USA > Missouri > Jasper County > A history of Jasper County, Missouri, and its people > Part 44
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Among the matters brought up for discussion by the Joplin Club was the need of a suitable club house and also a theater building in keep- ing with the growing city. A company was organized composed almost wholly of local capital and members of the Joplin Club to erect a club house and theater combined; the structure was very appropriately called the Club Theater building. The theater has a seating capacity of 1,400, occupying the west part of the structure, and the club rooms include the second floor of the Joplin street side.
The Club Theater was formally opened January 26, 1891, by Fred- erick Ward in "King Henry VIII." On the curtain of the Club Theater was painted a beautiful picture of Grand Falls, as it appeared before the war. The picture was made by the United States Geological Survey.
The club rooms were dedicated, with appropriate ceremonies on March 4th, and we copy here the report of the exercises, speeches. etc., from the Joplin Daily Herald of March 5th :
ORATORICAL SHOTS FIRED OFF LAST NIGHT IN THE DEDICATION OF THE NEW JOPLIN CLUB ROOMS-MANY VISITORS PRESENT
"Every train running into Joplin had on board representative cit- izens of our neighboring towns and cities. They came by twos, by the dozen and by the score. They were the flower of the people represented, and it is not an exaggeration to say that taken all in all there was never seen in Joplin a finer-looking body of men. They were intelligent-looking and well dressed, many of them wearing full dress suits to do honor to the occasion calling them here. Coming thus they paid a double com- pliment to the organization that had invited them to partake of their hospitality. Long before twilight the early visitors had gathered about the hotels weary with the long stroll they had taken, while viewing the beauty and activity of the southern metropolis, better known as the 'Electric Wonder.' Before the hour of assembling at the club rooms, the visitors spent the time at the hotels renewing acquaintances and receiv- ing new arrivals. At 8 o'clock the grand march for the club rooms in the new theater began. There the scene was an animated one. Until the hour for the evening's exercises to begin arrived, the rooms were crowded with as lively and vivacious a body of men as they will ever hold again, in all probability. The scenic artists had put on the fin- ishing touches, the florist had arranged flowers and tropical plants with consummate skill, and the rooms had been decorated with an eye to beauty and pleasure. All was in readiness for the chairman's gavel when it fell at 9 o'clock. Before it went down, however, the guests had
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made hundreds of new acquaintances, had shaken hands all round and exchanged the compliments of the day. Liquid refreshments had been enjoyed and the air bore testimony to the fact that numerous boxes of choicest Havanas had given up their fragrance to the delectation of the lovers of the weed. The gentlemen entertained and entertainers were in the best of spirits and fully ready for the unalloyed enjoyment of the program of the night. It had been the intention of the widely known and popular club to give a grand opening on the completion of the new rooms and the time came last night. Ample preparations had been made to make it a success and neither time nor means had been spared in the work. The committee appointed to superintend it has never shirked but had entered upon carrying out the wishes of the club with seeming pleasure. To their arduous labors is due the successful termination of last night's banquet. The double rooms which were last night dedicated to the use of the enterprising wide awake business men of Joplin are large beautiful and elegant, suitable in every respect for the purpose for which they will be used. They are such headquarters as the mem- bers can feel proud of and be happy at all times to show to the world. They were dedicated not only for business but for pleasure. All work and no play would do for the club what it would have done for Jaok, hence the tables of amusement which will be placed in the rooms and other attractions for whiling away the spare hours. The Joplin Club is to be an institution of the future as substantial and active as any in our midst for the city's future welfare and prosperity. The people ex- pect much of it and they will not be disappointed if the opening exer- cises can be taken as an indication of what is proposed to be done.
"At 9 o'clock the president of the Joplin Club, W. H. Picher, called the audience to order and made a brief speech of welcome. He said that he welcomed the guests present in the name of the Joplin Club. On behalf of its members he extended to every visitor a hearty welcome. He wanted all to go away with the kindliest recollections of the evening. He welcomed all in the true spirit of hospitality. The club is yet young he continued, but it was with reasonable pride that he alluded to the success it has already attained. Every member was proud of it. This building had been erected by the members of the club. Mr. Picher con- cluded with a pleasing reference to the guests of the evening and then read the following letter from Governor Francis:
STATE OF MISSOURI, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, CITY OF JEFFERSON, March 2. 1891-8. C. Henderson, Esq., Joplin, Mo .- Dear Sir :- I very much regret that official duties will prevent me from being with you on Wednesday, the 4th inst., at the opening of the Joplin Club, for it would afford me great pleasure to visit your city again and partake of your whole souled hospitality and renew the many delightful acquaintances formed there.
The progress of Joplin and the enterprise of her public spirited citizens has attracted attention beyond the limits of our state. The mineral wealth of your section has in my opinion hardly begun to develop. The future has in store a grand destiny for Southwest Missouri and its realization will be hailed by no one with more sincere satisfaction than by
Yours respectfully,
DAVID R. FRANCIS.
Vol. 1-26
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"After the reading of the letter, he introduced Hon. Gabriel Schmuck, of Galena, who said that it afforded him great pleasure to be present and participate in the pleasure of the evening. He also regarded it 88 an honor to follow the president of the club who had delivered the ad- dress of welcome. 'I come here,' he said, 'rather to sit at the festive board than to make a speech. Not being thoroughly versed in the history of Missouri I hesitate to tackle so large a subject as has been assigned me. Although we have been mining for years we have not as yet got at the true merits of the case. Not many years ago the buffalo roamed over our hills and valleys, now the abode of men of industry and culture. The buffalo is dead and gone, but we have still the ox and the ass and we are digging for another animal. We are digging for jack. We are growing more conservative, more liberal. The state line that separates Kansas and Missouri is only an imaginary one. After all, gentlemen, Missouri is only a continuation of my state of Kansas. You are our brothers and we should all have a kindly feeling for each other. We are getting metropolitan in Galena; we speak all languages there and speak them all correctly. But, gentlemen, think of such a grand country as we have. We are one people, ours one country. State lines are only im- aginary. We should be bound together in brotherly affection. There is no room for hate, but there is room for all. I'm proud of Joplin. I'm proud of such a building as this is which you have erected. It is an evidence of great power and endurance. Galena can take a lesson from Joplin. A great change has come over Joplin in the last few years. She is no longer a village, but a city. Energy has done it. I want to see her reach a population of 100,000. We all want to see it. What is your interest is our interest. Let us all grow together. Let brotherly feeling prevail among us all.'
"The next speaker was Judge O. H. Picher. He said he had listened with great pleasure to his old friend, Mr. Schmuck, whom he esteemed very highly. As to state lines he agreed with Mr. Schmuck that they were only imaginary. 'Nature never intended that Kansas and Mis- souri should be separated at all. Whether Kansas belonged to Missouri, or vice versa, depended altogether on the Ozark mountains. The range settled it. One certainly included the other. Southwestern Missouri depends on the Ozark range. It has on its surface all that we shall talk of tonight. On her slope lies this district. It happens that right here are gathered more of those things that conduce to the happiness and pleasure of the world than you can find anywhere else that I know of. Here fruits grow and vegetables abound in abundance on the surface and mineral is found beneath the surface. It is found here as it is nowhere else in the world. At first it was thought that this mineral was to be found only in pockets, that it would only be temporary and after a while would cease; but not so. In 1872 I happened to be in Califonia and was informed there by a friend that our lead was all right, but as for zinc we would find we had an inexhaustible supply of it in Mexico, as soon as a commercial value could be set upon it. That was nineteen years ago and what is the result? There is not in the whole world a country as rich on
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account of its zinc ore as this. My throat fails me, gentlemen, but I will add that the comfort of my life is the staying qualities of this locality. It is the poorman's paradise. You may fail here, as I have done often, but the country will support you. You can get on your feet again. Note the beauty of it. The poor men with their pick and shovel have brought this district to the attention of the capitalists. Notwithstanding and in spite of trade fluctuations without outside help, with the aid of her own citizens by the stuff that lies in the ground, there is no such country like that of southwestern Missouri in the world. I believe it and you all must. You can afford to make mistakes here, because this country will take care of you when you do. Her resources are unlimited. There is nothing here but solidity. We all wish very much for more unity; we should be more united. There are many things that united we can do, while as individ- uals we cannot do. There is no room here for individuality. We have an association that we should all be interested in. We should all attend its meetings, stay with the association. Together we can do a great deal. For that purpose these halls are built. We must get together and discuss our interests. United action is necessary. There is no limit your in- fluence will have on the markets of the world. Each community must have an organization of its own. Just such an organization as this. Each one can do something by itself, but more if we all combine in smelting our ores and in other industries.' Judge Picher then spoke of the fact that the club had invited its guests without any intention of being formal in the banquet proceedings and asked all those present whenever they happened to be in Joplin to make the rooms their headquarters. To feel free and at home.
"'Citizens of Joplin and visitors,' began Judge W. B. McAntire, 'I'm happy to meet you all here on this occasion. We have all been greatly interested in what has been said regarding our relation with each other. But gentlemen there has been too much jealousy in the past in this section. There is no sense in it. No one ever built himself up by tearing down some one else. As for us, we have no such feeling. We don't want to play dog in the manger. We can't afford to do it. We begin to feel that this spirit is dying out. We don't care how large Carthage or Webb City grows, how rich Galena gets or how many hatch- eries Neosho secures. We want to see them all prosper. We rejoice that you can't see each other without coming through Joplin and we are al- ways glad to see you too. We think we have the finest town in the world. Why, I used to hunt ducks right here where our streets are. I can remember, and I'm a young man yet, when lots here, where we now stand, were sold for a mere trifle. You could get one free by buying one and building a shanty on it. If some of the older residents had had a little more sand and bought more lots they would have been rich to- day. You hear that remark daily. Lots that used to sell for fifteen dollars and twenty dollars now sell for fifteen thousand and twenty thousand dollars. I expect to see them sell for one hundred thousand dollars. Consider well and you too will agree with me. This ground
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is all underlaid with ore. We will have a population here in a few years of fifty thousand people. We have now forty passenger trains daily, sixty traveling men on the road, new factories being daily es- tablished and new smelteries to be built soon. Snyder Brothers ship tomorrow one thousand tons of zinc ore to Wales. Joplin has not yet reached the age of beauty. There are other places more gorgeous, but none more healthful, happy and prosperous. We have but one under- taker and half the time he's out of a job. We have a double track electric railway and white lead works that are unlike any other in the United States in one respect. They have a daily capacity of 65,000 pounds of pig lead and 20,000 of white lead. We have now a paint factory which will put a half dozen men on the road. In public schools we're not behind any city. We are to have new sewers and new smelteries and factories too numerous to mention. I hope, gentlemen, that your towns also will grow and flourish. The better off you are, the better off we are. Let us grow together.'
"One of the most finished and bright speeches of the evening was that of H. S. Wicks. The following extract will only give a faint idea of what he said: 'There should be no envy or jealousy between the cities of this lead and zinc region. It should not be a question as to whether we shall outdistance Carthage or whether Webb City shall overhaul us or whether Galena shall spurt up along side. We are now all bound up in a com- mon destiny. Anything that benefits one, benefits all the others and any malicious attack on one damages to that extent the rest. What we want is true, sympathetic and united action and, having all our common efforts moulded together in a common purpose, move forward to continually new triumphs in the future. The Joplin Club with an existence of but little over two years has already been identified with every important project that has contributed to the prosperity of this community. Housed now in this splendid edifice and equipped with every element of success and every feature that will attract new blood, and new life. Standing tonight on the threshold of new opportunities she should free herself from every dormant propensity and be ready and eager for new con- quests.'
"Al Cahn, of Carthage, followed Mr. Wicks in a humorous address which elicitated much applause. He said Moses sent spies into Canaan and they returned with a goodly report of the land. They took back grapes that would silence a horticulturist of California on that subject. 'Had those spies landed on Plymouth Rock they would have selected Jasper county as their destination and they would not have made a mistake. My relations did so and knowing a good thing when they saw it they stayed here. Jasper county has an area of twenty-two by thirty miles, is the third county in the state in size and the fourth in wealth; has more railroad mileage and a larger public school fund than any other county. Figures may seem a little dry just now after leaving the other room but they are truthful. Her output last year was $4,000,000. There is no more fertile land in this great country of ours than Jasper county. She has sixteen mills and the superiority of her flour makes it com-
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mand a higher price than that of other states and it finds a ready sale in any market. Cattle, horses and sheep graze on her rich pastures and her farmers till the soil in summer and mine her lead and zinc in the winter. She has 50,000 inhabitants and has room for 500,000 more. This is the best apple country to be found and had Adam and Eve been placed here that Garden of Eden story would never have been told. We have vineyards here for the German, railroads for the sons of the Emerald Isle, commerce for the English, but no use for the Chinese.
" 'There need be no danger or fear of over-production or exhaustion of our mineral resources. Lead has been mined in Spain, Germany and other older countries for hundreds of years and still they continue to mine there and find it. They go 800 and 1000 feet deep for their lead. He who placed it in the ground over there also placed it here. The commercial value of our lead and zinc will keep right along with the price of other commodities. In the next century the center of population will move west, the next world's fair will be held here, and the greatest curiosities on exhibition will be the pick and the shovel and other tools used in mining. I am not dreaming or indulging in idle prophecy. It will come true and our descendants will laugh at the primitive way in which we are mining.
" 'We need more capital. Let me conclude with an illustration. This evening as I was walking over to this beautiful building I overheard two gentlemen in front of me talking about Joplin. They were visitors here and, like me, guests of this evening's dedication. One of them said : "Well, I have been very much entertained today in going about through the mines, and this is surely a live town; but if the mines are as big as they say they are, and if they are making as much money as they say they are, why don't they build more sidewalks and make more public improvements? " The question was a pertinent one and I will answer it by telling this little story : One morning at the opening of school in a western town, a boy came to be enrolled who was poorly clad and who was exceedingly dirty. The teacher told him to go home and wash his face and not to come back until he was presentable. In the afternoon the urchin came back with the lower half of his face washed, but the top part as dirty as ever. The teacher said, "See here! I told you to go home and wash your face. I did not mean just half. Now I want to know why you did not wash your face perfectly clean." "Well," re- plied the boy, "I didn't wash any higher because my shirt-tail would not reach any farther."
" 'And so it is with us. We are doing the best we can and are reach- ing out just as far as our financial shirt-tail will reach; and as we grow older will no doubt do better.'
"Dr. C. C. Wood, president of Scarret College, Neosho, who with Al Cahn carried off the honors of the evening, said in part : 'I am somewhat puzzled to know just why I was invited to address this club. Just why a Methodist minister should be asked to talk on an occasion such as this I cannot figure out. A preacher is generally supposed not to know any- thing about finance and real estate. With one he has no intimate ac-
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quaintance and with the other he usually owns just as much as he car- ries on his clothes when he falls into a mud hole; and this he owns by right of discovery. A minister is generally called upon to christen babies, celebrate the bonds of matrimony and bury the dead. As a minister, I suppose I am called upon to christen this magnificent build- ing and help launch into history the new era of good fellowship which will come to Joplin and all of the surrounding cities and towns.
" 'I am often called upon to attend to all that is left of a man when the lawyers and the doctor get through with him and I now bury all the past envy and animosity between Missouri and bleeding Kansas. A portion of Kansas is now on the other side of the room refreshing him- self after so long a dry spell.
" 'With Kansas I would have liked to have been on more intimate terms a few years ago. During the war they came over and took our animals instead of digging for the "jack" as they do now. That was reciprocity. I met a party of about 1,000 Kansans one day during the late unpleasantness and retired in good order, but I hated to see them go because they took my best saddle horse. I reciprocated not long after and, going over into Kansas, with a party of Missourians, captured him back.
"'Newton county, where I live, is a great county and if Brother Cahn had mentioned that Newton county is the center of the world I would have said his head was level. I visited Newton county when I was a young man, but I did not take any of the grapes home for fear my neighbors would beat me down and get the place I had picked out for my future home. I know a good thing when I see it, but there is one strange thing about Newton county though. We have plenty of water there and yet the Democrats have a good working majority.
" 'Neosho is the healthiest place in the world. Do you know that we had to lynch a man in order to start a cemetery down there. We have one lady in Neosho who is so old that she says she guesses the Lord has forgotten her. Joplin is only twenty miles from Neosho, and there is something to be proud of.'
"Dr. Wood then closed with a beautiful eulogy to the future Mis- sourian and the possibilities of the great southwest.
"J. T. James, president of the Webb City Commercial Club, and Phil Campbell of Pittsburgh, both made short talks, after which the as- semblage retired to the stage of the Club Theater and there partook of a sumptuous banquet."
OTHER JOPLIN CLUB TOPICS
The following gentlemen served the club as presidents during the 'nineties : 1890, S. C. Henderson ; 1891, W. H. Picher ; 1892, W. C. Weth- erill; 1893, F. E. Williams; 1894, H. H. Gregg; 1895, E. O. Bartlett; 1896, Jno. C. Trigg; 1897, J. H. Spencer; 1898, B. T. Wilson; 1899, Chas. Schifferdecker.
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On November 2, 1893, the Joplin Club made a trip to Kansas City, having a two-fold object in view, first to get better acquainted with the business men and methods of Kansas City, and thus have better business connections, and secondly to advertise Joplin. The trip was highly suc- cessful both in a business and social way. Another Kansas City junket was indulged in during 1896.
In 1893 a Kansas City company was formed to build a railway from that city to Port Arthur and the Joplin Club at once got busy to secure the road for Joplin. Fifteen thousand dollars was subscribed toward securing the new road. The K. C. P. and G. acquired the old splitlog railway and extended the line from Joplin to Kansas City via Pittsburg, Kansas and from Siloam Springs south. The P. & G. is now known as the Kansas City Southern.
COMPANY G, SECOND INFANTRY, N. G. M.
In 1890, when the National guard was being reorganized all over Missouri, the military loving men of Joplin began agitating the ques- tion of reorganizing the old Joplin Rifles.
Among the new comers, who were attracted to Joplin in 1890 by the boom that was on, was Capt. F. C. Florance, of Kansas City, a member of the Third Regiment and ordinance officer of that organization. Cap- tain Florance put the matter in form by making application to Col. W. K. Caffee for permission to organize a company for the Second Regiment. The application was approved by Colonel Caffee, Adjutant General Wickham and Governor Francis, and a membership committee at once set out to secure the required number for :a company. The company was formally mustered into the service of the state December 30, 1899, by Col. W. K. Caffee, of the Second Regiment. The charter membership of the company at the date of its muster-in was forty-three, but it was at once recruited to sixty-five. The following were the first officers of the company : Captain, F. C. Florance; first lieutenant, Guy G. Farwell; second lieutenant, John Kehlor; first sergeant, F. H. Wilson; sergeants, Steel McMillen, A. L. North, Bert Schnur and G. H. Davidson; corpor- als, W. J. Morrow, John Dawson, H. P. Schellenback, Bert Fenn, Fred Parks and George H. Shaw.
Company G made its first appearance at the funeral of General Sherman at St. Louis February 20, 1891. The company had sixty-four men in line and was especially mentioned by the Post Dispatch, of St Louis, as being the largest company attending the obsequies of the dis- tinguished soldier.
On August 27, 1891, Captain Florance resigned his commission and J. B. Glover, of the famous Zouave Drill Corps was chosen captain. In June, 1892, Captain Glover withdrew from the company, and there was a complete reorganization. George B. Webster, late of the First Regi- ment, St. Louis, was chosen captain; Sergeant A. S. Chappel was elected first lieutenant and J. S. Casey, second lieutenant.
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