CHAPTER IX

JAMES S. BOYNTON BECOMES GOVERNOR AD INTERIM-CALLS AN ELECTION -GOVERNOR BOYNTON A FAVORITE-MAJOR BACON TAKES THE FIELD AGAIN IN ADVANCE OF THE TIME SET FOR THE ELECTION A STATE CONVENTION IS HELD-TWO OTHER GEORGIANS DEVELOP STRONG FOLLOWINGS-HENRY D. MCDANIEL, AN EX-STATE SENATOR, AND GEN. PHILIP COOK-AS USUAL, THE CONVENTION IS DEADLOCKED—A COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE IS FINALLY APPOINTED-EX-SENATOR MCDANIEL THE COMPROMISE CANDIDATE NOMINATED AMID GREAT ENTHUSIASM-HIS ELECTION FOLLOWS-INAUGURATED GOVERNOR AT A SPECIAL SESSION-DEATH OF HON. CHARLES J. JENKINS-THE LegISLATURE IN 1883 PROVIDES FOR THE ERECTION OF A NEW STATE CAPITOL IN ATLANTA, TO COST $1,000,000-THE STATE CAPITOL COMMISSIONITS MONUMENTAL WORK-HON. MARK BLANDFORD BECOMES AN ASSOCIATE JUSTICE THE HISTORIC OLD KIMBALL HOUSE BURNS IN 1883 -RECOLLECTIONS OF THIS FAMOUS HOTEL-ITS POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS- GENERAL LONGSTREET APPOINTED A FEDERAL MARSHAL-THE CIVIL RIGHTS BILL DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL-GREAT REJOICING IN GEORGIA DELEGATES TO THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION IN 1884 CLEVELAND AND HENDRICKS NOMINATED-GEORGIA HOLDS A STATE CONVENTION AT WHICH GOVERNOR MCDANIEL IS AGAIN NAMED PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS-R. U. HARDEMAN BECOMES STATE TREASURER-BISHOP PIERCE'S DEATH-CLEVELAND'S ELECTION— GREAT JUBILATION IN GEORGIA-GRADY ADJOURNS THE LEGISLATURE -L. Q. C. LAMAR, A NATIVE GEORGIAN, MADE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR THE NEW CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION-MAJ. GEORGE T. BARNES GOVERNOR MCDANIEL RE-INAUGURATED-SENATOR BROWN AN UNOPPOSED CANDIDATE FOR RE-ELECTION-THE NEW LEGISLATUREDOCTOR FELTON'S REFORMATORY BILL-GEORGIA SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY CREATED COL. N. E. HARRIS AUTHOR OF THE BILL-CORNERSTONE OF THE NEW STATE CAPITOL LAID-GEN. ALEXANDER R. LAWTON THE ORATOR-DEATH OF ROBERT TOOMBS AT HIS HOME IN WASHINGTON -TRIBUTES TO THE KINGLY GEORGIAN-REVIEW OF GOVERNOR MCDANIEL'S ADMINISTRATION-LOWEST TAX RATE SINCE 1865.

Governor Stephens died on Sunday, March 4, 1883. Hon. James S. Boynton, then president of the Senate, took the oath of office on the day following and without delay issued an executive proclamation calling for a special election to be held on April 24, 1883. At the same time the General Assembly was called to meet in special session within three weeks thereafter, to declare the result of said election or to elect a governor in case no person should receive a majority of the votes cast. In

advance of the time set for the state election a meeting was called of the State Democratic Convention to nominate a candidate for governor.

Pursuant to call, the State Democratic Convention met in Atlanta, on April 11, 1883. There was a strong current of popular sentiment in favor of Governor Boynton. The record of this upright public servant bore no stain. As commander of the Thirtieth Georgia Regiment during the Civil war and as president of the State Senate, he had achieved a deservedly high distinction. But the friends of Speaker Bacon, seeing in this crisis of affairs an opportunity to place the popular presiding officer of the House in the executive chair, organized a vigorous campaign. At first he did not seem to be as strong as Governor Boynton, but his strength rapidly increased as the time for holding the convention drew near. Other favorite sons were likewise groomed for the nomination, among them Gen. Philip Cook, who had lately relinquished a seat in Congress, and Hon. Henry D. McDaniel, an ex-state

senator.

The convention organized by electing Col. Charles C. Jones, of Augusta, temporary chairman, and Judge Charles F. Crisp, of Americus, congressman-elect from the Third District, permanent chairman. Only three candidates were formally placed before the convention when the time for making nominations arrived. These were Governor Boynton, Speaker Bacon and ex-Senator McDaniel. The roll was then called and the first ballot resulted as follows: Boynton, 139 7/15; Bacon, 145 2/15; McDaniel, 36 11/15; Cook, 14 2/15; Thomas J. Simmons, 6; Martin J. Crawford, 3; Wm. E. Smith, 3; and A. T. MacIntyre, 2.* When the twelfth ballot was concluded Hon. Dupont Guerry sought to swing the convention to Gen. Philip Cook by formally placing his candidate in nomination at this point in the proceedings. He started a wave of enthusiasm, but the additional support increased General Cook's strength to only thirty votes. The balloting continued. There were few material changes, each call of the roll yielding substantially the same result. The convention seemed to be hopelessly deadlocked. Finally Hon. Patrick Walsh, of Augusta, a strong supporter of Governor Boynton, offered a resolution requesting the two strongest candidates to withdraw, in the interest of democratic harmony. There was decided opposition to this course, however, among the friends of these gentlemen, and a substitute for the resolution was offered by Dupont Guerry, which promised a happier solution of the difficulty and its adoption followed by a vote of 203 to 147. The Guerry substitute proposed a committee of conference to be composed of delegates representing each of the candidates and proportioned in the following ratio of strength: 6 for Boynton, 6 for Bacon, 4 for McDaniel and 2 for Cook; this committee to retire from the hall at once, to canvass the situation carefully and to report to the convention a compromise candidate for governor. On this committee of conference the following delegates were appointed by the chair: Washington Dessau, Walter G. Charlton, C. C. Kibbee, Arthur H. Gray, Thomas B. Cabaniss and F. H. Colley, for Bacon; Messrs. P. M. B. Young, R. T. Dorsey, F. D. Dismuke, Charles C. Jones, A. P. Parham and M. C. Fulton, for Boynton; Messrs. Alex. S. Erwin, W. B. Wingfield, S. C. Dun

* Atlanta Constitution, April 12, 1883, et seq.

lap and L. F. Livingston, for McDaniel; and Messrs. Dupont Guerry and W. H. Willis, for Cook. After remaining out for some time, this committee finally agreed on a compromise candidate and reported to the convention its action by naming Hon. Henry D. McDaniel, of Walton. The announcement was greeted with an uproar of enthusiasm, and on motion of Gen. P. M. B. Young the nomination of Mr. McDaniel was made unanimous. Two weeks later at the ballot box his election to the governorship resulted. Mr. McDaniel's record in the State Senate had brought him into well deserved prominence. Entering public life as the youngest member of the secession convention, he subsequently commanded a brigade at Gettysburg. Successful as a financier and man of affairs, he possessed an acknowledged genius for practical legislation.

In response to Governor Boynton's proclamation, the Legislature met in special session, on May 9, 1883, to inaugurate the governor-elect and to enact such necessary measures as the state's welfare in this crisis demanded. The acting governor, in his message to the Legislature, paid this tribute to Mr. Stephens. Said he:

*

"Other men have surpassed him in special domains of thought or action but no historic character of the commonwealth is more rounded and complete, more varied in intellectual attributes, more thoroughly equipped with moral excellence and mainly virtue, more noble in heroic fiber, more fitted for exalted trust, more continuously conspicuous by uniform and lofty achievement. He was a good man-a wise man-a great man. He was a great orator, a great thinker, a great writer, a great statesman, a great actor, a great philanthropist, a great practical examplar of Christianity."

Governor McDaniel's inauguration took place on Thursday, May 10, 1883, in the House of Representatives. Chief Justice James Jackson administered the oath. While the sables of grief for Mr. Stephens were still visibly in evidence the state was bereaved of another favorite son on June 5, 1883, when ex-Gov. Charles J. Jenkins breathed his last at Summerville, near Augusta. It was this peerless Georgian who refused to surrender the executive seal into the hands of the military power in 1865 and who before the Supreme Court of the United States sought to nullify the oppressive measures of reconstruction. His last service to the state was rendered as chairman of the great Constitutional Convention of 1868. Out of respect for the memory of this illustrious Georgian, Governor McDaniel issued an executive order directing the state house offices to be closed on the day of the funeral and the state flag to be displayed at half-mast. Said the governor: "His long and useful public service was without a stain. Faithful to every trust, he displayed ability, integrity and patriotism rarely equalled and never surpassed. His memory is a priceless heritage." †

When the State Legislature met in its summer session an act was passed providing for the erection of a new state capitol, the cost of which was not to exceed $1,000,000. Five commissioners were to be appointed within thirty days from the date of this act and by virtue

* House Journal, 1883, pp. 9-10.

Files Atlanta Constitution and Augusta Chronicle, June 6, 1883. + Acts, 1883.

The dis

of his office the governor was to be a member of this board. tinguished Georgians upon whom devolved the responsibility of supervision were: Gov. Henry D. McDaniel, Capt. Evan P. Howell, Gen. Philip Cook, Gen. E. P. Alexander, Hon. W. W. Thomas and Hon. A. L. Miller. It is to be regretted that Georgia's own rich quarries of building stone were not sufficiently developed at this time to permit of the use of home materials in the building of this magnificent structure. Georgia marbles and granites have since come into wide use throughout the land, but at this time the best material available for this purpose was Indiana limestone, a substance which has undoubtedly given great satisfaction. To the credit of the commissioners be it said that the present splendid new state house was not only completed within five years but its total cost was considerably less than the figures named in the original appropriation. The experience of other states in the erection of public buildings, notably Pennsylvania and New York, makes this achievement one of which Georgia in an age of corrupt officialism may well be proud. There was no suggestion of graft in the building of this superb structure; and from capstone to foundation its solid masonry was unstained, revealing no marks of dishonest workmanship and no traces of maladministration.

To fill the unexpired term of Judge Martin J. Crawford, deceased, on the Supreme Bench, this Legislature, after an exciting contest, elected Hon. Mark Blandford, of Muscogee, an ex-member of the Confederate Congress, and an able jurist and lawyer. His competitors were: Maj. Wm. S. Basinger, of Savannah, and Hon. Wm. H. Dabney, of Rome.* On August 13, 1883, while the Legislature was still in session, the historic old Kimball House, at which many of the legislators were stopping, burned to the ground. This noted old landmark witnessed in its day some of the most dramatic scenes in the history of Georgia politics and was the custodian of countless secrets, revealed only in caucus behind closed doors. Its lobbies were fragant with reminiscences of public men. Here General Toombs always stopped when in Atlanta. His appearance in the arcade never failed to attract attention. His signature on the register invariably started newspaper reporters in quest of an interview. It was in the corridors of the Kimball that many of the wittiest sayings attributed to General Toombs were first heard. When the work of the flames was complete, naught was left of the old building save grim walls and lifeless ashes; but plans for a new hotel were made at once and work on its successor began without delay.†

President Arthur this year appointed Lieut.-Gen. James Longstreet marshal for the Northern District of Georgia. General Longstreet had been a republican since the days of reconstruction, having identified himself with the party in power in order to aid more effectively in the work of rehabilitation. Moreover, he considered himself obligated by the terms of his parole to uphold the United States Government. This course had made General Longstreet very unpopular, despite his record as a commanding officer in Lee's army; and it was due largely to the

House Journal, 1883, pp. 370-380.

Files of the Atlanta Constitution, August 14, 1883.
"Lee and Longstreet at High-Tide."'

odium in which he was held after the war that he was charged with responsibility for the loss of Gettysburg. But General Longstreet, while out of touch with democrats, was not in close affiliation with republicans. He was in no sense of the word a politician. Consequently he sought and obtained little in the way of political emoluments.

Great satisfaction was felt in Georgia this s year over a decision rendered by the Supreme Court of the United States declaring the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional, null and void. Justice Bradley wrote this celebrated opinion. Under the above named act, members of the colored race were entitled to full and equal enjoyment of all accommodations, advantages, and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land and water, theatres and other places of amusement, subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law. Of course it was difficult to enforce such a measure in the South. No jury, composed of white men, could be found to convict a defendant for having drawn. the color line. On one occasion a negro sought to enter the parquet at DeGive's Opera House, but he was promptly evicted by a policeman, acting under instructions from the owner. The negro instituted a suit against Mr. DeGive, but he failed to get any satisfaction. The law was a nullity in Georgia. There was never a conviction under this act during the nine years of its operation. But its danger, to quote an editorial comment, lay in the fact that while a dead letter on the statute book it was a temptation for designing white men and ignorant negroes to precipitate an issue between the two races.

To the Chicago convention to nominate a national democratic ticket Georgia sent the following state delegation in 1884: from the state at large-Capt. Evan P. Howell, Hon. A. O. Bacon, Gen. A. R. Lawton, and Hon. Patrick Walsh; district delegates-1. J. L. Sweat and R. W. Grubb; 2. Judge O'Neal and Capt. John Triplett; 3. W. T. McArthur and C. C. Duncan; 4. F. M. Longley and J. H. Martin; 5. George Hillyer and W. C. Parker; 6. G. W. Gustin and J. E. F. Matthews; 7. M. Dwinnell and L. S. Colyar; 8. M. P. Reese and H. T. Lewis; 9. W. I. Pike and W. E. Simmons; 10. Wm. II. Parsons and E. F. Lawson. These delegates were uninstructed, but supported Grover Cleveland, of New York, for President. Mr. Cleveland was the nominee of this convention. Ex-Gov. Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, was given the second place on the ticket. In the fall elections democracy swept the

nation.

The State Democratic Convention to nominate a governor met in Atlanta on August 13, 1884, endorsed Governor McDaniel's administration, and tendered him a renomination for governor by a unanimous vote. Hon. Walter G. Charlton, of Chatham, was the permanent chairman of this convention. The temporary presiding officer was Hon. Joseph II. Polhill, of Jefferson. All the state house officers were renominated, except Maj. D. N. Speer, who declined to stand for re-election at this time, due to failing health. In place of Major Speer, the convention nominated Hon. Robert U. Hardeman, of Newton. The presidential electors chosen this year were as follows: Peter F. Smith and George N. Lester, from the state at large; and district electors: Spencer R. Atkinson, A. T. MacIntyre, Rufus M. Hodges, E. M. Butt, John L.