USA > Oklahoma > A standard history of Oklahoma; an authentic narrative of its development from the date of the first European exploration down to the present time, including accounts of the Indian tribes, both civilized and wild, of the cattle range, of the land openings and the achievements of the most recent period, Vol. II > Part 38
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brought in than has been utilized altogether since. Gas has been . piped to most of the larger cities in Oklahoma, where it furnishes a convenient and economical fuel. It is also utilized to a consid- erable extent for the production of power by means of combustion engines.
OTHER MINERAL RESOURCES
Other mineral resources which were partially developed in the two territories during the course of this period were: (1) build- ing stones-(a) limestone and (b) sandstone both of which were locally quarried in many different sections, (c) granite, quarried in the Tishomingo district and in the Wichita Mountains, (d) marble, quarried in Sequoyah County and elsewhere in the Chero- kee Nation, and oolite, in the Chickasaw country near Bromide; (2) plasters and cements-(a) lime, burned in kilns locally in a number of places, (b) gypsum or "acme" cement and plaster of paris, manufactured extensively at Alva, Watonga, Bickford, Cement, El Dorado and elsewhere, (c) Portland cement, at Dewey ; (3) salt evaporated locally in several parts of the state; (4) lead and zine, in the extreme northeastern part of the state; (5) asphalt, in the southern part of the state, in the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations; (6) shales and clays, used to a limited extent in the manufacture of brick. Other minerals of economic value were known to abound, but-no use had yet been made of them.
CHAPTER LXXVIII
THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
Immediately after the passage and approval of the Enabling Act, preparations for election of delegates to the Constitutional Convention were begun. Of course there was no dearth of candi- dates in any quarter. There were to be fifty-five delegates elected from the organized portion of the Territory of Oklahoma, fifty-five from the Indian Territory and two from the Osage country. The Territory of Oklahoma was to be divided into fifty-five delegate districts by a board consisting of the governor of the territory (Frank Frantz), the chief justice of the Territorial Supreme Court (John II. Burford) and the secretary of the territory (Charles H. Filson), and the Indian Territory was to be likewise apportioned into fifty-five districts by the commissioner to the five civilized tribes (Tams Bixby) and two judges of the United States courts of the Indian Territory to be selected by the President of the United States. The Governor of Oklahoma and the senior judge of the Federal courts of the Indian Territory (W. H. H. Clayton) were to jointly issue the proclamation for an election for the choice of delegates to the Constitutional Convention, which election was to be held within six months after the passage and approval of the Enabling Act.
The date set for the election of delegates to the Constitutional Convention was Tuesday, November 4, 1906. Among the active aspirants for election as delegates to the Constitutional Convention in the various districts there were all sorts of men-good, bad and indifferent ; able, competent and mediocre; true, trustworthy and trifling. In their respective campaigns for the nomination, they ran on all sorts of personal platforms and issues. One man cen- tered all his hopes for the nomination on his whole-hearted support of the proposition to incorporate the prohibition of the liquor traffic in the body of the constitution; another sidetracked every other issuc in his insistence that the proposed constitution should not include prohibition of the liquor traffic, either as an embodied Vol. II-26
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article or as a separate provision. Others posed only as partisans and their sole claim to qualification was that they had always been loyal and "regular" in their support of party policies. It was not strange, under the circumstances, that there should have been some mediocrities placed in nomination, or that some of these should have been elected to help frame the organic law of the new common- wealth.
As already stated, the nominations for delegate to the Constitu- tional Convention were all made on strict party lines. The Indian Territory was supposed to be strongly democratic, while Oklahoma, " on the other hand, was judged to be slightly republican, if the average of results during its territorial epoch could be used as a criterion. But there were other elements which entered into con- sideration beside the normal party alignment. Oklahoma had long been in a state of political tutelage; its governors and territorial secretaries and the judges of its courts had all been appointed from Washington, with little or no regard for the wishes of its own people; some of these, as well as land office officials and other appointees, had been appointed from other states and were sar- castically referred to as "imported talent," which was only a polite synonym for "carpet bagger." But if there had been abuse in such matters in Oklahoma, it had been infinitely worse in the Indian Territory, which was regarded by certain spoilsmen at Washington as a veritable satrapy, abounding in sinecures to which congressmen who had been retired by their respective con- stituencies might be sent to recoup their political fortunes, and also as affording a means for discharging political obligations and dispensing favors to friends in the matter of appointment to minor positions. Quite naturally, the republican party in the two terri- tories had to bear the burden of the political sins of long-distance government and non-resident administration. Had there been a democratic national administration at Washington for eight years, or even for four years, immediately preceding the passage of the Enabling Act, this phase of the partisan aspect might have been viewed very differently, for the policy of the Cleveland administra- tion in regard to territorial appointments had not been materially different from those of the Harrison, Mckinley and Roosevelt administrations.
Another feature of the campaign which preceded the election of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention was the nomination of Mr. Henry E. Asp, of Guthrie, as the republican candidate for delegate from the twenty-fifth district. Mr. Asp was in Washing-
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ton during the time that the Enabling Act was under considera- tion, and was popularly credited with having been instrumental in having Guthrie designated as the capital of the new state until 1913. When he returned to Guthrie, his neighbors and friends, as a mark of their appreciation of his efforts in behalf of his home town, insisted that he should be nominated and elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Being a republican, he was nominated on the ticket of his party. But Mr. Asp was the attorney of the Atchison, Topcka & Santa Fe Railway Company for Oklahoma and this fact entirely overshadowed the personal element which had led to his nomination in the first place. Far and near, over both territories, the nomination of Henry E. Asp was heralded as an evidence of affinity or collusion between the republican party and the railroads for the control of the Constitu- tional Convention. There were other railway attorneys who were candidates for delegate to the Constitutional Convention and some of them did not belong to the same political party that Mr. Asp did, but somehow their connection with the railway business did not come in for as much publicity as his did. While Mr. Asp was elected by a handsome plurality, his nomination and the par- tisan imputations made in regard to the same doubtless had some influence upon the result in other districts.
The result of the election was surprising, even to the democrats, who had expected to elect a strong majority of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. The democrats elected ninety-nine delegates, the republicans, twelve, and one (a democrat) was elected as an independent. Two weeks later (November 20th) the dele- gates met, as provided in the Enabling Act, to organize the Con- stitutional Convention.
Before the organization, there was considerable activity in the way of caucussing. There were several aspirants for the presidency . of the convention, but it was soon evident that most of these had no organization behind their respective candidacies and some of them were lacking even in the capacity for organization. The most potent factor in the convention was apparently the small group from the Indian Territory, composed of men who had sat together as delegates in the Sequoyah convention, fifteen months before, and who knew enough of the business in hand to appreciate the value of concerted action, or "team work," in the matter of organi- zation. An attempt was made to effect an organization to defeat the group above mentioned, but it went to pieces before the more
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experieneed maneuvers of the men who had manipulated the con- vention in Muskogee the year before.
Henry S. Johnston, of Perry, was selected by the eaucus to call the convention to order, after which Rev. Frank Naylor, of Pawnee, offered an invoeation. Mr. Johnston then delivered an address, after which, Charles H. Filson, secretary of the territory,
WILLIAM H. MURRAY
ealled the roll, all delegates responding save three, one of whom was absent on aeeount of sickness. Chief Justice John H. Burford, of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, then administered the oath of office to the delegates.
W. A. Ledbetter, delegate from the One Hundred and Third Distriet, offered a resolution to the effect that the convention should proceed to effect a permanent organization by the election of a president, a viee president, a secretary, a sergeant-at-arms, and
.
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assistant sergeant-at-arms and a chaplain. The resolution was adopted, whereupon Robert L. Williams, delegate from the One Hundred and Eighth District, placed in nomination William H. Murray,1 delegate from the One Hundred and Thirty-first District. J. H. N. Cobb, delegate from the Sixty-seventh District, placed in nomination Phil B. Hopkins, delegate from the Seventy-fifth District. A rising vote was taken, Mr. Hopkins receiving eleven votes and Mr. Murray receiving ninety-seven votes, the latter was declared elected president of the convention. Upon being escorted to the chair, Mr. Murray addressed the convention, briefly outlining the work that was before it and incidentally giving evidence of his own comprehensive grasp of the subject.
The permanent organization of the convention was then com- pleted by the election of Peter Hanraty, delegate from the Nine- tieth District, as vice president; John M. Young, of Lawton, as secretary; D. C. Oates, of Alva, as sergeant-at-arms; William A. Durant, of Durant, as assistant sergeant-at-arms, and Rev. Frank Naylor, of Pawnee, as chaplain. Subsequently, Albert H. Ellis, delegate from the Fourteenth District, was elected second vice- president.
One of the first actions taken by the convention after com- pleting its permanent organization was to authorize the appoint- ment of a committee to consider and report to the convention the beginning of its next day's session as to the number and names of standing committees necessary to facilitate the work in hand. This committee reported as directed, the next morning, recommending the appointment of thirty-nine standing committees. In the com- mittee of the whole convention, this number was subsequently in-
1 William H. Murray was born at Collinsville, Texas, in 1869. His mother died when he was but two years old. At the age of twelve he began making his own way in the world, working on a farm through the summer and attending the public schools in win- ter. After securing an academic education at College Hill Institute (Springtown, Texas), he spent several years teaching school. . He took an active interest in politics at an early age, followed news- paper work for several years, and spent his spare time studying law. He was admitted to the bar in 1897, and, in 1898, settled at Tishomingo, where he practiced law for several years. He then engaged in farming. He has always taken an active interest in public affairs. After the advent of statehood he served as speaker of the House of Representatives in the first legislative session. He was elected as representative in Congress in 1912 and re-elected in 1914.
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creased to forty-five. It was intimated at the time that the number of standing committees was unnecessarily expanded, in order to provide chairmanships for men whose votes were needed to put through the organization program in the democratic caucus. How- ever, a careful examination of the list of standing committees does not indicate that it was unduly large, considering the variety of subjects to be considered. Whether chairmanships were promised to certain delegates in return for caucus support is an entirely different matter.
During the first days of the convention there were many inci- dents that tended to distract attention from the main purpose for which it was convened. Many resolutions were introduced, some of which were of questionable relevancy and were appro- priately referred to the Committee on Rules, while others, of doubt- ful expediency, were ruled out on points of order. Invitations to visit and address the convention during the course of its sessions were lavishly extended, the list of notables thus honored including President Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, Robert M. LaFol- lette, Joseph W. Bailey, Henry Watterson, John Sharpe Williams, Robert L. Taylor and many others, few of whom were able to respond in person. Mr. Bryan responded in a letter to the con- vention in which he offered numerous suggestions as to certain features which he deemed essential or desirable in the construction of the basic law of the commonwealth.2
The convention soon settled down to systematic routine work, however. Its method of procedure was very similar to that of a legislative body, the delegates introducing "constitutional proposi- tions" instead of bills and the same being referred to the proper committee. On December 20th, the convention adjourned for the Christmas recess. Reassembling January 3, 1907, it resumed its regular program, being in session usually both forenoon and after- noon of each day, six days each week, until April 19th, when the constitution as a whole was adopted by a vote of eighty-six aves and none in the negative, twenty-six delegates being absent. The con- stitution thus adopted was then signed by the officers of the conven- tion and by the delegates, to the number of ninety, and their signatures attested by the secretary of the territory, Charles H. Filson.
In addition to the constitution, the convention adopted a sep-
- Journal of the Constitutional Convention of Oklahoma, pp. 389-96.
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arate provision submitting to a vote of the electors of the new state the question of state-wide prohibition of the liquor traffic, the same to become a part of the constitution of the state in event of its adoption by a majority vote. It also adopted an election ordinance for the purpose of providing for an election for the adoption of the constitution and for the choice of state, district, county and township officers and representatives in Congress. The convention adjourned on Monday, April 22d, to meet again August 5th.
Almost immediately after the adjournment of the Constitutional Convention, a controversy arose because no certified copy of the instrument had been deposited with the secretary of the territory, President Murray retaining all of the certified copies in his own custody for which reason Governor Frantz declined to issue an election proclamation within twenty days after the signing of the constitution, as provided by the election ordinance. This called forth two addresses to the people of the state from President Murray, dated respectively May 9, 1907, and May 14, 1907, in which he explained his reasons for not depositing a certified copy of the constitution, as framed and adopted by the convention, with Secretary Filson.3 On June 3d, President Murray himself issued a proclamation calling for an election (as authorized by the Election Ordinance in event of the failure or refusal of the gov- ernor of the territory to do so) to be held on the 6th of August for the ratification of the constitution for the choice of officers therein provided.+
In addition to the dissatisfaction on account of the refusal of the president of the Constitutional Convention to deposit a cer- tified copy of that instrument with the secretary of the territory, there was much talk of inequalities in legislative apportionment as proposed by the constitution, the allegations being that it amounted to a "gerrymander." Whether formal charges were filed at Washington is not known, but it is not unlikely that some such complaint from Oklahoma reached the authorities there. At any rate, a special Federal census of Oklahoma and the Indian Territory was ordered to be taken in July. As the constitution, if adopted by vote of the people, would still require the approval of the President of the United States to make it effective, this movement for numbering the inhabitants of the several counties
3 Journal of the Constitutional Convention of Oklahoma, pp. 447-51 and 451-4.
+ Thid .. pp. 397-400.
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and legislative districts of the new state was suggestive of possible executive disapproval. On the 25th of June, President Murray issued a call for the Constitutional Convention to reconvene on the 10th of July, and,5 three days later, he addressed a letter to President Roosevelt in regard to the matter." This letter was in part as follows :
"The Enabling Act, as you are aware, contains a greater number of restrictions and limitations upon the sovereignty of the citizen- ship of the proposed State than ever before required of a people in the history of the admission of states. Indeed, it contains all the restrictions and limitations ever enjoined by Congress before in the formation of State Governments under the Federal Constitu- tion, and more. In addition to the necessary and proper limita- tions that the Constitution shall not be repugnant to the Con- stitution of the United States, other restrictions are enjoined, to-wit : Limitations upon the power to tax certain property ; the fixing of the State Capital at a certain point for a given period of years; the forming by Congress of five Congressional Districts-limitations never before required of any State. It is not our purpose to complain of the restrictions and limitations. We have accepted them in good faith. Notwithstanding their acceptance, the daily Republican press is filled with numerous criticisms to the effect that the legislative apportionment is an 'outrageous gerrymander,' and that other unnamed provisions of the Constitution are re- pugnant to your idea of statecraft and that their elimination is the price of Statehood. While we do not yield the point that a State, in the exercise of its police powers, or in the adoption of its economic policies, is either expected or required to frame a Constitution to suit either the Executive or Legislative branch of the United States, yet, in view of the uncertainties of Statehood which have wrought injuries to the business interests of this State and, in view of your authority, granted by the Enabling Act, to withhold the proclama- tion granting us Statehood, and believing in the integrity of your promise to this people upon your trip through these Territories, and that you would not purposely further delay the blessings of self-government to one and a half million people, I, as President of the Constitutional Convention, respectfully request and solicit from you an expression upon the Constitution, a copy of which is now on file with the Honorable Attorney General, and thus give
5 Ibid., p. 457.
6 Ibid., pp. 454-6.
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us an opportunity to eliminate any provisions which will be neces- sary to secure Executive approval. In view of the fact that the Convention will be reconvened on the 10th day of July, as evi- denced by a call, a copy of which I herewith send you, your ex- pression of disapproval at this time would enable the Convention to eliminate the objectionable provisions, if any, and would thus subserve to the interests of every citizen in this State, irrespective of party, creed or color. I assure you that our citizens are com- mitted to Statehood as of first importance, and that party success or party advantage sinks into insignificance with all classes in comparison with the one thing, Statehood now, and without further delay. It is with you, Mr. President, to state the causes of further delay and give us this opportunity to remove them.
"Since from your Executive approval or disapproval there is no appeal, we submit there can be no impropriety in your now stating your opinion of any provision in the Constitution. Since your failure would cause you to do so later, why not state them now, and thus save us from further expense and our business interests from irreparable injury ?
"It being human to err, we are prone to mistakes and shall be glad to accept your superior counsel and advice in the spirit in which I am sure that you would give it; for I am sure that it would be given in the spirit of friendly criticism and wholesome advice, rather than such criticisms as have come through an interested corporate and partisan press, as we have in this State, who condemn us without pointing out the objections, and who persistently lead our citizens to believe that the promise from you that you will withhold Executive proclamation, without giving us the benefit of the knowledge, which they claim to possess, of the provisions objectionable to you.
"You will observe from the call which I herewith send you that the undersigned has appointed a committee to take and receive testimony and receive suggestions of any kind and all parties who attack the integrity and fairness of the legislative apportionment. The charge 'gerrymander' is easily made, but never in framing the Legislative Districts (which in a measure was a guess, because of the rapid growth and increase in population of the different sections of our Territory), did the minority of the Convention make a request upon us.
"I assure you that the overwhelming majority of the Repub- licans of this State desire Statehood, although the machinery of the party is in the control of those interested, it seems, more in
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maintaining their appointive positions than in serving the people (or even their own party), are seeking, through court proceedings, the press and otherwise, to create delay and increase the uncer- tainties to the detriment of the business interests of the State and to the injury of all classes of our citizens."
When the Constitutional Convention reconvened, on July 10th, President Murray read in the open session a copy of his letter to President Roosevelt and also President Roosevelt's reply to the same.7 At the beginning of the morning session the next day, Delegate J. F. King, vice-chairman of the Committee on Rules and Procedure, reported the following rule from that Committee : "That Rule No. 46, requiring a motion to reconsider any vote must be made on the same day on which the vote proposed to be reconsidered or on the next legislative day succeeding, be sus- pended as to the action of the Convention on the adoption of the Constitution submitted to it; and that Rule No. 66 be repealcd." On motion, this report of the Committee on Rules and Procedure was adopted. Delegate King thereupon moved that the vote by which the Constitution had been adopted by the Convention be re- considered and the motion being carried by the unanimous vote of all delegates present, with forty delegates absent and not voting.
The convention remained in session six days, during the course of which numerous sections of the constitution as previously adopted, were reconsidered and amended or modified in some of their details; among others, there were some changes made in the sections providing for legislative apportionment. During a brief session on the morning of Tuesday, July 16th, the following resolu- tion was adopted :
"Be it resolved, that when this Convention adjourns today, that it be until 10 o'clock on the forcnoon of the 16th day of September, A. D. 1907, unless sooner called together by the president of this Convention ; Provided, that should said Convention not assemble again, in such capacity, prior to or on the 16th of September, 1907, the president of this Convention shall, on said date by proclama- tion, adjourn said Convention, sine die; Provided, further, that the president, if he sees proper, may, by proclamation, adjourn said Convention sine die, at any time prior to September 17th, 1907."
The Convention paused for a few minutes in its last hour to pay a fitting tribute to the memory of John W. Foose, the aged
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