USA > Nebraska > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. I > Part 52
USA > Nebraska > Clay County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. I > Part 52
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MeDermott, by petition 305
State Representatives :
Neir, republican 1639
Nordgren, republican 1874
Evans, democratie 1355
Boyd, democratic 1197
County Attorney :
Stanley, republican
2152
County Commissioner :
Berggren, republican 1724
Hammond, democratic
1333
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
superintendent of schools, A. S. Nelson ; eounty judge, Fred Jeffers; county surveyor, Oscar Berggren; county coroner, J. W. Woodard; county assessor, B. O. Bergeson ; county attorney, Whitney : county commissioners, G. C. Eaton, Jno. W. Minton, E. W. Hahn.
For 1919 and 1920: County clerk, H. V. Nelson ; county treasurer, II. E. Toof; clerk of district court, J. W. Weedin ; sheriff, J. E. Howard; county super- intendent of schools, A. S. Nelson ; county judge, Fred Jeffers; county surveyor, Oscar Berggren; county coroner, Edgerton; county assessor, B. O. Bergeson ; county attorney, Whitney served in 1919-20 and Frank E. Edgerton was elected in 1920; county commissioners, G. C. Eaton, Jno. W. Minton, E. W. Hahn.
1921 and 1922: County clerk, H. V. Nelson; eounty treasurer, H. E. Toof ; clerk of district court, J. W. Weedin; sheriff, J. E. Howard; county superin- tendent of schools, A. S. Nelson ; county judge, Fred Jeffers; county surveyor, Osear Berggren; county coroner, J. J. Reinhardt ; county assessor, Frank E. Edgerton, who resigned in the fall of 1920 and J. J. Reinhardt was appointed ; county commissioners, G. C. Eaton, Jno. W. Minton and E. W. Hahn.
WAS A VERY LONESOME DEMOCRAT VERD GLOVER WAS ONE OF FIVE DEMOCRATS IN THE COUNTY AND MADE FIRST CALL FOR CONVENTION-THE PETER FARNEY TREASURY FIGHT WAS A WARM ONE AND LED TO TIIE PASSAGE OF INTEREST LAW
Of course I felt lonesome-leaving Illinois, as I did, in the midst of the campaign of 1876, when everything was at fever heat as between Hayes and Tilden, with no thought of Peter Cooper. While at Lincoln, waiting for a train to Harvard (no railroad at Aurora then). I found the greenback, or Peter Cooper, state convention had just adjourned and delegates were going home. All I heard was what they were going to do when Peter Cooper was president. Well, I got my share of fun out of it in a quiet way, as I usually do, and when I got home I found father and brother Tom ranting greenbackers and brother William grieving because he had no ticket. I did hear two or three in this county who eut democratic tickets from the newspapers and voted them. In the spring of 1877 brother Charley came, George Wildish and Rittenhouse. Then we could count five democrats and we began to feel better. In '77 the only county tickets were greenback and republican. We were nonpartisan, but got George Wildish on the ticket for county attorney. Though he was not a be- liever in the greenback idea, he was elected. The next year, '78, was the elec- tion of legislative ticket and state officers. They were to make laws and prob- ably elect a U. S. Senator. When we met we would talk it over with voters from any part of the county who had democratie tendencies, getting what en- couragement we could, and which I must admit was little-and when the time came in '78 I wrote up and had published a call for a democratic mass con- vention to be held at the court house in Aurora, giving date and purpose.
And the "mass" convention was held ; present, George Wildish, A. J. Ritten- house, William Glover, C. R. Glover, and myself. After waiting all day for some one to come from the country to help, we five in the evening called meeting to order on the front steps of the court house and selected C. R. Glover as a democrat candidate for the legislature, and myself as a delegate to the state
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
convention. No selection of eounty committee was made, it being understood that each was to do all he eould to win and pay his own expenses. The rest of our tieket was the state and senatorial candidates as nominated by the demo- crats. We took our tickets to the greenback paper to have them printed, but were turned down, and the Republican was too busy to get them out before election, which they seemed to think would do us just as much good and help them more, as they thought we would vote their ticket in preferenee to the green- back ticket. So we sent the job to Dr. George Miller, of the Omaha Herald. After getting them back there eame some more lonesomeness. No committee and no democrat that we knew in any of the precinets to send them to. All five of us were in Aurora preeinet to look after it, and on Monday morning I took the ballots for Beaver, Farmers Valley, Orville, Union, Scoville, Deepwell and Ham- ilton. At that time what is now Phillips was a part of Deepwell. C. R. took the ballots to the balance, or north half of the county, both of us hunting up some democrat to leave them with, urging them to do their best the next day, and each of the five were to do some special work that day-and we did it well; result, 126 democratie votes in Hamilton county.
While at the state convention I first heard Morton speak. Some democrats wanted to endorse, fuse or combine with the greenback ticket, and that is what stirred up Mr. Morton, and in time he woke up the democrats, and I, who was new at the business, eould not help saying something when some one had his gall to ask why Hamilton county had anything to say about what they should do, as he had never heard of a democrat in that county before. I merely answered by saying "that's all right, but you will always have them with you hereafter." And I have done my part in making good on that, having attended more than twenty conventions as a delegate, and several times when I was not a delegate. We as a party had our ups and downs. We at times combined with the green- backers and anti-monopolists when we could get a fair share of the tieket, other- wise we went it alone, regardless of what party would benefit, and although our platforms or resolutions were generally very much different, we worked in har- mony for the ticket after it was made up.
This eontinned until the anti-monopolists dropped out and this at last left a clear field and fair fight as between the republicans and democrats of this county. Up to this time the county treasurers had been having the interest on county funds for their individual use, although it had often been talked that this interest belonged to the county. Therefore, as democrats, we took that as our motto and our platform was a pledge to the people-and our candidate accepted the same-that all interest derived from eounty funds should be turned back to the treasury of the county and become a part of the regular funds of the county. The committee at that time, of which I was chairman, found this to be no small matter. A quiet canvass of the county was at first made for available men. Talk about secret meetings and private caucuses! Yes, we had them, and one after another was dropped from the list, some who knew they were being considered and others who did not, until it got down to four, then three of them absolutely refused. One wanted it, but was afraid, as repub- licans had threatened to arrest and send him to prison for violation of law. The other did not know he was even being talked of, but was very strongly in favor of its being done. It was more of a task to secure the right man and one
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ITISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
that everybody knew would carry out the reform if elected. The man who could have had the nomination, and wanted it, but was afraid, after an hour of pri- vate talk refused. This left bnt one such as was desired, and his nearest friends and best acquaintances said we must say nothing to him about his being the candidate, but they in his own precinct would put him on the delegation to help select one who would do this.
In this manner Peter Farney was nominated and had accepted before he hardly realized what he was doing. This was, as you all know who were here, a hard fought battle between the republicans and democrats. The populists were just then organized and have always tried to claim a lot of eredit for this. It did not originate with them and was no part of their platform. It was either vote for or against Peter on that resolution and pledge, as there was but one other candidate.
But I will here give the pops credit for one thing they did do in two years after Farney was elected and made good his pledge and the democratic platform. They kindly notified the democrats that they would hold their county convention and nominate Peter Farney for a second term, the demoerats to hold their con- vention and endorse him. This would insure his election. If you won't do this, they told the democrats, but hold your convention first, we will nominate anothe" man and beat him at the polls. I was still chairman of our county committee and was about as lonesome a democrat as I was from '76 to '78. As such I refused to grant this privilege. It was a principle we, as democrats, had established and on this we would win or lose.
To settle the question, I called representative democrats from all sections of the county to meet in private caucus, which they did, and a hotter discussion and meeting I never got into. After an hour or so of pros and cons, whys and where- fores, we came out of that meeting as democrats to nominate our own ticket in our own way-and when the pops put their eall in the papers for their county convention I put a call for ours one week earlier. We met and renominated Mr. Farney and the balance of our ticket, and one week later the pops met and made good their threat-nominating the very same man who had refused to be our candidate two years before, because he was afraid, but as Farney had made good, he was not afraid any more. This made it a very hard and disagreeable task, but the democrats again won and Farney was re-elected.
The Sun, which was then controlled by Hurlburt and Metzger, had a big part in the fight for the rights of the people, as well as the committee workers. It would seem from all this work and the outcome with such grand and good results that no democrat should ever after be lonesome as such.
But not so, for a few years later I, with others in this county, found ourselves very lonesome and at a time when we had a democrat president and congress, called to those positions as receivers to adjust the affairs of a panic stricken government, brought about by the foolish acts of the Harrison and former republican administrations in the purchase of silver and the giving of notes to circulate money. Lonesome ? Yes-1 guess so, with the panic, the dronth and failure of crops. It was no wonder that members of all parties, republicans, democrats and populists, were ready to accept anything that afforded relief. But the democrat president, Grover Cleveland, stood firm for a sound financial policy, though his party and all others were divided on that question, and he won,
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IHISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
and at the end of his term as president turned it over to his republican suc- cessor with a good, sound financial basis. And Mr. MeKinley was elected on a pledge to continue this same foundation, not alone by republicans, for thou- sands of lonesome democrats assisted in his election ; but had he lived he might have, and it is believed by many he would, have added to and given us an im- proved currency and banking system. But alas! Those of his party who have followed him in this respect have proven complete failures, for all they seemed to think of was some plan that would concentrate more power in the hands of the few by high tariff, a single central bank of issue and other measures intended to curtail the rights of the people and place it in control of our senators at Wash- ington.
But we are lonesome no more, for the people once more saw the error of the republicans and called our Woodrow Wilson and a democrat congress to take charge, and in the three and one-half years they have had charge they have corrected the evils in the currency and banking systems of the country and have put panies out of the question for all future time, so far as national affairs are concerned, and in addition have given us more good, constructive legislation that is and will be of lasting benefit to all the people than any other administration since the beginning of our government. No, I am not lonesome now, but it is, pleasing to have republicans admit that all of their presidents, but Lincoln and Mc Kinley, were failures, as they never refer to any of the others-always those two, when in fact both were elected with the assistance of democrat voters. Why, God bless you-Lincoln for his second term was not nominated nor elected as a republican, but was as a unionist, made up of republicans and democrats. The leaders of his party were against him, but were forced to take him a second time, and the pity of it was that he was not permitted to live out his second term, for I have always believed he would have driven this corrupt element out of control and the reconstruction of our united government would have been accomplished in a much shorter time, with better results.
With this I close, as a democrat who is not lonesome and does not expect to be. A. M. GLOVER.
POPULIST MOVEMENT IN HAMILTON COUNTY BY GEO. L. BURR
The history of Hamilton county would be by no means complete without an account of its part in the great populist movement that originating from the gathering together of farmers in the Farmers Alliance developed in the year 1890 into separate political action. In this county the leaders of the Farmers Alliance movement were F. M. Howard, Valentine Horn, J. T. Vorhes, M. II. Severy, R. D. Heist, William II. Fall, Carl Huenefeld, M. Pressler, Frank Hammond, Fred Newberry, E. D. Snider, A. P. Moberg, John Rapp, J. F. Bar- rett, Ellis Wood, T. F. McCarty, Frank Munn, Joe Kirk, Eldoras Lane, Albert C'leal, John Dodds, William Tucker, George Sands, Frank Sands, Dave MeKih- ben, Ed Price, Scott Mattern, Dennis MeCarty, B. O. Bergeson, J. F. Bishop, I. K. Winchell, J. W. Woods, Emerson Cutts, D. L. Hackett, II. II. Gillespie, S. R. Barton, W. II. Sayles, Tom Graham, Claus Anderson, Ehner Beabout, E. C. Purdy, Philip Brown, A. R. Brownell, I. N. Schenk, D. W. Long, J. F. Adams, J. W. Heuring, Sib Travis, Chris Hemmingsen, T. F. Castle, B. F. Richards, George Broadbent, J. W. Bowen, M. F. Huffman, Ed Cutts, Dr. C. E. Browne,
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
J. W. Eaton. William Fall, Nat Payne, Jonathan Foster, J. D. Fye, Warren Jones and F. M. Barnes, and others. Organization was effected in every precinct, and such was the dissatisfaction with the state officials of the dominant policy, that republicans and democrats alike felt the need of a movement that would unite the dissatisfied of both older parties and secure desired changes in legisla- tion. City officials in 1904: Jos. Neptune, mayor : J. R. Davidson, Jas. Schoonover, T. G. Hedgecock, June Keimb, A. W. Downey, J. R. Ronin, couneilmen.
One of the earliest and most bitterly contested issues was whether or not county treasurers should be privileged to deposit county funds in a bank of their choice and receive for themselves interest thereon. The state treas- urers had been doing this for years and the custom spread until in most counties the chief issue of every election was which financial institution should receive county deposits through favor of the treasurer, dividing with him the advantage resulting from their use. This led to corrupt politics, and other offices were traded to secure results on this one until there was a widespread protest against the custom. It was in Hamilton county that this protest first led to the nomination of a candidate pledged to return to the county treasury all interest received on public funds, there being at that time a considerable sinking fund accumulating to pay railroad bonds at maturity. Just as it was a Ilamilton county case that a decade or more later brought forth a decision on this ques- tion from our State Supreme Court. The man chosen was Peter Farney, who had the confidenee of farmers generally and such was the party feeling that he was accused of trying to bribe votes by this promise to thus give them back their own, and he was threatened with the penitentiary if he persisted in carrying out his promise. The election of 1890 contained this issue as well as that of an uprising against what was known as the "Tom Benton state house ring," and not only the state ticket, but the congressional as well was bitterly contested. In selecting a congressman to represent the new movement the choice of this county fell upon Valentine Ilorn, of Phillips, an Alliance leader, and he came within a very few votes of nomination, the nomination going to William MeKeighan. The republicans named N. V. Harlan of York county, an anti-monopoly republican of ability, who was deserted by the railroad element of that party, making the victory of MeKeighan a sweeping one.
In this county J. T. Vorhes and Fred Newberry were chosen as representa- tives, there being six in the field: M. Kohn and .for the democrats and Ed. Nugent and for the repub- lieans. William II. Fall was elected sheriff and Peter Farney, treasurer. Judge William L. Stark, elected by the republicans as county judge, became during that campaign affiliated with the new movement and afterward grew to be one of its prominent state and national leaders.
In the legislative session following no county representatives took a more prominent part than those from Hamilton county. Valentine Horn introduced a bill providing for the payment of all interest money by state and county treas- urers to the public treasury, and this was passed. Fred Newberry introduced a measure that afterward received national fame, and the Newberry law marked the first attempt to control corporation greed which made freight rates, "all the traffic would bear." He secured the passage of the measure in the first legislature, and it was vetoed by Governor Boyd. Later, the people remaining
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
insistent, the law was passed and a long legal battle ensued, it finally becoming the basic measure of relief from both freight and passenger extortion, and the efforts of these men and the party they represented were responsible for two great reforms. Our members were also prominent in the passage of the Aus- tralian ballot law, which gave a secret ballot in place of one in which corpora- tions could control the votes of employes, and which abolished the printing in of the names of nominees of one party on the ticket of others which had resulted in confusing and misleading voters.
In 1892 at David City, Hamilton county delegates voted solidly for W. L. Stark for district judge, and Messrs. Wheeler and Sornberger being nominated there was a fusion between the gold standard element of the democratic party with the republicans to defeat them. Not being successful in securing the nomi- nation of Stark for this offiee, Hamilton county representatives asked for the nomination of congressman for their favorite. At the Seward convention he was only prevented from obtaining the nomination by the influence of the popu- list state committee, which favored William H. Dech, an irresponsible and not very creditable man from Saunders county. Dech was nominated by a very elose vote, and by a shrewd trick on the part of Tobias Castor, a railroad worker, who sent a railroad striker from Bee to talk for Stark with two old farmers who were casting the votes of Thayer and Jefferson counties. This man pre- tended to be working for Stark, and urged these men to support him on the ground that he was "a sharp, shrewd lawyer and that his opponent Mr. Dech was a farmer." lle knew the men he was talking to were farmers and though they had given their word to come to Stark on the third ballot, they did not like to hear that kind of talk. Ile was not yet out of sight when another man sent by Castor asked the farmers if they knew who had been talking with them. They said they did not. "Well," said the messenger, "that is one of the worst rail- road strikers in the state of Nebraska. I don't know what he told you fellows to do, but whatever it was, you just do the other thing. Just ask anybody who that man is, and vote different to what he told you." It was not difficult to verify the charge that he was a railroad striker, and for the balance of that convention neither of those farmers would give Stark any assistance whatever, and with the help of the state committee Dech beat him. The republicans took advantage of the situation and nominated E. J. Hainer, also of Hamilton county, for congress. He beat Dech over four thousand votes, but in receiving his defeat, Mr. Stark made a speech of such eloquence and devotion to principle that nothing could prevent his nomination two years from that time. An effort was made to secure the endorsement of the democrats, and the Bryan element being in the majority, Harry Metzger and others came near procuring the endorsement, but gold stand- ard democrats containing proxies under representations that they would abide the will of the majority were successful in preventing it, and nominating a none too ereditable man from Saline county named S. S. Alley, they succeeded in diverting enough votes to defeat Stark at the polls. Ile was inclined to be dis- couraged and allow others to make the effort next time, but his friends rallied around him and insisted on his taking another nomination in 1896. And taking his previous defeat with the greatest good nature he went about the district tell- ing how he and his next door neighbor had a contest to see which should repre- sent the district in congress; how Mr. Ilainer got the most votes and left him
.
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
at home to take care of the town. They were again candidates for the same office and he thought it his turn to receive a majority and that Mr. Ilainer be left at home to take care of the town. E. J. Hainer, a leading Hamilton county republican, had then served four years, was a great favorite of Speaker Reed, was on important committees and was on the point of achieving more than a state reputation, but by the mutations of politics found himself beaten and for the next six years the district was creditably represented by W. L. Stark, making a period of ten consecutive years when the county furnished this important official to the Fourth district.
Hamilton county, too, was the original home county of Governor Silas A. Holcomb, elected by the populists and democrats, though at the time of his election he came from Broken Bow. When in this county he was a school- teacher, and among the leading instructors of the county, though not better than others who never achieved fame.
For many years the populists continued to be the chief factor in Hamilton county polities. They sent not only Newberry and Vorhes to the legislature and Valentine Horn to the senate, but elected J. H. Edmonson. Dr. D. S. Woodard, J. H. Grosvenor, Fred Jeffers and Senator F. M. Howard to these positions, and for twenty years, though the republicans had a majority most of the time on the state ticket, they would elect a large part of the county officers with the help of the Bryan democrats, who were so closely allied to them that no near- sighted man could tell the difference; they would manage to nose in a few votes ahead on most of the contests, and J. B. or "Jap" Cunningham, J. H. Edmond- son, J. M. Day, Gust Peterson, Judge Fred Jeffers, Judge Brownell, Frank Hammond, and a number of others in addition to those mentioned held office and conducted affairs in an economical and businesslike manner, giving the county many thousands of dollars in interest that it never would otherwise have received, the state being conducted for an assessment per county that would look strangely to the taxpayer of today.
This led to reform and emulation on the part of the republicans, and in a few years the party of Tom Benton's ring were sending men like John A. Whitmore to the legislature. The courthouse was built and furnished for a little over $60,000. Hamilton county republicans and populists alike were entitled to the credit of keeping a corporation senator from going to Washington. The republicans under leadership of Aldrich were responsible for a law regulating freight charges and we took a leading part in the legislature, being represented by W. I. Farley, while George L. Sheldon was governor, assisting in many practical reforms, the two cent fare law being among the number, and the convention receiving its knockout from the primary at that session.
Among the incidents of those stirring contests was one occurring when Gust Peterson, of the firm of Peterson Brothers & Co., defeated W. C. Bailey, one of the most popular candidates for county clerk the republicans could have named. The vote was very close and it occurred to his counsel to hold on to the office, throw the contest into the courts, and trust to good fortune to be able to hold it as they had a county commissionership not long before. They refused to turn over the office, employed the firm of Hainer & Smith, good lawyers, and might have succeeded had it not been for the Swedish people, quite largely re- publiean, who did not think one of their nationality was getting a square deal.
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