USA > Oklahoma > Oklahoma County > Oklahoma City > The story of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma : "the biggest little city in the world" > Part 20
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The Packinghouse Development Company had a capital stock of $400,000 and shares were $100 cach. The incorpo- rators were Seymour Herman, Solomon Barth, A. H. Clas- sen. C. H. Russell. C. F. Coleord. W. T. Hales, G. B. Stone, A. E. Monroney, J. R. Keaton, O. G. Lee and O. P. Workman. Vol. 1-22
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At a mass meeting held on February 4, the cash bonus was guaranteed to the packers. Mr. Classen led the subserip- tion makers with an offer of $20,000. Within twenty minutes $100,000 was subscribed. Among those who subscribed $10,000 each were C. F. Colcord, R. J. Edwards, W. T. Hales, E. H. Cooke, S. L. Broek and C. G. Jones. "What will Putnam do ?" some one shouted. The premier young real estate pro- moter answered, "I'll take all that is left." This the assem- blage greeted with uproarious applause. But the hot cakes continued to go so rapidly Putnam feared what was left would be too small for a man's honor to rest securely upon and he changed front and announced a subscription of $20,000. In an interim of comparative quietude Seymour Heyman. burning with a zeal that revealed the man's conception of mod- ern city building, exclaimed, "A booster is one who does all the good he can just as long as he can to all the people he can and leaves the rest to God. A knocker is a thing on a door; who the hell wants to be a knocker ?"
Later the Packinghouse Development Company No. 2 was organized with John Shartel, president, C. F. Coleord, vice president, I. M. Putnam, vice president, O. P. Workman. general manager, Seymour Heyman, treasurer, and A. W. McKeand, secretary. Construction of the second packery was started April 11. On October 3 the Morris plant was for- mally opened. Sidney L. Brock pushed the electric button that put machinery in motion and speeches were made by Governor Haskell, Graves Leeper and Mr. Broek. It was estimated that 25.000 persons went through the plant that day. Two thousand men were given employment and during the day 2,500 hogs, 1,500 cattle and 1,000 sheep were slaugh- tered.
Another city charter went to defeat by a difference in totals of less than one hundred votes on August 2. The instrument was completed early in the year. Sections of it were condemned in the campaign by the Good Government League which found that ward and political lines had not been obliterated in the manner the league had advocated. An amendment by Loval J. Miller of the frecholders, which provoked the first con- troversy, was adopted, with the result that a bitter war arose between organizations for and against the political subilivi-
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sion program. W. A. Ledbetter, representing a conciliation committee, appeared before the board and a semblance of harmony resulted. The general campaign for adoption of the charter was conducted by the City Charter Club, organized April 8, of which Dr. C. B. Bradford was president, Joseph Huekins, Jr., vice president, Sanmel Murphy, secretary, Guy Blackwelder, assistant secretary, and Guy Turner, treasurer.
In the November election Lee Cruce was chosen governor, defeating Joseph MeNeal of Guthrie, the republican nominee, by 30,000 votes. MeNeal had defeated C. G. Jones of Okla- homa City for the nomination. The effort of Mr. Jones to secure the nomination for governor was his last active par- ticipation in politics in Oklahoma. At this election the people defeated an initiated measure repealing the prohibition article of the constitution, and they defeated an amendment giving women suffrage and the Russell New Jerusalem amendment. Other state officers elected were J. J. MeAlester, lieutenant governor; B. F. Harrison, secretary of state: Leo Meyer, auditor; Charles West, attorney general: Robert Dunkop. treasurer : R. H. Wilson, superintendent of public instruction ; Charles A. Taylor, examiner and inspector: Ed Boyle, mine inspector; P. A. Ballard, insurance commissioner: Giles W. Farris, state printer: Charles L. Daugherty, commissioner of labor; Kate Barnard, commissioner of charities and correc- tions; G. T. Bryan, president of the board of agriculture; W. H. L. Campbell, elerk of the Supreme Court, and as then con- stituted the corporation commission consisted of George A. Henshaw. A. P. Watson and Jack Love. Members of the Supreme Court were John B. Turner. R. L. Williams, M. J. Kane, S. W. Hayes and Jesse J. Dunn. Members of the Criminal Court of Appeals were Henry M. Furman, James R. Armstrong and Thomas H. Doyle.
Members of the Chamber of Commerce, believing that busi- ness men had profited from mistakes of former campaigns and, having become educated to the possible advantages of a commission form of government, determined to have another charter prepared, the fourth in the city's history. Accord- ingly on October 10 a committee was appointed to lay plans to that end. The committee consisted of O. P. Workman. J. M. Owen and C. F. Colcord. Two days later a campaign com-
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mittee was appointed of which R. E. Stafford was chairman and W. E. Campbell, secretary. The Chamber selected and gave public endorsement of candidates of both democratic and republican parties for freeholders. Freeholders elected were Dr. C. B. Bradford, John W. Nicely, Robert Chowning. George Ross, Claude Weaver, W. W. Storm, B. C. Housel, J. C. Gilmore, George Shotwell, J. H. Stewart, Clark C. Hudson, R. A. Caldwell, W. R. Clement. L. Radin, J. F. Warren and Frank Wells. A committee to write the charter was selected, consisting of Mr. Hudson, Mr: Weaver, Mr. Shotwell, Mr. Storm and Mr. Stewart.
New Orleans' Mardi Gras was imitated this year in the character of the natal day celebration. The celebration was promoted by the Eighty-niners Association and a new organi- zation known as the Aprillis Fiesta Company, the directors of which were Mrs. Fred Sutton, Mrs. Mary McClure, Mrs. Ma- rion F. Rock, Mrs. C. A. MeNabb, Mrs. James George, Mrs. W. R. Clement, Mrs. John Wingler, O. A. Mitcher, John Har- rah, John S. Kerfoot, T. F. MeMechan, J. M. Owen and A. H. Classen. The most pretentious and altogether the most pie- turesque parade that had ever been given in Oklahoma was the outstanding feature of the event. It was a riot of flowers and colors, a magnificent spectacle of decorated floats and motor cars and of dress adapted from styles and customs of the several periods depicted. It was led by Governor Haskell and a committee of the promoting organizations. Miss Myrtle Owen was the fiesta queen and was called La Reine Aprilla. Miss Jennie Bradford was her maid of honor. Hart Wand was the king, called Rex Aprillo, and seven attendants were in the galaxy of his troupe. Of especial interest in the period- depicting section was a boomer's covered wagon drawn by an ox and a mule.
The Oklahoma Medical College, which was instituted to teach the latter two years of a four-year course, the first two being taught in the State University at Norman, opened its first session September 15. During the ceremonies of the opening addresses were made by Dr. A. Grant Evans, presi- dent of the State University, and Dr. A. K. West. The first faculty consisted of Dr. West and Drs. A. L. Blesh. Lee A. Reily, A. D. Young, R. M. Howard. M. Smith. L. H. Buxton.
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H. C. Todd, E. S. Ferguson, Horace Reed, J. W. Riley, E. S. Lain, E. R. Day, L. J. Moorman, R. E. Looney, S. R. Cunningham, J. W. Jolly, R. L. Foster, C. Lee, N. G. Busby, Leila Andrews and J. F. Messenbaugh.
Some other events of the year were these: the first Okla- homa Automobile Dealers' Association was organized with John McClelland, president ; G. Page, vice president; Ray Colcord, secretary; R. H. Mulch, Jr., treasurer, and F. R. Thompson, chairman of the board ; on January 25, I. M. Hol- comb resigned as cashier of the Oklahoma City National Bank to engage in lecture work and was succeeded by Colin S. Campbell of Chicago; G. W. R. Chinn, Eighty-niner, who had installed the first telephone in the city, died; E. B. Cockrell, on recommendation of the executive committee of the State Bankers Association, was appointed bank commissioner to succeed A. M. Young, resigned, Mr. Cockrell himself retiring on November 15 to become an officer of the Central State Bank, stock in which he bought from Clay Webster, vice president. and R. M. Estes, assistant cashier; the law department of Epworth University was abandoned and the graduating class of the year was Harry E. Brill, W. H. Winn, J. R. Connell. R. A. Weeks, W. A. French, H. B. Hopps and W. F. Me- Laury ; on July 25, the census bureau reported the population of the city to be 64,205; William Cross, secretary of state and the democratic nominee for state auditor, died on Angust 3, the day after his nomination, and after a long illness; on September 6, A. W. MeKeand resigned as secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, and as a token of the Chamber's esteem, was presented with a gold watch by C. H. Russell, acting for President Brock in the latter's absence ; the corner stone of the First Presbyterian Church was laid on September 25, Dr. Phil C. Baird, pastor, being assisted by Dr. Carter Helin Jones, the Rev. W. H. B. Urch, the Rev. Thomas II. Harper and the Rev. J. H. O. Smith, pastors of other leading clinches of the city : Mayor Scales resigned on October 17 and Daniel V. Lackey, president of the council, succeeded to the mayoralty seat: on November 8, the new directors of the Oklahoma State Fair Association elected John Fields, editor of The Oklahoma Farmer, president, and Homy Overholser. . general manager.
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William Macklin Cross (popularly called Bill Cross) was born at Purdy, MeNeary County, Tenn., July 4, 1847. At the age of fourteen he entered the Confederate military service as a drummer in Company K. One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Tennessee Regiment, of which his father (who was killed in action at the battle of Shiloh) was colonel. Young Cross was wounded and captured the same day his father was killed. He was subsequently exchanged and returned to the front, serv- ing in the army of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. After the end of the war he entered Kentucky University, at Lexington, but only remained one year on account of the financial condi- tion of the family. He entered a dry goods store and event- ually became a traveling salesman, in which capacity he came to Oklahoma. He was nominated for delegate to Congress in 1902, but was defeated. He was nominated as the democratic candidate for secretary of state and was elected in Septem- ber, 1907, when the constitution was ratified. He died August 4, 1910 .- Thoburn.
1911-A CHARTER ADOPTED
The fate that other charters met was an important guide to the freeholders who wrote that which was adopted on March 9 this year. Also the charter was more modern than those that failed. The American who isn't modern is a non- entity as Americanism appraises him, and by the same token to affect to be an Oklahoman without being a booster was affectation only. Perhaps the charter was a great improve- ment over its deceased predecessors, and probably it was as good and as modern and as ideal as any written for any other city of the Nation. The campaign was balmy, the oppo- sition mild. The hardest fight came after its approval on March 14 by Gov. Lee Cruce. The governor signed it with a gold pen presented to him by Miss Amelia E. Weaver, daugh- ter of Claude Weaver, one of the authors of the new munici- pal constitution.
Nominations for municipal offices were made in a primary held April 11. The democratic nominee for mayor was Whit M. Grant, who was elected at the regular election on May 9, and the republican nominee was J. F. Warren. J. T. Highley, democrat, defeated C. W. Ford, republican, for commissioner of public safety. Guy E. Blackwelder, republican, defeated John S. Alexander, democrat, for commissioner of public works. W. H. Hampton, democrat, defeated Will HI. Clark, republican, for commissioner of public property. Elmer C. Trueblood, democrat, defeated Thomas H. Harper, repub- lican, for commissioner of accounting and finance. In the primary election Mr. Grant defeated Henry M. Scales. John L. Mitch, Dan V. Lackey and Ross N. Lillard for the nomi- nation.
Immediately after the election the city council passed a resolution with a majority of six votes holding that the elec- tion was illegal and void. A case was prepared for cont and in the petition it was contended that the charter was
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illegal and void because no provision had been made in the constitution for such an instrument of government, because of improper division of the city into wards, because the charter provided no specified time at which officials elected under it should take office, and for other reasons of less consequence. On May 30 Judge E. D. Oldfield sustained a motion of the new officials for a writ of mandans against the old. Among the early appointments made by Mayor Grant was that of William Tighlman, formerly of Chandler, formerly a state senator, and who in territorial days had been a noted law en- forcement officer, as chief of police. Another was of J. C. -Eagen as city treasurer to succeed P. H. Simmons, resigned. Among unusual things undertaken by the commissioners dur- ing the year was to attempt to get a water supply from deep wells. It contracted with the Western Wells Company of Kansas to furnish 5,000,000 gallons of well water daily to be paid for at the rate of 2 cents a 1,000 gallons.
On May 29 of this year the United States Supreme Court said the last word in the capital controversy, and it was an important word for the doctrine of state rights. The opinion, written by Justice Lorton, held in substance that Congress was without authority to locate a capital for the new state for a term of years, that to undertake to do so was to deny the state its constitutional privilege of entering the Union on an equal footing with the other states. "When equality dis- appears," said the opinion, "we may remain a free people. but the union will not be the union of the constitution."
Guthrie's protest against the removal of state offices to Oklahoma City on December 30, 1910, caused the foregather- ing of a mob that threatened violence and Governor Haskell ordered troops held in readiness for service should they be needed. An injunction issued out of the District Court at Guthrie was served against State Treasurer James A. Menefee and when wagons began loading furniture out of his office he was cited for contempt of court. W. A. Ledbetter went to Guthrie as an emissary of the governor and helped to restore peace. The injunction did not hold and on the following day twenty-five tons of state furniture and records were moved to Oklahoma City.
The Legislature convened on January 2 and W. A. Durant
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of Durant was elected speaker of the House and J. Eliner Thomas of Lawton, president pro tempore of the Senate. On January 9 Lee Cruce was inaugurated governor. The Senate on January 28 passed a bill abolishing the Capitol Commission but the bill was not passed by the House. Some doubt ex- isted as to the validity of the call issued by Governor Haskell in the previous year for an extraordinary session of the Leg- islature and a resolution was passed by this Legislature vali- dating the call and the actions of the former body. The State Supreme Court on February 9 rendered an opinion, written by Justice R. L. Williams, to which Justices Kane and Dun dissented, holding that the capital location provision of the Enabling Act was unconstitutional, and it was this opinion that was affirmed by the United States Supreme Court. Ar- guments before the latter were made for Oklahoma City by Attorney General Charles West, Judge B. F. Burwell of Okla- homa City and former Senator J. W. Bailey of Texas. Guth- rie was represented by Judge Frank Dale.
Governor Cruce, who favored and practiced the strictest economy in government, on June 20, asked for the resignation of members of the Capitol Commission, and in due time he appointed members of the State Board of Public Affairs to succeed them.
The Capitol Building Company, representing the city, had agreed to pay $1,000,000 to the state as a capitol building fund, and the first payment. $25,000, was to be made July 1. Homer S. Hurst, a member of the company, proposed shortly before the payment of this amount was dne that the city issue bonds in the sum of $1,250.000 to be delivered to the state. The constutitionality of such procedure was doubted, however, and the company on June 29 concluded to issue fifty $500 notes to raise the amount due on July 1. The company had title to lands donated and bought for capitol purposes but to get the money was at that time a difficult matter, so it proposed, through Ed S. Vaught, its spokesman, to Gor- ernor Cruce, that 600 acres and an additional fifteen acres reserved for the capitol be delivered to the state in lieu of the $1.000,000. Governor Cruce declined to accept the prop- osition, holding that only the Legislature had authority to alter contracts made with the state under authority of the
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Legislature. Later in the year the company, which had exe- cuted a bond of $100,000 as a guarantee of payment of instal- ments of the $1,000,000, again proposed to the governor to deliver to the state 6,030 acres of land and pay the forfeiture of the bond, retaining twenty acres to be sold by the company to reimburse it for the bond forfeiture ontlay, and there the matter rested at the end of the year.
Outside of his own office force, the first appointment an- nounced by the governor was that of John R. Williams, who had been his campaign manager, as secretary of the Comnis- sioners of the Land Office, and the appointment was in due time confirmed by the commissioners. He appointed Judge Frank Matthews of Altus, E. B. Howard of Tulsa and E. E. Morris of Duncan as members of the State Board of Public Affairs. Judge Matthews resigned soon to accept a judicial appointment and Lon M. Frame of Ardmore, who had been named game and fish warden, filled the vacancy. John B. Doo- lin of Alva, who had been assistant manager of the Cruce campaign, was appointed to the position vacated by Frame. The appointment of Morris as the republican member of the board was stoutly disapproved by members of the republican state organization who had recommended O. K. Benedict of Hobart for the place. Among early appointments was that of J. F. Warren of Oklahoma City as a member of the board of regents of the State University and J. F. Sharp of Purcell as chairman of the board of control of the Boys' Training School at Pauls Valley. J. D. Lankford of Atoka was ap- pointed state bank commissioner and J. C. MeClelland and Fred G. Dennis members of the state banking board. The Cruce state election board consisted of Ben W. Riley of El Reno, former Governor T. B. Ferguson of Watonga and C. (. Pem of Weatherford. Under an act of the Legislature of that year creating a Supreme Court Commission, the governor appointed C. B. Ames, Phil D. Brewer and John B. Harrison members of the commission. His state board of education con- sisted of City Superintendent Brandenburg of Oklahoma City. W. E. Rowsey of Muskogee. O. F. Hayes of Chandler, Scott Glem of Shawnee, Robert Dunlop of Newkirk, then state treasurer, and Dr. A. C. Scott of Oklahoma City.
Dr. Alexander Potter of New York was employed during
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the preceding year to make a survey and recommendations for a permanent and increased water supply for the city. After his report was submitted the mayor called an election to be held February 14, this year, to vote on a proposed issue totalling $1,650,000, part of which was to be used in main ex- tensions for water and sewer extensions to Packingtown. Dur- ing a campaign rally the night before the election, when Kate Barnard was making a speech opposing the issue, Doctor Pot- ter, who interrupted her-insolently, some of her friends said -was ejected forcibly from the hall. The issue was defeated.
Some important bank changes took place this year. On January 21 Henry W. Williams, late of Greenville, Texas, Don Lacy of Ardmore and W. M. Bonner of Ardmore, pur- chased a controlling interest in the Oklahoma City National Bank. On February 25 this bank absorbed the Central Re- serve Bank and new officers were elected as follows: H. W. Williams, president: A. M. Young, vice president; C. H. Everest, vice president, and W. M. Bonner, assistant cashier. E. B. Cockrell retired from the organization to become presi- dent of the Continental Trust Company which was organized a few weeks later with a capital stock of $500,000. On May 19 the Oklahoma City National Bank was consolidated with the State National Bank, with Mr. Williams as president . Jolm M. Hale, C. H. Everest and Don Lacy as vice presi- dents, George L. Cooke, cashier, W. M. Bonner, Pat Roden, Henry Elliott and F. C. Clarke, assistant cashiers, and Ed- ward H. Cooke, chairman of the board. All banks of the city at the beginning of the year had about $16,000,000 on deposit.
C. G. Jones, whom many accounted the most useful resi- dent of the city, died on March 29. at the age of fifty-five. His funeral on March 31 was the most largely attended of any in the history of the state. Orations were delivered by Dr. G. H. Bradford and the Rev. A. K. Riley and the ceremony of the Masons, of whose lodge he was a member, was em- ployed. In the yard of his residence a flag that he had raised, a flag at the state house and one at the Morris packing plant were hung at half mast. In honor of his memory Gov- ernor Cruce issued a proclamation requesting that all state offices be closed. The business of the United States Circuit Vol. 1-23
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Court, of the District Court and of the County Court was suspended. The State National Bank, of which he was a director, and many business houses closed their doors. The Eighty-niners Association held a special meeting and adopted resolutions and went in a body to the Jones home before the funeral and left generous floral wreaths and shed tears of genmine sorrow. Pallbearers wore E. H. Cooke, C. F. Col- cord, C. A. Mitscher, W. T. Hales, W. J. Pettee and II. C. Milner.
The Oklahoma Railway Company ran its first interurban car into El Reno on November 30. It bore all leading officials of the company and a score of their guests. George W. Knox, III, eight-year-old son of George W. Knox, Jr., general man- ager of the company, turned on the power that sent the car whirring into the west. F. M. Banks was the car's conductor and Lawrence Paulson was the motorman. The party was entertained at El Reno with a banquet. It was welcomed in a speech delivered by Mayor P. P. Duffy, to which O. P. Workman, president of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Com- merce, responded. Other speeches were made by R. E. Staf- ford, Jolm Shartel and Seymour Heyman.
A bomis of $75,000 was raised by the Chamber of Com- merce to seeure a line of the Missouri, Oklahoma & Gulf Rail- way Company, but the company's plans failed to materialize. Walter B. Moore of Dayton, Ohio, succeeded J. H. Johnston as secretary-manager of the Chamber on November 1. The resignation of Mr. Johnston was submitted several months before. So satisfactorily had he performed the duties of the office that a committee sought to have him withdraw the resig- nation. At the annual meeting of the Chamber in December Frank J. Wikoff was elected president; C. F. Coleord, first vice president : Leon Levy, second vice president, and Colin Campbell, treasurer. Seymour Heyman, a former president, was on December 5 elected president of the board of educa- tion, succeeding W. R. Swartout, resigned, and his election restored harmony in the board that had for some months been engaged in a wrangle.
The city's second big packing plant was opened formally on October 9. President Workman of the Chamber of Commerce was the master of ceremonies and the principal speech was
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made by Governor Cruce. Jack Love, chairman of the corpo- ration commission, killed the first cow. It was estimated that 10,000 persons passed through the plant that day.
Owing to disagreements between the northern and south- ern branches of the Methodist Church and to untoward finan- cial conditions respecting the institution, it was decided at the close of the school year that Epworth University should be abandoned. The northern branch of the church concluded to transfer its interests to Guthrie and consolidate them with .a Methodist College. A few weeks later representatives of the southern branch announced that the university would be continued. A new board of trustees was elected, consisting of Dr. W. B. Watkins, president, W. A. Shelton, secretary, C. H. McGee, treasurer, the Rev. R. E. L. Morgan, B. F. Moseley, the Rev. M. L. Butler, the Rev. Moss Weaver, the Rev. O. F. Sensabaugh, and the Rev. J. M. Gross. Difficul- ties soon confronted the new board, however, and the institu- tion remained closed.
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