Luther Register. (Luther, Okla.), Vol. 8, No. 39, Ed. 1 Friday, April 26, 1907 Page: 2 of 8
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CONVENTION SIGNS
ORGANIC DOCUMENT
COUNTY ELECTION OFFICER#
NAMED IN NEW COUNTIES—
COMMISSIONER AND TOWN-
SHIP SUBDIVISIONS
GUTHRIE; On the anniversary of
tho battle of Lexington and also of
tha opening of the Cheyenne .and
Arapaho country to settlement, the
constitution proposed for the state of
Oklahoma was signed Friday after-
noon by the delegates who were In
attendance.
President Murray affixed his signa-
ture to the document at 2:46 p. m.
aad was followed by Peter llanraty,
first vice president, and A. H. Ellis
of Orlando, second vice president.
After Secretary John M. Young had
attested their signatures, the consti-
tution was signed by the other delfr
gates In the numerical order of their
districts, T. O. Jainra of Quytaon be-
tng the first on the list.
President Murray signed his name
with the pen presented by Custodian
W. P. Campbell of the Oklahoma His-
torical society, made from an eagle
quill, with a holder of alfalfa stems,
wrapped with Oklahoma grown silk,
and his title wtlh a pen presented by
William J. Bryan of Nebraska. Most
of the delegates signed with the pens
which they had used during the con-
vention sessions, and carefully pre-
served them as souvenirs.
The republican delegates had pre-
vlou !y caucused and decided not to
sign the constitution. In all Beventy-
flvo delegates signed the constitution,
none of them republicans. The sign-
ing was completed at 4:16 when Ter-
ritorial Secretary Charles H. Fllson at
•tested tho signature, and affixed the
groat seal of the Territory of Okla-
homa.
The early part of the afternoon had
been spent In checking up the correc-
tions which had been made on the
parchment copy since the reassem
b'ing ef the convention, and after that
worfc had been completed the docu-
ment was placed cn Its final passage
as corrected and Interlined, receiving
eighty-five votes, with none against
and twenty-seven delegates absent or
not voting.
The convention reunion committee
compoeed of Delegates Leeper, Her-
ring. Wyatt. Dalton. Oaudili and Gard-
ner decided to hold the first reunion
of the delegates at Sulphur, probably
In August, 1908, although the date w«s
not definitely fixed Elk City wss
the only other candidate. The com
tolttee effected a permanent organi-
sation with Cy Leeper of Sulphur as
chairman and Nell Gardner of Stiglar
aa secretary.
OllHRIE: Complete recognition Is
fflven to the election laws of Okla-
homa and Judge Burford's rccent de-
cision on the subject In the new elec-
tion ordinance reported to the eon
stltutlonal convention Thursday by
the committee of eleven appointed for
that purpose on Monday. The new
ordinance is almost as long as the
constitution, covering 360 type written
pages Its great length Is made nec-
essary by the Inclusion of detailed de-
scriptions of the commissioner dis-
tricts and municipal townships in all
the new counties.
As outlined in brief form by Henry
B Asp, the republican member of tha
oommlltee, who has been an active
part In Its preparation, the new ordi-
nance repeals the ordinance hereto-
fore adopted by the convention and
adopts the provisions of the Oklaho-
ma election laws, making the gover-
nor and ono member of each of the
two principal x>Htl«al parties, to be
named by the stats chairmen, a board
of olectloa commissioners to recelv
and past on certificate* of nomination
for state and district officers, mem-
bers of tho legislature, and five rep-
resentatives to congress, to print and
distribute tho ballots for such officers
and to print and distribute tho bal-
lots on the question of the ratlllcat
tlon or rejection of tho constitution
and tho ratification or rejection of the
provision for state wide prohibition.
Theje officers are tho board of elo-
tlon commissioners under tho laws of
Oklahoma territory, and their duties
are extended to the proposed state
In Osage county and the new coun-
ties In Indian Territory, and the new
counties in Oklahoma that do not re-
tain the old county name, provision
la made for tho appointment of a
county clerk to perform the duties of
Oklahoma laws such county clerk and
a member of each of the two prin-
cipal political parties, nominated by
t'no chairman, constitute the county
board of election commissioners to
perform the duties In tho new coun-
ties of election commissioners under
the Oklahoma laws. The countj
board of flection commissioners print
and distribute the ballots for county
and township officers and the elec-
tion supplies.
Provision Is alio made in such
counties for the appointment of a
board of county commissioners to es-
tablish voting places and election pro-
ducts and appoint Inspectors of elec-
tion In each precinct under the ter-
ritorial laws, and with tha county
clerk to act In each of such counties
as a canvassing board to count and
certify to the state canvassing board
tho results of the election, and to is-
sue certificates of election to county
and township officers.
The state canvassing board as pro-
vided by the election laws of the Ter-
ritory of Oklahoma Is continued In
foreo for the purpose of canvassing
tho returns on state and dWtrict of-
ficers, members of the legislature and
represontatlvos In congress. The man-
aor of canvassing the returns of tha
election on the ratification or rejec-
tion of tho constitution and tho adop-
tion or rejection of the provision
for state wide prohibition la prescribed
In tho enabling act
Tho report is very long and divides
Osage county and tha now counties in
tho Indian Territory Into munlolpal
bownshlps. and such counties and tha
now counties In Oklahoma Into com-
nisatonera' districts, and appoints In
such cou&ties a commissioner tor each
district, constituting the board ot
eounty commissioners above men-
tion d.
Provision Is made for the governor
to lssuo tho proclamation for the
oloctlon. In the event of his failure
or refusal Do act, the president of the
convention Is required to issue the
proclamation. In the event of his !
failure or refusal to act, the secretary
of tho convention Is required to Issue
the proclamation. Provision Is made !
for the filling of vacancies in the of-
fice of county clerk under the laws
in foroo In the Territory of Oklahoma,
and also for the filling of vacancies in
tho office of county commissioners
named In the ordinance, by appoint-
ment from the governor.
In tho old counties In Oklahoma
Territory tha county commissioners
and oounty clerks and Iccal election
officers are required to perform the
duties at such elections. In the coun-
ties that retain the old names, the
boundaries of which have been re-
duced, the county clerk and boards
of county commissioners are made the
clerk and commissioner Per tliat
oounty, limiting their jurisdiction to
the county as described in the con-
stitution.
CONVENTION CONVENTION FRAMES A
ADJOURNED nfw fl[CT|0N PROVISION
WILL RECONVENE AUGUST 5, IF
NOT SOONER
INDICT LANE FOR THEFT
Grand Jury Returns True Bill Agalnot
Indian Agent's Clerk
MUSKOGEE: The federal grand
Jury haa preferred an indictment
against Lyman K. Lane, formerly
cashier of the Indian agency, charging
him with embeziling $7,800 of gov
emment funds.
Lane was cashier at the agency for
six years. The shortage covers a pe-
riod of several years, part of It reach-
ing back to Indian Agent Shoenfelt'a
administration. The money has never
boon accounted for and evon the gov-
ernment exports do not know what
become of all of It Some of ft was
advanced to employes who never paid
It back. Lane has their receipts. There
is little evidence that Lane over got
much, If any of the cash. He was sus-
pended from tho pla r three months
ago, whan the shortage first waa die-
covered. He waa arrested and plaead
under a $1,60* bond ponding actios
ml tho grand Jury.
PRIMARY DATE CHANGED
Juno 8 Is Date When Democrats Hold
Their primaries
OKLAHOMA CITY: Convinced that
It is Impossible for a legal primary to
j be called for May 23, under the Ok-
j lahoma primary law, because of the
inability to give the required 30 days'
| notice, the democratic state executive
committee Friday decided to postpone
the date of tha state primaries until
Juno 8.
The unanimous sentiment of the
members of the committee was that
the primary should be held on May
S3, If there was any way in wh+ch Bud
a primary election could be legally
held ander the recent decision of
Judge Burford, knocking out the su-
preme eleetlon board as creatcd by an
ordinance of tho constitutional con-
vention.
Tho decision of Judge Burford de-
clares that under the enabling act
tho slsctlon must in all matters con-
form a* soar as possible to the eleo-
tiaa laws at the territory ot Oklahoma-
Wow Election Ordinance Passed and
Disbursement Takes Plaoo
Amid Tunes Polltloal
and Religious
Monday
GUTHRIE: At five o'clock Monday
evening the Oklahoma constitutional
convention adjourned to August 5,
1907, unless called In tho meantime
by President Murray or Secretary
John M. Young.
The delegates sang "Old Kentucky
Homo." "God Bo With You Till Wo
Meet again," and then to the tune of
"Ach Moln Leibor Augustine," soma
of them shouted that Haskell would
bo the first governor. While thks waa
being sung, Delegate Clint Graham of
Marietta was calling "hats" from the
rear end of the hall, and immediately
when the parody waa completed Ham
Bee of Ardmore mounted the plat-
form and sang in reply to tho Hask-
ell "anthem" but using tho same
tune, "You'vo Got Another Guess
Coming." The Rev. M. Williams of
Buffalo then pronounced the benedlo-
tlon. all tho delegates joining In re-
peating the Lord's prayer.
The oonventlon just before adjourn-
ing adopted the election ordinance [
and that providing for separate sub-
mission of statewide prohibition, the
vote being 65 to 0.
The early adjournment was secured
by each of the delegates engrossing
the municipal and commissioners'
subdivisions of his county. During
a part of the afternoon two clerks
were reading at tho same time, one
the election ordinance and one tha
prohibition measure.
It was voted to have 500 printed
copies of the election ordinance sent
to each delegate for use during the
campaign.
Delegate Ledbetter secured tha
aopdtion of a resolution giving ints
the custody of Secretary Young all
the records and journals of the con.
vention and to President Murray all
tho stenographic reports for tha
printing of which he will contract.
Both these officials are commanded
to turn the property over to the sec
retary of state.
Delegate Johnson of Perry intro-
duced a resolution providing that tha
convention adjourn until August 5,
that they be Bubject to the call ol
President Murray in the meantime.
A vote of thanka was extended ta
Secretary Young, Ham Bee and B. C.
Patten for their services, for which
they refused to accept remuneratioa
from the delegates.
Delegaite Hausam of Coweta intro-
duced a resolution to present the peD
with which the election ordinance waj
slgmed to Chief Justice Burford,
whose recent ruling .necessitated tha
entire -change of the ordinance. Soma
of the delegates feared, however, that
this might be taken as a slap at tha
Judge and the resolution was voted
down. Now many of the delegate*
are wondering which action really
constituted a slap at the court.
It was accidentally discovered that
the resolution introduced aoid adopt-!
ed in the committee of the whole on
November 21, accepting the United
States constitution, had never been
passed on third reading, and the res-
olution was consequently dug up and
finally adopted. It was this resolu. i
tion that brought about the pro
longed debate in the convention ic
regard to tho federal constitution bo
Ing supreme and paramount in the
new state. The words supreme am!
paramount were finally cut out. The
enabling act required that the federal
constitution bo adopted.
PARTY OFF FOR BOSTON
Prominent Oklahoma Physician Goss
to Europe for Study
OKLAHOMA CITY: Dr. and Mrs
Haynes Buxton and daughter, Ger
trude, left Saturday over the Santa
Fe for Boston from whence they will
sail for Europe next week. The doc-
tor goes to Vienna, Austria, to spend
four months in the eye and ear hos-
pitals, while Mrs. Buxton and daugh
ter will tour Europe.
During the doctor's absence Dr
Todd, a partner of Dr Buxton's will
continue tho regular business of tho
office. Last year Dr. Todd was clini-
cal assistant at the Central London
Throat and Ear Hospital, and attend
ant at the Royal Opthalmlc Hospital
Dr. Todd is well known in Oklahoma
medical circles.
RECONVENED TUE8DAY AFTER A
MONTH'S RE.CE88 — SOME
CHANGES SUGGESTED
AND ONE ORDERED
GUTHRIE: The constitutional con-
vention reconvened Tuesday morning
after a month's recess, but its first
session was very brief. Convening
shortly after 10 o'clock, It adjourned
befora 11, to convene again at 2
o'clock.
Practically the only business accom-
plished in the morning was the ap-
pointment of a committee to revise
the election ordinance in accordance
with Judge Burford's decision, and
the making of a slight change In the
provision regarding the registration of
dentists, so as to make the two sec-
tions on that subject correspond.
President Murray brought up the
dentistry matter, stating that he had
found a way in which, by the change
of two words, the conflict which was
admitted to exist between the two
sections as passed could be avoided.
Chairman Hayes of the schedule com-
mittee gave his approval to the
ehange, which was made by unani-
mous consent.
The provision as amended admits to
registration without examination all
dentists now registered in Oklahoma,
all who were practicing in Indian Ter-
ritory on June 16th last, when tho
enabling act was passed, and all new
arrivals since that time who have
diplomas from some recognized school
of dentistry.
A petition from citizens of Fairland,
I. T., was presented by Delegate Has-
kell, asking that Ottawa county be
enlarged to conform to the size of
tha county under the Sequoyah con-
stitution, by taking a strip off the
north side of Delaware county. It was
referred to the county boundaries
committee. Haskell also reported that
thera would be no primary election
ordinance, since the democratic party
had agreed to a primary anyway.
The pen made by W. P. Campbell,
eustodlan of the Oklahoma Historical
society, was presented to the con-
vention.
Douglas H. Johnston, Jr., son of
the Chickasaw governor, and Robert
Ledbetter, son of the Ardmore dele-
gate, were named as pages and con-
firmed by the convention. The presi-
dent announced the appointment of
Miss Lela Arrington and C. W. Allen
as additional stenographers to assist
In preparing typewritten copies of
the constitution and C. C. Clothier
to assist in the pen work. He states,
however, that the work was held up
for lack of parchment, so far as the
eounty boundaries report was con-
corned, although the rest of the con-
stitution wag practically completed.
GUTHRIE: As the result of Judge
Burford's recent decision In the cases
brought against the constitution con-
vention and the supreme election
board created by it, the election ordi-
nance adopted by the convention be-
fore its adjournment a month ago will
be repealed and an entirely new or-
dinance drafted. The committee of
elftven having in charge the prepara-
tion of that ordinance began work on
It and expected to have it completed
by Wednesday night.
Under the new ordinance the su-
preme election board, created by the
old ordinance, is dropped altogether
on account of the way in which it
was shorn of Its powerjpy the Burford
decision. Local election machinery
will be created by the convention it-
self In all of the new counties, in-
stead of delegating that function to a
board as before, and commissioner
districts and municipal townships will
be established.
In each of the new counties the or-
dinance will name a temporary board
of county commissioners and county
clerks, who shall look after election
matters In Just tho same manner as
the commissioners and clerks In the
existing oounties of Oklahoma. In the
cases where counties have been divid-
ed in Oklahoma, tho commissioners
and clerks of the old county are to
act In the new county bearing the old
name, although In ome cases only
one commissioner lives in that coun-
ty, while in the other counties carved
out and newly named new officers are
to be selected as in the new counties
of Indian Territory. The new coun-
ties were Tuesday afternoon parceled
out among the eleven members of the
drafting committee and any delegate
or other party interested who desires
to make any suggestion In regard to
township or commissioner district
lines or the temporary officers in his
county is to take the matter up with
the member of the committee to whom
that county has been assigned.
An attempt to inquire into the man-
ner in which the three mila strip on
the north of Beckham county was
transferred to Roger Mills waa
promptly squelched by President Mur-
ray, who declared emphatically that
"there is no change In what the con-
vention did on county boundaries, not-
withstanding what tho newspapers
said."
The matter was brought up by the
presetatlon by Delegate Savage of Mo-
Knight of petitions from residents of
Beckham county, many of them living
in the strip affected asking that it
be left In Beckham county. Tharo
were several hundred names signed
to the petition. No effort was made
to press tha Inquiry, however, after
Murray had issued his ediot that none
was in order.
A strong protest was made by nu-
merous Oklahoma delegates, voicing
the sentiment of their home commu-
nities against the placing of the maxi-
mum school levy at five mills which
was declared to be wholly inadequate
for the support of the schools. A mo-
tion was made by Sandlin of Prague
that the limit be raised to 20 mills, as
under the present Oklahoma law. A
number of Indian Territory delegates
insisted that when property was tax-
ed at its actual value more money
would be raised than at present, while
the advocates of tho change pointed
out that the law now provided for
assessment at cash value but was not
enforced. On motion of Littlejohn of
Brushy, seconded by Hill of Catoosa,
Sandlin's motion was declared to be
tabled, although cn a viva vote vote
the division seemed to be very near-
ly equal. No appeal was taken from
the decision.
Flowers Nelson of Tulsa was named
as a number of the committee of elev-
en, succeeding "Mike" Kane of King-
fisher, who asked to be relieved on
account of his other work in connec-
tion with the preparation of the ad-
dress to the people.
Lloyd Lee, son of Djlegate B. F.
Lee of Hugo, was appointed and con-
firmed as an additional page.
An inquiry brought to light the fact,
as heretofore set forth in the news-
papers during the recess, that the
mandatory primary clause for the
conduct of future elections in he
state had not been finally adopted. It
was then ordered finally engrossed
for third reading and passage.
Haskell county wants to bet that It"
will have the largest majority of votes
for the constitution of any county of
its size.
RAILROADS TO CHANGE SURVEYS
GUTHRIE: Governor Frantz ro
ceived a communication from Secro
tary Garfield stating that tho ordai
prohibiting fencing of public lands
in Oklahoma does not apply t«
school lands. This will permit terrl
tory to continue to rent school landi
to cattlemen.
Suit Filaa by Government to Compsl
Railroads to Touch Townaites
LAWTON: Word reached here from
Washington that the United States
government may bring an injunction
suit against the Wichita Falls, Lawton
* Northwestern Railway company to
compel the company to construct its
projected line through the big pasture
In such a route that government town-
aites soon to be offered for sale will
not be injured in value. This, It is
atatsd, is not the direct method of
procedure by the government but it is
in affect wh^J intends to do. It is a
significant fact that of all the railroad
surveys that have been made through
the pasture not one of the permanent
ones has touched a proposed govern-
ment townsite. Even the Rock Is-
land missed Eschlte «y a mile on the
west in Its survey south from Chatta-
nooga and a town is being built on a
homestead where this survey crosses
tho Wichita Falls survey. Some In-
formed attorneys hera bellava that
fclf paatura sattlera, ' •
WILSON'S IRE AROUSED
"I'm Tired of Untruthful Ads," De-
clares the Secretary
WASHINGTON: if this outra-
geous misrepresentation does not
cease the department will publish a
list bearing the names of manufactur-
ers indulging in this campaign of de-
ception."
Secretary Wilson of the department
of agriculture made this remark in an
authorized statement regarding the
fact that there had come to his knowl-
edge information that a number of
manufacturers of foods and drugs
wera freely advertising that the
United States government was guar-
anteeing their products. The secre-
tary said that the serial number and
guaranty number required by the pure
food and drug act to b9 placed on
food and drug products were being
used by these manufacturers for this
purpose.
"The serial number," said Secretary
Wilson, "is assigned to fix the re-
sponsibility whore it belongs—upon
the manufacturers—and to protect in-
nocent dealers who have a right under
the law to roly upon his guarantee.
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Sarjent, E. Luther Register. (Luther, Okla.), Vol. 8, No. 39, Ed. 1 Friday, April 26, 1907, newspaper, April 26, 1907; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc140474/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.