
From the foregoing there may be gained some idea of the events occurring in the State at the present time. But an account of the new Kentucky must be mainly a matter of prophecy. The old order of things has passed away ; the new order has not yet been fully developed. Kentucky's past usefulness has been clearly demonstrated, but her possibilities for future greatness can only be pointed out and anticipated.
CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY.
PREAMBLE.
WE, the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political, and religious liberties we enjoy, and invoking the continuance of these blessings, do ordain and estab- lish this Constitution.
BILL OF RIGHTS.
That the great and essential principles of liberty and free govern- ment may be recognized and established, we declare that :-
SECTION I. All men are by nature free and equal, and have certain inherent and inalienable rights, among which may be reckoned-
I. The right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties.
2. The right of worshiping Almighty God according to the dic- tates of their consciences.
3. The right of seeking and pursuing their safety and happiness.
4. The right of freely communicating their thoughts and opinions.
5. The right of acquiring and protecting property.
6. The right of assembling together in a peaceable manner for their common good, and of applying to those invested with the power of government for redress of grievances or other proper purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance.
7. The right to bear arms in defense of themselves and of the State, subject to the power of the General Assembly to enact laws to prevent persons from carrying concealed weapons.
SEC. 2. Absolute and arbitrary power over the lives, liberty, and property of freemen exists nowhere in a republic, not even in the largest majority.
SEC. 3. All men, when they form a social compact, are equal ; and no grant of exclusive, separate public emoluments or privileges shall be made to any man or set of men, except in consideration of public services ; but no property shall be exempt from taxation except as provided in this Constitution ; and every grant of a franchise, privi- lege, or exemption, shall remain subject to revocation, alteration, or amendment.
SEC. 4. All power is inherent in the people, and all free govern- ments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace,
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safety, happiness, and the protection of property. For the advance- ment of these ends, they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasi- ble right to alter, reform, or abolish their government in such manner as they may deem proper.
SEC. 5. No preference shall ever be given by law to any religious sect, society, or denomination ; nor to any particular creed, mode of worship, or system of ecclesiastical polity ; nor shall any person be compelled to attend any place of worship, to contribute to the erection or maintenance of any such place, or to the salary or support of any minister of religion; nor shall any man be compelled to send his child to any school to which he may be conscientiously opposed ; and the civil rights, privileges, or capacities of no person shall be taken away, or in any wise diminished or enlarged, on account of his belief or dis- belief of any religious tenet, dogma, or teaching. No human author- ity shall, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience.
SEC. 6. All elections shall be free and equal.
SEC. 7. The ancient mode of trial by jury shall be held sacred, and the right thereof remain inviolate, subject to such modifications as may be authorized by this Constitution.
SEC. 8. Printing presses shall be free to every person who under- takes to examine the proceedings of the General Assembly or any branch of government, and no law shall ever be made to restrain the right thereof. Every person may freely and fully speak, write, and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty.
SEC. 9. In prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating the official conduct of officers or men in a public capacity, or where the matter published is proper for public information, the truth there- of may be given in evidence; and in all indictments for libel the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court, as in other cases.
SEC. 10. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and possessions, from unreasonable search and seizure; and no war- rant shall issue to search any place, or seize any person or thing, with- out describing them as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause supported by oath or affirmation.
SEC. II. In all criminal prosecutions the accused has the right to be heard by himself and counsel ; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against him ; to meet the witnesses face to face, and to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor. He cannot be compelled to give evidence against himself, nor can he be deprived of his life, liberty, or property, unless by the judgment of his peers or the law of the land ; and in prosecutions by indictment or information, he shall have a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the vicinage ; but the General Assembly may provide by a general law for a change of venue in such prosecutions for both the defendant and the Commonwealth, the change to be made to the most convenient county in which a fair trial can be obtained.
SEC. 12. No person, for an indictable offense, shall be proceeded against criminally by information, except in cases arising in the land
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or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger, or by leave of court for oppression or misdemeanor in office.
SEC. 13. No person shall, for the same offense, be twice put in jeop- ardy of his life or limb, nor shall any man's property be taken or applied to public use without the consent of his representatives, and without just compensation being previously made to him.
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