USA > Michigan > Michigan as a province, territory and state, the twenty-sixth member of the federal Union > Part 3
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At the biennial election of 1866 Governor Crapo was elected for a second term by a majority of upwards of 29,000. His opponent in this campaign was General Alpheus S. Williams of Detroit, who was absent from the state on public business during the entire canvass. General Williams has been a man of note in the history of Michigan. He was born at Saybrook, Conn., Sep- tember 20, 1810. He was graduated from Yale college in 1831, went through the law school, travelled and studied in Europe three years and settled in Detroit in 1837, where he commenced the practice of law. In 1839 he was elected judge of probate; in 1844 was chosen judge of the recorders court of Detroit. He was editor and proprietor of the Detroit Advertiser for four years and sold it in 1847 to go to the Mexican war, in which he served throughout the war as lieutenant-colonel of the Michigan volunteers. In 1861 he was made pres- ident of the state military board and commander of the camp of instruction at Fort Wayne. April 17, 1861, President Lincoln appointed him brigadier general of volunteers, and he was immediately placed in charge of
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the third brigade of Banks' division. He succeeded Banks in command of a division in 1862, in the army of the Potomac. He commanded this division in the bat- tles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In 1863 he was transferred with his division to the army of the Cumberland, and under Hooker took part in the cam- paign against Atlanta. He was placed in command of the twentieth corps upon the retirement of Hooker and with it marched with Sherman to the sea. At Savannah he was brevetted major general. After the campaigns of the war were over he was placed in command by Gen- eral Sherman of the military district of Arkansas. In January, 1866, he was honorably discharged and was immediately commissioned by the president to examine the military claims in Missouri, and later in the same year he was appointed by President Johnson minister resident at Salvador, Central America. It was while ab- sent on this mission that his name was used by the dem- ocratic party as their candidate for governor. In 1874 and again in 1876 he was elected a member of congress from the first district of Michigan. He was chairman of the committee on District of Columbia, and proved to be an efficient and hard working member of the house. He died in Washington December 21, 1878, just before the close of his second term.
The other state officers elected in 1866 were, Dwight May, lieutenant governor; Oliver L. Spaulding, secre- tary of state; E. O. Grosvenor, state treasurer; Wm. Humphrey, auditor general; Benjamin D. Pritchard, commissioner of land office; William L. Stoughton, at- torney general; Oramel Hosford, superintendent of pub- lic instruction. Governor Crapo entered upon his new term of office in January, 1867, somewhat broken in health, but with mind as vigorous and active as ever. In spite of his impaired physical condition, he insisted up-
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on personally looking after his extensive private inter- ests, and kept in close touch with all public affairs. His second regular message to the legislature was a full and lucid discussion of all the problems then before the state authorities. He again dwelt on the immigration ques- tion, but the legislature adjourned without making ef- fective his sensible recommendations.
The act for the construction and operation of train railways, passed in 1863, was perfected in such manner that our first street railways were incorporated under it. Provisions was also made for a specific tax on mining companies. The act providing for the registration of births, marriages and deaths was a very important piece of legislation.
Governor Crapo was very sparing with vetoes and it is notable that they were for the most part sustained. The most exciting events during his entire gubernatorial career grew out of his vetoes in the matter of municipal aid to railroads. That was the day of feverish railroad building schemes. Rural communities were exceedingly anxious for railroads, and many villages were induced to support projects which would make them railroad centers. In several instances the people did not wait for legislative authority, but went ahead and voted aid, is- used and put bonds on the market and then came and asked the legislature to validate them. With a veto mes- sage Governor Crapo called a halt to this practice. It is interesting to observe with what neatness he riddles the sophistical arguments of those who said the thing being done should be legalized to save investors in the bonds. The schemes expanded insidiously. At first the aid voted by municipalities was limited by law to five per cent of the assessed valuation of the municipality; shortly this was increased to ten per cent., with a tendency to further increase the rate. At first the district included in the lia-
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bility on the bonds was the municipality; shortly this was extended to include the entire county in which the municipality was situated.
But most important of all, he vetoed the acts passed to permit localities to vote aid to railroad enterprises. The thing having previously been done and being con- sidered so much a matter of course, he did at the outset approve such bills. But he soon saw the tendency of such legislation and when the bills came pouring in on him he waited until some fourteen had accumulated and then sent them back with a message which settled the case for all time, so far as he was concerned. He called attention to the provision of the constitution that "the credit of the state shall not be granted to or in aid of any person, association or corporation; the state shall not subscribe to or be interested in the stock of any com- pany, association or corporation; shall not be a party to or interested in any work of internal improvement." He argued that the principle considered by the framers of the constitution so essential for the protection of the state should by implication, at least, apply to towns and counties. Clearly the policy of the state, as expressed in its constitution, is opposed to all this legislation. While refraining from discussing the judicial aspects of the question he believed that all would agree with him that it was of doubtful constitutionality.
He went to great length in discussing the economic bearings of the question. He believed the permanent welfare of the state would be injured. While rail- roads are desirable and greatly beneficial to a commun- ity; if they are secured at the cost of an accumulation of municipal debt and enormous taxation we destroy the value of property and retard settlement. Then, instead of increased growth and resources, we drive away pop- ulation and wealth. At a time when other states are try-
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ing to extricate themselves from the burden of taxation caused by the war, and are deferring public improve- ments, the people of Michigan, by municipal action, are competing with each other in the creation of vast amounts of indebtedness. He showed how insidiously the idea of municipal aid had expanded. At the outset the rate was limited to five per cent. and the liability was confined to a few localities. Within four years the restrictions have been swept away and there are towns which are in danger of accumulating forty per cent. of such bonded indebtedness. Such a course can have but one ending-bankruptcy and repudiation.
The aggregate length of the railroads already pro- posed, which rely for their completion upon aid from taxes, is not less than two thousand miles. The amount of capital necessary to construct, complete and efficiently equip this extent of railroad cannot be less than sixty million dollars. It is claimed that if about one third of the cost can be obtained by taxation the balance can be procured of capitalists by the issue of stocks and mort- gages. It will then be necessary for the people of the state to create an indebtedness of twenty millions in city township and county bonds. Can such bonds be sold for cash either at home or abroad? It is not likely they could be sold outside the state. There is not surplus capital enough in the state to take them; certainly not unless they could be bought at a very small percentage of their face value. Thus the actual aid to railroads will be very small indeed, compared with the amount of municipal indebtedness. As the bonds continue to be depreciated in value, additional taxes will be called for and urged to make up the deficit, and thereby prevent the total loss of what has been already appropriated, until repudiation would inevitably follow.
The gloomy picture which the governor thus drew
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of the results likely to end the course which the state was pursuing in this matter was both timely and truth- ful. It was clear to level-headed and unprejudiced men, but such was the popular furor that many minds were dulled to its appreciation. The bills lay on the table for a month while great excitement prevailed in the popular discussion of the subject. When the matter was finally brought to a vote the veto of the governor was sustained by the narrow margin of a single vote. This indicates the strength of railroad aid in public sentiment. It is not often that a governor has the delicate task of saving the people from themselves. But saneness and firmness are admirable in any emer- gency.
At the April term of the supreme court in 1870 the question of municipal aid to railroads received its quietus. By act of the legislature of 1864 towns on the line of a railroad projected to run from Detroit to Howell were authorized to raise money by tax or loan to aid in its construction. The electors of Salem, Washtenaw county, voted such aid, but the township board refused to issue the bonds. Thereupon applica- tion was made for mandamus to compel the board to make the issue. Under this proceeding the question of the constitutionality of the act authorizing the aid was fully brought before the court. In an elaborate and exhaustive opinion by Judge Thomas M. Cooley the court held the act unconstitutional and void. The ground taken by the court was that it is essential to a valid exercise of the power of taxation that it be for a public purpose. A corporation created for the pur- pose of constructing a railway to be owned and oper- ated by the corporators is a private corporation. Taxa- tion can no more be employed in behalf of such cor- poration than in behalf of the projectors of a mill, a
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hotel, or any other private enterprise. The opinion will be found in the 20th vol. of Michigan Reports, under the title of The People versus Salem.
This decision of the supreme court produced the very awkward result of leaving in the hands of capitalists and others a large quantity of worthless municipal bonds issued in aid of railroads. As nearly as could be ascertained, the showing was something like this :
Special acts of 1863, approved by Governor Blair $858,600
Special acts of 1865, approved by Governor Crapo 312,700
Special acts of 1867, passed over veto of Governor Crapo 28,000
Special acts of 1869, approved by Governor Baldwin 447,000
Total $1,646,300
Beside the foregoing in the hands of innocent hold- ers, there were other classes of bonds which had been voted, made and deposited with the state treasurer, but not delivered to the companies for whose benefit they were designed. These amounted in the aggregate to $3,710,875. Some of them had been wholly or par- tially earned, while in other cases no work had been done on the projected roads.
To relieve the dilemma, Governor Baldwin called the legislature into extra session in July, 1870, and advised the passage of a constitutional amendment to be sub- mitted to the people at the approaching general election, authorizing the payment of such bonds as had been actually issued. He did not recommend that such amendment should authorize future railroad aid, but
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only that it should provide a way for the payment of such bonds as were outstanding at the time. Without such action, the bonds were wholly uncollectable.
The legislature responded by providing an amend- ment of three sections. The first authorized the legisla- ture to pass from time to time laws establishing reason- able maximum rates of charges for transportation of passengers and freight on railroads, and prohibit run- ning contracts between railroad companies whereby dis- crimination is made. The second section prohibited a railroad corporation from consolidating its stock, prop- erty or franchises with any other railroad corporation owning a parallel or competing line. The third section authorized the legislature to provide by law for the payment by the counties, townships and municipalities of all bonds or other obligations heretofore issued or incurred in pursuance of acts of the legislature. In no event shall the state pay or become liable for any por- tion of such bonds. The legislature shall submit to the electors of each of the counties, townships and munici- palities concerned the question of payment, with the mode and manner of the same.
Each of these sections was submitted separately to the electors at the general election in November, 1870. The first was carried by a vote of 78,602 affirmative to 51,397 negative votes. The second also prevailed by 76,902 affirmative to 51, 194 negative; the third was rejected by 50,078 affirmative to 78,453 negative.
Thus the obligations were repudiated. Collection could not be enforced in the state courts, and so the expedient was adopted of turning them over to non- residents, who could sue in the federal courts. After extended litigation and delay some bond holders real- ized something on their investments, and so the losses were not total. The whole chapter of railroad aid tax-
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ation forms an unpleasant episode. But it must be remembered that our neighboring states were securing railroads for themselves by this method and that in several of them legislation of this sort had been declared constitutional by their highest judicial tribunals; also that the supreme court of the United States had set the seal of its approval upon this class of acts. Moreover, the general government had recognized the principle by making extensive grants of public lands and by guaran- teeing the bonds of private corporations to secure the building of railroads.
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CHAPTER III ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR BALDWIN
IV-5
H ENRY P. BALDWIN of Detroit was governor from January 1, 1869, to January 1, 1873. For his first term he was elected over John Moore of Saginaw by a majority of 30,851 in a total vote of 225,251. For the second term his plurality was 16,085 over Charles C. Comstock of Grand Rapids, his next highest competitor. Henry Fish, prohibition can- didate, received 2,710 votes. The other state officers chosen on the ticket with him in the election of 1868 were Morgan Bates, lieutenant governor; Oliver L. Spaulding, secretary of state; William Humphrey, auditor general; Benjamin D. Pritchard, commissioner of land office ; Ebenezer O. Grosvenor, state treasurer; Dwight May, attorney general; Oramel Hosford, sup- erintendent of public instruction. The other state offi- cers serving during the term of 1871-72 were Morgan Bates, lieutenant governor; Daniel Striker, secretary of state; William Humphrey, auditor general; Charles A. Edmonds, commissioner of land office ; Victory P. Col- lier, state treasurer; Dwight May, attorney general; Oramel Hosford, superintendent of public instruction. Jonathan J. Woodman was speaker of the house during both terms.
Governor Baldwin was a native of Coventry, Rhode Island, where he was born February 22, 1814. His father, John Baldwin, was a graduate of Dartmouth College and died at North Providence in 1826, when his son, the future governor, was but twelve years of age. The grandfather, Rev. Moses Baldwin, was the first graduate of Princeton, receiving his degree in 1757. He was pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Palmer, Mass., for fifty years, dying there in 1813. The mother of Governor Baldwin was a daughter of Rev. Nehemiah
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Williams, a graduate of Harvard, who was for twenty- one years pastor of the Congregational Church in Brim- field, Mass., where he died in 1796. Governor Bald- win's early education consisted of instruction in the common schools, with a short course in a New England academy. By the death of his parents he found himself while a mere lad thrown upon his own resources. He obtained employment as a clerk in a general store. At the age of twenty he established himself in business at Woonsocket, R. I. In 1837 he made a trip through the western country which resulted soon after in the removal of his business to Detroit. He had not been long in his new field when a financial panic caused by inflated values and wild speculation swamped many of the mer- chants and other business houses. He was, however, able to weather the storm, by the exercise of that pru- dence and sound judgment which characterized all his operations. He engaged in the boot and shoe trade and established a factory. Both flourished under his ener- getic and careful management, bringing him, for the time, considerable wealth. He was for more than twenty years president and one of the chief stockholders of the Second National Bank of Detroit, and its succes- sor, the Detroit National Bank. He was an active par- ticipant in the affairs of the Protestant Episcopal church, and was a member of the standing committee of the dio- cese for fifty years. In 1858 he, with a few associates, organized St. John's parish in Detroit, and he personally bore nearly the whole outlay for the construction of the very beautiful church building on the corner of Wood- ward avenue and High street. He was an appreciative patron of fine arts and collected in the dwelling which he erected on the site of the Governor Cass mansion on Fort street some of the choicest works of painting and sculpture to be found in the capitals of Europe.
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He was elected to the state senate in 1860, taking his seat on the first of the following January. He was made chairman of the finance committee, which com- mittee was charged with the arduous and responsible task of investigating the affairs of the state treasury, which was made bankrupt by the defalcation of the re- tiring treasurer, John McKinney. Through the personal efforts of John Owen, the treasurer elect, backed by the support of Mr. Baldwin, the state was always in funds to meet requirements. When United States Senator, Zachariah Chandler died in October, 1879, Governor Croswell appointed Ex-Governor Baldwin as his succes- sor and the legislature renewed the appointment at its next session. This service was only for the unexpired portion of Senator Chandler's term-little more than a year altogether. At its conclusion Senator Baldwin re- tired to private life. He had several years before prac- tically given up personal attention to his private busi- ness, though it was still carried on in his name. He had never a robust physique and though his health had for the most part been fairly good, he was compelled to ex- ercise great caution in exposing himself and in physical and mental exertion. He died at his home in Detroit, December 31, 1892, and the city and the state mourned the loss of a good man and an estimable citizen.
Several matters of importance developed under the administration of Governor Baldwin. One of these was the resumption of the geological survey of the state. The governor brought this to the attention of the legis- lature of 1869 when he said: "I submit to you the im- portance of providing a thorough and complete geologi- cal survey of the state. Many years ago in our early history, this work was partially prosecuted by the late Dr. Douglass Houghton, whose sudden death put a stop to this important work. Small appropriations were sub-
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sequently made, but no general survey has been effected. The developments made by the very partial work hith- erto done have many times repaid the comparatively small expenditure. But what is needed is a thorough and comprehensive examination of the whole state." This matter was taken up by the joint committees to which it had been referred and an exhaustive report was made, covering the whole history of knowledge of the mineral resources of the state. It appears from this report that in 1859 the governor was authorized to appoint a geolo- gist and assistants, and five thousand dollars was appro- priated for the work. Governor Wisner appointed Prof. Alexander Winchell of the state university, and re- stricted the work to the lower peninsula, since the ap- propriation was too small to inaugurate effective work in the northern peninsula. Of the report two hundred and ten pages were devoted to geology, thirty pages to zoology and eighty-five to botany. The committee claim that the practical results were valuable to the state in locating salt, coal and gypsum which could be profit- ably mined, and in proving that the climate of the west shore of the state is so modified by the influence of Lake Michigan as to be specially adapted to fruit growing. Small appropriations were made for the succeeding four years, but they were too insignificant in amount to ac- complish results and were turned back into the treasury.
So it appears that in all these years nothing whatever was done to investigate the extensive but practically un- known mineral wealth of the upper peninsula. The committee say they believe that the state is fully able and ought to be willing to now enter upon an enlarged and liberal geological survey of both peninsulas; that if but one can be undertaken, the Lake Superior country is entitled to the preference. The committee further called attention to the fact that the state owns a large amount
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of swamp and school lands, reserved from the market on account of supposed mineral value, the determination of which value is a matter of common interest to all the people, while the United States is also holder of large tracts of supposed mineral land whose value is wholly unknown.
The committee presented a bill to make effective its recommendations. This provided that the governor, superintendent of public instruction and president of the state board of education shall constitute a board of geological survey to control and supervise the continu- ance and completion of the geological survey of the state. They are authorized to appoint a director, and upon the nomination of the director, such assistants as may be necessary. The director was required to make an annual report, and on the completion of the work a complete memoir upon the geology of the state, em- bracing an account of all its mineral and agricultural resources, a delineation of its geology upon the map, and such other diagrams and illustrations as may be needed to set forth in a creditable and intelligible man- ner the nature, location and extent of the various re- sources. It is specified that one half of all appropria- tions shall be expended in the upper peninsula. An ap- propriation of eight thousand dollars annually was made, to cover all expenses, except printing the reports, and congress was asked to make a like appropriation for the same purpose.
The board as thus constituted consisted of H. P. Baldwin, governor; W. J. Baxter, president of board of education ; Oramel Hosford, superintendent of public instruction. They appointed Alexander Winchell direc- tor of the survey, with T. B. Brooks, assistant upon the iron bearing rocks; Raphael Pumpelly, assistant on the copper bearing rocks, and Carl Rominger, assistant on
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the paleozoic rocks. The results of this survey were published in three quarto volumes, 1873-1876. They were sumptuously printed in New York, and were pro- fusely illustrated with maps and diagrams. The survey was continued by Dr. Rominger, who gave his entire at- tention to the Marquette iron region. In this work he was aided by Charles E. Wright and Dr. M. E. Wads- worth. Their observations were published in 1881 as volume four. Charles E. Wright was appointed state geologist in 1885 and continued as such until his death in 1888, when he was succeeded by his assistant, Alfred C. Lane. He was succeeded by Lucius L. Hubbard. Their work applied wholly to the lower peninsula and was published as volume five, covering the period, 1881- 1893. Volume six, covering 1893-1897, was devoted to the upper peninsula. Volume seven, covering the period, 1897-1900, was issued under the auspices of Al- fred C. Lane, state geoolgist, and is devoted to three counties of the lower peninsula. Monroe county was surveyed by W. H. Sherzer; Huron county by A. C. Lane, and Sanilac county by C. H. Gordon. From that date the survey was continued and is still in progress. The board of geological survey remains as originally constituted, with the changes of personnel from time to time as new officers succeeded those retiring.
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