USA > Oklahoma > A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume I > Part 57
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" 'By authority vested in me by the high
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contracting parties, and in obedience to their request, I now call upon Rev. W. H. Dodson, of the First Baptist Church of Guthrie, to perform the marriage cere- mony.'
"The response for the blushing bride was made by W. A. Durant, of Durant, Indian Territory, a fullblood Indian. His formal acceptance was as follows:
" 'To you, Mr. Jones, as the representa- tive of Mr. Oklahoma, I present the hand and the fortune of Miss Indian Territory, convinced by his eighteen years of per- sistent wooing that his love is genuine, his suit sincere and his purposes most honora- ble. With pride and pleasure I present to him Miss Indian Territory, who was reared as a politician' orphan, tutored by federal office holders and controlled by an indif- ferent guardian residing a thousand miles from her habitation.
" 'Despite these unhappy circumstances of her youth, which have cast a shade of sorrow over a face by nature intended to give back only the warm smiles of God's pure sunshine, this beauteous maiden comes to him as the last descendant of the proudest race that ever trod foot on Ameri- can soil; a race whose sons have never bowed their necks to the heel of the op- pressor; the original occupants of the American continent.
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"'Although an orphan, Miss Indian Ter- ritory brings to her spouse a dower that, in fertile fields, productive mines and sterling and upright citizenship, equals the fortune of her wooer. To Oklahoma, into whose identity Indian Territory is about to be merged forever, must be entrusted the care of this princely estate. We resign it to you freely in the confident hope that it will be cared for, developed and conserved to the
unending glory of our new state and the untold benefit of her people.
" 'Oklahoma, your wooing has been long and persistent. For eighteen weary years you have sought the hand of our fair maiden in wedlock. If the object of your suit has at times seemed indifferent, believe it to have been but evidence of a maiden's proper modesty and not a shrinking from the union.
"'In winning the hand, you take with it the heart. Your bride comes to you without coercion or persuasion, as the lov- ing maiden confidently places her hand in that of her husband of her choice. The love she bears for you, as the love you feel for her, arises from kindred interests, mutual aspirations and an unbounded ad- miration, one for the other.'
"Until she stepped to the front to accept the hand of her fiance the identity of the bride was known to but few. She was Mrs. Leo Bennett, of Muskogee, a be- wilderingly handsome matron, whose Creek lineage is evidenced in a dark com- plexion, heightened by the bloom of perfect health.
"As she came slowly forward to the front of the platform the crowd gallantly shouted an acknowledgment. With a huge chrysan- themum the young woman shaded her eyes as she looked out over the crowd. She smiled and bowed again and again as the applause continued.
"Then the Rev. Mr. Dodson offered a fervent prayer on the union and the formal marriage of the 'twin territories' was con- summated.
"Following the picturesque feature, Judge Dale raised his hand for silence as Mr. Haskell and Leslie G. Niblack, a Guthrie newspaper man, stepped forward
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simultaneously. Facing Mr. Haskell, with one hand uplifted, an open bible held in the other, Mr. Niblack, recently commissioned a notary public, administered the oath and immediately afterwards Governor Haskell signed the official papers.
"Mr. Haskell then delivered his address, taking about forty-five minutes to read it in his characteristic slow and distinct man- ner. The delivery was punctuated by bursts of applause as the sentiment in the words struck home.
"The first official act of Governor Has- kell was the appointment of Robert L. Owen, of Muskogee, and Thomas P. Gore, of Lawton, United States senators from Oklahoma. This ceremony was performed so that the new state would not be without representation during the period before the meeting of the first legislature which will elect the two men, chosen at the recent state primaries.
"'I take great pleasure in conferring on these two gentlemen the honor of repre- senting the new state in the upper house of the national Congress,' said the gov- ernor, as he turned to where the gentle- men were standing.
"Cries of 'Owen,' 'Gore,' 'Owen,' went up from the enthusiastic crowd. Mr. Gore stepped forward and bowed his head. Sud- denly a great silence fell on the spectators. There was something grand, yet patheti- cally human, in the sightless eyes that swept over the panorama below with the slow grace of the born orator.
and we will endeavor to do it always and well.'
"The conclusion of the brief talk was met with a demonstration of enthusiasm. Then Mr. Owen stepped forward.
" 'I rejoice as an Indian from the Indian Territory that our restrictions are about to be removed,' he said. 'I rejoice I will have the opportunity to represent you. I will try to be a good and faithful servant (cries of "good," "we know it"). I want to say that I will represent Republicans as well as Democrats (cries of "you'll do"). I want to thank you for your vote of confi- dence. I will consecrate myself to your service and when my term ends I want nothing better than to hear your approba- tion.'
"In behalf of Oklahoma City formal con- gratulations were tendered Mr. Haskell by H. Y. Thompson, who in a short speech presented the governor with a bouquet of chrysanthemums.
"Immediately following, C. H. Pittman, delegate to the constitutional convention, in behalf of the women of Enid, in the name of Mrs. R. W. Johnson, presented Mr. Haskell with a similar cluster of chrys- anthemums.
"'I give the twentieth century flower to the twentieth century governor of a twen- tieth century state,' he said. And the crowd yelled.
"The oaths were administered by Mr. Niblack to Lieutenant-Governor George W. Bellamy, the members of the supreme court, John B. Turner, R. L. Williams, Jesse J. Dunn, S. W. Hayes and M. J. Kane, and two of the three members of the corporation commission, Jack Love and A. P. Watson. The remaining officers, Audi-
"'My friends,' he said, 'I cannot express to you the pleasure I have. I extend to you the most sincere congratulations that you are now full fledged citizens. Mr. Owen and myself are proud to be your servants. We are proud to do your will tor Ed. Trapp, Treasurer James A. Mene-
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fee, Examiner C. A. Taylor, Mine In- spector Peter Hanraty, Insurance Commis- sioner T. J. McComb, Labor Commissioner C. A. Daugherty, Charities Commissioner Kate Barnard, Superintendent Cameron and Supreme Clerk W. H. L. Campbell, were sworn in by J. D. Burke, a notary public, former president of the Logan county commissioners.
"The last thing before the parade began to form for the march to the barbecue grounds, Sidney Clarke, of Oklahoma City, presented to the state a picture of Captain Payne, the noted pioneer. Mr. Clarke is one of the original statehood boomers of Oklahoma."
The Oklahoma state constitution is pub- lished in the appendix to this volume.
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC AND PROHIBITION
The first federal regulations for the re- striction of liquor selling to Indians were contained in the act of March 30, 1802, which provided "that the president of the United States be authorized to take such measures from time to time as to him may appear expedient to prevent or restrain the vending or distributing of spirituous liquors among all or any of the said Indian tribes."
The intercourse act of 1834 provided very inadequate penalties to punish the in- troduction of ardent spirits among the In- dians. As a result, largely, of the bane- ful effects of the almost unrestrained liquor traffic in the Indian country, as revealed in the reports of the government officials and missionaries and others, Congress in 1847 passed a law that added the punishment of imprisonment to the fine formerly imposed for introducing and selling intoxicating liquors in the Indian country. Even this measure was likely to prove ineffectual un- less the whisky trade that flourished along the borders could be checked. Accordingly, it was sought to secure the co-operation of the neighboring states in restraining the border traffic, and to that end the secretary of war addressed a circular letter to the governors of those states, explaining the dangerous condition arising from the pres- ence of the corrupt liquor venders around the Indian Territory and asking that mea- sures be taken to abolish such agencies of crime and depravity. He describes the sit- uation thus: "The principal mischief is
done by and through the dram shops and traders in the article along the lines be- tween the states and the Indian country. Indians cross the line and visit those shops, where they are permitted to indulge freely so long as they have the means of paying. They frequently awake to consciousness only to find that they have been plundered of their money, their rifles, their blankets and everything of value they brought with them, which they are told they have traded for whisky, or gambled away while in a state of intoxication. Not satisfied with such op- portunities of selling liquor to the poor Indian, the traders in it within the state lines send emissaries, who are generally corrupted Indians of both sexes, with it in such quantities as they can easily carry and conceal, who barter it away to the Indians. In all cases the Indian is wronged, cheated, robbed; and the conse- quence is, the engendering of a feeling of unfriendliness if not of revenge against the white man for these great injuries. Whatever insecurity there may be for our frontier population, it is mainly if not en- tirely caused in this manner."
Liquor traffic was carried on among the Indians so openly and to such a destruc- tive extent during the early forties that every report from agents and superintend- ents notes the fearful results of the practice and calls for reform measures. Intemper- ance was recognized as the one great evil to which the tribes could trace their down- fall. The agent for the Chickasaws re-
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ported the existence, in 1844, of a large distillery opposite the mouth of the Wash- ita river. "The Indians frequently go there and bring in ten or twenty gallons at a time; some white persons have also been engaged in the business. They bring it in at night, and are never seen in the day. The places of deposit have frequently been found, and their whisky destroyed." The Chickasaw light horse, as the mounted na- tive police of the country were known, had proved efficient in preventing much of this illicit traffic, destroying the whisky wher- ever it was found.
The essential difference in the status of the two divisions of the Creek Nation was found by the agent to consist in the fact that the upper towns were less exposed to the influences of the liquor traffic than the lower towns. The agent's report for 1844 describes their condition as follows: "The upper Creeks, who reside in the vicinity of the Canadian, and who are principally com- posed of the emigrants of 1836 and 1837, are, generally speaking, in a better condi- tion than the lower towns; their being lo- cated at a distance from the Arkansas from the settlement of the whites, and also being further removed from their speculative and more civilized neighbors, the Cherokees, causes the importation of whisky into their country to be a matter of more difficulty." Further, their domestic condition is re- ported: "They live in good hewed log houses, are excellent farmers, and gener- ally more reflective and economical than .their brethren of the lower towns; and their females are generally occupied in the domestic occupation of spinning and weav- ing cotton, of which article a great propor- tion of what they manufacture is of their own country production."
The act of February 13, 1862, made it a crime punishable by fine and imprison-
ment, to sell liquor to Indians that were under the care of a superintendent or agent, whether on or off the reservation. This legislation came many years after its necessity had first become apparent, and provided prohibition perhaps as far as could be obtained by legal enactment. The constitutionality of the act was affirmed in the United States supreme court in 1865. This remained the law until the revision of the law in 1873-74, when the restrictions were removed to the extent that the selling of liquor to Indians was not an offense off the reservation. But the act of February 27, 1877, restored the former provision, so that the vending of intoxicants to Indians whose relations still continued with the government was punishable by three hun- dred dollars' fine and two years' imprison- ment. The growth of public sentiment on the subject of alcoholism was shown in the act of 1886 by which instruction on the nature of alcohol and its effects on the hu- man body should be included in the cur- ricula of all Indian schools controlled by the government.
The history of the prohibition movement since the opening of Oklahoma, especially the issues and their outcome as a result of statehood, is given in the following quota- tions from an article by Rev. J. J. Thom- son, secretary of the Oklahoma Anti-Sa- loon League.1
"More recently, the Dawes Commission negotiated various treaties with the Indians of the so-called five civilized tribes, making provision that white men might enter the territory. In each of the treaties the fol- lowing pledge was given to the various tribes through the influence of Capt. A. S. McKennon, a member of the commission: 'The United States agrees to maintain strict
1 Published in Oklahoma Life, November, 1907.
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laws in the territory of the said nation against the introduction, sale, barter or giv- ing away of liquors and intoxicants of any kind or quality.'
"When Oklahoma was originally opened on April 22, 1889, federal prohibition pre- vailed and continued to be enforced under military authority for about one year. On May 2, 1890, Congress organized the terri- tory of Oklahoma. The laws of Nebraska were applied in Oklahoma with the distinct exception of the chapter which provided for the licensing of the liquor traffic. Notwith- standing that exception saloons were opened up in practically every city and vil- lage in all Oklahoma within twenty-four hours after the law was enacted. Thus it will be seen that the saloon came into Okla- homa without any authority either from Congress or the territorial legislature. At its first session the legislature made regula- tions for the restriction and licensing of the liquor traffic which went into effect De- cember 25, 1890.
"In the year 1901 the Anti-Saloon League of Oklahoma was organized under the authority of National Superintendent Howard H. Russell, D. D., and Rev. H. E. Swan was made territorial superintendent. The work done by the league under his superintendency was quite successful in se- curing improvements of the laws regulat- ing and restricting the liquor traffic, and in securing decisions by the courts to the ad- vantage of the temperance cause. As early as 1903 a vigorous movement was begun looking to the securing of prohibition for the territory or for the state when Okla- homa should become a state. This move- ment took form in a convention held No- vember 24, 1903, in Oklahoma City, where a large number of delegates were gathered representing each of the different denomi- nations, the W. C. T. U. and other temper-
ance organizations. Rev. Marion Porter was made president of that convention and the federation growing out of it. This was virtually the Anti-Saloon League on a larger basis, although not called by that name.
"The movement grew until in July, 1904, a call was made from Rev. P. A. Baker, general superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League of America, to come to Oklahoma and Indian Territory to inaugurate the def- inite movement for prohibition statehood. As a result of his visit, the Anti-Saloon League of Oklahoma was re-organized and myself, then assistant superintendent of the Toledo district of the Ohio Anti-Saloon League, was made territorial superintend- ent. Dr. Baker's visit at the same time re- sulted in the organization of the Indian Territory church federation for prohibition statehood at a convention held in the Bap- tist church of South McAlester, September 27-28, 1904. At this convention Rev. E. M. Sweet, Jr., of Muskogee, who had been the leader in the preparations for this con- vention, was made the secretary and head of the movement for Indian Territory, and Capt. A. S. McKennon the president. The two organizations started out with the one purpose of securing prohibition statehood whether there should be one state or two. Petitions were prepared and numerously signed asking Congress in giving statehood to Oklahoma and Indian Territory, whether in one or two states, to provide prohibition of the liquor traffic. These pe- titions were presented to Congress by Rev. E. C. Dinwiddie, legislative superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League of America, as- sisted by Secretary Sweet, who regarded that since his federation was not yet fully identified with the national league it was necessary that he be in Washington to look after the interest of the Indian Territory on
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his own account. Dr. Dinwiddie was able to bring to bear the influence of the Anti- Saloon League of all the states of the Union in favor of this plea on the ground that the people of every state are interested in the keeping of good faith by the federal government with the Indians to whom these treaty pledges have been made. The result was that the Hamilton statehood bill, which had passed the house of representa- tives the winter before, was amended on February 7, 1905, in the senate by what was called the Gallinger-Stone amendment providing for the prohibition of the liquor traffic in the entire state for a period of twenty-one years. The nation was sur- prised that this was possible, and especially that the senate should pass such a radical provision by the remarkable vote of fifty- two to seventeen, one more than three to one.
"The liquor people of Oklahoma and many business men not directly connected with the liquor traffic, but who imagined the liquor business was necessary to busi- ness prosperity, were thrown into conster- nation. Plans were immediately formed for a great statehood convention of a thou- sand delegates to be held in Oklahoma City in July, at which it was confidently be- lieved by the promoters that the representa- tive citizens and business men of the two territories would declare, not only for im- mediate joint statehood of the two terri- tories, but also for no prohibition, and steps were taken to secure the sending of only anti-prohibitionists to that convention. This plan, however, was defeated, for so great a number of prohibitionists were included among the thousand delegates that they succeeded in preventing a word being said against prohibition. Indeed the permanent chairman of that convention was an avowed state-wide prohibitionist.
"During the summer the Sequoyah con- vention met in Muskogee to prepare a con- stitution for that proposed state. Hon. A. S. McKennon of McAlester was made chairman of the committee on prohibition and drafted a provision for perpetual pro- hibition which was unanimously adopted by the convention. This provision of the Se- quoyah constitution had a great deal of weight in determining the final settlement of the prohibition question for the new state.
"After the failure of the Oklahoma City convention to do anything against prohibi- tion another effort along the same line was made in taking a large delegation to Wash- ington, D. C. On December 6th, one hun- dred and thirty-eight people went on a special train from the two territories to Washington to urge immediate joint state- hood. Secretly the purpose of this delega- tion was, in part at least, to protest against prohibition for the state. On the other hand a few of the delegation went on pur- pose to work for prohibition. Among these the most prominent were Rev. T. H. Har- per, Rev. C. B. Larrabee, and Rev. H. L. Cloud. Superintendent Dinwiddie and Sec- retary Sweet were already in Washington. In spite of the opposition the prohibitionists secured a hearing before the house com- mittee on territories. This was done through members of that committee who were favorable to the cause and who heard from their constituency at home with re- quests for such hearing. Two of the com- mittee, Hon. James Mckinney of Illinois and Hon. Ralph D. Cole of Findlay, Ohio, assisted very materially in securing the hearings. Eleven speakers were heard on each side and in the end the advantage was so evidently with the prohibitionists that it seemed unnecessary that the vote of the committee should be taken. Chairman
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Hamilton asked Superintendent Dinwiddie to prepare the prohibition provision which he would like to have incorporated in the statehood bill, and it was so incorporated. This great victory was due largely to the influence of the Anti-Saloon League of America through its Washington represent- ative, E. C. Dinwiddie. Of him the chair- man of the 'statehood boomers,' as the del- egation that went to Washington was called, said, 'That man Dinwiddie is the slickest man I ever went up against. He is as smooth as oil.'
"The provision was for absolute prohi- bition of the manufacture and sale of intox- icating liquors in that part of the new state comprising the Indian Territory, the Osage Nation and the Indian reservations of Oklahoma, for a period of twenty-one years from the admission of the state into the Union and thereafter until the people of the state by amendment of the constitution shall otherwise determine.
"This notable victory having been se- cured and the enabling act having been passed with this provision included, prohi- bitionists next directed their attention to the election of delegates to the constitu- tional convention which was to meet in Guthrie, November 20, 1906. The various counties and convention districts were or- ganized; party nominations were jealously watched and carefully controlled wherever possible, and in the election that followed the influence of the league was thrown in favor of candidates who favored prohibi- tion without respect to their party affilia- tion. When the campaign was over and the delegates elected, the anti-prohibition- ists freely claimed that prohibition was de- feated. But when the convention met and the prohibitionists organized the conven- tion and elected William H. Murray presi- dent, they began to revise their estimate of
their own strength. The committee on liquor traffic appointed by the president with Hon. Luke Roberts as chairman, was made up of nine prohibitionists and six supposed anti-prohibitionists. The Anti- Saloon League established headquarters in Guthrie and carried on a vigorous lobby under the direction of Superintendent Din- widdie, assisted by all of the league force, including Rev. E. M. Sweet.
"When the committee on liquor traffic reported, the majority report was signed by ten of the fifteen members and was for a constitutional provision to be inserted in the body of the constitution as an integral part thereof, which would provide for a vote by the people of Oklahoma territory on the question of extending prohibition as provided for Indian Territory to the re- mainder of the state. The minority report provided for prohibition in the country and high license with local option for the cities, but was so drawn that it would practically force the saloons out of the cities of the state permanently. As a substitute for both majority reports Hon. R. L. Williams of Durant proposed straight-out con- stitutional . prohibition for the whole state with certain omissions from the language of the enabling act. Then Hon. D. S. Rose of Blackwell pro- posed an amendment submitting this state- wide prohibition to a state-wide vote. This seemed to be favored by very many and . with certain modifications to the Rose amendment and the Williams substitute it was acceptable to almost every one of the prohibition force. Strange to say, the op- ponents of prohibition voted almost solidly for both of these propositions, possibly thinking that in so doing they were defeat- ing the prohibitionists. But the slight amendments asked for were readily agreed to without a vote and then the whole prop-
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osition was very acceptable. The Rose amendment was adopted by a vote of eighty-nine to fifteen and the Williams sub- stitute as thus amended was adopted by a vote of ninety-three to six. Then came the real test vote. Recognizing that they had walked into a trap and been successfully caught, some of our opponents proposed and pressed for an amendment which would give to any Oklahoma county the right to set aside and practically nullify state-wide prohibition by vote of the county when called for by a petition signed by twenty per cent of the tax payers of the county. Two very prominent members of the convention declared in the debate that this proposition was really intended to rob the prohibitionists of the victory they had already secured in the convention and the victory they certainly would secure in the vote of the people, and stated that they were against the proposition on account of this unfairness. The amendment was lost by an overwhelming vote of twenty-four members voting 'aye' and seventy-one vot- ing 'no.' The prohibition victory in the convention, therefore, was complete.
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