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About The Nebraska advertiser. (Nemaha City, Neb.) 18??-1909 | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1907)
Norton's Mistorv of Ittebraeka autbentic, Complete (Copyrighted 1000. All right! reterred.) By courteiy of Editor nnd Publishers ol Morton's History, the Publishers Newspaper Union of Lin coln, Nebraska, is permitted its reproduction in papers ol their Issue CHAPTER VII. First Legislature Administration of Governor Izard Location of the Capital Laws of the First Session United 8tates Surveys Claim Clubs Nebraska's Peculiarity First Independence Day Judicial Organization. In accordance with tho proclama tion of acting Governor Cuming, the first legislature of Nebraska territory convened at Omaha Tuesday, January 16, 18GG, at 10 o'clock In tho morn ing, in tho building which had been erected for the purpose by tho Coun cil Bluffs & Nebrnska Ferry Co. This company was Incorporated under tho lawB of Iowa, and Enos Lowe was Its president. This Iowa corporation em bodied or represented tho Omaha that was to bo; for tho future metropolis then existed only In the Imagination, tho hope and tho ambition of its Iowa promoters. Iowa men had procured tho Incorporation of the territory nnd shaped It to their wishes; and an Iowa man had organized It into po litical form and arbitrarily located its temporary seat of government con trary to tho wishes of its real resi dents. It was fitting thnt Iowa capi tal and enterprise, which were to fix the seat of tho government, should also temporarily houso it. "This whole arrangement," wo are told by tho Arrow, printed in Council Bluffs, "Is mado without a cost of ono single dollar to tho government." This first tenement of organized Nebraska government was located on lot 7, In block 124, as platted by A. D. Jonos, fronting east on 9th street be tween Farnam and Douglas. Tho structure was known as "tho brick building; at Omaha City," indicating that It waB tho first building of brick In the town. It was occupied by tho legislature for the first two sessions, and was afterwards used as the first general offices of the Union Pacific Hallway Co., until, In tho fall of 18C9, they were transferred to their present quarters. On tho 13th day of October the Arrow tolls us that, "But a fow short months ago and not a sign of a habi tation was vlslblo upon the site where now aro constantly In progress and will bo completed, within another month, a town numbering some 17C or 200 Inhabitants." The legislature was composed of a council of thirteen and a houso of twenty-six members. It can not bo said that a single member of this first legislature had a normanent foot ing In the territory, and many of them had not even "declared their Inten tions." But tho men from Iowa were there In full force. Mr. J. L. Sharp, the president of tho council, nom inally from RIchardBon county, lived at Olenwood, Iowa, and never became a resident of Nebraska. Out of the total membership of thirty-nine at least five, namely, Sharp, Nuckolls, Kempton, Latham and Purple never were actual residents of the territory, and many of tho reBt were mere so journers driftwood, temporarily stranded on this farther shore of tho westward stream of population, but destined Boon to bo caught by Its con stant onward flow and carried off to tho boundless country beyond. The members of tho first territorial cpuncil were Benjamin R. Folsom of Burt county, Lafayette Nuckolls of Cass county, Munson H. Clark of Dodge county, Taylor G. Goodwill, Al fred D. Jones, Orlgen D. Richardson, Samuel B. Rogers of Douglas county; Richard Brown of Forney county, Hi ram P. Bennet, Henry Bradford, Charles H. Cowles of Pierce county, Joseph L. Sharp of Richardson coun ty, James C. Mitchell of Washington county. The first territorial house of repre sentatives was composed as follows: Burt county, Hascall C. Purple. John B. Robertson: Cass county. William Kempton, John McNeal Latham, Jo seph D. N. Thompson; Dodge county, Ell R, Doyle, J. W. Richardson; Doug las county, William N. Byers, William Clancy, Fleming Davidson, Thomas DavlB, Alfred D. Goyor, Andrew J. Hanscom, Andrew J. Poppleton, Rob ert B. Whltted; Forney county, Wil liam A. Finney, Joel M. Wood; Pierce county, Gideon Bonnet, James H. Cowles, James II. Decker, William B. Hall, Wilson M. Maddox; Richardson county, David M. N. Johnston, John A. Singleton; Washington county, An selum Arnold. Andrew J. Smith. It does not require tho full spelling or these Christian namos In the rec ord to safely cbncludo that thero were three -Andrew Jacksons" in tho house. Tho circumstance that this representation of strenuous name from tho North Plntto outnumbered that of tho South Platte, two to ono, might have had much to do with tho success of tho first-named Bectlon In achieving Its heart's desjro. Hiram P. Bonnet of Plorce county was chosen tomporary president of the council, and it is his recollection that J. C. Mitchell of Florenco nomi nated him for that qfneo and put tho question to tho council. Aftor tem porary organization tho council pro ceeded to tho chamber of tho houso whore the governor dellvored tho first mossago to "tho Joint nssombly. With characteristic Imperlousness ho first undertook to' administer tho oath of ofllce to tho membors. Mr. Bonnet thinks that ho required as a condi tion for taking the oatli that mem bers should have received certificates of election from him. At any rate threo of the South Platte members, Bennet, Bradford and Nuckolls, re fused to take the solemn vow by the governor's sanction, and after the reading of tho message both council and houso acknowledged the irregu larity of tho proceeding by going through tho ceremony before Judge Ferguson and Judge Harden respect ively. This Is tho Palladium's unfor tunately meager account of the first nctunl skirmish of the irrepressible and endless conflict between the North Platte and South Plntte fac tions: "The noting governor made nn nt tempt to get control of the council, but was peremptorily denied tho priv ilege by the nresldent (Mr. Bennet). "by whom he was told that he had no business to do what ho was attempt ing to do, nnd that he was not needed, and not wanted there, that he was not set In authority over that body, and that his pretensions could not bo rec ognized by it." At tho afternoon session Mr. Ben net, having become convinced that Mr. Sharp had been playing both sides, and had agreed to transfer his support to the North Platte, refused to act as temporary president, and Benjamin R. Folsom of Burt county was elected In his place. Messrs. J. L. Sharp and Illram P. Bennet of the council wero advertised as lawyers of Glenwood In tho Palla dium, during and after the legislative session, and that faithful chronicler of tho doubtful deeds of all whom It classed among tho wicked says thnt I Immediately after final adjournment I tho president of the council "led off I for Glenwood, Iowa, at about 2:40 on tho first quarter." Tho ordinary re straints to tho game of grab for the capital, which was organized at Coun cil Bluffs Boon after if not before the passage of the organic act, were lack ing. These restraints are a settled Interest In the community or state which the non-resident does not have, and tho pride nnd fear of reputation which aro Invoked In public repre sentatives only by tho knowledge and fear that the eye of a real and re sponsible citizenship, with moral standards by which It will reach mo ral judgments, Is upon them. It was to be expected, therefore, that the preparation for, and the first step in law-making should do violence to mo ral law. Omaha promoters Intended to make that place the capital, and with well founded confidence they relied upon tho Napoleonic Cuming to carry out their intention. The citizens of Belle vuo had Insisted that their settlement should constitute a separate legisla tive district. It far exceeded in num bers any other settlement excepting Omaha and Nebraska City. "Thero were two points in the county though lying side by side wero actually hnav- en-wide apart In Interest and feeling. No union existed between them any more than If an ocean rolled between. If there were anv points In tho terri tory needing a district representation these wero the ones." Mr. Decatur, In arguing his case as contestant for the seat of Mr. Popple ton In tho houso. January 31, Is quoted as saying that "In the original organ ization of Omaha county, now recog nized as Douglas county, there were two separate and distinct districts." Tho Inference from this is that dur ing tho negotiations, or cross-bidding between Bellevue and Omaha, con ducted by Governor Cuming, ho had at first intimated or agreed that In the first organization Omaha City and Bellevue should be kept apart In dis tinct districts, and the county was to be named Omaha Instead of Douglas. And so Mr. Decatur charges that, while the Nebraska bill makes It ob ligatory upon the acting governor to so district the county that each neigh borhood should bo represented, Belle vue Is unrepresented. By the governor's tactics, however, Bellevue was thrown Into tho Omaha district where her host Ha vote was safely swallowed. But Bellevue voted for a distinct set of legislative enndt dates, and tho tabulnted vote Is an interesting pago of hlBtory. Bellevue, determined to emphaslzo to tho utmost her distance from her .northern rival, threw most of her vote for dolegato to Congress to a resident of the far South. Savannah. Missouri Napoleon B. Gldrtlnrs while Omaha voted for Hadloy D. Johnson, actually of Council Bluffs but constructively or Omaha. Tho Bellovtio candidates contested, or rather attempted to enntost tho serts of tho Omaha candidates who had of course received certificates of election from Governor Cumlnc. Tn tho council thoy made a tost of A. W. Folllstor's claims. On tho second div of tho scslon. by tho close voto of 7 t' (5. Dr. Geo. L. Miller of Omaha was cboson chief clork over Mr. Tsnac R. Alden. tho temporary clerk, who, be ing from Washington county and Florence.- presumably was not, sound on tho capital nuestlon; O. F. T.nko was chosen npslstnnt clork, R. A. Low. Is, Bor.cren'tt-nt-nrmH nnd N. "R, Fo som. doorkeenor. Then Mr. Mitchell offornd a resolution "'at. a committee of threo' bo appointed to Investigate tho claims, of A. W. Holllstor of Doug las county to a seat. In this body." which on motion of RIchardBon of Douglas was tnblod. A similar reso lution on behnlf of B. Y. Sholloy of Burt county who. according to tho roturns, had received 2f votes against 32 for FolRom. tho sitting member, met with similar treatment An at tempt of the nntl-Omnha forces to take up these resolutions on the fol lowing day was unsuccessful. On the 24th a resolution by Mr. Folsom to Inquire Into the right of Mr. Mitchell to a seat on tho ground "thn't he Is not now and never has been a citizen of Nebraska, but that he Is a citizen of Iowa," was met by another from the other side making similar charges of non-residence against Folsom, Rich; ardson, and Sharp, the president; and then came a resolution by Mitchell that Goodwill of Douglas was Inelig ible because ho wns a resident of New York, nnd another by Goodwill charging that Nuckolls of Cass was a minor. These resolutions were all re ferred to the committee on elections from which they were never reported, probably on the ground that it was not worth while, since tho reasons for the Investigation were admitted on nil hands and could not bo denied. Resolutions calling on the" governor to furnish the council with the original census returns and his instructions to census takers were referred with safety to tho same committee, since two of its three members wero from Douglas county. On the 6th of February this com mittee reported that It was "Inexpedi ent" to further investigate the subject of contested seats, a word fitly chosen, considering tho peculiar character of tho objections raised to the claimants of seatft nnd the Impartiality of their application! As Mr. Shelley had nt lenst a plausible case against Mr. Fol som, based upon tho number of votes ho received and not upon tho delicate ono of non-residence, he was allowed the pay of a member up to Febru ary G. In the house, on Mr. Poppleton's motion, Mr. Latham of Cass was cho sen temporary presiding officer, and Joseph W. Paddock was appointed temporary chief clerk, George S. Eayre, assistant clerk. Samuel A. Lewls, Bergeant-at-arms. and Benja min B. Thompson, doorkeeper. As In tho council, those membors were rec ognized who held certificates of elec tion from the governor. In tho Joint session, Doyle of Dodge and Decker and Maddox of Pierce refused to re ceive the official oath from Governor Cuming. On tho second day Andrew J. Hans com of Douglas was elected speaker by a vote of 18 atralnst 7 cast, for John B. Robertson, of Burt; Joseph W. Pad dock of Douglas was elected chief clerk' over Mastin W. Riden by a like vote; George S. Eayre, assistant clerk, over Mastin W. Riden by a vote of 19 to 7, and Isaac L. Glbbs doorkeeper without opposition. Rev. Joel M. Wood, member from Fornoy county. seems to have acted as chaplain of tho house for the first week of the session, although Rev. W. D. Gage of Nebraska City had been formally elected to this office. The council took no action for the selection of a chaplain until the fifth day of the ses sion when, by resolution, the presi dent was authorized to Invite Rev. William Hamilton, of the Otoe and Omaha mission, to act in that office. It does not appear, however, that "Father" Hamilton ever served as chaplain, but the record shows that Mr. Gage actually served a part of the time in the council and also in tho house. A determined fight was at once be gun by tho anti-Omaha members In favor of contestants against those who had received certificates of elec tion from the governor. Archie Handley of Forney county contested the seat of Wood, Benjamin Winches ter of Washington contested against Arnold, and J. Sterling Morton and Stephen Decatur of Bellevue against A. J. Poppleton and William Clancy of Omaha. On the 17th, Decker of Pierce of fered a resolution for the appointment of a committee of threo "to examine the certificates of members of the house, and to Inve&tlgnto tho claims of those contesting seats." which was rejected. On tho 24th Mr. Poppleton moved to amend rule 53. which was similar to Decker's resolution, so as to restrict the duty of tho committee on privileges and elections "to exam lno and report upon tho certificates of olectlon of tho members returned to serve In this houso." The opposi tion exhausted all their parliamentary resources ngnlnst tho passage of tho rule, but It was finally adopted by a voto of 13 to 12. This was an ap proximate division of tho Omaha and nntl-Omnha forces on tho capital ques tion. It is interesting to note that this violent measure was supported by tho same members, who, with the ndditlon of Robertson of Burt, two days later, passed tho bill locating tho capital at Omaha. The Palladium sounds tills note of disgust nnd de spair: "Governor Cuming's appointees hav ing tho majority and being reluctant to have their claims Investigated, yes torday they mado it a rule of tho house that Cuming's certificates wero tho only ovldonco which had a right to come boforo tho houso in tho mat tor. And this in Nobraska,, and en acted by tho vory men who are so loud In tholr praises of popular sov ereignty! Oh! Shamo! whorois thy blush?" TO BE CONTINUED (No. 23) but He Didn't Bite. First Chauffeur Gimme a chew, Bill. Second Chauffeur Sure. Take one out o' my spark-plug. The 8ecret of Roosevelt's Power. "Theodore Roosevelt is no braver than many another man, who has fall en in struggle against Mammon, but he hos the moral vision. It Is often more difficult to know the right than to do It. A broader education than any man has brought to the White House since Jefferson's day, n life unstained by vice of any kind, a clean mind and a boyish heart, simple, con fiding, and just, have combined to keep Thcodoro Roosevelt's faith in God and his belief in the common honesty of the common man uuseared. And when a man has these two convictions welded into his soul, he plays no tricks, lays no ambushes, relies on no strat egy, but, seeing his duty, goes to It joyously, bravely, and with wise di rection and simplicity. Roosevelt is not leading a double life, as his ene mies secretly believe. He will not bs found out; because there Is nothing to find out. He is merely primitive. He has the gaiety and optimism that be longto youth, and youth is not a mere physical adolescence; it is that state of 'soul which men keep so long as they have not smudged their ideals and trifled with their consciences. One may be a boy at eighty, or a man at fifteen. But whoever has youth, has faith, and given wisdom with faith, strength and courage are but the other side of the shield. Perhaps that is tho meaning of the prophecy: "And a lit tle child shall lead them." McClure's. Loss of M!morv. "Now, Mr. Jones," said the lawyer to the defendant in one of the Stand ard Oil Investigation cases, "you say you were the president of the Sky light Oil Company?" "Yes, sir." "Who was back of the company?" "I cannot remember." "To whom did you make reports?" 'It has slipped my mind." "Didn't you know all the time that it was a branch of the Standard?" "I can't remember whether I did or not." "Didn't you ever receive instruc tions from the Standard ?' "I can't recall." "But did you regard the Skylight as an independent company?" "If I did or din ot it has slipped my tuind." "You have a very slippery mind, haven't you?" "I can't remember whether I have or not." "Mr. Blank," continued the lawyer, "do you remember whether you had a father and mother or not?" "It seems ns If I had, but I wouldn't vnnt to be positive on that point." "Well, hero's nnother: "Are you a half fool or were you bribed to forgot things?" . "I can't say, sir. I can never remem ber anything unless I write it down. Sorry, sir, I'd like to remember every thing that's happened in the last hundred years, but I was born with a weak memory. I had an umbrella when I came into court, but I have forgotten what I did with it and shall never see it again." Joe Kerr. Cultivate the herbs of character and , uproot the weeds. Wanted, a Jap. Do you supply Japanese servant girls here?" anxiously Inquired tho old) lady at the Intelligence office. "No, madam," was the reply. "There arc no Japanese servant girls to be' had." " "Then could I get a Japanese man to do general housework?" "I have none on the books. Wouldn't' a German or Norwegian girl suit you?" "No-o." "I have several Scotch and Irish girls." "But I wanted a Japanese." "Sorry, ma'am. You might come in a few days from now." Three or four days passed and tho old lady made her appearance again to say: "I hope you have got a real nice Japanese man servant for me." "Sorry to say, I haven't," was tho answer. "Perhaps I could get you a Chinaman." "No, he wouldn't do." "You seem very particular, ma'am," "Yes, I suppose I do, but, you see, the matter is just like this: I have beea reading the newspapers." "Well?" "And they say we are going to have war with Japan." "I hope not." "So do I. You see, I have a summer residence on the Pacific Coast. If I had a Jap in my employ and war broke out I'd aBk him to please ask his gov ernment not to bombard my summer house and knock the copola off and break all the windows, and I guess; they'd be kind enough not to do it!" Joe Kerr. New Kind of Eraser. The late Dr. Henry Martyn Field: some years ago related at a Williams alumni dinner a rather amuBing inci dent of his freshman days at college. Being only 12 years old when he en tered, he had not reached tho point where the natural friction between the big boy and the small boy ceases, and he was at particular feud with one of his fellows, a stalwart country youth from the farm. One day young Field: went early to the classroom and put upon the blackboard it very exasperat ing caricature of his enemy, with his name beneath. When the aggrieved party saw what had been done he said not a word, but catching up his youth ful tormentor he used him as an eras er, and after rubbing out the offensive) picture quietly took his seat. Intolerable As every one knows, the great Von Moltke never wasted words and de spised anything that approached gar rulity In others. German army offi cers are fond of telling an anecdote illustrative of this peculiarity: Von Moltke was leaving Berlin on a railway Journey. Just before the train pulled out of the station a captain of hussars entered the general's compart ment and recognizing him, saluted with, "Guten Morgen, Excellent! " Two hours Inter the train slowed up at a way station. The captain rose, saluted, and with another "Guten Mor gen, Excellenz," left the train. Turning to ono of his companions, Von Moltke said, with an expression of the greatest disgust. "Intolerable gns-bng!" Harper's Weekly. Hurts Trade. "It is a fact that that fool expres sion about handing people a lemon ii hurting tho lemon trade," said a gro cer. "People who really want to buy lemoris nro afraid to ask for them There wns a women in here this morn ing who hung around for quite a while after making her purchases as If she wanted something elso, but she finally went away without buying anything, By and by her little boy came In and bought a lemon. Ho said his mothei hnd intended to get it, but she was ashamed sto ask for It. . There are plenty of other people In the same fix. It will be a good thing for trade when "that idiotic saying becomes' a back number."
