History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 43

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998

USA > South Dakota > History of South Dakota, Vol. I > Part 43

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of three hundred and four thousand five hundred dollars. When we recall that but four years earlier the public had arisen in indignation and had almost compelled the governor to veto a bill authorizing forty-five thousand dollars of bonds for the penitentiary and insane asylum some idea of the progress of Dakota may be obtained. In addition to the foregoing this legislature located normal schools at Madison, Springfield, Spear- fish and Watertown, but did not make appropria- tions therefor. The law expressly provided that the capital commission was to meet at Yankton for organization and that the location should be made before July Ist. It will be observed that the commission consisted of five men-a majori- ty-from eastern South Dakota, three from North Dakota and one from the Black Hills. It was the purpose of the people of Yankton to en- join the commission and attack its legality on the ground that the legislature had attempted an unauthorized delegation of power. All of the able members of the Yankton bar joined in the preparation of the case and the temporary injunction was obtained from Judge Edgerton, who had but recently been appointed chief jus- tice of the territory. The problem for the com- mission to solve was how to avoid the service of this summons and at the same time comply with the requirements of the law to meet at Yankton for organization.

About the first of April the commission met in Sioux City, where it remained in consultation for a couple of days. Meanwhile the officers from Yankton, armed with the injunction, were warily watching for an opportunity to catch the members within the jurisdiction of the Dakota court. On the morning of the 3d of April, the members boarded a Milwaukee special train and made a quick run to Yankton, arriving there at 5:15 a. m. When the train arrived within the corporate limits of Yankton it made a short stop, when Alex. Hughes called the board to order and an organization was promptly effected by electing Hughes president, Scott, treasurer, and Ralph W. Wheelock, secretary, and an adjourn- ment was taken to meet at Canton that afternoon at two o'clock. The train then rushed on through

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Yankton at thirty miles an hour and the law had been complied with without interference. They went on by way of Scotland and Marion Junc- tion to Canton, where they met and opened the bids from the several towns. They were as fol- lows : Aberdeen, one hundred thousand dollars, and one hundred and sixty acres of land; Bis- marck, one hundred thousand dollars and three hundred and twenty acres of land, guaranteed to net three hundred thousand dollars; Canton, one hundred thousand dollars and one hundred and sixty acres of land; Frankfort, one hundred thousand dollars and one hundred and sixty acres of land ; Huron, one hundred thousand dol- lars and one hundred and sixty acres of land ; Mitchell, one hundred and sixty thousand dol- lars and one hundred and sixty acres of land ; Pierre, one hundred thousand dollars and one hundred and sixty acres of land; Ordway, one hundred thousand dollars and four hundred and eighty acres of land; Odessa, two hundred thou- sand dollars and one hundred and sixty acres of land ; Redfield, one hundred thousand dollars and one hundred and sixty acres of land; Steele, one hundred thousand dollars and one hundred and sixty acres of land.

After opening the bids and being banqueted by the citizens of Canton, the commission set out to visit the various candidates. It was a glorious junket. The board was banqueted and wined, speechified and shown every consideration by the towns and interested railroads until the 2d of June, when they stopped at Fargo to take the final vote. At first Belding supported Pierre ; Delong. Canton; Thompson and Hughes, Mitch- cll; Mathews, Huron; Myers and Spaulding, Redfield; Mckenzie, Bismarck, and Scott, scat- tering. Balloting continued about on this line for a long time, when Scott cast in his vote with Mckenzie and Belding and Delong joined them. Bismarck now lacked but one vote and Hughes was not slow in providing it. To the end Meyers and Spaulding supported Redfield, Mathews, Huron, and Thompson Mitchell. Belding, as a Black Hills man, desirous of having the capital at the most available point on the Missouri river, was not blamed for supporting Bismarck, but the

people of South Dakota were violently indignant at Delong and Hughes, who they felt had be- trayed them. Later when it became known that Governor Ordway's immediate associates had large interests in Bismarck the conviction forced itself upon the South Dakotans that the plan from the outset had been engineered by Ordway and Mckenzie in the interest of Bismarck and that Hughes and Delong had been placed upon the commission with the express understanding that they were to give Bismarck the prize. Ord- way had already lost all respect from the South Dakotans, and to this day no other man is so thoroughly despised among the old timers of the southern part of the state as is Alexander Hughes, who at once took up his residence in Bismarck.

It will be recalled as an incident in the loca- tion of the capital at Yankton in 1862 that the Territorial University was located at Vermil- ion by act of the first legislature. It is one of the ironies of history that the first legislative endow- ment of the Territorial University was an inci- dent of the removal of the capital from Yank- ton.

The history of the university after its location really dates from April 30, 1881, though ten years earlier an attempt to get a legislative ap- propriation for its support had failed. On the date above named, April 30, 1881. a meeting of the citizens of Vermilion was held at the office of Judge Kidder to form an association for the erection of a building in which to open the Uni- versity of the Territory of Dakota, and for the purpose of conducting such university after the building is erected. This meeting elected a board of trustees, consisting of Jefferson P. Kidder, president, John L. Jolley, Darwin M. Inman, Frank N. Burdick, Richard F. Pettigrew, Bart- lett Tripp and John R .. Wilson, the latter of Deadwood. The meeting adjourned to May 9th of the same year, when articles of incorporation were adopted. Though a good deal of investiga- tion was done and an unsuccessful attempt made to secure a land grant, nothing was accomplished until the 9th of February, 1882, when the county commissioners of Clay county passed a resolution

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submitting to the people of Clay county the prop- osition to vote ten thousand dollars in bonds for the purpose "of aiding in the construction and business of the University of Dakota." The elec- tion was held March 18th after a hard campaign, and the bonds carried by a vote of eight hundred and eleven to four hundred and nineteen, and the bonds were sold for a net proceeds of nine thousand dollars. With this money the first building was erected upon plans made by W. L. Dow, the well-known architect, and was completed in the spring of 1883. The academic department of the univer- sity, however, was opened on October 15, 1882, under the direction of Dr. Ephraim Epstien, a former Jewish rabbi of great learning, but at that time affiliating with the Baptist church, with thirty-five students in attendance.

With this plant-a building under construction and a school actually in operation-the people of Vermilion went before the legislature of 1883 and asked for an appropriation. Dr. F. N. Bur- dick was the Clay county councilman and Darwin M. Inman, representative. They devoted all of their attention to the interests of the university, and while it is probable that they would have obtained recognition in any event, the capital re- moval proposition made their work easier and the appropriation of thirty thousand dollars was an incident of that memorable combination. Thus it came about that the project received that public recognition which made it a child of the state.

In the same wise was the Agricultural College founded at Brookings. James O. B. Scoby, pres- ident of the council, was the representative of Brookings county in that famous last legislature at Yankton, and early identified himself with the removal proposition and as the fruit of his effort obtained the appropriation for thirty thousand dollars, which became the foundation of the Brookings institution, which was opened a year later. 1883, too, stands as the initial year of the great movement for the division of Dakota ter- ritory, although, as we have seen, the subject had been continually agitated since 1872. How- ever, it was not until the capital removal iniquity

aroused the people of South Dakota that any positive state-wide movement was undertaken.

The movement for division and statehood had its conception at a Thanksgiving dinner given at the home of Rev. Stewart Sheldon, in Yank- ton, in November, 1879. Among the guests were Governor Howard, Hugh J. Campbell. W. H. H. Beadle and Dr. Joseph Ward, and they were aroused to begin an active propaganda for division and statehood by a proposition then be- ing quietly agitated to sell all of the school lands to a great syndicate for about two dollars and twenty-five cents per acre. General Beadle then announced his belief that every acre of the school land should be held until it brought at least ten dollars per acre, and a tacit agreement was then made that the subject should be agitiated until a thorough ten-dollar sentiment was impressed up- on the people. From that time General Beadle devoted himself to this work, while General Campbell and Joseph Ward agitated for the di- vision of the territory to the end that a more compact and therefore a more representative commonwealth be created where the tendency and temptation to corruption and graft in gov- ernment should not be so possible. They, with others, were tireless in this work from that date and many citizens' meetings were held at Yank- ton and various other localities where the matter was discussed. Finally the agitation resulted in the calling of a delegate convention which met in Canton June 21, 1882. Ten counties were rep- resented and strong division and admission reso- lutions passed and an executive committee, con- sisting of Joseph Ward, Newman.C. Nash, Wil- mot Whitefield, S. Fry Andrews, Willis C. Bow- er, F. B. Foster and J. V. Himes, was appointed to direct the movement. This committee secured the passage of an act by the legislature-the last at Yankton-of a bill providing for a constitu- tional convention for the south half of Dakota territory, but Governor Ordway, who had no no- tion of permitting his opportunities to he cur- tailed in this manner, promptly vetoed the bill. At this date probably seventy-five per cent. of the inhabitants of South Dakota had not resided in the territory to exceed three years and half of

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them only from one to two years and they had not yet become imbued with the political necessi- ties of the situation, but the action of the Gov- ernor and the action of the capital commission aroused even the newcomers and when the ex- ecutive committee, appointed at Canton, issued a call for a delegate convention to meet at Hti- ron on June 19th, to devise a plan of action, the response was general, every county being repre- sented with an able and enthusiastic delegation. One hundred eighty-eight delegates were pres- ent. B. G. Caulfield, of Deadwood, was presi- dent and Philip Lawrence, now of Huron, secre- tary. This was one of the strongest bodies of men ever assembled in Dakota. It acted with calin deliberation and sagacity which encouraged all the friends of the movement. Its deliber- ations resulted in the adoption of an address to the people and the passage of an ordinance call- ing a constitutional convention to meet in Sioux Falls in September.

This convention consisted of one hundred fifty delegates duly elected at a regular election held on Wednesday, the Ist day of August, and pursuant to the Huron ordinance met at Sioux Falls, at noon on September 4. 1883. Judge Bart- fett Tripp was elected president. It embraced in its membership most of the names of South Da- kotans who are best known for wisdom and pub- lic spirit. It adopted an excellent constitution, which was submitted to the people at the election in November and was carried by a vote of twelve thousand three hundred thirty-six to six thousand eight hundred fourteen. An executive committee was elected to press admission upon congress consisting of such men as Bartlett Tripp, Hugh J. Campbell, Gideon C. Moody. Arthur C. Mellette and many other representa- tive men who carried the constitution to Wash- ington and urgently presented the claims of Da- kota to statehood, but without avail.

Eleven counties were organized by Governor Ordway during 1883 and there was more or less scandal connected with each case. They were Butte, July 11th; Campbell, November 6th ; Ed- munds, July 14th; Faulk, October 25th ; „Jer- auld, October Ist; McPherson, November 3d;

Potter, November 6th ; Roberts, August Ist ; San- born, June 23d ; Sully, April 4th ; and Walworth, May 5th. It was claimed that the Governor made corrupt bargains for the location of county seats and an indictment was found against him for the offense in the federal court, but he stic- ceeded in having the information quashed and the case never came to trial. The pro- cedure in these cases was about as fol- lows: An application and petition for or- ganization would be presented to the Governor for organization, by the settlers within a county, when some gentleman would appear in the county claiming to have great influence with the Governor. He would look the county over first ostensibly to satisfy himself that the petition was bona fide. Then he would examine into the eli- gibility of the various sites for the county seat. After some days he would begin to hint to in- terested parties that he might be able to assist them in landing the prize if sufficient inducement was offered. This hint would be offered to each of the candidates and then he would play one against the other for the best offer. This usually consisted of a certain number of town lots ad- jacent to the court house site. In several in- stances half of the entire town site was secured. When the best possible bargain had been struck he would recommend to the governor three men for county commissioners, known to be favorable to the town offering the best terms, and invaria- bly the virtuous governor appointed the men rec- ommended by this trusted advisor.

This season there was a general rounding out of the railroad systems. The Northwestern built its line from Iroquois to Hawarden and from Brookings to Watertown. The Milwaukee com- pleted its line between Mitchell and Aberdeen and began operations on from Aberdeen to Ellendale, and from Milbank to Wilmot and beyond. The harvest was very satisfactory, but the market was unspeakable. The price in the general market was very low, but in the new markets of Dakota, unregulated by law, and many of them in the control of unscrupulous dealers, imposition in both grade and price as well as in dockage and weight were common practices until frequently

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the homesteader received practically no return for his hard labor. These abuses led to organi- zations among the farmers which eventually led to the organization of the Farmers' Alliance and the enactment of stringent railway and warehouse laws.

The only noteworthy political change of the year was the appointment of James M. Teller, of Chicago, to succeed George H. Hand as secre- tarv.

Of course Yankton did not give up the capi- tal without a struggle. In an action brought to test the legality of the commission Judge Edger- ton held the commission invalid and all of its acts void, on the ground that the legislature had no power to delegate such functions to a commis- sion, but he was overruled by the supreme court upon appeal and so the capital was permanently located at Bismarck ..

On the 2d day of October Judge Jefferson P. Kidder died, while on a visit to St. Paul. He was one of the strongest men of the territory. He was a native of Orange, Vermont, where he was born June 4, 1818. He was a member of the legislature and lieutenant governor of his na- tive state, and while yet a young man removed to St. Paul. His hasty trip to Dakota and his election to represent the Sioux Falls govern- ment in congress in 1859 will be recalled. He held commissions from President Lincoln, John- son, Grant, Hayes and Arthur as judge of the su- preme court of Dakota territory, covering the period from 1865 to his death, except four years, from 1874 to 1878, which he served as delegate in congress. He was a man of strong principle, sympathetic nature, strongly attached to his friends and to his family. His ability as a fair and incorruptible judge, together with his other qualities, won for him a high position in the liis- tory of Dakota.

Stephen W. Duncombe, register of the Aber- deen land office, died on October 8th. Mr. Dun- combe was appointed to the position from Michi- gan the previous winter and had made few ac- quaintances in Dakota. He was forty-three years of age at his death. The President ap- pointed Charles T. McCoy, of Bon Homme county, to the position made vacant by Mr. Dun-

combe's death, which was a variation from the carpet-bag rule then prevailing. The appoint- ment of McCoy was particularly offensive to Governor Ordway, who made a vigorous fight against his confirmation and succeeded in hold- ing the nomination up for several months. Ord- way claimed great influence with the senate, openly declaring that he had personal knowledge of compromising matters affecting enough of the senators to determine their action upon any mat- ter in which he was interested, but in spite of his pull McCoy was confirmed, after a thorough investigation by a senatorial committee. The particular charge urged against McCoy was complicity in one of Ordway's county organiza- tions in Douglas county. In 1880, when Gover- nor Ordway was new to the territory, a man named Brown from Iowa, upon false representa- tions about the population of Douglas county, obtained from Ordway commissions for county commissioners to organize said county. There probably at that date was not a single bona fide resident of Douglas county. Ordway always claimed he was imposed upon and it is doubtless true. Brown and one or two fellow conspirators went into Douglas county and organized the county and also school districts, and issued a large amount of bonds ostensibly in payment of supplies, for building bridges, school houses, etc. This was at a period when a county was settled up in a night and by next week was living like an old settled community with all the activities of society thoroughly organized. At this time McCoy was conducting a bank in Springfield and a considerable quantity of these fraudulent Doug- las county warrants were offered to him and he negotiated the sale of them to his customers. As soon as the fraudulent nature of these warrants was discovered and exposed through the efforts of Maj. Robert Dollard, McCoy, to protect his customers, recalled every dollar's worth which he had sold, in so doing bankrupting himself. Ordway urged before the senate that McCoy was a partner to the fraudulent transaction, but he was vindicated by the senate committee and confirmed. This victory was magnified beyond its merits by the people of Dakota and was thie subject of general rejoicing.

CHAPTER LVI

1884 -- A FEATURELESS YEAR.

Dakota territory held its own in 1884. The homestead and town boom continned with little abatement, but boom had become the normal condition and attracted little attention. By this time the Northwestern and Milwaukee Railway systems were completed essentially as they are today. The Milwaukee had extended west from Aberdeen to Ipswich, the gap on the Jim valley line had been closed the previous year, and there remained to construct only the Madison-Harlem line and the recent extensions. The Northwest- ern was even more complete that the Milwaukee and has since done little east of the river ex- cept the Gettysburg and the Yankton extensions. In the year under discussion the Burlington, Ce- dar Rapids & Northern, now a part of the Rock Island system, built into Watertown, making a junction there with the Pacific division of the Minneapolis & St. Louis.

Pierre had become the chief entry way to the hills and the traffic by means of stages and bull trains was very great. In the hills placer mining had begun to subside, but the mother lode had been uncovered and the substantial beginnings had commenced in the modern process of mann- facturing gold, though as a matter of fact the most sanguine had not realized the great possibil- ities of this industry as it has since been devel- oped. Nevertheless the Hills were then, as they have been at all times since 1876, one of the reli- able and unfailing elements in the upbuilding and prosperity of Dakota.

This was only a fairly good season for the

farmer, the first season since the beginning of the boom whence the pinch of drought had been felt. There was as yet little diversity of crops. Wheat was the main, and in most cases the sole, dependence. There was very little live stock. Markets continued bad, and had the new Dako- tan ever learned the trick of despondency the au- tumn of 1884 afforded him an opportunity to put it into practice, but the all-abounding Dakota hope tided him over and there was no real hard- ship.

This was the year of the great Spink county war. The county seat was located at "Old Ash- ton," near the Dirt lodges east of the Jim river. Redfield and Ashton were rival candidates for the permanent location. The election showed that Redfield had a majority of the votes, but Ash- ton contested the point, and on the night of De- cember 6th citizens of Redfield visited old Ash- ton and breaking into the vault at the court house carried away the county records. This high- handed proceeding inflamed the people of the Ashton country and some six hundred of them proceeded to Redfield to recover the records. They were armed and the people of Redfield prepared for defense, at the same time securing from Judge Seward Smith, of the third circuit, an injunction restraining the removal of the rec- ords from Redfield. An agreement was reached by which Ashton and Redfield maintained a joint guard over the precious documents and a few days later Judge Smith dissolved the injunction and ordered the records returned to old Ashton.

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When the excitement was at its height Governor Pierce ordered a company of militia from Fargo to proceed to Redfield and maintain the peace. The trouble was over before the militia arrived.

It was a political year from the beginning. The feeling against Governor Ordway was in- tense and early in January a petition to the Presi- dent was circulated and generally signed asking for his removal for corrupt practices.

On February 2Ist Cornelius S. Palmer, of Yankton, was appointed judge of the third dis- trict to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Kidder. Congress created a new circuit and Judge Seward Smith, of Des Moines, Iowa, was appointed to preside over it.

The territorial Republican convention to elect delegates to the national convention at Chicago was held at Huron on April 23d. It was filled with contesting delegates, for Dakota was simply swamped with a wealth of statesmen, whose fit- ness had to be tried out at each occasion. The proceeding bordered upon the disgraceful, but the final result was very satisfactory. Col. John L. Jolley, of Vermilion, and N. E. Nelson, of Pem- bina, were chosen as delegates, and Byron E. Pay, of Volga, and W. J. Wallace, of James- town, as alternates. They were instructed to sup- port James G. Blaine for the presidency and Robert T. Lincoln for vice-president. John E. Bennett, of Clark, was chosen national commit- teeman.

The Democratic convention also met at Huron and elected Frank M. Ziebach and M. L. McCormack as delegates to Chicago to the convention that nominated Cleveland for his first term. Merritt H. Day was chosen national com- mitteeman. In the territorial condition great importance was attached to these committeeships as in a large measure they were the dispensers of party patronage.

On the 25th of June the President appointed Gilbert A. Pierce to succeed Governor Ordway, and the rejoicing in Dakota was unbounded. The celebration of the Fourth of July immediately following was made an occasion of thanksgiving and general jubilation over the deliverance. Nineteen years which have since elapsed have

done little to alter the bad opinion in which Gov- ernor Ordway was held by the people he gov- erned. It was the prevailing opinion that he was a man of some ability, thoroughly unscrupulous. For months leading newspapers had opened their editorial paragraphs with the exclamation, "Ord- way must go!" and when the welcome news came that his successor was appointed they exclaimed : "Thank God; Ordway has gone !"

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History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 43

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn Publication date: 1904 Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen Number of Pages: 998

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998