USA > Michigan > Genesee County > History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 9
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THE GREENBACK MOVEMENT.
At the election of 1882 a long-established political precedent was over- turned. Since the founding of the Republican party in 1854, that party had been successful in electing its candidates to state offices. This year the opposition ticket won, electing as governor Josiah W. Begole, of Flint. The victory was the effect by a fusion of the Democrats with the "Greenbackers," a party which had been steadily gaining strength since 1876. At the election of 1876 the Greenback party gave a total of 8,207 votes for William Sparks, the Greenback candidate for governor, and about this many were cast for the presidential candidate, Peter Cooper, out of a total nation-wide vote of 81,000. In 1878 their candidate for governor in Michigan received 75,000 votes. The purpose of the Greenback party was to defeat the alleged machinations of the monied interests and save the "greenback," the people's money. This money had come into existence during the Civil War, great quantities of treasury notes, or greenbacks ( from the color of the notes), having been authorized by Congress. A total of $450,000,000 of these notes had been issued, legal tender for all debts, except customs duties and inter- est on the public debt. This policy helped to stamp in the popular mind the idea that the government could create money, if only the monied interests were not selfishly opposed to it. Along with the demand for more "fiat" money went the "grange movement" among the farmers, who organized to cut out the middle man and to compel the railroads to exact less toll to take their crops to market. In the minds of the "Greenbackers," the Republican party, as the dominant party, was playing into the hands of the rich. Their natural allies, regardless of other considerations, would be the opposition party, and the result was the defeat of the Republicans.
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Governor Begole was born in Livingston county, New York, January 20, 1815. When he became of age, in 1836, he came to Michigan and settled in Genesee county, where, with his own hands, he aided in building some of the early residences in Flint. Perseverance and energy won him a compe- tency, and at the end of eighteen years he was the owner of a five-hundred- acre farm. He was an ardent anti-slavery man, his grandparents having emigrated from Maryland to New York about the beginning of the century because of their dissatisfaction with the institution of slavery. He joined the Republican party at its organization in 1854 and was early elected to various local offices. During the Civil War he did active work in recruit- ing and furnishing supplies for the army; his eldest son was killed near Atlanta, Georgia, in 1864. In 1870 he was elected state senator, and in 1872 was a delegate to the Republican national convention at Philadelphia. As a member of the forty-third Congress he took great interest in legisla- tion to better the conditions of the farmers, being a member of the commit- tee of agriculture. His activities along those lines was largely influenced by the fact that he was a practical farmer. The transition from a Republi- can to a Greenbacker was easy. The high esteem in which Mr. Begole was held by his fellow townsmen despite his defection from the Republican party is well shown in the following extract from the Flint Globe, the leading Republican paper at that time in Genesee county :
"So far, however, as Mr. Begole, the head of the ticket, is concerned, there is nothing detrimental to his character that can be alleged against him. He has sometimes changed his mind in politics, but of the sincerity of his beliefs and the earnestness of his purpose, nobody who knows him enter- tains a doubt. He is incapable of bearing malice, even against his bitterest political enemies. He has a warm, generous nature, and a larger, kinder heart does not beat in the bosom of any man in Michigan. He is not much given to making speeches, but deeds are more significant of a man's charac- ter than words. There are many scores of men in all parts of the state where Mr. Begole is acquainted who have had practical demonstrations of these facts, and who are liable to step outside of party lines to show that they do not forget his kindness, and who, no doubt, wish that he was a leader in what would not necessarily prove a forlorn hope. But the Repub- lican party in Michigan is too strong to be beaten by a combination of Democrats and Greenbackers, even if it is marshaled by so good a man as Mr. Begole."
Among the important legislation of Governor Begole's administration
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was the establishment of the northern insane asylum at Traverse City. A bureau of labor statistics was created. A stringent law was passed to pre- vent insurance companies combining to fix a rate. The labor element showed its increasing strength in a law forbidding the employment of children under fourteen years of age. A compulsory school law required the at- tendance of children under this age for at least six months every year.
Returning Republican strength, combined with other causes, resulted in the election of Russell A. Alger in 1884 by a small majority to succeed Governor Begole. He was a native of Medina county, Ohio. During the Civil War he was promoted rapidly in the army, becoming, after a year of service, colonel of the Fifth Michigan Cavalry in Custer's famous brigade.
During Governor Alger's administration the Portage Lake and Lake Superior ship canal was transferred to the general government. The sol- diers' home was established at Grand Rapids. The state mining school was established in the copper country at Houghton. A pardon board was created. In 1885 the Legislature made provision for the semi-centennial anniversary of the admission of Michigan as a state in the union, to be held at Lansing, June 15, 1886. On the occasion of this celebration notable addresses were made by many prominent citizens and officials, which were printed and pub- lished by the state. This volume, including the full proceedings, comprised over five hundred pages and is a valuable and highly interesting collection of historical data.
Governor Alger declined to be a candidate for re-election in 1886, and Cyrus G. Luce, of Coldwater, became his successor. He was a native of Windsor, Ashtabula county, Ohio. The Legislature of 1889 gave consider- able attention to the subject of woman suffrage; the ballot was not given to women generally, but a law was passed permitting women in Detroit to vote for members of the school board of the city, which at the time was considered an entering wedge to lead to woman suffrage for all officers. Among other legislation was an act giving counties local option in the mat- . ter of prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors.
A CHANGE IN REGIME.
In the election of 1890 came the first real Democratic triumph since the Republican party was organized. Edwin B. Winans was a Democrat. The causes operating in Michigan in favor of the Democrats were part of a tidal wave which in that year swept the whole country. One of the most spectacular events in the nation's history occurred in Governor Winans'
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administration, the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, to cele- brate the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus. Governor Winans appointed a board of managers, of which he was ex-officio chairman, whose service did great credit to the state in dis- playing her arts and industries. It is estimated that nearly half the adult population of the lower peninsula saw the exposition at some stage of its progress, many spending sometimes a week or more and making subsequent visits. The formal opening of the Michigan building took place on April 29, 1893. This commodious and elegantly furnished structure cost upwards of forty thousand dollars. September 13 and 14 were set apart as Michigan days at the fair and were well observed. Most striking was the exhibit made by Michigan in the agricultural building. The horticultural exhibit hardly did justice to the state, because of the failure of the apple crop the season before, and the inadequate appropriation for collecting and shipping and the lack of interest on the part of fruit growers. The forestry exhibit was adequate, befitting the most celebrated of the timber states. The min- eral exhibit led all others in copper and iron and received more awards than that of any other state. The educational exhibit was fairly creditable. Mark W. Stevens, of Flint, later circuit judge, was secretary of the Michigan World's Fair commission.
The administration of Governor Winans was followed by that of John T. Rich, of Elba, Lapeer county, Republican candidate in 1892. Among the subjects of legislation considered in Governor Rich's administration were charters and charter amendments for municipalities, the borrowing power of the state, taxation of church property, the contract labor system in the state prisons, and the fusion of political parties.
GOVERNOR HAZEN S. PINGREE.
Hazen S. Pingree was elected governor in 1894. His career was short, but strenuous. He was a native of Denmark, Maine. Mr. Pingree's most marked characteristics were dislike of conventional ways of doing things and a determination to be his own "boss" while governor. He was a vet- eran of the Civil War, having seen service in the battles of second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg and other desper- ate and bloody engagements. After the war he became a shoe dealer in Detroit and made wealth by hard work, good business judgment and ener- getic management. His business ability and freedom from politcal antago- nisms made him mayor of Detroit. His political shrewdness during the street
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car strike in 1890, while he was mayor, secured his re-election three times afterwards, and his genuine sympathy with working men, amply demon- strated, made possible his election as governor.
The keynote of Governor Pingree's policy was primary election and railroad taxation. He also in his characteristic manner paid his respect to a class of persons who frequented the capitol during sessions of the Legisla- ture. He had decided views upon the question of public franchises, gained through his experience with the Detroit street railways. The great weak- ness of his administration was lack of tact in dealing with members of the Legislature. During his administration provision was made for agricul- tural institutes in the several counties. The beet sugar industry was bo- nused; and another law in the interest of the farmer made it a penal offense to color oleomargarine in imitation of butter.
THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
It was while Mr. Pingree was governor, in 1898, that war broke out with Spain, war being formally declared on April 25. The following ac- count of Michigan's part in this war is taken from the excellent work en- titled "Michigan as a Province, State and Territory :"
"The state cut something of a figure in the war, aside from the regi- ments which it put into the field. Russell A. Alger, who was secretary of war, was a former governor of Michigan. Upon his shoulders fell the responsibility of equipping, transporting across the sea and maintaining in the field the troops required in the campaigns in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. After more than thirty years of peace, it may well be sup- posed that the sudden call to active military operations found the country all unprepared for such an emergency. In response to the President's call the country arose almost en masse. Tenders of service came from every direction. It is safe to say that ten men offered their services where one was required. These overwhelming offers were embarrassing. Meanwhile the war department was trying its utmost to get things in shape for equip- ping and hauling the recruits to the regular army and the volunteers gath- ered by the states. To transport the army and its equipment and supplies to Cuba required many ships. In this emergency Secretary Alger called to his assistance Col. Frank J. Hecker, of Detroit, of whose fitness for the task the secretary had personal knowledge, and assigned to him the duty of procuring the ships. They were promptly forthcoming. The command of the Fifth Corps, which was the army which invaded Cuba and fought be-
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fore Santiago, was assigned to Major-Gen. William R. Shafter, a native of Michigan, who had served efficiently in the Civil War, which he entered as a lieutenant of the Seventh Michigan Infantry. After the close of the Civil War he joined the regular army, in which he had risen to the rank of brigadier-general, upon merit and length of service. Col. Henry M. Duffield, of Detroit, was made a brigadier-general of volunteers and was assigned to the command in Cuba of a brigade composed of the Ninth Mas- sachusetts and the Thirty-third and Thirty-four Michigan Regiments of Volunteers. Major George H. Hopkins, of Detroit, was appointed a per- sonal aid to the secretary of war and was assigned to the duty of selecting camps and inspecting the sanitary and other conditions surrounding them. Only a small fraction of the regiments raised were called to the front. Others were gathered in camps at Tampa, Mobile, Washington and Chickamauga. Besides these thus gathered in army camps, there were others in regimental camps in their several states, which never left them, but were disbanded after it became evident that their services in the field would not be required. It was the duty of Major Hopkins to familiarize himself with the conditions of these various camps and suggest methods of remedying defects. After the engagement at Santiago, which practically ended the war, the health of the troops in Cuba required that the men be sent north at the earliest possi- ble moment. Accordingly a convalescent camp was established at Montauk Point, Long Island, to which the whole of Shafter's army was brought. In this camp Major C. B. Nancrede, of the medical department of the State University, was chief surgeon. He had served from the beginning of the war as surgeon of the Thirty-third Michigan, and upon his promotion was succeeded by Major Victor C. Vaughan, also of the State University.
"It happened that the Legislature was in session when the war broke out. It promptly passed an act for a war loan of a half million dollars. Governor Pingree threw himself with all his wonderful energy into the task of raising, equipping and sending into the field at the earliest possible moment the state's quota. On the day following the call of the President an order was issued for the mobilization of the entire Michigan National Guard at Island Lake within three days. Gen. E. M. Irish was placed in command and the work of completing the roster of the several regiments was earnestly prosecuted. The regiments thus organized were designated Thirty-first, Thirty-second, Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Michigan Vol- unteer Infantry, following in numerical order the infantry regiments of the Civil War. The Thirty-first was mustered May Ioth and left on the 15th,
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under command of Col. Cornelius Gardner, for Chickamauga Park, Geor- gia. The Thirty-second was mustered May 4 and left on the 19th, under command of Col. William T. McGurrin, for Tampa, Florida. The Thirty- third was mustered May 20 and left on the 28th, under command of Col. Charles L. Boynton, for Camp Alger, near Washington. The Thirty-fourth was mustered May 25 and left June 6, under command of Col. John P. Petermann, for Camp Alger. Under the second call of the President the Thirty-fifth Regiment was organized under Col. E. M. Irish, July II, and left for Camp Meade, Pennsylvania, September 15. In organizing, equip- ping and training these regiments while in camp at Island Lake, Captain Irvine, of the Eleventh United States Infantry, and Lieutenant Winans, of the Fifth United States Cavalry, rendered efficient service.
"The men gathered in the southern camps, particularly at Chicka- mauga and at Camp Alger, suffered severly from sickness. At the former camp there was an epidemic of typhoid fever and the Thirty-first Michigan was removed to Macon, Georgia, where it remained in camp until January, 1899, when it was sent to Cuba. It was landed at Cienfugas and was thence distributed in the towns of Santa Clara province to preserve order and pro- tect property. The regiment was engaged on this service until the following April, when it was returned to this country and mustered out. It lost four- teen men who died from sickness in southern camps and hospitals.
"The Thirty-second was one of the earliest regiments moved to Fer- nandina, Florida, where it remained in camp for some time. It was not among those assigned to service in Cuba, and after a little delay it was transferred to Fort McPherson, Georgia, where it remained until Septem- ber, when it was returned to Michigan, and mustered out of service. While in the service twenty men died of disease.
"The Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth went to Tampa, whence they were embarked for Cuba on the transports 'Paris' and 'Harvard.' They were in General Duffield's brigade, which formed a part of General Shafter's army which fought and defeated the Spaniards at Santiago. They did not participate in the fight at San Juan Hill, but were engaged in the attack at Aguadores, which was planned to divert the enemy from the plan of battle of the main army and prevent their reinforcing it. In this engagement three of the Thirty-third were killed or died of wounds. Yellow fever broke out in the camp at Siboney and fifty died there or at Montauk Point or on the transport bound for the latter camp. The Thirty-fourth suffered even more severely, for eighty-eight deaths in that regiment are recorded, a very large
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proportion of these being from yellow fever while in camp near Santiago or in hospital on Long Island. These regiments were returned from Cuba in August and reached Michigan in September. They were mustered out at various times between September 3, 1898, and January 2, 1899. Of those who survived the hardships of the campaign, many returned broken in health. The Thirty-fifth was mustered out at Augusta, Georgia, March, 1899. Of its members, twenty-three died of disease in camp.
"The whole number of men mustered was six thousand six hundred and seventy-seven, and the total number of deaths about two hundred and fifty. Through the efforts of Governor Pingree, the men were permitted to draw thirty to ninety days pay upon furlough prior to discharge. Those who were in Cuba were also allowed pay for the fever-infected uniforms they were compelled to destroy.
"Besides the infantry regiments furnished to the volunteer service, Michigan was represented in the naval arm. Being encouraged thereto by the general government, a naval brigade was organized in Michigan in 1897. The navy department assigned for the use of such naval brigade the United States ship, 'Yantic,' which was at the time in the Boston navy yard under- going repairs. The delicate international question of getting this war ves- sel through Canadian waters was successfully disposed of. The governor of Michigan, on behalf of the state receipted for the 'Yantic' to be delivered to her commanding officer, Lieut .- Com. Gilbert Wilkes, at Montreal. From that point she was taken and handled by the officers and men of the state naval reserves, and arrived at Detroit, December 8, 1897. The men had some opportunity to drill and familiarize themselves with naval discipline. Before the call for volunteers, Governor Pingree received a telegram from the navy department asking for men for service on the United States ship 'Yosemite.' The call was promptly responded to and two hundred and seventy men and eleven officers of the Naval Militia of Michigan enlisted in the navy. The 'Yosemite' was wholly manned by Michigan men and, under the command of Lieut .- Com. W. H. Emory, convoyed the transport 'Panther' to Guantanamo and covered the first successful landing of Ameri- can troops on Cuban soil. Afterward it maintained, single-handed, the blockade of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and proved the efficiency of the ship and her crew by the capture of prizes and the destruction of blockade run- ners. The governor in his annual message congratulated the state on the showing made in the war by its naval militia, and also congratulated the men upon the records they made."
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SINCE THE WAR WITH SPAIN.
At the election of 1900 Aaron T. Bliss, of Saginaw, was elected gov- ernor. He was a native of Smithfield, Madison county, New York, and, like Governor Pingree, was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in the Tenth New York Cavalry. In 1882 he was elected from Saginaw county to the state Senate; he also served one term in Congress. In 1897 he was elected department commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. The main subjects of legislation while he was governor were primary re- form and railroad taxation. The Western State Normal School was estab- lished at Kalamazoo. At Saginaw was established the Michigan Employ- ment Institution for the Blind.
Governor Bliss was succeeded in 1905 by Fred M. Warner, of Farm- ington, Oakland county. Previous to this time Mr. Warner had served in the state Senate and as secretary of state. He has the distinction of being among the very few governors of Michigan who have served three terms in succession, being re-elected in 1906 and 1908. During his first term the semi-centennial of the passage of the first boat through the Sault Ste. Marie canal was celebrated (1905). At the election in 1908 the revised constitu- tion, as drawn up by the constitutional convention held at Lansing in 1907-8, was adopted. This constitution, while following closely that of 1850, cur- tailed the power of the Legislature and extended that of home rule in the municipalities. Among the acts of legislation while Mr. Warner was gov- ernor were provision for direct nomination of candidates for state offices, provision for a popular advisory vote for United States senator, and pro- vision for the present state railroad commission.
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The first governor elected under the constitution of 1908 was Chase S. Osborn, Republican, who served one term, beginning in 1911. He was a native of Huntington county, Indiana, and in early life engaged in news- paper work. In 1887 he purchased the Sault Ste. Marie News, and since then has lived mainly at the "Soo." The principal laws enacted during his administration were a general revision of the primary election law, a city home rule bill authorizing the use of the initiative, referendum and recall, provision for a state fire marshal, and a law allowing women to vote at school primaries.
Since January 1, 1913, Woodbridge N. Ferris, of Big Rapids, has been governor. His second term will expire December 31, of this year (1916). Mr. Ferris was born in 1853 in a log cabin four miles from Spencer, Tioga
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county, New York. In this neighborhood and in neighboring academies he received his early education, and later taught school and earned his way through the Oswego Normal and Training School. In 1873 he entered upon the medical course in the University of Michigan. In 1875 he or- ganized a business college at Freeport, Illinois, and later became principal of the normal department in the Rock River University. In 1877 he or- ganized a business college in Dixon, Illinois, and in 1884 the Ferris Indus- trial School at Big Rapids. The latter school was started with fifteen stu- dents; the enrollment for the current year (1916) is about two thousand students. Through his extensive educational work, Mr. Ferris became one of the best known citizens of Michigan. He is the first Democratic gov- ernor since the election of Governor Winans in 1890, and received at his second election nearly forty thousand more votes than the Republican candi- date, Chase S. Osborn.
One of the bitterly contested bills while Mr. Ferris has been governor is the "Sliding Scale" bill, to increase passenger fares on Michigan rail- roads, which was defeated in the house by a vote of forty-five to fifty-four. A new primary election law has been passed, providing for a separate ballot for each party; no person who is the regular candidate on the ballot of one party can have his name written in on the ballot of another party; and in order to gain a place on the ticket a candidate must receive in the primary a ten per cent vote of his party. A teachers' retirement fund has been secured; the Michigan Historical Commission created; also an annual ap- propriation of one hundred thousand dollars for the use of the state board of health for the study and prevention of tuberculosis. In 1913 occurred one of the most serious crises in the recent industrial history of Michigan, when the Western Federation of Miners, attempting to get a foothold in the Michigan copper country, fomented a strike of the miners, which lasted from July, 1913, to April, 1914. Throughout this controversy the course of Governor Ferris was such as to secure the hearty approval of the miners, the mine owners and of the people of the state generally. The mine owners were induced to offer re-employment to all men who had not been guilty of violence, on condition of renouncing membership in the Western Federation of Miners, which was agreed to by the striking members of the federation through a referendum vote. In addition, the main demands of the miners were granted, which included a minimum wage of three dollars, an eight- hour day and better working conditions.
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