|
pg.207
A HISTORY OF THE OFFICIAL FLAG OF ARKANSAS - By Willie K. Hocker
Early in 1912, the Pine Bluff Chapter, D. A. R., by a unanimous vote decided to present the new battleship Arkansas
with a "Stand of Colors," consisting of a United States flag, a naval battalion flag and an Arkansas
State flag.
To Mrs. C. W. Pettigrew belongs the honor of having originated this plan of flag giving.
The acting regent of the chapter, Mrs. W. L. DeWoody, appointed a flag committee, consisting of Mrs. C. W. Pettigrew,
Mrs. W: A. Taggart and Mrs. Frank Tomlinson. They wrote to the Secretary of State asking for a copy of the official
State flag. He replied: "Arkansas has no State flag."
The Pine Bluff Chapter, D. A. R., then took the initiative in a movement to have the next General Assembly adopt
a State flag. The flag committee caused to be published in the leading papers of the State an article asking artists
and designers everywhere, particularly those of the State of Arkansas, to submit designs appropriate for a State
flag to a committee of selection, consisting of not less than seven competent persons, who would, from the submitted
designs, select the one most appropriate for a State flag, should an appropriate design be found among those submitted.
The designs were to bear no mark of identification, but be accompanied by a typewritten explanation of the design,
and by a sealed unmarked envelope containing another explanation, and the name and address of the designer.
Mr. Earle W. Hodges, Secretary of State, consented to become the custodian of the submitted designs, and to name
the committee of selection.
The first committee met in the parlors of Hotel Marion, Little Rock, early in January, 1913. It consisted of the
following named persons: Maj. C. R. Breckenridge, chairman; Prof. J. J. Doyne, secretary; Mr. G. B. Rose, Gen.
B. W. Green, Col. V. Y. Cook, Dr. Junius Jordon, Mrs. Julia McAlmont Noel and Mrs. Jo Frauenthal. They made no
selection, but recommended that a committee be appointed to search the records of Arkansas to see if there ever
had existed a regularly adopted State flag. This committee failed to find any such record.
The second committee, consisting of Mr. Earle W. Hodges, chairman; Gen. B. W. Green, Dr. Junius Jordan, Mr. G.
B. Rose, Mrs. Julia McAlmont Noel, Mrs. Jo Frauenthal, Mrs. Ellsworth and Miss Julia Warner, met in the office
of the Secretary of State and from the sixty-five submitted designs unanimously chose the design made by Miss Willie.K.
Hocker of Pine Bluff, a member of the D. A. R. Chapter that had taken the initiative in the flag adoption measure.
On Saturday, February 14,1913, Senator Phillips introduced a joint resolution to have the selected design adopted
as Arkansas' official flag. The measure carried, and the following Tuesday, February 18, the House passed the resolution,
and Arkansas had an official flag, regularly adopted by both houses of the General Assembly.
The design is a rectangular field of red, on which is placed a large white diamond, bordered by a wide band of
blue—national colors. Across the diamond is the word "Arkansas" (placed there by request of the committee)
and the blue stars, one above, two below the word. On the blue band are placed twenty-five white stars.
Explanation of Design.
This design has in it much of Arkansas' history as given below:
Arkansas is one of the United States, therefore the national colors are used.
The three blue stars typify the three nations, Spain, France and the United States, to whom Arkansas has successively
belonged. Their number, three, indicates that Arkansas was the third State carved from the Louisiana Purchase Territory;
this purchase is the greatest act yet performed by the United States. The three stars also indicate the year (1803)
when Arkansas became the property of the United States.
The twenty-five white stars show that Arkansas was the twenty-fifth State in the order of admission to the Union.
The State came into the Union paired with another State (Michigan) ; this is shown by the pair of stars on the
lower angle of the blue band.
Arkansas contains the only known diamond mine within the possession of the United States, therefore Arkansas should
be known as "The Diamond State."
pg. 210
THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1874 — REMININSCENCE, By J. W. House
(Note—In announcing his candidacy for District Delegate to the Constitutional
Convention, 1917, Mr. House gave out this statement of facts concerning himself: I was born in Hardeman county,
Tennessee, and came with my father to White county, this State, in 1858. I joined the Confederate army May 17,
1863, before I was 16 years of age and served until the close of the war. In 1865 I made a cotton crop and with
the proceeds of that crop I went to school a year and a half and also taught school. I studied law while still
living in the country and was admitted to practice in 1869, and have been continuously in practice ever since.
For thirty years I have lived in the city of Little Hock."I was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention
of 1874 from White county and was nominated and elected to the State Senate from White and Faulkner counties the
following fall without opposition, serving in that body for two terms, thus making my total experience in deliberative
bodies about eight months. In addition to this I was United States Attorney during both administrations of President
Cleveland.")
When the delegates of the Constitutional Convention assembled at the State Capital on the 14th day of July, 1874,
it was universally conceded that, as a whole, it was composed of the ablest men who had ever assembled in the State
in any legislative or political capacity and we think it is generally conceded that it has had no equal since that
time. With a few exceptions it was composed of representative and influential men from every county in the State;
farmers, merchants and the learned professions were all represented; each class had seemed to vie with the other
in sending their best men; among them were many profound and experienced lawyers with a state-wide reputation.
The question naturally arises, "What was the occasion of such a gathering?" Why were the members of this
convention superior in wisdom and experience to other political bodies which had been meeting at the State Capital
since 1836? 'Why should the best wisdom of all classes have been selected upon this particular occasion, if there
was not some paramount cause—some great purpose to be attained? It might be said, the personnel of this convention
was not superior to other poiltical bodies which had assembled at the State Capital both prior and subsequent to
that convention, and thdt it was essentially the most intelligent body of men that had ever assembled in the State
was only the vain boast of its members It is common for every political body of men when assembled to arrogate
to itself a superiority of all similar gatherings before it upon the same principle that it often happens that
as soon as a man is elected to the Legislature he at once becomes a statesman and philosopher, and sometimes it
is very difficult to convince him that such is not the case; in fact, I am not sure but what it is impossible to
do so.
In order to answer these questions, it will be necessary to enter into a brief history of the political events
which led up to the calling of the convention. To undertake to make an intelligent analysis of the convention of
1874 without giving the causes which led up to the convention, would be like an effort to render upon the stage
the play of "Hamlet" without "Hamlet;" or to give the history of the Revolution without mentioning
the names of Washington, Jefferson and Hamilton; or to give a history of the Civil War without mentioning the names
of Lincoln, Davis, Grant and Lee; and in giving this brief history, it is far from my purpose to harrow up any
of the feelings or prejudices which existed at that time. I shall only refer to the historical events, as I understand
them, without intending to reflect upon the personal character of any one.
When the Civil War had closed in 1865—when General Lee had surrendered the Confederate forces under his immediate
command to General Grant at Appomattox and stipulations of peace had been entered into, it was supposed the war
was over. The soldiers on both sides had learned a lesson they did not know at the beginning of the war; they had
learned to respect and honor each other for valor and heroism; for personal eourage and all the other elements
which enter into the make-up of a true and noble manhood.
In the South, at the beginning of the war, the young blood was kindled and fanned into a blaze by orators advocating
secession; while, on the other hand, stump orators in the North said in many public gatherings that to conquer
the South would only be a breakfast spell.
I remember, when I was a mere boy about fourteen years of age, I heard Col. Decius McCrary of White county, who
was a brother of the distinguished Senator from Kentucky, make a speech at West Point, in White county, near where
I lived then. He said, among other things, that one Southern man could whip six Yankees; he said this was true,
because one Southern man could whip two Yankees in a fair fight, and it would take two Yankees to hold each one
of the two to make him fight. Of course, at that time I believed every word of it, but with two years of experience
in the army I found that this was a delusion; I came to the conclusion that one was about all I cared to tackle
and I wasn't particularly anxious to do this.
About this time similar speeches were being made in the North. General Grant, then a captain in the United States
Army, was trying to organize a regiment in his home at Galena, Ill.; he listened to speeches in which it was said
that the men of the South, as a rule, had been reared by slave-holding parents; that they could not stand the hardships
incident to camp life, and that they were wanting in courage.
General Grant had listened to speeches of this character; he had lived in Missouri, the dividing line between the
two great sections of the country—the North and the South —and he knew the habits and the characteristics of the
people both North and South, and in his modest and unassuming way said that he was at least glad to witness the
enthusiasm with which the cause of the Union had been espoused; but, he said, they were underrating the prowess
and valor of the Southern people. He said if the conflict between the two great sections of the country must be
settled by arbitrament of arms, it would be "Greek meeting Greek;" that there would be bloodshed and
carnage from one end of the land to the other.
His prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. Hence, the armies on both sides had been taught a lesson, but a very
severe one. Three-fourths, or even more, of the able-bodied men of this State had gone through the war; but few
of those who survived had been at their homes for two or three long years; when they returned, however, they came
with sad hearts; in many instances, some of their beloved ones had gone to the great beyond; their farms had gone
to wreck and ruin; still, with the same courage that sustained them during this long and terrible conflict of arms,
they started out in good faith to build up their lost fortunes and to prepare to meet the great battles of life;
they began to cut-out the underbrush, to till the soil and in good faith to re-establish themselves for all great
purposes in life.
The old soldiers returning home, were met by their loved ones and were treated with great respect and consider-tion
by the Federal soldiers stationed at the Capital City and other places in the State.
For some time it seemed that matters of government were adjusting themselves to the satisfaction of the entire
country, but this was a delusion. The politicians in the North, as well as in the South, began to sow the seed
of strife and dissension. This strife and dissension was centralized at Washington. Andrew Johnson had been nominated
on the Republican ticket with Mr. Lincoln, and when Mr. Lincoln was assassinated by Wilkes Booth, a bloody-handed
murderer, Johnson, by virtue of his office became President ; then the trouble began.
Andrew Johnson was a Southern man, having been born and reared in East Tennessee, and had become a great stump
orator; he could sway the people as with a magic wand, but he was never a statesman in the broad sense of this
term. He was only placed upon the ticket as a matter of political policy; and, while I do not think he was corrupt,
in fact I feel sure he was not, but he was wholly unfitted for the responsible position which had fallen to him
by accident; he was unable to cope with the leaders of his party, and it mattered little what he did, if it was
not in accord with the then dominant party, he was unmercifully criticized and censured ; the very fact that he
was a Southern man lent encouragement to such abuse and censure. It was openly stated that he was a President in
disguise; that he was a Southern sympathizer and a traitor to the party which had elected him. Such epithets were
systematically and zealously heaped upon him, and it was an easy matter, so soon after the Civil War, to fire up
the passions and prejudices of the people, and thus the reconstruction of the Southern States followed.
We hardly think that at this day an intelligent man could be found, either in the North or South, who would not
say that reconstruction was a failure and a farce. It did more to engender a bitter feeling between the people
of the North and South than even the Civil War; it went so far that it was carried into the homes of the people,
and in many instances caused a breach between families who had theretofore been friends.
I have always thought that the death of Lincoln was not only a calamity to the South but to the whole country.
The paramount thought with him during the entire war was the union of the States; this idea dominated his pure
and noble spirit and was the great incentive to all his actions. He not only had the confidence of the great body
of people, but he was idolized and worshiped by the soldiers; he had the power to combat and expose hypocrisy in
every form and shape and was the greatest statesman of them all. With this confidence, with this great and overwhelming
power and with his innate principles of justice and with an idea single to rehabilitate the States and perpetuate
the Union, he could have overcome every opposition and crowned himself with more glory than he had already achieved;
still I have often heard the idea advanced that even he could not have stood the pressure and his death came at
an opportune time, so far as his own reputation was concerned; but in this I do not concur. But, we have digressed
somewhat.
Coming back to Arkansas: A provisional government had been established in this State after General Steele had
forced the Confederates from the capital and he had established his headquarters in that city, and Isaac Murphy
became the Governor of the State, under the provisional government. Delegates were selected as a rule from organizations
of State troops, and many of them selected as delegates lived many miles from the county they were supposed to
represent. In this way delegates assembled at Little Rock, who framed the Constitution of 1864, under which the
provisional government was established, which provided for the meeting of the Legislature on April 11, 1864. This
Constitution provided for a provisional State government; the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and other officers;
Isaac Murphy was selected as the first Governor.
It was but a short time until the passions of those in power were fanned into a blaze under this government; one
of the first acts of the Legislature was to disfranchise those who had participated in the rebellion. This act
was passed May 31, 1864. Those who were engaged in the Confederate service were not criminals; they were among
the best citizens of the State; they were fighting for the right—for their homes and firesides; they composed the
valor and chivalry of the State.
Governor Murphy had voted against the ordinance for secession in 1861 under instructions from his county, but when
the State was threatened with invasion by the Federal forces and the convention was reconvened by Judge David Walker,
its president, to take some action in view of. the threatened invasion of the State, Governor Murphy was the first
to offer a resolution requiring a committee on military affairs to prepare for a plan of organizing the forces
of the State to resist such invasion; but he still voted against secession. His idea was that the State should
remain in the Union, but, if it was invaded by Federal forces to meet them on the border and try to arrest their
progress. Governor Murphy was not considered a bad man, but he was certainly a weak one, and under his administration
a field for strife and discord was readly invoked.
Under an act of Congress of March 2, 1867, the so-called rebel States—Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Arkansas—were placed under military government. They
were divided into five different districts, Mississippi and Arkansas being in the fourth district, and each district
was to be governed by some military officer, whose rank was not less than that of major general. Major General
Ord was appointed by the President commanding general of the fourth district, with headquarters at Vicks-burg,
Miss., including Arkansas.
Under this act, the major general commanding in such district was authorized to organize military courts with full
power to try and punish every one charged with crime; there seems to have been but one limitation upon his power,
and that was that no one should suffer the death penalty except upon the approval of the President; hence, when
two long years had elapsed, reconstruction began in the South.
General Ord came to Little Rock, soon after his appointment, in military pomp and splendor; he conferred with the
leaders of the party in power as to whom he should appoint registrars. After this act was passed, the dream of
peace which had been anticipated when the surrender came was dissipated and anarchy and confusion must necessarily
follow. This was more than two years after Lee's surrender and three years after the provisional government under
Lincoln's proclamation. The restoration of peace through the Murphy government was a delusion.
The effect of this national legislation was intended to enfranchise the negro and disfranchise the whites who had
participated or sympathized with the rebellion; its provisions excluded many of our best and leading citizens by
reason of the fact that they had at some time taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and
had afterward engaged in the rebellion. Still there were a great many young men, who had grown to years of manhood
and maturity since the Civil War began, and it was to them that Arkansas looked chiefly for support. Under these
conditions the sword was again unsheathed; the war cry of rebel and traitor was again the watchword to the end
that the Constitution of 1868 should be adopted, and the Legislature, under such Constitution, should adopt article
14 of the amendment to the National Constitution.
The Fourteenth Amendment, by an act of Congress, passed June 16, 1866, had been submitted for ratification. It
was necessary under the Constitution that this amendment should be adopted by three-fourths of the States of the
Union. This was only an indirect way of proceeding through unconstitutional methods to adopt the constitutional
amendment, which should deprive the States of their inherent power to regulate the elective franchise in the several
States.
This was done, although it had been repeatedly held by the Supreme Court of the United States that the power to
regulate the elective franchise belonged to the several States, and it has been further held that citizenship had
no necessary connection with the right to vote or to hold office.
It is hardly presumed that any lawyer in Congress at that time contended that the acts of Congress were within
the spirit and meaning of the Constitution; but, in order to justify these acts, it was assumed that the South
was still in a state of rebellion—that the war still existed. The preamble to the act itself is as follows:
Whereas, no legal government or adequate protection for life or property now exists in the rebel States, namely,
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas," etc.
To those of us who lived here at that time and even under the conditions then existing had witnessed the rapid
progress which our people had made in building up their lost fortunes and in bringing about a better state of feeling
between the two sections of the country, such a declaration was startling; that an intelligent people and a law-abiding
people should have been subjected to a military government at that time was not only unnecessary, but it was an
unpardonable crime. Under the Constitution of the United States, "All powers not delegated were reserved to
the States." This is the language of that instrument, and it has been uniformly held and sustained by the
Supreme Court of the United States.
In order to vote at this election for a constitutional convention, the applicant to vote had to be registered by
the registrars appointed through the military department; that is, by General Ord. These registrars had unlimited
power and they did not fail to use it, and before anyone was entitled to vote he had to take and subscribe to an
oath in substance as follows: "I do solemnly swear that I am a citizen of lawful age; that I have not been
disfranchised for having participated in the rebellion or Civil War against the United States, and that I have
not taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion
against the United States or given aid to the enemies thereof."
This was a crisis in the history of the State. What were the people to do ? A great many of them, under the act
of Congress, were not permitted to vote, and even those who could qualify had to submit to the arbitrary power
of the registrars as to whether they should vote, even after they had registered; and even after they had voted,
the question of counting the votes was left alone to the military machinery. The condition seemed to be hopeless,
and the people throughout the State were wrought up and they eagerly sought the advice of those who were the most
competent, and at this critical moment an address to the people of the State was prepared by many of our best and
wisest citizens. The address is as follows: "To the People of the State of Arkansas, or such as may be entitled
to vote at the coming election fixed by General Ord for the 5th day (first Tuesday) of November, A. D. 1867."
"Each of us whose names appear in this paper has received from time to time letters from various persons in
the State, asking our opinions and advice as to the course to be pursued in the election above referred to. Upon
consultation, we have agreed upon this method of answering those letters, and, in so doing, we but give our opinions,
and do not assume to direct anyone, or to dictate to anyone.
"After a careful and thorough consideration of the reconstruction act itself, with all the reasons for and
against which we have heard and read, we regard reconstruction under that act as an impossibility. Some sort of
restoration may be had under it, but a reconstruction, such as will give our people equal rights with others, and
such as will secure to our State and her citizens full constitutional rights, can not be had under that measure.
Any reconstruction short of this would be a cruel mockery, and would result, in the end, in the certain degradation,
prostration and complete ruin of the State. As harsh and severe and as odious as military rule may be, we prefer
it infinitely to what must, of necessity, follow from any kind of restoration or reconstruction under that act.
"Therefore, a convention to bring about such a reconstruction, as this bill contemplates, is to be avoided
as the worst of evils. And, if the convention is not needed to effect national restoration, or national integrity,
certainly it is not necessary for any merely local purposes. This is more particularly true when in its proceedings
hundreds and thousands of our citizens are not permitted to even have a voice, but are altogether excluded from
it, and besides are disfranchised, and branded as traitors and felons.
"We regard it, then, as a sacred duty on the part of those who claim this as their home, and who feel for
the pride, honor and prosperity of the State, to go to the polls and vote against a convention, and at the same
time to vote for cautious, prudent, wise and conservative delegates, so that if a convention should be held its
proceedings will be controlled and directed with an assurance that the State will not be given up to destruction.
"These are the views we entertain on this most important question, and they are submitted with a full conviction
and a perfect sense of the magnitude of the interests at stake."
This paper was signed by Daniel Ringo, A. H. Garland, R. C. Newton, George C. Watkins, E. H. English, U. M. Rose
and many other of our most distinguished citizens. These men had lived through the exciting scenes of the Civil
War; they had witnessed the destruction of property and the sacrifice of life, and the scene pictured by them in
this communication showed that, with all their experience, the worst had not been seen, and subsequent events showed
they were right.
It will be seen from this address that there was no effort to argue the constitutionality of the acts of Congress;
this would have been futile, however convincing such argument may have been.
Andrew Johnson, through his legal advisers, had already exhausted this subject in returning the several reconstruction
acts of Congress with his objections, but the Northern States, excited and infuriated by political leaders, passed
the acts over the President's veto, by the required two-thirds vote, some time prior to this address.
At this time John G. Price had established a newspaper at Little Rock called "The Republican," which
was made the official organ of the Republican party. Price assumed that he was very much pleased with the address,
and he published, through his paper, the following item: "The Bourbons have issued an address, which is eminently
characteristic of their inability to learn anything, and will give comfort to the friends of restoration and good
government. We will with the most disinterested purpose advise them to beware how they monkey with the 'buzz-saw"
While the term "buzz-saw" had a well-defined meaning, its application to the conditions, as they then
existed, was not understood. The people were made familiar with the term in subsequent events.
The registrars were appointed by General Ord. The negro, under the act of Congress, was entitled to register and
vote; they then constituted about one-third of the entire population of the whole State; the right to register
was freely granted to such of them as applied to register and not one of them neglected this privilege, as it was
the first time in their history such a privilege had been bestowed upon them, and they did not even realize what
a calamity it was for them. In many instances they would register three or four times, as they said they wanted
to be sure they got their names on the "register book." This was sometimes occasioned by reason of the
fact that many of the negroes had continued to hold the names of their masters while others had taken other names,
and in such instances, for fear they might be left out, they were registered under both names, and none of them
failed to vote, and if necessary they would vote at different precincts under different names.
They had organized what they called "The Union League," a secret organization, which embraced the entire
colored belt of the State; in fact, wherever a negro was to be found the Union League was organized for his special
benefit. At the meeting of these leagues, they were stimulated to recite their experiences of oppression and punishment
prior to their emancipation, and in this way they were influenced to a heat of frenzy against their old masters
and the Southern whites; their zeal and enthusiasm were so worked up and intensified that they rode from five to
ten miles to the gatherings of the Union League, riding the mules furnished them by the landlord, and this was
carried to such an extent as to bring about failure in the crops and bankruptcy for the landlord. The negroes would
be harangued at all public and private meetings.
"One James Hinds seemed to be peculiarly adapted to arouse the feelings and the passions of the negro. He
was a lawyer, who came to Little Rock soon after the surrender; it seems no one knew from whence he came; he was
what would be called a J. P. lawyer; he did nearly all the negro practice. The following is said to be a fair sample
of his speech to the colored people: "My colored brothers and sisters, I am a 'missionary' I am one of those
fellows who used to be called an 'abolition emissary.' I am authorized to save souls by making people free. I believe
there is no hope of heaven for a slave, because he has committed the unpardonable sin of being a slave. This is
the day of your jubilee; you vote for a convention and vote for me, and I will give you a free ticket of admission
to the heavenly city." (Harrell's History of the Brooks-Baxter War, page 41.)
In pursuance of the reconstruction act of Congress and a general order of General Ord, chief officer in command
of the United States for Mississippi and Arkansas, dated at Vicksburg, September 26, 1867, an election for members
of a constitutional convention for the formation of a Constitution for Arkansas was to be held in the several counties
beginning on the first Tuesday in November of that year. No time for its continuance was fixed; that question being
left to the discretion of the commanding officer, who retained the power to order a new election, in case of election
frauds, he being the exclusive judge as to whether such frauds had been committed. As it turned out, the elections
in the different counties were ratified by military authority at different times, and in Jefferson county the polls
were kept open for weeks in that election. Large numbers of votes were disfranchised on account of participation
in the rebellion.
Many of the members returned as elected were persons who had recently come into the State from .Northern States,
and who were commonly known as "carpet-baggers;" the president and chief officers of the convention that
met in Little Rock on the 7th day of January, 1868, belonged to that class, which controlled and dominated the
convention throughout.
The proceedings and debates of the convention were taken down in shorthand, and were afterward printed in a volume
of 985 pages; certainly one of the most singular books to be found anywhere filled with debates, frequently degenerating
into angry personalities, upon almost every subject then in the public mind, except matters relating to the formation
and contents of a Constitution. This, by some strange coincidence, seemed to have been entirely overlooked.
The debates took such a wide range that it might have seemed that the convention was sitting in permanence under
circumstances that precluded the accomplishment of the task which had called it into being.
There was, however, a committee called "The Committee on the Constitution, Its Arrangement and Phraseology,"
composed of five leading "carpet-baggers. " We do not use this word in its offensive sense; this is what
they were then called. There were also thirty-one other committees, whose functions related to the different subjects;
such as, "On Executive Department," "Judiciary Department" and so on, all of whose duties were,
as it turned out, perfunctory, for after the convention had been in session for twenty-seven days, at the night
session of February 10, 1868, the "Committee on the Constitution, Its Arrangement and Phraseology," under
suspension of the rules, made its final report, embodying a complete Constitution, printed in twenty-seven pages
of the report of the proceedings of the convention. On the motion of another "carpet-bagger" "that
the Constitution, its schedule and ordinances be now adopted as a whole, and without division," the draft
of the Constitution, as thus prepared, was adopted, the motion being carried by a vote of 46 ayes against 19 nays.
A motion being made that the Constitution be read, the president ruled it out of order, on the ground that the
matter had been disposed of. As each member was, however, allowed five minutes to explain his vote, two days were
consecrated to that ceremony, and the convention finally adjourned on the 14th day of February.
Three of the leading "carpet-baggers" were made a board of commissioners for the purpose of presiding
over a popular election to be held as ordered by the convention. They were James L. Hodges, Joseph Brooks and Thomas
M. Bowen. It was provided, that if any one of the commissioners should be a candidate for election to any office
at the election, the functions of the board should devolve on the other two members. The board had power to set
aside any election on the ground of intimidation of votes, and in this respect their powers were autocratic and
arbitrary. The election was fixed for the 13th day of March next ensuing, and it was declared that it should last
as long as the commissioners might direct.
Thus the Constitution was adopted by the convention without consideration or discussion; without even a reading.
The record shows that it was solely the work of the "Committee on the Constitution, Its Arrangements and Phraseology,"
consisting of J. L. Hodges, chairman; Clifford Stanley Sim, John McClure, Joseph Brooks and John N. Sarber.
The convention was called to order January 7, 1868, and closed February 11,1868. The 13th day of March, 1868, was
fixed for the date of its submission or ratification and the election of officers under it. Only one month was
allowed to make the canvass; the campaign was waged with much zeal on both sides. But this election was to be conducted
by the same machinery that had conducted it for the calling of the constitutional convention, and the same disqualification
was prescribed for the voters; hence, the result might have been foreseen.
This Constitution was fraught with many evils; not so much perhaps for what it did contain, but more objectionable,
because of what it should have contained. The door was left wide open for the Legislature to enact laws giving
the Governor power to appoint all officers and to remove them at his will; thus placing in the hands of one man
the power to dictate the policy of his administration.
Powell Clayton up to this time had taken but little part in politics; it was said that he was a proslavery Democrat
before the war. He had been a gallant and successful officer in the Union Army and had been promoted to the rank
of brigadier general. He had married a Southern lady at Helena, in this State, and after the war had purchased
a plantation below Pine Bluff, where he and his brother lived. But he was ambitious for place and power, and whatever
prejudices he had, if any, against the Republican party he sacrificed them and accepted the nomination for Governor.
He at once became bold and defiant, and thereby challenged the admiration of his party. The campaign, as conducted
by him, was violent and bitter During this campaign I heard him make a speech at Searcy to about two hundred negroes.
It related chiefly to what the Republican party had done for the colored man and the tortures which they had experienced
during their slavery. In his speech he quoted the Latin phrase, "Vox populi, vox Dei." The negroes thought
this was the time to applaud, and such yelling was never heard, and it continued for such a length of time that
it was perfectly deafening; and yet there was not a negro in the audience who understood the expression; it simply
showed their devotion to the man who would espouse their cause in the manner in which Clayton did.
On February 28, 1868, the Congress of the United States adopted an additional measure, which provided that the
ratification or rejection of the Arkansas Constitution should be decided by a majority of the votes actually cast
at the election, and that at the time of voting upon the question of the ratification of the Constitution the registered
voters might also vote for Representatives in Congress and for all elective officers provided for by said Constitution.
Notice of this act was received two days after the election had commenced. The election was not held as now, all
through the State at one time, but the election officers would go from place to place to hold the election. This
was doubtless a mere scheme to elect State officers and members of Congress without opposition, because, after
the election commenced there was no time to nominate candidates, and such an effort upon the part of the Democratic
party at that late date would be futile.
On April 28, General Gillen, who had in the meantime succeeded General Ord, reported to the general of the army
that the election held in Arkansas, commencing March 13, 1868, upon the ratification of the Constitution, showed
27,913 votes for the Constitution and 26,597 against it. General Gillen also made a report in regard to frauds
claimed to have been perpetrated by both parties, but Congress paid no attention to this, and on June 8, 1868,
passed an act to the effect that the State of Arkansas had adopted the Constitution and that the Legislature of
the State, which had in the meantime convened, had duly ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United
States, known as Article 14, and the State was entitled to representation in Congress as one of the States of the
Union.
President Johnson vetoed the act with his objections; he said in part as follows: "If Arkansas is a State
not in the Union, this bill does not admit it as a State into the Union. If, on the other hand, Arkansas is a State
in the Union, no legislation is necessary to declare it entitled 'to representation in Congress as one of the States
of the Union/ The Constitution already declares that 'each State shall have at least one representative; that the
Senate shall be composed of two Senators from each State; and that no State without its consent, shall be deprived
of its equal suffrage in the Senate. I have been unable to find in the Constitution of the United States any warrant
for the exercise of the authority thus claimed by Congress. In assuming the power to impose a 'fundamental condition'
upon a State which has been duly 'admitted into the Union upon an equal footing with the original States in all
respects whatever,' Congress asserts a right to enter a State as it may a Territory, and to regulate the highest
prerogative of a free people—the elective franchise.
This question is reserved by the Constitution to the States themselves, and to concede to Congress the power to
regulate this subject would be to reverse the fundamental principle of the republic, and to place it in the hands
of the Federal Government, which is the creature of the States, and the sovereignty which justly belongs to the
States or the people, the true source of all political power, by whom our federal system was created, and to whose
will it is subordinate." (76. 48.)
The officers declared to be elected were: Powell Clayton, Governor; James M. Johnson, Lieutenant Governor; R. J.
T. White, Secretary of State; James R. Berry, Auditor of State; Henry Page, Treasurer of State; John R. Montgomery,
Attorney General; Thomas Smith, Superintendent of Public Instruction; Associate Justices of the Supreme Court,
Lafayette Gregg, John McClure, Thomas M. Bowen and William M. Harrison.
Thus it will be seen that Joe Brooks did not appear on the list of officeholders. From this time there was a spirit
of rivalry between him and Powell Clayton. Brooks did not think his service to the party and his ability had been
recognized and appreciated, while, on the other hand, Clayton saw in Brooks the most powerful competitor for preference
and distinction; hence, he was unwilling that he should ever get strongly intrenched with the leaders of the party.
This feeling continued to increase with more or less bitterness until the Brooks and Baxter war.
Under the Constitution just adopted, the Governor had the power to appoint the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court
and all the judges of the inferior courts. He appointed W. W. Wilshire Chief Justice and sixteen circuit judges
and the chancellor. Comparatively few of those appointed circuit judges had ever practiced law, and some of them
did not even profess to be lawyers. They were appointed for political purposes and were subservient to the will
of their masters; they readily subscribed to any policy which might be dictated, and in that policy it may be seen
what John G. Price meant by the word "buzz-saw," and from that policy it may be seen that the prediction
of Mr. Garland, Mr. English, Mr. Rose and others in their address to the people was literally fulfilled. They said:
"As harsh and severe and as odious as military rule may be, we would prefer it infinitely to what must of
necessity follow from any kind of reconstruction under the act of Congress."
The election which resulted in the adoption of the Constitution was a mere sham and mockery. The act of Congress
authorizing the election of all officers came too late for the people to have any knowledge of it, and, besides,
the then commissioners appointed to supervise the election were vested with power to control it absolutely; they
had the selection and control of the election officers; under this power, they could hold the election as many
days as they saw proper; they had the power to count the votes and to reject all they saw proper; they could set
aside the election or change the results in any county, precinct or ward and decide the right to any office contested.
An election, under such circumstances, was nothing more than cruel mockery. The people of the State were shorn
of all their power; the power was centralized at the Capital; the Governor was the emperor without restraint; the
power of the State was his will; the people of the counties, towns and cities had no right to control their own
affairs.
Clayton was the man above all others to grasp and utilize the situation to the best advantage. He was a man of
dash and unquestionable personal courage, and a man of ability. He had made himself a splendid reputation as a
soldier in the Union army; hence, he held the key to the situation. Joe Brooks could excel him in public debate
and in stirring up the negroes, but Clayton was possessed of the power, and through his military operations was
enabled to make a display of such power, and the negroes stood in awe of him and he had them under his control.
The negro likes military pomp and display, so long as there is really no danger; as a rule they prefer to be with
the power in control.
Clayton was fearless in the exercise of his executive power—so much so, that he was often criticised by members
of his own party for the use of such powers, but he always came out the victor, and those who opposed him were
made to suffer the penalty.
In order to meet the extravagant expenses in the payment of salaries, it became necessary to increase the revenue,
and in order to do this, assessors seemed to become much concerned and solicitous.
The act of July 22, 1868, provided: "It shall be the duty of the Governor forthwith to appoint some person
assessor in each county, whose term shall continue until the general election in 1870, unless sooner removed by
the Governor." In other words, the Governor always held the key to the situation.
The clerk of the county court was authorized to correct errors and omissions in the assessments, but in no event
could he reduce the assessment. Under the same act the assessor was entitled for his services 3 per cent of the
amount of taxes levied upon his assessment list. It is unnecessary to say that this was a great stimulus to place
the highest assessment upon all property, and he very readily yielded to this seductive influence. With such a
law on the statute now, there would be no necessity for Governor Donaghey to urge a higher rate of assessment.
This same assessor, under an act of March 25, was authorized to appoint the judges and the clerks of the election.
He was a mere agent of the Governor and could be removed at any time at his pleasure. It is not difficult to understand
how the taxes were increased under this system, but, with all its increase, the amount raised was perhaps not sufficient
to even pay the interest on the debts which had been created.
Under the Murphy government, from April, 1864, to October, 1867, it only required $64,800 per annum to support
the State Government. It must be remembered that during this time there were no charitable or educational institutions
to support. James R. Berry was Auditor under the Murphy government; also under the Clayton government and was elected
Auditor on the Baxter ticket in 1872. He was under oath as a witness before the congressional committee, of which
the Hon. Luke E. Poland was chairman, and he testified that the total amount expended for the years 1868 to 1872,
inclusive, was $6,284,281.62. In addition to these enormous expenses, bonds were issued and the State's indebtedness
increased almost without limit.
Bonds were issued to railroads built chiefly on paper, under the act of 1868, to the amount of $5,350,000. Bonds
to pay for supplies furnished the militia $400,000; and a still further means of depleting the treasury and piling
up a huge debt for posterity, the Governor, under an act of April 6, 1869, funded the Holford bonds to the amount
of $1,370,000. Furthermore, the Governor was authorized to issue, and did issue, bonds in the sum of $300,000 and
sold them on the market to supply the deficit in the depleted treasury and to pay interest on the funded debt.
By this time there was a great restlessness and discontent among the people; under the taxation by the assessors,
the clerks and boards of equalization, the taxes had been increased to a point which meant confiscation; only the
officeholders prospered. Hodges and Weeks under a contract had charge of the State penitentiary, which gave them
large sums from the State treasury. They built palatial residences on what is now called Lincoln avenue in Little
Rock. In making some supposed changes or additions in the penitentiary building, they removed slate and used it
for the purpose of covering their own homes. Senator McDonald and W. S. Oliver, clerk and collector of Pulaski
county, built splendid homes in the same community. For many years these places were familiarly known as "Robbers'
Roost" or "Rogues' Hill."
But the general condition of the country was alarming; the cotton crops fell short; the negroes had become insolent
and unmanageable; they had been cropping on shares chiefly, but they, under the influence of political leaders,
would go to political gatherings and Union League meetings ; they began to distrust their old masters and to neglect
their crops and became imbued with the idea that the property of their old masters would be confiscated and divided
among them; hence the familiar saying of "forty acres and a mule" must be allotted to each of them.
About this time partisan heat had reached its climax; the reconstruction acts of Congress had created a stir throughout
the South.
In order to give the Democratic party a showing for success, the Democratic State Committee advised the Democrats
to take the oath prescribed by the Constitution of 1868 and as required under the reconstruction measure, and to
register and vote at this election; otherwise, it would have been folly in the extreme to have placed a ticket
out with the entire Democratic party in the South disfranchised by reason of having voted against the Constitution.
The Democratic party issued and address, urging the party to take this course, but this course was condemned by
many of the old leaders of the party. But, notwithstanding this confusion and dissatisfaction for a time, the people
as a rule took the oath and registered preparatory to the coming election. When it was seen that the Democrats
were taking the oath and registering, disorder and unrest began to enter the Republican forces; something had to
be done to counteract the avalanche of votes which would be polled according to the registration returns. So, on
November 1, 1868, just a few days after the election, Clayton addressed the following letter to the members of
the Republican party, who had been returned as elected to the Legislature: "November 1, 1868."
"Dear Sir: I am led to believe that it will be absolutely necessary to proclaim martial law in several counties
in the State. These counties are now in a state of insurrection, and the civil authorities in them are utterly
powerless to preserve order and protect the lives of the citizens. Many officers and citizens in these counties
have been assassinated or driven away, and a reign of terror is now existing in them. I have consulted with the
State officers and the representative men in the city, and they unanimously agree with me that this is the only
course that can be pursued that will put an end to the existing evils, and I now communicate with you for the purpose
of obtaining your views upon the subject and your co-operation and assistance in restoring civil authority and
bringing to punishment the violators of the public peace.
"I urge upon you the necessity of coming here soon after the election, as it is believed a concerted effort
will be made to so diminish the number of the members of the Legislature as to prevent there being a quorum. If
your views coincide with mine as to the expediency and necessity of this course, I trust you will use all your
influence to assist in the organization of the State Guards. The success of this movement depends very greatly
upon the promptness and dispatch with which it is carried out. A decided and prompt effort will, in my opinion,
settle the difficulty within thirty days.
"Awaiting your reply, I am,
"Very respectfully yours, etc.,
"Powell Clayton, "Governor of Arkansas."
(Harrell's History, 66)
After this letter was written, general disorder prevailed throughout the State; negroes in great bodies would congregate
in towns, armed with their shotguns. Monks, a renegade from Missouri, with about fifty men of his low type, chiefly
from Missouri, crossed the border in the northern part of the State, and by them men were put to torture; some
of them robbed and plundered and some murdered without cause.
Baxter was then circuit judge in that part of the State and realized the conditions, as they existed. He wrote
Monks the following letter:
"Col. William Monks:
"We ask you most earnestly, as officially representing the judiciary of Arkansas, to turn over the prisoners
to the sheriff. We beg you as citizens to, allow the majesty of the law to be vindicated in this matter, and not
to imperil the lives and homes and property of all good citizens of this State.
"Respectfully and truly yours, "Elisha Baxter" (76,77).
About the same time trouble was inaugurated again in Conway county and a number of men were killed without jury
or court and without provocation or censure.
Martial law in many of the counties had been declared. D. P. Upham was put in charge of the northeastern part of
the State; S. W. Mallory was given command of the southern part and R. F. Catterson was assigned to the southwest.
Gibson of Dardanelle, Coolidge of Union and Demby of Montgomery, all members of the House, accepted orders to raise
men and send them to the respective commanding officers to enter upon the field of carnage and bloodshed.
The militia was taken chiefly from the mountain districts ; they had said that the war "was a rich man's quarrel
and a poor man's fight." They had not served in the Confederate army; many of them lived in squalid poverty
with but few demands, and they were usually termed "renegades" or "grey-backs," which were
terms used to denote those of but little character; but, led on by hope of bounty in the way of pecuniary pay from
the Federal Government, many of them joined the Federal army before the close of the war and became mere holders-on
to draw a bounty and monthly pay, but not to fight; but, when the Governor called for volunteer militia, these
same men, seeing a chance for plunder and of revenge for some real or imaginary wrong which they had received from
the Confederate forces during the war, readily entered under the several commanding officers. They were indeed
brave men to go to fight the battles for their country when there was no enemy to be found —no one to fight, except
prisoners who would surrender and be robbed or murdered.
In a greater portion of the State the condition was indeed forlorn and apparently hopeless. The war had been fought
to save the Union; the Confederate forces had surrendered ; they were invited to their homes to participate in
everything to upbuild the country and make the Union of the States the greatest and most formidable power in the
world; they had accepted this invitation; they had begun to work in good faith for the betterment of mankind; they
had laid aside their arms—their swords were turned into pruning knives—when they were confronted with the new enemy
of peace and good government; they were helpless and defenseless ; many of them were hounded down and murdered
without jury or court, or without even a mock military trial.
Upham was among the most active in gathering up the "grey-backs;" he had in a short time gathered up
several hundred of the marauders at Batesville, and while there wrote to the Governor for full instructions as
to his powers, to which he received the following answer:
"Little Rock, Ark., November 18, 1868. "Brig. Gen. D. P. Upham, Batesville:
"Sir: In reply to your communication of November 13, I will say that the provision of the militia law to which
you refer applies only to the discipline of the militia force, and not to political offenders. A military commission
is not governed by any written law. It is simply the will of the commander-(in-chief). You are authorized to organize
military commission for the trial of citizens, but will not enforce the death penalty without sending the proceedings
to these headquarters for approval By order of the Governor.
"J. M. Barton," "Private Secretary," (76,81).
In this letter Upham was told "a military commission is not governed by any written law; it is simply the
will of the commander-in-chief." In other words, he was authorized to organize a military commission for the
trial of a citizen who might fall a victim to their greed for plunder and murder; but he was directed not to inflict
the death penalty without the approval of the Governor.
But Upham did not follow out any of these directions; many of the best citizens of Woodruff county were murdered
without the semblance of a trial, either military or otherwise; many of thesawere put to torture and plundered
with no charge against them; many fled from their homes and sought refuge among their friends in other parts of
the State; others were arrested without a charge against them, and would only be discharged upon the payment of
a ransom, this depending in a measure upon the amount that could be raised. No private home was safe from the marauders
while Upham's militia were engaged in this indiscriminate murder and plunder; his faithful allies in crime were
busily engaged in their bloody and inhuman work; many unprotected men were shot down without even a form of a trial
and in some instances women were brutally assaulted.
Center Point, at that time, was a little village in Howard county, and was the scene of a bloody battle when Cat-terson's
militia stormed the town and shot down several helpless and defenseless people. Catterson also received orders
from headquarters telling him to deal with all desperate characters summarily and that his actions through the
military court would be final. When Catterson and Locke had gone through the country from Center Point to Hamburg,
then a prosperous little village in Ashley county, they robbed and plundered people on their way, and when they
reached Hamburg they robbed Col. A. W. Files, who is now a citizen of Little Rock, and who was then a merchant
at Hamburg; they drove him from home and threatened to take his life. Colonel Files, in speaking of this matter
a short time ago, said that his only offense was that he was chairman of the Democratic Central Committee of that
county. On the 25th day of December, 1868, the following order was sent to S. W. Mallory:
"Executive Office, December 25, 1868. "Gen. S. W. Mallory, Commanding District Southwest:
"Sir: I am instructed by the Governor to say, that as soon as General Catterson reaches you, you will proceed
at once to arrest the parties whose names have been sent you, as well as any other outlaws. He thinks you can safely
execute many of them. It is absolutely necessary that some examples be made. It may be desirable to have troops
here, by the 1st of January, if the thing can be safely done. There will be a large Democratic convention here
at that. time, and the militia may be needed as delegates. He thinks you have acted wisely in disbanding the colored
troops, under the circumstances.
"Very respectfully yours,
"J. H. Barton, "Private Secretary," (76,87).
It seems that some of the negroes had mutinied and it was said that they had threatened the life of Mallory; hence,
they were disbanded; many arrests were made under this order, while others, whose names had been given, flod the
country. Some who had money enough to pay a ransom sufficiently large were released; some made their escape and
some suffered death.
"Stokes Morgan, a bright and promising young man, was accused of being implicated in the death of a white
man named Dollar, who had deserted his family and was living with a negro woman. Morgan was tried by a military
commission and discharged, but General Catterson reversed this decision and ordered him hung; he was first sent
to the penitentiary at Little Rock and then returned to Monticello and hung there." A/6. 87).
"Other communities in the southwestern part of the State were visited by Catterson's militia and some of the
most shocking outrages were perpetrated on many citizens; their homes were invaded and others outraged. A Mr. Brooks,
in Sevier county, a reputable citizen with no charge against him, was bound hand and foot and he and his children
were forced to witness the outrage of his wife by negroes." (76, 88).
Along the Little Missouri river, where it winds its way through picturesque spots in the southwestern part of the
State, amid the deep pine forests and pure springs gushing from the mountain side, where to violate the law was
practically unknown, was the scene of the most atrocious crime; but the last act of this perfidy and shame was
perpetrated by an act of the Legislature on April 6,1868, which legalized all proceedings and acts done by the
military commission, or done in aid thereof, and prohibiting all courts, original or appellate, from taking jurisdiction
in such cases, or to hold any person for any act done by martial law between November, 1868, and April 1,1869.
This act is perhaps without a parallel; it was known everywhere that innocent men had been killed; that others
had been outraged; that many were tortured and forced to give up money without any charge against them, and yet,
these men were exempt from prosecution and were protected by the statute of the State. These outrages had been
carried on with such ruthless, relentless hands, that many of the leaders of the party in the Northern States began
to censure those in control of the Southern States.
The violations of the law, under the direction of the military government, had been so gross and cowardly that
some of the members of the party were outspoken in their condemnation of martial law.
On the 13th day of March, the Senate adopted the resolution already passed by the House, ratifying the Fifteenth
Article of the amendment of the Constitution. Thus the work for which the State had been put under military rule
had been accomplished; the negro was made the political equal of the white man; he was authorized to vote and hold
office, and then the political pot began to boil; disaffection sprung up in the ranks of the Republican party,
such as is always the case where a government is established by military forces and violations of law, rapine and
murder; the victors are sure to fall out among themselves. It was so with Robespierre. When he had reached the
zenith of his glory, when he was seeking to become the ruler of France and assume the place of a dictator, he succeeded
in having a law enacted on the 10th day of January, 1794, in which those who opposed him could not have even an
appearance of a fair trial. No witnesses were allowed under it; the court was one merely of arbitrary power and
condemnation. Under this act, more than twelve hundred people perished on the guillotine in Paris within six weeks
time. But the extreme cruelty and lawlessness brought about such resentment that Robespierre and others fell victims
to the instrument of death which they had prepared for others.
After these stirring events after the reconstruction act had been passed and the election was held in Arkansas,
calling the Convention of 1868, and after the Legislature had made and declared the Constitution adopted and Congress
had declared that Arkansas was then one of the States of the Union, having adopted a Constitution, which in form
was republican, things assumed a more quiet form for the time being, but during the interval until the election
in November, 1870, the desire for greed and office still increased. The State funds had been squandered and the
revenues of the counties were exhausted; the treasuries of the towns and cities had been so depleted and new debts
incurred until they were hopelessly bankrupt. State scrip could be bought for from fifteen to twenty cents on the
dollar and county scrip in many counties was practically worthless, except for paying county taxes.
The desire for holding office was so increased and so many places had been made that the State was filled with
an army of officeholders. There was not only a State Superintendent of Public Instruction, but the State had been
divided into ten districts and a district superintendent was appointed for each district with a salary of $3,000
per annum for each. Many of these district superintendents could not write a sentence correctly and they were wanting
even in the fundamental principles of an education. These, as well as county offices, were filled by appointment.
The election machinery was entirely in the hands of the dominant party, when the returns as made showed Republicans
in the lower House sixty-four, while the Democrats numbered nineteen.
The Senate was controlled by about the same proportion.
In the meantime, the breach between Brooks and Clayton had become more pronounced and bitter and continued to grow
wider and deeper. Brooks had succeeded in calling to his assistance some of the brainiest men of the party, such
as B. F. Rice, Milton Rice and Sidney M. Barnes. The Rices and Sidney M. Barnes were Kentuckians, and came to Arkansas
soon after the war. They were able lawyers and good debaters. This at once made the opposition assume rather a
formidable shape, and if all other things had been equal would doubtless have controlled the party. Clayton, however,
held a vantage ground. He held the key to the situation. He could remove officers at his pleasure. So with this
vast power it was hard to dethrone him from the head of his party. The Legislature convened January 2, 1871. The
time fixed for convening same was 12 m. of that day. The two factions of the party were then described as "Minstrels"
and "Brindle-tails." The followers of Clayton were called the Minstrels, while the followers of Brooks
were called the Brindle-tails. It is a little curious to know just how these names came to be applied to the two
wings of the party. They came in this way: John G. Price was quite a musician and something of a comedian. He had
always been a partisan supporter of the Clayton wing, and on one occasion when a minstrel show came to the city
of Little Rock and one of its principal actors was out of place, they secured the services of Price to fill several
engagements for it, and it is said he made quite a "hit" in the role of a negro minstrel, musician and
comedian. Hence, the Brooks men called the Clayton followers "Minstrels." A negro by the name of Jack
Agery was the source of the Brooks followers being called Brindle-tails. Agery was rather a small negro, a perfect
African in type and black as the ace of spades. He had been a slave, was. a great wag and a successful imitator.
He always made it a point to be on the side of the party in power. He was for Clayton as long as he was in power
and when Mr. Garland, although a Democrat, became Governor, he was not long finding his way clear to support him.
With his great power of mimicry he was always a leader among the negroes. While he was uneducated, still no negro
and but few white men could stand his ridicule and sarcasm. On one occasion he went to Eagle township, in Pulaski
county, where many negroes had gathered together to hear him speak. He was then supporting Clayton and he said
that there was a great big tall, lank, lean man at Little Rock who made speeches to negroes. He said this man reminded
him of a big brindle bull with a brindle tail which he had known when he was a boy. He said the bull would paw
the dirt and throw it over his head and bellow and bellow until you could hear him for miles and he said that man
was Joe Brooks, and after that the followers of Brooks were called Brindle-tails. When the members had gotten to
the capital the excitement was more intense than ever as to which wing of the party would control the organization.
The Democrats, of course, could do nothing more than cast their small strength with either the one wing or the
other. Several of the Democratic members reached the front steps which led up to the hall of the House of Representatives,
which was then the south end of the old Capitol building. They had reached there perhaps half an hour before the
time fixed for the meeting of the Legislature. There they were confronted with about twelve militiamen standing
on each side of the steps with their guns and glittering bayonets. The members were told it was not time for them
to enter. They then supposed, of course, that no one had gone in in advance of them, but after waiting some half
an hour they were directed to ascend the steps, and as they did so the militia with their guns and bayonets formed
ah archway for the purpose of passing under, imitating theold Roman custom when they had conquered an army, in
order to make them feelcompletely subjugated they were required to pass under the yoke, but the English-speaking
people have never wo
rn the yoke and never will.
When these members reached the hall of the House of Representatives the temporary organization had been completed
by the election of C. W. Tankersley Speaker of the House, a carpet-bagger, who had been imported to Arkadelphia,
Clark county, and thus the "Minstrels" succeeded in its organization.
The Democrats, being in a hopeless minority, were in a dilemma to know what to do. In the lower House there were
eighty-three members, of these sixty-four were Republicans and nineteen Democrats; and the members of the Senate
were about in the same proportion. The Democrats were willing to cast their lot with either wing of the party which
could promise the best results for them.
James M. Johnson of Madison county was then Lieutenant Governor. He was a native of that county and regarded as
a good citizen, and he had privately assured the Democratic members that if Clayton was elected to the United States
Senate he (Johnson) would then become Governor, and as such Governor he would enfranchise those who had been disfranchised
by the reconstruction measures and the acts of the Legislature. In other words, that he would restore the people
of the State to their citizenship and would insure a free ballot and a fair count.
This seemed to be the most plausible and quickest way to obtain that result, so on the 10th day of January, 1871,
when there was a United States Senator to be elected the Democratic members, with the exception of four, voted
for Clayton for United States Senator, having held a caucus the night prior thereto, where many of the leaders
of the party were urging this course to be pursued. Among them were such men as Mr. A. H. Garland, Gen. Robert
C. Newton and the Hon. Thomas Fletcher. This caucus was intended to be exclusive, and each member was enjoined
not to reveal its results. It was not held at the Statehouse, or any public place, as caucuses are usually held,
but it was held in a private house on Scott street, between Second and Third streets, in the city of Little Rock,
about where Charles T. Abeles's place of business now is.
The Democratic members who did not vote for Clayton were not present at this caucus and doubtless did not feel
bound to abide by its instructions.
Among the Democrats who voted for Clayton, under instructions of the caucus, were such men as Judge B. B. Battie,
who has been on the Supreme Bench for more than twenty years; W. H. Cate, who was for many years circuit judge
in the district in which Jonesboro is situated and afterwards elected to Congress from his district; Hon. George
Crump, who was United States marshal under Cleveland's administration and now a prominent lawyer at Harrison, Ark.;
Hon. Wm. R. Harley of Dallas county; General Thornburgh, now in this city, and the Hon. E. P. Watson of Benton
county, and the writer of this paper and eight others; in fact, all the Democrats voted for him, except four who
voted for different persons.
These were all true and tried Democrats then and have been faithful servants of the party ever since. Their motive
for voting for Clayton was never impugned until thirty years afterward; because the people at that time understood
the motives which prompted the Democrats to cast their votes for Clayton, and even when they were criticized it
was only by those who were too young to remember the reasons or motives of those who voted for him, or those who
are not well enough informed to know the history of the State; or they may have been very small politicians, who
would not seek the truth, if falsehood served their purpose better; but no one who lived through that exciting
and lawless period would criticize the Democratic members who voted for Clayton. Information justifying their course
could have been obtained at any time by consulting Senator James H. Berry, Senator James K. Jones, Judge J. N.
Cypert of Searcy, John M. Moore of Little Rock and many others of the older citizens, or from the printed journals
of the Legislature of 1871.
Those who voted for Clayton were prompted to do so through the most patriotic motives; they were controlled by
the same motives that controlled the National Democratic party in 1872, wherein it endorsed Horace Greely for President,
who had been a most pronounced Republican and a bitter man against the South during the Civil War. But, when the
war was over, he sought to place the Southern States in the Union where they belonged, with all the powers of local
self-government. They were controlled by the same motives which prompted the Democratic party, when it met in convention
on the 19th day of June, 1872, in Little Rock, and declined to put a Democratic ticket in the field and indorsed
the Reform Republican ticket, headed by Joe Brooks, one on the ticket being a negro; they were prompted by the
same motives which controlled the Democrats in rallying to the support of Governor Baxter in 1874, when he had
been ousted by a bogus and void judgment and Joe Brooks was by force installed as Governor. Baxter had shown by
this time, by his acts, that he was a friend to the people, and it was his purpose to restore them to citizenship.
Hence, although the Democrats had supported Brooks in the election of 1872, yet, when he was installed as Governor
by the "Minstrel Wing" of the party, the Democrats, almost to a man, instinctively and voluntarily rallied
to the support of Baxter.
We trust we may be pardoned for quoting from Harrel's History of the Brooks-Baxter War, at pages 100 and 102, as
it refers to the writer of this paper, but it seems to explain the position of the Democratic members, who voted
for Clayton for United States Senator. It is as follows:
The Governor, meaning Clayton, at his first election as United States Senator, had received the vote of many Democrats.
Their support was upon the principle of Grecian ostracism of those who were dangerous to the State, or obnoxious
to the people. The motive that impelled them to give that support was not exactly the same that the Athenian avowed
for plumping his shell in favor of banishing Aristides—"because he was tired of hearing him called The Just.'
" Such motive was eloquently disclaimed. It was declared by the able and fearless young members .of the House,
Mr. House, from White county, in explanation of his vote for Clayton when, upon a second balloting for United States
Senator, he withdrew his support for Clayton; he said:
" I desire to say, that heretofore I have let the record explain my votes, and I am willing today to let that
record stand as a living monument in all time to come, and as my platform with which I am willing to stand or fall.
I did not explain my vote cast for Governor Clayton for the United States Senatorship, because my constituents,
to whom I am alone responsible in my representative capacity, will understand my reason for casting that vote.
" 'It was not because I approved of Governor Clayton's administration. God forbid that I should ever approve
of such an one! It was not because I loved Powell Clayton, but because I loved my country more; not that I expected
to gain any favor at the hands of his Excellency, but that I might be instrumental—that I might lend a helping
hand for the relief of the oppressed, outraged and down-trodden people of the State of Arkansas. It was not that
I expected he could do us any good in the United States Senate, but that I thought he could do us about as much
harm in that body as the newsboys in the streets of New York City, or the auctioneer in the stockyards or market
places of Paris, or as a doorkeeper in the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain.
" 'At that time I believed that Governor Clayton was guilty of malfeasance in office; of high crimes and misdemeanors,
and I am more thoroughly convinced of it now. I can not say positively that he authorized, but there can be no
doubt that he approved of the conduct of the militia in some sections of the country, where they robbed and plundered
the best citizens, intimidated others and drove them from their workshops and other places of business, while other
honest, quiet, inoffensive citizens, for no cause whatever, they took from their bedsides and families, at the
dark hour of midnight, and murdered in the most horrible manner, without jury or court. And today, these very men,
whose souls are blackened with crime, whose hands are stained with human gore, are held up, as I believe, by his
Excellency, as the model men of the country, ready to do the same inhuman work at the mandate of the master."
(Har-rell's History, 100,101.) See also House Journal, 1871, page 562.
But Clayton was too smart to be caught in this trap.
In a few days it was noised about that the Democrats and the Brooks wing of the party had conspired to put James
M. Johnson, as Governor, in control of affairs in Arkansas. Thereupon the war began between the two factions of
the party, Clayton leading one wing of the party and Brooks the other, and perhaps the stormiest scenes followed
that was ever witnessed in a deliberative body in this State. The whole situation seemed to be in confusion. On
January 30, 1871, articles of impeachment were prepared and presented against Lieutenant Governor James M. Johnson,
and the resolutions preferring the charges of impeachment only lacked two votes of being carried, thirty-eight
members being for impeachment and thirty-nine against and a few scattering. The chief charge made against Johnson
was that while Lieutenant Governor and presiding as President of the State Senate, he administered the oath of
office to Senator Brooks, who as shown by the returns had been elected from Pulaski County, and that he afterwards
recognized the said Brooks as a Senator on the floor. A curious thing about this tragedy is that Mr. Brooks had
been declared elected and a certificate given to him by O. A. Hadley, who was the chief supporter of Clayton. Following
this effort to impeach Lieutenant Governor James M. Johnson, on the 16th day of February, 1871, articles of impeachment
were preferred against Clayton, charging him with high crimes and misdemeanors in office. The resolutions preferring
the charges were carried by a vote of forty-two to thirty-eight, and a committee was appointed to present the articles
of impeachment at the bar of the Senate for final hearing, but when the articles of impeachment were presented
at the bar of the Senate a majority of the Senators had absented themselves without leave and continued to do so
for several days, thus preventing a quorum. It was charged by some that they had gone to Argenta and by others
that they were in hiding at Mount Holly cemetery, but the question is still open and has never been judicially
determined as to where they really were.
On the 4th day of March, 1871, Powell Clayton notified both branches of the Legislature that he would not accept
the office of Senator, which had been tendered him, and in declining to accept the same, among other things he
said, as follows:
"Executive Department, State of Arkansas, "Little Rock, March 4, 1871.
"Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :
"On the 10th of January, 1871, it was ascertained that I was elected, by the General Assembly, United States
Senator by a vote of ninety-four to nine, on joint ballot. I not only received the united support of my own party,
but many of the opposition members voted for me. This large and almost unanimous vote, to myself and the outside
world, could not be construed otherwise than as an endorsement of my official action, and, I may here state, that
I felt highly complimented by it. At the time of my election by the General Assembly, the Republican members of
the Legislature seemed to be thoroughly united, and I had reason to hope that the Lieutenant Governor would pursue
such a course as would commend himself to the confidence of the Republican members. By subsequent events, I have
been forced to the unwilling conviction that many of the members who then supported me were actuated more by a
desire to place a person in the executive chair who would carry out a policy adverse to the wishes of a large majority
of the Republican party, than to have me represent the State in the United States Senate. In other words, many
of the members who supported me, deemed the control of the State Government of more importance to the consummation
of their wishes than representation in the Senate of the United States.
"At the time referred to, both branches of the General Assembly were under the control of the Republican party;
but since that time a coalition seems to have been formed of a few Republicans under the leadership of the Lieutenant
Governor, and the entire conservative element of both houses. I can but regard this coalition as being anti-Republican
and having for its object the overthrow of the present State Government on the one part, and the gratification
of private malice and revenge on the other. With this conviction, I can not by any act of mine be instrumental
in placing in the executive chair the leader of this coalition. Were I to consult the promptings of a selfish ambition
rather than the perpetuation of the principles of the party which has honored me with its confidence and that saved
the State to the Union, I should accept the position to which I was elected by your votes.
"Feeling that such a course would not only be a betrayal of the confidence reposed in me, but a desertion
of principles, a sense of duty compels me to decline the position tendered." (House Journal, 1871, page 543).
Thus it became apparent that Clayton was in the saddle again, and whatever thought had been cherished in displacing
him and putting Lieutenant Governor James M. Johnson in as Governor, had been dispelled, and under these conditions
it was but a short time until Clayton had many of the recalcitrant members in line again, and James M. Johnson
was induced to resign his position as Lieutenant Governor and accept the office of Secretary of State, while O.
A. Hadley was appointed Lieutenant Governor, and afterwards Clayton was again elected as Senator and, of course,
O. A. Hadley, by virtue of his office, became Governor, thus ending, perhaps, one of the most stormy sessions of
the Legislature that was ever witnessed in Arkansas. Things moved on then in the usual course until the fall of
1872—when another State campaign was at hand—when the fight between Clayton and Brooks had continued to increase
in its intensity. In the meantime there had been a general revolt in the Republican party, led by Brooks, Rice
and Barnes, and they organized a Liberal Republican party, and nominated Joseph Brooks for Governor, while the
Minstrels nominated Elisha Baxter of Independence county. The Democrats convened in convention at Little Rock and
declined to place a ticket in the field, and tacitly or directly endorsed the Brooks ticket, and the fight was
on. Immediately after the Democrats had taken this course, Joe Brooks made a speech to the delegates then assembled
at the front end of the old State Capitol building in the city of Little Rock, in which, among other things, he
said "if he were elected Governor he would fill the penitentiary so full of the Minstrels that you could see
their legs and arms sticking out at the windows," which was most devoutly prayed for by all Democrats. It
was the most scathing and vituperative speech I ever listened . to. However, his speeches were always strong and
convincing. The election came and Baxter was declared to have received a majority of the votes cast in the State
and was duly installed as Governor on the 7th day of January, 1873.
But he had scarcely entered upon his duties as Governor, until the General Assembly, which met January, 1873, began
to enact laws vicious and far-reaching; but Governor Baxter remembered the pledge to the people to the effect that
the people should be enfranchised; that he would secure a free ballot and fair count, began to veto such measures
as fast as they were presented to him.
One of these measures was introduced by Benton Turner, who represented Conway county, of the order of a nondescript,
without ancestry or progeny, so far as the people of Conway county knew, and who subsisted entirely by reason of
his party affiliation. While this bill was entitled "An Act Amendatory and Supplemental to an Act to Aid in
the Construction of Railroads; Approved July 1, 1868," yet, it was familiarly called "The Railroad Steal
Bill," which was more appropriate. But Governor Baxter, with his sense of honor, his obligation to the people,
vetoed this bill and other bills perhaps more vicious.
These acts turned the "Minstrel Wing" of the Republican party—those who had espoused his cause for Governor—
against him, and had the effect of bringing the Democrats, who had supported Brooks, to his (Baxter's) support.
Governor Baxter's dilemma, perhaps, can not be better described than his own language. He said:
"I may name, among the measures of which they attempted to compel my approval, the subsidy bill, by which
certain railway companies were to be released from payment to the State on account of bonds issued to them for
the construction of their respective lines, about $6,000,000; the metropolitan police bill, which proposed to constitute
the State a metropolis, the police of which should have power to arrest without warrant any citizen of the State,
and drag him for trial at the capital; an election bill, concentrating in the hands of three men, designated a
board of canvassers, and having for their chairman the Lieutenant Governor, not alone the power of appointing judges
and clerks of election, but also the supervision and review of all proceedings and returns in elections; a triumvirate
which could have held the liberties of the people in the perpetual grasp of a clique. When it was discovered that
I could not and would not lend my influence or give my consent to measures such as these, persuasion and intimidation
gave place to attempted bribery and kindred propositions of a most disgusting character." (lb.179)?
This serves to show that political grasp, which had come from reconstruction, was to be renewed, extended and intensified,
and it was by reason of Baxter's opposition to these measures that they failed to become laws, and which caused
the "ouster" proceedings to put Baxter out and Brooks in.
Joe Brooks had brought a suit against Baxter on the 16th day of June, 1873, in which, among other things, he alleged
that on the 5th day of November, 1872, at a general election held on that day in the State of Arkansas pursuant
to the Constitution and laws of said State, for election of Governor of the State for the term of four years from
the 1st day of January, 1873, said Joseph Brooks received the highest number of legal votes cast at said election
and that Baxter had usurped said office of Governor and unlawfully withheld the same from said Brooks and received
the salary, fees, emoluments, etc., pertaining to said office and asked that he be declared duly elected Governor.
Baxter appeared in said cause and demurred to the complaint chiefly upon the ground that the court had no jurisdiction
and the power to determine a contested election for Governor was exclusively within the province of the Legislature.
This cause remained pending in the Pulaski Circuit Court from time to time until the 17th day of April, 1874, when
the court, in the absence of Baxter or his attorneys, overruled the demurrer to the complaint and pronounced judgment
in favor of Brooks, declaring that he was entitled to the office. It so happened by previous arrangement of counsel
that a number of those identified with the Minstrel wing of the party were present, and an officer armed with a
writ of ouster immediately walked up to the Governor's office and imparted the information to Baxter that the court
had decided that Brooks was the Governor and that he was directed to surrender the office. He declined to surrender
the office, but he surrendered the quarters of the Governor to Brooks and immediately retired. Of course, this
created a commotion that can not be described. Baxter was first conveyed to St. John's College, about one mile
from the Statehouse, where he was protected by the students of said college, but afterwards took up his quarters
in the then Anthony House, which was about one-half block east of the corner of Markham and Main streets in the
City of Little Rock. The excitement was not only confined to the city of Little Rock, but within less than twenty-four
hours it permeated the entire State. The result of this transaction was that practically all of those who had supported
Brooks in the campaign in the fall of 1872 came to the support of Baxter, and those who had supported Baxter came
to the support of Brooks. Of course, there were a few exceptions, and in less than three day's time after this
occurrence, men has assembled from all parts of the State to the support of each aspirant for Governor, armed and
equipped; in fact, it looked like a sure-enough war had commenced again. The Brooks men occupied the Statehouse,
while the Baxter men occupied the Anthony House as headquarters and other places. Main street was the dead line.
At that time there was a regiment or battalion of United States soldiers, under the command of Colonel Rose, stationed
at Little Rock, and they were directed by the President to preserve the peace until the contest should be closed.
These troops formed a barricade in front of what is now called the New Capital Hotel, across Markham street. In
the meantime Judge Rose, at the instance of the Baxter forces, went to Washington City to intercede in behalf of
the Baxter cause and the Brooks forces also had their representatives there. General Newton was placed in charge
as commander-in-chief of the Baxter forces, while Gen. James F. Fagan, who had been a brigadier general in the
Confederate army, commanded the Brooks forces. Several persons lost their lives during this struggle.
A few days after the war had been declared between the two belligerents the Baxter forces ascertained that the
steamer Danville was coming down the Arkansas river with arms and equipments from the University, at Fayetteville.
So, they equipped the Halley, a small boat, and a company of troops took charge of her and started up the river
to capture the arms, but the Halley was intercepted by the Brooks forces when it had reached Palarm or near there,
on the Arkansas river, and was fired into and Frank Timms and Ben Meyers were killed, and Bascom Leigh was seriously
wounded. A few days after this H. King White, who had come from Pine Bluff at the head of from three hundred to
five hundred negroes in the support of Baxter, had his negroes lined up in front of the Anthony House, extending
up nearly to Main street and extending down the street perhaps for two hundred yards, and Baxter was on the veranda
in front of the Anthony House making a speech when some of the Brooks forces had secured positions on top of the
Metropolitan Hotel on the northwest corner of Markham and Main street, and while Baxter was speaking a volley of
musketry was turned in the direction of the Anthony House, whereupon the negroes stampeded and great confusion
necessarily followed. Baxter, of course, retired back to his private room in the hotel. I really do not know whatever
became of the negroes. I have never heard from them since. And, on this occasion, Dave Shall, a prominent real
estate dealer, was killed. He was either standing or sitting near the window on the west side of the hotel immediately
under the balcony from which Baxter was speaking. Just opposite and across the street from the hotel was an immense
pile of coal and a great many people had gathered in front of this coal pile for the purpose of listening to Baxter's
speech, but when the firing commenced the coal pile did not seem to be much in their way and during the balance
of that day it was not difficult to tell those who had been near the coal pile from the color of their hands. I
may be pardoned for referring to a little incident with which the writer of this paper was connected. At the time
the firing began I was standing on the west side of the alley immediately west of the Anthony House, where I was
not exposed to the fire. In the stampeding of the negroes, however, some of them came down this alley, and, strange
as it may seem, yet it is literally true, I could not exaggerate it if I were to try, a negro came down the alley
wearing a pair of shoes which had been worn so long that the soles seemed to stand up on the side of his feet,
and they were very much in his way. They impeded his progress. He fell down before me, threw up his feet and exclaimed,
"Marser, for God's sake pull off my shoes," which I proceeded to do. He rose running, making it looked
to me like about twenty feet at a step, and when he reached the town branch, immediately to the rear of the Anthony
House, about where Second street is now in the city of Little Rock, and which had not been enclosed at that time,
he leaped across it, it seemed to me, without increasing his speed or lengthening his steps. This was the last
I saw of the negro. While these incidents were going on at Little Rock, President Grant had been besieged by both
of the parties to declare them the legal constituted Governor and to order the other to disband his troops and
retire to their homes. Finally, on the 15th day of May, 1874, George H. Williams, Attorney General of the United
States, addressed a communication to the President, giving in detail the condition and the legal status which had
led up to the conflict between the two contending Governors, and held that Baxter was the legally constituted Governor
of Arkansas. Whereupon, Joe Brooks and his followers were ordered to disband, and it had the appearance of the
disbanding of a regular army.
Paroles were granted to those who had been in arms against Baxter, and they were permitted to return to their homes.
Thus ended a* tragedy which perhaps never had an equal in the history of civilization. In the meantime, since Baxter
had become Governor, he had succeeded in displacing some of the members of the Legislature who were antagonistic
to him and filling their places with his friends. So, during the period of the Brooks-Baxter war he called a meeting
of the General Assembly and on the 18th day of May, 1874, passed an act calling for a constitutional convention,
which is the subject of this paper.
The Convention convened on the 14th day of July, 1874, and adjourned on the 7th day of September, 1874.
At the conclusion of the convention, a committee was appointed to prepare an address to the people, urging the
adoption of the Constitution. Among other things the address contained the following:
"The new Constitution is framed with a view of correcting these abuses by keeping, as nearly as may be, all
power in the hands of the people, and holding their agents in office directly responsible to them—the chief end
and aim of all popular, representative government. It is liberal in its provisions and challenges the admiration
and support alike of Democrats and Republicans, who are not biased by party feeling. It gives equal rights to all,
regardless of race or color, or previous condition of servitude.
"In conclusion, we ask all, regardless of party, who are . tired of strife, and who long for a permanent restoration
of peace, to unite in supporting the new Constitution, that we may have in its behalf the moral effect of the largest
popular majority that is possible of attainment under the circumstances."
Signed by H. M. Rector, R. K. Garland, J. W. Butler, S. P. Hughes and Bradley Bunch, committee.
Hence, after more than ten long years of strife and bitterness, of political turmoil and financial distress had
passed, it was natural that the people, upon an opportunity to return to power, should have selected their wisest
and best men. It was not strange that under these conditions that they should have selected such men as Flannigan,
Eakin, Mansfield, Butler, Cypert, Doswell, Rector, Brown, Horner, Hughes, Bunn, Eagle, Fishback, Crowley, Frierson,
Chism, Royston, and others among the ablest lawyers of the State, to aid in the construction of the fundamental
law of the State.
Even the Republican party, except the negroes, selected among their ablest lawyers. Sidney M. Barnes of Pulaski
and John A. Williams of Jefferson. They were both prominent in the convention and strong in debate. The coming
together of such men as these under the conditions was perfectly natural. It necessarily followed. This has been
the history of the civilized world that when the people are stirred up by internal strife and discord, or by a
great civil or political upheaval, the most capable men are brought forth.
When James II of England began to usurp the legitimate power of the government; when he displaced honest and competent
judges because they would not carry out his bidding, and finally when he suspended the writ of habeas cor-pus—the
great charter of their religious and political liberties—the people of England arose as one man and forced him
to abandon the throne.
In 1776, when England was involved in great political turmoil, such men as Fox and Pitt and the immortal Burke
came to the front and their logic and eloquence surpassed anything that had preceded it.
When the thirteen colonies had suffered under the sting of taxation without representation and the people were
in the throes of degradation and ruin, such men as Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and the immortal Patrick Henry,
who gave utterance to the expression, "Give me liberty, or give me death," were called into action.
So it was in 1874, when more than ten long years of political strife and discord had passed—when financial ruin
threatened the State and the people had a chance, it was not strange that representation should be made from among
the ablest citizens. These patriotic citizens came from every part of the State; from the northwest, the home of
the apple and health-giving springs; they came from the lower valley of the White river, from the fertile valley
of the Mississippi river, from north and eastern Arkansas; they came from the southwest, where the gushing springs
give forth their pure and sparkling water! they came from the pine-clad hills of the south and southeast; in fact,
from every part of the State.
It is not my purpose to discuss in this paper the various provisions of the Constitution; they have been before
the people for more than thirty-five years and the most of them have received judicial interpretation with which
the lawyers are familiar. While there has been some criticism of the Constitution, and at one time, I am free to
confess that I thought it was too restrictive in its provisions, this would naturally come, because one extreme
will always bring another; but these restrictions have been modified and changed by amendments until now, with
few exceptions, in my judgment it is a splendid Constitution. At the time it was framed, it was the best that could
have been promulgated. There is not a provision in the Constitution th?t was not thoroughly and ably discussed
in open convention, and I have always regretted that the debates could not have been preserved—they would have
thrown a flood light upon those questions upon which the courts have entertained some doubt, and many of the speeches
were of such a character that they could have been handed down to posterity as models of thought, of English diction
and logic.
It is true, that for many years every now and then we have heard suggestions coming from some source that we should
have a new Constitution, but up to this time it has never met with any substantial support. The State had four
Constitutions prior to this, and this one has already lived about as long as all the others put together. There
may be a few changes that ought to be made, and they doubtless will be made, but that can be done by amendment.
It is exceedingly doubtful whether a new Constitution could be promulgated which would give more satisfaction to
the people than the one of 1874. Its provisions have been interpreted by the courts and they are now understood
by the lawyers, while a new Constitution would have the effect to stimulate a wider field of litigation.
Those who urge the calling of a constitutional convention as a rule, do so on the ground that the cities and towns
should be permitted to issue bonds for the purpose of internal improvement. I think this would be a just provision.
But this proposition was submitted to the people in the way of an amendment to the Constitution a few years ago
and was defeated, and it would hardly be right to frame a new Constitution with this provision in it to force its
adoption, when taken alone the people were unwilling to approve it In other words, we would be getting at it in
an indirect way. Up to this date there have been ten amendments adopted.
Amendment No. 1, known as the "Fishback Amendment," was to prevent the Legislature from making appropriations
to pay certain bonds or interest thereon.
Amendment No. 2 relates to the franchise and requires a poll tax receipt in order to enable one to vote..
Amendment No. 3 empowers the Governor to fill certain vacancies in office by appointment.
Amendment No. 4 authorizes the Legislature to correct abuses and prevent unjust discrimination in the way of excessive
charges by railroads, canals, turnpikes, etc.
Amendment No. 5 authorizes the county court in the several counties of the State to levy an additional tax, not
to exceed three mills on the dollar, for road purposes.
Amendment No. 6 provides that officers may execute bonds by giving as surety bonding companies.
Amendment No. 7 relates to the payment of mileage for members of the General Assembly, and provides that no member's
salary shall be increased during the time for which he is elected.
Amendment No. 8 relates to increasing the rate of taxation on account of school funds.
Amendment No. 9 requires the payment of poll tax in order to entitle one to vote.
The tenth and last amendment is the initiative and referendum.
As I said before, it is not my purpose to stir up old issues and revive the bitter feelings which existed during
the days of reconstruction. Those were times in which the people were wrought up; they were times of great political
upheaval and excuses may be made in some instances, which, under ordinary circumstances, would have been inexcusable.
But it is n6t my intention to condone any violation of law, whether done by Democrat or Republican. It must necessarily
follow, from what I have said, that reconstruction was not only a failure, but it was a crime against civilization
and an offense, which in my judgment, can never be condoned. If the powers of the Federal Government, after the
Civil War, could have exercised a spirit of forbearance; if there had been due regard for the Constitution of the
United States and a determination to support it until it should be changed through intelligent and patriotic forces
in the mode prescribed by it; if the proper regard had been given the Constitution of the several States, if an
equal and impartial regard for the rights and powers of all the States, without regard to sectional differences,
whether north or south or east or west; if a love for patriotic sentiment among men could have been exercised,
the dark days of reconstruction could never have occurred.
Nor was there any excuse for martial law in the State at the time it was called into existence. In my opinion,
there never was a time when the intelligent and patriotic citizens of every county in the State would not have
done all they could do to prevent lawlessness and to enforce the punishment of crime. I wish to call attention
to one instance in verification of this opinion, which I think deserves special mention here.
In 1872, during the bitter campaign between Brooks and Baxter, martial law was declared in Pope county and a reign
of terror prevailed there, perhaps greater than it had been in any county. One Dodson was sheriff and Hickox was
clerk, both appointees of Governor Clayton. Dodson had collected about seventy-five or one hundred militiamen,
and in conducting the registration had acted in such a way as to make him very odious among the intelligent and
law-abiding people. Hickox had made an affidavit for the arrest of a young man by the name of Poynter. In making
the arrest the deputy sheriff was shot and killed. Thereupon a warrant was issued for a young man by the name of
N. J. Hale and his father and Joe Tucker and Perry West, charged with the murder of the deputy sheriff. Dodson
with his militia, under a pretense of carrying them before Judge May, circuit judge at Dardanelle, for examination,
in the darkness of the night, caused young Hale and Tucker to be shot down, and in return both Hickox and Dodson
were assassinated.
About this time there was intense excitement throughout the length and breadth of that county; many of the citizens
of Pope county had taken up arms to resist Dodson with his militia. Reece Hogan, a young man perhaps not over twenty-three
years of age, was selected to lead them against Dodson. Hogan was a man of unquestionable courage. At this juncture,
it became necessary to appoint another sheriff in that county; it was difficult to find a man who had the courage
to undertake it. At that time 0. A. Hadley was Governor, but Clayton was at home engaged in a heated campaign with
Joe Brooks. Finally Col. A. S. Fowler, who is now a citizen of Little Rock and a most excellent gentleman, was
selected as being the proper man to become sheriff of that county. Fowler said to the Governor, "I will accept
the office upon one condition, and that is that you disband the militia and allow me to go alone." The Governor
insisted that he would be taking his life in his own hands if he did so, but Fowler would not accept the office
under any other condition; so he was appointed and went too Dover, the county seat. Upon reaching Dover, he took
it upon himself to visit the leading citizens of the little town and inform them that he had come for the purpose
of enforcing the law and not to violate it. This met with the approval of all good citizens, and it was but a short
time until this information was conveyed to all parts of the county.
A day or two after, Reece Hogan, at the head of his thirty men, came to Dover and called for Colonel Fowler and
said: "I understand that you have been appointed sheriff of this county." Colonel Fowler said, "Yes."
Hogan then said: "I understand further that you have come to enforce the law and not to violate it."
Fowler said, "Yes." Hogan then said, "Here are my weapons and these are my men who are following
me; we now surrender to you." Fowler said to Hogan, "I do not want your weapons nor your men; I simply
want you to aid me to enforce the law." And Hogan informed him that he would do so.
This was the end of strife in that county; and, be it said to the credit of both Colonel Fowler and Reece Hogan,
they were very warm personal friends from that time up to the time of Hogan's death. In our opinion, the same results
could have been accomplished in every county in the State at the time.
But, be this as it may, so far as I am concerned, I am willing "that the dead past shall bury its dead."
I bear no bitter animosity against any one who was connected with the tragedies of that day, and I trust the bitter
feelings engendered in those days will not have a tendency to control the action of our people in the future. We
have a great State and a great country; we are a people of one political household, with a common destiny and a
common end, and every good citizen should feel it his duty to do all he can to support the Constitution, which
is but another name for the liberties of the people and the union of the States.
Of course, in this paper, it will, not be expected for me to take up each delegate of the convention and undertake
to give his history; and while I will not refer to all the names, yet the great majority of them are entitled to
a record in history.
I think it may be said with propriety that Governor Flanagan was perhaps regarded as the ablest man of the convention.
This can be said without detracting from any one else. He was by no means what would be called an orator, but he
was concise, logical and convincing, and, with his great ability, he was as modest and unassuming as a child. Though
plain and unassuming, when he spoke he always commanded the respect and consideration of all. I doubt whether his
ability as a lawyer, up to that time, had been thoroughly understood and appreciated by the bar of the State. He
was comparatively a young man at the beginning of the Civil War, and was Governor when the United States forces
invaded the State and seized the capital; hence, he had but little opportunity to display his marked ability.
Judge Mansfield was a conspicuous figure in the convention ; not by reason of his effort to make himself known
and felt as a leader, but by reason of his intrinsic merit. Perfectly conscientious in every act and always considerate
of the opinions of others, he never hesitated to assert himself upon all important questions. He is now too well
known to the profession to need any eulogy at my hands.
He was one among the leaders in the convention and since then he has served a term on the Supreme Bench, where
he was recognized as an able and upright judge, and it was universally regretted by the bar of the State when he
decided to retire to private life. The only criticism I ever heard of him as a judge—no, I shall not use the word
"criticism," because it was not intended as such, but it was perhaps the highest compliment that could
have been paid him. Judge Cockrill once told me that Judge Mansfield was one of the most painstaking judges he
had ever known. He said it wad nothing unusual when the judges had had a conference and agreed what the opinion
should be, to find Judge Mansfield in the library looking up the questions involved for fear the court had not
reached a correct conclusion.
In other words, when there was any great principle involved or the liberty of a citizen at stake, he wanted to
be doubly sure before he wrote the final opinion. He is now an aged man, and it is my greatest hope that the last
years of his life will be those of peace, quiet and happiness.
Judge John R. Eakin, a delegate from Hempstead county, was one who wielded a splendid influence in the convention.
He became Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, where his ability was recognized by the bar generally. I think
in early life he had been the editor of a newspaper; he was a well-read man and thoroughly understood the use and
force of the English language. While he made no pretenses as an orator, and all his speeches were in a conversational
tone, yet all his expressions showed he was master of the English language.
The "exemption" clauses in the Constitution perhaps gave more occasion for debate than any one part of
the Constitution. There were two extremes in the convention upon the subject of "Exemptions;" some were
in favor of very limited exemptions, if any at all, while others advocated the idea of putting a man upon his honor
and making his exemptions without limit. Judge Eakin belonged to the latter class. I have always thought that his
speech on this subject should have been printed for the benefit of those who came after him.
In this speech there was no effort at display, yet it was a speech that would appeal to the heart and conscience
of any man. I know it had the effect to modify my views upon the subject to such an extent as to induce me to prepare
the clauses of the Constitution upon the subject of "Exemption," which were adopted substantially as
they were presented.
Judge Eakin, among other things, pictured the scene of a young man, who had started in life full of hope and ambition,
and when he had built him a comfortable home and his good wife, upon one side of the porch had trained a beautiful
rose around the post, so that when the springtime came and the shades of night began to fall, he and his wife and
children could sit beneath its foliage and breathe its rich aroma, while the mocking bird gave forth its sweet
strains of music; while upon the other side of the porch the good wife had trained the honeysuckle and the morning-glory
in rich profusion, extending from the earth to the top of the little home which sheltered and protected the little
ones from the rays of the morning sun, and yet, when the owner by some troubles and reverses had become involved
and the creditor would send the sheriff to the little home with an execution and the wife and children be thrown
out to start anew in the great battle of life.
He was one whose soul went out to the poor and distressed and whose heart was filled to overflowing with "the
milk o' human kindness." It is to be regretted that we do not have more of such men.
Judge Cypert of Searcy was also a distinguished figure in that convention. He bore the distinction of having been
in two constitutional conventions prior to the one of 1874. First, the constitutional convention of 1861, which
was called to decide upon the question as to whether the State would secede or not. Judge Cypert was at that time
a Union man and voted against secession. But that convention later on took a recess, and on being reconvened, the
question of secession was sustained—Judge Cypert finally voting for it. He was also a delegate to the convention
of 1868.
He had served in a number of political capacities, and was always ready and strong in debate. He was a man who
always spoke his sentiments, and, in doing so, he sometimes offended those with whom he differed; but it was never
intended in an offensive sense. But, whatever may be said of him, the poeple of the State, and especially the people
of White county, will never be able to honor him for the great good he has done. He has always stood for right,
for law and order, for good government and the rights of the people, and he always condemned the wrong and was
fearless in expressing his opinion upon any great question. He is now eighty-seven years old, having spent a life
of unselfishness and usefulness.
Judge James W. Butler of Batesville was likewise one of the leaders in the convention; he was a splendid lawyer,
and after the convention, served as circuit judge for a number of years in his district, with perhaps as much satisfaction
as any judge who ever served. He was modest and unassuming, but at the same time fearless in urging what he thought
was right. He was the author of the clause in the Constitution enlarging the rights of married women. I do not
say that he made this a hobby, but he stayed with the proposition until it was engrafted in the Constitution, and
it is now recognized as one of the wisest provisions. He was always candid and sincere, and thereby had the confidence
and esteem of all the delegates.
Judge John J. Homer of Phillips county was among the leaders of the convention; his ability as a lawyer was perhaps
never recognized by the bar generally as it should have been. He was modest and unassuming, attending strictly
to his own business; but, while in the convention, he took an active part in the discussions of all legal questions,
and his arguments were always strong, explicit and convincing. He was always courteous, but positive, and he did
much in molding and shaping the Constitution, and his death was a great to the State.
I can not conclude these personal recollections and reminiscences without referring to my good friend, E. Foster
Brown, delegate from Clayton (now Clay) county. He was a unique and prominent figure in the convention from its
beginning to its end. He was perhaps the youngest member but was in a class by himself. He took an active but not
an offensive part in most of the discussions. He had a keen sense of humor, and always enjoyed a good joke, but,
unlike most men, he enjoyed them most when they involved himself, and he took great pleasure in telling those in
which he was made the chief object of ridicule. I remember one which he always enjoyed in telling his friends.
He said when he was quite a young man, before he had reached his majority, he had occasion to take a trip on horseback
from the northeastern part of Arkansas into Missouri, and at the end of his first day's journey, after he had traveled
some distance into the eastern part of Missouri, he stopped at an humble home and asked if he could stay all night.
The reply was he could, if he could put up with their fare, and was told to carry his horse around to the barn
and feed him. He did so, and in a few minutes supper was announced by the good woman, and he soon found himself
seated at a table ladened with fried ham and eggs and an abundance of fruits and preserves, which the good wife
had prepared herself.
It so happened that on that very day a gray horse had been stolen in that neighborhood and a posse of men were
in hot pursuit, and while he was seated at the family fireside entertaining the children with stories, some one
hailed at the front gate. The man of the house went to the door and said, "Who's there?" And he was asked
if there was a stranger stopping with him, to which he replied there was. The man then said, "Tell him to
come out." Brown said he went out, thinking perhaps they were lawless marauders, as they were common in that
section of the country at that time, and found the house surrounded by men; he said it looked to him like there
were at least a hundred of them, and there was no means of escape. So he made up his mind that if he had to die
he would die bravely, and he said:
"What is it you will have of me?" One of them replied that a large gray horse had been stolen in the
neighborhood and that they had tracked a horse coming in that direction until it was so dark they could not track
him further, and then asked him if he came horseback. Brown told them he had. They then asked the color of the
horse, and Brown told them it was a gray horse. Then there was a general cry of "He's the thief! He's the
thief!" Brown said it seemed to him that there were a hundred voices shouting this; at the same time, but
he maintained that cool, calculating courage which always fortifies a man when he is innocent, or in the right,
and he said to them: "Gentlemen, I am not the man you are after; while my horse is a gray horse, he is a small
horse, and I will lead you to the barn so you can see for yourselves." He led the way to the barn by the light
of a tallow candle, which the good woman had furnished him, the men following, using the most vile epithets to
him. When he opened the door the horse was lying down, but arose as they entered and they exclaimed, "That's
the horse! That's the horse!" Brown said when the horse got up it looked to him as if he had grown six inches
since he had put him in the barn; that he looked as big as an elephant. The horse was led out for examination,
and upon close inspection it was discovered that he was not shod, and as the horse which had been stolen was shod,
this could not be the one they were looking for. The crowd then apologized to the family and to Brown for having
disturbed them and went on in pursuit of the thief. And Brown would then say: "I want to tell you, gentlemen,
when they said that was not the horse I was the happiest man you ever saw, and ever since that time I have.been
very fond of an unshod horse, and if any of my friends ever want to give me a horse, it must be unshod, as I will
have none other."
I remember on one occasion, when the exemption clauses were under discussion, I had opposed any exemptions for
a single man. Brown in replying said, among other things, that he could very well understand why his young friend,
the delegate from White county, opposed any exemption for young men; that while his friend was a young man, he
understood that he was to be married as soon as the convention adjourned and the exemption clauses would not apply
to him. I replied to this by saying that I understood the delegate from Clayton county had been engaged to be married,
but his girl had gone back on him; hence, his position on the subject.
When the convention took a recess and Brown and myself walked out he said, "House, how did you find that out?"
I told him that I had never heard it, but that it was the only reply I could make to get even with him, and he
said, "Well, it's all right if you never heard of it."
He was always a well-dressed man; he wore a Prince Albert coat and beaver hat. I said to him on one occasion: "Brown,
how is it you are a country-raised boy, with limited means and limited opportunities, that you come here so well-dressed?"
He said: "Well, House, I will tell you. When I began the campaign I had no idea of being elected, but somehow
I succeeded in convincing the people I was a little better man for the place than the other fellow (and just privately
he said, I will say, there wasn't much choice between us), but, contrary to my expectations, I was elected. At
that time I only had $85, and with that I bought this suit and hat and had just enough money left to pay my way
to Little Rock and about one week's board."
He was universally popular, not only with the members of the convention, but with all others with whom he was brought
in contact; so much so, that Mr. Gleason, who was then running the restaurant at the Capital Hotel, at that time
the best in Little Rock, offered to board him free of charge; but he declined to accept the offer.
He was logical and concise in debate and always commanded respect and attention of his fellow-members. After the
convention he was elected to the State Senate, where he maintained the same high standard he enjoyed in the convention.
He was then elected prose
|
