USA > Michigan > Michigan as a province, territory and state, the twenty-sixth member of the federal Union > Part 2
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In the article on elective franchise the word "white" was stricken out, leaving the ballot open to negroes and Indians not living in tribal relations. Strenuous efforts were made by the advocates of woman suffrage to give the ballot to women. The subject was debated at great length, taking up as much of the time of the convention as almost any subject before it, and woman suffrage was finally defeated by a rather close vote. There was a provision that no new county can be created in opposi- tion to a majority of the resident electors, and no new county can be made up by dividing other counties, unless it shall contain at least sixteen townships. In the article
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on corporations the enlargment of franchises granted by charters is made to require a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature. In exemptions from seizure, the amount in the homestead is raised from fifteen hun- dred to twenty-five hundred dollars, and the benefits are extended to those owning houses on lands which do not belong to them. The legislature is required to prohibit public officers having public moneys in charge from us- ing them for private purposes, and the interest thereon must be paid to the fund to which the money belongs. Amendments to the constitution can be voted on by the people at such time as the legislature shall direct, instead of at a general election. One provision resulted from the lesson of the impeachment of President Johnson, then in the public mind. It declared that an officer im- peached should be suspended from the discharge of his official duties until acquitted. 650718
The question of prohibition of the liquor traffic was one of the live questions of the day. It had been agi- tated for a number of years and a political party had been organized to promote its success by educational campaigns. The policy of constitutional prohibition had been ardently discussed in the public forum. Nat- urally it was soon and earnestly precipitated upon the convention. Petitions pro and con, signed by thousands of citizens, were presented and noted upon the journal. So far as number of signatures was concerned, they were about evenly divided for and against. No question be- fore the convention occupied more time in the debates. All the arguments on both sides were brought out and reiterated by the convention orators. But these appar- ently convinced nobody and after the flood-gates of oratory had been closed, those who favored prohibition and those who opposed it were of the same opinion still. Evidently the preponderence of opinion was upon the
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affirmative side. But while the section prohibiting the legislature from granting or authorizing the granting in any form of a license for the selling of liquors as a bev- erage was approved bya majority of the delegates, it was considered good policy not to make such section a part of the constitution, in the apprehension that it might de- feat the same at the polls. Therefore it was submitted to be voted upon separately. If a majority of the elec- tors voted favorably, it was to be included in the con- stitution; otherwise, it was null. The sequel showed that this was probably a mistaken policy, for prohibition was stronger than the constitution itself. It would have helped to carry that instrument at the polls, rather than to defeat it.
Another subject which occupied a very considerable time in the deliberations was that of municipal aid to railroads. As finally adopted the section provided that the legislature may empower any city or township to raise by tax in aid of any railroad an amount not exceed- ing ten per centum of its assessed valuation, upon the approval by vote of a majority of the electors. No county shall be authorized to pledge its credit in aid of a railroad, except counties in the upper peninsula. An explanation of the great public interest in this subject is found in the fact that the interior of the state which was developing very rapidly was handicapped by lack of transportation facilities. The close of the civil war, the dawn of a new era of peace and the return from the field of so many soldiers, started a great influx of popu- lation into the newer and less settled portions of the state. These immigrants came for the purpose of creat- ing homes for themselves, and gave attention to the de- velopment of the agricultural and business interests of the state. They felt the need of railroads. At that time only the southern tiers of counties were traversed by
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such roads. The Michigan Southern, Michigan Central and the Detroit and Milwaukee ran across the state from east to west and well served their immediate con- stituancies. But there was a great clamor for more roads and especially so from agricultural communities and rapidly growing towns which needed them. Capital was not forthcoming to build such roads, unless strong inducements were held out. It was felt that in these new districts roads could not earn enough to make them profitable investments, but that since they would help to build up the sections through which they ran, those sections were justified in encouraging them with a bonus. It was this clamor to which the convention listened. The subject was pretty thoroughly overhauled in debate, there being only a narrow margin on the final vote in favor of the clause.
The municipal aid section had very much to do with discarding the entire work of the convention at the polls. In those portions of the state already supplied with transportation facilities there was no popular interest in the subject while even in the towns which desired rail- roads there was a strong element made up of the lead- ing taxpayers who vigorously opposed it. Many thoughtful persons believed there was great danger in giving public aid to private enterprise. Not only was there danger of abuse, but it was felt to be intrinsically vicious in theory to levy upon the taxpayers of a munic- ipality for the benefit of a private corporation. The door once opened might admit selfish and preposterous schemes, to the ultimate detriment of the common- wealth. The state had a sorrowful experience in its early days in undertaking to carry forward railroad building on its own account, and the constitution of 1850 made it certain that the experiment could never be repeated. There were some who argued that what the
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state could not do for itself, it should not authorize any municipality to do. The supreme court afterward held the argument sound.
There were a number of important propositions brought forward and discussed which did not gain suf- ficient votes to secure them a place in the new constitu- tion. One of these was a provision for capital punish- ment for murder in the first degree. Capital punishment was abolished in Michigan in 1846 and although the subject is revived from time to time and is brought up at almost every session of the legislature, sentiment in fav- or of going back to the barbarous practice of taking human life by judicial decree does not appear to have made any gain. Another important move was to con- solidate the agricultural college with the state universi- ty. This proposition, of course, came from the friends of the university, who believed it was a mistake at the outset to establish the agricultural college as a separate institution. Their argument laid stress upon the econo- my of uniting the resources of the two institutions for the benefit of the taxpayers and in the interests of edu- cation. But the advocates of the college believed they were backed by the farmers and showed jealousy of the university. They claimed to see a purpose on the part of the larger institution to swallow the smaller one, for the sake of self-aggrandizement. The discussion upon this topic was probably the most bitter of all the de- bates. The constituancies behind the rural members supported the college side, and so won out.
Other propositions brought forward and negatived were to omit from the constitution the definite salaries of state officers and compensation of legislators and leave the whole subject to the legislature. Retiring judges at the age of 70 was advocated by some. A pro- vision was included that at any time after 1880 the leg-
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islature might provide for a convention to revise the constitution. The first step was to be a popular vote on the question, and if this was favorable, the legisla- ture was required to provide by law for the election of delegates.
This constitution was submitted to the electors at the general election on the first Monday of April, 1868. At this election the number of votes cast on the adoption of the constitution was 182,311, of which 71,729 were in favor of its adoption and 110,582 against, a nega- tive majority of 38,853. On the question of annual or biennial sessions of the legislature, there were more than four votes for biennial sessions to one for annual. On the separate question of prohibition, the affirmative vote was 72,462 and the negative 86, 143, a majority of 13,- 68 I against the clause.
A post-mortem to discover the cause of this untimely end of the good work of the convention leads to the con- clusion that it was largely political. The instrument was not considered by the voters solely upon its merits. It was perhaps unforunate for it that it contained no prin- ciple of importance which commended it strongly to the people. It followed quite closely the constitution of IS50. In fact, its framers purposely adopted this poli- cy, as stated by the president of the convention in his closing address. The policy was to make as few changes as possible, and those only which seemed to commend themselves as improvements. So there was no feature which drew to its support the masses of the voters. The democrats as a party fought it bitterly, on account of the elective franchise provision which admitted negroes to vote. Thus there was a very strong element against it in an organized political party. The majority against it in Wayne county, a democratic stronghold, was 6.491. Its defeat was claimed by the democrats as a great polit-
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ical victory. Really it was nothing of the sort, for the same franchise provision was separately submitted two years later and carried by a decisive majority. But the conservative party vote, whatever it may have been, un- doubtedly aided in the defeat.
Outside of this, the two features which were most in- fluential in its overthrow were railroad aid and salaries of state officers and legislators. Reference has been al- ready made to the public sentiment on those two ques- tions. There were great numbers who were indifferent on municipal aid and many others who vigorously op- posed it. On the salary question there has always been a decided conservatism in the rural population. It is little short of stingy for the state to pay its officers such meagre salaries, but the electors seem bound to have it that way. The convention of 1867 thought it the part of wisdom and economy to pay these officers such sal- aries that they could afford to give personal attention to the affairs of their offices, instead of visiting them semi- occasionally and leaving all details to clerks. The elec- tors thought otherwise, and so the salaries of 1850 con- tinue to this day.
CHAPTER II THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR CRAPO
A T the biennial election of 1864 Henry H. Crapo of Genesee was chosen governor to succeed Austin Blair who had made a great record for himself as "The war governor" of Michigan. The opponent of Mr. Crapo in the canvass was William M. Fenton, also of Genesee, who went to the front as Colonel of the Eighth Michigan Infantry and served with distinction in several campaigns. His military record and his standing as a citizen were unimpeachable. Party spirit in those trying times was strong, and there was a normal republican majority in the state. Colonel Fenton's candidacy upon the democratic ticket resulted in his de- feat by a majority of over 17,000 for his opponent. The total vote on governor gave 91,356 for Crapo and 74,- 293 for Fenton. The other state officers elected at the same time were Ebenezer O. Grosvernor, lieutenant governor; James B. Porter, secretary of state; John Owen, state treasurer; Emil Anneke, auditor general; Cyrus Hewitt, commissioner of state land office ; Albert Williams, attorney general; Oramel Hosford, super- intendent of public instruction.
Governor Crapo was born at Dartmouth, near New Bedford, Massachusetts, May 24, 1804. His father was of French descent and cultivated a farm for a live- lihood. The land was not very productive and the life of a farmer at that time and place meant incessant toil and many privations. The lad was early inured to these. The opportunities for education were scant. But with an active mind, energy and a determination to learn, he took advantage of the near-by town of New Bed- ford to pick up some knowledge of books. There being an opening for a land surveyor, he quickly made him- self familiar with its duties and requirements, and with IV-4
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his own hands, through the kindness of a neighboring blacksmith, made a compass and began life off the farm as a surveyor. In 1832 he took up his residence in New Bedford and followed his occupation as surveyor and occasionally acted as auctioneer. He was elected town clerk, treasurer and collector of taxes, in which positions he served for about fifteen years. When New Bedford was incorporated as a city he was elected an alderman. He was appointed chairman of the committee on educa- tion and as such prepared a report upon which was based the establishment of the free public library of that city, the first of its kind in this country, ante-dating that of Boston by several years. He was a member of the first board of trustees. While a resident of New Bedford he became greatly interested in horticulture. He acquired a quite unpromising piece of land which he subdued and improved. Upon this he planted and successfully raised a great variety of fruits, flowers and shrubbery and orn- amental trees. He soon became widely known for his efforts in horticulture, was a noted exhibitor at fairs and a valued contributor to publications on the subject. The chief business of New Bedford at that period was whal- ing. It was the port of hail for large fleets of whaling vessels and the fitting out of vessels with supplies, and the receipt and marketing of the return cargoes was the leading industry. It was very profitable. Mr. Crapo became interested in this enterprise and was part owner of a vessel which bore his name and which made suc- cessful voyages. He was also interested in fire insurance and was an officer of two companies.
Having invested in pine lands in Michigan he re- moved to the state in 1856 and settled at Flint. Here he engaged extensively in the manufacture and sale of pine lumber. Branch establishments were set up by him at Holly, Fentonville and Detroit. Engaging in this
Henry H. Crapo , - u
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business with his characteristic energy and shrewdness, it was not long before he was recognized as one of the most successful lumbermen in a state noted for successful lumbermen. He was mainly instrumental in the construction of a railroad from Flint to Holly, where it connected with the Detroit and Milwaukee. This road was afterward expanded to the Flint and Pere Marquette and stretched across the state to the Lake Michigan shore. From this small nucleus has grown what is now an elaborate railroad system which gridirons the state in every direction. He was active in public affairs in his home city, of which he was elected mayor, after a residence of only a few years. In 1862 he was elected a state senator and proved himself to be a very practical and useful member. In 1866 he was elected to a second term as governor. This term expired on the Ist of January, 1869. His death followed about six months later from a disease which attacked him be- fore the close of his official life and which seriously hampered him for many months previous.
The inaugural message of Governor Crapo to the leg- islature of 1865 is characterised by his hard-headed good sense. He advocated the prompt payment of the state debt and the adoption of the permanent policy- "pay as you go." This policy will lead to a close scrut- iny of all appropriations and prevent the incurring of any indebtedness for schemes and enterprises of doubt- ful expediency. He urgently advocated measures to in- duce immigration to the state. After calling attention to the vast and varied resources of Michigan and its population so meagre in proportion to its capabilities for sustaining many times more, he says, we want settlers. Five-sixths of our entire territory remains still a wilder- ness. The vast tracts of woodland, however rich and fertile they may be, are of no use to us until cleared and
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improved; and nothing but labor can do it. Our rich mines of copper, iron, coal, gypsum, our springs of salt, our fisheries, and our forests of valuable timber, are all calling for men; we want settlers. The legislature heeded his advice and a bill was introduced and favor- ably reported in the senate, creating an immigration commission, providing for the appointment of an agent and for the systematic circulation of literature, to be distributed in Europe, inviting attention of intending emigrants to the advantages of Michigan. This bill was not acted on at that session, but a few years later the subject was taken up persistently. It appears that other western states, notably Illinois, Wisconsin, Minne- sota, were already in the field and had agents in New York and in Europe in their own interests. It is said that these agents, not content with picturing in glowing colors the advantages of the states which they repre- sented, sometimes went out of their way to disparage Michigan. It was charged that immigrants who were under contract and whose expenses to this country had been paid by Michigan manufacturers, were tampered with on their arrival in New York by agents of rival states, and induced by representations of doubtful verac- ity to violate their contracts. It was this sharp practice at which one feature of the proposed legislation was aimed. Probably it was wise to avoid friction with our neighbors, and in this view the bill was allowed to die. The governor called special attention to the natural re- sources and the situation of the state with reference to manufactures. With so many and so varied advantages, he argued that the state should be no longer dependent on eastern manufacturers, but should make its own sup- ply of needful articles, and also meet the demands of the western market. To this end he encouraged all
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measures having a tendency to invite capital and labor in any and all branches of manufacture.
Another important subject of the time was the dispo- sition of swamp lands. The general government had given to the state six million acres of what were de- scribed as swamp lands. Not that all, nor really any considerable portion, of such lands were actually in swamps. In some localities they were overflowed at cer- tain seasons; in others, beaver dams had given them the appearance of swamps, and in almost all cases they could be drained and subdued at small cost, and possessed a very rich alluvial soil. The question was how to dispose of these lands for the best interests of the state. In 1859 the Legislature adopted the policy of appropriat- ing such lands for the building of roads. The purpose of the general government in donating the lands to the state, as set forth in the act of congress making the ces- sion, was to provide for their reclamation by means of levees, drains, etc. Nominally a road might be consid- ered a levee and practically, in many instances, the build- ing of a road was as good a way as any of reclaiming the lands and opening them up to settlement. The poli- cy had been pursued with satisfactory results on the start but gradually degenerated into the grabbing of valuable tracts by contractors for the building of roads which be- gan nowhere and ended nowhere, and for roads begun but never finished, and by combinations of greedy per. sons who were robbing the state. The governor called an emphatic halt to the practice and urged the legisla- ture to take steps to rescue the remaining acres. The legislature responded by passing an act for the appoint- ment of a swamp land commissioner to examine all roads, inquire into the facts and circumstances of the letting of contracts, and requiring his approval of all un- finished contracts before payment should be made.
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There was considerable popular prejudice against the agricultural college. Even among the farmers them- selves, who had decided views on the question of econo- my, when taxpaying time comes around, felt that it was an expensive luxury which had very little to show as justification for its existence. In 1862 the general government made an appropriation of 240,000 acres of public lands for the maintenance and support of such an institution, which grant had been accepted by the state. Governor Crapo in his message says re- garding the college: "I am aware that in consequence of the very unfavorable circumstances surrounding this institution during the first few years of its existence, and which to a very great extent controlled its operations, many of the people of the state, who should have been deeply interested in its prosperity and success, imbibed strong prejudices against it, and were even disposed to abandon it altogether." But the governor counsels sus- pension of judgment and giving the institution an op- portunity to do justice to itself and its friends. Of all classes, the farmer is most deeply interested, and the farmer should regard it with pride. While its demands have seemed to be large, the fact should be borne in mind that it is laying the foundations and that large as the expenditures seem, they are really small in compari- son with the magnitude of the interests involved. "Ag- riculture is no longer what it was once regarded by a majority of other professions, and partially admitted by the farmers themselves to be-a low, menial employ- ment, a mere drudgery, delving in the soil, but is becom- ing recognized as a noble science. Formerly any man who had merely sufficient sense to do just as his father did before him, and to follow his example and imitate his practice, was regarded as fully competent to become a farmer. The idea of applying science to the business
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was sneered at and denounced by many of the farmers themselves as 'book farming.' But the cultivation of the soil has now justly come to be regarded as one of the most noble and dignified callings in which an educated man can engage." The legislature heeded his advice and made a liberal appropriation to set the college upon its feet. This was the critical time in the infancy of the institution, when it might have been easily smothered. The earnest words of the governor, backed by his influ- ence, encouraged the friends of the college and to-day the people of the state will rejoice that the strong sup- port of Governor Crapo resulted in saving it for a noble and beneficient career.
Governor Crapo exercised the pardoning power with extreme caution. He held the view that the executive had no right to annul or make void the acts and deci- sions of judicial tribunals in the trial, conviction and sentence of any person unless in the contingency of the discovery of new facts which would, if proved upon the trial, have established the innocence of the accused, or so mitigated the offense that a less penalty would have been imposed. While he admitted that extreme cases might arise under circumstances which would make an exception to the rule desirable, he held to it quite rigidly. He did not admit the influence of mere personal sympa- thy for the victims of the criminal law, or their families or friends. In reply to the claims that a convict having suffered for a time and the public excitement and no- toriety of his offense having passed away, no possible good can be gained by keeping him longer in prison, he insisted that the principle of justice and the claims of so- ciety for self-protection must not be lost sight of. The guilty are not punished because society wishes to inflict pain and suffering, but because its own safety requires it; and because the only reparation the criminal can make
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is the example afforded by his endurance of the penalty. To effectually meet these ends, punishment must be made certain. There have been governors, both before and since, who seemed to regard the executive preroga- tive as a matter of mere sentiment. There have been cases where sympathy went too far. There have been instances which were little less than scandalous. In modern times the business of getting convicts out of our prisons and relieving them from the consequences of their crimes through the aid of a soft hearted governor has been carried to such an extent that it is refreshing to contemplate a man who, while he was not lacking the kindness of a gentle nature, still had the firmness to stand for justice and right, as he clearly saw them.
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