USA > Oklahoma > Oklahoma County > Oklahoma City > The story of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma : "the biggest little city in the world" > Part 15
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FIRST METHODIST CHURCH
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OKLAHOMA CITY GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB
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dovetailed harmoniously into those of Fred L. Wenner, seere- tary of the Oklahoma World's Fair Commission.
C. A. MeNabb, one of the early-day agricultural enthusiasts of the Territory and by the same token one of its most useful citizens, was superintendent of the Oklahoma exhibit. In the selection and exhibition of agrienttural products he was as- sisted by Joseph B. Thoburn, then secretary of the Territorial Board of Agriculture. George E. Gardner, manager of the Lion Store, offered a prize for the best agricultural display in the exhibit. This offer influenced the sending of many products from both of the Territories.
The year opened with prospects bright for the passage of a statehood bill and enthusiasm over the dissemination of propaganda and the maintaining of a lobby in Washington was warm in January and showed high temperature in De- cember. The first local organization of statehood advocates, formed in January, arranged to send as a delegation to Wash- ington, C. B. Ames, C. G. Jones, A. H. Classen, Selwyn Dong- las, Samuel Murphy, Judge John McAtee, D. C. Lewis, Dr. John Threadgill, C. F. Coleord, J. L. Wilkin, E. E. Brown, R. E. Stafford and Judge J. R. Keaton.
Members of the committee shortly were off for Washing- ton. They found upon arrival that Delegate Bird S. McGuire was elassed with the advocates of double statehood. If this was the mental attitude of the delegate from Oklahoma at that time, later reports concerning him would indicate that he experienced a change of heart. Dennis T. Flynn, former delegate, appeared before the Senate Committee on Terri- tories, and sought to have eliminated the provision that the capital should remain at Guthrie, advising the committee that, given the opportunity under statehood, the people of the state would shortly remove it to Oklahoma City. ITis ap- peal was unavailing.
On December 2d the executive committee of the Inter- Territorial Single Statehood Committee met in Oklahoma City and adopted new resolutions demanding early action on the statehood bill and made provision for members of the com- mittee to go to Washington, December 10th, and present the resolutions to the Committee on Territories.
. The Oklahoma City Freight Bureau was organized carly Vol. 1-17
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in the year with the election of Thomas Jarboe as president, A. Carroll as vice president, G. E. Lindsay as vice president, T. D. Boydston as secretary and Eugene Miller as treasurer. At this meeting J. H. Johnston, who recently had come here from Galveston and who was destined to take conspicuous part in the city's industrial affairs during the next fifteen years, was chosen traffic manager. So much was promised by this organization and so highly was it valued in commercial life that an agreement was reached between its officers and those of the Chamber of Commerce and the Manufacturers' Asso- ciation whereby Mr. Johnston was to act as secretary of them all jointly, and his salary was fixed at $5,000 a year. Future events proved that this was one of the several peak steps taken by commercial organizations during the formative years of greatest consequence. Shortly thereafter the traffic organ- ization was again reorganized into the Traffic Bureau of the Chamber of Commerce and T. M. Jarboe, J. F. Robinson, O. D. Halsell, J. A. Anderson, A. A. Crews, W. A. Wherry, N. S. Sherman, A. S. Connellee, I. N. Phillips and G. F. Lindsay were chosen as a board of directors.
At the annual meeting of the Retail Merchants Association, which made ereditable progress and considerably increased its membership during the year, Seymour Heyman was elected president, S. H. Gaines, secretary, and these men and J. M. Bass, G. E. Gardner, Joseph Myers, A. E. Warfield, G. W. Piersol, Eli Brown, W. J. Pettee and C. E. Mitchell, directors.
Directors of the Chamber of Commerce elected at a De- cember meeting, for the succeeding year, were J. H. Ingwer- son, Archie Dunn, L. F. Lee, G. E. Gardner, W. L. Alexander, T. D. Turner, Weston Atwood, G. G. Sohilberg. I. M. Putnam, Dr. A. K. West, W. P. Dilworth, O. D. Halsell, A. I. Classen, J. H. Hess and G. B. Stone. The directors elected Mr. Turner president ; Mr. Stone, first vice president ; Mr. Atwood, second vice president : J. H. Johnston, secretary, and J. L. Wilkin, treasurer.
The first permanent organization of a Young Men's Chris- tian Association was perfected this year and JJ. F. Denham of Findlay, O., was employed as secretary. The board of directors consisted of C. B. Ames, C. E. Bennett, I. M. Hol- comb. T. J. Hendrickson, George Larrimore, J. N. MeCar-
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naek, G. G. Sohlberg, A. N. Wycoff, J. M. Bass, J. H. Everest, F. W. Hawley, W. A. Knott, J. A. Matthews, J. R. Rose and Dr. C. W. Williams.
New spring and summer floods coming down the Canadian River and fresh inundations of lowlands in consequence brought about a revival of the subject of shortening the chan- nel of the stream, reclaiming many acres of lowlands, and pre- venting future damage by overflows. Discussion of the subject led to the organization of the Oklahoma River and Improve- ment Canal & Irrigation Company, capitalized at $10,000, and of which M. L. Blackwelder, R. E. Chapin, D. C. Pryor, John Howard and W. B. Armour were directors.
The resignation of George J. Shields from the office of city treasurer provoked a lively issue in which three banks took a leading part. A supposedly strategical move by a member of the City Council, who cast his vote in behalf of the gayety of nations, resulted, unexpectedly to him, in the council elect- ing Elmer C. Trueblood, who was the candidate of the Com- merce National Bank. The candidate of the American Na- tional was Frank Butts and that of the State National was J. M. Owen.
Deaths of two prominent citizens occurred during the year. That in particular of James Geary, who died October 21st, was widely regretted. Mr. Geary was an Eighty-niner and had established a bank at the corner of Main Street and Broad- way twelve days after the opening. This he sold in 1893 and purchased of Capt. D. F. Stiles an interest in what was after- ward known as Maywood Addition. Geary Avenue in that section of the city was named in his honor. Geary was an adopted plainsman, having gone West from St. Louis at the age of fifteen and associated himself with Col. William Cody. Subsequently he was with General Sheridan and General Hancock in movements against the troublesome Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians. In 1868 he secured a contract with the Government to build houses for the Ponea Indians, but this contract was short-lived because of the redskins refusing to accept Governmental support in that way. Later he was a rancher at Salina, Kan., and a merchant at Newton. Kan. Sidney Clarke, a compatriot of the early years in Oklahoma, delivered an oration at his grave. The other death was that
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of James E. Brett of the Twenty-fifth United States Infantry who was in command of cadets at the Military Institute. Ile died of pneumonia and his body was sent to San Francisco for burial. Major Brett was fifty years old, had been an officer in the army for twenty years, had served during and after the Spanish-American war in Cuba and the Philippines, and had taken part in campaigns against Indians on the frontier.
As a consequence of biekerings among some members of the City Council and due in some degree undoubtedly to politi- cal enmity, friends of Henry Overholser, on April 23d, over a year after the city election, were instrumental in having placed before Mayor Van Winkle and the council figures showing that Mr. Overholser had been elected mayor and a demand for the ejection of Van Winkle and the seating of Overholser. Mayor VanWinkle cast the vote that saved him his seat, and immediately had his attorney apply for an in- junction to prevent the installation of Overholser. The injunction was granted by Judge Irwin and later sustained and made permanent by Judge J. L. Pancoast.
Capt. Jolm J. Pershing, then assigned by the War De- partment to the Southwestern Division, was among the guests of honor at a banquet given at the Threadgill Hotel on May 17th in honor of Maj .- Gen. S. S. Sumner, who was in charge of the division. The spread was one of the most pretentious in the city's history and given in a hostelry that had been proclaimed by the newspapers as one of the very finest in the Southwest. Judge B. M. Dilley was toastmaster. Unfor- tunately the remarks of Captain Pershing were not recorded.
Frank Matthews of Mangum, a member of the Territorial Council, was the nominee of the democrats for Congress. The convention was held in Oklahoma City, July 27th, and was an enthusiastic affair. Matthews was declared the nominee on the nineteenth ballot. Other names presented to the conven- tion were those of M. J. Kane of Kingfisher, L. P. Ross of Lawton, Edgar Jones, William Bowles, W. R. Taylor of Okla- homa City, and J. II. Maxey of Shawnee, the latter being nominated by S. P. Freeling, afterwards an attorney general of the state. Jesse J. Dunn of Alva was chosen chairman of the Territorial Democratie Committee. A summer of vigor-
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ous campaigning ensued, and it ended with the reelection of Bird S. McGuire, the republican nominee. Dr. John Thread- gill. republican, of Oklahoma City, was elected a member of the Territorial Council. Democrats and republicans divided honors in the county election and among the men of note in the city's history elected were George W. Garrison, sheriff: John L. Mitch, register of deeds, and Edward Overholser, county commissioner.
Happenings of more or less interest during the year in- cluded these: The Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company's busi- ness was sold to a syndicate represented by T. B. Burbridge, J. J. Henry and C. H. MeBeth of Colorado; a second cattle- men's convention was held, including a fat-stock show and sale at Coleord Park that was attended by festivities and 10,000 persons: Capitol Hill, a separate town south of the river, was incorporated by a vote of 72 to 61; Assessor W. P. Hawkins announced that he had found the population of the city to be 33,000, which was an increase of 23,000 in four years ; the First Methodist Church was dedicated on June 6th by Dr. T. C. Iliff : Judge Clinton Galbreath returned June 22d from Hawaii, where he had been a member of the Supreme Court. and announced that he would practice law in Oklahoma City : on July 6th the county commissioners awarded to the Gross Construction Company the contract for erection of a court- house to cost $99,999 ; on June 30th the City Council concluded to call an election to submit the proposition of issuing $185,- 000 in bonds for water and sewer improvements; Edward S. Vanght was reelected superintendent of schools, and he an- nounced that the school population was 6,800, that seven buildings were occupied and that two more were needed; the City Council on October 3d ordered an election on the bond proposition, submitting figures of $175,000 for water works and $200,000 for sewers; Mayor Van Winkle called the election but later rescinded the call : Ralph J. Ramer resigned as county attorney and G. A. Paul was elected to the position.
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1905-SIDESTEPPING AN ISSUE
Advocates of open saloons entertained little hope that the sale of intoxicants would be permitted many years longer in Oklahoma, for the prohibition forces, under leadership of the Anti-Saloon League, had been active for several years and had accomplished results that could not be interpreted otherwise than as prophecies of prohibition. It was impossible to sepa- rate the issue from the statehood question. No one expected Congress to summarily end half a century of anti-liquor restrictions over the nations of the Five Civilized Tribes. which were to become part of the state, nor to relieve lands of the Indians of Oklahoma Territory of similar restrictions. Over fifty Indian tribes were represented in the two Terri- tories. Indians would live in every county of the new state. The Government was the guardian of the Indians. It was pledged to protect them as far as possible against evil intln- ences and to educate them and make Christians of them. So it was virtually certain that the statehood bill that became law would either provide blanket prohibition for the state of renew, extend and strengthen the network of paraphernalia and machinery used to protect the Indians against the liquor evil.
The nonsectarian and nonpartisan Chamber of Commerce found it advisable, probably for the first time in its history. to sidestep a stand on an issue of vital import to the city. The statehood bill was passed, with amendments, by the Senate. February 7th, and it carried an amendment, written by Son- ator Gallinger, prohibiting the manufacture or sale of intoxi- cating liquors within the state. It created a State of Okla- homa and Indian Territory and eliminated New Mexico and Arizona. Its passage was made possible by Senator Foraker of Ohio leading a force of republicans into the united camp of the democrats. When news of the passage reached Okla-
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homa City it was welcomed with sincere rejoicing on one hand and dubious and superficial acclaim on the other. This news was followed shortly by a message to the Chamber of Commerce from Washington asking that body for an expres- sion of opinion on the prohibition amendment. The Chamber was convened in short order and the matter placed before it. Such bodies always are constituted of men of divergent shades of opinion, and this was not an exception to the rule. Devout church men and the representatives of brewers and liquor dealers had sat side by side for many years nearly always in accord on issues affecting the commercial welfare of the city. They had never faced the prohibition question except as it came perhaps timidly and obliquely from local reform sources. Now it was a paramount issue demanding of every man that he come out squarely on one side or the other.
The telegram was referred by the president of the Chamber to a committee. The committee gave it brief consideration and reported that, as it viewed the matter, expression of an opinion was beyond the jurisdiction of a body thus con- stituted. Thus was the subject disposed of.
Meantime the advocates of prohibition continued rejoicing and their enthusiasm spread like a contagion over the city, just as it was spreading over the Territory. A largely at- tended mass meeting was held at the Christian Church not only in celebration of adoption of the prohibition amendment but to send a message of approval to Washington. D. A. Duncan was chairman of the meeting and S. A. Horton was secretary. Speeches were made by the Rev. F. E. Day, pastor of the First Methodist Church: Dr. L. Haynes Buxton, the Rev. Thomas H. Harper, and others. A special message ex- pressing the gratitude of those assembled was forwarded to Senator Gallinger.
Since the bill passed by the Senate differed from that which passed the House, and in several respects differed so radically, the outlook for this measure becoming a law this year was not encouraging, although C. G. Jones, the Chamber of Commerce representative in Washington, wired that he felt sure of statehood within the year. The situation certainly warranted no slackening of activities here. Oklahoma's cam- paign of education and its democratie demand for self-gov-
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ernment had accomplished good results to date and it didn't purpose giving Washington any opportunity to forget.
The Statehood Executive Committee met here April 14th and issued a call for a convention for July 12th. The subject of holding a constitutional convention again was discussed and such a convention this time was advocated by Thomas H. Doyle of Perry. C. B. Ames, father of the proposition as originally presented and which had been voted down in the Shawnee convention, opposed it.
A thousand delegates attended the July convention, repre- senting a million and a half people, and they adopted a me- morial to Congress ringing with heartfelt sincerity and abounding in illuminating facts and figures. The convention was electrified by a statement from Delegate B. S. McGuire that he favored a single state. President I. M. Holcomb of the Chamber of Commerce welcomed the delegates. A new executive committee was chosen, C. G. Jones representing Oklahoma County. A special committee, of which Mr. Jones ยท was a member, was selected to take the memorial to Washing- ton. When Congress convened the next winter two more state- hood bills were introduced in the House of Representatives, one by Mr. Hamilton of Michigan and one by Delegate Me- Guire of Oklahoma. Each provided for a single state of the two Territories and the Hamilton bill provided also that New Mexico and Arizona should be admitted as one state. Stage settings were installed for Oklahomans to hold a continuous performance in Washington during the winter and the big show opened early in December with the arrival there of an Oklahoma delegation that filled five Pullmans. Helen Ren- strom, whom Col. N. IL. Lingenfelter sobriqueted The Swedish Nightingale and whose musical talent he discovered while she sang in the choir of a mediocre little church, accompanied the delegation. Her singing was heard by thousands in hotel lobbies, elmurches and public meeting places of the capital and her mmsual voice was a subject of favorable comment by art crities of eastern cities. Helen Renstrom and the ubiquitous hobnobbers of "the land of the fair god" that winter inter- nationalized the charming story of Oklahoma, and they drew out of the uncertain future a boon the realization of which perhaps was years distant.
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It happens that a Secretary of the Interior is vested with more anthority in the administration of government in a Ter- ritory than any other Washington official, and that official therefore is subjected to the greatest number of criticisms from those who come in contact with the rules and regula- tions of his department. While the records do not reveal that Oklahoma City had any important part in it, the Territories this year made the official life of Secretary Hitchcock a veri- table bed of thorns. His administration touched even small municipal affairs and at every touch the municipality howled and turned its raneorous weapons of abuse upon him. Many times he was abused without just cause. Many times abuse was premeditated and born of no cause whatever. Every charge was an expression of the voice of a people that had found-even if they imagined it largely-that long-distance government from Washington was intolerable. And the sum of these charges before long drove Washington opponents of statehood into disorganization and inevitable rout.
This Oklahoma situation-these peculiar Oklahoma peo- ple-the source and the substance of all this noise-undoubt- edly influenced two other Cabinet members to come here. Secretary Wilson of the Department of Agriculture looked the domain over, was entertained as cosmopolitans entertain, and returned a believer in the justness of the Oklahoma cause. Secretary Shaw of the Treasury Department was a guest of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and went back con- verted to the cause. It was a record-breaking year in the matter of distinguished visitors. Senator Chester I. Long of Kansas came down as a guest of Dennis T. Flynn and was entertained by the Chamber of Commerce. Senator LaFol- lette of Wisconsin and William J. Bryan of Nebraska came on chautauqua expeditions and went out preaching about the matchless spirit of these hospitable and long-suffering people. Gen. A. R. Chaffee, chief of staff of the United States Army, who condneted a rifle competition at Fort Reno. also was a guest of the business interests during the year. And the redoubtable Teddy, the double-fisted American, the champion of the West, then President of the United States, chose a Inumting spot in Oklahoma, and when he had fetched in coyotes and loboes to his satisfaction down in the Big Pasture, a
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thousand representative Oklahomans set him rejoicing before his special train pulled out of the station at Frederick.
No external influence bearing on statehood had more wide- spread or marked influence this year than that of members of the National Editorial Association whom Oklahoma City entertained after their annual convention had been held in Guthrie. Dozens of these editors on returning home "took their pen in hand" and wrote unstintingly virtuous praises of this new land and almost with one accord urged Congress to admit the Territories to statehood.
The spring city election resulted in a republican victory in the mayoralty fight, Dr. J. F. Messenbaugh defeating F. S. Rhodes, the democratic nominee, by about 800 votes. The socialists this year nominated a full ticket and made an active campaign. Their candidate for mayor was Edgar A. David- son. An independent ticket also was nominated, headed by the Rev. Thomas H. Harper for mayor, and the nominees con- ducted a warm battle on issues elevated somewhat above those of ordinary political fights. George Hess was elected clerk ; G. A. Paul, attorney; John Hubatka. police chief ; John Hay- son, police judge; Dan Wright, assessor; Will S. Guthrie, treasurer of the school board, and Elmer Trueblood, city treasurer. At this election $60,000 of bonds was voted for building ward schoolhouses.
Resolutions demanding statehood for the Territories were adopted by the Federation of Commercial Clubs of the Terri- tories which held its annual meeting here July 11. Lee Cruce of Ardmore was elected president: J. HI. Johnston of Okla- homa City, secretary, and 11. 1. Fogg of El Reno, treasurer.
Before Mayor Messenbaugh one day came a modest little black-haired woman with talkative brown eyes who made ap- plication for appointment as city stenographer. She was a democrat and the democrats maintained the balance of power in the council. She had been active in polities, had an influ- ence with laboring men, and seemed to possess some qualities essential to democratie militaney. The appointment was made and she entered diligently and enthusiastically upon the duties of the job. She appears to have been so engrossed there the public learned little about her, except that now and
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then it heard of a mysterious feminine influence bearing ap- parently meager fruits in some nonpublic strata of society. She was an extravagantly busy little woman and she soon displayed exeentive propensities. She worked consistently and by rule and by hours, and she breathed into the city offices an atmosphere of clerical independence theretofore uwit- nessed. In that atmosphere her timidity departed and she became sagely self-assertive. This was too radical a step for City Attorney Paul and he gave her notice one day that her employment was at an end. She had declined to work over- time and on Sunday. She appealed to the City Council, stat- ing her case rather exhaustively, and the record of the council meeting shows that the "communication was re- ceived." The little woman was Kate Barnard. This was one of her first aets in a long career to improve conditions of working men and women. Early in that career the people of the new state elected her commissioner of charities and cor- rections, and as such she cultivated her talent and acquired a national reputation.
On November 21st, by a stimulating majority, bonds in the sum of $375,000 were voted for water and sewer extension purposes. Business men celebrated the victory at a riproar- ous mass meeting that was presided over by Graves Leeper and spoken to by C. G. Jones, Seymour Heyman and T. D. Turner. The victory was acclaimed as an event destined to have far-reaching commercial consequences, and speakers predicted that within twelve months construction involving an expenditure of several million dollars would be under way.
I. M. Holcomb was late in December elected president of the Chamber of Commerce for the ensuing year. R. A. Klein- schmidt was elected first vice president ; J. B. Helton, second vice president ; J. Il. Johnston, secretary, and J. L. Wilkin, treasurer. Other members of the board of directors were J. M. Gross, W. L. Alexander, T. D. Turner, J. G. Leeper, Guy Blackwelder, J. E. Piersol, J. H. Hess, A. II. Classen, G. B. Stone and F. A. Gross.
The Oklahoma Society of the Sons of the American Revo- lution was organized this year with Henry B. Edwards as president: Arthur H. Price, registrar, and Dr. L. Haynes Buxton, secretary. Other charter members were : Dine John-
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ston, Paul F. Mackey. A. S. Reaves, J. B. Thoburn, E. C. Bar- rows, A. J. Brasted, Fred Brasted, Charles W. Burr, H. V. Foster, C. M. Greemnan, C. R. Hume, Charles R. Hume, A. E. Patrick and E. G. Spillman.
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