ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 501 to Congress by the capital district, and remained there until his death in 1837. Judge Ebenezer Lane, of Norwalk, was elevated to the Supreme bench at this session and remained there many years. John C. Wright, of Cincinnati, who also became a Supreme judge, was a man of great prominence. He had for many years been owner of the Cincinnati Gazette, had served in Congress since 1823, and his usefulness as a citizen did not cease until thirty years after this time. He died in 1861, after having been a very active delegate to the Peace Congress held in that year. The time of this Legislature was consumed almost entirely in revising old laws and codifying the enactments to date. The new provisions were chiefly amendments to the new tax law ; a large number of previously untaxed properties were brought within its scope, including mills and factories, money loaned at interest, and stocks and interests in steamboats. For the first time it was required that all taxable property should be assessed "at its true value in money." The political pot was kept at the boiling point. The newspapers were filled with accounts of the doings of General Jackson's administration. There was an explosion when the cabinet members all resigned, and another when Jackson and his vice president, John C. Calhoun, became greatly estranged. Work continued steadily on the canals, and prosperity reigned wherever their influence for easy transportation was manifest. A good deal was made of the fact that eight convicts working on the Columbus canal feeder escaped, and a storm of criticism arose against the Legislature for not providing a better prison in which they could be safely kept at constant work for the profit of the state. But, all in all, it was an uneventful year in Ohio. The astronomers of those days were as well able as their modern successors to predict eclipses, and with the same accuracy. One of the sun occurred on the 12th of February, at which the papers announced, both before and after it happened, that "eleven inches of the lower south limb of the sun" was shaded. And in the evening of August 23d "five and four-fifths inches of the upper north limb of the moon" was darkened. THIRTIETH LEGISLATIVE SESSION December 5, 1831, to February 13, 1832 Two entirely new names appeared on the records as speakers of the houses—William Doherty, of Franklin County, in the Senate ; and William B. Hubbard, of Belmont, in the House of Representatives. Both had been members of previous assemblies, but never acquired prominence in other offices. Governor McArthur's first annual message dealt largely in financial matters. He stated that the canal debt consisted of $1,400,000, money borrowed in financial districts outside of Ohio, and $257,128 borrowed from other state funds—principally from taxes received for the schools. The interest charges were $275,427.68 per year. The chief part of the debt was irreducible until after 1850. The National Road was now finished to Zanesville, without prospects of being extended further west for the present. There was a strong demand for another national road commencing at Zanesville and passing through Somerset, Lancaster, Chillicothe, and West Union in Ohio, across the river to Maysville, Paris and Lexington, Kentucky, and thence on to Nashville, Tennessee. The Ohio assembly memorialized Congress to provide this road, and an act was passed to construct it, but it was vetoed by President Jackson ; and this was thought to have lost him many friends in the western country. This assembly incorporated eleven companies to construct and operate 502 - HISTORY OF OHIO railroads. They were to be located in many parts of the state, but, so far as records disclose, no attempt was ever made to construct one of them. The laws were identical in their general provisions—condemning the right of way, declaring that the tolls should not be higher than those paid on the canals, permitting citizens to drive over them in their own "proper and suitable carriages," and right of the state to acquire them after twenty years by paying original cost and interest. They were "to carry persons and property by power of steam, of animals, or any other mechanical force or power, or any combination of them." It was a curious instance of groping around a project of the possibilities of which nobody had any information, and appears to have been proposed merely to make preparation for anything in the way of transportation on tracks which might develop later. On February 8, 1832, an act was passed ordering the erection of an entirely new penitentiary in Columbus on the east side of the Scioto River. It was to be large enough to accommodate 500 convicts, each in a single cell, and the cost was limited to $60,000. This was the first step in the establishment of the present state prison, which at various times since has been greatly increased in size and capacity. When the assembly adjourned it was to meet in special session on June 4, for the purpose of dividing the state into new congressional districts, to be based upon the new census and the act of Congress in determining the unit of representation. The adjourned session began on the day designated and ended ten days later. Ohio had been allowed nineteen congressmen, and the Legislature designated what counties should be included in each of the districts to elect them. The press of 1832 devoted a good deal of attention to the subject of the penitentiary. The first one was utterly inadequate in size, had suffered greatly from a fire, was evidently badly managed, was a great expense, and did not seem to offer very great obstacles to criminals who desired to escape from it. Besides, it was doing nothing in the way of reformation of the prisoners. Reports of investigations made by the directors were spread over the pages of the newspapers. One of these was an elaborate account of the methods in vogue for disciplining the convicts at the Auburn prison in New York State, which was regarded as a model, and its principles and methods were adopted by Ohio. Occurrences at Washington continued to be of consuming interest to the people and editors of Ohio. One which directly concerned them was a vicious physical assault, with a bludgeon, upon Congressman William Stansberry, of Newark, by Samuel Houston, previously a congressman from Tennessee, afterwards famous in the history of Texas, of which republic he was president before it was admitted to the Union as a state. Stansberry reported the facts to the speaker of the House, from his bed where he was confined by his injuries. Houston was arrested by order of a resolution by that body, found guilty of "contempt and violation of the privilege of the house," and reprimanded by the speaker. A Washington court later fined him $500. At the trial by the House of Representatives Stansberry offered to prove by witnesses that President Jackson had encouraged this assault upon him because of words he had used in an address in the House, as well as many other acts of violence which the anti-Jackson papers of Ohio termed "a reign of terror" brought on by the Jacksonian partisans. Cholera, which has raged in the East for some months before, reached Cincinnati in October of this year 1832. One hundred and fourteen deaths occurred there between the 12th and 16th, and 158 between the 18th and 24th of that month. It spread to other cities also, and to the penitentiary. Prior to its appearance in Ohio, Governor McArthur, at the request of many ministers of the Gospel, issued a proclamation appointing Thursday, September 13, "to be set aside for ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 503 fasting, humiliation and prayer to God that He may avert from us this dreadful malady, which has proved so fatal." The political battle raged fiercely in Ohio during most of the year. At the election in November the presidential vote in the state was : Jackson, democrat, 81,246 ; Clay, national republican, 76,539 ; William Wirt, anti-Mason, 509. The total vote cast in the state was 158,294. ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR ROBERT LUCAS THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATIVE SESSION December 3, 1832, to February 25, 1833 Samuel R. Miller, of Hamilton County, was elected speaker of the Senate, and David Disney, who had been elected some years before as representative in the lower house by the mechanics of Cincinnati, was now made speaker of that body. Governor McArthur took occasion on this, the thirtieth anniversary of the admission of Ohio into the union of the states, to review its history and to congratulate the people upon the great progress made. Nullification of a law of the nation had just been declared by a convention in South Carolina, and Governor McArthur greatly deprecated this. The vote for governor had been : Robert Lucas, 71,251; Darius Lyman, 63,185 ; scattering, 33. McArthur, doubtless because of his crippled and enfeebled condition, had declined to be a candidate for a second term. Governor Lucas was duly inaugurated, and delivered his address before the assembly in joint session. The adjutant-general reported the Ohio military establishment as now consisting of seventeen divisions, fifty-four brigades, 178 regiments, thirty-six battalions, sixteen squadrons of cavalry. The pensonnel was : 6,131 commissioned officers, 126,030 non-commissioned officers, musicians and privates. Total, 132,161. Armament-18,550 rifles, thirteen pieces of artillery. The new deaf and dumb asylum was reported as containing thirty-two pupils, seventeen of whom were supported entirely by the state ; the rest were paying for tuition and maintenance. The total receipts for the year had been $7,088, and expenditures, $3,957. Thomas Morris was elected United States Senator to succeed Benjamin Ruggles. Reuben Wood was made a judge of the Supreme Court after a stubborn contest in which nineteen ballots had been taken. Ralph Osborn, who had been state auditor for eighteen years, was now succeeded by John A. Bryan. Carroll County was erected, taken from territory in Columbiana, Stark, Tuscarawas, Harrison and Jefferson counties. The general assembly passed an act authorizing and encouraging the organization of county agricultural societies. This law was promptly taken advantage of, and within a year afterwards several of these local societies were in active operation. The excitement in Ohio over the nullification act of South Carolina was intense. The assembly adopted a resolution condemning it, and the papers, even those which were most bitterly opposed to General Jackson, frankly commended his vigorous course against it. His proclamation against it, which filled more than ten columns, and his subsequent message to Congress, which filled six more, were published, with extended favorable comment. No very unusual events in the state occupied space in the journals of this year. The famous Siamese twins, Chang and Eng, then youths, were first exhibited in various towns of Ohio and aroused much curiosity, as they did for more than forty years thereafter.—Another destructive tornado visited the state in April, between Dayton and the Indiana line. Although no lives were lost, great damage was done to property. ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 505 LAFAYETTE'S VISIT TO OHIO A distinguished statesman has said that the reformer and his reform seldom triumph together. He is therefore peculiarly fortunate who devotes his life to the service of humanity and lives to see a nation rise and hail him as a benefactor. To merit the need of praise brings always to the soul properly attuned something of happiness ; to deserve the gratitude of mankind and receive it is the acme of human felicity. Such was the rare fortune of the knightly Lafayette, who left wealth and ease in France and came, when a mere boy, to America to aid our forefathers in their struggle for independence ; who saw the cause that he had espoused triumph at Yorktown ; who, after the flight of years, revisited our shores as a private citizen and was everywhere received with spontaneous manifestations of patriotic joy. A new generation came forth to greet him. The voice of faction ceased ; the spirit of '76 lived again ; gratitude and patriotism raised triumphal arches and strewed his way with flowers. As he passed along the people with one acclaim showered down upon him the benediction of their great love. The poet spoke for all in the familiar lines: We bow not the neck And we bend not the knee; But our hearts, Lafayette, We surrender to thee. Says Sumner, "It belongs to the glory of Lafayette that he inspired this sentiment, and it belongs to the glory of our country to have felt it." From the hour that he landed on Staten Island under a beautiful rainbow, nature's auspicious greeting, his was more than a triumphal progress. Such a spectacle the world never witnessed before; such it may not witness again, until the service of humanity becomes the, master passion of great souls. Through the vista of years we see the modest joyful veteran as he passed from city to city. Age and the vicissitudes of an eventful life had left scarcely a furrow on his brow. The tenderness of his great heart beamed from every feature. In the midst of thronging thousands he stooped to kiss the little child and paused to shed a sympathetic tear as he grasped the hand of the war-worn comrade of other days. In the latter part of February, 1825, he started from the national capital on his Southern and Western tour, that his itinerary might include every state in the Union. Down tfie Potomac and the Chesapeake, through Virginia and the Carolinas, down to the sunny south-land he journeyed to meet the early spring. Over him were clement skies ; around him the picturesque wilderness wafting down its tribute on balmy breezes redolent with the fragrance of flowers and vibrant with the melody of birds. To the welcome of nature was added the welcome of her children. The untamed Indian, the untutored slave and the hardy pioneer seemed to forget distinctions in the effusive greetings that they tendered to the friend of all mankind. Out from the bay of Mobile the vessel steamed and bore him to New Orleans the French-American city that welcomed him in a delirium of joy. Up the "Father of Waters" he came, visiting new states, then the Western frontier of civilization, and marveling at the prodigies of progress in the wilderness. As his delighted eye dwelt upon the happy prospect, he forgot age and fatigue and felt bounding through his veins again the enthusiasm of revolutionary days. In what had been the Northwest Territory he rejoiced to see the principles that claimed his youthful heart embodied in the structures of three noble states, prophetic of what the greater republic was to be when slavery under the flag should cease and liberty should become universal in America. Up our beautiful Ohio he came. The sinking of the vessel that bore him, fraught with danger to the passengers, formed only an interest- 506 - HISTORY OF OHIO ing diversion. Overland he journeyed from Louisville to Frankfort, Kentucky ; thence northward, and on the morning of May 19, 1825, in the midst of a retinue of followers, he stood on the river shore and beheld, for the first time, the Queen City of the West. His visit had been expected. For days the citizens had eagerly awaited the news of his coming. Floating rumors and a premature signal revealed the tense interest that practically suspended business in anticipa-tion of the arrival of the nation's guest. The day was auspicious. The sky was cloudless. The spirit of peace came down on the expectant landscape and laughing waters. The city, ever beautiful in May, was passing fair on that bright morning. At a signal a splendid barge, equipped and manned for the occasion, crossed the river and landed on the shore opposite. As the prow gracefully turned toward the city again, the batteries on the river bank thundered their welcome. Cheer after cheer went up from the thousands that lined the water's edge ; the demonstration became more enthusiastic as the barge approached. The scene at the landing, as described by an eye witness, was worthy the genius that transferred it to canvas. 1 As Lafayette stepped ashore Governor Morrow grasped him by the hand and in behalf of Ohio delivered an address of welcome. In conclud-ing he said, "With feelings of gratitude and veneration common to our fellow citizens throughout the United States, we hail you, General, as the early and constant friend of our country, of national liberty, and the rights of man." Facing the vast throng Lafayette made the following response to the greeting : "The highest reward that can be bestowed on a revolutionary veteran is to welcome him to a sight of the blessings which have issued from our struggle for independence, freedom and equal rights. Where can those enjoyments be more complete than in the State of Ohio where, even among the prodigies of American progress, we are so particularly to admire the rapid and wonderful results of free institutions, free spirit and free industry; and where I am received by the people, and in their name by the chief magistrate, with an affection and concourse of public kindness which fills my heart with most lively sentiments of gratitude ? While I am highly obliged for your having come so far to meet me, I much regret the impossibility to present to you my acknowledgments, as I had intended, at the seat of government. You know, sir, the citizens of the state know, by what engagements, by what sacred duties, I am bound to the solemn celebration of a half secular anniversary, equally interesting to the whole Union. 2 I offer you, sir, my respectful thanks for the kind and gratifying manner in which you have been pleased to express your own and your people's welcome. Permit me here to offer the tribute of my grateful devotion and respect to the happy citizens of the State of Ohio." The soldiers stood in open order and presented arms while the general proceeded in a "Barouche and four" accompanied by his son, George Washington Lafayette, an escort from Kentucky and the city authorities, to a platform in front of the Cincinnati Hotel, where he was received by the local committee. The whole common in front of the city presented an unbroken mass of citizens, anxiously looking for the object of their ad-miration and occasionally raising their voices in shouts of the most enthusiastic joy. Ladies thronged the doors, windows and balconies of the adjacent buildings. Handkerchiefs fluttered, flags waved, the crowd swayed and the troops with military precision performed their evolutions, as the general and his party mounted the platform. Here he was warmly greeted by a number of old revolutionary soldiers and prominent citizens 1 “General Lafayette's landing and reception in Cincinnati" was painted by August Jean Hervieu. 2 - Laying of the corner stone of the Bunker Hill monument on the fiftieth anniversary of the battle. ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 507 of the state. General William Henry Harrison voiced the welcome of the city. He said in part : "There is no deception, general, in the appearances of prosperity which are before you. This flourishing city was not built, like the proud capital of the frozen Neva, by command of a despot directing the labor of obedient millions. It has been reared by the hands of freemen. These crowded streets are filled with the inhabitants of this city and its vicinity, and are a part of the 700,000 Christian people who daily offer up their orisons to heaven for the innumerable blessings they enjoy. The youth who form your guard of honor are a detachment of the 100,000 enrolled freemen whose manly bosoms are the only ramparts of our state. They have all assembled to present the free-will offering of their affections to the benefactor of their country. "Happy chief ! how different must be your feelings from those of the most distinguished commander who in the proudest days of Rome conducted to the capitol the miserable and the glittering spoils of an unrighteous war. This, your triumph, has not brought to the millions who witness it a single painful emotion. "Happy man ! the influence of your example will extend beyond the tomb. Your fame, associated with that of Washington and Bolivar, will convince some future Caesar that the path of duty is the path of true glory, and that the character of the warrior can never be complete without faithfully fulfilling the character of the citizen." The general was visibly affected. After the applause had died away he made a fitting reply, concluding with a reference to his comrades of other days. "Here also," he said, "I meet revolutionary companions in arms and the sons of old friends the sound of whose names is most dear to me." At the conclusion of the ceremonies the general held an informal reception in the hotel. Early in the evening he attended the Masonic Lodge bearing his name which had been organized in anticipation of his visit, and of which he was made an honorary member. Later he witnessed a brilliant exhibition of fireworks at the Globe Inn, and on his return visited the Western Museum which was brilliantly illuminated in his honor as was the entire city. Early the next morning the streets were thronged with people. The Sabbath school children were given precedence in the parade. With waving banners they marched forth and formed in a hollow square to receive the general. As he approached two hundred little girls strewed flowers in his way. Reverend Ruter spoke on behalf of the schools. "The rising generation of our land" said he, "cherish and will transmit to posterity a grateful remembrance of your sufferings and achievements in the sacred cause of freedom. All hearts greet you, and perhaps none with more sincerity than these juvenile companies gathered from our schools." Here a touching incident occurred. Lafayette was about to reply to the address when the children pressed around him, eagerly stretched out their little hands to him and filled the air with their cries of joy. This manifestation of affection was especially gratifying to him and he received their caresses with the tenderness of a parent who returns to his family after a long absence. He then replied to Doctor Ruter's address. "Amidst the affectionate and universal greetings from the people of Ohio," he said, "I have with peculiar delight noticed the eagerness and warmth of juvenile feelings in behalf of an old American soldier." He then congratulated the children that "their eyes first opened on the public prosperity and domestic happiness which are the blessed lot of this American land." The grand procession was then formed. The military companies came first in their brilliant uniforms. Next came the labor organizations with appropriate banners ; printers, cordwainers, hatters, shipwrights, carpenters, engravers, saddlers and other societies numbering in all more than thirty. The shipwrights several of whom carried miniature boats 508 - HISTORY OF OHIO on their shoulders„ were preceded by the barge in which the general had crossed the river. It was now mounted on wheels, drawn by horse, manned by its crew, and decorated with the stars and stripes. In the stern was painted "Yorktown, October 19, 1781." After marching through the principal streets, the procession halted on the open plain back of the city. Here the general and his suite were conducted to a large and beautiful pavilion decorated with roses and evergreens and sufficiently elevated to command a view of the surrounding multitude. After the general was seated and silence had succeeded the applause, Samuel M. Lee stepped forward and sang to the air of the Marseillaise Hymn an ode which had been composed for the occasion : With wealth and conquest grown delirious A foreign despot seized the rod, And bade us in a tone imperious To bow submissive to his nod. His hostile navies plowed the ocean, His threatening armies thronged our shore ; But when we heard his cannon roar, Thousands exclaimed with one emotion, "Columbia's sons, to arms ! Oh who would be a slave ! March on, march on, unchecked, unawed, To freedom or the grave." The god of battles from his dwelling Of light and glory in the skies, Heard from a thousand temples swelling Our heartfelt prayers and praises rise, And nerved each arm inspired each spirit To fight, to conquer and be free And bade each son of liberty His father's free born soul inherit. "Columbia's sons, etc. See, one by one those heirs of glory, Forever fled their health and bloom, In freedom's cause grown weak and hoary, Descending to the patriot's tomb. But yet of this great constellation A few bright planets have no set, We yet behold thee Lafayette ! The guest and glory of our nation. "Columbia's sons, etc. From a stand opposite the pavilion Joseph D. Benham, the orator of the day, delivered a scholarly and patriotic address. His manly presence commanded attention and his sonorous voice gradually increasing in volume reached the limits of the vast assembly. Liberty, progress and the devotion of Lafayette to both were his inspiring themes. In comparing the world's heroes he said : "Most nations, when tyranny becomes intolerable, have had their benefactors and deliverers—daring spirits whom no dangers could appall, no difficulties dismay. Scotland had her Wallace ; Switzerland her Tell ; Poland, dismembered, prostrate Poland her Kosciusko ; and America, thrice happy America, her Washington. But these immortal champions of human freedom were inspired by an ardent love of country to save from pollution their household gods and their altars. Lafayette, inspired by the same enthusiastic love of liberty and prompted by a generous disinterested sympathy, at the age of nineteen, relinquished the charms of nobility, the ease of affluence and the endearment of friends, home and ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 509 country—crossed the ocean and in the spirit of chivalry sustained with his fortune and his blood, our fathers in their doubtful struggle for emancipation." In the evening the general attended the theatre, and with pleasure listened to a poem in his honor, written by Morgan Neville, son of his former aid-de-camp and maternal grandson of Daniel Morgan, the famous revolutionary general. He also attended a ball given in his honor. As the evening advanced increasing crowds thronged about the room to see him once more and join in the universal "God speed" as he passed to the vessel that was soon to bear him away. Inside the room, fragrant with the breath of spring flowers tastefully arranged in the decorations, he was engaged in conversation with General Scott and other distinguished men. The eyes of all present were upon him, and many passed within the sound of his voice to catch some word to be treasured in memory and repeated, with the story of his visit, at the firesides of succeeding generations. The clock struck the midnight hour. The general, his party and many friends embarked on the Herald amid the booming of artillery, the prolonged cheers and affectionate farewells of the multitude that thronged the shores. Slowly and majestically the vessel swayed from its moorings, moved past the twinkling lights along the shore, out of the city, tinder the quiet stars, and over the quiet stars reflected in the placid river. It was Lafayette's original intention to proceed over land to Columbus and thence to Wheeling. His itinerary, in addition to the state capital, included Chillicothe, Lancaster and Zanesville. Preparations had been made at these points to welcome him, but finding the time at his disposal too short for the journey he proceeded up the river, passing Portsmouth and making a short stop at Gallipolis. At the latter place he was entertained at the home of Congressman Samuel F. Vinton. Mr. Vinton was in Washington but the general was kindly received by the family, and Mrs. Vinton, remaining at his side till he departed for the vessel, insisted on accompanying him to the landing. Leaving this interesting town, founded by his countrymen, the general proceeded up the river. Passing the island that bears the name of the ill fated Blannerhassett and other spots famous in the pioneer history of America, he came, on the morning of May 23, to Marietta where many years before revolutionary compatriots had laid the foundations of the first permanent settlement in Ohio. As the vessel approached the landing a gun was fired as a signal that Lafayette was on board ; a little later his name was seen in large letters across the bow. The news spread rapidly, and the people crowded to the wharf to welcome the illustrious visitor. His coming was a surprise as it was generally understood that Marietta was not in the line of his tour. Some citizens, however, seemed to have anticipated the visit, for a reception committee with Nahum Ward as chairman, had been appointed to act in such a contingency. A procession was quickly formed and Lafayette was escorted to Mr. Ward's home. Cannon and bells continued to peal a noisy welcome. The schools were dismissed and the children came to meet the hero of whom they had heard so much since his landing in America. In Mr. Ward's home the general was warmly greeted by many citizens including many revolutionary soldiers. It was of the latter and their comrades who established the settlement at Marietta that he said : "I knew them all. I saw them at the Brandywine, at Yorktown and Rhode Island. They were the bravest of the brave." The crowd outside ranged themselves in two long lines, down which and back again Lafayette passed to shake hands with each and all. The children were not forgotten, and some of the "wee ones" were tenderly lifted in his arms and affectionately kissed. Expressing regret that his visit was necessarily brief, the general went 510 - HISTORY OF OHIO aboard his vessel again while practically the whole population of the town cheered from the shore and the artillery sent down a farewell salute that echoed and reechoed among the historic hills. The following day dawned without a cloud. Over the Virginian hills the sun gradually rose into the clear sky. From the forest fringed shores came the song of birds and the fragrance of flowers. In the changing panorama presented by the winding river, the morning hours passed rapidly. Those on deck were looking forward to catch the first glimpse of the flourishing town of Wheeling. Before they saw the place the ringing of bells announced that their visit was anticipated. And now the town dawned on their view, beautiful in holiday attire and radiant in the sunshine of May. At the formal reception when the party had landed, Judge Alexander Caldwell delivered the address of welcome. Lafayette, in his usual felicitous manner, responded. It was here that in paying a tribute to republican institutions he said : "During my long absence the people of the United States have established a government founded on broad and just principles, having liberty as its basis and the happiness of the community for its aim. Such a government deserves to be perpetuated through all future time. May all nations profit by it ; may its example have no other limit than the globe itself." A day of celebration closed with an evening of festivity. On the following morning Lafayette and his companions started by stage for Washington, Pennsylvania, and the Ohio fields and hills, which for a week had gladdened his eye, faded forever from sight beyond the "River Beautiful." The memory of Lafayette has been a cherished heritage and his example an inspiration to America. Gratitude for his unselfish services and emulation of his devotion to liberty powerfully appealed to the soldier sons of the Republic and made them invincible on the far-flung battle line of France. A critic who depreciated his claims to distinguished merit could not deny the magic influence of his name in the World war. "No single phenomenon" we are told, "of America's participation in the great war has been more striking than the instant response in the average American heart to the name of Lafayette." And this sentiment was not the expression of youthful imagination in quest of chivalric adventure. It reached all who were advancing to join the allied hosts in their supreme effort to rescue civilization and overthrow autocracy. When General Pershing advanced with a small vanguard to Paris and was conducted by the high officials of the French government to the tomb of Lafayette, in simple language and in a single sentence he delivered the message that thrilled every American heart and stimulated the khaki-clad legions to quickened step and high resolve as they marched by millions to the theatre of war. What could be more eloquently appealing than the words of the commander of the advancing American hosts : "Lafayette, we are here." But before General Pershing had reached Paris, to many Americans, France in her dire extremity had come to mean Lafayette and a debt of gratitude for heroic services in the darkest hour of the Revolution. When the delegation from the Allied nations came to America shortly after the United States declared war, and were accorded a great public reception in front of the State House at Columbus, Governor James M. Cox extended the welcome of Ohio and assurances of prompt and vigorous cooperation in the prosecution of the war. In addressing General Joffre, the hero of the Marne, he recalled with fine effect Lafayette's tribute to our government at Wheeling ninety-two years before. The name of Lafayette in Ohio, the Nation and the world, after the ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 511 flight of a century is a living influence for good, an inspiration to knightly endeavor, a beacon light on the promontory of the past that beams with never fading and beneficent ray down the vista of the years. THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATIVE SESSION December 2, 1833, to March 3, 1834 The Senate elected David T. Disney, of Hamilton County, its speaker. His constituents had promoted him from the Lower House, where he had served as presiding officer the previous year. John H. Keith, of Muskingum County, was chosen speaker of the House of Representatives. The directors of the penitentiary reported progress in the erection of the buildings on the new site, although cholera had interfered with the work. Because of the epidemic many mechanics and artisans had fled from their tasks, and for a while work had to be suspended. An enterprise which for almost a score of years had been occupying the serious attention of many men in Ohio was now completed, and official report of that fact was made to the Assembly. This was the canal which removed the difficulties in passing the "Falls of the Ohio" at Louisville. Attempts had been made to construct such a canal on the Indiana side, but without success. One on the Kentucky side of the river had solved the great problem of providing uninterrupted navigation. The tolls collected for passages through the canal had already reached the sum of $60,736.92 for 1,950 passages of steamboats and 719 flat and keel boats through the artificial channel. Legislation by this Assembly was unimportant, pertaining almost entirely to local matters. More railroad companies were incorporated, although not one road had been constructed, so far as the records disclose. The newspapers of the year made much of the Louisville Canal, and gave their readers interesting facts about it and the business done on it. One hundred and sixty-two different steamboats had passed through it, each making twelve trips. Of these boats, seven averaged each 436 tons burden ; seven, each 330 tons ; thirteen, each 263 tons ; seventy-seven each 143 tons, and fifty-eight, each 80 tons burden. The Cincinnati Advertiser noted that during the previous ten years the number of Ohio steamboats had increased four-fold, and the number, of passages by them had increased five-fold. The people of the state were told by their journals, referring to Aaron Burr, the "great conspirator" of almost thirty years before, that "the long and troubled career of this gifted but wretched man approaches its close," and in many articles they revived memories of his experiences in the West and Southwest. Thomas Corwin, of Lebanon, was attracting great attention in Congress in the year 1834, for his brilliant speeches there, and the Ohio editors and people took great pride in him. One of his addresses concerning the nation's finances and the withdrawal by President Jackson of the Government deposits from the United States Bank, filled two full pages in the papers and was read with great avidity, if we may judge by the letters to the editors which appeared. Great interest was shown in the announcement this year of the death of Sir Walter Scott. The readers of Ohio were very familiar with his "Ivanhoe," "Quentin Durward," "The Talisman," and all the others, and the old question, "Who is the author of Waverly ?" had been asked as anxiously by the people of Ohio as by those in England and the East. The papers here had made prominent mention, some years before, of Sir Walter's acknowledgment that he had written those fascinating romances. The new state prison had been finished by the end of 1834. The news writers contributed full descriptions of it and gave many facts 512 - HISTORY OF OHIO concerning it. The convicts had taken an important part in its construction, a total of 26,231 days' work having been done by them, for which the state was charged $29,886.50 by the prison directors. When the old prison was abandoned on November 15, 1834, 185 convicts were transferred to the new one. THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATIVE SESSION December 1, 1834, to March 9, 1835 Peter Hitchcock, of Geauga County, who had been speaker of the Senate eighteen years before, who had since been congressman for two years and Supreme Court judge for fourteen, was once more presiding officer of the Senate. He was again placed on the Supreme Bench by this Assembly. John M. Creed, of Fairfield County, was speaker of the House of Representatives. There had been another gubernatorial election, at which 138,190 votes had been cast-20,000 less than for President two years before. Governor Lucas, democrat, received 71,291; James Findlay, whig, of Cincinnati, 67,414, and 38 were reported as "scattering." Findlay had been a congressman during the previous eight years. The anti-Masonry agitation, which swept the country at this period, found its way into the Ohio General Assembly in the form of many petitions demanding an investigation into the "character and operations" of that order. A select committee was appointed in the House to consider them. Its report recommended merely that the whole question be submitted "to the salutary action of enlightened public opinion," and no further attention was given the subject. Joseph Whitehill was made state treasurer, which office he filled through the next twelve years. He succeeded Henry Brown, who had served continuously in the place for twelve years previously. The state board of equalization fixed the taxable value of the lands of the state at $75,760,797. The dispute over the boundary line between Michigan and Ohio, which had been growing for some years, reached a very serious stage in this year 1835, and a special session of the General Assembly was called by the governor to meet on the 8th of June and take action. Immediately upon convening it received a strong message from Governor Lucas, accompanied by a great number of official documents, asking the Assembly to adopt measures which would insure the maintenance of the rights of Ohio in the case. Steps were taken to mobilize the entire military force of the state, ready to move upon instant notice, and a strong force actually was sent to Toledo, the central point of the dispute, Governor Lucas commanding them in person. The governor of Michigan Territory also was determined and active, and a collision of armed forces seemed imminent. The Ohio Assembly passed an act appropriating $300,000 to enable the governor to carry out such measures as he should deem necessary. Fortunately, there was no actual clash at arms, but a few men were wounded in individual personal encounters. The entire controversy was finally submitted to three commissioners on the part of Ohio, to act with the United States authorities, and in the end the claim as to territory made by Ohio was confirmed. If Michigan had been successful in this dispute some hundreds of square miles, including the location of Toledo, would now be a part of the State of Michigan. This Ohio-Michigan dispute was the subject of much attention on the part of the newspapers. They published pages of documents and news, and editorially upheld Governor Lucas in his belligerent attitude. Railroads were attracting increasing interest. None had been actually built in the state, notwithstanding the large number of companies incorporated for the purpose. The Hamilton Intelligencer of January 1, 1835, voiced a general sentiment when it referred to "the railroad fever ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 513 which has become so prevalent in almost every part of the Union." It remarked that "we have some doubts both as to the practicability and expediency of a railroad," but added : "Should the enterprise of our citizens prompt them to renew their undertaking we trust they will- 'go ahead' upon the railroad principle ; for as Byron says, `There is nothing gives a man such spirits, Leavening his blood as Cayenne doth a curry, As going at full speed.' " The "go ahead" quotation in this editorial was from the famous aphorism of Davy Crockett, which advocated first being "sure you're right." This celebrated backwoodsman was at that time very greatly in public favor. A paragraph which tickled the sense of humor of the people, copied into Ohio from an Eastern journal, was as follows: "Crockett on Railroads.—Colonel Crockett's notion of railroad speed is somewhat ludicrous. He says, 'I can only judge of the speed of the cars by putting my head out to spit, which I did, and overtook it so quick that it hit me smack in the face.' " A few locomotives had been brought into use in Eastern states, and a lively and entertaining account of a contest of speed appeared in the Ohio papers, copied from the Herald of Frederick, Maryland, a town about fifty miles west of Baltimore, on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. This enterprise had had its inception some years before, as has been noted in these chronicles, but during the intervening time the rails apparently had been laid only as far as Frederick. The Herald's story was as follows: "TEAMS VS. STEAM "Quite an animated contest has been carried on for several weeks past between those enterprising mail coach proprietors, Stockton and Stokes, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, in the transportation of passengers between this city and Baltimore, which has caused considerable excitement among our citizens, who watch the arrival of the cars and stages with much interest. On one day the stage will arrive full of passengers, at a slapping pace, full thirty minutes before the cars. The next day they come out neck and neck—or rather neck and boiler. On the third the steamer is ahead, and dashes up to the depot like a thunder cloud with a streak of lightning attached to it—or a dog with a tin pot tied to his tail. 'Hurrah for Stokes !"Hurrah, Steam !' are now screamed out from many throats, with as much fervor as ever was the battle cry of Richard Coeur d' Lion. "How long this steam and team contest will last we cannot say—for one of the parties seems to delight in hot water, and the other is determined not to break clown whilst a wheel is left between this and Wheeling. But little we reek if it is continued as long as the Trojan war, for it is rife with benefits to the editors on the route and enables us to receive the eastern mail some hours earlier than formerly. "The opposition of Messrs. Stockton and Stokes was caused by what they deem an extravagant demand by the Railroad Company for carrying the mail between Frederick and Baltimore. As to the merits of the case we know nothing, but we learn that the experiment of Messrs. Stockton and Stokes has thus far been liberally patronized and bids fair to continue to do so." THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATIVE SESSION December 7, 1835, to March 14, 1836 The Senate named Elijah Vance, of Butler County, its speaker ; and the House placed William Sawyer, of Montgomery County, to preside 514 - HISTORY OF OHIO over its deliberations. A man afterwards noted in the state was made clerk of the Senate—John Brough, editor of papers in Marietta and in Lancaster, later auditor of state for six years, then a lawyer and newspaper publisher in Cincinnati, president of two railroads, and finally governor of the state. He was at this time a democrat, much hated by the whigs, who dubbed him "Fat Johnny Brough." He was a very conspicuous figure in Ohio for thirty years prior to his death in 1865. The names of two other men of great celebrity in later annals of. Ohio also appeared for the first time in the records of this Assembly. William Allen and Noah H. Swayne were two of the three commissioners who had in charge the interests of Ohio in making the final settlement of the boundary line dispute with Michigan, and they reported progress in that matter. Allen was later a United States Senator, and governor, and for more than forty years held highly spectacular interest of the people. Swayne, in 1861, became a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and sat in that exalted judicial seat for almost twenty-five years. The subject of the United States Bank was again agitating the country in 1836, and Ohio, whose lurid record with reference to that institution was well known among all the states, was strongly opposed to it. After much discussion of the matter in Congress, and refusal there to sanction the project, the sponsors of the bank had in 1835 secured a charter in the State of Pennsylvania, and contemplated establishing branches in other states, including Ohio. The General Assembly of this state passed an act prohibiting such branches. But the chartered banks in Ohio were not enjoying confidence in all cases, and another law was enacted which placed them under surveillance of the state authorities. Still another, passed March 14, 1836, imposed a tax of 20 per cent of the banks' profits unless they agreed to circulate no bills of less denomination than $3 after July 4th of that year, nor less than $5 after July 4, 1837. The object of this restriction is not clear. The journals opposed to the democratic majority in the Assembly regarded it as a very foolish law, and not likely to produce any good results. An interesting development of this year was the tour through the state of a large tented animal show, at the head of which the name Van Amburgh, famous for many years thereafter, appeared. The newspapers in the towns where it showed contained most startling displays of illustrated advertisements. Up to that time there had been practically no pictures of any kind in the papers. But advertisements of this show contained a series of large well-made wood cuts showing lions, tigers, camels, and many other beasts that the people of Ohio had certainly never seen, and these doubtless produced a thrilling effect. In large letters it, was stated that "The Celebrated National Band of Twelve Musicians would announce the arrival of the Grand Cavalcade ; that the Whole will be ,Arranged in a Splendid Pavilion Adequate to seat Twelve Thousand Persons,; that Mr. Van Amburgh would enter the Cages at 3 1/2 P. M.; 4,at this Exhibition is Drawn by One Hundred Matched Horses, and That Sixty Five Men are Employed." A large cut of pathetic chacharacter showed. Van Amburgh seated in a cage of wild animals, on his, knee a three-year-old child fondling a lamb, and beneath, the legend: "The lion and the iamb shall lie down together, and a little child shall lead them." ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR JOSEPH VANCE THIRTY-FIFTH LEGISLATIVE SESSION December 5, 1836, to April 3, 1837 Once again Elijah Vance became speaker of the Senate. The House elected William Medill, of Fairfield County, to preside. This was 516 - HISTORY OF OHIO Medill's first appearance in a place of importance, although he had been a member of the Assembly through several terms. His subsequent career saw him successively as congressman, assistant postmaster-general, commissioner of Indian affairs, president of the Constitutional Convention of Ohio (1850-1851), lieutenant-governor, governor o f Ohio, and the first comptroller of the United States Treasury. The official canvass of the vote for governor gave Joseph Vance, whig, 92,204 votes, and Eli Baldwin, democrat, 86,158. Vance was a farmer of Champaign County. He had frequently been a member of the General Assembly, and was a representative in Congress fourteen years prior to his election as governor. He was duly inaugurated December 17, 1836, his address being devoted largely to praising the judiciary of the state, which, he said, was noted throughout the nation. It was reported to the Legislature that the thirty banks then existing in the state possessed a total capital of $3,388,178.47. The finance committee reporting this believed the amount was entirely inadequate to the requirements of the people, and strongly urged the organization of a state bank with enough branches to provide proper banking facilities in every part of the state. The subject of banking was ever present in the Assembly of Ohio during many of the years preceding and following this Legislature, and the papers never ceased to criticise their representatives for failure to provide a system which should be sufficient and at the same time trustworthy. A notable contest occurred over the election of a United States senator to succeed Thomas Ewing, whose term had expired. The total membership of the two Houses of the Assembly was 108, and fifty-five votes were necessary for a choice. The whigs, with fifty-two votes, supported Ewing for reelection ; the democrats, with fifty-three, were behind William Allen ; and there were three members not favorable to either. Thirteen ballots were taken, Ewing receiving fifty-two votes from beginning to end ; Allen, fifty-three until the twelfth, when his vote was increased to fifty-four, and on the thirteenth he received fifty-five. Senator Allen was then just thirty years old. He attracted much attention for his height and for his sonorous voice. Soon after he took his seat in the Senate he was dubbed "the Chinese Gong" by the whigs, and many references to him by that pseudonym were made in the Ohio papers. In this session of 1836-1837 the schools were better organized, and for the first time a state superintendent of common schools was provided for. The term of office was one year, and the salary the first year was $500, later increased to $1,000. The public execution of murderers was greatly criticized by many good people at this time, largely because of the scenes attending the hanging of one Washburne in Cincinnati, and a number of petitions were sent to the Assembly asking for a law making executions private. The report of Washburne's death stated that more than 15,000 turbulent persons were present to witness it. But the Assembly took no action, and it was not until almost fifty years later that executions for all capital crimes were made private in the "death chamber" at the penitentiary. The ancient mounds in the state were always a subject of much speculation, and frequent references were made to them by the editors and their correspondents. A poem of five stanzas, which originally appeared in the Western Sun was copied into a number of other papers. The first stanza is an indication of the character of all: "Sepulchres of a giant race Which time has swept away- Tombs—monuments of men ! their trace Alone that mocks decay. All else is gone; all else is sped, But ye, the temples of the dead, Which hide them from decay." ANNALS OF OHIO ADMINISTRATIONS - 517 The population of Ohio in 1837 was more than 1,000,000. But cost of administering the state government was not much above $100,000 per annum. By comparison with modern figures, after making allowance for increase in population, this was certainly very modest; yet there were many in those days who accused the state of extravagance, and demanded retrenchment, chiefly by reduction of salaries. The following itemized statement was published in the Hamilton Intelligencer of May 11, 1837: